Variety is the source of life: Agrobiodiversity benefits, challenges, and needs

Rist, Stephan; Bonanomi, Elisabeth Bürgi; Giger, Markus; Hett, Cornelia; Scharrer, Bettina; Jacobi, Johanna; Lannen, Anu

doi:10.5281/zenodo.3568133

Cited by 3 publications

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“…In the face of climate change and the ongoing biodiversity crisis -requiring agriculture to adapt to a shifting climate and to be more environmentally-friendly -the development of sustainable and resilient food production systems with adaptive cultivars is highly relevant to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (Bourke et al, 2021;Obrecht et al, 2021;Rist et al, 2020). Agroforestry -agriculture with treeshas gained renewed economic and environmental interest in the past decade as numerous scientists have suggested agroforestry to be a promising approach to regenerative agriculture that conserves and restores soils and biodiversity and potentially offers greater resilience to climate change stressors (e.g., Kohli et al, 2007;Jose 2009;Torralba et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Performance of a winter wheat composite cross population in two temperate agroforestry systems – a Swiss case study

Hond-Vaccaro,

Mascher,

Six

et al. 2023

Preprint

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In agroforestry systems (AFS), where environmental conditions are highly variable at small spatial scales, the use of uniform genetic material of a single cultivar commonly grown in monoculture cropping might not be optimal. However, the use of composite cross populations (CCPs) that contain an inherent genetic variability might be a promising approach under the environmental variability created by trees in AFS. In this experimental trial, the performance of a CCP (‘CC-2k’) of winter wheat was compared to a commercial variety (‘Wiwa’) in a split-plot design at two AFS (Feusisberg and Wollerau) in Central Switzerland. The factor variety (p < 0.05) and the interactions of site and distance to tree (p < 0.05) and site and variety (p < 0.05) significantly affected wheat yield at the plot level. In Feusisberg, CC-2k and Wiwa yield (across all distances) amounted to 1.9 ± 0.7 Mg ha− 1 and 2.0 ± 0.8 Mg ha− 1, respectively, while in Wollerau, to 1.9 ± 0.9 Mg ha− 1 and 0.7 ± 0.4 Mg ha− 1, respectively. Wiwa had a higher protein, Fe and Ca content than CC-2k. Therefore, while the CC-2k outperformed Wiwa in terms of yield in one of the two AFS, Wiwa outperformed CC-2k in terms of quality. Thus, the composite cross population might be better adapted to the heterogenous environment of agroforestry systems but fails to reach the high-quality product of modern cultivars. Further improvements in terms of quality might make CCPs a viable option for diversified agricultural systems with larger environmental heterogeneity than common monoculture cropping systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the "Green Revolution" in the 1950s, local crop varieties have been replaced by standardized, commercial varieties worldwide. For instance, 90% of 10,000 wheat varieties cultivated in China in 1940 were lost in 1970 (Rist et al 2020). Thus, the question is: "How can plant breeders regain intraspeci c crop diversity?"…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of a winter wheat composite cross population in two temperate agroforestry systems – a Swiss case study

Hond-Vaccaro,

Mascher,

Six

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Performance of a winter wheat composite cross population in two temperate agroforestry systems – a Swiss case study

den Hond-Vaccaro,

Mascher,

Six

et al. 2024

Agroforest Syst

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In agroforestry systems (AFS), where environmental conditions are highly variable at small spatial scales, the use of uniform genetic material of a single cultivar commonly grown in monoculture cropping might not be optimal. However, the use of composite cross populations (CCPs) that contain an inherent genetic variability might be a promising approach under the environmental variability created by trees in AFS. In this experimental trial, the performance of a CCP (‘CC-2 k’) of winter wheat was compared to a commercial variety (‘Wiwa’) in a split-plot design at two AFS (Feusisberg and Wollerau) in Central Switzerland. Yield of CC-2k (1.9 ± 0.7 Mg ha−1) was higher than yield of Wiwa (0.7 ± 0.4 Mg ha−1) in Wollerau, but yields did not differ between CCP and variety in Feusisberg (1.9 ± 0.7 Mg ha−1 and 2.0 ± 0.8 Mg ha−1, respectively). The interaction of site and variety was significant (p < 0.05). Wiwa had a higher protein, Fe and Ca content than CC-2k. Therefore, while the CC-2k outperformed Wiwa in terms of yield in one of the two AFS, Wiwa outperformed CC-2k in terms of quality. In this one-year field experiment, the composite cross population might have been better adapted to the heterogenous environment of agroforestry systems (found in one out of two sites) but failed to reach the high-quality product of modern cultivars. These initial results must be seen as first insights which need to be complemented by larger field experiments for generalisation. The findings of this study may be interpreted as an indication that further improvements in terms of quality might make CCPs a viable option for diversified agricultural systems with larger environmental heterogeneity than common monoculture cropping systems.

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Agrobiodiversity-Oriented Food Systems between Public Policies and Private Action: A Socio-Ecological Model for Sustainable Territorial Development

et al. 2021

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The international and European literature and institutional contexts are fostering agrobiodiversity as the foundation of a new paradigm for localized agri-food system development and sustainability. Accordingly, new systemic and holistic theoretical approaches and conceptual models are needed. This paper aims to identify and apply a new conceptual framework contributing to the understanding of how the restoring and valorization of underutilized or neglected landraces can act as a trigger for sustainable territorial development. A new holistic model was designed for the characterization and analysis of agrobiodiversity-oriented food systems. We consider the model innovative in enhancing the conceptualization of the adoption of a socio-ecological systems approach. We applied the model to a representative case study involving the localized agri-food system of the Valtiberina Red Onion, a threatened plant landrace cultivated in Tuscany, Italy. A participatory action–research approach was followed, involving both public and private stakeholders. As the main outcome of the paper, we demonstrated the capability of our new SES model by identifying and describing the assets, drivers, human action processes and generated beneficial effects concerning the development and reproduction of landrace-based quality valorization virtuous circles. Our research findings highlighted the model as an innovative tool for the analysis of agrobiodiversity-oriented food systems sustainability. Significantly, the model was designed to identify the combined role of public policy and private action in supporting the implementation of coherent management mechanisms and effective governance settings.

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Variety is the source of life: Agrobiodiversity benefits, challenges, and needs

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Performance of a winter wheat composite cross population in two temperate agroforestry systems – a Swiss case study

Performance of a winter wheat composite cross population in two temperate agroforestry systems – a Swiss case study

Performance of a winter wheat composite cross population in two temperate agroforestry systems – a Swiss case study

Agrobiodiversity-Oriented Food Systems between Public Policies and Private Action: A Socio-Ecological Model for Sustainable Territorial Development

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