WorldWideScience

Sample records for sustainable arable crop

  1. Cover crops support ecological intensification of arable cropping systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittwer, Raphaël A.; Dorn, Brigitte; Jossi, Werner; van der Heijden, Marcel G. A.

    2017-02-01

    A major challenge for agriculture is to enhance productivity with minimum impact on the environment. Several studies indicate that cover crops could replace anthropogenic inputs and enhance crop productivity. However, so far, it is unclear if cover crop effects vary between different cropping systems, and direct comparisons among major arable production systems are rare. Here we compared the short-term effects of various cover crops on crop yield, nitrogen uptake, and weed infestation in four arable production systems (conventional cropping with intensive tillage and no-tillage; organic cropping with intensive tillage and reduced tillage). We hypothesized that cover cropping effects increase with decreasing management intensity. Our study demonstrated that cover crop effects on crop yield were highest in the organic system with reduced tillage (+24%), intermediate in the organic system with tillage (+13%) and in the conventional system with no tillage (+8%) and lowest in the conventional system with tillage (+2%). Our results indicate that cover crops are essential to maintaining a certain yield level when soil tillage intensity is reduced (e.g. under conservation agriculture), or when production is converted to organic agriculture. Thus, the inclusion of cover crops provides additional opportunities to increase the yield of lower intensity production systems and contribute to ecological intensification.

  2. Crop Condition Assessment with Adjusted NDVI Using the Uncropped Arable Land Ratio

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miao Zhang

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Crop condition assessment in the early growing stage is essential for crop monitoring and crop yield prediction. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI-based method is employed to evaluate crop condition by inter-annual comparisons of both spatial variability (using NDVI images and seasonal dynamics (based on crop condition profiles. Since this type of method will generate false information if there are changes in crop rotation, cropping area or crop phenology, information on cropped/uncropped arable land is integrated to improve the accuracy of crop condition monitoring. The study proposes a new method to retrieve adjusted NDVI for cropped arable land during the growing season of winter crops by integrating 16-day composite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS reflectance data at 250-m resolution with a cropped and uncropped arable land map derived from the multi-temporal China Environmental Satellite (Huan Jing Satellite charge-coupled device (HJ-1 CCD images at 30-m resolution. Using the land map’s data on cropped and uncropped arable land, a pixel-based uncropped arable land ratio (UALR at 250-m resolution was generated. Next, the UALR-adjusted NDVI was produced by assuming that the MODIS reflectance value for each pixel is a linear mixed signal composed of the proportional reflectance of cropped and uncropped arable land. When UALR-adjusted NDVI data are used for crop condition assessment, results are expected to be more accurate, because: (i pixels with only uncropped arable land are not included in the assessment; and (ii the adjusted NDVI corrects for interannual variation in cropping area. On the provincial level, crop growing profiles based on the two kinds of NDVI data illustrate the difference between the regular and the adjusted NDVI, with the difference depending on the total area of uncropped arable land in the region. The results suggested that the proposed method can be used to improve the assessment of

  3. Adverse weather impacts on arable cropping systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gobin, Anne

    2016-04-01

    Damages due to extreme or adverse weather strongly depend on crop type, crop stage, soil conditions and management. The impact is largest during the sensitive periods of the farming calendar, and requires a modelling approach to capture the interactions between the crop, its environment and the occurrence of the meteorological event. The hypothesis is that extreme and adverse weather events can be quantified and subsequently incorporated in current crop models. Since crop development is driven by thermal time and photoperiod, a regional crop model was used to examine the likely frequency, magnitude and impacts of frost, drought, heat stress and waterlogging in relation to the cropping season and crop sensitive stages. Risk profiles and associated return levels were obtained by fitting generalized extreme value distributions to block maxima for air humidity, water balance and temperature variables. The risk profiles were subsequently confronted with yields and yield losses for the major arable crops in Belgium, notably winter wheat, winter barley, winter oilseed rape, sugar beet, potato and maize at the field (farm records) to regional scale (statistics). The average daily vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and reference evapotranspiration (ET0) during the growing season is significantly lower (p < 0.001) and has a higher variability before 1988 than after 1988. Distribution patterns of VPD and ET0 have relevant impacts on crop yields. The response to rising temperatures depends on the crop's capability to condition its microenvironment. Crops short of water close their stomata, lose their evaporative cooling potential and ultimately become susceptible to heat stress. Effects of heat stress therefore have to be combined with moisture availability such as the precipitation deficit or the soil water balance. Risks of combined heat and moisture deficit stress appear during the summer. These risks are subsequently related to crop damage. The methodology of defining

  4. Utilization of Agro-meteorological Services among Arable Crop ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Thomas Kehinde Adesina

    The study assessed arable crop farmers' utilization of agro-meteorological services in ... The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC's Fourth ... the patterns of impact of climate change on agriculture can be classified into ... temperature rise causing fish to inhabit in different ranges. ..... Journal of Human Ecology.

  5. Farm size - productivity relationships among arable crops farmers ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study was designed to analyze the relationship between farm size and resource productivity among arable crop farmers in Imo state, and isolate the major determinants of agricultural productivity. Data used for the study were collected from a sample of 120 farmers randomly selected from Okigwe and Orlu agricultural ...

  6. Nitrate leaching from organic arable crop rotations is mostly determined by autumn field management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Askegaard, M; Olesen, Jørgen E; Rasmussen, Ilse Ankjær

    2011-01-01

    Two main challenges facing organic arable farming are the supply of nitrogen (N) to the crop and the control of perennial weeds. Nitrate leaching from different organic arable crop rotations was investigated over three consecutive four-year crop rotations in a field experiment at three locations....../volunteers had on avg. 30 kg N ha−1, and the largest N leaching losses were found after stubble cultivation (avg. 55 kg N ha−1). The N leaching losses increased with increasing number of autumn soil cultivations...

  7. Soil conservation practices among Arable Crop Farmers In Enugu ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Soil conservation practices among Arable Crop Farmers In Enugu – North Agricultural Zone, Nigeria: Implications for Climate Change. ... The paper recommends concerted efforts to promote among farmers the conservation practices that aid mitigation and adaptation to climate change and at the same time enhance ...

  8. Reducing pesticide use while preserving crop productivity and profitability on arable farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lechenet, Martin; Dessaint, Fabrice; Py, Guillaume; Makowski, David; Munier-Jolain, Nicolas

    2017-03-01

    Achieving sustainable crop production while feeding an increasing world population is one of the most ambitious challenges of this century 1 . Meeting this challenge will necessarily imply a drastic reduction of adverse environmental effects arising from agricultural activities 2 . The reduction of pesticide use is one of the critical drivers to preserve the environment and human health. Pesticide use could be reduced through the adoption of new production strategies 3-5 ; however, whether substantial reductions of pesticide use are possible without impacting crop productivity and profitability is debatable 6-17 . Here, we demonstrated that low pesticide use rarely decreases productivity and profitability in arable farms. We analysed the potential conflicts between pesticide use and productivity or profitability with data from 946 non-organic arable commercial farms showing contrasting levels of pesticide use and covering a wide range of production situations in France. We failed to detect any conflict between low pesticide use and both high productivity and high profitability in 77% of the farms. We estimated that total pesticide use could be reduced by 42% without any negative effects on both productivity and profitability in 59% of farms from our national network. This corresponded to an average reduction of 37, 47 and 60% of herbicide, fungicide and insecticide use, respectively. The potential for reducing pesticide use appeared higher in farms with currently high pesticide use than in farms with low pesticide use. Our results demonstrate that pesticide reduction is already accessible to farmers in most production situations. This would imply profound changes in market organization and trade balance.

  9. Ecological Intensification Through Pesticide Reduction: Weed Control, Weed Biodiversity and Sustainability in Arable Farming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petit, Sandrine; Munier-Jolain, Nicolas; Bretagnolle, Vincent; Bockstaller, Christian; Gaba, Sabrina; Cordeau, Stéphane; Lechenet, Martin; Mézière, Delphine; Colbach, Nathalie

    2015-11-01

    Amongst the biodiversity components of agriculture, weeds are an interesting model for exploring management options relying on the principle of ecological intensification in arable farming. Weeds can cause severe crop yield losses, contribute to farmland functional biodiversity and are strongly associated with the generic issue of pesticide use. In this paper, we address the impacts of herbicide reduction following a causal framework starting with herbicide reduction and triggering changes in (i) the management options required to control weeds, (ii) the weed communities and functions they provide and (iii) the overall performance and sustainability of the implemented land management options. The three components of this framework were analysed in a multidisciplinary project that was conducted on 55 experimental and farmer's fields that included conventional, integrated and organic cropping systems. Our results indicate that the reduction of herbicide use is not antagonistic with crop production, provided that alternative practices are put into place. Herbicide reduction and associated land management modified the composition of in-field weed communities and thus the functions of weeds related to biodiversity and production. Through a long-term simulation of weed communities based on alternative (?) cropping systems, some specific management pathways were identified that delivered high biodiversity gains and limited the negative impacts of weeds on crop production. Finally, the multi-criteria assessment of the environmental, economic and societal sustainability of the 55 systems suggests that integrated weed management systems fared better than their conventional and organic counterparts. These outcomes suggest that sustainable management could possibly be achieved through changes in weed management, along a pathway starting with herbicide reduction.

  10. Variability in the Water Footprint of Arable Crop Production across European Regions

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Gobin, A.; Kersebaum, K. C.; Eitzinger, Josef; Trnka, Miroslav; Hlavinka, Petr; Takáč, J.; Kroes, J.; Ventrella, D.; Dalla Marta, A.; Deelstra, J.; Lalic, B.; Nejedlík, P.; Orlandini, S.; Peltonen-Sainio, P.; Rajala, A.; Saue, T.; Saylan, L.; Stricevic, R.; Vucetic, V.; Zoumides, C.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 9, č. 2 (2017), č. článku 93. ISSN 2073-4441 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1415; GA MŠk(CZ) LD13030 Institutional support: RVO:86652079 Keywords : simulate yield response * climate - change * virtual water * impact * green * model * blue * agriculture * irrigation * reduction * water footprint * arable crops * cereals * Europe * crop water use * yield Subject RIV: DA - Hydrology ; Limnology OBOR OECD: Water resources Impact factor: 1.832, year: 2016

  11. Grass-clover undersowing affects nitrogen dynamics in a grain legume–cereal arable cropping system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Mundus, Simon; Jensen, Erik Steen

    2012-01-01

    A field experiment was carried out in an arable organic cropping system and included a sequence with sole cropped fababean (Vicia faba L.), lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.), oat (Avena sativa L.) and pea–oat intercropping with or without an undersown perennial ryegrass...... N2 fixation and 15N labeling technique to determine the fate of pea and oat residue N recovery in the subsequent crop. The subsequent spring wheat and winter triticale crop yields were not significantly affected by the previous main crop, but a significant effect of catch crop undersowing...

  12. Carbon footprints of crops from organic and conventional arable crop rotations – using a life cycle assessment approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Marie Trydeman; Meyer-Aurich, A; Olesen, Jørgen E

    2014-01-01

    Many current organic arable agriculture systems are challenged by a dependency on imported livestock manure from conventional agriculture. At the same time organic agriculture aims at being climate friendly. A life cycle assessment is used in this paper to compare the carbon footprints of different....... The results showed significantly lower carbon footprint of the crops from the ‘Biogas’ rotation (assuming that biogas replaces fossil gas) whereas the remaining crop rotations had comparable carbon footprints per kg cash crop. The study showed considerable contributions caused by the green manure crop (grass......-clover) and highlights the importance of analysing the whole crop rotation and including soil carbon changes when estimating carbon footprints of organic crops especially where green manure crops are included....

  13. Using membrane transporters to improve crops for sustainable food production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schroeder, Julian I.; Delhaize, Emmanuel; Frommer, Wolf B.; Guerinot, Mary Lou; Harrison, Maria J.; Herrera-Estrella, Luis; Horie, Tomoaki; Kochian, Leon V.; Munns, Rana; Nishizawa, Naoko K.; Tsay, Yi-Fang; Sanders, Dale

    2013-01-01

    With the global population predicted to grow by at least 25 per cent by 2050, the need for sustainable production of nutritious foods is critical for human and environmental health. Recent advances show that specialized plant membrane transporters can be used to enhance yields of staple crops, increase nutrient content and increase resistance to key stresses, including salinity, pathogens and aluminium toxicity, which in turn could expand available arable land. PMID:23636397

  14. European Perspectives on the Adoption of Nonchemical Weed Management in Reduced-Tillage Systems for Arable Crops

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melander, B.; Munier-Jolain, N.M.; Charles, R.; Wirth, J.; Schwarz, J.; Weide, van der R.Y.; Bonin, L.; Jensen, P.K.; Kudsk, P.K.

    2013-01-01

    Noninversion tillage with tine- or disc-based cultivations prior to crop establishment is the most common way of reducing tillage for arable cropping systems with small grain cereals, oilseed rape, and maize in Europe. However, new regulations on pesticide use might hinder further expansion of

  15. New uses of clover-grass mixtures in the structure of fodder crops on arable land

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiří Sláma

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The use of clover-grasses in the structure of fodder crops grown on arable soil, especially those with intergeneric hybrids as the main component part, could avert the negative current trend, i.e. further decreasing the area of perennial fodder plants or fodder crops as a whole on arable soil. They have an irreplaceable role in crop sequences and in preserving the cultural character of the countryside, above all due to the fact that they improve soil fertility and microbial life in the soil and that they have an excellent pre-produce value, and, at the same time, they are applied in various farming systems (both conventional and ecological and in various climatic conditions, and agricultural businesses are well equipped for growing, harvesting and storing them. In the Czech Republic, the area of fodder crops grown on arable soil was decreased from 1,019.9 thousand hectares to mere 396.7 thousand hectares between 1980 and 2009, which is 15.6 % of the total area of arable soil whereas perennial fodder plants only take up 8.5 %. Fodder from clover crops and clover-grass growths on arable soil are one of the main resources of voluminous fodder for dairy cows. Most of this fodder is preserved through a fermentation process (silages, hay storage; a smaller part is fed as fresh fodder, or serves for production of hay. Silages made with perennial fodder plants are the most important source of both proteins and other nutrients for ruminants, especially for high-yielding milch cows. The basis of fodder production systems are the conservative elements of the landscape area (geomorphology in combination with the progressive elements (weather conditions, plants and human labour and relict ones, the representative of which is the soil. The fodder production systems in Europe are divided into five main fodder production zones. From this point of view, the areas where short-term clover-grass mixtures are grown on arable soil could be classed with Zone 4, i

  16. European Perspectives on the Adoption of Nonchemical Weed Management in Reduced -Tillage Systems for Arable Crops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Melander, Bo; Munier-Jolain, Nicolas; Charles, Raphaël

    2013-01-01

    Non-inversion tillage with tine or disc based cultivations prior to crop establishment is the most common way of reducing tillage for arable cropping systems with small grain cereals, oilseed rape and maize in Europe. However, new regulations on pesticide use may hinder further expansion of reduc...

