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Westgeest AJ, Vasseur F, Enquist BJ, Milla R, Gómez-Fernández A, Pot D, Vile D, Violle C. An allometry perspective on crops. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024. [PMID: 39288438 DOI: 10.1111/nph.20129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 08/27/2024] [Indexed: 09/19/2024]
Abstract
Understanding trait-trait coordination is essential for successful plant breeding and crop modeling. Notably, plant size drives variation in morphological, physiological, and performance-related traits, as described by allometric laws in ecology. Yet, as allometric relationships have been limitedly studied in crops, how they influence and possibly limit crop performance remains unknown. Here, we review how an allometry perspective on crops gains insights into the phenotypic evolution during crop domestication, the breeding of varieties adapted to novel conditions, and the prediction of crop yields. As allometry is an active field of research, modeling and manipulating crop allometric relationships can help to develop more resilient and productive agricultural systems to face future challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrianus J Westgeest
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, 34090, France
- Département Biologie et Ecologie, Institut Agro, Montpellier, 34060, France
| | - François Vasseur
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, 34090, France
| | - Brian J Enquist
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Rd, Santa Fe, NM, 87501, USA
| | - Rubén Milla
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, 28933, Spain
| | - Alicia Gómez-Fernández
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, 34090, France
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, 28933, Spain
| | - David Pot
- CIRAD, UMR AGAP Institut, Montpellier, 34980, France
- AGAP Institut, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, 34980, France
| | - Denis Vile
- LEPSE, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, 34060, France
| | - Cyrille Violle
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, 34090, France
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Mboujda FMM, Avana-Tientcheu ML, Momo ST, Ntongme AM, Vaissayre V, Azandi LN, Dussert S, Womeni H, Onana JM, Sonké B, Tankou C, Duminil J. Domestication Syndrome in Dacryodes edulis (Burseraceae): Comparison of Morphological and Biochemical Traits between Wild and Cultivated Populations. PLANTS 2022; 11:plants11192496. [PMID: 36235361 PMCID: PMC9571564 DOI: 10.3390/plants11192496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
For millennia, people have harvested fruits from the wild for their alimentation. Gradually, they have started selecting wild individuals presenting traits of interest, protecting and cultivating them. This was the starting point of their domestication. The passage from a wild to a cultivated status is accompanied by a modification of a number of morphological and genetic traits, commonly known as the domestication syndrome. We studied the domestication syndrome in Dacryodes edulis (G.Don) H.J.Lam (known as ‘African plum’ or ‘safoutier/prunier’), a socio-economically important indigenous fruit tree species in West and Central Africa. We compared wild and cultivated individuals for their sex distribution; flower, fruit and seed morphometric characteristics; seed germination temporal dynamic and fruit lipid composition. We found a higher percentage of male and male-hermaphrodite sexual types in wild populations than in cultivated ones; a lower fruit and seed mass in wild individuals; and similar mean time of germination, oil content and fatty acid composition between wild and cultivated individuals. Our results are interpreted in light of the presence of a domestication syndrome in D. edulis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franca Marcelle Meguem Mboujda
- Research Unit of Fauna, Sylviculture of Wood Technology, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang BP: 222, Cameroon
- DIADE, IRD, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, 34394 Montpellier, France
- Correspondence:
| | - Marie-Louise Avana-Tientcheu
- Research Unit of Fauna, Sylviculture of Wood Technology, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang BP: 222, Cameroon
| | - Stéphane Takoudjou Momo
- Plant Systematic and Ecology Laboratory, Higher Teacher’s Training College, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé P.O. Box 047, Cameroon
- AMAP, IRD, CNRS, INRAE, CIRAD University of Montpellier, 34398 Montpellier, France
| | - Alix Mboukap Ntongme
- Research Unit of Biochemistry, Medicinal Plants, Food Science and Nutrition, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang BP: 67, Cameroon
| | | | - Laura N. Azandi
- Plant Systematic and Ecology Laboratory, Higher Teacher’s Training College, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé P.O. Box 047, Cameroon
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Faculté des Sciences, C.P. 160/12, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 Avenue F. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Stéphane Dussert
- DIADE, IRD, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, 34394 Montpellier, France
| | - Hilaire Womeni
- Research Unit of Biochemistry, Medicinal Plants, Food Science and Nutrition, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang BP: 67, Cameroon
| | - Jean-Michel Onana
- Department of Plant Biology and Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé P.O. Box 1601, Cameroon
| | - Bonaventure Sonké
- Plant Systematic and Ecology Laboratory, Higher Teacher’s Training College, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé P.O. Box 047, Cameroon
| | - Christopher Tankou
- Department of Crop Sciences, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, University of Dschang, Yaoundé BP: 222, Cameroon
| | - Jérôme Duminil
- DIADE, IRD, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, 34394 Montpellier, France
