Ensuring the future of vanilla: Conservation and potential use of its crop wild relatives

The vanilla sector faces several challenges that negatively affect its stable supply. Domestication bottlenecks, vegetative propagation, and manual pollination instigated a strong genetic erosion in the crop species Vanilla planifolia. Moreover, practices involving intense monocultures and supply chains with asymmetrical revenue partition further exacerbate the vulnerability of this sector. The Neotropics host several Vanilla crop wild relatives (CWRs). Alike the closely related V. planifola, Vanilla CWRs produce fragrant fruits, better known as beans or pods. Furthermore, they hold untapped diversity for potential use in crop improvement and breeding, yet, are threatened by extinction. There is an urgent need to protect these Vanilla species, and simultaneously evaluate their possible contribution to counteract the abovementioned production problems. This PhD thesis aimed at providing initial insights into the use of Vanilla CWRs within an approach that endeavors a joint effort of (a) the conservation of the natural habitat of Vanilla CWRs and their associated pollen and seed dispersers, and (b) the sustainable cultivation of the vanilla spice in agroforestry systems surrounding these protected areas, promoting the integration of promising Vanilla CWRs and natural pollinators. We define this as the Vanilla land sparing/sharing (SPASHA) approach, whereby the produced vanilla beans are ideally traded via direct supply chains that involve organized farmer groups and responsible businesses. We conducted an interdisciplinary study to explore the application potential of the proposed Vanilla SPASHA approach within our study region Área de Conservación Osa (ACOSA) - a biodiversity hotspot in southwest Costa Rica holding several Vanilla CWR populations. As such, this PhD implemented four work packages to acquire information on the distribution patterns, pollination mechanisms, and cultivation potential of Vanilla CWR's, as well as on the perceptions of the vanilla supply chain members towards the proposed innovations. In the first work package (Chapter 2), we applied species distribution modelling to provide spatially explicit recommendations for the implementation of the Vanilla SPASHA approach in ACOSA. The maps, modelled at the extent of Costa Rica, showed interspecific variation in suitability, most likely influenced by species-specific functional plant traits or certain biotic interactions. ACOSA proved highly suitable for the four modelled CWRs, and suitabi