A paper in Forest Ecology and Management describes how high-quality “briar root” smoking pipes are made from the lignotuber — a starchy swelling on underground stems or roots — of the tree heath, Erica arborea. The best lignotubers, and therefore the best pipes, come from the Peloritani Mountains of NE Sicily. Unfortunately, current management practices — which discourage “grub-felling” and use for pipe-making and charcoal production — have ironically resulted in an increasing frequency and severity of fires. The authors suggest that the cultural and environmental roles of tree heath in Sicily need to be seen as two sides of the same coin and not as being in opposition. What’s happening with cork is another example of the same thing.
Micronesian canoe making on the wane
How many plants does it take to make a canoe? Well, according to a great paper in the latest Conservation Biology, the answer is 27, at least in Pohnpei, both wild and cultivated. Unfortunately, canoe-making skills and knowledge are eroding fast: “Given current trends, the present generation of Pohnpeians may be the last to retain any knowledge of this traditional craft.” The authors issue a bit of a challenge at the end of their paper:
Because of the immense scale of traditional knowledge erosion in virtually all areas of the globe, we invite other researchers, conservationists, and development workers to assess the loss of traditional knowledge and practices, identify areas for interventions, and help make those interventions happen in the areas where they work. Efforts at strengthening awareness of the link between culture and the environment can be very helpful in supporting local conservation programs, and important for personal, community, and environmental well-being around the world.
Agricultural biodiversity and desertification
Today’s much-reported UN University study on the threat of desertification sent me scurrying for information on a recent training course I had vaguely heard about on the role that genebanks could pay in combating desertification. It turned out to be called, ahem, “The Role of Genebanks in Using Agrobiodiversity to Combat Desertification.” But the search for more information was deeply frustrating. I found a few photos (scroll down a bit), but nothing else. Anyone out there know something about this workshop?
Rooibos and climate change
The wild relative might offer some additional options to rooibos tea farmers in South Africa as climate change hits.
Potato pest heads west
Globodera pallida cysts. Cysts are the egg-engorged bodies of dead female nematodes. Eventually, the cysts dislodge from a plant root and the eggs hatch. Image courtesy Zafar Handoo, ARS.
American agricultural scientists have confirmed the presence of the pale potato cyst nematode (Globera pallida) in soil in Idaho. This is the first time it has been reported in the US, although it has been in Canada for at least a year. The report from USDA makes much of the skilled science needed to distinguish G. pallida from a close relative, the tobacco cyst nematode, (G. tabacum), and we applaud that. What it doesn’t say is that economic losses amount to roughly 2 tonnes per hectare for every 20 eggs per gram of soil. Total losses can approach 80% in the case of heavy infestations. the main means of control is to grow resistant varieties. In the UK this resulted in the rise of Maris Piper, a potato that, in my opinion, is little better than wet blotting paper.