Journal article
A global perspective of the richness and evenness of traditional crop-variety diversity maintained by farming communities
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.105(14), pp.5326-5331
From the Cover
04/08/2008
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/109098
PMCID: PMC2291090
PMID: 18362337
Abstract
Varietal data from 27 crop species from five continents were drawn together to determine overall trends in crop varietal diversity on farm. Measurements of richness, evenness, and divergence showed that considerable crop genetic diversity continues to be maintained on farm, in the form of traditional crop varieties. Major staples had higher richness and evenness than nonstaples. Variety richness for clonal species was much higher than that of other breeding systems. A close linear relationship between traditional variety richness and evenness (both transformed), empirically derived from data spanning a wide range of crops and countries, was found both at household and community levels. Fitting a neutral “function” to traditional variety diversity relationships, comparable to a species abundance distribution of “neutral ecology,” provided a benchmark to assess the standing diversity on farm. In some cases, high dominance occurred, with much of the variety richness held at low frequencies. This suggested that diversity may be maintained as an insurance to meet future environmental changes or social and economic needs. In other cases, a more even frequency distribution of varieties was found, possibly implying that farmers are selecting varieties to service a diversity of current needs and purposes. Divergence estimates, measured as the proportion of community evenness displayed among farmers, underscore the importance of a large number of small farms adopting distinctly diverse varietal strategies as a major force that maintains crop genetic diversity on farm.
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Details
- Title
- A global perspective of the richness and evenness of traditional crop-variety diversity maintained by farming communities
- Creators
- Devra I Jarvis - Bioversity International, 00057 Maccarese, ItalyAnthony H. D Brown - Australia Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, CSIRO Plant Industry, Canberra ACT 2601, AustraliaPham Hung Cuong - Agricultural Science Institute of Northern Central Vietnam, Vinh City, Nghe An Province, VietnamLuis Collado-Panduro - Aconsorcio para el Desarrollo Sostenible de Ucayali, Pucallpa, PeruLuis Latournerie-Moreno - Instituto Tecnológico Agropecuario No. 2. Km, 16.3 Antigua Carretera Mérida-Motul, Conkal, Yucatán, CP 97345, MexicoSanjaya Gyawali - Local Initiatives for Biodiversity Research and Development, Pokhara, NepalTesema Tanto - Institute of Biodiversity Conservation and Research, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaMahamadou Sawadogo - Université de Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoIstvan Mar - Újszilvás Községi Önkormányzat, H-2768, Újszilvás, HungaryMohammed Sadiki - Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat, MoroccoNguyen Thi-Ngoc Hue - Plant Resources Center, Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Science Institute, Hanoi, VietnamLuis Arias-Reyes - Centro Interdisciplinario de Investicación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional–Instituto Politécnico National Unidad Mérida, 97310 Mérida, Yucatán, MexicoDidier Balma - Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles, Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoJwala Bajracharya - Agriculture Botany Division, Nepalese Agricultural Research Council, Khumaltar, NepalFernando Castillo - Instituto de Recursos Genéticos y Productividad, Colegio de Postgraduados, Montecillo Edo. de México, C.P. 56230, MexicoDeepak Rijal - Local Initiatives for Biodiversity Research and Development, Pokhara, NepalLoubna Belqadi - Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat, MoroccoRam Rana - Local Initiatives for Biodiversity Research and Development, Pokhara, NepalSeddik Saidi - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Rabat, MoroccoJeremy Ouedraogo - 2 Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles, Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoRoger Zangre - Agence Nationale pour la Valorisation des Acquis de la Recherche, Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoKeltoum Rhrib - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Rabat, MoroccoJose Luis Chavez - Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Ayanzados del Instituto Nacional Politécnico Unidad Oaxaca, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, 71230 Oaxaca, MexicoDaniel Schoen - McGill University, Quebec, QC, Canada H9X 3V9; andBhuwon Sthapit - Bioversity International, Regional Office Asia, Pacific and Oceania, Serdang, 43400 Selangor Darul Ehsan, MalaysiaPaola De Santis - Bioversity International, 00057 Maccarese, ItalyCarlo Fadda - Bioversity International, 00057 Maccarese, ItalyToby Hodgkin - Bioversity International, 00057 Maccarese, Italy
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.105(14), pp.5326-5331
- Academic Unit
- College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences; Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Series
- From the Cover
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Identifiers
- 99900547359001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article