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Utilizing and Conserving Agrobiodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 121: 196-210
Abstract
A biodiversity-based paradigm for sustainable agriculture is a potential solution for many of the problems associated with intensive, high input agriculture, and for greater resilience to the environmental and socioeconomic risks that may occur in the uncertain future. The challenge is to understand the combined ecological and social functions of agrobiodiversity, determine its contribution to ecosystem goods and services and value for society at large, and evaluate options for the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity across the agricultural landscape. Agrobiodiversity is most likely to enhance agroecosystem functioning when assemblages of species are added whose presence results in unique or complementary effects on ecosystem functioning, e.g., by planting genotypes with genes for higher yield or pest resistance, mixing specific genotypes of crops, or including functional groups that increase nutrient inputs and cycling. Simply adding more species to most agroecosystems may have little effect on function, given the redundancy in many groups, especially for soil organisms. The adoption of biodiversity-based practices for agriculture, however, is only partially based on the provision of ecosystem goods and services, since individual farmers typically react to the private use value of biodiversity, not the ‘external’ benefits of conservation that accrue to the wider society. Evaluating the actual value associated with goods and services provided by agrobiodiversity requires better communication between ecologists and economists, and the realization of the consequences of either overrating its value based on ‘received wisdom’ about potential services, or underrating it by only acknowledging its future option or quasi-option value. Partnerships between researchers, farmers, and other stakeholders to integrate ecological and socioeconomic research help evaluate ecosystem services, the tradeoffs of different management scenarios, and the potential for recognition or rewards for provision of ecosystem services. This paper considers ways that scientists from different disciplines can collaborate to determine the functions and value of agrobiodiversity for agricultural production, but within the context of understanding how biodiversity can be conserved in landscape mosaics that contain mixtures of land use types.
... A crop production system with low input involvement but simultaneously energyefficient is always desirable for small farmers ). If the system ensures agricultural sustainability, it can easily be adopted (Jackson et al., 2007;). An intercropping system has all the advantages. ...
... However, intercropping measures the efficiency of cropping systems more accurately in terms of space and time dimensions . The negative impacts of modern agriculture such as vulnerability in agroecosystem, overexploitation of natural resources and use of huge synthetic chemicals are not common in intercropping (Jackson et al., 2007;. Thus, intercropping system may be considered as sustainable practice of farming (Tilman et al., 2002;Lichtfouse et al., 2009). ...
... As a result, erosion of biodiversity and ever exploitation as well as degradation of natural resources were caused. Further, it led to reduction of ecological resilience and disruption of ecosystem services (Jackson et al., 2007). There are four ecosystem services, namely, provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting . ...
Intercropping system is an age-old cropping system where two or more crops coexist for a significant time of their growth period. In the present context of negative impacts on crop productivity and soil fertility, a system approach in cropping has become more relevant. The book 'Intercropping System' is divided into nine chapters that deal with the theory and practices of the intercropping system including recent research evidence. The first two chapters describe the overview of the intercropping system and complexity as well as the competitive relationship among component crops. The third chapter narrates the management options in the intercropping systems, while the fourth chapter highlights the multifaceted benefits of an intercropping system. Chapter 5 tells the suitability for the adoption of the intercropping system in organic agriculture. The sixth chapter describes how an intercropping system can ensure agricultural sustainability and some of the sustainable development Goals (SDGs). Chapter 7 illustrates the practice of alley cropping, a form of agroforestry, in resource-poor conditions. Legumes are considered an automatic choice in the intercropping system and hence, in the eighth chapter, the benefits of the inclusion of legumes as components have been described. Finally, in the ninth chapter, the performance of important crops in the intercropping system has been highlighted.
... L'agrobiodiversité désigne la diversité des organismes vivants sauvages et domestiqués (e.g., animaux, plantes, insectes, microorganismes), ainsi que les savoirs et les pratiques associés, ayant un impact positif ou négatif sur le fonctionnement des agroécosystèmes (Qualset et al. 1995;Jackson et al. 2007). Cette diversité peut être considérée à différentes échelles spatiales, allant de la parcelle au paysage, de la nation à la planète. ...
... colonise the agroecosystem and (iii) the diversity of related knowledge systems(Jackson et al. 2007). A fast-growing literature highlights that agrobiodiversity provides an insurance effect against environmental fluctuations because different species or varieties exhibit different responses to environmental variations(Loreau & de Mazancourt, 2008;Renard & Tilman, 2019; Tilman et al. 2006).Beillouin et al. (2021) synthesised 95 meta-analyses on the effects of increasing agrobiodiversity (e.g. ...
L’agriculture actuelle doit relever de nombreux défis : concilier les besoins croissants des populations tout en préservant l’environnement, et ce dans un climat très instable. Dans ce contexte, mobiliser la biodiversité, autant sauvage que domestiquée, représente une solution prometteuse pour construire une agriculture durable et résiliente. La culture de la vigne (au 3ème rang des plus rentables économiquement) est fortement menacée par les changements climatiques et altère la santé humaine et environnementale du fait de consommation importante en pesticides. Dans une filière contrainte par des règlementations aux échelles des régions viticoles, ma thèse questionne la manière dont se construit l’agrobiodiversité à différentes échelles spatiales (du domaine à un ensemble de régions viticoles) pour contribuer à leur résilience dans un contexte de changement climatique. Plus spécifiquement, ma thèse s’articule autour de trois objectifs : (1) caractériser les dynamiques passées et futures de l’encépagement de l’exploitation à la région viticole, (2) identifier les facteurs (contraintes exogènes, motivations individuelles, sources d’information) qui influencent la prise de décision des producteur·rices en matière d’encépagement, et (3) tester le rôle de la diversité variétale de la vigne pour stabiliser les rendements interannuels. Pour ce faire, cette thèse combine l’analyse des savoirs locaux des producteur·rices relatifs aux cépages et aux paysages en mobilisant les concepts et méthodes de l’éthnoécologie, avec les savoirs académiques issus de l’écologie et de l’agronomie. Mon terrain d’étude se situe à Gaillac, dans le Tarn. L’analyse combinée de données agricoles historiques, de documents d’archives et d‘entretiens semi-directifs révèlent l’abandon de 174 cépages (77.6% d’hybrides) entre 1960-2020 mais montre aussi le maintien de plus de soixante cépages, ce qui en fait l’un des vignobles les plus diversifiés de France (Chapitre 1). Ces dynamiques s’opèrent en réponse à des facteurs socio-économiques, technologiques, environnementaux et culturels. La diversité a été maintenue comme une assurance contre le risque de mauvaise récolte et pour atténuer la volatilité des marchés (Chapitre 1). Au sein de cette diversité, les cépages sont choisis en relation avec la réglementation et pour répondre à des nécessités agronomiques, œnologiques et commerciales, mais également pour exprimer des relations sensibles tissées avec le lieu et avec la nature. Le choix des cépages résulte ainsi d’un processus social. L’analyse des réseaux de circulation de connaissances (Chapitre 3) montre enfin que les sources mobilisées pour l’acquisition d’informations sur les cépages et la gestion de l’enherbement se diffusent majoritairement entre pairs, tandis que les connaissances relatives aux porte-greffes et aux clones s’obtiennent des pépiniéristes et des instituts techniques. D’après les enquêtes, le changement climatique influence actuellement peu le choix futur des cépages (Chapitre 2, Annexe 3), mais modifie le choix des sites de plantation (Chapitre 1 et Annexe 3). Ma recherche montre que les dynamiques de la diversité peuvent avoir un rôle important dans la résilience des systèmes viticoles face aux changements climatiques. En effet, l’analyse de données de rendement sur la période 2015-2020 pour trois régions viticoles (Cahors, Fronton et Gaillac) révèlent que plus la diversité en cépages est élevée, plus le rendement est stable face aux variations interannuelles du climat (Annexe 2). Ma thèse souligne le caractère dynamique de l’encépagement et démontre les bénéfices d’une approche bioculturelle pour contribuer à utiliser l’agrobiodiversité comme un levier de la résilience des systèmes viticoles.
... Furthermore, the stability of agricultural systems is directly impacted by the diversity within and between varieties. Genetic diversity is thus a prerequisite for long-term food security (Jackson et al., 2007;Lammerts van Bueren et al., 2018;Thrupp, 2000). (iii) The governance of genetic resources is linked to questions concerning the access and ownership of seeds and varieties, which can impact farmers' resilience capacities. ...
... Building agricultural systems around agrobiodiversity has been shown to foster resilience (Dwivedi et al., 2017;Jackson et al., 2007;Lin, 2011;Mijatović et al., 2013). Diversity prevents total system collapse since diversified farming systems have lower susceptibilities to any particular environmental pressure (Cabell and Oelofse, 2012;Darnhofer et al., 2010;Stockholm Resilience Centre, 2015). ...
The Filipino agricultural sector is exposed to multiple climatic, economic, and social risks that will likely intensify in the near future. Building agroecological resilience has been proposed to protect small-scale farmers’ livelihoods and improve food security in the context of (unexpected) shocks and disruptions, and slow system changes such as climate change. This paper argues that commons-based seed production, based on collective management and ownership of seeds and varieties, can play a central role in building resilience capacities in smallholder communities. I explore this by applying an indicator-based framework to assess the contribution of the Filipino farmer network Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG) to agroecological resilience. I find that the networks’ commons-based seed governance builds agroecological resilience in various ways. By equipping small-scale farmers with the tools to regain control over seed production and breeding, they become stewards of an actively evolving collection of varieties. The in situ maintenance and development of traditional, open-pollinated varieties and a network of diversified trial and backup farms build up buffering capacities and foster agrobiodiversity and local adaptation. A focus on regionally available natural resources reduces vulnerabilities to external factors. Adaptive capacities are strengthened through a high degree of flexibility and responsiveness achieved by self-organization and polycentric organizational structures. Broad participation, shared learning and spaces for experimentation support the development of farmers’ capacities to respond to diverse challenges. Commons-based approaches to seed governance can thus strengthen agroecological resilience and long-term food security in smallholder agricultural systems.
... Its objective is to strengthen the resilience of social-ecological systems to global changes (Parrotta 2002, Maginnis andJackson 2005). In the context of tropical agricultural landscape, the restoration implies the development of sustainable and resilient agriculture, such as a biodiversity-base agriculture, that shapes multifunctional landscapes (Jackson et al. 2007, Tscharntke et al. 2011, Landis 2017. In tropical forested landscapes, agroforestry systems, in which ''perennial woody species (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboo, etc.) are deliberately used on the same land management unit as cultivated species and/or animals, either in a certain spatial arrangement or in a temporal sequence'' (Zomer et al. 2014), are recognized as ecologically friendly practices and an effective land management strategy for landscape restauration (Nair 2011, Hillbrand et al. 2017, Santos et al. 2019. ...
... Jackson et al. 2007), are a key dimension of human/nature interactions. In particular, it is widely acknowledged that agroecosystems in which farmers maintain a high level of plant diversity are more resilient to environmental and socio-economic perturbations(Jackson et al. 2010, Lin 2011, Isbell et al. 2017). ...
Les mosaïques paysagères des régions tropicales humides subissent depuis le milieu du 20ème siècle d’importants changements socio-écologiques qui menacent la résilience des agricultures familiales. Face à ces changements, les paysan.ne.s de certaines régions ont diversifié leurs systèmes agricoles en développant notamment des agroforêts (associations d’arbres avec d’autres espèces non pérennes et/ou des animaux, dans l’espace et dans le temps). Iels mobilisent pour cela la diversité végétale, cultivée ou non, et développent différents modes de gestion de cette agrobiodiversité. Ce travail de recherche vise à analyser ces dynamiques agroforestières au travers d’un cas d’étude situé au sein des paysages de la côte nord-est de Madagascar qui témoignent d’une évolution récente depuis une agriculture de subsistance reposant sur l’abattis-brûlis vers une agroforesterie complexe et multi-étagée. Articulée autour de trois parties, ma thèse discute des enjeux de résilience des agricultures familiales en analysant les modes locaux de gestion de l’agrobiodiversité et leurs évolutions en réponse aux changements.La première partie repose sur des travaux de cartographie des modes d’usage des terres qui ont permis de caractériser dans l’espace et dans le temps les dynamiques agroforestières, et d’en analyser les facteurs socio-économiques et physiques. Ces travaux montrent notamment que l’émergence de cette pratique est liée aux évolutions des stratégies paysannes en réponse à divers changements (baisse de la fertilité, variation des prix, croissance démographique entre autres). L’agroforesterie occupe aujourd’hui une surface importante dans les paysages, sa répartition spatiale est notamment liée à la topographie et elle contribue, avec la diversité des autres usages des terres, à l’hétérogénéité paysagère.En prenant l’exemple d’un village, la seconde partie étudie la gestion locale de l’agrobiodiversité en analysant la composition en espèces des agroforêts à girofliers et leur organisation spatiale, ainsi que les connaissances paysannes sur les interactions agrobiodiversité-milieu qui sous-tendent ces pratiques. Elle montre que les paysan.ne.s gèrent une riche agrobiodiversité qui est associée à de multiples fonctions, et qui est organisée spatialement selon la topographie, le sol et les interactions espèces-milieu. Les connaissances paysannes permettent de valoriser les conditions hétérogènes du milieu, de favoriser les synergies entre espèces, et de réaliser des compromis entre les différentes contributions que leur apporte l’agrobiodiversité.Enfin, la troisième partie analyse les modes d’accès des paysan.ne.s aux propagules de plantes cultivées et aux connaissances qui s’y rattachent. Cette partie discute notamment du rôle des plantes et des connaissances exogènes (extérieures au village d’étude) dans les dynamiques agroforestières, et leurs implications pour la résilience des agricultures familiales. Elle met en évidence que pour maintenir et faire évoluer l’agrobiodiversité, les paysan.ne.s utilisent notamment leurs réseaux relationnels au sein du village et au-delà. Ces derniers leur permettent par exemple d’observer les pratiques d’autres paysan.ne.s et de faire évoluer leurs pratiques par mimétisme.Les dynamiques agroforestières décrites dans cette thèse soulignent les capacités d’adaptation des agricultures familiales, condition sine qua non de leur résilience. Les modes de gestion locaux de l’agrobiodiversité spécifiques aux différentes échelles présentent un grand potentiel pour la gestion durable des agroforêts et pour la restauration des paysages dégradés de ces régions tropicales. Construite autour d’un dialogue permanent entre les disciplines et entre les connaissances scientifiques et paysannes, cette thèse s’inscrit dans une perspective de co-construction de paysages agroforestiers souhaitables et résilients, et appelle à la reconnaissance des pratiques et des connaissances locales.
