Dr James Borrell from RBG Kew

Please see below the next Department Seminar which will be featuring Dr James Borrell from RBG Kew

The seminar will be 1-2pm at Bourne Lecture Theatre 2

From 2pm in the Alice room, Bourne building we will have an informal ‘Meet the speaker’ session for early career researchers where James would be happy to chat about his career path and answer any questions about his research and career.

Dr James Borrell: Bending the curve of agrobiodiversity loss 

Efficient and sustainable agriculture is crucial for human wellbeing, but agrobiodiversity is declining in unison with wild biodiversity. Of more than 30,000 plants with documented human uses, over 50% of plant derived calories now come from just three species. Homogeneous and less resilient agricultural systems, particularly in developing countries and under climate change, risk undermining our best conservation efforts. Here I analyse the drivers of wild and agrobiodiversity patterns in the Ethiopian highlands, one of the world’s largest historic recipients of food aid, and a global hotspot for both wild and cultivated plants. Rather than seeing agriculture as the predominant threat to wild ecosystems, I discuss how underutilised crops such as enset together with existing conservation frameworks could be adapted to work with farmers for the benefit of both wild plants and the crops upon which we rely.  

Host: Julia Koricheva

For more information about upcoming Departmental Seminars please visit: https://royalholloway.ac.uk/research-and-teaching/departments-and-schools/biological-sciences/events/