In situ and Ex situ Conservation of Commercial Tropical Trees - ITTO

460products, (ii) recycle nutrients and energy, (iii) detoxify hazardous wastes, (iv)provide new insights into how life is possible in some extreme biological niches,and (v) sustain agricultural and forestry practices. It is also widely acceptedthat the first steps in biotechnological activities start from exploring biodiversityand genetic variability (Rondon et al. 1999b, Cowan 2000).Most of these beneficial microorganisms are those that inhabit soils;however, despite their essential roles, we currently know about very few soilmicroorganism taxa, while the rest of them are still relatively obscure becauseof significant problems with culturing them in vitro. Meanwhile, extensivedisturbances caused by human activities in nearly all terrestrial ecosystemshave threatened their biological components, including microbial diversity.Therefore, adequate study of microbial diversity becomes increasingly importantif we are to avoid extinctions at all levels of biological diversity. Furthermore,adequate information on specific microbial communities at a given locationmay be useful for further considerations of whether or not such habitats shouldbe preserved or conserved areas (Kennedy & Gewin 1997).This review aims at describing soil microbial diversity values. Anappreciation of the importance of conserving microbial diversity and why thisshould be implemented are emphasized. Possible or potential values both toplantation forestry and to future biotechnology programs are also explained.Methodological barriers to attaining microbial diversity are also briefly discussedincluding proposals for using methods mainly based on functional approachesas well as on more recent nucleic acid-based techniques. Aspects relatingmicrobial conservation to current activities to conserve macro-organisms (floraor fauna) are considered. Due to limitations in financial support and humanresources, research addressing soil microbial diversity in the less-developedcountries should be finely focused and not merely follow trends in the developedcountries. A proposed strategy will complement this last suggestion.Importance of Conservation Activities on Microbial Diversity in theTropical Rain ForestsAmong all other terrestrial ecosystems, tropical rain forests provide the mostcomplex ecosystem, consisting of diverse niches formed by their cascade ofvegetation canopies. These ecosystems are supported by massive levels ofbelowground microbial diversity. A good example is obtained from studies inthe Amazon region, which is the most intensively studied of all the tropical rainforest ecosystems. There, research indicates that within one observation plot,15,000 animal species, 40% of the world’s fresh-water fish species, and over5,000 tree species were found. Using culture independent methods, in a