Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: Mai Duong (1), Snæbjörn Pálsson (1), Maonian Xu (2), Þóra Ellen Þórhallsdóttir (1)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 2. Health Science Institute, University of Iceland
Kynnir / Presenter: Mai Duong
With the addition of roseroot (Rhodiola rosea L.) to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), efforts to expand sustainable cultivation of this medicinal plant have gained new momentum. Currently, roseroot is commercially grown in several countries, and the goal of our project is to facilitate the sustainable production of cultivated Icelandic roseroot as an additional source of income for traditional farms. Desirable properties of cultivated populations include a fast growth rate, a large rhizome biomass, and high concentrations of medicinally active chemical compounds. We aim to compare the ecological, genetic, and chemical characteristics of roseroot populations in three distinct habitats: lowland cliffs in SE Iceland, an alpine meadow in the central highlands, and an alpine fellfield in the Westfjords. For further studies on growth patterns, plants from all three sites were transplanted to cultivation fields in Skagafjörður. Initial analysis shows that location is significant for number of stems (p<0.01) and height of the tallest stem (p<0.001) per plant. We also present other preliminary findings on the populations with respect to sex ratio, plant size distributions, and frequency of flowering.