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Tragedies and Crops: Understanding Natural Selection To Improve Cropping Systems.

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Summary

Plants can exhibit a "tragedy of the commons" (TOC), where individual resource acquisition lowers community performance. Crop breeding may inadvertently promote TOC traits, but evolutionary game theory can help optimize yields and resource efficiency.

Keywords:
agro-ecosystemsevolutionary game theoryfood securitynatural selection

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Agricultural Science

Background:

  • Plant communities face a
  • tragedy of the commons
  • where individualistic resource acquisition can decrease overall community performance.
  • Agriculture aims to maximize community performance, but crop breeding might inadvertently select for traits that exacerbate the tragedy of the commons.
  • Understanding these dynamics is crucial for improving agricultural productivity and resource use.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the occurrence of the tragedy of the commons in plant communities.
  • To investigate how historical crop breeding practices may have influenced traits related to the tragedy of the commons.
  • To explore the potential of integrating evolutionary game theory with physiological and ecological knowledge to enhance crop yields and resource-use efficiency.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review on the tragedy of the commons in plant communities.
  • Analysis of crop breeding history and its impact on plant traits.
  • Conceptual framework linking evolutionary game theory, plant physiology, and agro-ecosystem ecology.

Main Results:

  • The tragedy of the commons is a recognized phenomenon in plant communities, impacting overall performance.
  • Evidence suggests that some crop breeding strategies may have inadvertently selected for traits that contribute to the tragedy of the commons.
  • Linking evolutionary game theory with mechanistic understanding offers a promising approach to mitigate negative effects and improve agricultural outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • The tragedy of the commons poses a challenge in both natural and agricultural plant communities.
  • Strategic crop breeding, informed by evolutionary game theory and ecological principles, can be used to counteract the tragedy of the commons.
  • This integrated approach holds potential for significant advancements in crop yield and resource-use efficiency in agriculture.