More reading to do, damn. Thanks to Jacob for finding a pointer to Kyoto Journal’s Biodiversity Edition. It includes a special section on satoyama, a hymn to the attractions of biodiverse diets, and a paean to seedbanking. Among many other things. Meanwhile, there’s also the new issue of Biodiversity Informatics, which focuses on the digitization of natural history collections. When am I going to be able to get any work done?
Nibbles: Bees, Food crises, Book, Drought, Video, Pavlovsk, Community genebank
- More on the one-two fungus-virus bee-killer combo.
- “In the end, all the brave talk about food self-sufficiency in Asia is just nonsense; ain’t never gonna happen.” Very strategic analysis.
- The Resilient Gardener, by Carol Deppe. Can’t wait to get hold of this, from one of the best ever.
- “African governments urged to increase uptake of drought tolerant maize.” Because that’s easier than drought-tolerant agriculture?
- The need for Agricultural Bioversity/Documentary Video. I guess I’ll have to find time to watch this. Unless you do first and tell us what you think.
- Belated: someone else finds coverage of Pavlovsk puzzling.
- Kenyan community sets up its own genebank to protect itself from evil hybrids and GMOs.
Eating Your Environment lectures kick off
Quite a lineup for this lecture series on Food: Eating Your Environment at U Washington. Every Thursday from 5 October to 30 November. Anyone going to any of them and would like to tell us about it?
Nibbles: Musa wild relative, Soil biodiversity, Wild sorghum hybrids, Millet diversity, Bees, Garlic core collection, Heirloom seed saving, Nutrition, Fungal conservation, Sacred places
- New(ish) banana wild relative found in Mekong. Photo by Markku Hakkinen.
- Conserving soil biodiversity.
- Ecological fitness of wild-cultivated sorghum hybrids equal to wild parent.
- Pattern of genetic diversity in pearl millet determined by artificial, not natural, selection.
- The latest on the troubles of bees.
- Garlic gets cored. Totally SFW.
- Seed saving in the Hudson Valley.
- West African leaders say agriculture should be about nutrition. As opposed to?
- International Society for Fungal Conservation established. And that’s about it for now, but there are some ideas about what it will do.
Nibbles: CBD, Agroforestry, Rice, Soil interactions, Bumblebees, Chaco, Geoparks
- Executive Director of CBD perpetuates myth that we have lost 75% of crop diversity, at high-level meeting, no less.
- 670 agroforestry trees in a database, courtesy of ICRAF.
- Last Rice Today of this year, the 50th anniversary of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), summarized.
- Soil community helps maintain species and genetic diversity.
- Good news for some UK bumblebees.
- On the agricultural frontier in South America. Any crop wild relatives there?
- Global Network of National Geoparks expands. Any crop wild relatives there?