Gender and agrobiodiversity: a case study from Bangladesh

Local geography and gender are two major factors determining which crop varieties are cultivated in a case study of two rural villages in Bangladesh. This paper explores the interrelationships between gender, agrobiodiversity, and the use of, and preferences for, improved and local crop varieties. These are examined in relation to rice, minor field crops, and home garden fruits and vegetables. Reasons for both the displacement and the persistence of local varieties (LVs) are analysed in comparison to improved variety (IV) diffusion. The research evaluates agrobiodiversity through the number, types, and varieties of crops grown in fields and home gardens. The desired agroecological, economic, and cultural characteristics of crops grown document how respondents rank their variety preferences. Variety preferences and the perceived importance of LV preservation are compared with what is actually grown. The study indicates that there was little variation between villages in their approach towards the use of IV and LV rice; IVs were cultivated for their high yields and LV rice for taste and culinary uses. However, there were significant differences in relative agricultural dependence between the two villages which led to unique variety preferences. In both villages, women's preferences for IVs or LVs play a major role in crop choices, particularly as they manifest themselves in gendered domains of authority.     

Geographic Influences on Maize Seed Exchange in the Bajío,Mexico

To document the diversity of geographic (physical and human) influences on seed exchange, an important component of traditional agricultural systems, household surveys were conducted in four villages in the Mexican Bajío. This research reviews and contributes to an understanding of the purpose, structure, and scale of seed exchange and threats to seed movement. Based on the household survey data, the main factors that distinguish seed exchange at the village level include whether or not the same seed was grown the previous year, what farmers look for in a seed source, and where they have acquired their original seed. When the household survey data are analyzed based on gender, rather than village, different results are obtained. We discuss the diversity of possible influences on the current seed systems in four Bajío communities surveyed and address the possible consequences for agrobiodiversity conservation.     

Seed reserves in the central Monte Desert, Argentina: implications for granivory

It has been suggested that lower rates of granivory in South American warm deserts compared to their North American counterparts arose from a reduction of seed reserves in the former owing to the extinction of argyrolagid marsupials. We measured seed reserves in two habitats of the central Monte Desert in an attempt to detect such seed decline, but to no avail. After moderate rainfall, maximum seed standing crops reached 16,000 and 23,000 seeds m⁻²in shrublands and open forests, respectively. Under the canopy of trees and shrubs there were 19,000 and 37,000 seeds m⁻²; whereas in exposed areas there werec. 10,000 seeds m⁻²in both habitats. Seed banks in other South American semi-arid areas showed similar values. Total grass seeds as well as those presumably preferred by ants also seem to be similar in both continents. Hence, granivory in South America, as has been already reported for Australia, is lower than in North America in spite of the great similarity of seed bank sizes. Moreover, argyrolagids were unlikely seed-hoarding granivores, therefore some other reason than argyrolagid extinction should be sought to explain the lack of specialized seed-eating mammals, and the smaller overall seed consumption rates in South American deserts.     

不同贮藏条件和光照对5种蒺藜科植物种子萌发的影响

研究不同贮藏条件和光照对5种蒺藜科植物（骆驼蓬 Pegannum harmala、唐古特白刺Nitrari tangutorum、泡泡刺Nitraria sphaerocarpa、驼蹄瓣 Zygophyllum fabago 和多裂骆驼蓬Peganum multisectum)种子萌发的影响。结果表明,低温贮藏对这5种植物的种子萌发有显著影响,并且种子萌发对光、暗的响应随贮藏条件和贮藏时间的变化而变化。根据这5种植物在不同条件组合下的最大萌发率,拟定出了种子萌发的最佳贮藏条件和萌发条件：①湿-冷贮藏能使骆驼蓬种子具有较高的萌发率,此时对光照没有明显的要求;②多裂骆驼蓬种子经过80 d湿-冷贮藏后在光下能达到很高的萌发率,同时,其80 d干-冷贮藏后在暗条件下的萌发率接近同样的效果;③唐古特白刺种子更适合光下萌发,在湿+低温+光照处理下,种子经过三个贮藏期后均具有较高的萌发率,而干-冷贮藏种子只有冷藏80 d后才能达到较高萌发率;④泡泡刺种子适合干-冷贮藏,对光照没有要求;⑤驼蹄瓣种子在干、湿贮藏后,其萌发率无明显差异,但在暗条件下萌发率略高于光条件下,并且达到最大萌发率所需要的冷藏时间短（20 d）,而在光下则需要较长的冷藏（80 d 以上）才能达到较高萌发率。     

