A forage grass and legume plant collecting expedition in Czechoslovakia 1992

The Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU) of the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Welsh Plant Breeding Station (IGER, WPBS), UK, and the Grassland Research Station, Zubri(GRS, Z), in 1992 part of OSEVA Research Institute for Fodder Crops, Troubsko (OSEVA, RIFC), Czechoslovakia, carried out a collaborative plant collecting expedition in Czechoslovakia between 10 August and 29 August 1992. 14 geographical sub-regions of Czechoslovakia were covered with centres of collection in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. The expedition concentrated on a range of vegetation from managed semi-natural grassland to wild, un-managed grassland. The IGER team collected mainly vegetative samples and the GRS, Z team collected seed samples of forage grass and legume populations. Detailed collection site data was recorded at every site. Samples were collected from 67 sites. Vegetative collections of Lolium spp. (34 populations) and Trifolium spp. (39 populations) and seed collections of other species (57 populations) were made by the IGER team. Seed collections of Lolium spp. (26 populations), Trifolium spp. (19 populations) and other species (28 populations) were made by the GRS, Z team (Table 2). A diverse range of habitats was sampled covering a range of altitude, management systems and ecological conditions. Wild grassland was easily found but semi-natural grassland was uncommon in the collective farming landscape. Entry into a free-market economy is forcing changes on the collective fanning system which dominates Czechoslovakian agriculture. Changes in crops and management practices will lead to a further reduction in the area of semi-natural grassland and genetic erosion of the unique forage grass and legume populations in Czechoslovakia. The collecting expedition took place in August 1992, 5 months before Czechoslovakia was divided into the separate states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the text 'Czechoslovakia' is used to reflect the situation at the time of the collecting expedition.