False banana: Is Ethiopia'senset 'wondercrop' for climate change?
假香蕉樹：衣索比亞的「神奇作物」Enset能夠對抗氣候變遷嗎？
Scientistssay the plant enset, an Ethiopian staple, could be a new superfood and alifesaver in the face of climate change.
科學家們表示衣索比亞人的主食之一，一種被稱為enset(象腿蕉屬)的植物，可能將成為新的超級食物，並在氣候變遷的威脅下成為救星。
Thebanana-like crop has the potential to feed more than 100 million people in awarming world, according to a new study.
根據這項最新研究，這種和香蕉相近的作物擁有在這暖化中的世界餵飽超過1億人的潛力。
Theplant is almost unknown outside of Ethiopia, where it is used to make porridgeand bread.
這種植物在衣索比亞之外的地方幾乎不為人知，其可做成糊(porridge)與麵包。
Researchsuggests the crop can be grown over a much larger range in Africa.
研究表明這種作物可以在非洲種植出更大的面積。
"Thisis a crop that can play a really important role in addressing food security andsustainable development," said Dr Wendawek Abebe of Hawassa University inAwasa, Ethiopia.
衣索比亞境內Awasa的 Hawassa大學Wendawek Abebe博士「這種作物可以在解決糧食安全及永續性上扮演相當重要的角色。」
Ensetor "false banana" is a close relative of the banana, but is consumedonly in one part of Ethiopia.
Enset，又或是稱為「假香蕉」，是香蕉的近親，但只在衣索比亞的一部份區域被食用。
Thebanana-like fruit of the plant is inedible, but the starchy stems and roots canbe fermented and used to make porridge and bread.
這種長得像是香蕉的水果是不可食用，但它富有澱粉的莖與根可以發酵並做成糊與麵包。
Ensetis a staple in Ethiopia, where around 20 million people rely on it for food,but elsewhere it has not been cultivated, although wild relatives - which arenot considered edible - grow as far south as South Africa, suggesting the plantcan tolerate a much wider range.
Enset是衣索比亞的主食之一，那裡有將近2000萬的人對其賴以為生，而其他地方並沒有栽種，但其被認為不可食用的野生近親長滿了整個南非，這表示這種植物應該可以種得更多。
Usingagricultural surveys and modelling work, scientists predicted the potentialrange of enset over the next four decades. They found the crop couldpotentially feed more than 100 million people and boost food security inEthiopia and other African countries, including Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.
根據農業方面的調查與建模，科學家們預測出了Enset在接下來40年的潛在生長範圍。他們發現這種作物具備餵飽超過1億人，以及解決衣索比亞及其他非洲國家，如肯亞、烏干達及盧安達的糧食安全的潛力。
Studyresearcher Dr James Borrell, of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said plantingenset as a buffer crop for lean times could help boost food security.
研究者之一– 邱園(RoyalBotanic Gardens, Kew)的James Borrell博士表示，將Enset當作緩衝作物(buffer crop)在拮據時期種植，能夠幫助解決糧食安全。
"It'sgot some really unusual traits that make it absolutely unique as a crop,"he said. "You plant it at any time, you harvest it at any time and it'sperennial. That's why they call it the tree against hunger."
「其身上擁有的某些不尋常特徵使其成為擁有絕對獨特性的作物。」他如此表示。「你可以在任何時候種植它，而因為它是多年生植物，因此你可以隨時收成。這也就是為什麼他們說這種樹能夠對抗飢餓。」
Ethiopiais a major centre of crop domestication in Africa, home to coffee and manyother crops.
衣索比亞是非洲農作物馴化的主要中心，同時也是咖啡與其他各種作物的故鄉。
Climatechange is predicted to seriously affect yields and distribution of staple foodcrops across Africa and beyond.
氣候變遷被認為會嚴重影響非洲及其他地方的作物產量以及主食作物分布。
Thereis growing interest in seeking new plants to feed the world, given our relianceon a few staple crops. Nearly half of all the calories we eat come from threespecies - rice, wheat and maize.
由於我們只依賴少數幾種作物作為主食，因此尋找能夠滿足世界需求的新作物正在逐漸成為一個新趨勢。我們的卡路里來源有一半都來自三個物種– 稻米、小麥及玉米。
"Weneed to diversify the plants we use globally as a species because all our eggsare in a very small basket at the moment," said Dr Borrell.
「我們需要讓我們在世界各處種植的作物更具備多樣性，因為雞蛋不該全塞在一個小籃子裡。」Borrell博士如此表示。
這項研究是發佈在Environmental Research Letters上的。
在推特上追蹤海倫。
此翻譯僅作為練習與分享用途，本人不涉及任何政治立場，也無意侵權。若有冒犯或有疑慮還請通知，非常感謝。
創作內容
每日BBC - 假香蕉樹：衣索比亞的「神奇作物」Enset能夠對抗氣候變遷嗎？
寫給自己看的拉麵文 (16)