Terminology

You should know, what these terms mean and you should be able to explain them in your own words.

biogeography . continental drift . Pangaea . glacial disjunction . seed shattering . archaeobotany . therophytes . dormancy . phytochrome . Vavilov's Law of Homologous Series . synteny . Vavilov Center . Lyssenkoism . Guns, Germs, and Steel Hypothesis . Neolithic Revolution . Green Revolution . Bioeconomy . Convention on Biological Diversity . landrace . cultivar . in-situ and ex-situ conservation . Fertile (Golden) Crescent

1. What might be the biogeographic reason for the high number of endemic Salvia species in Austria?

2. From which Vavilov-Biodiversity Center originate the following crop plants: cacao, cotton, coffee, tomato, wheat, rice, grapevine?  

3. Ploughing in the night at new moon has been shown to prevent efficiently development of weeds. Can you explain this?

4. Why can landraces of grapevine or potatoes be conserved ex-situ, whereas landraces of wheat and beans have to be conserved in-situ?

5. Phytochrome has been discovered in lettuce. Give an educated guess on the time, when lettuce was domesticated: 4000 years ago or 1000 years ago?