Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation Research Articles

Agricultural Biodiversity in Southern Brazil: Integrating Efforts for Conservation and Use of Neglected and Underutilized Species

Brazil is one of the most biodiversity rich countries in the world, including a wealth of agricultural biodiversity in both wild and cultivated forms. This is particularly noticeable in southern Brazil, home to a wide array of underutilized food species whose genetic diversity is maintained mostly by farmers through on-farm management practices. Farmers’ contribution in safeguarding and keeping alive traditional knowledge (TK) essential for recognizing, cultivating, valorising and consuming these resources is critical to their conservation. Part of this diversity, a rich basket of native fruits and landraces of vegetables and grains, is also maintained through ex situ collections managed by Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and its partners. This article discusses the integrated efforts for in situ/on-farm and ex situ conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity in southern Brazil. This diversity represents an important cultural heritage, since its use, cultivation and associated knowledge result from the dynamic history of the Brazilian population, including colonisation and immigration by several different ethnicities. Many of these species are sources of genes that convey tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, as a result of the combined action of natural selection and artificial selection by farmers in agricultural systems with low inputs and diverse environmental conditions. Due to their importance for food security, use in breeding programs, high nutritional value, and potential for income generation, Embrapa has taken responsibility for the ex situ conservation of these species. The genebanks that safeguard against the loss of these resources do also play an important role in the restoration of this germplasm to farming communities.

Designing an Index to Reveal the Potential of Multipurpose Landscapes in Southern Africa

Multipurpose mosaic (“ecoagriculture”) landscapes can serve the purpose of land sharing to combine objectives of agricultural production and biodiversity conservation. Rewarding the people who shape and maintain those landscapes could act as a mechanism to generate added-value representing an indirect payment for ecosystem services. We investigated the feasibility of such an approach in two areas in Southern Africa differing in spatial configurations, history and socio-economic context. We designed and tested a composite index describing the state of each landscape in terms of ecoagriculture criteria (conservation, production, institutions and livelihood) and ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating and cultural services). The resulting index is made up of different sets of data each comprising 40 scores, obtained from stakeholders’ participatory interviews. Ecosystem services are in general assigned more importance than ecoagriculture criteria. In both cases, cultural services receive the highest scores, whereas the lowest ones are attributed to the livelihood and institutions in the Zimbabwean and South African sites, respectively. Index values reveal that the South African site, where there is more integration between land-use units, does better in terms of a landscape performing multiple functions. Provided relevant stakeholders are involved and a certification mechanism is developed, the landscape labelling index can be used to recognize and reward the value of outstanding rural landscapes.

Developing an Agricultural Biodiversity Policy for China

China does not have an agricultural biodiversity policy. Given the significant size and importance of the country's agricultural resource base, the elaboration of a specific institutional framework for agricultural biodiversity could be instrumental to harmonize the many different and sometimes overlapping or conflicting policies and laws that at present impinge on it. Based on three field experiences, recommendations are made to elaborate a more supportive institutional framework, covering, in particular, recognition, rights, roles, responsibilities, mechanisms, and incentives for community-based and collaborative efforts and innovations concerning in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity as well as crop improvement.

The Assimilation and Retention of Carbon in Upland Heath Plant Communities Typical of Contrasting Management Regimes: A 13C Tracer Study

Upland heath is an extensive habitat in the UK and is currently managed for a range of objectives: agricultural grazing, sporting interests, and biodiversity conservation. Increasingly land management will also have to address the provision of the ecosystem service of carbon sequestration (transfer of CO2 from the atmosphere into long-lived pools for storage). This study investigates carbon sequestration in Calluna- and Nardus-dominated upland heath vegetation communities in NE Scotland, which typically occurs as a result of low and high intensity management (grazing and burning) regimes, respectively. A 13CO2 tracer experiment compared the rate of carbon assimilation and the retention of assimilated carbon over six weeks during the growing season between these two communities. There was no difference in 13CO2 uptake between Calluna- or Nardus-dominated vegetation communities and they both retained over 40% of the assimilated 13C after six weeks. The 13C retained was mostly held in Calluna leaf and stem tissue in the Calluna-dominated community and in graminoid leaves in the Nardus-dominated community. Consideration of the strategies of the dominant species and the attributes of the tissues in which 13C was retained suggests that Calluna-dominated vegetation may be of greater benefit to carbon sequestration in the longer term.