  17. The assessment of water vapour and carbon dioxide fluxes above arable crops - a comparison of methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schaaf, S.; Daemmgen, U.; Burkart, S. [Federal Agricultural Research Centre, Inst. of Agroecology, Braunschweig (Germany); Gruenhage, L. [Justus-Liebig-Univ., Inst. for Plant Ecology, Giessen (Germany)

    2005-04-01

    Vertical fluxes of water vapour and carbon dioxide obtained from gradient, eddy covariance (closed and open path systems) and chamber measurements above arable crops were compared with the directly measured energy balance and the harvested net biomass carbon. The gradient and chamber measurements were in the correct order of magnitude, whereas the closed path eddy covariance system showed unacceptably small fluxes. Correction methods based on power spectra analysis yielded increased fluxes. However, the energy balance could not be closed satisfactorily. The application of the open path system proved to be successful. The SVAT model PLATIN which had been adapted to various arable crops was able to depict the components of the energy balance adequately. Net carbon fluxes determined with the corrected closed path data sets, chamber, and SVAT model equal those of the harvested carbon. (orig.)

  18. Ecological impacts of arable intensification in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoate, C; Boatman, N D; Borralho, R J; Carvalho, C R; de Snoo, G R; Eden, P

    2001-12-01

    Although arable landscapes have a long history, environmental problems have accelerated in recent decades. The effects of these changes are usually externalized, being greater for society as a whole than for the farms on which they operate, and incentives to correct them are therefore largely lacking. Arable landscapes are valued by society beyond the farming community, but increased mechanization and farm size, simplification of crop rotations, and loss of non-crop features, have led to a reduction in landscape diversity. Low intensity arable systems have evolved a characteristic and diverse fauna and flora, but development of high input, simplified arable systems has been associated with a decline in biodiversity. Arable intensification has resulted in loss of non-crop habitats and simplification of plant and animal communities within crops, with consequent disruption to food chains and declines in many farmland species. Abandonment of arable management has also led to the replacement of such wildlife with more common and widespread species. Soils have deteriorated as a result of erosion, compaction, loss of organic matter and contamination with pesticides, and in some areas, heavy metals. Impacts on water are closely related to those on soils as nutrient and pesticide pollution of water results from surface runoff and subsurface flow, often associated with soil particles, which themselves have economic and ecological impacts. Nitrates and some pesticides also enter groundwater following leaching from arable land. Greatest impacts are associated with simplified, high input arable systems. Intensification of arable farming has been associated with pollution of air by pesticides, NO2 and CO2, while the loss of soil organic matter has reduced the system's capacity for carbon sequestration. International trade contributes to global climate change through long distance transport of arable inputs and products. The EU Rural Development Regulation (1257/99) provides an

  19. Task-based agricultural mobile robots in arable farming: A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aravind, K.R.; Raja, P.; Pérez-Ruiz, M.

    2017-01-01

    In agriculture (in the context of this paper, the terms “agriculture” and “farming” refer to only the farming of crops and exclude the farming of animals), smart farming and automated agricultural technology have emerged as promising methodologies for increasing the crop productivity without sacrificing produce quality. The emergence of various robotics technologies has facilitated the application of these techniques in agricultural processes. However, incorporating this technology in farms has proven to be challenging because of the large variations in shape, size, rate and type of growth, type of produce, and environmental requirements for different types of crops. Agricultural processes are chains of systematic, repetitive, and time-dependent tasks. However, some agricultural processes differ based on the type of farming, namely permanent crop farming and arable farming. Permanent crop farming includes permanent crops or woody plants such as orchards and vineyards whereas arable farming includes temporary crops such as wheat and rice. Major operations in open arable farming include tilling, soil analysis, seeding, transplanting, crop scouting, pest control, weed removal and harvesting and robots can assist in performing all of these tasks. Each specific operation requires axillary devices and sensors with specific functions. This article reviews the latest advances in the application of mobile robots in these agricultural operations for open arable farming and provide an overview of the systems and techniques that are used. This article also discusses various challenges for future improvements in using reliable mobile robots for arable farming.

  20. Task-based agricultural mobile robots in arable farming: A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aravind, K.R.; Raja, P.; Pérez-Ruiz, M.

    2017-09-01

    In agriculture (in the context of this paper, the terms “agriculture” and “farming” refer to only the farming of crops and exclude the farming of animals), smart farming and automated agricultural technology have emerged as promising methodologies for increasing the crop productivity without sacrificing produce quality. The emergence of various robotics technologies has facilitated the application of these techniques in agricultural processes. However, incorporating this technology in farms has proven to be challenging because of the large variations in shape, size, rate and type of growth, type of produce, and environmental requirements for different types of crops. Agricultural processes are chains of systematic, repetitive, and time-dependent tasks. However, some agricultural processes differ based on the type of farming, namely permanent crop farming and arable farming. Permanent crop farming includes permanent crops or woody plants such as orchards and vineyards whereas arable farming includes temporary crops such as wheat and rice. Major operations in open arable farming include tilling, soil analysis, seeding, transplanting, crop scouting, pest control, weed removal and harvesting and robots can assist in performing all of these tasks. Each specific operation requires axillary devices and sensors with specific functions. This article reviews the latest advances in the application of mobile robots in these agricultural operations for open arable farming and provide an overview of the systems and techniques that are used. This article also discusses various challenges for future improvements in using reliable mobile robots for arable farming.

  1. Task-based agricultural mobile robots in arable farming: A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krishnaswamy R. Aravind

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available In agriculture (in the context of this paper, the terms “agriculture” and “farming” refer to only the farming of crops and exclude the farming of animals, smart farming and automated agricultural technology have emerged as promising methodologies for increasing the crop productivity without sacrificing produce quality. The emergence of various robotics technologies has facilitated the application of these techniques in agricultural processes. However, incorporating this technology in farms has proven to be challenging because of the large variations in shape, size, rate and type of growth, type of produce, and environmental requirements for different types of crops. Agricultural processes are chains of systematic, repetitive, and time-dependent tasks. However, some agricultural processes differ based on the type of farming, namely permanent crop farming and arable farming. Permanent crop farming includes permanent crops or woody plants such as orchards and vineyards whereas arable farmingincludestemporary crops such as wheat and rice. Major operations in open arable farming include tilling, soil analysis, seeding, transplanting, crop scouting, pest control, weed removal and harvesting and robots can assist in performing all of these tasks. Each specific operation requires axillary devices and sensors with specific functions. This article reviews the latest advances in the application of mobile robots in these agricultural operations for open arable farming and provide an overview of the systems and techniques that are used. This article also discusses various challenges for future improvements in using reliable mobile robots for arable farming.

  2. OK-Net Arable online knowledge platform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Ilse Ankjær; Jensen, Allan Leck; Jørgensen, Margit Styrbæk

    2017-01-01

    The complexity of organic farming requires farmers to have a very high level of knowledge and skills, but exchange on organic farming techniques remains limited. In order to increase productivity and quality in organic arable cropping in Europe, the thematic network OK-Net Arable under Horizon 20...

  3. Role of modern chemistry in sustainable arable crop protection

    OpenAIRE

    Smith, Keith; Evans, David A; El-Hiti, Gamal A

    2007-01-01

    Organic chemistry has been, and for the foreseeable future will remain, vitally important for crop protection. Control of fungal pathogens, insect pests and weeds is crucial to enhanced food provision. As world population continues to grow, it is timely to assess the current situation, anticipate future challenges and consider how new chemistry may help meet those challenges. In future, agriculture will increasingly be expected to provide not only food and feed, but also crops for conversion ...

  4. Productivity of organic and conventional arable cropping systems in long-term experiments in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shah, Ambreen; Askegaard, Margrethe; Rasmussen, Ilse Ankjær

    2017-01-01

    manure there was a tendency for increased DM yield over time at all sites, whereas little response was seen in N yield. In the O4 rotation DM and N yields tended to increase at Foulum over time, but there was little change at Flakkebjerg. The DM yield gap between organic and conventional systems in the 3......A field experiment comparing different arable crop rotations was conducted in Denmark during 1997–2008 on three sites varying in climatic conditions and soil types, i.e. coarse sand (Jyndevand), loamy sand (Foulum), and sandy loam (Flakkebjerg). The crop rotations followed organic farm management......, and from 2005 also conventional management was included for comparison. Three experimental factors were included in the experiment in a factorial design: 1) crop rotation (organic crop rotations varying in use of whole-year green manure (O1 and O2 with a whole-year green manure, and O4 without...

  5. Variability in the Water Footprint of Arable Crop Production across European Regions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Gobin

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Crop growth and yield are affected by water use during the season: the green water footprint (WF accounts for rain water, the blue WF for irrigation and the grey WF for diluting agri-chemicals. We calibrated crop yield for FAO’s water balance model “Aquacrop” at field level. We collected weather, soil and crop inputs for 45 locations for the period 1992–2012. Calibrated model runs were conducted for wheat, barley, grain maize, oilseed rape, potato and sugar beet. The WF of cereals could be up to 20 times larger than the WF of tuber and root crops; the largest share was attributed to the green WF. The green and blue WF compared favourably with global benchmark values (R2 = 0.64–0.80; d = 0.91–0.95. The variability in the WF of arable crops across different regions in Europe is mainly due to variability in crop yield ( c v ¯ = 45% and to a lesser extent to variability in crop water use ( c v ¯ = 21%. The WF variability between countries ( c v ¯ = 14% is lower than the variability between seasons ( c v ¯ = 22% and between crops ( c v ¯ = 46%. Though modelled yields increased up to 50% under sprinkler irrigation, the water footprint still increased between 1% and 25%. Confronted with drainage and runoff, the grey WF tended to overestimate the contribution of nitrogen to the surface and groundwater. The results showed that the water footprint provides a measurable indicator that may support European water governance.

  6. Yield gaps in Dutch arable farming systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nunes Vieira da Silva, Joao; Reidsma, Pytrik; Ittersum, van Martin K.

    2017-01-01

    Arable farming systems in the Netherlands are characterized by crop rotations in which potato, sugar beet, spring onion, winter wheat and spring barley are the most important crops. The objectives of this study were to decompose crop yield gaps within such rotations into efficiency, resource and

  7. Integrated crop protection and environment exposure to pesticides: methods to reduce use and impact of pesticides in arable farming

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijnands, F.G.

    1997-01-01

    Prototypes of Integrated Farming Systems for arable farming are being developed in the Netherlands based on a coherent methodology elaborated in an European Union concerted action. The role of crop protection in Integrated systems is, additional to all other methods, to efficiently control the

  8. Managing Bioenergy Production on Arable Field Margins for Multiple Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrarini, Andrea; Serra, Paolo; Amaducci, Stefano; Trevisan, Marco; Puglisi, Edoardo

    2013-04-01

    data, it emerges that production of biomass for bioenergy on field margins improves ecosystem services, depending upon the soil/agroecosystem health status of arable land displaced by the bioenergy crop. Considering that climate change is a dominant driver for agroecosystem health and perennial bionergy crops tend to stabilize soil C in arable land, it will be necessary to focus our attention to the improvement of climate regulation ecosystem service value in ecologically-degraded arable field margins. This management option seems to be the most sustainable strategy to enhance a win-win strategy: namely, sequestering carbon, producing biomasses for energetic purposes, improving the whole set of ecosystem services affected by soil organic matter, leaving, at the same time, more arable land for food and fiber crops. * The HEDGE-BIOMASS project is funded by Italian Minister of Agriculture for the period 2013-2016 and is being followed by BIOMASS Research Center at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Piacenza, Italy).

  9. Relay cropping as a sustainable approach: problems and opportunities for sustainable crop production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanveer, Mohsin; Anjum, Shakeel Ahmad; Hussain, Saddam; Cerdà, Artemi; Ashraf, Umair

    2017-03-01

    Climate change, soil degradation, and depletion of natural resources are becoming the most prominent challenges for crop productivity and environmental sustainability in modern agriculture. In the scenario of conventional farming system, limited chances are available to cope with these issues. Relay cropping is a method of multiple cropping where one crop is seeded into standing second crop well before harvesting of second crop. Relay cropping may solve a number of conflicts such as inefficient use of available resources, controversies in sowing time, fertilizer application, and soil degradation. Relay cropping is a complex suite of different resource-efficient technologies, which possesses the capability to improve soil quality, to increase net return, to increase land equivalent ratio, and to control the weeds and pest infestation. The current review emphasized relay cropping as a tool for crop diversification and environmental sustainability with special focus on soil. Briefly, benefits, constraints, and opportunities of relay cropping keeping the goals of higher crop productivity and sustainability have also been discussed in this review. The research and knowledge gap in relay cropping was also highlighted in order to guide the further studies in future.

  10. Assessing biodiversity in arable farmland by means of indicators: an overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bockstaller Christian

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Maintaining biodiversity is one of the key issues of sustainable agriculture. It is now stated that innovation to enhance biodiversity in arable land requires operational assessment tools like indicators. The goal of the article is to provide an overview of available indicators. Besides measured indicators and simple indicators based on management data, we focus on predictive indicators derived from operational models and adapted to ex ante assessment in innovative cropping design. The possibility of use for each indicator type is discussed.

  11. Weed Biomass and Weed Species Diversity of Juvenile Citrus Trees Intercrop with some Arable Crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patience Mojibade OLORUNMAIYE

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available A preliminary study was carried out to evaluate the performances of eight crops in the intercrop of citrus with arable crops at the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT Ibadan, Nigeria. Eight arable crops: maize, cucumber, sweet potato, Corchorus olitorius, large green, grain amaranth, Mucuna pruriens var. utilis, and groundnut were intercropped with young citrus trees in the early planting season of 2010 with sole citrus as control. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized block design with three replicates. Data were collected on weed flora, weed density and weed dry weight. Results showed that the relative frequencies of weeds in all the plots were less than 4% at both 6 and 9WAP. Gomphrena celosoides, Oldenlandia corymbosa and Tridax procumbens were most preponderant in appearing in all the plots. Tridax procumbens had a consistent relative frequency (2.34% in all the plots except in citrus/maize plot (0.78% at 9 WAP. Significantly lower broadleaf weed densities were obtained in citrus/sweet potato, citrus/large green, control plot and citrus/cucumber (28.67, 45.00, 50.00 and 76.33 m-2 respectively than in citrus/groundnut plot (143.00 m-2. Similarly, significantly lower grass weed densities were produced in citrus/Mucuna and citrus/sweet potato (0.33 m-2 each plots than the control plot (11.33 m-2. Whereas citrus/corchorus plot produced significantly lower broadleaf weed dry weight (37.59 g m-2 than citrus/Mucuna plot (126.47 g m-2 at 3WAP, citrus/large green plot (16.15 g m-2 and citrus/groundnut plot (123.25 g m-2 followed the same trend at 6 WAP. Sedges dry weights were less than 7 g m-2 in all the plots compared with control plot.

