Conservation of plant genetic resources: a flexibility approach.

Summary Faced with the erosion of biodiversity, and more particularly of local cultivars, the ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources is advocated, but not necessarily achieved. Moreover, this conservation is mainly envisaged for potential use in the face of an uncertain future. Thus, from a sequential modeling in an uncertain future, the author tries, on the basis of simulations, to define the best criterion for the conservation of genetic resources: the maximization of the expected utility (cost/benefit analysis) or the minimization of the risks facing an uncertain future (precautionary principle).