Crop Evolutionary Agroecology Genetic and Functional Dimensions of Agrobiodiversity and Associated Knowledge

International audienceAgrobiodiversity supports agriculture globally and is used and stewarded worldwide by farming communities that possess traditional knowledge about their crops. This chapter takes an evolutionary ecological perspective on the ecology, use, and conservation of crops and proposes research objectives to advance the study of agrobiodiversity globally. In particular, research agendas are outlined (a) to determine the current state of agrobiodiversity globally and how it is changing through the collection of baseline data; (b) to improve understanding of functions of existing agrobiodiversity and how the historical, evolutionary, and ecological factors have led to that diversity; (c) to increase understanding of the interactions and factors that drive change between crops and their associated agrobiodiversity (i.e., the multitude of organisms that interact with the primary crops); (d) to clarify the role of in situ conservation of agrobiodiversity in farmers' fields and how better to link ex situ collections to in situ use of agrobiodiversity; and (e) to generate a theoretical framework for agrobiodiversity to help us better understand past and future dynamic change. Pursuing such lines of research will enhance humanity's ability to face uncertainty, such as that expected with climate change