... Derivadas das características funcionais e interações com a biodiversidade, o plantio das sementes crioulas pode gerar benefícios para os agricultores e consumidores, conforme se descreve: autonomia dos agricultores no sistema de sementes, segurança alimentar, soberania alimentar (ALTIERI, 2010; CAPORAL; AZEVEDO, 2011); possibilidade de ser fonte de germoplasma para novas cultivares (CARVALHO et al., 2013); alimentos com valores culturais (BIASI et al., 2015); bons rendimentos na produção (VIGOUROUX et al., 2011); baixa necessidade de fertilizantes e agrotóxicos (JACKSON; PASCUAL; HODGKIN, 2007;HELICKE, 2015); qualidades nutricionais e propriedades nutracêuticas (ADALID; ROSELLÓ; NUEZ, 2010). ...
... VIGOUROUX et al., 2011). Tais características resultam de processos evolucionários e influências de práticas agrícolas(MERCATI et al., 2015), tais como: seleção artificial dos agricultoresVIGOUROUX et al., 2011); troca de sementes entre os agricultores (JACKSON; PASCUAL;HODGKIN, 2007;VIGOUROUX et al.,2011); a mistura de variedades no cultivo e no relacionamento ouTeoria e Prática da Educação, v. 25, n.2, p. 198-213, Maio/Agosto 2022 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4025/tpe.v25i2.62839 ...
Este artigo relata a experiência com atividades investigativas no ensino de Biologia do Ensino Médio. Tem como objeto de pesquisa as sementes crioulas, provenientes das variedades tradicionais, consideradas patrimônio genético no Brasil. Estabeleceu como objetivo refletir sobre essa prática pedagógica utilizando-se de uma situação problema, da pesquisa científica e do sistema de cadastro de experiência com sementes crioulas, da Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Rural da Bahia. A reflexão sobre a prática pedagógica revela alguns desafios, como a falta de aproximação entre a cultura escolar com a cultura científica e vice versa. Entretanto, indica um bom exercício para efetivar diversas etapas da investigação científica, sendo um tema de forte relação com conhecimentos biológicos.
... Agrobiodiversity results from interactions between the genetic resources of plant, animal, fungi, and microorganism species (both domesticated and their wild relatives), the environment, and the management systems and practices used by culturally diverse peoples at the intersection of biological and cultural diversity. It includes diversity at the ecosystem, species, and gene levels (FAO, 2004;Jackson et al., 2007 andCasas andVallejo, 2019) and comprises various foods, fibers, and medicines of natural origin as well as the ways in which they are produced. The collection and cultivation of various species for food and other purposes requires the use of land and water resources. ...
Small-scale agroecological practices in the urban areas of Querétaro, México, as in other mid-sized cities, could maintain agrobiodiversity pools and sufficient productivity for a food sovereignty baseline. The application of agroecological principles fosters agrobiodiversity and socio-ecological resilience in urban food production. Emerging urban gardens result from an immediate necessity for food that does not appear in local statistics, nor is there any account of them in any cadastral source or land register of Querétaro City. Based on studies of 28 urban gardens, we survey and analyze farming practices using socio-ecological resilience methodologies and the Diagnostic Survey of Agroecological Practices. We find that the agroecological management of urban gardens results in significantly more species richness than in conventionally managed plots, likely due to the multifunctional purposes associated with biocultural memory. The number of social actors participating in agroecological management is increasing. It represents an urban strategy of resilience that contributes to enhancing the microclimate and nutrient cycling, as well as to improving water management and biodiversity. Results also indicate that gardens of approximately 200 m 2 harbor the highest levels of agrobiodiversity. This area size for home vegetable production appears optimal for user-friendly management practices in urban settings and could represent the minimum benchmark for a family and a goal for urban planning and policy recommendations. Urban gardens contribute to the adaptive capacities of city dwellers to enhance their food security and sovereignty. Therefore, given that 70% of the national population face some level of food insecurity, we argue that, along with the protection of land-use rights, the promotion of a diverse urban landscape could improve long-term socio-ecological and food supply resilience. Additionally, urban gardens promote neighborhood social inclusion and affordable access to food. The empirical results and insights from this study in Querétaro can inform land-use policies for urban agriculture more broadly, especially in Latin American metropolitan areas.
... En países en desarrollo, la agricultura es una fuente de ingresos y autoconsumo, y los agricultores tienden a diversificar sus cultivos como medida de aversión al riesgo, para resguardar sus ingresos y asegurar el autoconsumo (Baumgärtner & Quaas 2010;Birol et al. 2006). Para lograrlo, suelen establecer esquemas productivos basados en la agrobiodiversidad, que se refiere a la variedad de organismos vivos relacionados con los cultivos y la ganadería en un sistema agrícola, así como a los organismos que habitan en un paisaje agrícola y a los conocimientos asociados a ellos (Jackson et al. 2007;Qualset et al. 2016). ...
El objetivo de esta investigación es evaluar la eficiencia técnica y económica en la producción de quinua en el Departamento de Puno, Perú, mediante el uso del modelo de la función de producción estocástica. Para ello, se aplicaron encuestas presenciales a 461 productores, los cuales fueron segmentados según su práctica cultural (quechua y aymara) y su zona agroecológica (Circunlacustre, Suni y Puna). Los resultados indican que los aymaras son más eficientes que los quechuas. A nivel de zonas agroecológicas, la zona Suni presenta mayor eficiencia técnica del productor de quinua (0.74) en comparación con otras zonas. El promedio de todas ellas fue 0.68. Además, se encontró que en zonas donde predominan prácticas productivas tradicionales, la eficiencia técnica explica mejor la relación entre los insumos y los productores, ya que en su mayoría estos se sienten motivados a garantizar su seguridad alimentaria, en tanto, lograr eficiencia en costos no sería propósito de las economías familiares altoandinas, pues pocos productores se motivan a maximizar beneficios monetarios.
... The efficiency of agroecological methods in improving, and sustaining biodiversity in livestock production is influenced by various contextual factors, including the specific production system, the surrounding landscape and environment, and the goals and values of the stakeholders involved [140][141][142]. Therefore, it is essential to carefully consider the trade-offs and synergies between livestock production and biodiversity conservation in each context and to use a participatory and adaptive approach to decision making that takes into account the diverse perspectives of different stakeholders. ...
... The efficiency of agroecological methods in improving, and sustaining biodiversity in livestock production is influenced by various contextual factors, including the specific production system, the surrounding landscape and environment, and the goals and values of the stakeholders involved [140][141][142]. Therefore, it is essential to carefully consider the trade-offs and synergies between livestock production and biodiversity conservation in each context and to use a participatory and adaptive approach to decision making that takes into account the diverse perspectives of different stakeholders. ...
The role of small ruminant production in achieving sustainable and resilient food systems
in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is yet to be fully explored or incorporated into current
agroecological practices and policies. This review examines the principles and practices of agroecology,
focusing on circular food systems and the sociopolitical aspects of their implementation for small
ruminant production in LMICs. It discusses Gliessman’s five levels of agroecological transition and
eight principles for integrating small ruminant production into agroecology: input reduction, animal
health, soil health, biodiversity, recycling, synergy, economic diversification, and co-creation of knowledge.
The review highlights that, while there are differing interpretations in the scientific literature,
there is a growing consensus that agroecological practices applied to small ruminant production
have the potential to improve integration and self-sufficiency in farming systems, improve animal
health, reduce reliance on external inputs, and promote circularity and biodiversity. This reinforces
the view that agroecological approaches to small ruminant production can foster a sustainable and interconnected
system that strengthens the relationships between animals, plants, and the environment
and enhances circularity. To achieve successful implementation and widespread adoption of these
approaches, it is crucial to facilitate greater collaboration and cocreation of knowledge among small
ruminant farmers and stakeholders in the small ruminant livestock industry.
... Many practical knowledge systems employed by local communities regulate species diversity, create habitat heterogeneity at the landscape scale, and adjust the intensity of use, thus increasing the diversity of available biological resources (Berkes et al., 2000;Assis et al., 2013;Reis et al., 2018;Araujo et al., 2021). The resource management practices of communities reflect a knowledge system based on cultural practices aligned with their objectives and the need for future conservation (Jackson et al., 2007), forming authentic "communities of practice" (Dabezies and Taks, 2021) that safeguard biocultural landscapes (Rivas et al., 2023). ...
Introduction
Agrobiodiversity and local knowledge are fundamental components in the domestication and structuring of rural landscapes. In a context of threats to agroecosystems resulting from changes in production systems and rural–urban migration processes, the conservation and valorization of agrobiodiversity is a pressing challenge. “Quebrada de los Cuervos and Sierras del Yerbal” is a protected landscape in Uruguay where a rural community of approximately 30 families with a long-standing tradition resides.
Methods
The research aimed at identifying current and abandoned (taperas) domestic contexts, and the plant genetic resources found in the area, categorizing their uses and management practices through interviews and participant observation.
Results and discussion
Ethnographic research revealed 185 species (121 exotic, 64 native) with diverse growth habits, 10 categories of uses, and 11 categories for management practices. The differences found between houses and taperas revealed that the abandonment of activities in rural areas is a relevant factor in the loss of agrobiodiversity. Among the 185 species, a notable group of plant genetic resources of high cultural significance is recognized due to their consensus of use, frequency of management practices, and number of uses. These include introduced fruit trees (peach, citrus, and fig) and native fruit trees (guayabo del país, pitanga, and arazá), vegetable landraces, native trees with multiple uses, yerba mate, and medicinal species such as Aristolochia fimbriata . For domestic contexts, a model of spatial distribution of agrobiodiversity is proposed, cultivated spaces where the plant genetic resources are located in home gardens and small plots, managed spaces where the resources are found in the surroundings of houses, and promoted and intervened wild spaces where the species are used from natural grasslands and wild environments. The obtained information reaffirms the need to conserve this biocultural landscape, placing agrobiodiversity and local knowledge as a focal point in the protected area. The management plan must be formulated with active participation from the rural community, aiming for valorization through integration into agroecological production chains, among other possibilities.
... The transition to sustainable farming practices that improve soil health is a critical step in mitigating these threats. Practices like organic farming, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and crop rotation can enhance soil fertility, increase biodiversity, and improve the overall resilience of agricultural systems [84,96,97]. Regenerative agriculture, a farming method that aims to regenerate topsoil and restore biodiversity, offers a promising avenue for sustainable food production [98,99]. ...
Soils are crucial life supporters and nutrient providers, their functionality impacted by their nutritional balance, pH, and organic matter content. These substrates help regulate water, support diverse organisms, and play a critical role in carbon sequestration, especially in the context of climate change. However, soils are under threat from anthropogenic and climatic pressures, warranting active resource management strategies. The European Union (EU) has acknowledged soil sustainability’s importance, encouraging eco-friendly agricultural practices and enhanced soil carbon storage. However, the criticality of soils is often overlooked when establishing global sustainable development goals. Counteracting soil degradation is key in battling desertification and influenced by factors like unsustainable agriculture, deforestation, and poor irrigation. Innovative solutions like circular economy approaches and sustainable biomass utilization are necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also, improving dietary habits and reducing food waste can help mitigate the environmental impact of food consumption, with a shift towards plant-based proteins being more sustainable. Addressing these challenges will contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future.
... ix. Conserve natural biodiversity by planting more flower resources within agricultural ecosystem to ensure proper foraging and feeding sites for pollinators (Jackson et al. 2007). x. ...
... For fava beans in Morocco, studies have shown that farmers sometimes emphasize traits that distinguish populations within varieties rather than traits that distinguish different varieties. Landrace populations continue to evolve and adapt over time to local conditions [27,102,[125][126][127] and can prove very competitive in lowinput systems [7,9,10,[128][129][130]. Moreover, farmers make management choices regarding diversity as a strategy to self-adapt their production systems. ...
Local agrobiodiversity in remote areas such as the Moroccan High Atlas is poorly studied, despite being of great importance for the sustainability and resilience of mountainous populations. This includes important species such as wheat (Triticum spp.), barley (Hordeum vulgare), fava beans (Vicia faba), peas (Pisum sativum), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa). This study aimed to better understand varietal naming by farmers and the traits they use for assessing the current diversity of the five species, in 22 locations, distributed across three hubs of the High Atlas. The data were provided by 282 Amazigh informants during focus-group discussions, household surveys, and market surveys, with the support of the Diversity Assessment Tool for Agrobiodiversity and Resilience (DATAR). The use of local terminology for variety names and systematically collected morphological, ecological, and use descriptors appears to be a valuable way to assess local intraspecific diversity, and further comparisons with genomic results are recommended. Furthermore, the results also indicate low diversity at the household level, which contrasts with the greater diversity at the community level. Larger areas are still planted with landraces compared to areas planted with modern varieties, although the levels of richness (number) of both landraces and modern varieties are equivalent overall. Many factors influence this diversity: the biophysical characteristics of the sites, the socioeconomic and management practices of farmers, and the availability of varietal diversity and of modern varieties or landraces. Although selection processes have reduced the local diversity available for economically important crops, we found that farmers still rely greatly on landraces, which present traits and variability that allow them to adapt to local conditions.
