DOI: 10.21223/p3/a93mjv
title: Dataset for: Analysis of Socioeconomics, geospatial and agroecological indicators for potato diversity management at family level of the in-situ monitoring hotspot of Huancavelica (Peru) in 2013 and 2017

description: Planting diverse landraces is used globally as an effective smallholder farmers’ insurance policy to respond to biotic and abiotic stress and to buffer environmental variability, typical in the microhabitat patchworked cropping systems in centers of crop diversity. Many studies give examples of how landrace mixtures support in situ conservation through increased use of intra-specific diversity with positive impacts on yield stability and resource use efficiency in low input agriculture. The Andean highlands, which are characterized by a multitude of microhabitats, provide an underpinning for modelling the benefits from this use of plant diversity for long-term small holder farmer survival. These Andean microclimates are the origin of thousands of potato landraces cultivated for more than 7000 years between 3000-4200 masl. This diversity in potato landraces has shaped highland ecosystems, as well as, allowed the adaptation of environmental and socio-cultural incentives for diversification and survival across these diverse landscapes. Today, indigenous potato farmers cultivate potato landraces as randomly distributed mixtures, or ‘Chaqru’, which are mainly used for self-consumption. Usually, Chaqru is grown in all soil types fertilized with manure. This gives the native potato its intrinsic value including good flavor, aroma, high dry matter content, and long shelf life. Analyses of household data from three potato diversity hotspots, two in Peru and one in Bolivia revealed that overall 850 unique Chaqru were managed in situ, consisting of up to 66 different varieties per Chaqru. Past studies demonstrated that planting localized mixes of landraces, such as the varieties comprising Chaqru, provide high eco-geographic versatility (resilience). This versatility is a powerful feature used by these sustenance farming communities to survive climatic and environmental uncertainties that characterize these high Andean ecosystems. Greater versatility of landraces also helps effectively use soil resources in traditional crop rotation systems, common in these high elevation farming landscapes. This dataset contributes to define a conceptual framework of socio-cultural indicators for potato diversity for long-term monitoring of in situ conservation communities in 2013 and 2017 in Huancavelica. For this reason, we extracted and generated new socioeconomic, geospatial and agroecological indicators/variables from doi:10.21223/P3/CVRYSO and doi:10.21223/P3/CSTH9K. The dataset contains a database of surveyed communities and field plots, socio economic factors, production systems and temporal management of inter-specific diversity, geographic distribution of cultivated potato populations, diversity indices describing the spatial distribution patterns of the documented potato landraces and cultivar types and supplementary files (surveys, protocols) used for this study. This dataset contributes to define an interdisciplinary conceptual framework for socioeconomics, geospatial and agroecological indicators for potato diversity management at family level.