Agroecosystems are particular species assemblages that occur within land areas devoted to agricultural production. Different forms of social organization for production of human societies, related with what agroecological literature has called production syndromes imply different management practices. These different management regimes may have an impact in the conformation of agroecosystems as a social-natural product. The assessment of agrobiodiversity at different scales and levels of material organization, from genes and organisms, to ecological communities and landscape level has been a major topic in agroecology; this is relevant because specially diverse agroecosystems may contain relevant taxa, functions or structural characteristics that enhance the autonomy and capabilities of local communities of farmers. Our research group has addressed the questions of how is biodiversity structured in peasant agroecosystems at different scales.
We have worked in the mexican state of Oaxaca, characterized by high biodiversity levels, historic political resistance of indigenous peoples and a strong cultural diversity reproduced by peasant communities across the state. Using methods from classical morphometry, community ecology, qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews and landscape ecology metrics we analyze the role and impact of peasant control of the reproduction of agricultural activity in the conformation of agroecosystemic diversity at different levels.
Results/Conclusions
Morphological and environmental data obtained from 22 Capsicum annuum varieties cultivated in different regions of Oaxaca show both the influence of environment as well as peasant practices and preferences structuring the phenotypic diversity within this crop. Concomitantly, peppers grown for local use in backyards and small production units harbour a relevant proportion of the chile genetic diversity. In Central Valleys of Oaxaca studies in the village of Zaachila have revealed the wide heterogeneity of peasant practices among different traditional ‘milpa’ plots, whereas technified, market oriented production of hybrid corn results in a narrower universe of practices. Moreover, this results in differential patterns of associated arthropods and plants diversity, showing evidence of use-value production being a relevant factor underlying more diverse agroecological communities. We have characterized the Zaachila’s agroecological matrix in terms of its spatial heterogeneity at landscape scale. A spatially explicit approach has shown that this peasant constructed landscape is qualitatively different from comparable USA landscapes that have not been primordially controlled by peasants.
This overall picture highlights peasant labour as a process that weaves agrobiodiversity at different organization scales that, despite its distinctive patterns and characteristics, all demonstrate the relation between agrobiodiversity and peasant reproduction of social life.