Agricultural biodiversity

Agro-biodiversity or biological diversity of agriculture is the biological diversity of the used for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food or potentially useful flora and fauna. Established is also the term "Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture"; these include plants and animals of the forest, as well as fish and other aquatic animals.

In contrast to the natural biological diversity of agricultural biodiversity is defined as: " All of the components of biological diversity important for food and agriculture and the functioning of agricultural ecosystems of importance. This includes all cultivated forms of animals, plants and micro-organisms and their wild relatives. Furthermore, one including also those elements of biological diversity, ensure the so-called ecological services in agro-ecosystems: the cycle of nutrients, regulation of crop pests and diseases, pollination, the preservation of local wildlife and plants, the protection of watersheds, erosion control and climate regulation, and more. "

Importance

The importance of agricultural biodiversity lies in several areas: The biological basis of all production of vegetable and animal products, agricultural biodiversity is existential for humanity. In addition, she is a world of great economic importance. She has a great importance as a resource for breeding and for future uses and innovations. In addition, agricultural biodiversity provides in times of climate change, a strategy of adaptation to changing and unpredictable environmental conditions dar.

Bioversity International agrobiodiversity explored in terms of their benefits for the poor.

Assessment

The agro-biodiversity as such is not traded in markets; it therefore has no market price. The exact determination of the production consequences of increased or decreased agricultural biodiversity is often difficult. Succeed as a determination of the production sequences, the value of production change on the use of market prices in monetary units can be calculated. Valuation methods that work with their market prices are referred to as revealed preference methods.

The value of agricultural biodiversity for humanity is usually determined after the Total Economic Value approach (TEV ). It is an environmentally economic calculation method that can use a variety of individual policies. The TEV is calculated as follows from utility (use values) and non- use values ​​(non -use values):

Use values ​​are usually easier to quantify than non-use values ​​, as use-values ​​, at least theoretically leave traces in the economic action. Can be no assessment by the use of market values ​​perform elements of TEV among other things by means of stated preference methods ( eg contingent valuation ) can be determined. For the estimation of the value of the change of non-use values ​​almost always stated preference methods must be used.

Formation

In contrast to the natural biological diversity of crops and livestock biodiversity arose among human intervention. With advent of agriculture about 10,000 years ago, man began with the domestication of wild plants and wild animals, and later of fish. Through the millennia -long interaction of crops, farm animals, a variety of site conditions and the influence of man through selection and breeding so was a great varieties and racial diversity. It is estimated that there are about 100,000 varieties of rice alone, for example. Most of today's major crops and livestock were originally domesticated as they are used today in other areas of the world. Important domestication and diversity centers are the regions of the Fertile Crescent ( Middle East), Central America, North - Eastern America, the Andean region, Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean region, which is named after the Russian botanist NI Vavilov Vavilov centers.

Endangering

The diversity of the active part of crop species, varieties and livestock breeds decreased in the course of the modernization of agriculture. The background is that the agricultural and development policy had been prescribed in the 20th century, primarily the objective of food security. The conservation of agrobiodiversity on the other hand, however, won only in recent years more attention to, increasingly in the area of ​​in - situ. The question of what degree of in - situ varieties and racial diversity for sustainable food security is optimal is scientifically not released.

A common assumption is that the agro-biodiversity of crops was reduced mainly by the Green Revolution. However, this assumption could not be demonstrated, among other things, as many factors have played a role, but also because the relationship between the range of varieties and genetic diversity is not unique. On the other hand it could be shown that the range of varieties has not decreased in situ in bread wheat, while the genetic resistance to rust fungi increased through advances in plant breeding.

Hazard causes of the diversity of the wild part of the plant and animal world are especially overuse, adverse environmental changes and loss and fragmentation of habitats.

Conservation

For the conservation of agricultural biodiversity include the conservation of habitats, species and intraspecific diversity of. There are two maintenance options can be distinguished. The in- situ conservation (in situ = at the site) is to preserve the natural habitat. For example, wild plants are the Forests, mostly in crop farms and home gardens. In the latter case one speaks of on-farm management. The ex - situ conservation is the conservation ( genetic resources ) outside their natural habitats. It takes esp. in gene banks ( inter alia as seed, tissue culture or Kryokonserve ), but also in the botanical or zoological gardens.

Long, attention was mainly the ex - situ conservation. Especially since the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992 was also placed on the on-farm management strengthened because of their dynamic conservation and utilization for the purposes of continued evolutionary processes.

The SAVE Foundation is focused on the conservation of rare crop varieties and animal breeds, in Europe. The World Trust Fund for crop diversity is aimed at conservation of crop diversity.

International cooperation

The most important crops and livestock are used worldwide (eg wheat, maize and rice, as well as beef, pork, poultry, horse, sheep, goat, carp and tilapia ). This is great international interdependence of States in the conservation, use and exchange of genetic resources. In the field of genetic resources for food and agriculture, the Commission plays a central role in the international negotiation process on conservation, sustainable use and access to genetic resources for food and agriculture (Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture CGRFA ) of the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) to these genetic resources. The Convention on Biological Diversity ( CBD) of 1992 calls in addition to the conservation and use also an equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources benefit. Since 2004 is considered in the context of the CBD, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.