Routledge Handbook of Agricultural Biodiversity
Routledge Environment and Sustainability Handbooks Series

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 agricultural 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 services 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.

Contributors Introduction: agricultural biodiversity, the key to sustainable food systems in the 21st century Part 1 Biological resources for agricultural biodiversity 1. Plant genetic resources 2. How modern and ancient genomic analyses can reveal complex domestic histories using cattle as a case study 3. Forest and tree genetic resources 4. Wild plant and animal genetic resources 5. Aquatic genetic resources 6. Pests, predators and parasitoids 7. Importance of pollinators in agricultural biodiversity 8. Soil biodiversity Part 2 The origins and history of agricultural biodiversity 9. Genetic aspects of crop domestication 10. Evolution and domestication of clonal crops 11. Agricultural biodiversity and the Columbian exchange 12. The Green Revolution and crop biodiversity 13. Agroecology: using functional biodiversity to design productive and resilient polycultural systems 14. The role of trees in agroecology Part 3 The value of agricultural biodiversity 15. The quality of the agricultural matrix and long term conservation of biodiversity 16. Agricultural biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services 17. Leveraging agricultural biodiversity for crop improvement and food security 18. Neglected no more: leveraging underutilized crops to address global challenges 19. Agricultural biodiversity, resilience, adaptation and climate change 20. An argument for integrating wild and agricultural biodiversity conservation Part 4 Agricultural biodiversity: human health and well-being 21. Harvesting common ground: maximizing the co-benefits of agrobiodiversity and human health 22. Edible insect diversity for food and nutrition 23. Agricultural biodiversity and cultural heritage 24. Holding on to agrobiodiversity: human nutrition and health of Indigenous Peoples 25. Agricultural biodiversity for healthy diets healthy and food systems Part 5 The drivers of agricultural biodiversity 26. Law, policy and agricultural biodiversity 27. Using access and benefit-sharing policies to support climate change adaptation 28. ‘Stewardship’ or ‘ownership’: how to realize farmers’ rights? 29. Land-use retention and change to improve agricultural biodiversity 30. Markets, consumer demand and agricultural biodiversity 31. Community biodiversity management 32. The role and importance of agricultural biodiversity in urban agriculture 33. Gender and agricultural biodiversity 34. Seed systems: managing, using and creating crop genetic resources Part 6 Safeguarding agricultural biodiversity 35. Uncovering the role of custodian farmers in the on-farm conservation of agricultural biodiversity 36. Agricultural biodiversity conservation and management – the role of ex situ approaches 37. Seeds to keep and seeds to share: the multiple roles of community seed banks 38. 'Because it is ours': farmers’ knowledge, innovation and identity in the making of agricultural biodiversity 39. Landscapes of loss and remembrance in agrobiodiversity conservation 40. From participatory plant breeding to local innovation networks in Cuba 41. Strengthening institutions and organizations, and building capacity for the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity 42. Information, knowledge and agricultural biodiversity 43. Biodiversity is given life by small-scale food providers: defending agricultural biodiversity and ecological food provision in the framework of food sovereignty Index

Danny Hunter is a Senior Scientist in the Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems Initiative 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).