... Increasing global interest to the organic agriculture in recent years is mainly due to it's emphasis on stability and decreasing the environmental impacts (Wood et al., 2006). Restoring on-farm biodiversity through diversified farming systems that mimic nature is considered to be a key strategy for sustainable agriculture (Jackson et al., 2007). Many researchers believe that applying intercropping patterns in the farming ecosystems is the main reason for increasing the diversity in these systems (Olasant, 1999). ...
In order to evaluate the effects of different intercropping arrangements on yield and yield components of maize and faba bean, an experiment was conducted in Research Station of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran, 2013. Experimental design was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications and seven treatments. Treatments were: sole crop of maize, sole crop of faba bean, row intercropping (1:1) and 5 patterns of strip intercropping of maize : faba bean (1:2, 1:3, 2:1 and 2:2). According to the results, highest plant hight, seed and biological yield were observed in pure crop of maize but, the effects of various plant patterns on grain weight was not significant. Sole cropping patterns had high ratios of pod /plant, seed number in plant, seed yield and biological yield. The results of this experiment indicate that sole cropping of maize and faba bean because of producing high grain yield, is superior to other treatments and can be used in similar climatic conditions.
... In other contexts where agridevelopment has already displaced the local varieties, some rural communities deliberately pursue low-input farming with neglected and underutilized species (NUS) and landrace varieties of crops. However, the overall tendency to lean towards the homogenization of the food systems, as well as at the local and indigenous levels, is progressive, leading to varietal and genetic loss [18]. ...
Global levels of biodiversity and dietary diversity are decreasing, leading to food and nutrition insecurity. This is partially due to the homogenization of the global food supply with commodity crops. The reintroduction or introduction of neglected and underutilized species, minor, forgotten, and indigenous crops and landrace varieties to the wider food systems and further diversification have been outlined as the future strategies for tackling the above by the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization in their policy frameworks. Most of the above species/crops are marginalized and only used across local food systems and in research. With over 15,000 different seed banks and repositories worldwide, information transparency and communication are crucial for database searching and their effective utilization. Much confusion persists around the true nature of those plants, and this prohibits the efficient utilization of their economic potential. A linguistic corpus search and a systematic literature review were conducted using the six most popular collocates to the above terms, which were as follows: ancient, heirloom, heritage, traditional, orphan, and the more distinct term ‘landrace’. The results were interpreted using the Critical Discourse Analysis method. The definitions’ findings show that heirloom, heritage, and ancient are mainly used in the United Kingdom and USA, where they are used to describe ‘naturalized’ and ‘indigenized’ or ‘indigenous’ food crops with a strong affiliation to ‘family’ and the ‘act of passing seeds down from generation to generation’. Orphan crops, on the other hand, are often described as being ‘overlooked’ by growers and ‘underfunded’ by researchers. Landrace is most strongly affiliated with ‘locality’, ‘biocultural diversity’, and ‘indigenous’, and with genomics literature, where the characteristics are often discussed in the context of genetics and population biology. Contextualizing, most of the terms were found to be ‘arbitrary’ and ‘undefinable’ due to their continuing evolution in the socially accepted form of language, perhaps apart from landrace. The review has retrieved 58 definitions for the mentioned 6 terms, together with the primary key terms creating a tool to facilitate a better inter-sector communication and aid in policy.
... Biodiversity is also necessary for maintaining genetic diversity, successful harvesting and animal breeding, nutrient cycles, erosion control by sediment retention, and water regulation, and is valuable for aesthetics and recreation (Newbold et al., 2015;IPBES, 2019). In recent decades, global biodiversity loss has increased significantly, affecting all ecosystems and reaching a level of degradation and change that has not been reported previously (Jackson et al., 2007;Butchart et al., 2010;Knapp et al., 2016). ...
Land use has fundamentally altered landscape structure and ecosystem service provision over the last century in central Europe and worldwide. In this study, we analyzed long-term changes in landscape structures and ecosystem services in two case study areas in Germany in 1850 and 2018. First, we reconstructed land use changes using historical and current serial cadastral maps, historical documents, and digital aerial photographs. Second, we analyzed landscape structure by calculating select landscape metrics for several land-use types in both case study areas and time steps. Land use analysis for the first case study in the intensively used agricultural area of Jesewitz (Saxony) showed a significantly decreased percentage of grassland from 9.2% (in 1850) to 3.9% (in 2018) and an increase in built-up areas from 1.2% to 3.8%. For the second study area, located in the mountainous region of Ilsenburg, Harz (Saxony-Anhalt), the analysis revealed a stable forest area of 78% at both time steps. Grasslands dominated the non-forest areas and showed a significant decrease in area from 53.2% (in 1850) to 19.6% (in 2018). The settlement area increased markedly from 1.8% to 16.4%. Business and industrial areas also increased significantly from 0.9% to 10.0%. The present study shows that the risk of soil degradation caused by erosion has increased significantly since 1850. Furthermore, the risk of biodiversity loss has increased significantly owing to habitat degradation and devastation of vegetation structures. Moreover, the results showed that changes in landscape structure adversely affected the availability and quality of ecosystem services.
... As a result, commercial cultivars are less competitive in the market. Genes that promote biotic/abiotic stress resistance, yield, quality, etc. are increasingly recognized and exploited in landraces and wild crops/species (Frison et al. 2011;Jackson et al. 2007;McCouch et al. 2013). However, if we develop more robust production systems, agricultural and biological variability should not be confined to the use of valuable genes for breeding programs. ...
Underutilized vegetables are underrated in context of their potential to provide economics and food security. Due to high content of minerals, proteins, and vitamins, the underutilized vegetable crops are recognized as a vital component in achieving nutritional security. The majority of underutilized vegetable crops are tolerant to adverse agroclimatic conditions. Lack of information on the nutritional and medicinal value of vegetables, unavailability of planting material, and a lack of information on production practices are all likely reasons for the delayed development and poor status of underutilized vegetable crops. In general, these underutilized vegetable crops hold great promise in terms of food security, environmental benefits, and income generation, all of which contribute to economic growth.As anticipated more than half of population of world would start migrating to urban areas in coming decade. Research fraternity has started devising a technique to mitigate this elevated food requirements. Food as a vital item for survival is in jeopardy, and the disaster will be overwhelming unless survival measures are devised. In this chapter, the importance of underutilized vegetables, futuristic challenges and their probable solution, and developmental strategies for the improvement in underutilized vegetable crops that can be very beneficial to combat the above said challenges are discussed.KeywordsFood securityHealthNutritionProductionScopeUnawareness, etc.
... and biodiversity conservation service or habitat service and cultural i.e., hunting, and recreational activities [8,9]. However, the provisioning components of ES are largely being threatened by a range of factors like forest conversion and agricultural intensification; population growth, and climate change [10,11]. Human activities may alter the landscape pattern, impair ecosystem services (Figure 1), and thus affect the wellbeing of locals [12]. ...
Recent changes in the shifting cultivation landscape (SCL) of the Indian Himalayan region-a global biodiversity hotspot-is of great concern due to their implication to conservation and economic development of the region and their impact on ecosystem services as well as the wellbeing of the region's inhabitants. The present study investigated the changes in land use in the SCL and their impact on the psychological wellbeing of the indigenous people of the region. Longitudinal data for over 15 years on land-use patterns and cross-sectional data from 481 respondents across 52 villages representing six states in India's North East that are part of the Indian Himalayas were utilized for the study. To analyze subjective wellbeing, Cantril's self-anchoring scale was used, followed by focused group discussions to triangulate the self-reported responses. Results reveal that the respondents were aware of the effects of landscape changes on their psychological wellbeing. These changes mostly represented a decline in shifting cultivation (SC), land ownership, food systems, social cohesion, cultural fulfillment, the diversity of cultivated native plants, and the availability of wild edible plants. Although the decline in SCL led to a gain in the area under green cover, it led to a marked decline in the diversity of cultivated and wild edible plants. This, the respondents perceived as adversely impacting their wellbeing. Empirical analysis established positive effect of SC on the psychological wellbeing of the respondents. However, a decline in SC seemed to have had an adverse impact on the perception of their wellbeing and thus increasing the migration. Therefore, optimized and ecosystem-based approaches and frameworks of socio-ecological systems are essential to harmonize the ecosystem services with wellbeing of the people.
... The social and economic consequences and risks of decreasing plant genetic resources have become relevant issues in addressing current food security challenges. Agrobiodiversity is essential to eradicate hunger and ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (Hammer et al. 2003;Thrupp 2000;Jackson et al. 2007;Bocci 1970;Wood and Lenné 1997;Biasi et al. 2015). So, it is not only important to acknowledge the state of ecosystem services related to 'wild biodiversity', i.e., undomesticated and uncultivated, but also to recognise biodiversity related to agriculture, specifically, the diversity of cultivated plants. ...
Recognition of the importance of protecting agrobiodiversity is not a new phenomenon. Crossing different sciences is often pinpointed as a relevant contributor to its successful protection. This paper proposes an integrated research approach in history and conservation science by opening new paths for using written historical sources in biodiversity inventories. It discusses some conceptual and methodological challenges raised by historical research regarding the diversity and distribution of wild and cultivated edible plants. The possibilities of using historical sources for compiling plant lists that can be integrated into biodiversity databases are also explored. Arguing that interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity are crucial, enabling a wide range of vernacular sources from several centuries to be cross-referenced, the paper aims to draw attention to written historical sources and their importance in deepening knowledge about past biodiversity patterns.
... To expect such diversity is not necessarily to endorse all the visions that may co-exist. Just as ecological diversity can contribute to the resilience of agroecosystems (Jackson et al., 2007), a certain amount of worldview (values) diversity in approaches to enlightened agriculture may lead to greater resilience in global food systems, and greater global progress towards the flourishing of human and non-human life. However, the very diversity of aspects of normativity is posited here as an underlying, non-negotiable component of goodness. ...
The sustainable development of farming is an agenda with strong normative undertones, yet beyond the call to combine enhanced agricultural output with better environmental outcomes, this normativity is rarely unpacked or analysed with respect to different worldviews and value systems. The normative practices approach is a values-explicit framework for analysing the normativity of social practices; here it is applied to agriculture to provide a critique of sustainability. This helps to clarify the nature of farming and the breadth of sometimes incommensurable visions for its sustainable intensification. It also leads to a values-explicit concept of “enlightened agriculture”, defined as models for agricultural systems that explicitly realise aesthetic, jural and moral benefits, possibly at some cost to economic productivity. While any implementation of this qualitative definition will be worldview-dependent, it appears that land-sparing approaches and the promotion of biodiversity per se are unlikely to qualify as enlightened farming, but farming with concern for the wellbeing of humans and non-humans probably does. The recognition that normative worldviews direct social practices implies that there will be profound diversity among visions of good farming, which technical and political proposals ought to account for. In the face of accelerating global change, this diversity may provide both resilience and fertile grounds for new context-sensitive and community-led initiatives.
... Forest fragments also provide products for local use, protect watersheds, store carbon, and meet other economic and cultural needs (Khumbongmayum et al., 2005, Bongers et al., 2006. Empirical and theoretical studies show that conservation of crop diversity can enhance agricultural productivity and ecosystem services , Perrings et al., 2006, Jackson et al., 2007, Omer et al., 2007. ...
Abstract
Enset Belt of Ethiopia (Enset Based Agroecosystems of Ethiopia) is a perennial cropping system but the
management of biodiversity at a landscape level is different this belt due to human factors that result in the
formation of different land use and land cover types. In such altered landscapes, plant species diversity is unequally
partitioned among different landscape elements. In this study, we want to understand the relationships of plant
species diversity in human dominated landscapes, land management practices, land use types, agricultural/cropland
and forest land cover changes and some environmental factors like altitude, slope and number of land use types per
transect. To conduct this study, 10 landscapes across enset belt of Ethiopia were selected from Google Earth Map.
These landscapes are Chencha, Kofele, Bule, Durame, Hosaena, Boditi, Toccia, Masha, Agena and Leku and fall
between 1600 and 3100 m asl in altitude. Data were collected from October 2011 – May 2012. The ten study
landscapes were located between 40 27’-80 30’ Latitude North and 340 21’ -390 11’ Longitude East.
At each landscape, 5 line transects of 1000 m x 20 m size were laid in a randomly generated directions by using
compass from a pre-defined center. Vascular plant species were recorded within these sampling plots by following
standard herbarium techniques. Environmental variables such as altitude and slope were recorded.
To understand trends in land use/land cover change and its relation to the observed plant species richness at a
landscape level over the last 28 years, Landsat statllite images were acquired from the United States Geological
Survey (USGS) through Glovis.usgs.gov, the USGS Global Visualization Viewer. Forest and agricultural land
use/land cover (LU/LC) changes were determined in ten landscapes from 1986 to 2014 by using Geographical
Information Systems (GISs) and remote sensing (RS) technology on the satellite imagery.
The major purpose of this study is to investigate vascular plant species diversity, and to see how this is affected by
land use type and land use\land cover change in three time periods (1986, 2000 and 2014) The study also aims at
finding out the partitions of diversity into alpha, beta, and gamma diversities across the study area and will try to
find out if there is a significant spatial variation among these diversity components.
A total of 634 observed and 1080.43+54.03 Chao 2 upper bound estimated plant taxa were recorded from the 10
landscapes distributed among 398 genera and 118 families. Among the recorded species, 21 plant taxa are endemic
to Ethiopia. The mean vascular plant species richness per landscape was 302.3. There was significant difference in
vascular plant species richness among the ten landscapes (t=18.94, p <0.001). The mean Shannon diversity index
for all transects was 3.996+0.224(mean +standard error).
The spatial partitioning of species diversity consistently showed that the beta components (β 1 and β 2) were always
greater and the alpha components (α1)were lower than expected by chance, (p<0.001). Richness between
sites/landscapes (β2) accounted for a substantial proportion (75.79%) of the total richness.