Regarding biocultural heritage: in situ political ecology of agricultural biodiversity in the Peruvian Andes

This paper emerges from and aims to contribute to conversations on agricultural biodiversity loss, value, and renewal. Standard international responses to the crisis of agrobiodiversity erosion focus mostly on ex situ pres- ervation of germplasm, with little financial and strategic support for in situ cultivation. Yet, one agrarian collective in the Peruvian Andes—the Parque de la Papa (Parque)— has repatriated a thousand native potatoes from the gene bank in Lima so as to catalyze in situ regeneration of lost agricultural biodiversity in the region. Drawing on partic- ipant action research and observation, this paper engages with the projects underway at the Parque—as well as ''indigenous biocultural heritage'' (IBCH), the original action-framework guiding the Parque's work. IBCH grounds the ecology of successful crop diversity within the Andean cosmovision, or worldview—which is included, but marginalized, in mainstream agrobiodiversity conser- vation policies. The IBCH concept counters apolitical renderings of agrobiodiversity erosion, arguing that this disregard of biocultural heritage perpetuates colonialist devaluations of efficacious ''traditional ecological knowl- edge'' and epistemologies. Accordingly, this paper discerns here an on-site, or in situ, political ecology of agricultural biodiversity conservation.

Estimating compensation payments for on-farm conservation of agricultural biodiversity in developing countries

This paper examines the role of direct compensation payments for agrobiodiversity conservation, using minor millet landraces in India as an example. The cost of farmer participation in a hypothetical ‘payments for agrobiodiversity conservation services’ (PACS) scheme is estimated using a stated preference valuation approach. Significant inter-crop and inter-varietal differences are observed with respect to consumption values, upon which the compensation demanded by farm households is shown to primarily depend. Drawing on a categorisation of consumption values and farmer preferences, the paper points to the importance of simultaneously considering a range of potential interventions in order to conserve a priority portfolio of agrobiodiverse resources in predominantly subsistence-based agricultural systems.

Are land sparing and land sharing real alternatives for European agricultural landscapes

There is a lively debate on whether biodiversity conservation and agricultural production could be better reconciled by land sparing (strictly separating production fields and conservation areas) or by land sharing (combining both, agricultural production and biodiversity conservation on the same land). The debate originates from tropical countries, where agricultural land use continues to increase at the expense of natural ecosystems. But is it also relevant for Europe, where agriculture is withdrawing from marginal regions whilst farming of fertile lands continues to be intensified? Based on recent research on farmland biodiversity we conclude that the land sharing – land sparing dichotomy is too simplistic for Europe. Instead we differentiate between productive and marginal farmland. On productive farmland, semi-natural habitats are required to yield ecosystem services relevant for agriculture, to promote endangered farmland species which society wants to conserve even in intensively farmed regions, and to allow migration of non-farmland species through the agricultural matrix. On marginal farmland, high-nature value farming is a traditional way of land sharing, yielding high quality agricultural products and conserving specialized species. To conserve highly disturbance-sensitive species, there is a need for nature reserves. In conclusion, land sparing is not a viable olution for Europe in both productive and marginal farmland but because of different reasons in each type of farmland.

Agricultural Landscapes and Biodiversity Conservation in Italy

In the last decades, agricultural areas have been acknowledged as important areas forbiodiversity conservation and provision of ecosystem services. Several international and nationalConventions have promoted the development of multifunctional agriculture and the maintenance oftraditional cultural landscapes. In this general context, this paper presents some relevant researchexperiences carried out in Italy at different spatial scales, from national to local (Province andMunicipality of Rome). The results of these studies confirm that traditional agricultural areas supportthe conservation of habitats and species of national and European interest and represent importantelements for environmental quality at the landscape scale. Moreover, they highlight the importance oftaking into account the biophysical environment, together with historical and cultural features, formapping and charactering traditional agricultural landscapes, as well as the need to focus on thedynamics of agricultural land, which is threatened by land cover change.

Land Use and Biodiversity in Unprotected Landscapes: The Case of Noncultivated Plant Use and Management by Rural Communities in Benin and Togo

To contribute to the development of strategies for sustainable agricultural land use and biodiversity conservation in landscapes without formal protection status, we investigated the local use and management of noncultivated plants as important ecosystem functions of inland valleys in south Benin and Togo, and local perceptions on changes in plant biodiversity and causes for these changes. Local users of noncultivated plants perceived agriculture and construction as major factors contributing to the reduction of (noncultivated) plant biodiversity. However, they also collect many useful species from agricultural fields and the village. A small community forest reserve and a 2-ha community garden were the only organized forms of conservation management. Observed ad hoc conservation initiatives were selective harvesting of plant parts, preserving trees during land clearing, and allowing useful weed species in the field. Future development and conservation efforts in unprotected landscapes with multiple ecosystem functions should acknowledge knowledge, interests, and needs of local communities.