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Coelho SD, Levis C, Baccaro FB, Figueiredo FOG, Pinassi Antunes A, ter Steege H, Peña-Claros M, Clement CR, Schietti J. Eighty-four per cent of all Amazonian arboreal plant individuals are useful to humans. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257875. [PMID: 34597306 PMCID: PMC8486103 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Plants have been used in Amazonian forests for millennia and some of these plants are disproportionally abundant (hyperdominant). At local scales, people generally use the most abundant plants, which may be abundant as the result of management of indigenous peoples and local communities. However, it is unknown whether plant use is also associated with abundance at larger scales. We used the population sizes of 4,454 arboreal species (trees and palms) estimated from 1946 forest plots and compiled information about uses from 29 Amazonian ethnobotany books and articles published between 1926 and 2013 to investigate the relationship between species usefulness and their population sizes, and how this relationship is influenced by the degree of domestication of arboreal species across Amazonia. We found that half of the arboreal species (2,253) are useful to humans, which represents 84% of the estimated individuals in Amazonian forests. Useful species have mean populations sizes six times larger than non-useful species, and their abundance is related with the probability of usefulness. Incipiently domesticated species are the most abundant. Population size was weakly related to specific uses, but strongly related with the multiplicity of uses. This study highlights the enormous usefulness of Amazonian arboreal species for local peoples. Our findings support the hypothesis that the most abundant plant species have a greater chance to be useful at both local and larger scales, and suggest that although people use the most abundant plants, indigenous people and local communities have contributed to plant abundance through long-term management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara D. Coelho
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Carolina Levis
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Fabrício B. Baccaro
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Fernando O. G. Figueiredo
- Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - André Pinassi Antunes
- RedeFauna - Rede de Pesquisa em Diversidade, Conservação e Uso da Fauna da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
- Coordenação de Dinâmica Ambiental, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Hans ter Steege
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Systems Ecology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marielos Peña-Claros
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Charles R. Clement
- Coordenação de Tecnologia e Inovação, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Juliana Schietti
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
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Vogt MAB. Agricultural wilding: rewilding for agricultural landscapes through an increase in wild productive systems. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 284:112050. [PMID: 33582481 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Revised: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Introducing wild crops and plants complements intentions for improved biodiversity outcomes in agricultural landscapes; and provides opportunity for in-situ conservation of a diverse range of wild plants and crops, and improved connectivity between conserved areas. This opinion article considers definitions and common value of conserving wild crops and plants, and crop wild relatives, in-situ and ex-situ. Rewilding definitions and common uses for policy and practice are described. The Ecological Sensitivity within Human Realities (ESHR) concept was developed to guide human natural-environment interactions in agricultural systems and landscapes for improved functional biodiversity outcomes. It is used to assess possible appropriateness of rewilding for agricultural systems and landscapes. The assessment demonstrates how agricultural systems and landscapes are often excluded, despite appearing a useful term to encourage such conservation efforts. The importance of a more specific term rather than a more specific definition and use of rewilding is suggested. Agricultural wilding is introduced as a more specific term for introducing and conserving wild crops and plants for agricultural purposes, as wild productive systems, useful for policy or other approaches the guide human natural-environment interactions. The conceptual approach to the article provides theoretical suggestions for minimum proportions of wild crops and plants for wild productive systems according to native and non native landscapes. From a conceptual to applied discussion, relevance of agricultural wilding for coffee farming landscapes is explained in some depth, and for an existing biodiversity campaign and an EU agricultural policy, briefly.
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Leakey RRB. From ethnobotany to mainstream agriculture: socially modified Cinderella species capturing 'trade-ons' for 'land maxing'. PLANTA 2019; 250:949-970. [PMID: 30904941 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-019-03128-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Over the last 25 years, the process of domesticating culturally-important, highly-nutritious, indigenous food-tree species. Integrating these over-looked 'Cinderella' species into conventional farming systems as new crops is playing a critical role in raising the productivity of staple food crops and improving the livelihoods of poor smallholder farmers. This experience has important policy implications for the sustainability of tropical/sub-tropical agriculture, the rural economy and the global environment. A participatory domestication process has been implemented in local communities using appropriate horticultural technologies to characterize genetic variation in non-timber forest products and produce putative cultivars by the vegetative propagation of elite trees in rural resource centers. When integrated into mainstream agriculture, these new crops diversify farmers' fields and generate income. Together, these outcomes address land degradation and social deprivation-two of the main constraints to staple food production-through beneficial effects on soil fertility, agroecosystem functions, community livelihoods, local trade and employment. Thus, the cultivation of these 'socially modified crops' offers a new strategy for the sustainable intensification of tropical agriculture based on the maximization of total factor productivity with minimal environmental and social trade-offs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger R B Leakey
- International Tree Foundation, 1 Kings Meadow, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0DP, England, UK.
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