Geography and gender

Most people in Britain today work in jobs dominated very markedly by either women or men. Sex-typing occurs in many other activities. For example, child care and domestic work, whether paid or unpaid, are generally considered to be tasks for women. However, with the exception of domestic work and child care, the allocation of activities to women or men varies between societies. For example, in much of sub-Saharan Africa, women work in fields, growing basic subsistence crops for their families, whereas in much of Latin America, women's agricultural work is confined to tending animals and food processing. Inequality arises because the role of women is generally associated with inferior status, socially, politically and/or economically. When mapping the geography of gender, an example shows that female life expectancy at birth is highest in the developed countries and lowest in the poorest countries of the Third World. Regarding the relationship between gender divisions and various aspects of spatial organization within societies most attention has focused on differences in ethnic group, social class, and stage in the life cycle. In mid-19th century Britain large-scale factory production precipitated a spatial separation between home and work and created the possibility of separate spheres of life for women and men. A particular social form, namely a nuclear family with a dependent wife, can operate as a factor contributing to changes in the spatial organization of urban areas in the form of suburban growth. After decades of outward movement by affluent social groups, a return to small pockets within inner-urban areas is now evident. This process is known as gentrification. An additional factor of significance in connection with gentrification is the increasing success of middle-class women in obtaining well-paid career jobs.     

Agrobiodiversity and Shade Coffee Smallholder Livelihoods: A Review and Synthesis of Ten Years of Research in Central America

We used households as the primary unit of analysis to synthesize agrobiodiversity research in small-scale coffee farms and cooperatives of Nicaragua and El Salvador. Surveys, focus groups, and plant inventories were used to analyze agrobiodiversity and its contribution to livelihoods. Households managed high levels of agrobiodiversity, including 100 shade tree and epiphyte species, food crops, and medicinals. Small farms contained higher levels of agrobiodiversity than larger, collectively managed cooperatives. Households benefited from agrobiodiversity through consumption and sales. To better support agrobiodiversity conservation, our analysis calls for a hybrid approach integrating bottom-up initiatives with the resources from top-down projects.     

喀斯特土壤厚度和水分变化对两种菊科草本种子及果实的物候、可塑性和子代种子萌发率的影响（英文）

缺水的浅层土壤是植物在脆弱喀斯特地区生长和繁殖的关键限制因素。一年生草本植物是适应喀斯特地区严苛生境的先驱,但其繁殖策略对短缺水资源和有限土壤资源的双重限制响应尚不明确。因此,在这项研究中,我们通过评估果序和种子的数量、生物量和后代种子的发芽率,研究了两种一年生的菊科草本苍耳（Xanthium sibiricum）和三叶鬼针草（Bidens pilosa）在恶劣的喀斯特土壤环境中,种子和果实物候的可塑性和后代种子萌发率。苍耳和三叶鬼针草在完整的双向随机区组设计中,设置了三种土壤深度和三种水分梯度下生长。主要研究结果如下：（1）随着土壤厚度或（和）水分的降低,苍耳的子代数量（种子和果实）和生物量显著减少（P<0.05）,三叶鬼针草在水分降低时增加果序和种子的生物量。（2）苍耳的亲本经历了资源减少后,种子数量和种子生物量没有相关性,而三叶鬼针草中种子数量和种子生物量之间存在显着的正相关（P<0.05）。（3）三种水分处理条件下,苍耳种子的萌发率没有随土壤厚度的减少而变化。对照条件下,随着土壤厚度的减小,三叶鬼针草的种子萌发率显著降低（P<0.05）。结果表明,苍耳倾向于通...     