Open-Pollinated Seed Exchange: Renewed Ozark Tradition as Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation

In situ conservation refers to the perpetuation of genetic resources in their original cultural and biophysical habitats and to the diverse strategies employed to sustain crop genetic diversity and the cultural milieus that support and maintain it. This article reviews in situ agrobiodiversity conservation in the Arkansas Ozarks, in the United States over a four-year period (2006–2010) through applied ethnographic and agroecological research. I examine the (re)introduction of “seed swaps” in the Ozark region as an in situ conservation strategy to connect diverse Ozark inhabitants, (re)institute a dynamic flow of agroecological knowledge, and conserve agricultural biodiversity in the region.

Origins and close relatives of a semi‐domesticated neotropical fruit tree: Chrysophyllum cainito (Sapotaceae)

Understanding patterns and processes associated with domestication has implications for crop development and agricultural biodiversity conservation. Semi-domesticated crops provide excellent opportunities to examine the interplay of natural and anthropogenic influences on plant evolution. The domestication process has not been thoroughly examined in many tropical perennial crop species. Chrysophyllum cainito (Sapotaceae), the star apple or caimito, is a semi-domesticated species widely cultivated for its edible fruits. It is known to be native to the neotropics, but the precise geographic origins of wild and cultivated forms are unresolved. We used nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences to infer phylogenetic relationships among C. cainito and close relatives (section Chrysophyllum). We employed phylogeographic approaches using ITS and plastid sequence data to determine geographic origins and center(s) of domestication of caimito. ITS data suggest a close relationship between C. cainito and C. argenteum. Plastid haplotype networks reveal several haplotypes unique to individual taxa but fail to resolve distinct lineages for either C. cainito or C. argenteum. Caimito populations from northern Mesoamerica and the Antilles exhibit a subset of the genetic diversity found in southern Mesoamerica. In Panama, cultivated caimito retains high levels of the diversity seen in wild populations. Chrysophyllum cainito is most closely related to a clade containing Central and South American C. argenteum, including subsp. panamense. We hypothesize that caimito is native to southern Mesoamerica and was domesticated from multiple wild populations in Panama. Subsequent migration into northern Mesoamerica and the Antilles was mediated by human cultivation.

Multi-trait evolution of farmer varieties of bread wheat after cultivation in contrasting organic farming systems in Europe

Because of the lack of varieties for organic agriculture, associations of organic farmers in several European countries have begun cultivating landraces and historic varieties, effectively practicing in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity. To promote agrobiodiversity conservation, a special list for "conservation varieties" was implemented in 2008 by the EU because for any exchange and marketing of seeds in the EU, a variety must be registered in an official catalog. Our study aimed at improving knowledge on the phenotypic diversity and evolution of such varieties when cultivated on organic farms in Europe, in order to better define their specific characteristics and the implications for the registration process. We assessed multi-trait phenotypic evolution in eight European landraces and historic varieties of bread wheat and in two pureline variety checks, each grown by eight organic farmers over 2years and then evaluated in a common garden experiment at an organic research farm. Measurements on each farmer's version of each variety included several standard evaluation criteria for assessing distinctness, uniformity and stability for variety registration. Significant phenotypic differentiation was found among farmers' versions of each variety. Some varieties showed considerable variation among versions while others showed fewer phenotypic changes, even in comparison to the two checks. Although farmers' variety would not satisfy uniformity or stability criteria as defined in the catalog evaluation requirements, each variety remained distinct when assessed using multivariate analysis. The amount of differentiation may be related to the initial genetic diversity within landraces and historic varieties.