  12. Identifying obstacles and ranking common biological control research priorities for Europe to manage most economically important pests in arable, vegetable and perennial crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamichhane, Jay Ram; Bischoff-Schaefer, Monika; Bluemel, Sylvia; Dachbrodt-Saaydeh, Silke; Dreux, Laure; Jansen, Jean-Pierre; Kiss, Jozsef; Köhl, Jürgen; Kudsk, Per; Malausa, Thibaut; Messéan, Antoine; Nicot, Philippe C; Ricci, Pierre; Thibierge, Jérôme; Villeneuve, François

    2017-01-01

    EU agriculture is currently in transition from conventional crop protection to integrated pest management (IPM). Because biocontrol is a key component of IPM, many European countries recently have intensified their national efforts on biocontrol research and innovation (R&I), although such initiatives are often fragmented. The operational outputs of national efforts would benefit from closer collaboration among stakeholders via transnationally coordinated approaches, as most economically important pests are similar across Europe. This paper proposes a common European framework on biocontrol R&I. It identifies generic R&I bottlenecks and needs as well as priorities for three crop types (arable, vegetable and perennial crops). The existing gap between the market offers of biocontrol solutions and the demand of growers, the lengthy and expensive registration process for biocontrol solutions and their varying effectiveness due to variable climatic conditions and site-specific factors across Europe are key obstacles hindering the development and adoption of biocontrol solutions in Europe. Considering arable, vegetable and perennial crops, a dozen common target pests are identified for each type of crop and ranked by order of importance at European level. Such a ranked list indicates numerous topics on which future joint transnational efforts would be justified. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  13. The sustainable arable land use pattern under the tradeoff of agricultural production, economic development, and ecological protection-an analysis of Dongting Lake basin, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Guanyi; Liu, Liming; Jiang, Xilong

    2017-11-01

    To find a solution regarding sustainable arable land use pattern in the important grain-producing area during the rapid urbanization process, this study combined agricultural production, locational condition, and ecological protection to determine optimal arable land use. Dongting Lake basin, one of the major grain producing areas in China, was chosen as the study area. The analysis of land use transition, the calculation of arable land barycenter, the landscape indices of arable land patches, and the comprehensive evaluation of arable land quality(productivity, economic location, and ecological condition) were adopted in this study. The results showed that (1) in 1990-2000, the arable land increased by 11.77%, and the transformation between arable land and other land use types actively occurred; in 2000-2010, the arable land decreased by 0.71%, and more ecological area (forestland, grassland, and water area) were disturbed and transferred into arable land; (2) urban expansion of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan city cluster (the major economy center of this area) induced the northward movement of the arable land barycenter; (3) the landscape fragmentation and decentralization degree of arable land patches increased during 1990-2010; (4) potential high-quality arable land is located in the zonal area around Dongting Lake, which contains the Li County, Linli County, Jinshi County, Taoyuan County, Taojiang County, Ningxiang County, Xiangxiang County, Shaoshan County, Miluo County, and Zhuzhou County. The inferior low-quality arable land is located in the northwestern Wuling mountainous area, the southeastern hilly area, and the densely populated big cities and their surrounding area. In the optimized arable land use pattern, the high-quality land should be intensively used, and the low-quality arable land should be reduced used or prohibitively used. What is more, it is necessary to quit the arable land away from the surrounding area of cities appropriately, in order to

  14. Relations between Agronomic Practice and Earthworms in Norwegian Arable Soils

    OpenAIRE

    Pommeresche, Reidun; Løes, Anne-Kristin

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents Norwegian studies of earthworms (density, biomass, burrows density, species, juvenile to adult ratios) in arable soil in Norway conducted during the last 20 years. The effects of crop rotations, fertilization, soil tillage and compaction on earthworms are presented, based on various field experiments. Geophagous (soil eating) species such as Aporrectodea caliginosa and A. rosea dominate the earthworm fauna in Norwegian arable soil. Lumbricus terrestris is also present; in ...

  15. Sustainable Agriculture: Cover Cropping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, Megan

    2018-01-01

    Sustainable agriculture practices are increasingly being used by farmers to maintain soil quality, increase biodiversity, and promote production of food that is environmentally safe. There are several types of sustainable agriculture practices such as organic farming, crop rotation, and aquaculture. This lesson plan focuses on the sustainable…

  16. Combined analysis of climate, technological and price changes on future arable farming systems in Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wolf, J.; Kanellopoulos, Argyris; Kros, J.; Webber, H.; Zhao, G.; Britz, W.; Reinds, G.J.; Ewert, F.; Vries, de W.

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we compare the relative importance of climate change to technological, management, price and policy changes on European arable farming systems. This required linking four models: the SIMPLACE crop growth modelling framework to calculate future yields under climate change for arable

  17. Crop residue management in arable cropping systems under a temperate climate. Part 2: Soil physical properties and crop production. A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiel, MP.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Residues of previous crops provide a valuable amount of organic matter that can be used either to restore soil fertility or for external use. A better understanding of the impact of crop residue management on the soil-water-plant system is needed in order to manage agricultural land sustainably. This review focuses on soil physical aspects related to crop residue management, and specifically on the link between soil structure and hydraulic properties and its impact on crop production. Literature. Conservation practices, including crop residue retention and non-conventional tillage, can enhance soil health by improving aggregate stability. In this case, water infiltration is facilitated, resulting in an increase in plant water availability. Conservation practices, however, do not systematically lead to higher water availability for the plant. The influence of crop residue management on crop production is still unclear; in some cases, crop production is enhanced by residue retention, but in others crop residues can reduce crop yield. Conclusions. In this review we discuss the diverse and contrasting effects of crop residue management on soil physical properties and crop production under a temperate climate. The review highlights the importance of environmental factors such as soil type and local climatic conditions, highlighting the need to perform field studies on crop residue management and relate them to specific pedo-climatic contexts.

  18. Prospects for arable farm uptake of Short Rotation Coppice willow and miscanthus in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glithero, Neryssa J; Wilson, Paul; Ramsden, Stephen J

    2013-07-01

    Biomass will play a role in the UK meeting EU targets on renewable energy use. Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) and miscanthus are potential biomass feedstocks; however, supply will rely on farmer willingness to grow these crops. Despite attractive crop establishment grants for dedicated energy crops (DECs) in the UK, uptake remains low. Drawing on results from an on-farm survey with 244 English arable farmers, 81.6% (87.7%) of farmers would not consider growing miscanthus (SRC), while respectively, 17.2% (11.9%) would consider growing and 1.2% (0.4%) were currently growing these crops. Farmer age, location, land ownership, farm type, farm size and farmer education level were not significant factors in determining acceptance of DECs. The main reasons cited for not growing DECs were impacts on land quality, lack of appropriate machinery, commitment of land for a long period of time, time to financial return and profitability. Reasons cited for willingness to grow DECs included land quality, ease of crop management, commitment of land for a long period of time, and profitability. Farmers cited a range of 'moral' (e.g. should not be using land for energy crops when there is a shortage of food), land quality, knowledge, profit and current farming practice comments as reasons for not growing DECs, while those willing to grow DECs cited interest in renewable energy, willingness to consider new crops, and low labour needs as rationale for their interest. Farm business objectives indicated that maximising profit and quality of life were most frequently cited as very important objectives. Previous research in the UK indicates that farmers in arable areas are unlikely to convert large areas of land to DECs, even where these farmers have an interest and willingness to grow them. Assuming that those farmers interested in growing DECs converted 9.29% (average percentage of arable land set-aside between 1996 and 2005) of their utilised agricultural area to these crops, 50,700

  19. Spatiotemporal Pattern and Driving Forces of Arable Land-Use Intensity in China: Toward Sustainable Land Management Using Emergy Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hualin Xie

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The level of arable land-use intensity has important impacts on food security and rural sustainable development. Using the emergy method, we investigate the spatial disparities and driving forces of arable land-use intensity in China from 1999 to 2008 at the national, regional and provincial levels. The empirical results show that chemical fertilizer was the largest component of agricultural inputs and that agricultural diesel oil recorded the highest growth rate. The degree of heterogeneities in arable land-use intensity in China showed a decreasing trend, which resulted mainly from the differences among the eastern, northeastern, central and western regions. The regional disparities in labor, pesticides and plastic sheeting decreased from 1999 to 2008. The per capita annual net incomes of household operations and the agricultural policies had a significant positive correlation with total inputs, fertilizer inputs, pesticide inputs and agricultural plastic sheeting. In addition, the nonagricultural population had a greater impact on agricultural plastic sheeting. Finally, we suggest that there is an urgent need to focus on the effects of chemical fertilizer and pesticide inputs on the ecological environment. Agricultural support policies should be introduced for the poor agricultural production provinces.

  20. Energy production on farms. Sustainability of energy crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Zeijts, H.

    1995-01-01

    In this article the results of a study on sustainability of energy crops are discussed. Contribution to the reduction of the greenhouse effect and other environmental effects were investigated for the Netherlands. The study assumed that energy crops are grown on set-aside land or grain land. Generating electricity and/or heat from hemp, reed, miscanthus, poplar and willow show the best prospects. These crops are sustainable and may in the future be economically feasible. Ethanol from winter wheat shows the most favourable environmental effects, but is not economically efficient. Liquid fuels from oil seed rape and sugar beet are not very sustainable. 2 tabs., 4 refs

  1. Analysis of Multi-Scale Changes in Arable Land and Scale Effects of the Driving Factors in the Loess Areas in Northern Shaanxi, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lina Zhong

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study, statistical data on the national economic and social development, including the year-end actual area of arable land, the crop yield per unit area and 10 factors, were obtained for the period between 1980 and 2010 and used to analyze the factors driving changes in the arable land of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi, China. The following areas of arable land, which represent different spatial scales, were investigated: the Baota District, the city of Yan’an, and the Northern Shaanxi region. The scale effects of the factors driving the changes to the arable land were analyzed using a canonical correlation analysis and a principal component analysis. Because it was difficult to quantify the impact of the national government policies on the arable land changes, the contributions of the national government policies to the changes in arable land were analyzed qualitatively. The primary conclusions of the study were as follows: between 1980 and 2010, the arable land area decreased. The trends of the year-end actual arable land proportion of the total area in the northern Shaanxi region and Yan’an City were broadly consistent, whereas the proportion in the Baota District had no obvious similarity with the northern Shaanxi region and Yan’an City. Remarkably different factors were shown to influence the changes in the arable land at different scales. Environmental factors exerted a greater effect for smaller scale arable land areas (the Baota District. The effect of socio-economic development was a major driving factor for the changes in the arable land area at the city and regional scales. At smaller scales, population change, urbanization and socio-economic development affected the crop yield per unit area either directly or indirectly. Socio-economic development and the modernization of agricultural technology had a greater effect on the crop yield per unit area at the large-scales. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis

  2. Environmental Sustainability of Some Cropping Systems in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Results from most findings reviewed in this paper had shown that there was no one size fits cropping system that can be use for sustainability of the humid environment but the best approach was the diversification of both traditional and modern cropping systems. The transition to systems which are both sustainable and ...

  3. A specialist-generalist classification of the arable flora and its response to changes in agricultural practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Background Theory in ecology points out the potential link between the degree of specialisation of organisms and their responses to disturbances and suggests that this could be a key element for understanding the assembly of communities. We evaluated this question for the arable weed flora as this group has scarcely been the focus of ecological studies so far and because weeds are restricted to habitats characterised by very high degrees of disturbance. As such, weeds offer a case study to ask how specialization relates to abundance and distribution of species in relation to the varying disturbance regimes occurring in arable crops. Results We used data derived from an extensive national monitoring network of approximately 700 arable fields scattered across France to quantify the degree of specialisation of 152 weed species using six different ecological methods. We then explored the impact of the level of disturbance occurring in arable fields by comparing the degree of specialisation of weed communities in contrasting field situations. The classification of species as specialist or generalist was consistent between different ecological indices. When applied on a large-scale data set across France, this classification highlighted that monoculture harbour significantly more specialists than crop rotations, suggesting that crop rotation increases abundance of generalist species rather than sets of species that are each specialised to the individual crop types grown in the rotation. Applied to a diachronic dataset, the classification also shows that the proportion of specialist weed species has significantly decreased in cultivated fields over the last 30 years which suggests a biotic homogenization of agricultural landscapes. Conclusions This study shows that the concept of generalist/specialist species is particularly relevant to understand the effect of anthropogenic disturbances on the evolution of plant community composition and that ecological theories

  4. Sustainable commercialization of new crops for the agricultural bioeconomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N.R. Jordan

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Diversification of agroecological systems to enhance agrobiodiversity is likely to be critical to advancing environmental, economic, and social sustainability of agriculture. Temperate-zone agroecological systems that are currently organized for production of summer-annual crops can be diversified by integration of fallow-season and perennial crops. Integration of such crops can improve sustainability of these agroecological systems, with minimal interference with current agricultural production. Importantly, these crops can provide feedstocks for a wide range of new bio-products that are forming a new agricultural bioeconomy, potentially providing greatly increased economic incentives for diversification. However, while there are many fallow-season and perennial crops that might be used in such a “bioeconomic” strategy for diversification, most are not yet well adapted and highly-marketable. Efforts are underway to enhance adaptation and marketability of many such crops. Critically, these efforts require a strategic approach that addresses the inherent complexity of these projects. We outline a suitable approach, which we term “sustainable commercialization”: a coordinated innovation process that integrates a new crop into the agriculture of a region, while intentionally addressing economic, environmental and social sustainability challenges via multi-stakeholder governance. This approach centers on a concerted effort to coordinate and govern innovation in three critical areas: germplasm development, multifunctional agroecosystem design and management, and development of end uses, supply chains, and markets. To exemplify the approach, we describe an ongoing effort to commercialize a new fallow-season crop, field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L..

  5. Assessment on the Impact of Arable Land Protection Policies in a Rapidly Developing Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiadan Li

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available To investigate the effect of arable land protection policies in China, a practical framework that integrates geographic information systems (GIS, soil quality assessment and landscape metrics analysis was employed to track and analyze arable land transformations and landscape changes in response to rampant urbanization within the Ningbo region (China from 2005 to 2013. The results showed that arable land loss and degradation have continued, despite the development of a comprehensive legal framework for arable land protection. The implementation of arable land protection policies is judged to be effective, but not entirely successful, because it guarantees the overall amount of arable land but does not consider soil quality and spatial distribution. In addition, there are distinct variations in arable land change dynamics between two temporal intervals. From 2005–2009, the transformation of arable land was diversified, with intensified conversion among arable land, built-up land, water and orchards. Moreover, many new arable land parcels were adjacent to built-up land, and are in danger of being occupied again through urban sprawl. By 2009–2013, most of the arable land was occupied by urban expansion, whereas a majority of newly increased arable land was reclaimed from coastal tideland. Although the newly increased arable land was contiguous and far from the urban area, it is of poor quality and has limited use. The permanent loss of high-quality arable land due to intensified urban sprawl may threaten sustainable development and food security on a larger scale.

  6. The Balanced Scorecard as a Management Tool for Arable Farming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margit Paustian

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Management requirements for crop farming are high and will rise in the future. Arable farms are challenged by volatile markets, growing administrative burdens, increasing operating costs and growing competition for land. Management skills have become much more important for farmers in recent years and this trend will continue in the future. There are numerous instruments like accounting software or crop field cards integrated in daily management practice, but there is a deficiency of a fully integrated management system to give an overview of all areas of the farming business. This gap can be closed by the management tool Balanced Scorecard (BSC that provides an overview of all production and management activities on a farm. Therefore, with the aim to transfer the BSC concept to crop farming, German farmers and agricultural advisors were surveyed to get insights into the success factors and key performance indicators in the four BSC perspectives they consider most relevant for the operational success of arable farms. By the use of a cluster analysis, three different farm types were identified according to their visions and strategies. For the three farm types the key performance indicators that the respondents considered most relevant for farm performance were figured out. Implementation of the BSC to crop farming can result in a big benefit for management practice. The BSC focuses vision and long-term strategy with the main goal to ensure consistency of the farm and increase farm performance.

