Help:Populations

This page explains what a population page holds, and how later reports about a population are added to it.

For the accessions that make up a population, see Help:Accessions. For the list of populations in order of grow-out need, see Grow-out priorities.

What a population is

A population is every field and feral stand that passes seed or pollen between them often enough to count as one pool. On the wiki, one population is kept for each appellation, across every collecting trip, every year and every seed bank that holds its seed. Where there is no appellation, a population is kept for each village. An example is Rumsu–Pulag–Hallan population. All population pages are listed in Category:Populations.

A population page uses {{Infobox Population}}. The infobox shows where the population lies, the accessions that belong to it, the seed held for it, a field grade, and any change seen since the seed was collected.

The field grade

The field grade reads the state of the population in the field: how much ground is still sown, how many households still grow it, and similar questions, each answered on a scale of 5 to 1. Each answer gives its source, whether it was seen or told, and its year. An answer is given only from a source or from someone who was there. A question nobody can answer is left blank, and nothing is filled in by guesswork. With too few answers the grade reads Data deficient. Answers more than ten years old lapse.

Roads, dams, mines and other building

Building in or near a growing area (a new road, a dam, a mine, a hydro project, hotels) is asked about with its year. It counts only through the questions it answers: how much of the growing area or the area sown was lost, and, for feral stands, whether one event could wipe out a stand. A road with no ground lost changes no answer. Building is not stored on the population page as a separate entry. Building reported in the press is recorded as a news item.

Outside seed seen or reported

Hybrid or other outside seed reaching a population matters because, once it has mixed in, the seed collected before it can no longer be replaced from the field. It is recorded as a dated row under Change since collection in the infobox, one row for each report, with:

the grade: None seen or reported, Reported nearby, Reported in this population or Seen in the plants. Seen in the plants is used only when the person reporting saw the plants, or their dated photos show it; an account passed on by someone else is Reported;
the year the outside seed was seen or heard of;
the source, ending with seen or told.

Earlier rows stay when a new one is added, so the change over time can be read. Two reports that disagree are both kept.

Place and name

A report is placed no more closely than the appellation. No village, farm, field or household is named, no coordinates are given, and photos are put up with their location data removed and are not shown on a map.
The person who made the report is named only if they agree to it. Otherwise the source reads Field report, with the month and year.