A new database of weed species has been created to help scientists understand traditional agricultural systems and may offer insights into the potential impact of climate change.
The database, representing three decades of collaborative research between the Universities of Sheffield and Oxford, encompasses weed species across Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa.
Published in Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, the research catalogues the characteristics of weeds living with cereal and pulse crops across 928 species, the project aims to compare historical and contemporary agricultural systems.
John Hodgson, a plant ecologist said: “In modern day agriculture, where crops are micromanaged and everything that is not wanted is removed, it can be difficult to monitor long term changes to environments and plant species.
“So by investigating historical weed populations, instead of the crops, the data offers researchers a unique way to see what has been lost and gained over the ages.”
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