For the past three months, Salla Korkalo, a postgraduate in anthropology from the University of Eastern Finland, has been doing an internship in the BIOSENSE project. During one of our early conversations while planning the internship, Salla mentioned that she likes drawing comics. As one of the objectives of the project is to develop alternative forms of documenting and representing biodiversity, I suggested that we work together to produce a comic based on our readings and analysis of the relevant literature on biodiversity and agrobiodiversity.

The process of producing a comic from a literature review turned out to be a valuable learning experience in itself—an experiment that merits its own reflection. The time and place for that reflection are not now, however. Instead, I would like to present the final output: the comic itself.

The comic emerged from numerous discussions among the team about the selected readings (see references below), my written reflections on those readings and previous texts that I shared with Salla, and Salla’s own reflections and efforts to understand agrobiodiversity. Salla also shared drafts of the comic throughout the process, which I commented on and which we subsequently developed further together.

References for the comic:

1. Apostolopoulou, E., Ring, I., Haila, Y., Pantis, J. D., Settele, J., Jax, K., Henle, K., Goerg, C., Cent, J., Magnuson, W., Touloumis, K., Tzanopoulos, J., Paloniemi, R., Pe’er, G., Klenke, R., Framstad, E., Similä, J., Matsinos, Y. G., Mueller, B., & Rauschmayer, F. (2014). Confronting and coping with uncertainty in biodiversity research and praxis.
   Nature Conservation, 8:8, 45–75. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.8.5942
2. Haila, Y. & Kouki, J. (1994) The phenomenon of biodiversity in conservation biology. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 31:1, 5–18.
3. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2004) WHAT IS AGROBIODIVERSITY? In Training manual: Building on Gender, Agrobiodiversity and Local Knowledge. Rome: FAO.
   [https://www.fao.org/4/y5609e/y5609e01.htm#TopOfPage] (cited 15.5.2026)
4. Altieri, M. (1999) The ecological role of biodiversity in agroecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 74:1, 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8809(99)00028-6
5. Wezel, A., Vallod, D., Francis, C., Doré, T., Bellon, S. & David, C. (2009) Agroecology as a science, a movement and a practice. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 29:4, 503–515. https://doi.org/10.1051/agro/2009004
6. Hecht, S. (1987) The evolution of agroecological thought. In Altieri, M (1996/2023) Agroecology: The science of sustainable agriculture. 2nd edition. Boca Raton: CRC Press. 1-20.
7. Kallio, G. (2026) Restorying biodiversity through farming landscapes.
8. United Nations Environment Programme (2011) Convention on Biological Diversity. Montreal: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
9. Haila, Y. (2012) Luonnon politiikka. Vastapaino.; Haila, Yrjö & Kouki, Jari (1994) Biodiversity and the human scale. Finnish Environment Institute.
10. Trisos, C. H., Auerbach, J., & Katti, M. (2021) Decoloniality and anti-oppressive practices for a more ethical ecology. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5, 1205–1212.
11. Tsing, A. L. (2005). Friction: An ethnography of global connection. Princeton University Press.
12. Kallio, G. (2026) Restorying biodiversity through farming landscapes.
13. Ingold, T. (2000). The perception of the environment: Essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill. Routledge.
14. Ingold, T. (2003/1993) Sfäärien soitosta pallojen pinnalle: Ympäristöajattelun topologiasta. In Haila, Yrjö & Lähde, Ville (toim.) Luonnon Politiikka. Tampere: Vastapaino. 152–169. (Lähde, Ville)
15. Kallio, G. (2026) Restorying biodiversity through farming landscapes.