'Systems Approach' Plant Breeding Illustrated by Trees

The linkage in new and creative ways of existing plant breeding methodsresponsive to different global trends and values provides a ‘systems approach’ toaddress a broad set of global production challenges more effectively. Here, weillustrate such an approach through its application to trees, chosen becauseof their extensive diversity in features, uses, users, production contexts, anddomestication pathways. We coin the resulting strategy ‘tree diversity breeding’and consider it with reference to trends and values related to participation,environment, biotechnology, and markets as examples. Features of the approachfor trees are applicable to plant breeding more widely, as we seek to addresscomplex problems through strategic biodiversity use.