  7. Mycostimulation in a glyphosate treated arable soil: implications on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mycostimulation in a glyphosate treated arable soil: implications on the yield and agronomic characters of Talinum fruticosum (L.) Juss. ... If properly managed and stimulated, fungi can contribute significantly to improving soil health, thus improving food security in a sustainable manner. Keywords: Mycoaugmentation ...

  8. Farming with future: making crop protection sustainable

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijnands, F.G.

    2011-01-01

    The project Farming with future works with parties with a vested interest to promote sustainable crop protection in practice. Besides developing new knowledge, it spends a good deal of its energy in the embedding of sustainable practices within relevant organisations, businesses and agrarian

  9. The role of production risks in the conversion to more sustainable arable farming = [De rol van productierisico's in de omschakeling naar een meer duurzame akkerbouw

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buck, de A.

    2001-01-01

    The objective of the research described in this thesis was to determine the role of production risks in the conversion to more sustainable production systems of arable farming in The Netherlands. More specifically, the research goals were: (1) to specify the typical production risks that prevent

  10. Soil organic matter dynamics after the conversion of arable land to pasture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Römkens, P.F.A.M.; Plicht, van der J.; Hassink, J.

    1999-01-01

    Conversion of arable land (maize) to pasture will affect the soil organic matter (SOM) content. Changes in the SOM content were studied using a size- and density-fractionation method and 13C analysis. Twenty-six years of maize cropping had resulted in a depletion of carbon stored in the

  11. Long-term changes in organic matter of woodland soils cleared for arable cropping in Zimbabwe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zingore, S.; Manyame, C.; Nyamugafata, P.; Giller, K.E.

    2005-01-01

    Subsistence farmers in Africa depend largely on the soil organic matter to sustain crop productivity. Long-term changes in soil organic carbon and nitrogen were measured after woodland clearance for smallholder subsistence farming or for commercial farming. The contents of organic carbon and

  12. Team-up Crop Diversification and Weed Management: PRODIVA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gerowitt, B.; Melander, B.; Krawczyk, R.

    2015-01-01

    The research-network PRODIVA focuses on a better utilization of crop diversification for weed management in North European arable cropping systems. The goal is to maintain diverse arable weed vegetation that is manageable in the long-term and could fulfil other necessary systemfunctions including...... support of beneficial organisms. The partners in PRODIVA will synthesize knowledge from terminated and running research projects and set-up selected new experiments on cover crops and variety resp. crop mixtures. Moreover, we will interact with partners from farming practice and extension services...... in organic agriculture. Regional fields will be surveyed for weeds to safeguard the relevance of the experimental research. Current cropping practices and their influence on weed pressure and weed diversity will be identified. The project will involve relevant stakeholders from the participating countries...

  13. Glyphosate sustainability in South American cropping systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christoffoleti, Pedro J; Galli, Antonio J B; Carvalho, Saul J P; Moreira, Murilo S; Nicolai, Marcelo; Foloni, Luiz L; Martins, Bianca A B; Ribeiro, Daniela N

    2008-04-01

    South America represents about 12% of the global land area, and Brazil roughly corresponds to 47% of that. The major sustainable agricultural system in South America is based on a no-tillage cropping system, which is a worldwide adopted agricultural conservation system. Societal benefits of conservation systems in agriculture include greater use of conservation tillage, which reduces soil erosion and associated loading of pesticides, nutrients and sediments into the environment. However, overreliance on glyphosate and simpler cropping systems has resulted in the selection of tolerant weed species through weed shifts (WSs) and evolution of herbicide-resistant weed (HRW) biotypes to glyphosate. It is a challenge in South America to design herbicide- and non-herbicide-based strategies that effectively delay and/or manage evolution of HRWs and WSs to weeds tolerant to glyphosate in cropping systems based on recurrent glyphosate application, such as those used with glyphosate-resistant soybeans. The objectives of this paper are (i) to provide an overview of some factors that influence WSs and HRWs to glyphosate in South America, especially in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay soybean cropped areas; (ii) to discuss the viability of using crop rotation and/or cover crops that might be integrated with forage crops in an economically and environmentally sustainable system; and (iii) to summarize the results of a survey of the perceptions of Brazilian farmers to problems with WSs and HRWs to glyphosate, and the level of adoption of good agricultural practices in order to prevent or manage it. Copyright (c) 2008 Society of Chemical Industry.

  14. Assessing the ecological and economic sustainability of energy crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanegraaf, M.C.; Biewinga, E.E.; Bijl, G. van der

    1998-01-01

    The production and use of biomass for energy has both positive and negative impacts on the environment. The environmental impacts of energy crops should be clarified before political choices concerning energy are made. An important aid to policy-making would be a systematic methodology to assess the environmental sustainability of energy crops. So far, most studies on the environmental aspects of energy crops deal mainly with the energy production of the crops and the possible consequences for CO 2 mitigation. The Dutch Centre for Agriculture and Environment (CLM) has developed a systematic methodology to assess the ecological and socio-economic sustainability of biomass crops. The method is best described as a multicriteria analysis of process chains and is very much related to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Characteristics of our methodology are the use of: definition of functional units; analysis of the entire lifecycle; definition of yield levels and corresponding agricultural practices; analysis of both ecological and economic criteria; definition of reference systems; definition of procedures for normalisation and weighting. CLM has applied the method to assess the sustainability of ten potentially interesting energy crops in four European regions. The results are used to outline the perspectives for large scale production of biomass crops with regard to the medium and long term land availability in Europe. For the crops considered, net energy budget ranges from 85 GJ net avoided energy per ha for rape seed for fuel to 248 GJ net avoided fossil energy per ha for silage maize for electricity from gasification. The methodology of the tool and its results were discussed at the concerted action ''Environmental aspects of biomass production and routes for European energy supply'' (AIR3-94-2455), organised by CLM in 1996. Major conclusions of the research: multicriteria analyhsis of process lifecycles is at present the best available option to assess the ecological

  15. Management and conservation of tropical acid soils for sustainable crop production. Proceedings of a consultants meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-06-01

    Forests of the tropics are invaluable ecosystems of global, regional and local importance, particularly in terms of protection and conservation of biodiversity and water resources. The indiscriminate conversion of tropical forests into agricultural land as a result of intense human activities - logging and modem shifting cultivation - continues to cause soil erosion and degradation. However, the acid savannahs of the world, such as the cerrado of Brazil, the Llanos in Venezuela and Colombia, the savannahs of Africa, and the largely anthropic savannahs of tropical Asia, encompass vast areas of potentially arable land. The acid soils of the savannahs are mostly considered marginal because of low inherent fertility and susceptibility to rapid degradation. These constraints for agricultural development are exacerbated by the poverty of new settlers who try to cultivate such areas after deforestation. Low- or minimum-input systems are not sustainable on these tropical acid soils but, with sufficient investment and adequate technologies, they can be highly productive. Thus, there is a need to develop management practices for sustainable agricultural production systems on such savannah acid soils. The Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Sub-programme of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture strongly supports an integrated approach to soil, water and nutrient management within cropping systems. In this context, nuclear and related techniques can be used to better understand the processes and factors influencing the productivity of agricultural production systems, and improve them through the use of better soil, water and nutrient management practices. A panel of experts actively engaged in field projects on acid soils of savannah agro-ecosystems in the humid and sub-humid tropics convened in March 1999 in Vienna to review and discuss recent research progress, along the following main lines of investigation: (i) utilization of

  16. Two bee-pollinated plant species show higher seed production when grown in gardens compared to arable farmland.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Cussans

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Insect pollinator abundance, in particular that of bees, has been shown to be high where there is a super-abundance of floral resources; for example in association with mass-flowering crops and also in gardens where flowering plants are often densely planted. Since land management affects pollinator numbers, it is also likely to affect the resultant pollination of plants growing in these habitats. We hypothesised that the seed or fruit set of two plant species, typically pollinated by bumblebees and/or honeybees might respond in one of two ways: 1 pollination success could be reduced when growing in a floriferous environment, via competition for pollinators, or 2 pollination success could be enhanced because of increased pollinator abundance in the vicinity.We compared the pollination success of experimental plants of Glechoma hederacea L. and Lotus corniculatus L. growing in gardens and arable farmland. On the farms, the plants were placed either next to a mass-flowering crop (oilseed rape, Brassica napus L. or field beans, Vicia faba L. or next to a cereal crop (wheat, Triticum spp.. Seed set of G. hederacea and fruit set of L. corniculatus were significantly higher in gardens compared to arable farmland. There was no significant difference in pollination success of G. hederacea when grown next to different crops, but for L. corniculatus, fruit set was higher in the plants growing next to oilseed rape when the crop was in flower.The results show that pollination services can limit fruit set of wild plants in arable farmland, but there is some evidence that the presence of a flowering crop can facilitate their pollination (depending on species and season. We have also demonstrated that gardens are not only beneficial to pollinators, but also to the process of pollination.

  17. Engineering crop nutrient efficiency for sustainable agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Liyu; Liao, Hong

    2017-10-01

    Increasing crop yields can provide food, animal feed, bioenergy feedstocks and biomaterials to meet increasing global demand; however, the methods used to increase yield can negatively affect sustainability. For example, application of excess fertilizer can generate and maintain high yields but also increases input costs and contributes to environmental damage through eutrophication, soil acidification and air pollution. Improving crop nutrient efficiency can improve agricultural sustainability by increasing yield while decreasing input costs and harmful environmental effects. Here, we review the mechanisms of nutrient efficiency (primarily for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and iron) and breeding strategies for improving this trait, along with the role of regulation of gene expression in enhancing crop nutrient efficiency to increase yields. We focus on the importance of root system architecture to improve nutrient acquisition efficiency, as well as the contributions of mineral translocation, remobilization and metabolic efficiency to nutrient utilization efficiency. © 2017 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  18. Impact of perennial energy crops income variability on the crop selection of risk averse farmers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexander, Peter; Moran, Dominic

    2013-01-01

    The UK Government policy is for the area of perennial energy crops in the UK to expand significantly. Farmers need to choose these crops in preference to conventional rotations for this to be achievable. This paper looks at the potential level and variability of perennial energy crop incomes and the relation to incomes from conventional arable crops. Assuming energy crop prices are correlated to oil prices the results suggests that incomes from them are not well correlated to conventional arable crop incomes. A farm scale mathematical programming model is then used to attempt to understand the affect on risk averse farmers crop selection. The inclusion of risk reduces the energy crop price required for the selection of these crops. However yields towards the highest of those predicted in the UK are still required to make them an optimal choice, suggesting only a small area of energy crops within the UK would be expected to be chosen to be grown. This must be regarded as a tentative conclusion, primarily due to high sensitivity found to crop yields, resulting in the proposal for further work to apply the model using spatially disaggregated data. - Highlights: ► Energy crop and conventional crop incomes suggested as uncorrelated. ► Diversification effect of energy crops investigated for a risk averse farmer. ► Energy crops indicated as optimal selection only on highest yielding UK sites. ► Large establishment grant rates to substantially alter crop selections.

  19. Watershed Scale Optimization to Meet Sustainable Cellulosic Energy Crop Demand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chaubey, Indrajeet [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Cibin, Raj [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Bowling, Laura [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Brouder, Sylvie [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Cherkauer, Keith [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Engel, Bernard [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Frankenberger, Jane [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Goforth, Reuben [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Gramig, Benjamin [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Volenec, Jeffrey [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

    2017-03-24

    The overall goal of this project was to conduct a watershed-scale sustainability assessment of multiple species of energy crops and removal of crop residues within two watersheds (Wildcat Creek, and St. Joseph River) representative of conditions in the Upper Midwest. The sustainability assessment included bioenergy feedstock production impacts on environmental quality, economic costs of production, and ecosystem services.

  20. Agricultural innovations for sustainable crop production intensification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michele Pisante

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable crop production intensification should be the first strategic objective of innovative agronomic research for the next 40 years. A range of options exist (often very location specific for farming practices, approaches and technologies that ensure sustainability, while at the same time improving crop production. The main challenge is to encourage farmers in the use of appropriate technologies,  and  to  ensure  that  knowledge  about  sound  production  practices  is  increasingly accepted and applied by farmers. There is a huge, but underutilized potential to link farmers’ local knowledge with science-based innovations, through favourable institutional arrangements.  The same  holds  for  the  design,  implementation  and  monitoring  of  improved  natural  resource management  that  links  community  initiatives  to  external  expertise.  It is also suggested that a comprehensive effort be undertaken to measure different stages of the innovation system, including technological adoption and diffusion at the farm level, and to investigate the impact of agricultural policies on technological change and technical efficiency. This paper provides a brief review of agronomic management practices that support sustainable crop production system and evidence on developments  in the selection of crops and cultivars; describes farming systems for crop which take a predominantly ecosystem approach; discusses the scientific application of ecosystem principles for the management of pest and weed populations; reviews the  improvements in fertilizer and nutrient management that explain productivity growth; describes the benefits and constraints of irrigation technologies; and suggests a way forward. Seven changes in the context for agricultural development are proposed that heighten the need to examine how innovation occurs in the agricultural sector.

  1. Possible changes to arable crop yields by 2050.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaggard, Keith W; Qi, Aiming; Ober, Eric S

    2010-09-27

    By 2050, the world population is likely to be 9.1 billion, the CO(2) concentration 550 ppm, the ozone concentration 60 ppb and the climate warmer by ca 2 degrees C. In these conditions, what contribution can increased crop yield make to feeding the world? CO(2) enrichment is likely to increase yields of most crops by approximately 13 per cent but leave yields of C4 crops unchanged. It will tend to reduce water consumption by all crops, but this effect will be approximately cancelled out by the effect of the increased temperature on evaporation rates. In many places increased temperature will provide opportunities to manipulate agronomy to improve crop performance. Ozone concentration increases will decrease yields by 5 per cent or more. Plant breeders will probably be able to increase yields considerably in the CO(2)-enriched environment of the future, and most weeds and airborne pests and diseases should remain controllable, so long as policy changes do not remove too many types of crop-protection chemicals. However, soil-borne pathogens are likely to be an increasing problem when warmer weather will increase their multiplication rates; control is likely to need a transgenic approach to breeding for resistance. There is a large gap between achievable yields and those delivered by farmers, even in the most efficient agricultural systems. A gap is inevitable, but there are large differences between farmers, even between those who have used the same resources. If this gap is closed and accompanied by improvements in potential yields then there is a good prospect that crop production will increase by approximately 50 per cent or more by 2050 without extra land. However, the demands for land to produce bio-energy have not been factored into these calculations.

  2. Soil management practices for sustainable crop production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abalos, E.B.