Vascular plant species richness in the various encountered land use types varied between 20 and 350 plant species
for fallow and natural forest, respectively. The total acreage of forest land deforested in the three time periods was
44.66% and agricultural/cropland expanded by 44.82%. Therefore, we conclude that the EBASE has high vascular
plant species richness and diversity despite the expansion of agriculture, and deforestation (LU/LC changes.
Key words: Plant Species diversity, enset belt of Ethiopia, landscape level factors, species richness, partitioning of
species diversity, , land use type, land use\land cover change, Landsat imagery, remote sensing, GIS, supervised
classification, maximum likelihood classification.
... Forest fragments also provide products for local use, protect watersheds, store carbon, and meet other economic and cultural needs (Khumbongmayum et al., 2005, Bongers et al., 2006. Empirical and theoretical studies show that conservation of crop diversity can enhance agricultural productivity and ecosystem services , Perrings et al., 2006, Jackson et al., 2007, Omer et al., 2007. ...
Abstract
Enset Belt of Ethiopia (Enset Based Agroecosystems of Ethiopia) is a perennial cropping system but the
management of biodiversity at a landscape level is different this belt due to human factors that result in the
formation of different land use and land cover types. In such altered landscapes, plant species diversity is unequally
partitioned among different landscape elements. In this study, we want to understand the relationships of plant
species diversity in human dominated landscapes, land management practices, land use types, agricultural/cropland
and forest land cover changes and some environmental factors like altitude, slope and number of land use types per
transect. To conduct this study, 10 landscapes across enset belt of Ethiopia were selected from Google Earth Map.
These landscapes are Chencha, Kofele, Bule, Durame, Hosaena, Boditi, Toccia, Masha, Agena and Leku and fall
between 1600 and 3100 m asl in altitude. Data were collected from October 2011 – May 2012. The ten study
landscapes were located between 40 27’-80 30’ Latitude North and 340 21’ -390 11’ Longitude East.
At each landscape, 5 line transects of 1000 m x 20 m size were laid in a randomly generated directions by using
compass from a pre-defined center. Vascular plant species were recorded within these sampling plots by following
standard herbarium techniques. Environmental variables such as altitude and slope were recorded.
To understand trends in land use/land cover change and its relation to the observed plant species richness at a
landscape level over the last 28 years, Landsat statllite images were acquired from the United States Geological
Survey (USGS) through Glovis.usgs.gov, the USGS Global Visualization Viewer. Forest and agricultural land
use/land cover (LU/LC) changes were determined in ten landscapes from 1986 to 2014 by using Geographical
Information Systems (GISs) and remote sensing (RS) technology on the satellite imagery.
The major purpose of this study is to investigate vascular plant species diversity, and to see how this is affected by
land use type and land use\land cover change in three time periods (1986, 2000 and 2014) The study also aims at
finding out the partitions of diversity into alpha, beta, and gamma diversities across the study area and will try to
find out if there is a significant spatial variation among these diversity components.
A total of 634 observed and 1080.43+54.03 Chao 2 upper bound estimated plant taxa were recorded from the 10
landscapes distributed among 398 genera and 118 families. Among the recorded species, 21 plant taxa are endemic
to Ethiopia. The mean vascular plant species richness per landscape was 302.3. There was significant difference in
vascular plant species richness among the ten landscapes (t=18.94, p <0.001). The mean Shannon diversity index
for all transects was 3.996+0.224(mean +standard error).
The spatial partitioning of species diversity consistently showed that the beta components (β 1 and β 2) were always
greater and the alpha components (α1)were lower than expected by chance, (p<0.001). Richness between
sites/landscapes (β2) accounted for a substantial proportion (75.79%) of the total richness.
Vascular plant species richness in the various encountered land use types varied between 20 and 350 plant species
for fallow and natural forest, respectively. The total acreage of forest land deforested in the three time periods was
44.66% and agricultural/cropland expanded by 44.82%. Therefore, we conclude that the EBASE has high vascular
plant species richness and diversity despite the expansion of agriculture, and deforestation (LU/LC changes.
Key words: Plant Species diversity, enset belt of Ethiopia, landscape level factors, species richness, partitioning of
species diversity, , land use type, land use\land cover change, Landsat imagery, remote sensing, GIS, supervised
classification, maximum likelihood classification.
... regional, customary, or landrace varieties of both minor and major crops (Jackson et al., 2007). Furthermore, traditional agricultural practices are still widely employed and these systems provide sustenance to 1.9 to 2.2 billion people globally (Singh and Singh, 2017). ...
Agricultural production in India is highly vulnerable to climate change. Transformational change to farming systems is required to cope with this changing climate to maintain food security, and ensure farming to remain economically viable. The south Asian rice-fallow systems occupying 22.3 million ha with about 88% in India, mostly (82%) concentrated in the eastern states, are under threat. These systems currently provide economic and food security for about 11 million people, but only achieve 50% of their yield potential. Improvement in productivity is possible through efficient utilization of these fallow lands. The relatively low production occurs because of sub-optimal water and nutrient management strategies. HHaJathrough Historically, the Agro-met advisory service has assisted farmers and disseminated information at a district-level for all the states. In some instances, Agro-met delivers advice at the block level also, but in general, farmers use to follow the district level advice and develop an appropriate management plan like land preparation, sowing, irrigation timing, harvesting etc. The advisories are generated through the District Agrometeorology Unit (DAMU) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) network, that consider medium-range weather forecast. Unfortunately, these forecasts advisories are general and broad in nature for a given district and do not scale down to the individual field or farm. Farmers must make complex crop management decisions with limited or generalised information. The lack of fine scale information creates uncertainty for farmers, who then develop risk-averse management strategies that reduce productivity. It is unrealistic to expect the Agro-met advisory service to deliver bespoke information to every farmer and to every field simply with the help of Kilometre-scale weather forecast. New technologies must be embraced to address the emerging crises in food security and economic prosperity. Despite these problems, Agro-met has been successful. New digital technologies have emerged though, and these digital technologies should become part of the Agro-met arsenal to deliver valuable information directly to the farmers at the field scale. The Agro-met service is poised to embrace and deliver new interventions through technology cross-sections such as satellite remote sensing, drone-based survey, mobile based data collection systems, IoT based sensors, using insights derived from a hybridisation of crop and AIML (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning) models. These technological advancements will generate fine-scale static and dynamic Agro-met information on cultivated lands, that can be delivered through Application Programming Interface (APIs) and farmers facing applications. We believe investment in this technology, that delivers information directly to the farmers, can reverse the yield gap, and address the negative impacts of a changing climate.
... Increases in food production have been accompanied by declines in agrobiodiversity, soil fertility, and water availability [3][4][5]. Natural habitats and wild biodiversity that provide many ecosystem services to agroecosystems in the form of nutrients, water, pollinators, and predators of insect pests have also degraded [6,7]. Climate change, which has already started to impact agricultural systems, poses a new danger to agricultural productivity and human well-being [8,9]. ...
During the last several decades, international and national agricultural research infrastructures have rapidly expanded, bringing the outputs of agricultural research to the world’s farmers. However, despite huge investments in agricultural research, there have been few systematic efforts to create digital platforms to meet the information requirements of farmers in a changing world. We describe an interactive information system in real time to provide agricultural information to farmers. The goals were to increase yields, reduce or optimize farm inputs, inform farmers about markets and government policies, and enable digital literacy among farmers, which (in the long run) would enhance rural incomes. Farmer clubs were created at the village level to increase engagement in the program and to access information. A call-in help center enabled farmers to get information in real time. In addition, a digital platform named eKisaan delivered relevant and contextual information in the local language, mostly in the video format via mobile and cloud technologies. The platform provided information about crop management and a variety of other parameters. The combined incremental savings and incremental earnings resulted in an estimated increase of 15% in income after 18 months, totaling INR₹26,250,000 (US$365,000), followed by an additional increase of 7% in the third year. The approximate cost of the information technology program and help center was INR₹15,000,000 (US$208,000). Over time, costs can decrease by spreading fixed costs over several years, with benefits reaching more farmers. Thus, the digital systems focused on information alone can be cost-effective, reduce inputs, increase productivity and income, and foster sustainability.
... Given what has been mentioned above, the importance of defending and recovering the still existing LRs is pronounced, as these genetic resources are severely threatened [14]. Similarly, the agro-ecosystem functions served by genetic resources, namely, food, regulation and cultural services [15,16], are endangered. ...
The agro-biodiversity of vegetables is threatened, posing major concerns for the future of landraces, which are of fundamental importance both for food safety and for assuring an income to small-scale farmers. To counteract such a trend, the Puglia region (southern Italy) set up a plan to recover, characterize and preserve the resources at risk of genetic erosion. In our paper, we present a case study regarding an artichoke landrace, the ‘Carciofo di Lucera’ variety, that encompasses all activities foreseen in the Puglia region’s plan which is the result of the multi-actor project “BiodiverSO”. Such a project allowed us to recover and characterize crop genetic resources and to pave the way for further actions to preserve and valorize the agro-biodiversity of local vegetables that are still present in the Puglia region. Furthermore, we collected some evidence that allowed us to backdate the origin of artichoke cultivation in the Puglia region by about two centuries and, most important of all, to recover some populations of ‘Carciofo di Lucera’. These preliminary phases were followed by the characterization of this local variety, both from the morphological and the molecular point of view, so that we can discriminate this landrace from other artichoke varieties more accurately. Eventually, we collected all the information in electronic databases and data sheets, thus providing a tool for the public administration which will be useful in the in situ conservation phase.
... Now-a-days self-sustaining, diversified, low-input, and energy-efficient agricultural systems like intercropping have been considered as the efficient way to achieve the sustainability in agriculture by many farmers, researchers, and policy makers' worldwide [1][2][3]. A majority of the world's poor farmers, particularly those located in tropical regions including Ethiopia, still depend for their food and income on multispecies agricultural systems, i.e. the cultivation of a variety of crops on a single piece of land [3,4]. ...
In Ethiopia the facts of farmer's indigenous knowledge based cropping system has been rarely investigated through research. A field experiment was conducted during 2021/2022 main cropping season at Fogera plain with the objective of examining the effect of additive series relay intercropping of grass pea with lowland rice on the grain yield of the component crops and production efficiency of the cropping system. The experiment consisted of a factorial combination of four seed proportion of grass pea (SPGP) (25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the recommended seed rate of sole grass pea) relay intercropped with full seed rate of rice in four Rice: Grass pea spatial arrangements (SA) (1:1, 2:1, 3:1 and their mixed relay intercropping system). The treatments were arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Data on grain yield of the component crops were collected and analyzed using SAS-JMP-16 software. Results revealed that SPGP and SA had no significant effect on rice. The highest grain yield of grass pea was obtained when 25% SPGP was relay intercropped with rice in 1:3 SA (5.10 t ha-1). Maximum production efficiency in terms of total land output yield (9. 89 t ha-1) and land use efficiency (ATER =1.33), net benefit (33, 5176.79 Birr ha-1), marginal rate of return (21,428%) and positive monetary advantage index with lower competitive ratio was obtained when 50% SPGP was relay intercropped with rice in 1:3 SA. Thus, this mixture seems contributing in the development of sustainable crop production with a limited use of external inputs. Rice intercropping with other staple legume crops under residual soil moisture needs to be tested across locations and years to intensify the production efficiency and profitability of the cropping system.
... Nature-Based Farming Solutions (NBFS) (here intended as landscape feature creation and maintenance across the rural landscape, agroforestry practices, and crop diversification) are oriented towards the reintegration, within the agricultural systems, of their undermined ecosystem functions [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Thus, they are aimed at enhancing the environmental stability, resistance, and resilience capacity [9] of agroecosystems and their consequent climate change adaptation and mitigation suitability [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. ...
Nature-Based Farming Solutions (NBFS) are envisaged practices that still strongly demand further context-specific scientific validation for their viable deployment at the local scale. In this context, our study deals with the test of a multi-scale system of landscape ecology indicators, interpreted as surrogates for the accounting of the contributions of NBFS to agrobiodiversity values and to the consequent environmental stability and resilience capacities of agroecosystems, recognized as pivotal for facing the ongoing climate change challenges. We here present the preliminary results obtained in a first pilot case study (Po Plain context). Landscape ecology analyses were undertaken at extra-local, local, and farm scales (with different levels of analytical detail), comparing the pilot farm to the surrounding conventionally managed context. A set of structural and functional indicators were tested, allowing a preliminary screening of the most suitable ones (good sensitivity to treatment changes, informative potential). Results suggested a multi-faceted positive contribution given by NBFS implementation and were the basis for orienting further NBFS implementation strategies based on vulnerability and resilience properties analysis. Further investigations are envisaged on wider datasets coming from other pilot case studies belonging to similar pedo-climatic conditions, in order to improve the informative potential of the here presented methodology.
... Among all the practices, nutrient availability is considered the top factor responsible for increasing growth and development (Negi et al. 2021). Strawberry plant growth is very responsive to nitrogen fertilizer (Jackson et al. 2007). ...
This study was conducted to establish the appropriate nitrogen (N) fertilizer concentration for raising strawberry mother plants of four varieties (‘Altaking,’ ‘Kuemsil,’ ‘Maehyang,’ and ‘Vitaberry’). Seedlings were transplanted to a peat moss + perlite medium (7:3, v/v). Then, nutrient solutions containing five different N concentrations (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mM) were applied. All the treatments contained equal concentrations of essential nutrients except N. The growth of the mother plants and the occurrence of daughter plants were investigated 90 days after transplanting. Data on root media pH, EC, and concentrations of macro and micro elements, and the tissue nutrient contents of oven dried mother plants were collected and analyzed. The differences observed in the root medium pH among the treatments (5.65–6.10) were not statistically significant. The greatest growth of mother plants in terms of dry weight data and the occurrence of daughter plants in ‘Altaking,’ ‘Kuemsil,’ and ‘Maehyang’ strawberries were observed with 10 mM N, whereas for ‘Vitaberry,’ the best results were observed with 20 mM N treatments. The tissue N content of ‘Altaking,’ ‘Kuemsil,’ ‘Maehyang’ and ‘Vitaberry’ when their growth was highest was 2.72, 2.71, 2.69, and 2.74%, respectively, based on the dry weight of the aboveground tissue. Furthermore, the root media nutrient concentrations were 20.1, 20.8, 20.1, and 20.24 mg kg−1 NO3; 32.8, 34.5, 32.7, and 33.1 mg kg−1 PO4; 18.67, 18.68, 18.7, and 18.75 mg kg−1 SO4; and 0.3, 0.4, 0.4, and 0.5 mg kg−1 K, respectively. However, the differences observed in the dry weights of the mother plants among treatments (5, 10, 15, and 20 mM N) of the strawberry cultivars were not statistically significant. The above results indicate that ‘Vitaberry’ strawberries required a higher N concentration in the fertilizer solution than ‘Altaking,’ ‘Kuemsil,’ and ‘Maehyang’ for raising mother plants and inducing daughter plants via vegetative propagation.