Stewart Lockie and David Carpenter: agriculture, biodiversity and markets: livelihoods and agroecology in comparative perspective

This book represents collaborative teamwork on agriculture, biodiversity and markets by a number of concerned researchers and contributors. It gives an extensive and unique overview of livelihoods and agroecology from a comparative perspective and envisions a related future. In striving to stimulate attention to this topic, the authors do an excellent job of bringing together a rich diversity of empirical material from around the world to analyze the complex interdependencies between biodiversity protection and agricultural livelihoods. The book provides new and better insights into whether, why and how biodiversity values should be given pride of place in agroecosystems. Biodiversity plays a pivotal role in determining agricultural production and shaping the livelihoods of agricultural communities. This volume examines the relationships among agricultural biodiversity, livelihoods and markets effectively. These authors argue that no single disciplinary position does justice to the range of strategies that farmers use to manage agrobiodiversity and other livelihood assets as they adapt to changing social, economic and environmental circumstances. Chapters explore relationships among the exploitation and conservation of agricultural biodiversity and the livelihoods of agricultural communities; and evaluate the capacity of national and multilateral institutions and policy settings to support the protection and capture by communities of agrobiodiversity values. The place of ecosystem services in valuing biodiversity in the marketplace is emphasized. A number of authors in this book assess the potential for market-based instruments and initiatives to encourage the protection of biodiversity. Others compare agrobiodiversity/community relationships, and the effectiveness of instruments designed to enhance these across international boundaries. In four parts, the editors and chapter authors emphasize the need for new approaches to biological diversity and the sustainability of the global ecosystem in general and of agriculture in particular. In the opening section, the editors and contributors attempt to introduce two seemingly contradictory things. On the one hand, they problematize the notion of biodiversity as it is applied to agricultural systems and their sustainability; on the other, they seek to restore some clarity by highlighting the conceptual issues, research questions and policy dilemmas of significant importance for biodiversity and agricultural communities’ sustainability. Part 2 effectively addresses agro-biodiversity and modernization, while emphasizing their contribution to intensive farming systems. This section argues that when farmers and farming businesses are well informed about the benefits of conservation, they are able to integrate conservation goals into decision making through agricultural production practices. Part 3 examines how certification systems affect farm and forest level biodiversity, and clarifies the specific impacts of the international standardization of environmental certification procedures and related markets. Part 4 brings out the conservation values resulting from eco-agriculture systems and discusses the rationale behind payments for ecosystem services schemes as they apply to different stakeholder groups. The book chapters draw on empirical case studies from across the developed and developing worlds. In so doing, the book not only points to similarities and differences in the experience of rural communities. It also shows how F. Mirzaei (&) Department of Livestock Production and Management, Animal Science Research Institute, 31585 Karaj, Iran e-mail: farmir2003203@yahoo.com

Dynamic management of crop diversity: From an experimental approach to on-farm conservation

In agricultural systems, biodiversity includes diversity within species and among species and provides many benefits for production, resilience and conservation. This article addresses the effects of a strategy of in situ conservation called dynamic management (DM) on population evolution, adaptation and diversity. Two French DM initiatives are considered, the first one corresponding to an experimental context, the second to an on-farm management. Results from a study over 26 years of experimental DM of bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) are first presented, including the evolution of agronomic traits and genetic diversity at neutral and fitness related loci. While this experiment greatly increased scientific knowledge of the effects of natural selection on cultivated populations, it also showed that population conservation cannot rely only on a network of experimental stations. In collaboration with a farmers’ network in France, researchers have begun studying the effects of on-farm DM (conservation and selection) on diversity and adaptation. Results from these studies show that on-farm DM is a key element for the long-term conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity. This method of in situ conservation deserves more attention in industrialised countries.

Mobilizing Local Knowledge and Asserting Culture

Knowing and deploying local, indigenous, or traditional knowledge has become an increasingly important instrument for the design and implementation of development and conservation initiatives in the Third World. This article explores the strategic mobilization of local knowledge through a case study of the politics of knowledge that emerges within projects aimed at the on-farm conservation of agricultural biodiversity in the Peruvian highlands. In framing traditional farmer practices and knowledge as integral to agrobiodiversity conservation, development and conservation groups take recourse to a particular construct of Andean culture. Yet tension arises between the customary delegitimization of Andean cultural traditions and the new appeals to value them, ambivalence emerges within interventionary discourse practice, and the recognition of local farmer expertise in a broader context of social hierarchy is rendered problematic. This case study of local knowledge, its mobilization and negotiation within a particular rendering of “culture,” ideological differences between institutions, agricultural heterogeneity, and the agency of recipient farmer groups have broader implications for how we study the utility and value of local knowledge and “cultural essentialism” in other development and conservation contexts, including those of East Timor.