    2005-01-01

    In a sustainable system, the soil is viewed as a fragile and living medium that must be protected and nurtured to ensure its long-term productivity and stability. However, due to high demand for food brought about by high population as well as the decline in agricultural lands, the soil is being exploited beyond its limit thus, leading to poor or sick soils. Sound soil management practices in the Philippines is being reviewed. The technologies, including the advantages and disadvantages are hereby presented. This includes proper cropping systems, fertilizer program, soil erosion control and correcting soil acidity. Sound soil management practices which conserve organic matter for long-term sustainability includes addition of compost, maintaining soil cover, increasing aggregates stability, soil tilt and diversity of soil microbial life. A healthy soil is a key component to sustainability as a health soil produce healthy crop plants and have optimum vigor or less susceptible to pests. (author)

  3. To be or not to be - common and endangered arable weed species in the face of Global Climate Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rühl, Anna Theresa

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Arable weeds are one of the most endangered species groups in Europe. Modern agriculture and intensive land use management with the application of herbicides and fertilisers, enhanced seed cleaning, simplified crop rotations and abandonment of marginal arable sites are the main causes for the continuous decline of arable weeds. However, besides these changes in land use also global climate change may challenge the adaptability of arable weeds. Most scientists agree that the frequency of extreme meteorological conditions will increase in the future. As a consequence, plants of Central Europe will be subject to higher temperatures and reduced water supply due to longer intervals without precipitation during the growing season. We exposed seeds of five common and five endangered arable weed species to different temperatures and water potentials to study i how this plant group responds to higher temperatures and lower moisture during germination in general and ii whether there is a significant difference between common and endangered species in this respect.

  4. Organic versus Conventional Cropping Sustainability: A Comparative System Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiffany L. Fess

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available We are at a pivotal time in human history, as the agricultural sector undergoes consolidation coupled with increasing energy costs in the context of declining resource availability. Although organic systems are often thought of as more sustainable than conventional operations, the lack of concise and widely accepted means to measure sustainability makes coming to an agreement on this issue quite challenging. However, an accurate assessment of sustainability can be reached by dissecting the scientific underpinnings of opposing production practices and crop output between cropping systems. The purpose of this review is to provide an in-depth and comprehensive evaluation of modern global production practices and economics of organic cropping systems, as well as assess the sustainability of organic production practices through the clarification of information and analysis of recent research. Additionally, this review addresses areas where improvements can be made to help meet the needs of future organic producers, including organic-focused breeding programs and necessity of coming to a unified global stance on plant breeding technologies. By identifying management strategies that utilize practices with long-term environmental and resource efficiencies, a concerted global effort could guide the adoption of organic agriculture as a sustainable food production system.

  5. Do Smallholder, Mixed Crop-Livestock Livelihoods Encourage Sustainable Agricultural Practices? A Meta-Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas K. Rudel

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available As calls for bolstering ecosystem services from croplands have grown more insistent during the past two decades, the search for ways to foster these agriculture-sustaining services has become more urgent. In this context we examine by means of a meta-analysis the argument, proposed by Robert McC. Netting, that small-scale, mixed crop-livestock farming, a common livelihood among poor rural peoples, leads to environmentally sustainable agricultural practices. As predicted, mixed crop-livestock farms exhibit more sustainable practices, but, contrary to predictions, a small scale of operation does not predict sustainability. Many smallholders on mixed crop-livestock farms use sustainable practices, but other smallholders practice a degrading, input-scarce agriculture. Some large farm operators use soil-conserving, minimum-tillage techniques while other large operators ignore soil-conserving techniques and practice an industrialized, high chemical input agriculture. The strength and pervasiveness of the link in the data between mixed crop-livestock farming and sustainable agricultural practices argues for agricultural policies that promote mixed crop-livestock livelihoods.

  6. Uses of glyphosate in German arable farming – operational aspects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wiese, Armin

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Glyphosate is the most frequently used herbicide active ingredient in Germany. Studies regarding its usage in non-GMO arable farming are still rare even though it plays an important role in several agronomic situations. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive survey, which was carried out among conventional German farms in Winter 2014/2015. Based on the results of this survey we analyzed via cluster analysis how types of farms differ in terms of glyphosate usage. An illustration of seven clusters allows deep insights into arable farm structures. The farm types can be distinguished regarding their tillage system and similar to this differentiation also concerning their intensity of glyphosate application. Furthermore, it becomes obvious that farm clusters with a higher level of glyphosate usage are characterized by a lower number of labourers per hectare, more arable land and/or enhanced cover cropping. Moreover, groups of farmers who rely more on glyphosate are more likely to state that they need glyphosate for herbicide resistance management. Farmers’ assessments of the economic importance of glyphosate usage vary depending on the type of farm. By means of the farm clusters, the most important situations of glyphosate usage can be further analyzed economically and scenarios for impact assessments can be made.

  7. Review of Alternative Management Options of Vegetable Crop Residues to Reduce Nitrate Leaching in Intensive Vegetable Rotations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Agneessens

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Vegetable crop residues take a particular position relative to arable crops due to often large amounts of biomass with a N content up to 200 kg N ha−1 left behind on the field. An important amount of vegetable crops are harvested during late autumn and despite decreasing soil temperatures during autumn, high rates of N mineralization and nitrification still occur. Vegetable crop residues may lead to considerable N losses through leaching during winter and pose a threat to meeting water quality objectives. However, at the same time vegetable crop residues are a vital link in closing the nutrient and organic matter cycle of soils. Appropriate and sustainable management is needed to harness the full potential of vegetable crop residues. Two fundamentally different crop residue management strategies to reduce N losses during winter in intensive vegetable rotations are reviewed, namely (i on-field management options and modifications to crop rotations and (ii removal of crop residues, followed by a useful and profitable application.

  8. SOIL ECOLOGY AS KEY TO SUSTAINABLE CROP PRODUCTION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Deyn, G B

    2015-01-01

    Sustainable production of food, feed and fiberwarrants sustainable soil management and crop protection. The tools available to achieve this are both in the realm of the plants and of the soil, with a key role for plant-soil interactions. At the plant level we have vast knowledge of variation within plant species with respect to pests and diseases, based on which we can breed for resistance. However, given that systems evolve this resistance is bound to be temporarily, hence also other strategies are needed. Here I plea for an integrative approach for sustainable production using ecological principles. Ecology, the study of how organisms interact with their environment, teaches us that diversity promotes productivity and yield stability. These effects are thought to be governed through resource use complementarity and reduced build-up of pests and diseases both above- and belowground. In recent years especially the role of soil biotic interactions has revealed new insights in how plant diversity and productivity are related to soil biodiversity and the functions soil biota govern. In our grassland biodiversity studies we found that root feeders can promote plant diversity and succession without reducing plant community productivity, this illustrates the role of diversity to maintain productivity. Also diversity within species offers scope for sustainable production, for example through awareness of differences between plant genotypes in chemical defense compounds that can attract natural enemies of pests aboveground- and belowground thereby providing plant protection. Plant breeding can also benefit from using complementarity between plant species in the selection for new varieties, as our work demonstrated that when growing in species mixtures plant species adapt to each other over time such that their resource acquisition traits become more complementing. Finally, in a recent meta-analysis we show that earthworms can stimulate crop yield with on average 25%, but

  9. Potential carbon sequestration of European arable soils estimated by modelling a comprehensive set of management practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lugato, Emanuele; Bampa, Francesca; Panagos, Panos; Montanarella, Luca; Jones, Arwyn

    2014-11-01

    Bottom-up estimates from long-term field experiments and modelling are the most commonly used approaches to estimate the carbon (C) sequestration potential of the agricultural sector. However, when data are required at European level, important margins of uncertainty still exist due to the representativeness of local data at large scale or different assumptions and information utilized for running models. In this context, a pan-European (EU + Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Norway) simulation platform with high spatial resolution and harmonized data sets was developed to provide consistent scenarios in support of possible carbon sequestration policies. Using the CENTURY agroecosystem model, six alternative management practices (AMP) scenarios were assessed as alternatives to the business as usual situation (BAU). These consisted of the conversion of arable land to grassland (and vice versa), straw incorporation, reduced tillage, straw incorporation combined with reduced tillage, ley cropping system and cover crops. The conversion into grassland showed the highest soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration rates, ranging between 0.4 and 0.8 t C ha(-1)  yr(-1) , while the opposite extreme scenario (100% of grassland conversion into arable) gave cumulated losses of up to 2 Gt of C by 2100. Among the other practices, ley cropping systems and cover crops gave better performances than straw incorporation and reduced tillage. The allocation of 12 to 28% of the European arable land to different AMP combinations resulted in a potential SOC sequestration of 101-336 Mt CO2 eq. by 2020 and 549-2141 Mt CO2 eq. by 2100. Modelled carbon sequestration rates compared with values from an ad hoc meta-analysis confirmed the robustness of these estimates. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Reintroduction of rare arable plants by seed transfer. What are the optimal sowing rates?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Marion; Prestele, Julia; Fischer, Christina; Kollmann, Johannes; Albrecht, Harald

    2016-08-01

    During the past decades, agro-biodiversity has markedly declined and some species are close to extinction in large parts of Europe. Reintroduction of rare arable plant species in suitable habitats could counteract this negative trend. The study investigates optimal sowing rates of three endangered species (Legousia speculum-veneris (L.) Chaix, Consolida regalis Gray, and Lithospermum arvense L.), in terms of establishment success, seed production, and crop yield losses.A field experiment with partial additive design was performed in an organically managed winter rye stand with study species added in ten sowing rates of 5-10,000 seeds m(-2). They were sown as a single species or as a three-species mixture (pure vs. mixed sowing) and with vs. without removal of spontaneous weeds. Winter rye was sown at a fixed rate of 350 grains m(-2). Performance of the study species was assessed as plant establishment and seed production. Crop response was determined as grain yield.Plant numbers and seed production were significantly affected by the sowing rate, but not by sowing type (pure vs. mixed sowing of the three study species), and weed removal. All rare arable plant species established and reproduced at sowing rates >25 seeds m(-2), with best performance of L. speculum-veneris. Negative density effects occurred to some extent for plant establishment and more markedly for seed production.The impact of the three study species on crop yield followed sigmoidal functions. Depending on the species, a yield loss of 10% occurred at >100 seeds m(-2). Synthesis and applications: The study shows that reintroduction of rare arable plants by seed transfer is a suitable method to establish them on extensively managed fields, for example, in organic farms with low nutrient level and without mechanical weed control. Sowing rates of 100 seeds m(-2) for C. regalis and L. arvense, and 50 seeds m(-2) for L. speculum-veneris are recommended, to achieve successful establishment

  11. Agricultural biology in the 3rd millennium: nutritional food security & specialty crops through sustainable agriculture and biotechnology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Food security and agricultural sustainability are of prime concern in the world today in light of the increasing trends in population growth in most parts of the globe excepting Europe. The need to develop capacity to produce more to feed more people is complicated since the arable land is decreasin...

  12. Sustainable Biofuel Project: Emergy Analysis of South Florida Energy Crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amponsah, Nana Yaw [Intelligentsia International, Inc., LaBelle, FL (United States); Izursa, Jose-Luis [Intelligentsia International, Inc., LaBelle, FL (United States); Hanlon, Edward A. [Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States). Soil and Water Sciences Dept.; Capece, John C. [Intelligentsia International, Inc., LaBelle, FL (United States)

    2012-11-15

    This study evaluates the sustainability of various farming systems, namely (1) sugarcane on organic and mineral soils and (2) energycane and sweet sorghum on mineral soils. The primary objective of the study is to compare the relative sustainability matrices of these energy crops and their respective farming systems. These matrices should guide decision and policy makers to determine the overall sustainability of an intended or proposed bioethanol project related to any of these studied crops. Several different methods of energy analysis have been proposed to assess the feasibility or sustainability of projects exploiting natural resources (such as (Life Cycle Analysis, Energy Analysis, Exergy Analysis, Cost Benefit Analysis, Ecological Footprint, etc.). This study primarily focused on the concept of Emergy Analysis, a quantitative analytical technique for determining the values of nonmonied and monied resources, services and commodities in common units of the solar energy it took to make them. With this Emergy Analysis study, the Hendry County Sustainable Biofuels Center intends to provide useful perspective for different stakeholder groups to (1) assess and compare the sustainability levels of above named crops cultivation on mineral soils and organic soils for ethanol production and (2) identify processes within the cultivation that could be targeted for improvements. The results provide as much insight into the assumptions inherent in the investigated approaches as they do into the farming systems in this study.

  13. Toward cropping systems that enhance productivity and sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, R. James

    2006-01-01

    The defining features of any cropping system are (i) the crop rotation and (ii) the kind or intensity of tillage. The trend worldwide starting in the late 20th century has been (i) to specialize competitively in the production of two, three, a single, or closely related crops such as different market classes of wheat and barley, and (ii) to use direct seeding, also known as no-till, to cut costs and save soil, time, and fuel. The availability of glyphosate- and insect-resistant varieties of soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola has helped greatly to address weed and insect pest pressures favored by direct seeding these crops. However, little has been done through genetics and breeding to address diseases caused by residue- and soil-inhabiting pathogens that remain major obstacles to wider adoption of these potentially more productive and sustainable systems. Instead, the gains have been due largely to innovations in management, including enhancement of root defense by antibiotic-producing rhizosphere-inhabiting bacteria inhibitory to root pathogens. Historically, new varieties have facilitated wider adoption of new management, and changes in management have facilitated wider adoption of new varieties. Although actual yields may be lower in direct-seed compared with conventional cropping systems, largely due to diseases, the yield potential is higher because of more available water and increases in soil organic matter. Achieving the full production potential of these more-sustainable cropping systems must now await the development of varieties adapted to or resistant to the hazards shown to account for the yield depressions associated with direct seeding. PMID:17130454

  14. Cloud decision model for selecting sustainable energy crop based on linguistic intuitionistic information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Hong-Gang; Wang, Jian-Qiang

    2017-11-01

    In recent years, sustainable energy crop has become an important energy development strategy topic in many countries. Selecting the most sustainable energy crop is a significant problem that must be addressed during any biofuel production process. The focus of this study is the development of an innovative multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method to handle sustainable energy crop selection problems. Given that various uncertain data are encountered in the evaluation of sustainable energy crops, linguistic intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (LIFNs) are introduced to present the information necessary to the evaluation process. Processing qualitative concepts requires the effective support of reliable tools; then, a cloud model can be used to deal with linguistic intuitionistic information. First, LIFNs are converted and a novel concept of linguistic intuitionistic cloud (LIC) is proposed. The operations, score function and similarity measurement of the LICs are defined. Subsequently, the linguistic intuitionistic cloud density-prioritised weighted Heronian mean operator is developed, which served as the basis for the construction of an applicable MCDM model for sustainable energy crop selection. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the proposed method, and its feasibility and validity are further verified by comparing it with other existing methods.

  15. Water footprint of crop production for different crop structures in the Hebei southern plain, North China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Yingmin; Shen, Yanjun; Yuan, Zaijian

    2017-06-01

    The North China Plain (NCP) has a serious shortage of freshwater resources, and crop production consumes approximately 75 % of the region's water. To estimate water consumption of different crops and crop structures in the NCP, the Hebei southern plain (HSP) was selected as a study area, as it is a typical region of groundwater overdraft in the NCP. In this study, the water footprint (WF) of crop production, comprised of green, blue and grey water footprints, and its annual variation were analyzed. The results demonstrated the following: (1) the WF from the production of main crops was 41.8 km3 in 2012. Winter wheat, summer maize and vegetables were the top water-consuming crops in the HSP. The water footprint intensity (WFI) of cotton was the largest, and for vegetables, it was the smallest; (2) the total WF, WFblue, WFgreen and WFgrey for 13 years (2000-2012) of crop production were 604.8, 288.5, 141.3 and 175.0 km3, respectively, with an annual downtrend from 2000 to 2012; (3) winter wheat, summer maize and vegetables consumed the most groundwater, and their blue water footprint (WFblue) accounted for 74.2 % of the total WFblue in the HSP; (4) the crop structure scenarios analysis indicated that, with approximately 20 % of arable land cultivated with winter wheat-summer maize in rotation, 38.99 % spring maize, 10 % vegetables and 10 % fruiters, a sustainable utilization of groundwater resources can be promoted, and a sufficient supply of food, including vegetables and fruits, can be ensured in the HSP.

