Modelling spatio-temporal changes in the ecological niches of major domesticated crops in China: Application of Species Distribution Modelling
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis explores how the dispersal of crops in the past related to their ecological niches. In particular, it presents the niche models for five historically significant crops in China: rice, millet, wheat, barley and buckwheat. These models are rooted in the Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) methodology and infer the potential areas suitable for the cultivation of each crop from the present distributional data. Model predictions are extrapolated on the palaeoclimatic reconstructions to obtain suitability estimates extending back to the initial uptake of each crop in China. Those are compared against the patterns of crops’ dispersal deduced from archaeobotanical data to assess the contribution of climatic factors and human niche construction to agricultural trajectories. Specifically, the study draws on ecological niche theory, niche construction theory, cultural evolution and gene-culture co-evolutionary theory to interpret how the observed patterns could result from different pathways to niche construction and distributional expansion. The analysis identified two modes of crop dispersal based on whether those pathways involved more deliberate efforts at spreading and maintaining cultivation or passive responses to the environment. Niche-forming characterised major domesticates which originated in China: rice and millet. It manifested in the gradual broadening of the environmental range occupied by the crops over time and was associated with the pathways that implied prioritisation by farmers. In contrast, a stable environmental range identified the niche following trajectories, expected when the spread of crops was more opportunistic than intentional. Foreign domesticates (wheat and barley) and buckwheat, a comparatively minor crop, exemplify this model. Furthermore, the analysis provided insights into factors that shaped the dispersal patterns of individual crops. Notably, it demonstrated that climate constrained buckwheat movement along major transcontine…
abstract: This thesis explores how the dispersal of crops in the past related to their ecological niches. In particular, it presents the niche models for five historically significant crops in China: rice, millet, wheat, barley and buckwheat. These models are rooted in the Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) methodology and infer the potential areas suitable for the cultivation of each crop from the present distributional data. Model predictions are extrapolated on the palaeoclimatic reconstructions to obtain suitability estimates extending back to the initial uptake of each crop in China. Those are compared against the patterns of crops’ dispersal deduced from archaeobotanical data to assess the contribution of climatic factors and human niche construction to agricultural trajectories. Specifically, the study draws on ecological niche theory, niche construction theory, cultural evolution and gene-culture co-evolutionary theory to interpret how the observed patterns could result from different pathways to niche construction and distributional expansion. The analysis identified two modes of crop dispersal based on whether those pathways involved more deliberate efforts at spreading and maintaining cultivation or passive responses to the environment. Niche-forming characterised major domesticates which originated in China: rice and millet. It manifested in the gradual broadening of the environmental range occupied by the crops over time and was associated with the pathways that implied prioritisation by farmers. In contrast, a stable environmental range identified the niche following trajectories, expected when the spread of crops was more opportunistic than intentional. Foreign domesticates (wheat and barley) and buckwheat, a comparatively minor crop, exemplify this model. Furthermore, the analysis provided insights into factors that shaped the dispersal patterns of individual crops. Notably, it demonstrated that climate constrained buckwheat movement along major transcontine…
author: Krzyzanska, Marta
language: eng
keywords: Ecological niche modelling, Niche Construction Theory, Species Distribution Modelling, Dispersal of crops, China
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/fe4b3c34-0107-44dd-b115-9c29a1da6d87/download
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
date published: 2023-01-06
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:30Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.104149