page_title: Agricultural biodiversity
section_title: Provisioning
hierarchical_section_title: Agricultural biodiversity / Contributions of agrobiodiversity to food and agriculture / Provisioning
caption_attribution_description: Español: Camu Camu
context_page_description: Agricultural biodiversity is a sub-set of general biodiversity. Otherwise known as agrobiodiversity, agricultural biodiversity is a broad term that includes "the variety and variability of animals, plants and micro-organisms at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels that sustain the ecosystem structures, functions and processes in and around production systems, and that provide food and non-food agricultural products.” Created and managed by farmers, pastoralists, fishers and forest dwellers, agrobiodiversity provides stability, adaptability and resilience and constitutes a key element of the livelihood strategies of rural communities throughout the world. Agrobiodiversity is central to sustainable food systems and sustainable diets. The use of agricultural biodiversity can contribute to food security, nutrition security, and livelihood security, and it is critical for climate adaptation and climate mitigation.
context_section_description: Agrobiodiversity's contribution to provisioning services is mainly for providing food and nutrition. Food biodiversity is "the diversity of plants, animals and other organisms used for food, covering the genetic resources within species, between species and provided by ecosystems." Historically at least 6,000 plant species and numerous animal species have been used as human food. This number is considered to be decreasing now, resulting in concerns about long-term diet diversity. Food biodiversity also covers subspecies or varieties of crops, for example the many forms of the Brassica oleracea species (cauliflowers, different broccolis, cabbages, Brussel sprouts, etc.). Many species which have been overlooked by mainstream research ('orphan' or 'neglected and underutilized' species) are rich in micronutrients and other healthful components. Also among different varieties of a species, there can be a wide variety of nutrient composition; for example some sweet potato varieties contain negligible levels of beta-carotene, which others can contain up to 23,100 mcg per 100g of raw, peeled sweet potatoes. Other provisioning services from agrobiodiversity are the provision of wood, fibre, fuel, water and medicinal resources. Sustainable food security is linked to improving the conservation, sustainable use and enhancement of the diversity of all genetic resources for food and agriculture, especially plant and animal genetic resources, in all types of production systems.
caption: Camu camu is a neglected tree fruit species native to Brazil, with rich nutrient and antioxidant properties
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