九寨沟林下28种乡土观赏植物种子基本特征

为了筛选九寨沟旅游退化地段林下植被恢复的适宜物种,并揭示乡土植物种子基本性状特征,研究了九寨沟28种观赏性乡土植物种子基本特征 (长宽、种皮厚度、千粒重、活力、萌发率)以及低温层积提高种子发芽能力的作用.调查研究结果是:1) 28种植物种子中4种为小种子(<1 mg),53.6%是中等大小的种子(1～9.9 mg),32.1%为大种子(>9.9 mg).小种子均出现萌发,与小种子相比,种子休眠普遍存在于中等大小和大的种子中.2) 77%的物种种子活力较高(>72%),但仅有7种常规条件下能萌发;窄叶鲜卑花的萌发率最高,达到80%左右,6种植物的萌发率3%～50%.3)低温层积显著提高了蔷薇、毛果铁线莲、宽叶旌节花、假升麻的萌发率(P<0.05),也相对较早地提高了陇东海棠、鲜黄小檗、独活的萌发,但对大多数种子萌发没有促进作用.综合分析表明,九寨沟28种林下或林缘乡土植物中只有窄叶鲜卑花、毛果铁线莲、宽叶旌节花、假升麻、陇东海棠、鲜黄小檗、蔷薇等12种可直播或通过低温层积处理后直播用于旅游干扰退化地段的林下植被恢复中,而其他种类尚需进一步寻求打破休眠的措施和方法.     

From the kitchen and the field: Gender and maize diversity in the Bajío region of Mexico

The conservation of crop genetic diversity in farmers' fields is important for future food security. Recent research on women and biodiversity has emphasized the importance of women's knowledge in plant domestication and biodiversity conservation. This paper presents a case study of the differences in women's and men's knowledge of maize landraces in four different environments in the Bajío region of Mexico. We argue that research on crop diversity and conservation needs to include both men and women farmers' knowledge. Gendered knowledge results from men and women in a household being responsible for different tasks and sometimes for farming separate plots. In addition, as economic pressures increasingly force men to work away from their communities for extended periods, women become the primary agricultural decision-makers.     

土地利用方式对岩溶山地土壤种子库的影响

本文从种类组成、种子数量、生态优势度、物种多样性、种子分布规律和物种相似性等方面比较了重庆市岩溶低山10种不同土地利用系统的土壤种子库特点，10种土地利用类型包括耕地、弃耕地、果园、灌草坡、人工林和次生林。结果表明，研究区种子以草本为主，随土利用强度增加，种子类和数量减少，与地面农田杂草相似性增加，土壤种子库出质和量方面的锐减。从土壤种子角度说明研究区生态退化严重。     

An Ecosystem Services Approach to Sustainable Livelihoods in the Homegardens of Kandy,Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT

The Kandyan homegardens, or forest gardens, of central Sri Lanka are diverse, smallholder agroforestry ecosystems that for 2000 years have reflected evolving environmental, economic, and social livelihood needs. An ecosystem services approach interrogated homegarden changes over the last 10 years in 31 Kandyan households. Livelihood strategies favouring homegardens were found to have broader benefits across household, national, and global scales than those favouring commercial simplification or those abandoning cultivation for alternative incomes. Livelihood benefits beyond income included resilience to economic and environmental shocks; food security; and higher stocks of biological and agricultural diversity. This revealed overlooked socio-ecological feedbacks between drivers that frustrated interventions to sustain homegarden livelihoods, including increased wild animal incursions thwarting household climate adaptation and disaster recovery; global organic and fair trade incentives reducing food security and livelihood resilience; and national seed and animal regulations counteracting homegarden sustainability programs. Despite these pressures, households maintained homegarden systems for their cultural, aesthetic and eating preferences. An ecosystem services approach can complement sustainable livelihood approaches by identifying overlooked environmental and cultural benefits; reveal livelihood feedbacks from drivers of ecosystem change; avoid unintended consequences from interventions; and capitalise on synergies between stakeholder priorities.     

Counting Beans: Agrobiodiversity,Indigeneity, and Agrarian Reform

In‐field conservation of locally domesticated crop varieties ameliorates agrobiodiversity losses, but the interaction among nationally regulated socioeconomic factors at the local scale tends to discourage this. Analyses of household surveys conducted in Ecuador demonstrate that state and nongovernmental institutions interact to discourage cultivation of locally domesticated varieties of beans (Phaseolus spp.). Land privatization, agricultural extension, and credit programs favor market production of introduced modern bean varieties, and locally domesticated varieties are noted for favorable nutrition, culinary, and agroecological qualities. Resolving disconnections between the market and social values for landrace beans may provide agrobiodiversity conservation opportunities.     

