Landrace
Encyclopedia
A landrace is a local variety of a domesticated
Domestication
Domestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. In the Convention on Biological Diversity a domesticated species is defined as a 'species in which the evolutionary process has been...

 animal or plant species which has developed largely by natural processes, by adaptation to the natural and cultural environment in which it lives. It differs from a formal breed
Breed
A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...

 which has been bred deliberately to conform to a particular standard type. Landraces are usually more genetically
Genotype
The genotype is the genetic makeup of a cell, an organism, or an individual usually with reference to a specific character under consideration...

 and physically
Phenotype
A phenotype is an organism's observable characteristics or traits: such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, behavior, and products of behavior...

 diverse than formal breeds. Many formal breeds originated from landraces, and sometimes a particular type has both landrace and formal breed populations. Sometimes a formalised breed retains the "landrace" name, despite no longer being a true landrace. When a landrace is formalised as a pedigree breed it is often referred to as a natural breed by breeder and fancier organisations. Similarly, the term traditional variety is sometimes applied to plant landraces.

Plants

Several definitions of the term landrace have been used in botanical application.
"Landrace populations are often highly variable in appearance, but they are each identifiable morphologically
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....

 and have a certain genetic integrity. Farmers usually give them local names. A landrace has particular properties or characteristics. Some are considered early maturing and some late. Each has a reputation for adaptation to particular soil types according to the traditional peasant soil classifications, e.g. heavy or light, warm or cold, dry or wet, strong or weak. They also may be classified according to expected usage; among cereals, different landraces are used for flour, for porridge, for 'bulgur
Bulgur
Bulgur is a cereal food made from several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. In the United States it is most often made from white wheat. Its use is most common in Middle Eastern cuisine, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Armenia and Bulgaria...

', and for malt to make beer, etc. All components of the population are adapted to local climatic conditions, cultural practices, and disease and pests." But most important, they are genetically diverse. They are balanced populations – variable, in equilibrium with both environment and pathogens and genetically dynamic’.


The term "landrace" has additionally been defined as
"An autochthonous
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...

 landrace is a variety with a high capacity to tolerate biotic and abiotic stress, resulting in a high yield stability and an intermediate yield level under a low input agricultural system."

Evolutionary process

Landraces are grown from seeds which have not been systematically selected and marketed by seed companies or developed by plant breeders. Landraces will refer to all those cultigens that are highly heterogeneous, but with enough characteristics in common to permit their recognition as a group.
This will include all cultigens cultivated without any specific nomenclature
Nomenclature
Nomenclature is a term that applies to either a list of names or terms, or to the system of principles, procedures and terms related to naming - which is the assigning of a word or phrase to a particular object or property...

 and value. A landrace identified with a unique feature and selected for uniformity over a period of time for maintenance of the characteristic features of the population can evolve into a farmers’ variety or even a modern cultivar as in many crops; for example, Maruti in the case of pigeon peas.

Conversely, a modern cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

 grown over time by the farmers and not maintained as per the
principles of maintenance breeding can ‘evolve’ into a landrace.

A significant proportion of the world’s farmers grow landraces. Data collected for a study of the spread of cereal agriculture into Europe showed that landraces have largely fallen out of use in Europe. European cereal landraces were mainly grown by farmers before breeders started to improve the varieties in the 20th century.

Some landraces have survived in Europe, having been handed on from one generation of farmers to the next. Elsewhere, landraces and traditional varieties have been revived by enthusiasts who seek to preserve their agricultural and food heritage. Landraces and traditional varieties are valued as the source of ingredients in traditional food and traditional drinks or as raw materials for thatching.

There have been systematic efforts to preserve European cereal landraces either in germplasm collections or in situ. The activities of these collections are coordinated by Bioversity International
Bioversity International
Bioversity International is one of 15 agricultural research centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research . It is dedicated to the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity to improve the livelihoods of poor people. The organization is highly...

. This organisation coordinates information on conservation activities, including a searchable online database of germplasm collections. However, more needs to be done, Regine Anderson argues, because plant genetic variety depends on a diversity of landraces. An issue of survival

The terms "landrace" and "traditional variety" are sometimes used interchangeably.

Animals

Animal landraces occur in many species of domestic animals. A landrace does not imply so much a breed
Breed
A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...

 as a type of animal. Examples include the Norwegian Forest Cat
Norwegian Forest Cat
The Norwegian Forest Cat is a breed of domestic cat native to Northern Europe, and adapted to a very cold climate, with top coat of glossy, long, water-shedding hairs, and a woolly undercoat for insulation...