  16. Environmental Sustainability of Gm Crops for Food Safety on Risk Society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gil Ramos de Carvalho Neto

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available GM crops are presented as an alternative to the erradication of hunger. The risk society, however, considering the brazilian environmental law - specially the brazilian legislation on biosafety - the food safety and nutritional law and the economic and social data on the subject, it appears that the environmental sustainability of these crops is not yet complete. Producers should adopt additional safeguards if they wish a sustainable agriculture with effective food security.

  17. Agriculture and crop science in China:Innovation and sustainability

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yunbi Xu; Jiayang Li; Jianmin Wan

    2017-01-01

    The International Crop Science Congress (ICSC) is a regularly held event allowing crop scientists to integrate current knowledge into a global context and international applications. The 7th ICSC was held on August 14–19, 2016 in Beijing, China, with the theme "Crop Science: Innovation and Sustainability". As a companion production for this great congress, the nine papers collected in this special issue feature important fields of crop science in China. This editorial first briefly introduces the 7th ICSC, followed by a brief discussion of the current status of, constraints to, and innovations in Chinese agriculture and crop science. Finally, the main scientific points of the papers published in this special issue are surveyed, covering important advances in hybrid rice breeding, minor cereals, food legumes, rapeseed, crop systems, crop management, cotton, genomics-based germplasm research, and QTL mapping. In a section describing future prospects, it is indicated that China faces a full transition from traditional to modern agriculture and crop science.

  18. Heavy metals and health risk assessment of arable soils and food crops around Pb-Zn mining localities in Enyigba, southeastern Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obiora, Smart C.; Chukwu, Anthony; Davies, Theophilus C.

    2016-04-01

    This study determined the heavy metals concentration in arable soils and associated food crops around the Pb-Zn mines in Enyigba, Nigeria, and metal transfer factors were calculated. Air-dried samples of the soils and food crops were analyzed for 8 known nutritional and toxic heavy metals by Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) method. Eighty seven percent of all the 20 sampled soils contain Pb in excess of the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) set by Canadian Environmental Quality Guideline (CCME) and European Union (EU) Standard, while Zn in thirty-one percent of the samples exceeded the CCME for MAC of 200 mg/kg. All the food crops, with the exception of yam tuber, contain Pb which exceeded the 0.43 mg/kg and 0.3 mg/kg MAC standards of EU and WHO/FAO respectively, with the leafy vegetables accumulating more Pb than the tubers. The metal transfer factors in the tubers and the leafy vegetables were in the order: Mo > Cu > Zn > Mn > As > Cd > Cr > Ni > Pb and Cd > Cu > Zn > Mn > Mo > As > Ni > Pb > Cr, respectively. Risk assessment studies revealed no health risk in surrounding populations for most of the heavy metals. However, Pb had a high health risk index (HRI) of 1.1 and 1.3, in adults and children, respectively for cassava tuber; Pb had HRI > 1 in lemon grass while Mn also had HRI > 1 in all the leafy vegetables for both adult and children. This high level of HRI for Pb and Mn is an indication that consumers of the food crops contaminated by these metals are at risk of health problems such as Alzheimers' disease and Manganism, associated with excessive intake of these metals. Further systematic monitoring of heavy metal fluxes in cultivable soils around the area of these mines is recommended.

  19. Genetically Modified Crops: Towards Agricultural Growth, Agricultural Development, or Agricultural Sustainability?

    OpenAIRE

    Azadi, Hossein; Ghanian, Mansour; Ghuchani, Omid M.; Rafiaani, Parisa; Taning, Clauvis N. T.; Hajivand, Roghaye Y.; Dogot, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    The present debate on how to increase global food production in a sustainable way has focused on arguments over the pros and cons of genetically modified (GM) crops. Scientists in both public and private sectors clearly regard GM technology as a major new set of tools, whereas industry sees it as an opportunity for increased profits. However, it remains questionable whether GM crops can contribute to agricultural growth, agricultural development, and agricultural sustainability. This review p...

  20. Alternative crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andreasen, L.M.; Boon, A.D.

    1992-01-01

    Surplus cereal production in the EEC and decreasing product prices, mainly for cereals, has prompted considerable interest for new earnings in arable farming. The objective was to examine whether suggested new crops (fibre, oil, medicinal and alternative grains crops) could be considered as real alternatives. Whether a specific crop can compete economically with cereals and whether there is a market demand for the crop is analyzed. The described possibilities will result in ca. 50,000 hectares of new crops. It is expected that they would not immediately provide increased earnings, but in the long run expected price developments are more positive than for cereals. The area for new crops will not solve the current surplus cereal problem as the area used for new crops is only 3% of that used for cereals. Preconditions for many new crops is further research activities and development work as well as the establishment of processing units and organizational initiatives. Presumably, it is stated, there will then be a basis for a profitable production of new crops for some farmers. (AB) (47 refs.)

  1. Debates on Genetically Modified Crops in the Context of Sustainable Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerasimova, Ksenia

    2016-04-01

    The paper discusses conflicts in perceptions of GM crops illustrating the complexities of GM debates and applications of the concept of sustainable development. The concept consists of three discourses that both opponents and supporters of GM crops refer to in their analyses: environmentalism, social and economic development and the two sub-issues of sustainable development-biodiversity loss and food security. This creates a unique situation when both proponents and opponents of GM food use the same framework of sustainable development to support their arguments and do not reach a common ground. This will be illustrated by a review of the arguments brought by these two groups.

  2. Proteomics: A Biotechnology Tool for Crop Improvement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moustafa eEldakak

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available A sharp decline in the availability of arable land and sufficient supply of irrigation water along with a continuous steep increase in food demands have exerted a pressure on farmers to produce more with fewer resources. A viable solution to release this pressure is to speed up the plant breeding process by employing biotechnology in breeding programs. The majority of biotechnological applications rely on information generated from various -omic technologies. The latest outstanding improvements in proteomic platforms and many other but related advances in plant biotechnology techniques offer various new ways to encourage the usage of these technologies by plant scientists for crop improvement programs. A combinatorial approach of accelerated gene discovery through genomics, proteomics, and other associated -omic branches of biotechnology, as an applied approach, is proving to be an effective way to speed up the crop improvement programs worldwide. In the near future, swift improvements in -omic databases are becoming critical and demand immediate attention for the effective utilization of these techniques to produce next-generation crops for the progressive farmers. Here, we have reviewed the recent advances in proteomics, as tools of biotechnology, which are offering great promise and leading the path towards crop improvement for sustainable agriculture.

  3. Farmers typology and crops sustainability in Alto Urubamba, La Convencion – Cusco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isaías Merma

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The research was conducted in the geographical region of Alto Urubamba, province of La Convencion, Cusco - Peru. The objective was to identify types of farmers and evaluate crops sustainability on farms of high forest. Surveys were applied to a sample of 106 farmers in both biophysical and socio-economic terms in order to identify typology; this information was analyzed through descriptive statistics. Multivariate analysis using preselected variables was performed to identify types of farmers. In addition, sustainability of eight tropical crops was evaluated; for this purpose, three farms for each crop were selected from 24 evaluated farms. Practical indicators of soil quality and crop health with a valuation from 0 to 10 were used; farmers participated during this evaluation. The results show that there are three types of farmers according to their efficiency in resources management and their economic logic. The crops of tea (6.65 and mango (6.50 obtained the highest values of sustainability, followed by coffee (6.25, cocoa (6.25, citrus (5.50, banana (5.45 and coca (5.10. Papaya (4.60 shows a value less than five; therefore, is considered as unsustainable according to local conditions.

  4. Ensuring sustainable grain legume-cereal cropping systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bedoussac, Laurent; Journet, E-P; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik

    2017-01-01

    health makes them a key rotation crop in the sustainable intensification and diversification of smallholder farming. This makes grain legumes a key food security crop. However, yields in developing countries are low as a result of such factors as the need for improved varieties of seed, poor seed......Grain legumes are widely cultivated, particularly for their dry seeds (known as pulses). Grain legumes are an important crop for a number of reasons. They are a rich source of protein and fibre, minerals and vitamins. In addition, their rapid growth and ability to fix nitrogen and improve soil...... distribution, the impact of pests and diseases, as well as vulnerability to poor soils, drought and other effects of climate change. This chapter summarises data from over 50 field experiments undertaken since 2001 on cereal-grain legume intercropping in 13 sites in southern and western France as well...

  5. GM Crops, Organic Agriculture and Breeding for Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salvatore Ceccarelli

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The ongoing debate about the use of genetically-modified (GM crops in agriculture has largely focused on food safety and genetic contamination issues. Given that the majority of GM crops have been produced to respond to the problem of crop yield reductions caused by diseases, insects and weeds, the paper argues that in those cases, the currently used GM crops are an unstable solution to the problem, because they represent such a strong selection pressure, that pests rapidly evolve resistance. Organic agriculture practices provide a more sustainable way of producing healthy food; however, the lower yields often associated with those practices, making the resultant healthy food more expensive, open the criticism that such practices will not be able to feed human populations. Evolutionary plant breeding offers the possibility of using the evolutionary potential of crops to our advantage by producing a continuous flow of varieties better adapted to organic systems, to climate change and to the ever changing spectrum of pests, without depending on chemical control.

  6. Assessing the sustainability of Brazilian oleaginous crops - possible raw material to produce biodiesel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takahashi, Fabio, E-mail: fabiotak@fea.unicamp.b [FEA - College of Food Engineering - Unicamp, CP 6121, CEP 13083-862 Campinas, SP (Brazil); Ortega, Enrique, E-mail: fabiotak@gmail.co [FEA - College of Food Engineering - Unicamp, CP 6121, CEP 13083-862 Campinas, SP (Brazil)

    2010-05-15

    The aim of this paper is to make an emergy assessment of oleaginous crops cultivated in Brazil, available to produce biodiesel, in order to determine which crop is the most sustainable. This study evaluates conventional agro-chemical farms that produce rapeseed (canola), oil palm, soybean, sunflower and cotton. Rapeseed (canola) crop uses 40.41% of renewable energy and it is the most sustainable conventional oil crop; on the other hand, it is not widely produced in Brazil, probably due to climate restrictions or low market demand. The oil palm emergy indicators are contradictory: its emergy exchange ratio (EER) value is the lower, showing the possibility of fair exchange, and the low transformity value indicates high efficiency; however, it also has low renewability (28.31%), indicating a high dependency on agro-chemicals (basically fertilizers). Oil palm is a potential energy source due to its high agricultural productivity, but appropriate management is necessary to increase its sustainability and reduce the use of non-renewable resources.

  7. Assessing the sustainability of Brazilian oleaginous crops - possible raw material to produce biodiesel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Fabio; Ortega, Enrique

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to make an emergy assessment of oleaginous crops cultivated in Brazil, available to produce biodiesel, in order to determine which crop is the most sustainable. This study evaluates conventional agro-chemical farms that produce rapeseed (canola), oil palm, soybean, sunflower and cotton. Rapeseed (canola) crop uses 40.41% of renewable energy and it is the most sustainable conventional oil crop; on the other hand, it is not widely produced in Brazil, probably due to climate restrictions or low market demand. The oil palm emergy indicators are contradictory: its emergy exchange ratio (EER) value is the lower, showing the possibility of fair exchange, and the low transformity value indicates high efficiency; however, it also has low renewability (28.31%), indicating a high dependency on agro-chemicals (basically fertilizers). Oil palm is a potential energy source due to its high agricultural productivity, but appropriate management is necessary to increase its sustainability and reduce the use of non-renewable resources.

  8. Trade-offs between economic and environmental impacts of introducing legumes into cropping systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moritz eReckling

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Europe’s agriculture is highly specialized, dependent on external inputs and responsible for negative environmental impacts. Legume crops are grown on less than 2 % of the arable land and more than 70 % of the demand for protein feed supplement is imported from overseas. The integration of legumes into cropping systems has the potential to contribute to the transition to a more resource-efficient agriculture and reduce the current protein deficit. Legume crops influence the production of other crops in the rotation making it difficult to evaluate the overall agronomic effects of legumes in cropping systems. A novel assessment framework was developed and applied in five case study regions across Europe with the objective of evaluating trade-offs between economic and environmental effects of integrating legumes into cropping systems. Legumes resulted in positive and negative impacts when integrated into various cropping systems across the case studies. On average, cropping systems with legumes reduced nitrous oxide emissions by 18 % and 33 % and N fertilizer use by 24 % and 38 % in arable and forage systems, respectively, compared to systems without legumes. Nitrate leaching was similar with and without legumes in arable systems and reduced by 22 % in forage systems. However, grain legumes reduced gross margins in 3 of 5 regions. Forage legumes increased gross margins in 3 of 3 regions. Among the cropping systems with legumes, systems could be identified that had both relatively high economic returns and positive environmental impacts. Thus, increasing the cultivation of legumes could lead to economic competitive cropping systems and positive environmental impacts, but achieving this aim requires the development of novel management strategies informed by the involvement of advisors and farmers.

  9. Agro-Forestry system in West Africa: integrating a green solution to cope with soil depletion towards agricultural sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monteiro, Filipa; Vidigal, Patricia; Romeiras, Maria Manuel; Ribeiro, Ana; Abreu, Maria Manuela; Viegas, Wanda; Catarino, Luís

    2017-04-01

    During the last decades, agriculture in West Africa has been marked by dramatic shifts with the coverage of single crops, increasing pressure over the available arable land. Yet, West African countries are still striving to achieve sustainable production at an increased scale for global market needs. Market-driven rapid intensification is often a major cause for cropland area expansion at the expense of deforestation and soil degradation, especially to export commodities in times of high prices. Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is nowadays an important export-oriented crop, being produced under intensive cultivation regimes in several tropical regions. Particularly, among the main cashew production areas, West Africa is the most recent and dynamic in the world, accounting for 45% of the world cashew nuts production in 2015. Considering its global market values, several developing countries rely on cashew nuts as national economy revenues, namely in Guinea-Bissau. Considering the intensive regime of cashew production in Guinea-Bissau, and as widely recognized, intensive agriculture linked with extensification can negatively impact ecosystems, affecting natural resources availability, soil erosion and arability compromised by excessive salinity. Ultimately this will result in the disruption of carbon - nitrogen cycle, important to the agricultural ecosystem sustainability. As such, tree intercropped with legumes as cover crops, offers a sustainable management of the land area, thus creating substantial benefits both economically and environmentally, as it enhances diversification of products outputs and proving to be more sustainable than forestry and/or agricultural monocultures. Soil fertility improvement is a key entry point for achieving food security, and also increment agriculture commodities of the agro-system. Without using inorganic fertilizers, the green solution for improving soil management is to incorporate adapted multi-purpose legumes as cover crops

  10. Integrated Soil, Water and Nutrient Management for Sustainable Rice–Wheat Cropping Systems in Asia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2016-08-01

    The rice-wheat system is a predominant cropping system in Asia providing food, employment and income, ensuring the livelihoods of about 1 billion of resource poor rural and urban people. However, the productivity of the current rice-wheat systems is seriously threatened by increasing land degradation and scarcity of water and labour, inefficient cropping practices and other emerging socio economic and environmental drivers. Responding to the need to develop alternate crop establishment methods and improved cropping practices, this publication summarizes the results from a joint FAO/IAEA coordinated research project on optimizing productivity and sustainability of rice-wheat cropping systems. It provides relevant information on how to modify existing water and nutrient management systems and improve soil management in both traditional and emerging crop establishment methods for sustainable intensification of cereal production in Asia

  11. Abandonment and expansion of arable land in Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hatna, E.; Bakker, M.M.