Woodlands and Agrobiodiversity in Irrigation Landscapes Amidst Global Change: Bolivia, 1990–2002

The global shift to small- and medium-scale irrigation is potentially compatible with high-agrobiodiversity production. A case study of the Cochabamba region in central Bolivia between 1990 and 2002 is designed to examine new interactions of irrigation with agrobiodiversity through change and continuity of landscape structures and functions. Irrigation change contributed to increased commercial potato and peach farming. Still persistent interactions of canal woodland habitat (landscape matrix including uncultivated or “wild” agrobiodiversity) with patches of cultivated agrobiodiversity helped ensure nutrient transfer and likelihood of gene flow. Farmers' field-level responses continued to include agrobiodiversity, especially multiple farmer varieties (FVs) of Andean maize. Capacities of social–ecological resilience in the period from 1990 to 2002 are estimated to have been moderate in anthropogenic canal woodlands (> 95 percent continued cover, albeit with reduced connectivity) and cultivated agrobiodiversity (viable with local loss of Andean potato FVs) and moderate-high in wild agrobiodiversity (viable with reduced capacity due to modified weed management). Indigenous “ethnodevelopment” applied to Andean community irrigation contributed positively to social–ecological resilience, albeit with significant limitations. Findings recommend that global change policies build emphasis on the interactions of water resource and agrobiodiversity management.     

砂铁矿土壤种子库组成及出苗规律研究（英文）

砂铁矿的开采对周边荒漠草地产生较大影响,土壤种子库极度破坏,曾经的荒漠草场利用率和生产力几乎为零,严重影响了当地畜牧业发展和生态环境安全。人工补充土壤种子库对生态修复后荒漠草地物种组成影响十分重要。本研究以平整后的砂铁矿为研究对象,采用室内发芽盘方法,对比分析了砂铁矿土壤种子库人工补充前后出苗规律及物种组成以及种子埋深对出苗率的影响,结论认为：(1)青河县砂铁矿区原始土壤种子库仅包含4种植物,均为一年生藜科植物,优势种为刺沙蓬和虫实,且土壤种子库密度非常小;(2)研究区土壤种子库出苗与水分关系密切,增加水分,一年生植被出现“爆发式”出苗现象;(3)种子埋深影响多年生植被出苗率,0-5cm是出苗的最佳埋深。播深合适的情况下,人工补充土壤种子库在7天就可以完成出苗,这些结论均为修复时选择物种及大面积推广提供依据和奠定基础。     

A STUDY ON FIELD WATER CIRCULATION PATTERN IN THE DRYLAND OF NORTHERN CHINA

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HOME GARDENS IN AMAZONIAN PERU: DIVERSITY AND EXCHANGE OF PLANTING MATERIAL*

ABSTRACT. This article examines how peasant farmers build and maintain agrobiodiversity in home gardens found in two traditional peasant communities along the Marañón River in the Peruvian Amazon. Data were gathered through household and garden surveys as well as in‐depth interviews with garden tenders in an upland mixed agricultural village and a lowland fishing village. Substantial variations in cultivated plant diversity were encountered in gardens between and within the villages, which are found to be related to differential exchange of seeds, cuttings, suckers, and other planting material as well as to specific garden and household characteristics. Planting material flows along multiple pathways—from gift giving and purchase to inheritance and scavenging—to the gardens, reflecting a complex and often extensive network of exchange that enables the establishment and maintenance of home garden plant diversity in seemingly isolated and small communities. Further research is needed to identify broader geographical and sociocultural patterns of agrobiodiversity in Amazonia.     

