Routledge Handbook of Agricultural Biodiversity

711 Pages·2017·95.269 MB·English

by  Danny Hunter, Luigi Guarino, Charles Spillane, Peter C. McKeown

ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF
AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY
The world relies on very few crop and animal species for agriculture and to supply its food needs.
In recent decades, there has been increased appreciation of the risk this implies for food security
and quality, especially in times of environmental change. As a result, agricultural biodiversity has
moved to the top of research and policy agendas.
This Handbook presents a comprehensive overview of our current knowledge of agricul-
tural biodiversity in a series of specially commissioned chapters. It draws on multiple disciplines
including plant and animal genetics, ecology, crop and animal science, food studies and nutrition,
as well as social science subjects which explore the socio-economic, cultural, institutional, legal
and policy aspects of agricultural biodiversity. It focuses not only on the core requirements to
deliver a sustainable agriculture and food supply, but also highlights the additional ecosystem ser-
vices provided by a diverse and resilient agricultural landscape and farming practices. The book
provides an indispensable reference textbook for a wide range of courses in agriculture, ecology,
biodiversity conservation and environmental studies.
Danny Hunter is a Senior Scientist in the Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems Initia-
tive at Bioversity International, Rome, Italy, and is a member of the Healthy Food Systems node,
Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Australia.
Luigi Guarino is currently the Director of Science at the Global Crop Diversity Trust. He has
been a consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and worked
for the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (now Bioversity International), and for the
Secretariat of the Pacific Community (now the Pacific Community) in the Middle East, Africa,
the Caribbean, Latin America and the South Pacific.
Charles Spillane is the Established Professor (Chair) of Plant Science, and Head of the Plant and
AgriBiosciences Research Centre (PABC) at the National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
Professor Spillane’s Genetics and Biotechnology Lab works on both fundamental and applied
research on plant and agricultural biosciences.
Peter C. McKeown is a Lecturer in the School of Natural Sciences, National University of
Ireland, Galway, Ireland, and Coordinator of the Masters in Climate Change, Agriculture and
Food Security (MSc.CCAFS).

ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF
AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY
Edited by Danny Hunter, Luigi Guarino,
Charles Spillane and Peter C. McKeown
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 selection and editorial matter, D. Hunter, L. Guarino, C. Spillane
and P. McKeown; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and
of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent
to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hunter, Danny, editor.
Title: Routledge handbook of agricultural biodiversity / edited by Danny Hunter,
Luigi Guarino, Charles Spillane and Peter McKeown.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017011544 | ISBN 9780415746922 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781315797359 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Agrobiodiversity.
Classification: LCC S494.5.A43 R68 2017 | DDC 631.5/8—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017011544
ISBN: 978-0-415-74692-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-79735-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
The editors pay particular tribute to the late Juliana Santilli who worked
tirelessly for legal protection for the users of agricultural biodiversity and the late
Bhuwon Sthapit who contributed signifi cantly to the development of on-farm
conservation and community biodiversity management. Their work has not
only enriched this Handbook but also the lives of the many farmers and farming
communities they supported.

CONTENTS
Contributors xii
Introduction: agricultural biodiversity, the key to sustainable food systems
in the 21st century 1
Danny Hunter, Luigi Guarino, Charles Spillane and Peter C. McKeown
PART 1
Biological resources for agricultural biodiversity 13
1 Plant genetic resources 15
Robert Henry
2 How modern and ancient genomic analyses can reveal complex
domestic histories using cattle as a case study 30
Ceiridwen J. Edwards, David E. MacHugh and David A. Magee
3 Forest and tree genetic resources 45
David Boshier, Judy Loo and Ian K. Dawson
4 Wild plant and animal genetic resources 65
Verina Ingram, Barbara Vinceti and Nathalie van Vliet
5 Aquatic genetic resources 86
Devin M. Bartley and Matthias Halwart
6 Pests, predators and parasitoids 99
Geoff M. Gurr, David J. Perović and Kristian Le Mottee
vii
Contents
7 Importance of pollinators in agricultural biodiversity 112
Barbara Gemmill-Herren
8 Soil biodiversity 127
Fenton Beed, Thomas Dubois, Daniel Coyne, Didier Lesueur
and Srinivasan Ramasamy
PART 2
The origins and history of agricultural biodiversity 145
9 Genetic aspects of crop domestication 147
Paul Gepts
10 Evolution and domestication of clonal crops 168
Peter J. Matthews
11 Agricultural biodiversity and the Columbian Exchange 192
David E. Williams
12 The Green Revolution and crop biodiversity 213
Prabhu L. Pingali
13 Agroecology: using functional biodiversity to design productive
and resilient polycultural systems 224
Miguel A. Altieri, Clara I. Nicholls and Marcus A. Lana
14 The role of trees in agroecology 238
Roger R. B. Leakey
PART 3
The value of agricultural biodiversity 253
15 The quality of the agricultural matrix and long-term conservation
of biodiversity 255
Ivette Perfecto and John Vandermeer
16 Agricultural biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services 268
Fabrice DeClerck
17 Leveraging agricultural biodiversity for crop improvement
and food security 285
Rodomiro Ortiz
viii
Contents
18 Neglected no more: leveraging underutilized crops to address
global challenges 298
Gennifer Meldrum and Stefano Padulosi
19 Agrobiodiversity, resilience, adaptation and climate change 311
Brenda B. Lin
20 An argument for integrating wild and agricultural biodiversity
conservation 326
Simon J. Attwood, Sarah E. Park, Paul Marshall, John H. Fanshawe
and Hannes Gaisberger
PART 4
Agricultural biodiversity: human health and well-being 343
21 Harvesting common ground: maximizing the co-benefits of
agrobiodiversity and human health 345
Cristina Romanelli and Cristina Tirado
22 Edible insect diversity for food and nutrition 364
Wendy Lu McGill, Komi K. M. Fiaboe, Sunday Ekesi and Sevgan Subramanian
23 Agricultural biodiversity and cultural heritage 377
Juliana Santilli
24 Holding on to agrobiodiversity: human nutrition and health of
Indigenous Peoples 388
Harriet V. Kuhnlein
25 Agricultural biodiversity for healthy diets and healthy food systems 401
Jessica E. Raneri and Gina Kennedy
PART 5
The drivers of agricultural biodiversity 417
26 Law, policy and agricultural biodiversity 419
Juliana Santilli
27 Using access and benefit-sharing policies to support climate
change adaptation 435
Ana Bedmar Villanueva, Isabel López Noriega, Michael Halewood,
Gloria Otieno and Ronnie Vernooy
ix