Determinants of spatial diversity in modern wheat: examples from Australia and China
研究了澳大利亚和中国现代小麦品种空间分布多样性的决定因素，通过构建多样性指数并分析农民需求与品种供给的影响，对监测作物遗传多样性有参考价值。
Abstract The spatial distribution of modern varieties, and the genes they embody, has economic value because it affects crop productivity from year to year. Since farmers choose varieties based on observable traits rather than the genes they cannot see, a first step in understanding the spatial distribution of genes is to better understand the determinants of the spatial distribution of varieties. In this paper, we have constructed spatial diversity indices from area distributions of modern wheat varieties in Australia and China. We hypothesise that factors explaining variation in these indices are related to farmers' demand for traits and the supply of varieties, given physical features of the production environment. We test these hypotheses using reduced form equations for three concepts of spatial diversity, richness, abundance and evenness, using Zellner's seemingly unrelated regression (SUR). Spatial diversity indicators and analyses of this type, if more fully developed and targeted to address specific policy issues, may assist in monitoring crop genetic diversity or ‘refuge’ targets associated with the diffusion of some genetically modified crops.