, Shetland sheep, and Welsh Mountain sheep. Often, from within a landrace a small number of animals have been selected to found a formal pedigree breed, usually of the same name as the landrace. "Landrace" pigs (such as Danish Landrace
Danish Landrace
The Danish Landrace is a medium to large breed of pig, white in colour with long bodies, fine hair, long snouts, and heavy drooping ears. They are bred for pork production....

) are breeds derived from landraces. When people select animals to create a highly consistent purebred
Purebred
Purebreds, also called purebreeds, are cultivated varieties or cultivars of an animal species, achieved through the process of selective breeding...

 breed, they often select for a consistent appearance rather than behavior or adaptability to a given environment. When this happens, defining characteristics of the landrace may be lost.

Dogs

Dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

 landraces and dog breeds derived from them vary greatly, depending on their origins and purpose. Three examples are the Border Collie
Border Collie
The Border Collie is a herding dog breed developed in the Anglo-Scottish border region for herding livestock, especially sheep. It is the most widespread of the collie breeds....

, Armenian Gampr dog
Armenian Gampr dog
Armenian Gampr is a breed of livestock guardian dog that originated in the Armenian Highlands, including the territories of modern Eastern Anatolia of Turkey and the Republic of Armenia. The Armenian Gampr was bred by local people using primitive selection...

 and Saluki
Saluki
The Saluki, also known as the Royal Dog of Egypt and Persian Greyhound is one of the oldest known breeds of domesticated dog. From the period of the Middle Kingdom onwards, Saluki-like animals appear on the ancient Egyptian tombs of 2134 BC. They have connections both to the Bible and Imperial...

. The Border Collie landrace is used as a herding dog
Herding dog
A herding dog, also known as a stock dog or working dog, is a type of pastoral dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to breeds developed for herding...

 and varies in appearance: ears pricked upright to nearly dropped, varied fullnesses of coat, and so on. However, they are recognised as Border Collies by their general appearance and most of all by their unique manner of herding sheep. In contrast to the landrace, in the Border Collie breed show-quality individuals very closely match a "breed standard" appearance but might not be particularly good at herding sheep and might not have a coat suitable for outdoor life. Similarly, the Saluki
Saluki
The Saluki, also known as the Royal Dog of Egypt and Persian Greyhound is one of the oldest known breeds of domesticated dog. From the period of the Middle Kingdom onwards, Saluki-like animals appear on the ancient Egyptian tombs of 2134 BC. They have connections both to the Bible and Imperial...

 landrace of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 excels in running down game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...

 across open tracts of hot desert, but show-quality individuals of the breed might not be able to chase and catch hare
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...

s in the desert. The now extinct St. John's Water Dog
St. John's Water Dog
The St. John's Water Dog, also called the St. John’s Dog or the Lesser Newfoundland, was a naturally occurring dog breed from Newfoundland. Little is known of the breeds that went into its creation, although it was likely a random-bred mix of old Irish, English, and Portuguese working breeds. The...

 landrace was native to the island of Newfoundland. It was the foundational breed for a number of purpose-bred dogs, such as the Labrador Retriever
Labrador Retriever
The Labrador Retriever is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed's original purpose of retrieving fishing nets. The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Canada, the United...

, and Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Chesapeake Bay Retriever
The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is a breed of dog belonging to the Retriever, Gundog, and Sporting breed groups. Members of the breed may also be referred to as a Chessie, CBR, or Chesapeake. The breed was developed in the United States Chesapeake Bay area during the 19th century...

, as well as the Newfoundland Dog
Newfoundland (dog)
The Newfoundland is a breed of large dog. Newfoundlands can be black, brown, gray, or black and white. They were originally bred and used as a working dog for fishermen in the Dominion of Newfoundland, now part of Canada. They are known for their giant size, tremendous strength, calm dispositions,...

. All dogs are essentially derived from the gray wolf
Gray Wolf
The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...

, best illustrated by the experiments undertaken in the old Soviet Union with the fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

 by Belyaev or by the genome wide association studies of Elaine Ostrander at the NIH. Some landraces become domesticated and then revert to "wild" status again by escaping and joining up with others to form feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...

 packs.

