- A niche modelling course on YouTube.
- Diversify for better nutrition.
- Cool infographic for CGIAR’s maize work.
- Which doesn’t mention the 58 names of maize.
- Discussion on genetic diversity from the first day of the Global Landscapes Forum 2014, in Lima, Peru, during COP20. And more from same thing, scroll down.
- Scuba rice in Bangladesh.
- Supporting food traditions in Sudan and Oklahoma.
- More on that weird, unnecessary, Siberian seed vault.
“more from the same thing”
“Alejandro Argumedo, of Asociacion ANDES (Peru), said: “This huge diversity of potatoes which are evolving in response to climate pressures is vital for adaptation and food security of the local communities…”
Is there any actual proof of this adaptive evolution? It could be that varieties are hammered by pests and diseases and are replaced from elsewhere (shown by Zimmerer — whose work seems to be ignored).
The same assumption seems to be made for a variety of wild species evolving to provide local ecosystem services. At least in stressed conditions where ecosystem services are most needed these services are provided by environmental specialist with long-distance transport mechanisms — that is, they are pre-adapted to the conditions, rather than locally evolved. A good example is Rhizophora mangroves with floating seedlings: tough and ubiquitous.
For crops, farmers moving pre-adapted varieties into a system is far quicker than waiting for the oft-postulated but rarely evidenced `local adaptation’.