Indicators for the on-farm assessment of crop cultivar and livestock breed diversity: a survey-based participatory approach
2014
Last, Luisa | Arndorfer, Michaela | Balázs, Katalin | Dennis, Peter | Dyman, Tetyana | Fjellstad, Wendy | Friedel, Jürgen K | Herzog, Félix | Jeanneret, Philippe | Luescher, Gisela | Moreno, Gerardo | Kwikiriza, Norman | Gomiero, Tiziano | Paoletti, Maurizio Guido | Pointereau, Philippe | Sarthou, Jean-Pierre, J.-P. | Stoyanova, Siyka | Wolfrum, Sebastian | Koelliker, Roland | Agroscope | Universität für Bodenkultur Wien = University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences [Vienne, Autriche] (BOKU) | Institute of Environmental and Landscape Management ; Szent István University | Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) ; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)-Aberystwyth University | Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University | The Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute | Forestry school ; University of Extremadura | Makerere University [Kampala, Ouganda] (MAK) | Department of Biology ; Università degli Studi di Padova = University of Padua (Unipd) | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona = Autonomous University of Barcelona = Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB) | Association Solagro (Solagro) | Dynamiques Forestières dans l'Espace Rural (DYNAFOR) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse (ENSAT) ; Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP) ; Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP) ; Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT) | Dynamiques et écologie des paysages agriforestiers (DYNAFOR) ; École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse (ENSAT) ; Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP) ; Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP) ; Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Ecole d'Ingénieurs de Purpan (INP - PURPAN) ; Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP) ; Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) | Institute of Plant Genetic Resources K.Malkov | Technische Universität Munchen - Technical University Munich - Université Technique de Munich (TUM)
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. Agrobiodiversity plays a fundamental role in guaranteeing food security. However, still little is known about the diversity within crop and livestock species: the genetic diversity. In this paper we present a set of indicators of crop accession and breed diversity for different farm types at farm-level, which may potentially supply a useful tool to assess and monitor farming system agrobiodiversity in a feasible and relatively affordable way. A generic questionnaire was developed to capture the information on crops and livestock in 12 European case study regions and in Uganda by 203 on-farm interviews. Through a participatory approach, which involved a number of stakeholders, eight potential indicators were selected and tested. Five of them are recommended as potentially useful indicators for agrobiodiversity monitoring per farm: (1) crop-species richness (up to 16 crop species), (2) crop-cultivar diversity (up to 15 crop cultivars, 1-2 on average), (3) type of crop accessions (landraces accounted for 3 % of all crop cultivars in Europe, 31 % in Uganda), (4) livestock-species diversity (up to 5 livestock species), and (5) breed diversity (up to five cattle and eight sheep breeds, on average 1-2).We demonstrated that the selected indicators are able to detect differences between farms, regions and dominant farm types. Given the present rate of agrobiodiversity loss and the dramatic effects that this may have on food production and food security, extensive monitoring is urgent. A consistent survey of crop cultivars and livestock breeds on-farm will detect losses and help to improve strategies for the management and conservation of on-farm genetic resources.
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