Home gardens: neglected hotspots of agro-biodiversity and cultural diversity

Over the last two decades, the importance of conserving genetic resources has received increasing attention. In this context the role of home gardens as repositories of biological diversity has been acknowledged but still a comprehensive, interdisciplinary investigation of their agro-biodiversity is lacking. Home gardens, whether found in rural or urban areas, are characterized by a structural complexity and multifunctionality which enables the provision of different benefits to ecosystems and people. Studies carried out in various countries demonstrate that high levels of inter- and intra-specific plant genetic diversity, especially in terms of traditional crop varieties and landraces, are preserved in home gardens. Families engage in food production for subsistence or small-scale marketing and the variety of crops and wild plants provides nutritional benefits. At the same time, home gardens are important social and cultural spaces where knowledge related to agricultural practices is transmitted and through which households may improve their income and livelihoods. The present article summarizes available literature on the biological and cultural significance of agro-biodiversity in home gardens. It discusses future constraints and opportunities in home garden research, in the prospect of defining and promoting their role in conservation of agricultural biodiversity and cultural heritage.

No hay ganancia en la milpa: the agrarian question, food sovereignty, and the on-farm conservation of agrobiodiversity in the Guatemalan highlands

Although they receive little recognition for their contribution, peasant farmers in the global South play a fundamental role in securing the long-term global food supply. Via their self-sufficient agricultural practices, they cultivate the crop genetic diversity that enables food crops to adapt to changing environmental conditions. In this paper I draw upon empirical data from the Guatemalan center of agricultural biodiversity to investigate the concern that market expansion will displace peasant agriculture and undermine a cornerstone of the global food supply. I find that even though peasants' livelihoods involve multiple forms of market provisioning, they also engage in a Polanyian ‘double movement’ to protect their subsistence-oriented agricultural practices from the potentially deleterious effects of markets. I also investigate the so-called ‘agrarian question’ about the effects of market expansion on the viability of peasant agriculture, finding that although new forms of market provisioning are likely exacerbating rural inequality, the income from market activities actually enables rural Guatemalans to reproduce the conditions for peasant agriculture. Ultimately, I observe that the conservation of agricultural biodiversity and, consequently, global food security are contingent upon the ‘food sovereignty’ of peasant farmers.

Conserving Agricultural Biodiversity at Imburu Ward of Numan Local Government Area, Adamawa State, Nigeria

This study was conducted in Imburu Ward, Numan Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria to assess the role of local communities in agricultural diversity conservation. Background characteristics of households showed that farmers above 50 years of age were the most dominant group involved in agricultural biodiversity conservation. These were mostly males who had no formal education. Results on main crops grown showed that vegetables were cultivated by almost every household (80%), followed by sorghum with 75%, while rice was the lowest with 10%. Information on crops and crop varieties grown showed that most households in the study area cultivated between 1 and 2 varieties, with few households cultivating less than 2 varieties. There is need to harness and utilise the synergy that exists between modern practices of improving agricultural biodiversity and local knowledge and skills so that food supply and resource base of rural communities are alleviated. Keywords: Conservation, Local knowledge, agriculture, biodiversity, crops, Nigeria

Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation Toward Sustainable Rice-based Farming Systems

Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation Toward Sustainable Rice-based Farming Systems

Biodiversity Research for Sustainable Development: Can It Be Achieved?

Biodiversity is said to be the "heart of sustainable agricultural systems." Biodiversity research is envisioned to provide a better understanding of development issues so that better policy responses, management practices and actions will ultimately redound to a better quality of life for all, especially the poor. It is in this light that the Philippines-Netherlands Biodiversity Research Programme for Development is revisited and analyzed in this paper. This and other similar projects provide lessons for capacity development at the community, national, regional and international levels. To proceed with its analysis, the paper fleshes out the framework of sustainable development, situating the role of biodiversity in determining the pathway of development. As shown, biodiversity, as an element of the natural resource base, and in concert with technology and sociocultural factors, will continue to be relevant in a rapidly changing and increasingly globalized world. It also presents the sustainable livelihood framework to illustrate that biodiversity alone, being only one component of natural capital, cannot alleviate poverty if nothing is done with the other capital assets. One important lesson gleaned from the analysis of biodiversity research is that not all biodiversity is good. The key is to better understand the interactions between various levels and how these can be harnessed into positive interactions to produce a productive, stable and sustainable resource base. Another emerging lesson is that biodiversity can be conserved in agroecosystems if the poor resource users can be enabled to use it to improve their assets in the context of the sustainable livelihood framework. The effective management and conservation of agricultural biodiversity can be achieved through product value addition and link to market, germplasm enhancement, and participatory plant breeding, among others.