    2011-01-01

    Abandonment of arable land is often assumed to happen mostly in marginal areas where the conditions for arable cultivation are relatively unfavorable, whereas arable expansion is expected to occur mostly in areas with favorable conditions. This assumption, used in many land-use change forecasts, was

  12. Exploring profit - Sustainability trade-offs in cropping systems using evolutionary algorithms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    DeVoil, P.; Rossing, W.A.H.; Hammer, G.L.

    2006-01-01

    Models that implement the bio-physical components of agro-ecosystems are ideally suited for exploring sustainability issues in cropping systems. Sustainability may be represented as a number of objectives to be maximised or minimised. However, the full decision space of these objectives is usually

  13. The role of leguminous cover crops in sustainable production of oil ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Leguminous cover crops have the potential for obtaining high and sustainable crop yields. They have been shown to play an important role in weed suppression, nutrition, growth and yield of oil palm. They also play an important role in soil erosion control and soil moisture conservation in plantations. The development of ...

  14. Fallow land mapping for better crop monitoring in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain using HJ-1 CCD data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Miao; Wu, Bingfang; Meng, Jihua; Dong, Taifeng; You, Xingzhi

    2014-01-01

    The prediction of grain production is essential for socio-economic development planning, guidance and control of macro cropping structure adjustment. Fallow areas should be identified each growing season which is critical for grain production prediction. This paper focuses on fallow arable land monitoring during summer grain season in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain using China Environment Satellite HJ-1 CCD data. With the two satellites HJ-1A and HJ-1B, high temporal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) can be obtained. HJ-1 CCD data were acquired from early March to early June in 2010 over the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. Multi-temporal HJ-1 CCD data were pre-processed and time series of NDVI were derived. An algorithm for separating cropped and fallow areas was developed based on three key periods of NDVI in early-March, mid-April and mid-May, 2010. The influence of fallow arable lands to yield estimation and crop condition monitoring over the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain were also investigated and analyzed. Preliminary results in this paper showed that HJ-1 CCD data are capable for fallow land monitoring. Information of fallow arable lands is an essential part of crop monitoring and it should be incorporated into crop monitoring systems. In the future, the fallow lands over autumn grain season should also be identified and information of fallow arable lands should be generated yearly in order to get more reliable production prediction

  15. Traits to Ecosystems: The Ecological Sustainability Challenge When Developing Future Energy Crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weih, Martin; Hoeber, Stefanie; Beyer, Friderike; Fransson, Petra

    2014-01-01

    Today, we are undertaking great efforts to improve biomass production and quality traits of energy crops. Major motivation for developing those crops is based on environmental and ecological sustainability considerations, which however often are de-coupled from the trait-based crop improvement programs. It is now time to develop appropriate methods to link crop traits to production system characteristics set by the plant and the biotic communities influencing it; and to the ecosystem processes affecting ecological sustainability. The relevant ecosystem processes involve the net productivity in terms of biomass and energy yields, the depletion of energy-demanding resources (e.g., nitrogen, N), the carbon dynamics in soil and atmosphere, and the resilience and temporal stability of the production system. In a case study, we compared aspects of N use efficiency in various varieties of an annual (spring wheat) and perennial (Salix) energy crop grown under two nutrient regimes in Sweden. For example, we found considerable variation among crops, varieties, and nutrient regimes in the energy yield per plant-internal N (megajoule per gram per year), which would result in different N resource depletion per unit energy produced.

  16. Traits to Ecosystems: The Ecological Sustainability Challenge When Developing Future Energy Crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weih, Martin, E-mail: martin.weih@slu.se; Hoeber, Stefanie; Beyer, Friderike [Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden); Fransson, Petra [Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden)

    2014-05-22

    Today, we are undertaking great efforts to improve biomass production and quality traits of energy crops. Major motivation for developing those crops is based on environmental and ecological sustainability considerations, which however often are de-coupled from the trait-based crop improvement programs. It is now time to develop appropriate methods to link crop traits to production system characteristics set by the plant and the biotic communities influencing it; and to the ecosystem processes affecting ecological sustainability. The relevant ecosystem processes involve the net productivity in terms of biomass and energy yields, the depletion of energy-demanding resources (e.g., nitrogen, N), the carbon dynamics in soil and atmosphere, and the resilience and temporal stability of the production system. In a case study, we compared aspects of N use efficiency in various varieties of an annual (spring wheat) and perennial (Salix) energy crop grown under two nutrient regimes in Sweden. For example, we found considerable variation among crops, varieties, and nutrient regimes in the energy yield per plant-internal N (megajoule per gram per year), which would result in different N resource depletion per unit energy produced.

  17. Water footprint of crop production for different crop structures in the Hebei southern plain, North China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Chu

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The North China Plain (NCP has a serious shortage of freshwater resources, and crop production consumes approximately 75 % of the region's water. To estimate water consumption of different crops and crop structures in the NCP, the Hebei southern plain (HSP was selected as a study area, as it is a typical region of groundwater overdraft in the NCP. In this study, the water footprint (WF of crop production, comprised of green, blue and grey water footprints, and its annual variation were analyzed. The results demonstrated the following: (1 the WF from the production of main crops was 41.8 km3 in 2012. Winter wheat, summer maize and vegetables were the top water-consuming crops in the HSP. The water footprint intensity (WFI of cotton was the largest, and for vegetables, it was the smallest; (2 the total WF, WFblue, WFgreen and WFgrey for 13 years (2000–2012 of crop production were 604.8, 288.5, 141.3 and 175.0 km3, respectively, with an annual downtrend from 2000 to 2012; (3 winter wheat, summer maize and vegetables consumed the most groundwater, and their blue water footprint (WFblue accounted for 74.2 % of the total WFblue in the HSP; (4 the crop structure scenarios analysis indicated that, with approximately 20 % of arable land cultivated with winter wheat–summer maize in rotation, 38.99 % spring maize, 10 % vegetables and 10 % fruiters, a sustainable utilization of groundwater resources can be promoted, and a sufficient supply of food, including vegetables and fruits, can be ensured in the HSP.

  18. Sustainability Assessment of Plant Protection Strategies in Swiss Winter Wheat and Potato Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrik Mouron

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Production of arable crops in Switzerland is subsidized for services performed within the Proof of Ecological Performance (PEP program, the crop protection part of which is based on IPM principles. Within PEP, chemical insect control must rely on those approved insecticides that are deemed harmless for beneficial arthropods. Approved insecticides potentially impacting beneficial arthropods may also be applied, but only if unavoidable and with an official permit. In order to assess the ecological and economic sustainability of this PEP program, a reference insecticide strategy illustrating the current PEP requirements was compared with other strategies. For this purpose, a sustainability assessment taking account of ecotoxicological risks and economic viability in addition to the preservation of beneficial arthropods was performed according to the SustainOS methodology. The results show that the one-off use of Audienz (spinosad to control cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus—a key pest in winter wheat—would significantly improve sustainability vis-à-vis the reference (Nomolt (teflubenzuron plus Biscaya (thiacloprid. However, in the case of the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata, in potato crops, where Audienz is considered the reference, no alternative would exhibit better sustainability. Moreover, the study shows that strategies using Novodor (Bacillus thuringiensis protect beneficial species well but have the drawbacks of increased yield risk and higher costs. The conclusions drawn from these analyses allow recommendations for modifications of the PEP requirements for these two pest insects. The SustainOS methodology, a multi-step process combining expert knowledge with quantitative assessments including a sensitivity analysis of key target parameters and a rule-based aggregation of assessment results, yielded valuable insights into the sustainability of different crop protection strategies.

  19. Turning the aquatic weed Azolla into a sustainable crop

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brouwer, P.

    2017-01-01

    Growing worldwide demands for food, energy and chemicals threatens natural ecosystems and global climate. Plants are crucial for food production, but may also be used to produce sustainable energy and materials. Hereto novel crops are sought with high productivity per hectare, whilst requiring

  20. Root and soil carbon distribution at shoulderslope and footslope positions of temperate toposequences cropped to winter wheat

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chirinda, Ngoni; Roncossek, Svenja Doreen; Heckrath, Goswin Johann

    2014-01-01

    Crop root residues are an important source of soil organic carbon (SOC) in arable systems. However, the spatial distribution of root biomass in arable systems remains largely unknown. In this study, we determined the spatial distribution of macro-root and shoot biomass of winter wheat at shoulder...

  1. Mapping of Rill Erosion of Arable Soils Based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashtanov, A. N.; Vernyuk, Yu. I.; Savin, I. Yu.; Shchepot'ev, V. V.; Dokukin, P. A.; Sharychev, D. V.; Li, K. A.

    2018-04-01

    Possibilities of using data obtained from unmanned aerial vehicles for detection and mapping of rill erosion on arable lands are analyzed. Identification and mapping of rill erosion was performed on a key plot with a predominance of arable gray forest soils (Greyzemic Phaeozems) under winter wheat in Tula oblast. This plot was surveyed from different heights and in different periods to determine the reliability of identification of rill erosion on the basis of automated procedures in a GIS. It was found that, despite changes in the pattern of rills during the warm season, only one survey during this season is sufficient for adequate assessment of the area of eroded soils. According to our data, the most reliable identification of rill erosion is based on the aerial survey from the height of 50 m above the soil surface. When the height of the flight is more than 200 m, erosional rills virtually escape identification. The efficiency of identification depends on the type of crops, their status, and time of the survey. The surveys of bare soil surface in periods with maximum possible interval from the previous rain or snowmelt season are most efficient. The results of our study can be used in the systems of remote sensing monitoring of erosional processes on arable fields. Application of multiand hyperspectral cameras can improve the efficiency of monitoring.

  2. Potential conflict between the coal and arable land resources in australia: A case for corporate responsiveness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langkamp, Peter J.

    1985-01-01

    Background information on possible surface-coal-mining operations in arable agricultural areas in Australia is provided. The major co-occurrence of the coal and arable land resources was in the Darling Downs region of Queensland and the Liverpool Plains region of New South Wales; however, coal development will probably only occur in the former region over the next decade. Analysis of the situation in the Darling Downs region, which consists of 11 Shires, found five companies conducting prefeasibility projects for surface-coal development and the size of exploration areas concerned far exceeding final mined-land disturbance estimates. Most of the land included in the prefeasibility studies was classified as “arable with moderate crop restrictions requiring intensive management” (classes II IV). The total area of land that may be disturbed at some time in the future was less than 2% of the arable land in the Shires concerned. Project mutual exclusivity and ongoing rehabilitation of disturbed areas further reduce arable land out of production at any one time. It is suggested that, if self-regulation by the coal industry in Australia on rehabilitation issues is to remain a viable option in these areas, an understanding between the corporate and public sectors on the extent and limitations of its responsibilities must be obtained. The current development of a National Conservation Strategy for Australia should assist this to proceed. Research on various rehabilitation issues may be required prior to project commitment to ensure the responsibilities identified are realizable. Integrative problem-solving, incorporating audit procedures, was suggested as a suitable method to achieve these aims and corporate responsiveness was seen as a necessary first step.

  3. Can Arable Land Alone Ensure Food Security? The Concept of Arable Land Equivalent Unit and Its Implications in Zhoushan City, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongzhong Tan

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The requisition–compensation balance of farmlands (RCBF is a strict Chinese policy that aims to ensure food security. However, the process of supplementing arable land has substantially damaged the ecological environment through the blind development of grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands to supplement arable land. Can arable land alone ensure food security? To answer this question, this study introduced the concepts of arable land equivalent unit (ALEU and food equivalent unit (FEU based on the idea of food security. Zhoushan City in Zhejiang Province, China was selected as the research area. This study analyzed the ALEU supply and demand capabilities in the study area and presented the corresponding policy implications for the RCBF improvement. The results showed that the proportion of ALEU from arable land and waters for aquaculture is from 46:54 in 2009 to 31:69 in 2015, thereby suggesting that aquaculture waters can also be important in food security. Under three different living standards (i.e., adequate food and clothing, well-off, and affluence, ALEU from arable land can barely meet the needs of the permanent resident population in the study area. However, ALEU from aquaculture waters can provide important supplementation. Therefore, we suggest that food supply capability from land types other than the arable land be taken seriously. Furthermore, RCBF can be improved with ALEU as core of the balance.

  4. Even the smallest non-crop habitat islands could be beneficial: distribution of carabid beetles and spiders in agricultural landscape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knapp, Michal; Řezáč, Milan

    2015-01-01

    Carabid beetles and ground-dwelling spiders inhabiting agroecosystems are beneficial organisms with a potential to control pest species. Intensification of agricultural management and reduction of areas covered by non-crop vegetation during recent decades in some areas has led to many potentially serious environmental problems including a decline in the diversity and abundance of beneficial arthropods in agricultural landscapes. This study investigated carabid beetle and spider assemblages in non-crop habitat islands of various sizes (50 to 18,000 square metres) within one large field, as well as the arable land within the field, using pitfall traps in two consecutive sampling periods (spring to early summer and peak summer). The non-crop habitat islands situated inside arable land hosted many unique ground-dwelling arthropod species that were not present within the surrounding arable land. Even the smallest non-crop habitat islands with areas of tens of square metres were inhabited by assemblages substantially different from these inhabiting arable land and thus enhanced the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes. The non-crop habitat area substantially affected the activity density, recorded species richness and recorded species composition of carabid and ground-dwelling spider assemblages; however, the effects were weakened when species specialised to non-crop habitats species were analysed separately. Interestingly, recorded species richness of spiders increased with non-crop habitat area, whereas recorded species richness of carabid beetles exhibited an opposite trend. There was substantial temporal variation in the spatial distribution of ground-dwelling arthropods, and contrasting patterns were observed for particular taxa (carabid beetles and spiders). In general, local environmental conditions (i.e., non-crop habitat island tree cover, shrub cover, grass cover and litter depth) were better determinants of arthropod assemblages than non-crop habitat island

  5. Innovation and Diffusion of Site-specific Crop Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Søren Marcus; Pedersen, Jørgen Lindgaard

    2006-01-01

    Site-specific crop management or precision farming is a highly complex managementsystem for site-specific input application of lime, fertilizers and pesticides in arable farming. The Global Positioning System (GPS)is the backbone of the system. To conduct precision farming several technical systems...

  6. Innovation and diffusion of site-specific crop management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Søren Marcus; Pedersen, Jørgen Lindgaard

    2004-01-01

    Site-specific crop management or precision farming (PF) is a highly complex management system for site-specific input application of lime, fertilizers and pesticides in arable farming. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the backbone of the system. To conduct PF several technical systems...