... The potential for interdisciplinary approaches to landscape design and development to fulfill present and future requirements has been examined [10,16,22]. Recent studies also show the importance of engaging with stakeholders at many scales in order for the notion of multifunctional landscapes to gain traction [22], as well as the gap between science, policy, and implementation [23,24]. ...
... But scholars pinpoint to the benefits of regulating ES as a driver of crop production and the resilience of social-ecological systems (Raudsepp-Hearne et al., 2010). For instance, monocultures decrease the capacity of ecosystems to provide beneficial functions such as pest control (Grab et al., 2018;Larsen, 2013;Rivera-Pedroza et al., 2019) or pollination (Aizen et al., 2019;Enríquez-Acevedo et al., 2020;Jackson et al., 2007;Kremen and Miles, 2012;Reed et al., 2017). Therefore, it is necessary to find a balance between ecosystem conservation and agriculture to promote sustainable development in large-scale production areas (Araujo et al., 2021), because ES is one of the most important public goods provided by agriculture (Antle and Stoorvogel, 2006). ...
The countries of the global south are characterized by high levels of biodiversity. In addition, these countries have suffered -and will suffer- even more ecological pressures due to agricultural production, mainly monocultures. When considering areas of high biodiversity with highly intensive agricultural systems, the scientific literature highlights the role provided by Ecosystem Services (ES) both to monocultures and from monocultures to their contexts. In this sense, the objective of this paper is to provide a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to understand the relationship between monocultures and ES in the global south. Furthermore, in this research we provide a context analysis to broaden the understanding of the implications of monocultures in this region. We provide correlations between trends in monocultures harvested areas and forest cover in the countries identified through the SLR. Our SLR identified information from 15 countries and 11 monocultures. We found several negative correlations between harvested area and forest cover, mainly in megadiverse countries. In addition, we depicted trade-offs and synergies related to monocultures. We conclude that more research is needed in this regard, especially since there is great interest in monocultures for economic development in the global south, and this area will support world food production in the future.
... Landscape constitutes an arena in which entities, including humans, interact according to rules (physical, biological, and social) that determine their relationships (Sayer et al., 2013). Land use changes are spatial patterns, observed at the scale of the landscape, that impact nu-merous biophysical processes such as water and soil degradation, contaminant fluxes and agricultural production as well as their sustainability (Jackson et al., 2007;Wohlfahrt et al., 2010). Developing more sustainable land use systems that satisfy growing demands while avoiding negative environmental and social outcomes is one of the main challenges mankind will face in the coming decades (Foley et al., 2011). ...
Since the 1970s, the Kebili region southern Tunisia has undergone significant territorial changes due to the expansion of date palm plantations based on illicit boreholes tapping the underlying deep aquifers. These private initiatives, called “extensions”, have developed on collective unfarmed areas, outside historical oases and have raised sustainability concerns. To address the groundwater sustainability, local actors need to build a joint vision of on-going dynamics. The objective of this study is: (i) to analyse the trajectories of the oasis extensions, (ii) to give an overview of the socio-economic and the environmental drivers and (iii) to assess how local actors assess these extensions. The study builds on spatial analysis, on surveys and participatory workshops with actors of the region. The development of extensions was triggered by economic factors and based on innovative ways of accessing water, land, and energy. Extensions, that were first created on lands in proximity of ancient oases then spread further-out to other areas, can be described as spontaneous. Other were developed on lands located far from ancient oases, with the support of local councils in charge of land management. Actors have identified the overexploitation of groundwater as the main threat to the sustainability of the region, but no discussion has been initiated yet on how to deal with this threat. Results derived from this study could support discussions about the future of these areas.
... It also includes the diversity of non-harvested species that support production (soil micro-organisms, predators, pollinators), and those in the wider environment that support agro-ecosystems (agricultural, pastoral, forest and aquatic) as well as the diversity of the agro-ecosystems. " Agrobiodiversity is a vital sub-set of biodiversity, guaranteeing the livelihoods and food security of local communities and providing multiple ecological functions [40]. Agrobiodiversity is regarded as the central to overall biodiversity, but overlooked to a great extent and under threat [41]. ...
Background
Shexian Dryland Stone Terraced System (SDSTS) in the Taihang Mountains was formally recognized as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) by Food and Agriculture Organization on May 20, 2022. People there have been relying on the terraced fields for centuries, using various plants, including medicinal plants. However, little information was reported about the flora in SDSTS, nor medicinal plants. Thus, the present study aims to identify and document medicinal plants traditionally used by the local people living around the SDSTS and associated ethnobotanical knowledge.
Methods
We conducted investigations in Shexian County, Hebei Province, North China, where SDSTS is distributed. Then, Wangjinzhuang, a community located in the core zone of SDSTS, was chosen as the case site. We selected the informants through purposive and snowball sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and key informant interviews. The medicinal plants traditionally used by the local people were documented and analyzed. We examined and confirmed the botanical identification based on voucher specimens and by cross-checking the descriptions with the series of books, scientific papers on medicinal plants, and the plant databases.
Results
The local people have rich traditional knowledge to collect and use medicinal plants in SDSTS. Records of 123 medicinal plant species belonging to 51 families were obtained from SDSTS. Asteraceae was represented by 16 species, followed by Fabaceae, Lamiaceae and Ranunculaceae. (They all have 8 species.) The majority of the reported plant species were commonly processed into decoctions. And 180 diseases affecting humans were reported to be treated with traditional medicinal plants from SDSTS.
Conclusion
It is the first ethnobotanical study on medicinal plants in China-Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems, and in globally important agricultural heritage systems as well. Medicinal plants are crucial for people living in Shexian County. It is necessary to recognize and respect traditional knowledge peculiar to the mountainous region of northern China, especially for those involved in the human–nature interaction and the role of knowledge in agrobiodiversity conservation and rural development that local residents have persisted for centuries.
... The empowerment of community leaders and organizations have been practiced in the agroforestry sector to implement programs that will dissuade kaingin or slash-and-burn farmers in the hinterlands and protect forest reserves from fire and further degradation (Bugayong, 2003;Duthy and Bolo-Duthy, 2003). The local communities are considered stewards of the forest, given payments for tree planting activities to avoid forest clearings and land conversion (Jackson et al., 2007;Wiebe et al., 2022), and provided with access rights to forest resources by the government to prevent forest destruction (Harrison et al., 2004;Rebugio et al., 2010). ...
Excessive fishing pressure and overexploitation in the fishing grounds are common reasons of catch decline. This study assessed the small-scale fisheries in Davao Gulf regarding their dwindling catch by examining their motivations to exit the fisheries when presented with cash incentives. Given the catch declines experienced by fishers, it is vital to address and determine which socioeconomic and fisheries factors influence their exit behavior. The study used a semi-structured survey questionnaire to collect socioeconomic and fisheries data using face-to-face interviews in landing sites and fishers' homes. Fishers were asked regarding their exit from the fisheries in various study sites: Governor Generoso, Lupon, Davao City, Sta. Maria, Don Marcelino, and Malita (N = 229). The results showed that most fishers would not exit from the fisheries unless they were given a monthly subsidy of Php 15,000 (∼289 U$). More than 75% of the fishers were willing to leave the fisheries if given Php 15,000 as a cash subsidy. Fishers considered both fisheries and economic factors in their decision to exit. Further analysis showed that the fishers' revenue was primarily affected by the number of fishing trips, fish price, and fishing costs which significantly impacted their operations (df = 10, MS = 0.67, F = 4.95, p = .001). The results show a strong economic motivation for fishers ready to exit from the fisheries. It supports the need for livelihood diversification, skills upgrading, financial grants, and assistance for those who want to exit the fisheries to reduce fishing efforts and sustainably manage the fisheries.
... It comprises "individual access to enough resources for obtaining appropriate meals for a balanced diet". Changes in actual income and food costs, as well as transportation of food grains and consumer buying power, all have a significant impact on this dimension [27]. ...
“Climate Smart Agriculture” (CSA) was born out of the converging needs of food security, human population, biofuel and adaptation, climate change mitigation, agricultural resources, and oil prices, and food pricing. This study analyses the ideas and concepts that drive community-based agriculture using the World Bank's framework. It claims that, even though the CSA promotes better multidisciplinary approach to agriculture, it operates inside a politically neutral structure that is just focused on increasing output. Depoliticization of the global food system legitimizes present policy aims and reduces power, inequality and access difficulties. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Sustainable Intensification (SI) are mutually beneficial. SI aids in adjusting to climate change while simultaneously decreasing emissions per unit of production. CSA includes the advantages of “climate-smart food system”, “climate-proof farms”, and “climate- smart soils.
... Crop diversity is essential for agricultural climate adaptation. The Green Revolution has simplified this variety, moving from a traditional diverse and rich agricultural production to an ecologically poor and homogenized agroecosystem and leading to major consequences for the provision of ecosystem services, as well as crop sustainability, and food sovereignty (Jackson, Pascual, and Hodgkin, 2007). Therefore, traditional peasants and farmers have an essential role in maintaining a high crop species diversity in the agroecosystems, which is one of the pillars of agroecology. ...
... Crop diversity is essential for agricultural climate adaptation. The Green Revolution has simplified this variety, moving from a traditional diverse and rich agricultural production to an ecologically poor and homogenized agroecosystem and leading to major consequences for the provision of ecosystem services, as well as crop sustainability, and food sovereignty (Jackson, Pascual, and Hodgkin, 2007). Therefore, traditional peasants and farmers have an essential role in maintaining a high crop species diversity in the agroecosystems, which is one of the pillars of agroecology. ...
... Agrobiodiversity preservation is not only crucial per se, but, according to different studies it can effectively contribute to food security, to reduce the pressure of agriculture on fragile areas and endangered species, to make farming systems more resilient and sustainable, to pest management, to preserve soil and soil fertility, to diversify products and income opportunities, and to reduce dependency on external inputs and in particular on fossil fuels and chemicals (Thrupp 1997(Thrupp , 1998Kahane et al. 2013). Supporting and promoting traditional agricultural systems and related cultural landscapes is therefore the best strategy to preserve and valuorize agrobiodiversity and biodiversity in agricultural areas, at the same time dealing with current global challenges, such as migration, climate change, and food security (Jackson et al. 2007;Zimmerer 2014). ...
Agriculture is one of the main human activities with direct and indirect effects on the environment. The abandonment of many traditional agricultural practices, mainly for their inability to meet the current requirements of industrial agriculture, has brought to un-sustainable agricultural systems characterized by high external energy inputs and by a high fragility to environmental and political shocks. Therefore, sustainable agriculture is nowadays crucial for preserving the environment. Agricultural heritage systems are receiving increasing attention at the international level, as testified by the establishment of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Programme by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The aim of the GIAHS Programme is, in fact, to identify and safeguard agro-silvo-pastoral systems resulting from the coexistence between humans and nature, which survived using traditional techniques are still providing many ecosystem services, while maintaining magnificent landscapes, wild and agricultural biodiversity , ancestral knowledge, and strong cultural and social values. These systems, based on sustainable practices, are still able to provide food and livelihood security, resources and services to local communities, but are also examples of adaptation and mitigation to climate change and to different and often difficult environmental conditions, as well as models of resilience and sustainability. In 2018 the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), together with the Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI) of the University of Florence, developed a project called "GIAHS Building Capacity", aimed at identifying agricultural heritage sites in different parts of the world. This Special Issue collects the results of investigations carried out in thirteen sites in Central and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia offering a wide an coherent perspective on agricultural heritage systems across the world. The papers included in the Special Issue proved that agricultural heritage systems, despite some vulnerabilities mainly due to socioeconomic causes rather than to environmental ones, still provide different ecosystem services to local communities, including: food and byproducts supply, soil erosion protection, hydrogeological risk and deforestation defense, agrobiodiversity and biodiversity conservation, cultural landscape preservation, agro-tourism; at the same time they can be important for transmitting traditional knowledge to new generations and for the local identity. The GIAHS programme can play a key role in preserving traditional agricultural systems, and their related agrobiodiversity and ecosystem services, both in 1 3 Biodiversity and Conservation developing and developed countries. In fact, its aim is not limited to the conservation of these systems, but the whole Programme is based on the concept of dynamic conservation, as sustainable innovations are needed for the preservation of agricultural heritage systems and, therefore, for the future of rural areas and of rural communities. The research is part of the activities promoted by the UNESCO Chair on Agricultural Heritage Landscapes established at the University of Florence.
... Organizations. Now-a-days self-sustaining, diversified, low-input, and energy-efficient agricultural systems like intercropping are promoted as the efficient way to achieve the sustainability in agriculture by many farmers, researchers, and policy makers' worldwide [11]. Intercropping is a common practice in many areas of Africa as a part of traditional farming systems commonly implemented in the regions with declining land sizes and food security needs [12]. ...
