Cesar Gomez Campo (Torrelavega 1933-Madrid 2009) OBITUARY

摘要

He had been a pioneer of the conservation of wild plant genetic resources. In the late 1960s, most of the attention of the scientific community was paid to the preservation of crop genetic resources in ex situ gene banks. In 1966 César established the “Banco de Semillas de la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos de Madrid” (Seed Bank of the Higher Technical School of Agronomists of Madrid, in short: UPM Seed Bank), the first example ever of gene bank devoted to the conservation of wild species seeds. In César’s idea the long term ex situ conservation of wild taxa was a form of conservation of species endangered of extinction complementary to botanical gardens. In fact, his mind conceived this idea in a very modern way, that is including concepts of the genetic variation, in times when the concepts of nature conservation were at their very beginning.