This thematic series will publish in
CABI Agriculture and Bioscience.
Guest Edited by: Nigel Halford1 & Bruno Mezzetti2
1 Rothamsted Research, UK; 2 Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy
Aims and Scope: Although plant genetic resources for food from global agriculture fields can be lost under the onslaught of natural and human hardship, a vast array of nature’s solutions remain safe in the world’s genebanks. Unlike museum collections, materials held in genebanks are living resources that require specialized care and technical practices. However, genebanks managers face on-going challenges in garnering the investments needed to effectively manage their holdings, in part because the full value of plant genetic resources is poorly understood. Although many researchers and global food security experts do understand the significance of agricultural genetic stockpiles, many investment decision-makers do not. Robust research is needed to document and assign monetary value to the holdings in agricultural genebanks including links to local communities. This collection will provide research findings and perspectives that clarify the value of genebanks in conserving genetic diversity, enhancing the livelihoods of today’s farmers, and informing the uncertain future of developing agri-food economies.
Manuscripts considered: This collection solicits high-quality scientific manuscripts based on original, interdisciplinary research on:
- Empirical modeling that links the use of genetic resources conserved in genebanks to farmer decision-making and livelihoods in developing agriculture
- Flows, interpretation and valuation of distribution of genebank accessions at a global, regional or local scale
- Evaluation of organizational efforts to provide seed conserved in genebanks in response to natural or human-made disasters
- Data-based estimates of the insurance or option values of genebanks particularly in the context of specialized traits of increasing importance under climate change, such as drought or heat tolerance