Germplasm of the calabash tree (Crescentia cujete L.) was collected in five major regions of Colombia, i.e. the Andes, Caribbean, Amazon, Orinoco, and Pacific regions. Collecting this multipurpose tree was guided by the indigenous knowledge of farmers and artisans in each region. Large variation in fruit shapes and sizes was found, of which some forms were typical for certain regions. Overall 56 accessions were collected and roughly classified into 22 types by eight fruit shapes and eight sizes.

Soil erosion caused by water is an increasing global problem. Land use and soil conservation planning for large areas requires erosion risk maps, which are typically created using erosion models. These models are often developed for different regions than where they are applied. This paper describes a new qualitative methodology for mapping soil erosion risks over large areas, called Qualitative Erosion Risk Mapping (QUERIM). It is a flexible method that uses decision trees to assign ratings to the erosion-controlling factors.

We examine the geographic dimensions of food consumption in Ecuador, which has one of the highest rates of chronic infant undernutrition in Latin America. We use statistical and spatial analyses to examine the distribution of food consumption and food poverty and to test and generate hypotheses of food poverty estimates at the district level. Results show that the food poor are concentrated in certain locations with a significant cluster identified in the central Andean region.