... The loss of biodiversity has been a crucial problem in the last century, and it was estimated that about 75% of the species of living things used for food and agriculture were lost; nowadays, three-quarters of global food produced is composed of only five animal species and twelve plant species [1][2][3][4][5]. Thus, the safeguarding and the promotion of agrobiodiversity have been central issues in recent decades [6][7][8]. ...
In marginal lands, cereal landraces continue to be important in agricultural production, whereas hybrids lose their competitive advantage. In this context, selection for adaptation to each environment is particularly important in crops grown under unfavourable conditions, e.g., mountain areas. In this work, from a panel of traditional and modern varieties, mixtures and evolutionary populations, a randomised block experiment was established to select the most productive and suitable wheat and rye varieties specific for the Antrona Valley. The nutritional analysis of each flour was carried out. The results obtained in two years of varietal comparison suggested that rye is more suitable than wheat for growing in this environment: Alpina rye showed the highest yield/m2 and the highest ash content (1.87% ± 0.03%; p < 0.05) compared to other varieties, indicating it as suitable for the baking process. Among wheats, San Pastore showed the highest number of ears/m2 (411 and 350; p < 0.05) compared to others. However, in a context of climate change, the cultivation of Solibam could ensure yield stability, thanks to the high variability within the evolutionary population. Overall, our results demonstrated the possible reintroduction of the cereal supply chain in the Valley and the resumption of the historic rye bread production.
... Similarly, only 10 Agrobiodiversity managed adopting eco-agricultural practices also underpin ecosystem and environmental health by generating positive co-benefits for production, biodiversity and local people (Scherr et al., 2008). Agrobiodiversity also enhances agroecosystem functioning when mixing of high yielding and pest resistance genotypes increases nutrient input and cycling (Jackson et al. 2007). Agricultural landscape provides us with various ecosystem services that support human and wildlife-provisioning (food, fiber, fuel), supporting (nutrient cycling, soil formation) and regulating services (climate, flooding, disease regulation, and water purification) (Pascual and Perrings, 2007). ...
Agrobiodiversity underpins food, nutrition and livelihood security, ecosystem and environmental health, and climate change resilience but it is under threat of extinction. This paper highlights threats of agrobiodiversity, its drivers and conservation imperatives. Review shows prior to the green revolution, several crops and varieties were found in situ and on-farm but the number has declined since then. Extinction is contributing to decline in crop productivity and resilience and consequently the long-term sustainability of human wellbeing. Extinction is attributable to various natural and man-made factors. Various international and national level efforts are underway but not adequate to curb the loss. Therefore, further efforts are required to conserve and utilize agrobiodiversity, which will require concerted efforts in exploring agrobiodiversity, identifying drivers of loss and bolstering conservation efforts. This can be done through implementation of biodiversity-friendly legislations, actions and incentive mechanisms adhering to relevant global and national level policies, negotiations and conventions.
... To 2 of 14 understand these factors, context-based assessment of trends in crop species diversity at regional and national levels is critical. Ultimately, identifying these trends is key to understanding the drivers of crop diversification processes at the species level and, ultimately, how this diversification influences socio-environmental outcomes [17][18][19]. ...
Crop species diversity is a key component of agroecosystem resilience, food system stability, ecosystem services production, and sustainable development. Despite its importance, quantitative understanding of crop species diversity is often lacking. This study assesses changes in crop species production diversity in Mexico from 1980 to 2020 at state, regional, and national levels. Measures of crop species richness and effective diversity (alpha, beta, gamma) were derived from government production data on 304 species, each stratified into rainfed and irrigated components. Time series of these components reveal three main findings: (1) diversity generally increased during the study period, especially among fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs, and ornamental crops; (2) the diversity of irrigated crops was about two times higher than the diversity of rainfed crops, despite comprising a small fraction of the total cultivated area; and (3) the diversity of irrigated crops increased dramatically after implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994—though most increases occurred in dry northern regions where production depended on unsustainable irrigation. In sum, findings show that while crop diversity can contribute to numerous forms of sustainability, not all diversification processes derive from agroecologically-based, sustainable forms of intensification. In Mexico, crop species diversification was associated with a post-1994 boom in produce exports to the United States and the unsustainable use of scarce water resources at home. Such context-specific understanding is crucial for determining whether crop diversification, in all its forms, ultimately leads to sustainable outcomes.
... Agrobiodiversity is also important in relation to ecosystem services (Jackson et al. 2007), which represent the benefits human populations derive, directly or indirectly, from ecosystem functions. For simplicity, we will refer to ecosystem goods and services together as ecosystem services. ...
Genetic, ecological and evolutionary research, spanning over several decades, showed that cultivating diversity promotes ecosystem services and its is a viable approach for reducing environmental impact while maintaining and even increasing yields. This research showed that evolutionary populations and dynamic mixtures: a) are able to adapt their phenology to the location in which they are grown; b) evolve becoming more and more productive; c) have a more stable yield over time than uniform varieties; d) become more and more resistant to diseases; and e) control weeds better than
uniform varieties. Evolutionary populations and mixtures are able to adapt to climate change and to evolve in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. They are the quickest, most cost-effective, evolving solution to such a complex and evolving problem as climate change, with the additional advantage of increasing yield gains resulting from a combination of natural and artificial selection.
The páramos of Boyacá in Colombia are earmarked for delimitation to prevent the expansion of the agricultural frontier and protect endemic flora that contribute to water provision for cities. A varied conservation toolbox will be used, including the creation of protected areas for re-wilding and the ‘sustainable’ transitioning of livelihoods identified as environmentally destructive. Agriculture and cattle livestock farming has been identified for transitioning. Despite the negative discourse related to livestock holding, this paper argues that small-scale agropastoralism contributes to re-peasantisation and provides the foundations for an agrobiodiverse conservation approach. Agropastoralism facilitates re-peasantisation through strong socio-economic networks, interconnected communities, the solidarity economy, and self-management of natural resources. Whilst, agropastoral mobility spatially binds social networks across large and disconnected spaces. Mobility is also fundamental to dynamic land access and pasture management, as it prevents over-grazing. This exemplifies how resilient socio-economic networks and mobile production strategies could be harnessed for agrobiodiversity, instead of land sparing and other sedentary ‘green’ economies. This paper makes conceptual contributions to ‘autonomy’ in re-peasantisation by empirically demonstrating the importance of mobile and flexible systems of production. It also makes a novel methodological contribution in applying a spatial lens that further unpacks how movement across the páramos facilitates autonomy and re-peasantisation. These themes are explored using interview data from 53 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and small-scale agropastoralists from across the páramos and field observation. The paper concludes by recommending a harnessing of agropastoral knowledge, to potentiate agrobiodiversity, for a more socio-ecologically just approach to farming and conservation in the páramos.
Peri-urban rural system rehabilitation is pivotal to the socio-ecological balanced functioning of urban systems. In this paper, we investigate the performance of agroforestry participative practices in rehabilitating peri-urban belts (in-field productive agroforestry; between-field landscape features). We test a new trans-disciplinary, multi-level analytical framework for the ecosystem services (ESs) assessment based on site-specific socio-ecological information. We parallelly analyse ecological and cultural traits: 1. agroecosystem components (flora–vegetation; human community); 2. their organization at the landscape level (landscape eco-mosaic; cultural landscape); and 3. their socio-ecological functions/processes. We compare the current state with a transformation scenario. The first application to the “Milano Porta Verde” agroecology hub, Italy, outlined: 1. the agro-eco-mosaic structuring and diversification improvement consequent to the agroforestry model spread (higher natural components percentage, agricultural patch shape complexity, landscape heterogeneity, landscape structural diversity, connectivity and circuitry); and 2. the cultural functions provided by participative practices (40 initiatives; 1860 people involved; 10 stakeholder types), enabling cultural landscape rehabilitation processes (higher accessibility, citizen empowerment, community and knowledge building, cultural values building). These results qualitatively inform the ES analysis. The potential ES supply matrices and maps showed an increase, through a transformation scenario, in the total ESs delivered by natural components (+44% support ESs; +36% regulating ESs) and agricultural components (+21% cultural ESs; +15% regulating ESs).
In Ethiopia, the facts of farmers' indigenous knowledge-based cropping systems have rarely been investigated through research. A field experiment was conducted during 2021/2022 main cropping season at Fogera Plain with the objective of examining the effect of additive series relay intercropping of grass pea with lowland rice on the grain yield of the component crops and the production efficiency of the cropping system. The experiment consisted of a factorial combination of four seed proportions of grass pea (SPGP) (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the recommended seed rate of sole grass pea) relay intercropped with full seed rates of rice in four rice: grass pea spatial arrangements (SA) (1:1, 2:1, 3:1, and their mixed relay intercropping system). The treatments were arranged in a randomised complete block design with three replications. Data on grain yields of the component crops were collected and analysed using SAS-JMP-16 software. Results revealed that SPGP and SA had no significant effect on rice. The highest grain yield of grass pea was obtained when 25% SPGP was relay intercropped with rice in 1:3 SA (5.10 t ha-1). Maximum production efficiency in terms of total land output yield (9.89 t ha-1) and land use efficiency (ATER = 1.33), net benefit (33, 5176.79 Birr ha-1), marginal rate of return (21,428%), and positive monetary advantage index with lower competitive ratio was obtained when 50% SPGP was relay intercropped with rice in 1:3 SA. Thus, this mixture seems to contribute to the development of sustainable crop production with a limited use of external inputs. Rice intercropping with other staple legume crops under residual soil moisture needs to be tested across locations and years to intensify the production efficiency and profitability of the cropping system.
Background and Objectives: The development of intensive agriculture has transformed agricultural landscapes into simple, low-coverage single-product systems similar to semi-natural habitats. This trend has led to a sharp decline in biodiversity and a reduction in the provision of ecosystem services to agriculture. It has been confirmed that among ecosystem services, pest and weed control and pollination have significant impacts on global agricultural production. This study aimed to investigate the plant biodiversity of wheat, rapeseed, barley and triticale fields in an agricultural landscape (Dasht-e-Naz Sari).
Materials and Methods: This experiment was carried out as unbalanced completely randomized design in an agricultural landscape located in Dasht-e-Naz, Sari (Mazandaran province), during crop year 2019-2020. In this study, 26 farms were selected from different plots of autumn crops (rapeseed, wheat, barley and triticale). Sampling of plant biodiversity was performed based on W pattern with 0.5 × 0.5 m2 quadrate. The samples were transferred to the agronomical research laboratory of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and the flora was determined by genus and species. Then, bidiversity indices including Shannon-Weiner, Margalef, Menhinick, Simpson, Uniformity and Sorenson were calculated using the related equations. In final, based on the results, biodiversity status in the agricultural landscape was analyzed acorrding to status of landscape components including the type patch, corridor, border, etc.
Results: In this study, 25 plant species from 14 plant families were identified that 10 species belonged to narrow-leaved and 15 species belonged to broad-leaved. Among the identified species, Rapistrum rugosum L., Avena ludoviciana L., Phalaris minor L. and Cirsium arvense L. were the most abundant. The plant biodiversity in this landscape was in a favorable condition based on Shannon-Weiner index, so that this index for triticale, barley, rapeseed and wheat plots were 2.64, 2.52 and 2.39 and 2.38, respectively. The amount of Menhinick index for autumn crops of rapeseed, barley, wheat and triticale was as 2.86, 2.85, 2.45 and 2.32, respectively. Also, the highest Simpson index for rapeseed, barley, wheat and triticale plots was equal 0.068, 0.047, 0.070 and 0.052, respectively. Based on our results, the highest similarities according to Sorenson index were related to triticale (1), barley (0.95), wheat (0.95) and rapeseed (0.93), respectively.
Conclusion: In general, the consumption of manure in some plots, the presence of streams and barren lands in the margins of the plots and corridor of trees as windbreak, could affect on biodiversity of the surveyed landscape. The results of this study can be useful for comprehensive weed management program and making decision about control or improve ecosystem services through plant biodiversity.
Scientific facts about the relationships between the goals are indispensable for the rational social discourse on solving the various conflicting goals on the way to sustainable crop production. Therefore, the German Society for Agronomy has compiled scientific findings on the topics of biodiversity, climate relevance and climate resilience, nutrient management, crop protection, soil protection and production of renewable raw materials, and identified the existing need for research. After an executive summary that highlights the findings, the subject areas are explained in detail. The purpose of this paper is not to make recommendations for policy-making, but to support the public debate by providing factual information.
California's rich agricultural productivity is founded on its biological diversity, both native and exotic. Native species contribute genetic resources and play a vital part in preserving land, air and water quality. Exotic species introduced from around the globe provide the raw genetic material for nearly all of California's agricultural commodities. Through generations of selective breeding, native and exotic biodiversity have been used to solve agricultural problems. Such biodiversity — termed “agrobiodiversity” — includes not only crops, livestock and their wild relatives, but the species that interact with and support them: pollinators, symbionts, competitors, pests, parasites, predators and biological control agents. Long-term security and flexibility of California agricultural production requires conservation of both exotic genetic resources and native California habitats.
Riparian corridors possess an unusually diverse array of species and environmental processes. This @'ecological@' diversity is related to variable flood regimes, geomorphic channel processes, altitudinal climate shifts, and upland influences on the fluvial corridor. This dynamic environment results in a variety of life history strategies, and a diversity of biogeochemical cycles and rates, as organisms adapt to disturbance regimes over broad spatio-temporal scales. These facts suggest that effective riparian management could ameliorate many ecological issues related to land use and environmental quality. We contend that riparian corridors should play an essential role in water and landscape planning, in the restoration of aquatic systems, and in catalyzing institutional and societal cooperation for these efforts.
This book focuses on the previously neglected interface between the conservation of plant genetic resources and their utilization. Only through utilization can the potential value of conserved genetic resources be realized. However, as this book shows, much conserved germplasm has to be subjected to long-term pre-breeding and genetic enhancement before it can be used in plant breeding programmes. The authors explore the rationale and approaches for such pre-breeding efforts as the basis for broadening the genetic base of crop production. Examples from a range of major food crops (pearl millet, maize, potatoes, cassava and Musa ) are presented and issues analysed by leading authorities from around the world. Twenty-seven papers are presented in 4 sections: general principles (7 papers), crop case studies (5 papers), population management (8 papers), and other approaches to broadening the genetic base of crops (7 papers). The book is aimed at plant breeders, genetic resource conservation scientists and research managers in agriculture and biodiversity.
