Inventory and Conservation of Genetic Resources in the Form of Historically Significant Fruit and Nut Trees in the National Park System
Coli WM and Mitchell NJ. 1992. Inventory and Conservation of Genetic Resources in the Form of Historically Significant Fruit and Nut Trees in the National Park System. Cultural Landscape Guidance Documents. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Boston, Massachusetts
This inventory of the genetically unique/significant fruit and nut trees in the National Park System presents the findings of a survey administered to 341 NPS sites. The loss of historic fruit cultivars and the lack of system-wide and park-specific knowledge of orchards and fruit varieties in the NPS system were identified as genetic resource preservation issues at a Historic Orchard Workshop conducted in February 1987 at the University of Massachusetts in cooperation with the National Park Service. A servicewide project was initiated in June 1987 to determine the number of NPS units which have historically or genetically significant fruit or nut trees and to determine the uniqueness of those trees. The project objectives were to conduct a servicewide inventory of NPS sites with historic fruit or nut trees, identify and determine the uniqueness of the cultivars using site visits and other means, and make management recommendations for conservation and propagation of unique genetic and historical resources. At the time of the survey, some unidentified fruit and nut trees had been lost, and fruit trees in the NPS generally received little or no maintenance, with the exception of certain sites where the trees were an important component of site interpretation. In addition to the survey findings, the report provides location-specific and servicewide treatment recommendations for managing fruit and nut trees in the NPS, including the use of propagation and regional repositories.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Coli, William; Mitchell, Nora
- Date of Issue
- 1992-12
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- BIBE , CAVE , CRPS , SLBE
- Keywords
- cultivar, cultural landscape, fruit trees, Genetic Variation, historic orchard, Historic Vegetation, horticulture, Management, orchard, orchard management, Plant Studies, repository, tree survey, variety