黄土高原子午岭林区油松林种子雨强度及时空动态特征

通过布设种子收集器（接种框）,对黄土高原子午岭林区的油松密林、油松林缘和单株油松（孤立木）的种子雨强度、种子雨历时、种子散播的时空分布特征进行了分析研究。结果表明：（1）油松林内、林缘、孤立木输入地面的种子总量分别为85.5、191.5、178.0粒·m^-2,不同母树类型种子雨强度有明显差异;（2）油松种子降落从10月初开始,11月初结束,种子雨历时约32 d;种子雨在10 d左右达到峰值;（3）林内种子雨强度有较大的空间异质性,种子分布呈聚集分布格局（扩散系数C=33.618）;（4）种子雨过程中不同类型种子的消长趋势及所占比重不同,完整种子在种子雨初期占有优势,未成熟种子在种子雨后期急剧增加,而残缺种子在整个种子雨过程中占的比重变化不大,完整、未成熟和残缺种子累积总量与种子雨强度呈线性相关;（5）林缘和孤立木的种子雨集中在距母树1～3 m的冠幅范围内,这说明油松种子雨扩散以重力传播为主。     

古尔班通古特沙漠南缘32种藜科植物种子萌发策略初探

对古尔班通古特沙漠南缘32种藜科植物的萌发特性（萌发率、萌发开始时间、平均萌发时间和萌发持续时间）进行研究,以探讨藜科植物的不同萌发对策及其生态适应意义。结果表明,32种植物萌发率呈双峰型,其中萌发率大于80%,或小于20%的种占大多数;萌发开始时间呈单峰型,28种植物在1~3 d内开始萌发;平均萌发时间也呈单峰型,平均萌发时间小于5 d的植物21种,最大的为杂配藜（23.7 d）;萌发持续时间种间差异较大,其中15种植物萌发持续时间小于15 d,10种植物持续时间在15~30 d,5种植物大于30 d。主成分分析和聚类分析结果表明,32种植物可划分为4种萌发类型:爆发型、过渡型、缓萌型和低萌型。以上结果揭示出32种藜科植物种子萌发策略不尽相同,表现为机会主义萌发策略、下注萌发策略和谨慎萌发策略,这与植物所处土壤盐渍化程度存在差异有关。此外,Log尺度下32种藜科植物种子大小及其变异范围较小（10-2~101）,暗示多数藜科植物多为小种子,其容易沿缝隙进入土壤形成短暂或永久种子库,这也是沙漠植物生存策略的重要一环。     

北京野鸭湖湿地不同植被退化区的土壤种子库特征

2010年5月,在北京野鸭湖湿地自然保护区选择废弃鱼塘、耕作苜蓿(Medicago)地、撂荒苜蓿地、天然退化湿地和天然湿地作为实验地,其中,天然湿地作为对照。通过土壤种子库萌发实验,对实验地土壤种子库的基本特征以及与地上植被的关系进行了对比研究。结果表明,5种实验地的土壤种子库共有60种植物,隶属于23科46属。其中,萌发物种最多的是菊科(Compositae)、禾本科(Poaceae)和莎草科(Cyperaceae),分别为11种、10种和8种。废弃鱼塘、耕作苜蓿地、撂荒苜蓿地和天然退化湿地种子平均密度为6 885粒/m~2,天然湿地种子的平均密度为16 083粒/m~2,5种实验地的种子库密度差异极显著(n=300,F=4.828,p=0.001<0.05);各实验地的种子库垂直分布有一致的规律性,各实验地0～6 cm土层的种子库密度明显高于6～12 cm土层;各实验地的土壤种子库与地上植被的相似性系数都不高,土壤种子库物种组成的稳定性要高于地上植被。通过研究发现,退化湿地的土壤种子库中有大量的植物种子储藏和湿地植物的种子,这为野鸭湖退化湿地恢复提供了重要的保障,这些潜在的植物种子在野鸭湖退化湿地生态输水过程中会起到应有的恢复作用。建议野鸭湖湿地自然保护区管理部门继续加强退化湿地区域的土壤种子库保护工作,必须重视水环境的恢复、各种人为干扰的消除以及系统保护的加强。     

沙柳有性繁殖与关键环境因素的关系研究

沙柳种子的萌发受到多个因素的综合作用。在沙土含水量较低时沙柳种子可以萌发,但沙土含水量低于2%时不能萌发;干旱胁迫使沙柳实生苗发芽率降低;盐分可明显抑制沙柳种子萌发,同时抑制沙柳实生苗的茎生长;沙柳种子适宜的覆沙厚度是1.0～4.0 mm,当覆沙达到7 mm时种子出苗受到抑制;沙柳最适宜的发芽温度是25 ℃,当温度升到40 ℃时发芽率明显下降,而当降到10 ℃时种子发芽率也明显下降,达到5 ℃时沙柳种子尽管能发芽,但无茎生长。