Old-growth forest of the Hoh River Valley, Olympic National Park, Washington (U.S.A.). For decades the U.S. Pacific Norwest has been a center of controversy over logging and endangered species. This special section explores progress made by the Northwest Forest Plan?a global example of land-use planning?a decade after it was established to end the stalemate over logging and endangered species. Authors include some of the key architects involved in its creation and implementation. Photo by Kevin Schafer.
We identify the basic types of interactions between vascular plants and soil biota; describe the sensitivity of each type to changes in species composition; and, within this framework, evaluate the potential consequences of Global Change drivers on ecosystem processes.
In agricultural systems, optimization of carbon and nitrogen cycling
through soil organic matter can improve soil fertility and yields while
reducing negative environmental impact. A basic tenet that has guided
the management of soil organic matter for decades has been that
equilibrium levels of carbon and nitrogen are controlled by their net
input and that qualitative differences in these inputs are relatively
unimportant. This contrasts with natural ecosystems in which there are
significant effects of species composition and litter quality on carbon
and nitrogen cycling,. Here we report the net balances of carbon and
nitrogen from a 15-year study in which three distinct maize/soybean
agroecosystems are compared. Quantitative differences in net primary
productivity and nitrogen balance across agroecosystems do not account
for the observed changes in soil carbon and nitrogen. We suggest that
the use of low carbon-to-nitrogen organic residues to maintain soil
fertility, combined with greater temporal diversity in cropping
sequences, significantly increases the retention of soil carbon and
nitrogen, which has important implications for regional and global
carbon and nitrogen budgets, sustained production, and environmental
quality.
Agriculture meets a major human need and both affects and depends on all other life support systems. Current trends point to continued human population growth and ever higher levels of consumption as the global economy expands. This will stress the capacity of agriculture to meet food needs without further sacrificing the environmental integrity of local landscapes and the global environment. Agriculture's main challenge for the coming decades will be to produce sufficient food and fiber for a growing global population at an acceptable environmental cost. This challenge requires an ecological approach to agriculture that is largely missing from current management and research portfolios. Crop and livestock production systems must be managed as ecosystems, with management decisions fully informed of environmental costs and benefits. Currently, too little is known about important ecological interactions in major agricultural systems and landscapes and about the economic value of the ecosystem services associated with agriculture. To create agricultural landscapes that are managed for multiple services in addition to food and fiber will require integrative research, both ecological and socioeconomic, as well as policy innovation and public education.
With the advent of Agenda 21, the blueprint for the transition to sustainable development for every nation on the globe, the issue of what exactly is sustainable agriculture is now being addressed, certainly throughout Europe. The food chain as a whole is the ultimate framework for a scrutiny of sustainability. However, this review looks only at the changing policy setting for seeking to define and implement sustainable agricultural practice in the UK. It analyses the key documents, reviews the state of science and assesses policy developments in wildlife/habitat management and the enhancement of scenery, from individual farms to whole landscapes. It concludes that there is neither the scientific understanding nor the economic tools to define and justify self-reliant agriculture on a farm-by-farm basis. Rather, it is more advantageous to devise integrated agricultural management arrangements for whole landscapes, crossing the borders of individual holdings. To do this, it is necessary to involve key stakeholders in the determination of the final landscape design. Then there is the tricky issue of how this may be implemented. That will be a sign that a policy for sustainable agriculture has come of age.
The importance of crop germplasm found in landraces is well established, and a comprehensive international program exists to conserve this resource ex situ in gene banks and botanical gardens. Landraces are still cultivated in regions of crop domestication and diversity. In situ maintenance has been neglected by genetic resource conservation programs in part because of misconceptions about farming systems that produce landraces. This paper presents three cases of on-going maintenance of landraces by farmers who have also adopted high-input technology, including high yielding crop cultivars. These cases are potatoes (Solanum spp.) in the Andes of Peru, maize (Zea mays L.) in southern Mexico, and wheat (Triticum spp.) in western Turkey. These cases suggest that on-farm conservation of landraces can be decoupled from traditional farming practices. Factors that promote in situ conservation are the fragmentation of land holdings, marginal agricultural conditions associated with hill lands and heterogeneous soils, economic isolation, and cultural values and preference for diversity. Landraces are likely to persist in patches and islands of farming systems in regions of crop domestication and diversity, and these patches provide potential sites for conservation programs. In situ conservation may be a valuable complement to ex situ methods because it can preserve the biological and social processes of crop evolution. Research is needed on the biogeography and conservation biology of remaining landrace populations in order to plan in situ conservation
These proceedings covers topics on managing plant genetic diversity i.e. applications of genomic sciences for better understanding of gene pools; technologies and strategies for ex situ conservation; the deployment and management of genetic diversity in agroecosystems; the role of bioinformatics in conservation and use; in situ conservation of wild species; indicators for sustainable management of genetic resources; germplasm enhancement and pre-breeding; exploring underused species - diverse options; implications of gene transformation techniques for ex situ conservation choices; geographic information system applications for genetic resources management; and the economics of managing genetic resources and the role of private and public sectors.
Biological diversity appears to enhance the resilience of desirable ecosystem states, which is required to secure the production of essential ecosystem services. The diversity of responses to environmental change among species contributing to the same ecosystem function, which we call response diversity, is critical to resilience. Response diversity is particularly important for ecosystem renewal and reorganization following change. Here we present examples of response diversity from both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and across temporal and spatial scales. Response diversity provides adaptive capacity in a world of complex systems, uncertainty, and human-dominated environments. We should pay special attention to response diversity when planning ecosystem management and restoration, since it may contribute considerably to the resilience of desired ecosystem states against disturbance, mismanagement, and degradation.
This book reviews "participatory" or "collaborative" plant breeding and presents case studies. It also addresses three key issues: (1) what is the nature of plant breeding knowledge, in theory and practice?; (2) in what ways are farmers' and plant breeders' knowledge similar or different?; and (3) what are the implications for successful plant breeding initiatives? The purpose of this book is to examine the nature of and relationship between the knowledge of farmers and of scientists, and how these can be best integrated in plant breeding. In the past, farmers' knowledge of local biodiversity has often been underutilized, but currently there is an increased recognition of the importance of farmer participation or collaboration. It is divided into two sections, farmer plant breeders and collaboration (5 chapters) and scientific plant breeders and collaboration (6 papers).
This book reviews "participatory" or "collaborative" plant breeding and presents case studies. It also addresses three key issues: (1) what is the nature of plant breeding knowledge, in theory and practice?; (2) in what ways are farmers' and plant breeders' knowledge similar or different?; and (3) what are the implications for successful plant breeding initiatives? The purpose of this book is to examine the nature of and relationship between the knowledge of farmers and of scientists, and how these can be best integrated in plant breeding. In the past, farmers' knowledge of local biodiversity has often been underutilized, but currently there is an increased recognition of the importance of farmer participation or collaboration. It is divided into two sections, farmer plant breeders and collaboration (5 chapters) and scientific plant breeders and collaboration (6 papers).
Biodiversity is declining worldwide, and the costs of biodiversity losses are increasingly being recognized by economists. In this article, we first review the multiple meanings of biodiversity, moving from species richness and simple abundance-weighted species counts to more complex measures that take account of taxonomic distance and functionality. We then explain the ways in which protecting biodiversity generates economic benefits in terms of direct and indirect values. Empirical approaches to estimating direct and indirect values are presented, along with a selection of recent evidence on how substantial these values are. The use of asset accounting approaches to track biodiversity values over time is discussed, in the context of sustainable development paths. Finally, we review some important challenges in valuing biodiversity that remain to be solved.
Depending on definition, as much as 90% of the terrestrial surface of the earth is estimated to be maintained in some sort of managed state, usually forestry or agriculture (Western and Pearl 1989). This very abundance should be sufficient to place managed ecosystems at the centre of the analysis of biodiversity and ecosystem function, and indeed a large literature has emerged on this topic in agricultural and forestry ecosystems (Pimentel et al. 1992; Paoletti et al. 1993; Collins and Qualset 1999). In this chapter, we first cast the major questions about biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the context of managed systems, introducing the ideas of planned versus associated biodiversity and the intensification gradient, concepts that are unique to managed systems.
This book examines the challenges faced by farmers trying to maintain crop biodiversity in developing and transitional economies. Using a collection of empirical case studies of farmers and crop scientists across a range of agricultural economies and income levels, it presents economic tools and methods for valuing and managing crop biodiversity. It discusses the economic benefits of crop biodiversity for farmers and suggests ways in which crop biodiversity can be supported by national policies. The book provides an indispensable 'tool kit' for all those concerned with the development of strategies to facilitate sustainable management and conservation of crop genetic diversity for future generations.
Biological diversity is as crucial in agriculture as it is in nature, and it is equally important to the economic health of both industrial and nonindustrial societies. This book offers a sweeping assessment of crop diversity and the potential for its preservation. Stephen B. Brush develops a framework for investigating biological diversity in agriculture that focuses on the knowledge and practice of farmers, and he shows how this human ecology perspective can be applied to three global issues that affect crop resources. Brush defines the dimensions of crop diversity and outlines the essential questions surrounding it. He describes the techniques used to maintain diversity in major crops of three cradles of agriculture in which he has worked: Potatoes in the Peruvian Andes, maize in Mexico, and wheat in Turkey. Finally, he explores the policy issues surrounding genetic erosion of crop varieties, conservation of crop diversity, and ownership of genetic resources.
Vegetation texture (i.e., plant density, species diversity, and structural complexity) may influence the abundance of a herbivore by affecting its movement, altering the suitability of host plants, and by changing the herbivore's vulnerability to attack by natural enemies. We investigated these effects on the Mexican bean beetle (Epilachna varivestis) on snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) growing in high and low-density monocultures and intercropped with short (0.5 m) or tall (1.2 m) com plants (Zea mays). Beetle populations consistently reached higher densities on beans in monocultures than on beans intercropped with tall com. Neither bean plant density nor plant species diversity alone significantly affected beetle abundance. Instead, the presence of tall com plants contributed most to lower bean beetle density in the tall corn-bean intercrop, primarily by reducing adult colonization. However, the tall com also increased the suitability of intercropped bean plants to the beetles because adults preferred to feed on and larvae developed faster on beans in the tall com-bean habitat. Host plant effects were independent of the influence of microclimate and risk of predation. Abundance of natural enemies of the bean beetle was low, and overall, predator density and bean beetle larval survival did not differ significantly among habitats. However, it is difficult to predict the effect of mortality factors, such as natural enemies, on bean beetle populations because larval mortality over time was affected by habitat type (i.e., there was a significant interaction between habitat type and time). Our results were partially consistent with the resource concentration hypothesis. Whereas Mexican bean beetles colonized bean monocultures more readily than they did tall corn-bean diculture, the presence of more suitable host plants in the diculture acted to increase, rather than decrease, bean beetle density in the tall com-bean habitat. However, higher adult feeding preference and faster larval development on beans in the tall corn-bean habitat did not offset lower adult colonization in this habitat.
Abstract? Biodiversity, a central component of Earth's life support systems, is directly relevant to human societies. We examine the dimensions and nature of the Earth's terrestrial biodiversity and review the scientific facts concerning the rate of loss of biodiversity and the drivers of this loss. The estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotic organisms possible lies in the 5?15 million range, with a best guess of ?7 million. Species diversity is unevenly distributed; the highest concentrations are in tropical ecosystems. Endemisms are concentrated in a few hotspots, which are in turn seriously threatened by habitat destruction?the most prominent driver of biodiversity loss. For the past 300 years, recorded extinctions for a few groups of organisms reveal rates of extinction at least several hundred times the rate expected on the basis of the geological record. The loss of biodiversity is the only truly irreversible global environmental change the Earth faces today.
We highlight the complexity of land-use/cover change and propose a framework for a more general understanding of the issue, with emphasis on tropical regions. The review summarizes recent estimates on changes in cropland, agricultural intensification, tropical deforestation, pasture expansion, and urbanization and identifies the still unmeasured land-cover changes. Climate-driven land-cover modifications interact with land-use changes. Land-use change is driven by synergetic factor combinations of resource scarcity leading to an increase in the pressure of production on resources, changing opportunities created by markets, outside policy intervention, loss of adaptive capacity, and changes in social organization and attitudes. The changes in ecosystem goods and services that result from land-use change feed back on the drivers of land-use change. A restricted set of dominant pathways of land-use change is identified. Land-use change can be understood using the concepts of complex adaptive systems and transitions. Integrated, place-based research on land-use/land-cover change requires a combination of the agent-based systems and narrative perspectives of understanding. We argue in this paper that a systematic analysis of local-scale land-use change studies, conducted over a range of timescales, helps to uncover general principles that provide an explanation and prediction of new land-use changes.
This paper offers a framework for analysing the economic drivers and effects of agrobiodiversity loss, focusing on in-situ conservation at both farm and landscape levels. We distinguish between the proximate and fundamental causes of biodiversity loss in terms of the decentralised (microeconomic) behaviour of farming households. Special attention is paid to the interplay between micro-economic decisions and the meso-economic factors (i.e., institutional and market conditions) that determine the effects of government policies. We interpret agricultural landscape changes as the product of explicit or implicit decentralised farm-level decisions to (dis)invest in biodiversity as a strategic asset that provides flows of ecological services on-and off-farm. Several case studies are used to illustrate how 'downstream' or 'forward' effects feed back into agricultural production and stability ('backward effect'). This framework can be used to assess the effectiveness of policies to address underprovision of agrobiodiversity-supported ecological services that are socially (locally and globally) welfare enhancing.
