Why Our Favorite Crops Live Fast and Die Young

We mostly grow annual plants because they reliably produce energy-rich seeds, which we like to eat. ___________________________________________ To learn more, start your googling with these keywords: Annual: a plant that typically lives for a year or less Biennial: a plant that typically lives for two years Perennial: a plant that typically lives for multiple years ___________________________________________ If you liked this week’s video, you might also like: The Case Against Civilization: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/18/the-case-against-civilization _________________________________________ Credits (and Twitter handles): Script Writer: Alex Reich (@alexhreich) Script Editor: Emily Elert (@eelert) Video Illustrators: Bruno van Wayenburg and Ever Salazar Video Director: Emily Elert (@eelert) Video Narrator: Emily Elert (@eelert) With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Kate Yoshida, Peter Reich, David Goldenberg Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder: http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder ___________________________________________ References: Bonser, S. P. (2013). High reproductive efficiency as an adaptive strategy in competitive environments. Functional Ecology, 27(4), 876-885. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.12064/full Crews, T. Personal Communication, Dec 2017. Crews, T. E., & DeHaan, L. R. (2015). The strong perennial vision: A response. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 39(5), 500-515. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21683565.2015.1008777 Friedman, J., & Rubin, M. J. (2015). All in good time: understanding annual and perennial strategies in plants. American journal of botany, 102(4), 497-499. http://www.amjbot.org/content/102/4/497.short Denison, R.F. Personal Communication, Nov 2017. Milla, R. Personal Communication, Dec 2017. Pimentel, D., et al. (2012). Annual vs. perennial grain production. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 161, 1-9. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880912002058 Rees, M., & Long, M. J. (1992). Germination biology and the ecology of annual plants. The American Naturalist, 139(3), 484-508. http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/1403/1/reesm8_Rees_and_Long_1992_Am_Nat.pdf Reich, P. B. (2014). The world‐wide ‘fast–slow’plant economics spectrum: a traits manifesto. Journal of Ecology, 102(2), 275-301. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.12211/full Smaje, C. (2015). The strong perennial vision: A critical review. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 39(5), 471-499. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21683565.2015.1007200 Van Tassel, D. L., DeHaan, L. R., & Cox, T. S. (2010). Missing domesticated plant forms: can artificial selection fill the gap?. Evolutionary Applications, 3(5‐6), 434-452. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1752-4571.2010.00132.x/full Vico, G. Personal Communication, Nov 2017. Vico, G., et al. (2016). Trade‐offs between seed output and life span–a quantitative comparison of traits between annual and perennial congeneric species. New Phytologist, 209(1), 104-114. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.13574/full Westoby, M. Personal Communication, Nov 2017.