Toward integrated conservation of North America's crop wild relatives

North America harbors a rich native flora of crop wild relatives—the progenitors and closely related species of domesticated plants—as well as a range of culturally significant wild utilized plants. Despite their current and potential future value, they are rarely prioritized for conservation efforts; thus many species are threatened in their natural habitats, and most are underrepresented in plant genebanks and botanical gardens. Further coordination of efforts among land management, botanical, and agricultural science organizations will improve conservation and general public awareness with regard to these species. We present examples of productive collaborations focused on wild cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon and Vaccinium oxycoccos) and chile peppers (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum). We then discuss five shared priorities for further action: (1) understand and document North America's crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants, (2) protect threatened species in their natural habitats, (3) collect and conserve ex situ the diversity of prioritized species, (4) make this diversity accessible and attractive for plant breeding, research, and education, and (5) raise public awareness of their value and the threats to their persistence

Tepary bean domestication: ecological and nutritional changes during Phaseolus acutifolius evolution

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Papago fields : arid lands ethnobotany and agricultural ecology

Papago Indian fields located in southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico are examples of a food production strategy that was developed within the constraints of a water-limited environment. Although only a small percentage of the fields cultivated at the turn of the century remain in cultivation, extant fields are vestiges of an agricultural tradition that has persisted in arid lands for centuries. An examination of the documentary history of non-Indian observations of Papago agriculture and water control from 1697 to 1934 reveals numerous practices and features that are no longer apparent within or around remaining fields. Yet by learning from oral historical accounts of elderly Papago, and analyzing O'odham lexemes (native Papago terms) which guide farmers' management of fields, it is possible to gain a sense of folk science which Papago developed to successfully farm without permanent surface water reserves. Selected concepts from the folk science of the Papago are used as a point of departure in understanding the ecological processes which function within their fields. Standard field ecology methods were adapted to empirically test certain hypotheses relating to these ecological processes. Results include confirmation that Papago fields are situated in a variety of physiographic positions, and that ‘ak-ciñ arroyo mouth' farming is a misnomer. Papago crops exhibit many of the same drought-escaping adaptations as wild summer desert ephemerals for seed production during the brief summer rainy season, which varies from year to year in the date of its initiation. These adaptations greatly contribute to crop success. There are no significant differences in the diversity of herbaceous plants found in Papago fields compared to the diversity found in adjacent, uncultivated environments. Of the many nutrients analyzed in cultivated and uncultivated floodplain soils, only potassium was significantly richer in fields than in uncultivated floodplains; other differences were statistically insignificant. Floodwashed organic detritus, rather than the floodwaters themselves, appear to play the major role in renewing field soil fertility in certain localities. It is concluded that indigenous concepts which have long guided the management of traditional agricultural systems are of heuristic value in understanding how these farming systems function ecologically.hydrology collectio

Health Benefits of the Diverse Volatile Oils in Native Plants of Ancient Ironwood-Giant Cactus Forests of the Sonoran Desert: An Adaptation to Climate Change?

We document the species richness and volatile oil diversity in Sonoran Desert plants found in the Arizona Uplands subdivision of this binational USA/Mexico region. Using floristics, we determined that more than 60 species of 178 native plants in the ancient ironwood-giant cactus forests emit fragrant biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), especially with the onset of summer monsoons. From these desert species, more than 115 volatile oils have been identified from one biogeographic region. For the 5 BVOCs most commonly associated with “forest bathing” practices in Asian temperate forests, at least 15 Sonoran Desert plant species emit them in Arizona Uplands vegetation. We document the potential health benefits attributed to each of 13 BVOCs in isolation, but we also hypothesize that the entire “suite” of BVOCs emitted from a diversity of desert plants during the monsoons may function synergistically to generate additional health benefits. Regular exposure to these BVOC health benefits may become more important to prevent or mitigate diseases of oxidative stress and other climate maladies in a hotter, drier world

Prólogo

Esta notable colección de ensayos y reportes científicos nos recuerda que muchos miembros de nuestra sociedad están interesados en los chiles y otros alimentos que se cultivan, desde los chefs, los agricultores y los historiadores culinarios hasta los antropólogos, biólogos, educadores, geógrafos y lingüistas. Tal vez no existe otro lugar en el mundo donde el interés en Capsicum sea más fuerte que en México, país que siempre ha jugado un rol esencial en la difusión cultural de los chiles, sus..

Southwestern Indian Sunflowers

Desert Plants is published by The University of Arizona for the Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum. For more information about this unique botanical journal, please email the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Publications Office at [email protected]

Tepary Beans, O'Odham Farmers and Desert Fields

Desert Plants is published by The University of Arizona for the Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum. For more information about this unique botanical journal, please email the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Publications Office at [email protected]

Borders Out of Register: Edge Effects in the U.S.-Mexico Foodshed

This paper addresses how food systems and transboundary food supply chains are mediated and shaped by (cross-) cultural and geopolitical borders that function as selective filters. We focus on the ways in which the political boundary in a formerly cohesive foodshed generates "edge effects" that affect (1) food safety, and (2) food waste, particularly in desert communities adjacent to the U.S.-Mexico border. We hypothesize that as these various boundary lines get "out of register" with one another, their dissonance creates both unexpected impacts as well as opportunities for positive change. This initial analysis demonstrates how multiple (and often permeable) social, economic, and ecological edges intersect with food supply chain vulnerabilities and economic opportunities at the border. Drawing on examples from food safety and food waste surrounding the "Ambos Nogales" port of entry on the Arizona-Sonora border, we document the ways in which the border produces ecological and social edge effects that are dissonant with the official legal boundary.University of ArizonaThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]