Horses

Although the term "landrace" is rarely used in modern horse breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

, numerous landraces of horses do exist. Some of these are predominantly feral
Feral horse
A feral horse is a free-roaming horse of domesticated ancestry. As such, a feral horse is not a wild animal in the sense of an animal without domesticated ancestors. However, some populations of feral horses are managed as wildlife, and these horses often are popularly called "wild" horses...

 types, but the majority are fully domesticated working animals. Notable landraces from which pedigreed breeds have been formed include the New Forest pony
New Forest pony
The New Forest Pony or New Forester is one of the recognised Mountain and moorland or Native pony breeds of the British Isles. The breed is valued for its hardiness, strength and sureness of foot...

 and Exmoor pony
Exmoor pony
The Exmoor pony is a horse breed native to the British Isles, where some still roam as semi-feral livestock on Exmoor, a large area of moorland in Devon and Somerset in southwest England. The Exmoor is one of the British Isles mountain and moorland pony breeds, having conformation similar to that...

. The New Forest mares living semi-wild on the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....

 are largely non-pedigreed landrace animals, while the stallions, and those kept as fully domesticated animals and bred for showing are a formal breed. Aficionados of some horse breeds claim them to be "pure" and virtually unchanged from their original wild prototype or landrace. Such breeds include the Arabian horse
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...

 and the Andalusian horse
Andalusian horse
The Andalusian, also known as the Pure Spanish Horse or PRE , is a horse breed developed in the Iberian Peninsula. Its ancestors have been present on the Iberian Peninsula for thousands of years. The Andalusian has been recognized as an individual breed since the 15th century, and its conformation...

, and a number of feral breeds (such as the Banker horse
Banker Horse
The Banker horse is a breed of feral horse living on the islands of North Carolina's Outer Banks. It is small, hardy, and has a docile temperament...

) that are restricted to islands.

Cattle

Examples of landrace cattle include Pineywoods
Pineywoods (cattle)
Pineywoods cattle are an endangered breed of landrace heritage cattle that are descended from the original Spanish stock left along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama by the Spanish explorers in the early 16th century...

, Florida Cracker
Florida Cracker cattle
The Florida Cracker is a breed of cattle developed in the state of Florida, and named for the Florida Cracker culture in which it was kept. Also known as the Florida Scrub or just as the Cracker cow, these cattle are one of the criollo-type breeds originally brought to the Southern U.S. by the...

 and Randall
Randall Cattle
Randall cattle are a rare breed of cattle that originated in Sunderland, Vermont.-Origin:Randall cattle are a rare breed of purebred cattle developed in Sunderland, Vermont, USA, on the farm of Samuel Randall, and later his son, Everett Randall. The Randall family kept a closed herd for over 80 years...

 cattle.

Others

  • Mulefoot Hogs
  • Gulf Coast Native sheep
  • Syfan Spanish goats (in the American South)
  • Norwegian Forest Cat
    Norwegian Forest Cat
    The Norwegian Forest Cat is a breed of domestic cat native to Northern Europe, and adapted to a very cold climate, with top coat of glossy, long, water-shedding hairs, and a woolly undercoat for insulation...

  • Maine Coon
    Maine Coon
    The Maine Coon is a breed of domestic cat with a distinctive physical appearance and valuable hunting skills. It is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically native to the state of Maine, where it is the official State Cat....

     Cat
  • Siberian (cat)
    Siberian (cat)
    The Siberian is a domestic cat breed that has been present in Russia for centuries. The full name of the cat is the 'Siberian Forest Cat' although sometimes referred to as the 'Siberian' or the 'Siberian Cat'. The cat is an ancient breed that is now believed to be ancestral to all modern...


External links


See also

  • Breed
    Breed
    A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...

  • Heirloom plant
    Heirloom plant
    An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, or heirloom vegetable is a cultivar that was commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but which is not used in modern large-scale agriculture...

  • Dog type
    Dog type
    Dog types are broad categories of dogs based on function, with dogs identified primarily by specific function or style of work rather than by lineage or appearance....

  • Mountain dog
    Mountain dog
    Mountain dog is a generic form of canidae, dog, dog breed or landrace typically from mountain environs.They are often a working dog, particularly a livestock or flock guardian or farm dog. By and large, these dogs tend to have a claimed Molosser dog in their genetic heritage...

  • Purebred
    Purebred
    Purebreds, also called purebreeds, are cultivated varieties or cultivars of an animal species, achieved through the process of selective breeding...

  • Selective breeding
    Selective breeding
    Selective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Typically, strains that are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties,...

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