This paper considers the significance of biological diversity in relation to large-scale processes in complex and dynamic ecological-economic systems. It focuses on functional diversity, and its relation to production and maintenance of ecological services that underpin human societies. Within functional groups of organisms two important categories of species are identified: keystone process species and those essential for ecosystem resilience. The latter group represents ''natural insurance capital.'' In addition to basic research on the interplay among biological diversity, functional performance, and resilience in complex self-organizing systems, we suggest that a functional approach has two main implications for a strategy for biodiversity conservation: (1) Biodiversity conservation to assure the resilience of ecosystems is required for all systems, no matter how heavily impacted they are. It should not be limited to protected areas. (2) The social, cultural, and economic driving forces in society that cause biodiversity loss need to be addressed directly. Specifically, (a) differences between the value of biological diversity to the private individual and its fundamental value to society as a whole need to be removed; (b) social and economic policies that encourage biodiversity loss should be reformed, especially where there is a risk of irreversible damage to ecosystems and diversity; and (c) institutions that are adaptive and work in synergy with ecosystem processes and functions are critical and should be created at all levels.
This paper reviews two aspects of agricultural biodiversity. 1. The ways in which agricultural biodiversity may be increased to favour pest management are examined. At the simplest level, the structure within a monoculture may be altered by changing management practices to benefit natural enemies. At the other extreme, annual and perennial non-crop vegetation may be integrated with cropping, and biodiversity increased at the landscape level. 2. The existence of a hierarchy for the types of benefits of increased biodiversity is discussed. Vegetational diversity can lead to suppression of pests via 'top-down' enhancement of natural enemy populations and by resource concentration and other 'bottom-up' effects acting directly on pests. Whilst such low-input pest management mechanisms are attractive in their own right, other (non-pest management related) benefits may simultaneously apply. These range from short-term benefits in crop yield or quality, longer term benefits for sustainability of the farming system and, ultimately, broad societal benefits including aesthetics, recreation and the conservation of flora and fauna. Examples are given of such multi-function agricultural biodiversity.
Crop heterogeneity is a possible solution to the vulnerability of monocultured crops to disease1-3. Both theory4 and observation2, 3 indicate that genetic heterogeneity provides greater disease suppression when used over large areas, though experimental data are lacking. Here we report a unique cooperation among farmers, researchers and extension personnel in Yunnan Province, China—genetically diversified rice crops were planted in all the rice fields in five townships in 1998 and ten townships in 1999. Control plots of monocultured crops allowed us to calculate the effect of diversity on the severity of rice blast, the major disease of rice5. Disease-susceptible rice varieties planted in mixtures with resistant varieties had 89% greater yield and blast was 94% less severe than when they were grown in monoculture. The experiment was so successful that fungicidal sprays were no longer applied by the end of the two-year programme. Our results support the view that intraspecific crop diversification provides an ecological approach to disease control that can be highly effective over a large area and contribute to the sustainability of crop production.Many ecological processes are strongly influenced by spatial scale6-9, causing a major dilemma for experimental biologists, as large-scale field experiments are often prohibitively expensive. For example, there have been increasing calls for ecological approaches to counter the negative environmental impacts of modern agricultural systems10, 11. One such approach, the use of within-field crop genetic diversity, has been shown to reduce disease severity in experimental plots and has been used commercially in some cases1-4. However, experimental procedure and the nature of pathogen dispersal can cause substantial underestimation of the impact of increased diversity on disease in small-scale experimental plots2-4. On the other hand, observations at larger spatial scale are few4, and do not allow for unambiguous determination of causal relationships between diversity and disease occurrence.
Our experimental system was blast disease in rice (Oryzae sativa). Rice is the staple crop for about half of the population of the world12. The fungus that causes blast disease, Magnaporthe grisea, spreads through multiple cycles of asexual conidiospore production during the cropping season, causing necrotic spots on leaves and necrosis of panicles. M. grisea interacts on a gene-for-gene basis13, 14 with its host and has a very varied pathogenesis15. It exists as a mixture of pathogenic races, that is, genetic variants that attack host genotypes with different resistance genes. Thus, host resistance genes often remain effective for only a few years in agricultural production before succumbing to new pathogenic races16, 17.
Our experimental site (Yunnan Province, China) favours the development of rice blast epidemics because of its cool, wet climate. Farmers commonly make multiple foliar fungicide applications to control blast. Glutinous or 'sticky' rice varieties are used for confections and other speciality dishes and have higher market value than other rice types, but have lower yields and are highly susceptible to blast. Non-glutinous, hybrid rice varieties are less susceptible to rice blast and are attacked by a different spectrum of M. grisea races. Before 1998, 98% of rice fields in the study area were sown with monocultures of the hybrid rice varieties Shanyuo22 and Shanyuo63. The desirable glutinous varieties were planted in small amounts because of their low yields and vulnerability to blast in this environment. We conducted large-scale tests, made possible through the cooperation of thousands of rice farmers, to determine how the occurrence of rice blast is affected by within-field varietal diversification using mixtures of commonly grown glutinous and hybrid rice varieties. Our approach was based on an observed farmer practice of dispersing single rows of glutinous rice between groups of four rows of hybrid rice at a rate sufficient to meet local demand for glutinous rice ( Fig. 1).
Figure 1 Planting arrangements in rice variety mixture and monoculture survey plots in 1999 and patterned after those used by farmers in Yunnan Province. Each symbol represents a hill of susceptible (O) or resistant (X) rice. Distances between hills within rows were 15 cm for glutinous monocultures, 30 cm for hybrid monocultures and 30 cm for mixtures. Spacings and arrangements were the same in 1998, except that the distance between rows of glutinous rice in monoculture was 13 cm.
In the first year of the experiment, four different mixtures of varieties (Fig. 2) were planted in a 812-ha area consisting of all rice fields in five townships of Shiping County, Yunnan Province. Because of the excellent blast control provided by the variety mixtures, only one foliar fungicide spray was applied. Mixtures were compared to monoculture control plots at 15 survey sites. Unlike standard experiment station fields, control plots of monocultures were small relative to the total area of mixtures planted by farmers in the surrounding area, reducing the potential impact of spore dispersal from the more heavily infected monocultures to the mixture plots2-4. The study was expanded to 3,342 ha of rice fields in 1999. This area consisted of all rice fields in 10 townships that spanned Jianshui and Shiping Counties, with five participating townships and 15 survey sites per county. Procedures were the same as in 1998, except that no foliar fungicide applications were made. In addition, some farmers chose to plant mixtures in a ratio of 1 glutinous: 6 hybrid rows, rather than 1:4.
Figure 2 Panicle blast severity (mean percentage of panicle branches that were necrotic due to infection by Magnaporthe grisea) of rice varieties planted in monocultures and mixtures. a, The susceptible, glutinous varieties Huangkenuo and Zinuo. b, The resistant, hybrid varieties Shanyuo22 and Shanyuo63. S98, Shiping County, 1998; S99, Shiping County, 1999; J99, Jianshui County, 1999; open bar, blast severity for a variety grown in monoculture control plots; black bar, blast severity of the same variety when grown in mixed culture plots in the same fields. Error bars are one s.e.m.; n, number of plot means that contribute to individual bars for each of the four combinations of susceptible and resistant variety. All differences between pairs of monoculture and mixture bars are significant at P < 0.01 based on a one-tailed t-test, unless indicated by 0.05 (significant at P < 0.05), 0.10 (significant at P < 0.10) or n.s. (not significant at P = 0.10).
Diversification had a substantial impact on rice blast severity (Fig. 2). In 1998, panicle blast severity on the glutinous varieties averaged 20% in monocultures, but was reduced to 1% when dispersed within the mixed populations (Fig. 2a). Panicle blast severity on the hybrid varieties averaged 1.2% in monoculture and was reduced to varying degrees in mixed plots, though only the larger differences were statistically significant (Fig. 2b). Results from 1999 were very similar to the 1998 season for panicle blast severity on the susceptible varieties (Fig. 2a), showing that the effect of diversification was very robust among mixtures and between seasons and counties. In contrast, effects of crop diversification on blast severity of the hybrid varieties were larger in 1999 than in 1998. Panicle blast severity on these varieties averaged 2.3% in monoculture and was reduced to 1.0% in mixed populations (Fig. 2b), despite the fact that hybrids were planted at the same density in both mixture and monoculture survey plots.
Several mechanisms may reduce disease severity in genetically diverse plant populations2, 4, 18. Increased distance between plant genotypes, which dilutes inoculum of a given pathogenic race as it is dispersed between compatible host varieties, has been considered the most important mechanism contributing to disease reduction in variety mixtures2. Such dilution effects almost certainly had a role in reducing blast disease on the susceptible, glutinous varieties in this study. In addition, canopy microclimate data collected at one survey site in 1999 indicate that height differences between the taller glutinous and shorter hybrid varieties resulted in temperature, humidity and light conditions that were less conducive for blast on glutinous varieties in the mixtures than in the monocultures. Disease reductions on hybrid varieties in the mixtures are more difficult to explain. Dilution and microenvironmental modifications are unlikely mechanisms, as the hybrids were planted at the same density in mixtures and monocultures ( Fig. 1). The taller glutinous varieties may physically have blocked spore dispersal and/or altered wind patterns compared with the hybrid monocultures. In addition, induced resistance may have some contribution to disease suppression in the hybrids. Induced resistance occurs when inoculation with avirulent pathogen race(s) induces a plant defence response that is effective against pathogen races that would normally be virulent on that host genotype. This has made significant contributions to disease reductions in variety mixtures of other small grain crops19, 20.
In 1999, we determined the genetic composition of the pathogen populations derived from inter-planting and monoculture fields using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fingerprinting21 of pathogen isolates. Preliminary results indicate that fields with mixtures supported diverse pathogen populations with no single dominant strain. In contrast, pathogen populations from monoculture fields were dominated by one or a few strains. The more diverse pathogen population from the mixed stands may have contributed to greater induced resistance from incompatible interactions. In the longer term, this increased pathogen diversity may also slow adaptation of the pathogen to resistance genes functioning within a given mixture. Clarifying the mechanisms by which host diversity influenced disease in our study will be helpful in extending these results to other agro-ecosystems. These mechanistic studies are currently underway.
Table 1 -Grain Yields and Monetary Values for Rice Varieties
Grain yield ± s.e.m. Crop value
(Mg per ha) (US$ per ha) .
Variety or Hills Shiping/ Shiping/ Jianshui/ Shiping/ Shiping/ Jianshui/
mixture m-2,1 98 99 99 98 99 99
Huangkenuo 38.1 3.69±0.02 4.07±0.07 5.12±0.05 1291 1424 1794
Shanyuo63 14.8 8.14±0.07 8.41±0.12 9.71±0.07 1709 1765 2039
Mixture 18.5 8.72±0.05 9.53±0.11 10.53±0.12 1912 2166 2341
Huangkenuo 3.7 0.59(173) 1.19(300) 0.92(186) 205 415 323
Shanyuo63 14.8 8.13(100) 8.34(99) 9.61(99) 1707 1751 2018
Huangkenuo 38.1 3.79±0.03 4.15±0.07 5.08±0.10 1328 1452 1778
Shanyuo22 14.8 7.97±0.11 8.12±0.06 9.08±0.20 1673 1705 1907
Mixture 18.5 8.40±0.12 8.77±0.09 10.00±0.16 1838 1941 2231
Huangkenuo 3.7 0.53(151) 0.71(177) 0.94(191) 184 249 330
Shanyuo22 14.8 7.88(99) 8.06(99) 9.05(100) 1654 1692 1901
Znuo 38.1 3.62±0.04 3.97±0.02 4.90±0.09 1268 1390 1716
Shanyuo63 14.8 8.28±0.13 8.40±0.08 9.63±0.17 1739 1765 2022
Mixture 18.5 8.90±0.22 9.23±0.03 10.46±0.18 1937 2056 2315
Znuo 3.7 0.48(146) 0.84(217) 0.84(177) 170 294 296
Shanyuo63 14.8 8.42(102) 8.39(100) 9.62(100) 1767 1762 2020
Znuo 38.1 3.49±0.02 3.82±0.03 4.89±0.11 1220 1337 1711
Shanyuo22 14.8 7.84±0.06 8.14±0.03 9.14±0.05 1646 1710 1919
Mixture 18.5 8.27±0.05 8.86±0.07 9.99±0.03 1807 1965 2227
Znuo 3.7 0.51(160) 0.75(203) 0.92(193) 178 264 321
Shanyuo22 14.8 7.76(99) 8.10(99) 9.08(99) 1629 1701 1906
The rice varieties were grown as monocultures or mixed in Shiping and Jianshui counties in 1998 and 1999. Crop values based on market prices of 0.21 US$ per kg for hybrid varieties and 0.35 US$ per kg for glutinous varieties. Italicized values of hills m-2, grain yield, and crop value are for individual varieties within mixtures. Bold values in parentheses are per- hill yields of varieties in mixture expresses as a percentage of per-hill yield of the saem variety in monoculture.
* See also Fig.1
§ In 1998, density of glutinous varieties in monoculture was 40.4 hill m-2
Grain production per hill of glutinous varieties in mixtures averaged 89% greater than that in monoculture (Table 1). As a result, glutinous rice in mixtures produced 18.2% of monoculture yield, on average, though it was planted at rates of only 9.2 and 9.7% that of monoculture in 1998 and 1999, respectively (see also Fig. 1). Reduced disease severity certainly had a role in this yield response, though other factors (for example, improved light interception) may also have had an influence. Despite the increased overall plant density in mixtures (see Fig. 1, bottom), grain yields per hectare of the hybrids in mixture were nearly equal to the corresponding monocultures. Thus, mixed populations produced more total grain per hectare than their corresponding monocultures in all cases (Table 1). Land equivalent ratios22, which estimate the ecological efficiency of mixed populations, indicate that an average of 1.18 ha of monoculture crop land would need to be planted to provide the s