Biodiversity and genetic improvement represent the indicator for measuring the ecosystem complexity of a Farm. It measures the criticalities of the simplification of production processes, the monospecificity of agronomic choices, of the use of modified genetic resources and at the same time of genetic variability aimed at both the perpetuation of the species and greater resistance to the threats caused by adversity.
If genetic improvement represents the scientific and professional progress of the agronomic world, Effective action must be taken to halt the loss of biodiversity in order to ensure the resilience of ecosystems
11 thousand years ago, in the middle east, agriculture was born through the domestication of plants
In the Neolithic, in the middle east, the first domestication of the animals takes place
The selection of the most useful plants has been and continues to be the main agricultural practice
Plants, with the progressive development of trade, have been selected on the basis of food and industrial uses
The monk Gregor Mendel, in the 19th century, discovers the laws that regulate the transmission of hereditary genetic characteristics.
Genetics is born: the selection no longer takes place only in the fields but in agronomic research centers
#green revolution
The use of genetically selected plant varieties takes place in the mid-twentieth century
With genetic selection, agricultural productions significantly increase yields per hectare
Plants grown through hybridization and genetic selection are shaped and adapted to the various cultivation needs
The wheat last 7-8 quintals to 30 quintals of production per hectare
Milk production in a cattle goes from 3-4 liters ai 15-20 l
The genetic "simplification" of cultivated plants begins
Genetic improvement is the process of changing the genetic heritage in order to improve the characteristics useful to humans in cultivated or reared species
The Genotype it is the genetic constitution of an individual or a living organism
The Phenotype is the set of all the observable characteristics of a living organism
L’ hybridization in genetics it is the process by which different species or varieties are crossed, of any family animated O vegetables
Clonal propagation is a one-of-a-kind propagation method plant which allows you to get a clone of the plant, that is a group of individuals with the same genetic heritage
Transgenic plants, GMOs, I'm plants whose DNA has been modified with techniques of genetic engineering in order to make improvements or changes to one or more features
In 1976 the first genetically modified plant was obtained
We move from genetic selection to genetic engineering, direct modification of cellular DNA
Genetic modifications no longer occur within the same classes, families, genera or species but also between kingdoms (plants and animals)
In 1994 the first transgenic plant is introduced to the market: tomato
With transgenic plants, the goal is to expand the possibility of resistance to plant diseases, adaptability, conservation and plasticity of crops
Genetic selection is definitively transferred to the laboratory
The cultivation of GMOs in the world has reached 181,5 millions of hectares
The most common crops are soybeans (79%), cotton (70%), he but (32%), colza (24%)
The main objective of GMO crops currently grown is that of tolerance to herbicides and resistance to pathogens
The countries in which GMOs are grown are 28
The United States holds the leadership, followed by Brazil, Argentina, India, Canada and China
In Europe, the cultivation of GMOs is not widespread, only some countries (Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania)
The definition of biodiversity was born with the UN conference in Rio de Janeiro, on the environment and development, in 1992
By biological diversity we mean the variability of living organisms, of terrestrial ecosystems, and the ecological complexes that they constitute; biological diversity includes intraspecific diversity, interspecific and ecosystems
The total number of animal and plant species is between 1,5 ed 1,8 millions of species
Many species have not yet been classified, the planet for biodiversity, still remains unknown
Are approximately 7.000 the plant species used by man for his diet. Cultivated species are only 150
The 75 % of the food consumed by humans is provided alone 12 plant species e 5 animal species
About the 50 % of these same foods is provided only by 4 plant species (rice, more, wheat and potato) and yes 3 main species of animals (belonging to cattle, pigs and poultry)
Genetic erosion is the loss of genetic diversity, that is, of animal and vegetable species, which takes the form of a decrease in biodiversity
Threats
- Increase the potential health problems of consumers
- Antibiotic resistance
- Generate "super pests" and "super insects" (bio-pollution)
- Reduce biodiversity with repercussions on natural ecosystems
- Determine monopolistic conditions of genetic resources
- Increase the destruction, habitat degradation and fragmentation
- Promote climate change due to the reduction of biodiversity
- Increase the introduction of alien species
Opportunity
- Increase the nutritional content of foods
- Improve the organoleptic characteristics of foods
- Reduce the use of pesticides in agriculture
- De-seasonalize agricultural products
- Reduce the presence of toxins in food
- Reduce the exploitation of the planet's resources (soil)
- Defeating world hunger
It has an obligation towards future generations to ensure the balance between biodiversity and genetic improvement in planning and design activities
It encourages agricultural practices in the dynamics of farms that contribute to forming balanced agricultural ecosystems
Safeguards the interactions that exist between agriculture and biodiversity by improving the efficiency of production
It promotes crop choices that increase farm biodiversity
It is committed to promoting the mapping of endangered plant and animal species
It favors the formation of biodiversity conservation networks on farms