CARMINE GUARINO ^1* Guido Cipriani ² Jesus V Jorrin Novo ³ Domenico Carputo ⁴ Claudio Di Vaio ⁴

• ¹ Department of Sciences and Technologies, University of Sannio, Benevento, Campania, Italy
• ² Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
• ³ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
• ⁴ Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Campania, Italy

This research topic is focused on different aspects of agrobiodiversity, whose multifaceted perspectives can give rise to many approaches in improving conservation strategies. This abundance and diversity of aims, scientific methodologies, and research approaches, characterize the works collected in this research topic. The strong interest in the topic is evident in some of the geographical areas coinciding with global biodiversity hotspots (Mediterranean and Central America). Here, studies have been conducted to enhance and conserve the biodiversity of great importance crops such as wheat (Taranto et al., 2023), grapevine (Iorizzo et al., 2023;Villano et al, 2023), tomato (Donoso et al., 2023) and potato (Dawson et al., 2023). Other studies aimed to focus and preserve the natural historical heritage (Marchese et al., 2023) and the cultural heritage (Tartaglia et al., 2023). Classical approaches to the study of agrobiodiversity have been flanked by modern methodologies based on the analysis of big data useful in developing models for agrobiodiversity conservation on a large spatial and temporal time scales (Raggi et al., 2023).A first comprehensive analysis concerning the distribution across Italy of crop wild relatives, belonging to globally important genera, is presented by Raggi et al (2023). The authors provide evidence on several crop wild relatives found in situ in a rather precarious condition. This is mainly due to the limited knowledge and/or limited number of populations of the most threatened species. Increasing efforts to identify taxa on field is crucial to develop effective protection actions dealing with the real needs of biodiversity conservation. While highlighting the great role of protected areas in conservation, the paper also points out the need of ex-situ conservation strategies. With a similar purpose, the work of Dawson et al. (2023) defines a methodology to identify priority sites 36 effective on-farm conservation potato landraces. The consumption of wild edible plants, is 37 closely linked to the cultural history of a region, is of people's traditional and local identity, 38 transcending mere value. This issue is addressed by the work of Tartaglia et al. (2023), who 39 analysed the traditionally consumed parts (fruit and leaves) of the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.), 40 an underutilised fruit tree typical of the Mediterranean region. From the metabolomic profile analysis 41 of the matrices, the pedo-geographical imprinting, shaping the expression of metabolites on 42 landscape characteristics, was evident. Furthermore, the metabolic variability observed in individuals 43 of the same ecotype highlights the importance of environmental factors and agronomic practices in 44 the geographical area of origin when addressing the issue of local agrobiodiversity. 45The enhancement of historical agricultural landscapes and the protection of germplasm resources 46 from genetic erosion are considered priorities by the international community. The Mediterranean 47 basin is rich in monumental olive trees, found within important archaeological sites, and in rural 48 areas. These long-lived trees can be a source of genes for resistance to biotic agents or even adverse 49 climatic conditions that have occurred during their long lives. This gene pool is of great value and 50 can be exploited by breeding programmes to produce new genotypes best suited to changing 51 environmental conditions and emerging diseases such as Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca (ST53) 52 Schaad et al.; it can also be used to achieve increasingly sustainable production. Since the value of 53 old trees is intrinsic to the territory in which they are found, the protection of these plants is crucial. 54 Marchese et al. (2023) place emphasis in their study on the selection of certain genotypes and 55 genome resequencing projects to discover resilience traits against biotic and abiotic stresses. 56Very interesting insights come from the work of Taranto et al. (2023), where an innovative 57 correlation between genotypic and phenotypic traits of wheat accessions, useful for varietal 58 registration, is shown. Results expand the knowledge about genetic architecture of many traits of 59 agronomic interest, and pave the way for the use of genetic markers in current phenological 60 descriptive protocols, thus improving the system of plant variety protection and registration. The 61 article by Donoso et al. (2023) on the Chilean Limachino tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) also 62 draws attention to the need for a careful characterisation of landraces by exploiting the genotypic and 63 phenotypic peculiarities found in the Chilean tomato germplasm. Concerning the varietal 64 characterisation through molecular techniques, of particular importance is the study of Vitis vinifera 65 L. by Villano et al. (2023). Authors used whole-genome SNP datasets, generated by GBS and 66 ddRADSeq methods, to assess the clonal diversity of six traditional grape varieties. The authors show 67 how combining different SNP datasets is possible and useful for studying the inter-and intra-specific 68 genetic diversity of grape populations. This is provided that the same reference genome is used. A 69 repeatable framework was provided to optimise future computational studies based on retrieving 70 information from partial analyses performed at different times and with different techniques. The 71 results also demonstrated the value of advanced genomic methods in the study of population structure 72 and the detection of synonymy/homonymy. The study by Iorizzo et al. (2023) focuses on the same 73 species, but with significantly different aims. The authors investigate the impact of pedoclimatic 74 conditions on the oenological performance of two grape varieties. They highlight how the phenotypic 75 response of Aglianico and Cabernet Sauvignon vines is significantly influenced by the prevailing 76 pedoclimatic conditions, in particular the physical properties of the soil. 77In conclusion, this collection of papers highlights how diverse and multifaceted approaches should be 78 encouraged and pursued to have an increasingly clear and comprehensive methodological framework 79 leading to useful strategies for the conservation and enhancement of agrobiodiversity. Tackling the 80