thumb|upright=1.1|[[Aerial roots of a maize landrace, Sierra Mixe corn, grown in nitrogen-depleted soils in the Sierra Mixe, known for aerial roots with a bacterial gel that contributes substantially to the plant's nitrogen supply]]
A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolation from other populations of the species. Landraces are distinct from cultivars and from standard breeds.
A significant proportion of farmers around the world grow landrace crops, Landraces of many crops have probably been grown for millennia. because most of the genetic diversity of domesticated plant species lies in landraces and other traditionally used varieties. yet remains "dynamic".
Terminology
Landrace literally means 'country-breed' (German: Landrasse) and close cognates of it are found in various Germanic languages. The first known reference to the role of landraces as genetic resources was made in 1890 at an agriculture and forestry congress in Vienna, Austria. The term was first defined by Kurt von Rümker in 1908, and more clearly described in 1909 by U. J. Mansholt, who wrote that landraces have more stable characteristics and better resistance to adverse conditions, but have lower production capacity than cultivars, and are apt to change genetically when moved to another environment.
As discussed in more detail in breed, that term itself has several definitions from various scientific and animal husbandry perspectives. Some of those senses of breed relate to the concept of landraces. A Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) guideline defines landrace and landrace breed as "a breed that has largely developed through adaptation to the natural environment and traditional production system in which it has been raised." This is in contrast to its definition of a standardized breed: "a breed of livestock that was developed according to a strict programme of genetic isolation and formal artificial selection to achieve a particular phenotype."
In various domestic species (including pigs, goats, sheep and geese) some standardized breeds include "Landrace" in their names, but do not meet widely used definitions of landraces. For example, the British Landrace pig is a standardized breed, derived from earlier breeds with "Landrace" names.
Farmers' variety, usually applied to local cultivars, or seen as intermediate between a landrace and a cultivar,
Within academic agronomy, the term autochthonous landrace is sometimes used with a more technical, productivity-related definition, synthesized by A. C. Zeven from previous definitions beginning with Mansholt's: "an autochthonous landrace is a variety with a high capacity to tolerate biotic and abiotic stress, resulting in a high yield stability and an intermediate yield level under a low input agricultural system." and "Leicester Longwool sheep were bred to the native landraces of the region". Some usage of autochthonous does occur in reference to livestock, e.g. "autochthonous races of cattle such as the Asturian mountain cattle – Ratina and Casina – and Tudanca cattle."
Biodiversity and conservation
thumb|upright=1.1| A morphologically diverse group of fruit from the [[Zapallo Plomo landrace of Cucurbita maxima squash]]
A significant proportion of farmers around the world grow landrace crops. However, as industrialized agriculture spreads, cultivars, which are selectively bred for high yield, rapid growth, disease and drought resistance, and other commercial production values, are supplanting landraces, putting more and more of them at risk of extinction.
In 1927 at the International Agricultural Congress, organized by the predecessor of the FAO, an extensive discussion was held on the need to conserve landraces. A recommendation that members organize nation-by-nation landrace conservation did not succeed in leading to widespread conservation efforts.
As Regine Andersen of the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (Norway) and the Farmers' Rights Project puts it, "Agricultural biodiversity is being eroded. This trend is putting at risk the ability of future generations to feed themselves. In order to reverse the trend, new policies must be implemented worldwide. The irony of the matter is that the poorest farmers are the stewards of genetic diversity."
An in situ conservation effort to save the Berrettina di Lungavilla squash landrace made use of participatory plant breeding practices in order to incorporate the local community into the work. While many in the region are already extinct,
In some cultures, the development of new landraces is typically limited to members of specific social groups, such as women or shaman. Maintaining existing landraces, like developing new landraces, requires that farmers be able to identify crop-specific characteristics and that those characteristics are passed on to following generations.
Although landraces are often discussed once they have become endemic to a particular geographical region, landraces have always been moved over long and short distances. Some landraces can adapt to various environments, while others only thrive within specific conditions. Self-fertilizing and vegetatively populated species adapt by changing the frequencies of phenotypes. Outbreeding crops absorb new genotypes through intentional and unintentional hybridization, or through mutation.
Cultivars developed from landraces
Members of a landrace variety, selected for uniformity with regards to a unique feature over a period of time, can be developed into a farmers' variety or cultivar. Traits from landraces are valuable for incorporation into elite lines.