  7. Nitrate leaching from organic and conventional crop production farms

    OpenAIRE

    Olesen, J.E.; Berntsen, J.; Petersen, B.M.; Kristensen, I.S.

    2004-01-01

    Farm accounting data from the Institute of Food Economics and from Central Agricultural Registers in Denmark were used to define the import of nitrogen (N) to farmed fields on conventional and organic arable farms to 129 and 51 kg N ha-1 yr-1, respectively. Based on the recorded distribution of crops, a generalised crop rotation was defined for each of the two farming systems. The crop rotation for the organic farm had a high share of spring cereals and additionally 20% grass-clover in the ro...

  8. Crop diversity for yield increase.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chengyun Li

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Traditional farming practices suggest that cultivation of a mixture of crop species in the same field through temporal and spatial management may be advantageous in boosting yields and preventing disease, but evidence from large-scale field testing is limited. Increasing crop diversity through intercropping addresses the problem of increasing land utilization and crop productivity. In collaboration with farmers and extension personnel, we tested intercropping of tobacco, maize, sugarcane, potato, wheat and broad bean--either by relay cropping or by mixing crop species based on differences in their heights, and practiced these patterns on 15,302 hectares in ten counties in Yunnan Province, China. The results of observation plots within these areas showed that some combinations increased crop yields for the same season between 33.2 and 84.7% and reached a land equivalent ratio (LER of between 1.31 and 1.84. This approach can be easily applied in developing countries, which is crucial in face of dwindling arable land and increasing food demand.

  9. Genetic Engineering and Sustainable Crop Disease Management: Opportunities for Case-by-Case Decision-Making

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Vincelli

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Genetic engineering (GE offers an expanding array of strategies for enhancing disease resistance of crop plants in sustainable ways, including the potential for reduced pesticide usage. Certain GE applications involve transgenesis, in some cases creating a metabolic pathway novel to the GE crop. In other cases, only cisgenessis is employed. In yet other cases, engineered genetic changes can be so minimal as to be indistinguishable from natural mutations. Thus, GE crops vary substantially and should be evaluated for risks, benefits, and social considerations on a case-by-case basis. Deployment of GE traits should be with an eye towards long-term sustainability; several options are discussed. Selected risks and concerns of GE are also considered, along with genome editing, a technology that greatly expands the capacity of molecular biologists to make more precise and targeted genetic edits. While GE is merely a suite of tools to supplement other breeding techniques, if wisely used, certain GE tools and applications can contribute to sustainability goals.

  10. Assessing the sustainability of wheat-based cropping systems using APSIM: Model parameterisation and evaluation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moeller, C.; Pala, M.; Manschadi, A.M.; Meinke, H.B.; Sauerborn, J.

    2007-01-01

    Assessing the sustainability of crop and soil management practices in wheat-based rotations requires a well-tested model with the demonstrated ability to sensibly predict crop productivity and changes in the soil resource. The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) suite of models was

  11. About the value of species diversity in arable weeds for weed management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerowitt, Bärbel

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Arable weeds accompany arable land use – we define them based on their affiliation to ar able systems. They are adapted to such a degree that most of them cannot exist without arable land use. Weeds are part of the total biodiversity on arable fields, as primary producers they are basic for important functions within the ecosystem. This paper elaborates the relevance of species diversity in arable weeds for their management. Arable systems can be regarded for the number of different methods for preventive and direct weed control which are realized. Historical arable land use is roughly divided into three periods, which differ concerning the diversity of weed management and the occurring diversity in weed species. Obviously divers weed management in arable systems and diversity in weed species depend on each other, this is illustrated with a simple abstract picture. Arable systems, which are characterised by simpleness, favor the domination of few species which ensure an effective use of the resources within the ecosystem. One consequence under continuous pressure of an overused tool in weed management is that the genetic diversity within a dominating weed population is exploited to ensure this resource use. Current herbicides represent this tool – the results are herbicide resistant biotypes within the weed populations. Species diversity in arable weeds as a rationale within arable production can assist to prevent this development.

  12. Using membrane transporters to improve crops for sustainable food production

    Science.gov (United States)

    With the global population predicted to grow by at least 25% by 2050, the need for sustainable production of nutritious foods is critical for human and environmental well-being. Recent advances show that specialized plant membrane transporters can be utilized to enhance yields of staple crops, incre...

  13. Sustainable crop intensification through surface water irrigation in Bangladesh? A geospatial assessment of landscape-scale production potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krupnik, Timothy J; Schulthess, Urs; Ahmed, Zia Uddin; McDonald, Andrew J

    2017-01-01

    Changing dietary preferences and population growth in South Asia have resulted in increasing demand for wheat and maize, along side high and sustained demand for rice. In the highly productive northwestern Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia, farmers utilize groundwater irrigation to assure that at least two of these crops are sequenced on the same field within the same year. Such double cropping has had a significant and positive influence on regional agricultural productivity. But in the risk-prone and food insecure lower Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP), cropping is less intensive. During the dryer winter months, arable land is frequently fallowed or devoted to lower yielding rainfed legumes. Seeing opportunity to boost cereals production, particularly for rice, donors and land use policy makers have consequently reprioritized agricultural development investments in this impoverished region. Tapping groundwater for irrigation and intensified double cropping, however, is unlikely to be economically viable or environmentally sound in the EIGP. Constraints include saline shallow water tables and the prohibitively high installation and energetic extraction costs from deeper freshwater aquifers. The network of largely underutilized rivers and natural canals in the EIGP could conversely be tapped to provide less energetically and economically costly surface water irrigation (SWI). This approach is now championed by the Government of Bangladesh, which has requested USD 500 million from donors to implement land and water use policies to facilitate SWI and double cropping. Precise geospatial assessment of where freshwater flows are most prominent, or where viable fallow or low production intensity cropland is most common, however remains lacking. In response, we used remotely sensed data to identify agricultural land, detect the temporal availability of freshwater in rivers and canals, and assess crop production intensity over a three-year study period in a 33,750

  14. Quantifying biomass production in crops grown for energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bullard, M J; Christian, D; Wilkins, C

    1997-12-31

    One estimate suggests that continued CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) reform may lead to as much as 2 million hectares of land set aside from arable production by the year 2020 in the UK alone, with 20 million hectares in the EU in total. Set-aside currently occupies more than 500,000 hectares in the UK. Set-aside land is providing more opportunities for non-food crops, for example fuel crops, which provide biomass for energy. Whilst any crop species will produce biomass which can be burnt to produce energy, arable crops were not developed with this in mind but rather a specific harvestable commodity, e.g. grain, and therefore the total harvestable commodity is seldom maximised. The characteristics of an ideal fuel crop have been identified as: dry harvested material for efficient combustion; perennial growth to minimise establishment costs and lengthen the growing season; good disease resistance; efficient conversion of solar radiation to biomass energy; efficient use of nitrogen fertiliser (where required) and water; and yield close to the theoretical maximum. Miscanthus, a genus of Oriental and African C4 perennial grasses, has been identified as possessing the above characteristics. There may be other species, which, if not yielding quite as much biomass, have other characteristics of merit. This has led to the need to identify inherently productive species which are adapted to the UK, and to validate the productivity of species which have already been 'discovered'. (author)

  15. Quantifying biomass production in crops grown for energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bullard, M.J.; Christian, D.; Wilkins, C.

    1996-12-31

    One estimate suggests that continued CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) reform may lead to as much as 2 million hectares of land set aside from arable production by the year 2020 in the UK alone, with 20 million hectares in the EU in total. Set-aside currently occupies more than 500,000 hectares in the UK. Set-aside land is providing more opportunities for non-food crops, for example fuel crops, which provide biomass for energy. Whilst any crop species will produce biomass which can be burnt to produce energy, arable crops were not developed with this in mind but rather a specific harvestable commodity, e.g. grain, and therefore the total harvestable commodity is seldom maximised. The characteristics of an ideal fuel crop have been identified as: dry harvested material for efficient combustion; perennial growth to minimise establishment costs and lengthen the growing season; good disease resistance; efficient conversion of solar radiation to biomass energy; efficient use of nitrogen fertiliser (where required) and water; and yield close to the theoretical maximum. Miscanthus, a genus of Oriental and African C4 perennial grasses, has been identified as possessing the above characteristics. There may be other species, which, if not yielding quite as much biomass, have other characteristics of merit. This has led to the need to identify inherently productive species which are adapted to the UK, and to validate the productivity of species which have already been 'discovered'. (author)

  16. Asymmetries of cattle and crop productivity and efficiency during Brazil’s agricultural expansion from 1975 to 2006

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerd Sparovek

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Brazil has global importance for food production and conservation of natural resources. The country has plans to increase yields and commitments to decrease deforestation that require higher productivity. Plans and policies for the growth of Brazilian agriculture, however, have been made without an integrated analysis of the harvest and not supported by a universal metric regarding its efficiency. Applying methods to model flows of energy and matter along food supply chains for agricultural production from 1975 to 2006, we found that crop and cattle harvests and their productivity have increased during the last four decades in consolidated and deforestation frontier regions. Yet in 2006, crop protein production was 20 times larger than cattle protein, using an area 2.6 times smaller than pastures. Crop protein productivity was 0.25 ton.ha–1 with emissions of 2 ton GHG per ton of protein, while cattle productivity was 0.01 ton.ha–1 with emissions of 283 ton GHG per ton of protein. From 1975 to 2006, the portion of crop protein and energy going to feed increased while the portion going to direct human consumption decreased. Our findings suggest that more efficient food systems would be achieved by a combination of intensification of cattle systems, optimization of feed-meat systems and an increase in the share of the consumption of crops as a source of protein. We suggest an initial road map to the expansion of the cultivated area and intensification of agriculture for zero deforestation, efficient and sustainable land use and food systems where cattle pasture intensification is a transition that will last until the expansion of crops replace all pasture present on suitable arable land. During this transition, pasture area will decrease until it is limited only to marginal non-arable lands. Such change could be achieved by a robust strategy that combines penalties and incentives and prevents the risks of a rebound effect for the

  17. Feeding nine billion: the challenge to sustainable crop production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory, Peter J; George, Timothy S

    2011-11-01

    In the recent past there was a widespread working assumption in many countries that problems of food production had been solved, and that food security was largely a matter of distribution and access to be achieved principally by open markets. The events of 2008 challenged these assumptions, and made public a much wider debate about the costs of current food production practices to the environment and whether these could be sustained. As in the past 50 years, it is anticipated that future increases in crop production will be achieved largely by increasing yields per unit area rather than by increasing the area of cropped land. However, as yields have increased, so the ratio of photosynthetic energy captured to energy expended in crop production has decreased. This poses a considerable challenge: how to increase yield while simultaneously reducing energy consumption (allied to greenhouse gas emissions) and utilizing resources such as water and phosphate more efficiently. Given the timeframe in which the increased production has to be realized, most of the increase will need to come from crop genotypes that are being bred now, together with known agronomic and management practices that are currently under-developed.

  18. A site-specific slurry application technique on grassland and on arable crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schellberg, Jürgen; Lock, Reiner

    2009-01-01

    There is evidence that unequal slurry application on agricultural land contributes to N losses to the environment. Heterogeneity within fields demands adequate response by means of variable rate application. A technique is presented which allows site-specific application of slurry on grassland and arable land based on pre-defined application maps. The system contains a valve controlling flow rate by an on-board PC. During operation, flow rate is measured and scaled against set point values given in the application map together with the geographic position of the site. The systems worked sufficiently precise at a flow rate between 0 and 25 l s(-1) and an offset of actual slurry flow from set point values between 0.33 and 0.67 l s(-1). Long-term experimentation is required to test if site-specific application de facto reduces N surplus within fields and so significantly contributes to the unloading of N in agricultural areas.

  19. Crop diversification can contribute to disease risk control in sustainable biofuels production

    OpenAIRE

    Smith, VH; McBride, RC; Shurin, JB; Bever, JD; Crews, TE; Tilman, GD

    2015-01-01

    © The Ecological Society of America. Global demand for transportation fuels will increase rapidly during the upcoming decades, and concerns about fossil-fuel consumption have stimulated research on renewable biofuels that can be sustainably produced from biological feedstocks. However, if unchecked, pathogens and parasites are likely to infect these cultivated biofuel feedstocks, greatly reducing crop yields and potentially threatening the sustainability of renewable bioenergy production effo...

  20. Management of crop residues for sustainable crop production. Results of a co-ordinated research project 1996-2001

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-05-01

    Since ancient times, farmers have recognized the importance of organic matter inputs to enhance crop yields. Organic matter contributes to plant growth through beneficial effects on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil, including (i) provision of a carbon and energy source for soil microbes, (ii) improvement of soil aggregation, thus reducing the hazard of erosion, (iii) retaining of nutrients and water, (iv) provision of nutrients through decomposition, and (v) reduction of soil compaction. The amount of soil organic matter is controlled by the balance between additions of plant and animal materials and losses by decomposition. Both additions and losses are directly affected by management practices. This CRP supported national efforts in eleven Member States to identify options managing crop residues for sustainable agricultural production and environmental preservation in a wide range of soils and cropping systems. Various options for the recycling of crop residues that are sustainable and economically attractive to farmers were examined using isotopic techniques. The specific options of this CRP were: to increase the quantity of nutrients available to crops from organic sources and for more effective recycling of those nutrients; to enhance the efficiency of use of nutrients by crops, and minimize losses through improved synchrony between process-level understanding of carbon and nutrient flow through the use of isotopic techniques so that management recommendations can be extrapolated to a wide range of environments using models. A simple mathematical model, descriptive in nature, was developed to synthesize information collected from all experimental sites, allowing comparisons between treatments and sites. Most of the fertilizer N was lost during the first cropping season and only insignificant losses occurred in the following seasons. The losses of N from applied fertilizer ranged from 45 to 85% irrespective of crop

  1. Enhanced Yields in Organic Arable Crop Production by Eco-Functional Intensification using Intercropping

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Erik Steen; Bedoussac, Laurent; Carlsson, Georg

    2015-01-01

    for enhancing yields in OA. EFI involves activating more knowledge and intensifying the beneficial effects of ecosystem functions, including agrobiodiversity (planned and associated) and soil fertility, and refocusing the importance of ecosystems services in agriculture. Organic farmers manage agrobiodiversity...... in space by intercropping, fitted into the organic crop rotation, has a strong potential to increase yield and hereby reduce the global environmental effects performance such as GHG per kg organic grain. Finally, we discuss likely barriers for increased use of intercropping in organic farming and suggest...... by planned crop diversification in time (crop rotation). However, cultivating genetically identical plants in OA sole crops (SC), limits resource use efficiency and yield per unit area. Intercropping (IC) of annual species or cultivars, perennial polycultures of forage or grain crops and agroforestry...

  2. Vulnerability of grain crops and croplands in the Midwest to climatic variability and adaptation strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Gylcine max (L.) Merr.) are the dominant grain crops across the Midwest and are grown on 75% of the arable land with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and oats (Avena sativa L.) small but economically important crops. Historically there have been variations in annual yiel...

  3. Complementary crops and landscape features sustain wild bee communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins, Kyle T; Albert, