Summary
This narrative review examines how the ecological traits of herbaceous crops have shifted through domestication and post-domestication evolution. The author synthesises evidence that certain traits—seed dispersal mechanisms, plant and organ size, herbivore susceptibility, and residue decomposition rate—have independently converged across different crop species, whilst other traits such as leaf and root resource acquisition rates and whole-plant growth rates show inconsistent or poorly characterised responses. The paper emphasises the need for multi-trait crop ideotypes that balance yield with ecosystem services and organism interactions.
UK applicability
The review's global scope and focus on herbaceous crop domestication are relevant to UK breeding programmes and agroecological practice, particularly in understanding how trait selection affects soil processes, decomposition dynamics, and pest regulation. However, the paper is primarily a conceptual synthesis rather than empirical evidence from UK conditions, so direct applicability to UK farming systems requires contextualisation.
Key measures
Qualitative synthesis of phenotypic trait evolution in domesticated herbaceous crops; comparison of traits between wild progenitors and domesticated varieties; identification of common versus disparate evolutionary responses to domestication
Outcomes reported
This narrative review synthesised evidence on how ecological traits of herbaceous crops have evolved during domestication, identifying common phenotypic changes (loss of seed dispersal, increased plant size, herbivory resistance, rapid residue decomposition) and trait categories showing idiosyncratic responses across species (resource acquisition, growth rates).
Topic tags
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