Endemic plants of Crete in electronic trade and wildlife tourism: current patterns and implications for conservation

Abstract

BackgroundThe island of Crete is a biodiversity hotspot having 223 endemic vascular taxa (species and subspecies) as a result of its long isolation and the wide range of habitats it includes. We explore trends and patterns in the electronic trade of these unique genetic resources and in their involvement in wildlife tourism, the ways these two activities are performed and the associated potential threats on the plants’ wild populations, and we also identify priority taxa requiring special attention. The main part of the study was conducted in 2016–2017 using English as a search language; an additional search was conducted in 2019 using German and French.ResultsWe found e-commerce for 28 (13%) endemic taxa. These are traded by 65 nurseries from 14 countries, the UK primarily. Among the traded plants, 16 face extinction risk and/or are under protection status. Prices vary largely for the same taxon and form of sale. Lamiaceae is the family with the highest number of e-traded taxa, Tulipa bakeri is the most traded species, and the living plant is the commonest form of sale. Thirty-seven endemic taxa are advertised in the websites of travel agencies involved in wildlife tourism. Tulipa doerfleri is the most frequently encountered taxon in these websites, whereas Lamiaceae, Liliaceae and Orchidaceae are similarly represented. The additional search showed a very rapid increase in the e-trade of the Cretan endemis.ConclusionThe two examined markets are similar in that geophytes play a prominent role and Lamiaceae rank first among the represented plant families, but differ in several aspects: only 22.6% of the taxa detected are common in both, obedience to rules exhibited by travel agencies is not usually the case with nurseries, and potential threats to wild populations are estimated as considerably higher for the traded plants. Sixteen endemic taxa of Crete were identified as requiring special attention.

Central Asian wild tulip conservation requires a regional approach, especially in the face of climate change

“…Given the rapid development of these cities and the corresponding loss of habitat, urbanisation needs to be urgently considered as part of any tulip conservation activities in the region; a similar but more localised threat is presented by mining activities. Finally, the horticultural history of the genus and the demand for tulips worldwide has meant that wild collection and trade has been reported as a threat and is believed to have led to previous extinctions and populations declines (Maunder et al 2001;Menteli et al 2019). Central Asian tulips have been an important part of tulip horticulture throughout the existence of this trade (Christenhusz et al 2013) and now many Threatened tulip species are protected by law (SAEPF et al 2006).…”

Greek Tulips: Worldwide Electronic Trade over the Internet, Global Ex Situ Conservation and Current Sustainable Exploitation Challenges

“…The electronic plant trade over the Internet has been largely facilitated by social media and communication platforms resulting to date in a popular new way of easy plant trade worldwide [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. This kind of uncontrolled e-trade can have devastating effects to wild-growing populations, and thus may undermine conservation efforts both nationally and globally due to unrestrained overexploitation of local single-country endemics and/or threatened species [ 2 , 3 , 9 ].…”

“…This kind of uncontrolled e-trade can have devastating effects to wild-growing populations, and thus may undermine conservation efforts both nationally and globally due to unrestrained overexploitation of local single-country endemics and/or threatened species [ 2 , 3 , 9 ]. Theoretically, when the international e-commerce of plants is performed under the provisions of the Nagoya protocol and the EU Directive 511/2014 which regulate sovereign rights over phytogenetic resources and concomitant Access and Benefit Sharing mechanisms for their sustainable exploitation, it may secure local phytogenetic resources, also offering support to domestic subsistence economies [ 6 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”

“…In general, the domestication of wild-growing plants with interesting properties associated with plant rarity or endemism (uniqueness) has been extremely appreciated by the ornamental-horticultural sector, since the latter is always in quest of and sourcing for unique new crops with attractive features [ 6 , 22 , 24 ]. In this context, tulips are famous ornamental plants worldwide since the Middle Ages [ 11 , 24 ], and currently in Europe they are associated with a turnover of about half a billion euros yearly with increasing trends [ 24 ]. As a result of this long-lasting appreciation, to date there are hundreds of traded hybrid tulip varieties raised through breeding strategies from a few ancestral East Mediterranean and/or Asiatic species to satisfy commercial needs, as well as several nonimproved species of the genus Tulipa that are used for ornamental reasons, mainly by plant enthusiasts and garden lovers.…”

“…In line with the foregoing studies related to the electronic trade [ 3 , 7 , 11 ], the ex situ conservation of focal endemic plants [ 14 ] and the sustainable exploitation of neglected and underutilized phytogenetic resources [ 12 ], the study herein focuses on the wild-growing tulips of Greece. These phytogenetic resources comprise 15 Tulipa spp.…”