Ecological processes during the origins of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent

新月沃地农业起源期间的生态过程

• 批准号: NE/L013266/1
• 负责人: Colin Osborne
• 金额: $ 4.81万
• 依托单位: University of Sheffield
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2014 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FL013266%2F1
• 关键词: Ecological; processes; during; origins; agriculture

The origin of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent was a pivotal moment in human history, leading to flourishing civilizations through Western Asia and Europe. Archaeological evidence shows that people began to cultivate wild plants across the Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic, 10,000 years ago. By cultivating and managing these plants, the first farmers unintentionally drove the evolution of domesticated crops. Archaeological evidence also shows that, during the same period, early farmers abandoned many of the wild grain species that had been gathered, processed and stored by earlier hunter-gatherer societies.We are interested in two important questions about the Neolithic origins of agriculture. 1. What ecological mechanisms are capable of driving the evolution of domestication characteristics in wild plants under human cultivation and management? 2. Could the same ecological mechanisms be responsible for narrowing down a broad spectrum of wild grain species to a small pool of crop progenitors during the transition from gathering to cultivation? By finding the answers to these, we will better understand how agriculture began, and how today's domesticated crops came into being. Our overarching hypothesis is that crop progenitors have characteristics that pre-adapt them to anthropogenic environments, including cultivated and managed fields. When people first began to settle and cultivate plants, these particular species therefore thrived in the fertile, densely packed environments of cultivated fields, with occasional disturbance from the animals that were domesticated at the same time.We have carried out a range of experiments to test this hypothesis with plants grown in pots in glasshouses. We have made a number of discoveries. First, crop wild relatives are higher yielding than other wild grain species when grown in dense stands, but not when plants are grown individually. This supports the idea that crop progenitors may be pre-adapted to densely packed cultivated fields. Secondly, crop relatives yield more highly than other wild species after disturbance, equivalent to grazing by animals. Their yields would therefore have been less impacted by early herd animals during the transition to agriculture. Finally, grain yield in crop wild relatives is correlated with seed size, so that selection by farmers for greater yield would drive increased seed size, a key domestication trait.In this project, we would like to follow up these discoveries with field studies in the Fertile Crescent of Turkey. Firstly, to investigate the behavior of crop wild relatives and other wild grain species under natural climate and soil conditions. Secondly, to look at the distribution and harvest characteristics of the wild grain species gathered before agriculture began, investigating how these grow plants in their natural habitats. Our work is important for understanding how agriculture began in the Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic, but also for addressing future concerns about the future sustainability of agriculture. Crop wild relatives are important for modern crop breeding, because they incorporate a diverse array of defences against pests and diseases, and mechanisms for more efficient use of soil nutrients including a symbiosis with soil fungi. By exploring the diversity of crop wild relatives, we also stand to learn more about how to grow our modern crops more sustainably in future.

新月沃地农业的起源是人类历史上的一个关键时刻，导致了西亚和欧洲的繁荣文明。考古证据表明，人们在1万年前的新石器时代就开始在肥沃的新月地带种植野生植物。通过种植和管理这些植物，第一批农民无意中推动了驯化作物的进化。考古证据还表明，在同一时期，早期的农民放弃了许多野生谷物物种，这些物种是由早期的狩猎采集社会采集、加工和储存的。1.哪些生态机制能够驱动野生植物在人类栽培和管理下驯化特征的进化？2.在从采集到种植的过渡过程中，同样的生态机制是否可以将广泛的野生谷物物种缩小到一小部分作物祖先？通过找到这些问题的答案，我们将更好地了解农业是如何开始的，以及今天的驯化作物是如何形成的。我们的总体假设是，作物祖先具有使其预先适应人类环境的特征，包括耕作和管理的田地。当人们第一次开始定居和种植植物时，这些特殊的物种因此在肥沃、密集的耕地环境中茁壮成长，偶尔会受到同一时期驯化的动物的干扰。我们已经进行了一系列实验来验证这一假设，在温室的花盆中种植植物。我们已经有了一些发现。首先，作物野生近缘种在密集林分中生长时产量高于其他野生谷物物种，但在单独种植时则不然。这支持了作物祖先可能预先适应密集的耕地的想法。其次，作物近缘种在受到干扰后产量高于其他野生种，相当于被动物放牧。因此，在向农业过渡的过程中，它们的产量受到早期畜群动物的影响较小。最后，作物野生近缘种的谷物产量与种子大小相关，因此农民为了获得更高的产量而进行的选择将推动种子大小的增加，这是一个关键的驯化性状。第一，调查作物近缘野生种和其他野生粮食种在自然气候和土壤条件下的行为。其次，研究农业开始前采集的野生谷物物种的分布和收获特征，调查这些物种如何在自然栖息地种植植物。我们的工作对于了解新石器时代新月沃土的农业是如何开始的非常重要，也有助于解决未来对农业可持续性的担忧。作物野生近缘种对现代作物育种很重要，因为它们包含了多种多样的抗病虫害防御机制，以及更有效地利用土壤养分的机制，包括与土壤真菌的共生关系。通过探索作物野生亲缘的多样性，我们也将更多地了解如何在未来更可持续地种植我们的现代作物。

项目成果

Fertile Crescent crop progenitors gained a competitive advantage from large seedlings.

新月沃地作物祖先从大苗中获得了竞争优势。

• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7282
• 发表时间: 2021-04
• 期刊: Ecology and evolution
• 影响因子: 2.6
• 作者: Preece C;Jones G;Rees M;Osborne CP
• 通讯作者: Osborne CP