Mine’s a decaff

We’re always on the look-out for examples of the financial value of germplasm collections which don’t involve some obscure and faraway disease, however nasty. So it was really nice to come across a great story about the search for naturally low-caffeine coffee, and in the Wall Street Journal no less. Coincidentally, there was also a blog post yesterday about the wild coffees of Madagascar. ((Yes, dear reader, we nibbled both these things yesterday, but I thought, on reflection, that they were worth a bit more than that.)) Some of the many species found on that island are known to have low caffeine levels, but “[a]ttempts to transfer the caffeine-free property from wild coffee species of Madagascar, which produce an inferior beverage, to C. arabica have failed owing to a strong genetic barrier.”

LATER: I wonder if the recent Korean “land-grab” in Madagascar will have an effect on wild coffees and other interesting endemics.

2nd World Congress of Agroforestry 3rd Announcement

This just in.

Theme: Agroforestry – The Future of Global Land Use

The Congress will assess opportunities to leverage scientific agroforestry in promoting sustainable land use worldwide. It will also serve as a forum for agroforestry researchers, educators, practitioners and policy makers from around the world to:

  • share new research findings, lessons, experiences, and ideas that will help influence decisions that impact on livelihoods and the global environment
  • explore new opportunities and strengthen existing partnerships in agroforestry research, education, training, and development
  • form new networks and communities of practice, and nurture old ones

Diversity rules

Three articles on the benefits of diversity for your delectation this weekend. Evolutionary Applications has a paper suggesting that restoration of degraded landscapes is best done with “high quality and genetically diverse seed to maximize the adaptive potential of restoration efforts to current and future environmental change.” Meanwhile, in The Economist, how structurally complex and diverse betel nut plantations ((Ok, ok, “betel nut.”)) can be almost as good for bird diversity as the surrounding forest, and how it is better for a crop to be attacked by two pests rather than one.