Crop biodiversity

Kuniyal, J.C., Vishvakarma, S.C.R. and Singh, G.S. (2004). Changing crop biodiversity and resource use efficiency of traditional versus introduced crops in cold desert of north-... 

Non-food crops are viewed as a means to improve industrial sustainabihty, improve rural economies and increase crop biodiversity. Globally, governments have developed a raft of policies and strategies to stimulate non-food crop markets and technologies (Alcimed, 2007 Defra and DTI, 2007 Hodsman et al, 2005 Schmitz, 2007 U.S. Department of Energy, 2006). 

Gressel, Jonathan, Genetic Glass Ceilings Transgenics for Crop Biodiversity, obnsllopMns Jmveisity Press, Baltimore, MD, 2008. 

CBA relies heavily on the costs of environmental impacts. Some impacts may be easily expressed in monetary values, like crop loss or even increased morbidity among people. Others, like impact on biodiversity and the depletion of natural resources, are more difficult to describe in terms of monetary values. Large time scales and global impacts also complicate the methodology and confuse the understanding of the results. Some of the environmental consequences of today s activities appear only after several hundred or thousand yeats. Even low interest rates tend to diminish these types of impact, even if they are very large. 

In addition, other questions arise is sufficient land area available to grow crops in sufficient quantity Can the needs of such agro-industrial processes for water be met To what extent will encroachments on wilderness limit our ability to protect species biodiversity Bearing in mind the seasonal, climatological and disease effects on biomass production, how can the supply chain for materials, food and energy respond to possible intermittency... 

Many grasses are known to act as reservoirs and sources of primary C. purpurea inoculum (Hoffmann and Schmutterer, 1983 Agrios, 1997). Since beetle banks and non-crop field margins are commonly used in organic farming to increase biodiversity, it is possible that these areas may also become sources of Claviceps inoculum. The goal for farmers must be to achieve a balance between the benefits of on-farm biodiversity (e.g. improved habitat for pest predators) and the risk of increased infection by fungi such as Claviceps. 

Alternative crops Biofortification Diversification Decreases erosion Increases biodiversity Increases yield Increases soil nitrogen Recycles nutrients Pest control Plant disease control (2009) Deguine et al. (2009) Dordas (2009) Etchevers et al. (2009) Kalinova (2009) Knorzer et al. (2009) Malezieux et al. (2009) Palaniappan et al. (2009) Spiertz (2009) Zuo and Zhang (2009)... 

Many definitions of sustainable agriculture are reported by literature, but all are related to the basic concept of a profitable crop production with no environmental pollution and depletion of farm and natural resources, including effects on soil, water, and biodiversity (Doran 2002 Francis et al. 2006). Soil solarization seems to fit the fundaments of sustainable agriculture as providing an effective and environmentally safe control of many soilbome pests and more competitive market positions and higher prices to pesticide-free products. 

Daroub SH, Ellis BG, Robertson GP (2001) Effect of cropping and low-chemical input systems on soil phosphoms fractions. Soil Sci 166 281-291 Dick RP, Breakwell DP, Turco RF (1996) Soil Enzyme Activities and Biodiversity Measurements as Integrative Microbiological Indicators. SSSA Special Pub 49 247-272... 

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