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The role of homegardens and forest ecosystems for domestication and conservation of Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Willd. in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan

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Abstract

Iterative domestication processes by humans such as selection, translocation and cultivation are known to affect the morphological and genetic diversity of tree species. Since many of these species occur also in human-created homegardens (HG) this type of agroecosystem therefore represents an ideal setting to study such domestication processes. The threatened indigenous fruit tree Ziziphus spina-christi occurs in HGs and forests of the Nuba Mountains, Sudan, and was therefore selected as a model species. Five locations were sampled and the geographical position of 250 trees determined. Each location was subdivided into HG and forest sites. The diversities of morphological traits and amplified fragment length polymorphisms were assessed to study variation within and among locations and sites. Diversity of dendrometric parameters and fruit morphometries was high and differed significantly among locations. Environmental parameters affected dendrometry and fruit size, but applied regression models were of low explanatory power. Although statistically not significant, mean fruit measures were continuously larger in HGs than in forests. Higher genetic diversity was observed in HG samples. Larger dendrometric and fruit morphometric traits are likely to result from better growing conditions in HGs and/or human selection of germplasm. This is in line with the higher genetic diversity in HGs which may be a consequence of the admixture of germplasm from different origins planted in HGs. Z. spina-christi underwent incipient steps of domestication. High genetic diversity in HGs suggests those as valuable spots of improved germplasm and for on-farm conservation purposes.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for funding this study as part of the project “Effects of transformation processes in “jubraka” agroforestry systems of the Nuba Mountains, Sudan, on plant diversity and nutrient fluxes”, BU 1308/9-1 & GE 2094/1-1. We are grateful to the field assistants and the following village hosts: Adam Tutu, Dr. Jaranabil and Osman Silmi from Habila, Sabri Abdul Karim and NRRDO from Kauda, Omar Balandia, Achmed Al Zet, Ibrahim Al Zet, Jussuf Al Sheikh, Mohammed Defallah, Mubarak Defallah and Adam Moza from Kalogi, Moza Suleiman from Sama, Al Sheikh Jussuf and Khalid Jussuf from Rashad. Many thanks to all the families that invited us into their homegardens and participated in interviews. We also express our thanks to the local authorities (chiefs and intelligence services) of the respective villages and areas for their kind cooperation and issuing of the necessary working permits. A special thanks goes to Alexandra Dolynska for her laboratory assistance and supporting information as well as to Prof. Dr. Reiner Finkeldey and his working group (Forest Genetics and Forest Tree Breeding Institute) at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany. Finally we are indebted to William Nelson for assisting with the morphometric fruit measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Organic Plant Production and Agroecosystems Research in the Tropics and Subtropics (OPATS), University of Kassel, Steinstraße 19, 37213, Witzenhausen, Germany

    Martin Wiehle, Sven Goenster & Andreas Buerkert

  2. Institute of Systematic Botany with Herbarium Haussknecht and Botanical Garden, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, 07743, Jena, Germany

    Kathleen Prinz

  3. Tree Diversity, Domestication and Delivery, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, P.O. Box 30677, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya

    Katja Kehlenbeck

  4. Department of Horticulture, University of Khartoum, P.O. Box 321, Shambat, Khartoum North, Sudan

    Seifeldin Ali Mohamed

  5. Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems with Special Focus on Horticulture, Faculty of Life Sciences, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Marie-Curie-Straße 1, 47533, Kleve, Germany

    Jens Gebauer

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  1. Martin Wiehle
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Correspondence to Andreas Buerkert.

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Wiehle, M., Prinz, K., Kehlenbeck, K. et al. The role of homegardens and forest ecosystems for domestication and conservation of Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Willd. in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan. Genet Resour Crop Evol 61, 1491–1506 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-014-0124-3

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