Examples of plant landraces
Beans
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:12%;" | Origin
! style="width:53%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
| Caparrona bean
| Phaseolus vulgaris
| Monzón, Spain
| Also known by the name of Caparrona de Monzón, characterized by highly productive plants with white beans that have a brown pattern around the hilum, medium brilliance, and oval shape. The Caparrona bean is usually used as a dry bean but can also be eaten as a green bean.
|-
| Ganxet bean
|}
Maize
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:12%;" | Origin
! style="width:53%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
| Sierra Mixe corn
| Zea mays
| Sierra Mixe
| Tall with aerial roots that secrete mucus which is known to support nitrogen-fixing bacteria
|}
Peas
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:12%;" | Origin
! style="width:53%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
| Maruti
| Cajanus cajan
|-
| Chileno negro
| Capsicum baccatum
| Maule region of Chile
|-
| Santo Domingo Pueblo chili
|
| Santo Domingo Pueblo
| An early-maturing landrace from the pueblo that served as a headquarters for Spanish colonial missions as well as a key location of resistance against the Spanish settlers in the 1600s.
|-
| Kalanamak rice
|-
| Cappello da prete
|-
| Candy roaster It is variable in size and shape with more than 40 distinct forms according to one authority. Candy roasters consistently feature fine-textured orange flesh, while varying in size (from 10 lbs to more than 250 lbs); shape (including round, cylindrical, teardrop, and blocky); and color (pink, tan, green, blue, gray, and orange).
|-
| Nanticoke squash
|}
Tomatillo
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:12%;" | Origin
! style="width:53%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
| Acorazado, Acorazonado, Queen of Malinalco, Reina de Malinalco
| Physalis ixocarpa
| Malinalco
| The name translates as "heart shaped", reflecting morphology which has also been described as "pointed or torpedo shaped", which is unusual for a tomatillo. The tomatillos taste fruity and sweet.
|}
Tomatoes
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:12%;" | Origin
! style="width:53%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
| Coeur de bue tomato
|
|
|
|-
| Corborino tomato
While many landrace animals are associated with farming, other domestic animals have been put to use as modes of transportation, as companion animals, for sporting purposes, and for other non-farming uses, so their geographic distribution may differ. For example, horse landraces are less common because human use of them for transport has meant that they have moved with people more commonly and constantly than most other domestic animals, reducing the incidence of populations locally genetically isolated for extensive periods of time.
|-
| Yakutian cattle
|
| Sakha Republic, Russian Federation
| Noted as the northernmost cattle landrace, and the most genetically dissimilar to other cattle. This group of cattle may represent a fourth Aurochs domestication event (and a third event among Bos taurus–type aurochs) and may have diverged from the Near East group some 35,000 years ago. Yakutian cattle are the last remaining native Turano-Mongolian cattle breed in Siberia,
|}
Dogs
Dog landraces and the selectively bred dog breeds that follow breed standards vary widely depending on their origins and purpose.
Landraces are distinguished from dog breeds which have breed standards, breed clubs and registries.
Landrace dogs are commonly referenced. They typically have distinct ecological and behavioral characteristics that evolutionally developed in certain nations and locales, especially those with a history of colonization.
Landrace dogs have more variety in their appearance than do standardized dog breeds.
The ancient landrace dogs of the Fertile Crescent that led to the Saluki breed excels in running down game across open tracts of hot desert, but conformation-bred individuals of the breed are not necessarily able to chase and catch desert hares.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:12%;" | Origin
! style="width:53%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
|Africanis
|
|Southern Africa
|Dogs that migrated with Bantu tribes into Southern Africa. The dogs were free to mate amongst themselves without any selective breeding.
|-
| Carolina Dog or Yellow Dog
|
|United States
| Developed from dogs originally from Asia this landrace has been the basis of the Carolina Dog standardized breed.
|-
| Scotch Collie
|
| Scotland
| The Rough Collie was bred from the Scotch Collie landrace.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:12%;" | Origin
! style="width:53%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
| Icelandic horse
|}
Chicken
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:12%;" | Origin
! style="width:53%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
| Danish hen
|
| Denmark
|
|-
| Icelandic chicken
|
| Iceland
|
|-
| Jærhøns
|
| Norway
|
|-
| Swedish flower hen
|
| Sweden
|
|-
| Shetland hen
|
| Scotland
|
|}
Ducks
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:12%;" | Origin
! style="width:53%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
| Swedish Blue duck
|
| Sweden
| A modern breed of the same name is derived from the landrace.
|-
|}
Geese
Many standardized goose breeds named "Landrace", e.g. the Twente Landrace goose, are not actually true landraces, but may be derived from them.<!--See those main articles for sources for now, cite here too before GA review.-->
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:12%;" | Origin
! style="width:53%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
| Pilgrim goose
|
| New England
| This landrace is associated with the Mayflower Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony, and has also been standardised as a formal breed since 1939. It is thought to descend from western European stock dating of the 17th century.
|}
Rabbits
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:12%;" | Origin
! style="width:53%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
| Gotland rabbit
|
| Gotland
| This landrace is subject to conservation efforts.
|-
| Mellerud rabbit
|
| Sweden
| This landrace is subject to conservation efforts.
|}
See also
References
External links
- [//Diverseeds.eu/uploads/media/Crop_Wild_Relatives_ver2.mp4 Short DIVERSEEDS video on crop wild relatives and landraces in the fertile crescent in Israel]