Biodiversity, agriculture, genetics and meeting global challenges. Pat Heslop-Harrison

Описание: Pat Heslop-Harrison asks how we can feed, clothe and warm 8billiion people without trashing the planet earth? In this lecture for the course BS2059 he considers the diversity of plants and animals and the ways that this can be used to improve crops and reduce the impact. How do we maximise the outputs of 'fixed energy' in the form of food, feed and fuel from an ecosystem, using the inputs of light, heat, water, gasses and nutrients? What about ecosystem services coming out of the agricultural ecosystem: purified water, fixed carbon, oxygen, modified heat profiles? In a non-sustainable system, these will come from exploitation and not be replaced, or may be degraded, eroding land to bare soil, making it saline, or suffering fires. Over the last 20 years, much of the improvement in crop yield and sustainability has come from improved genetics, exploiting biodiversity, and food production has increased more rapidly than the number of people.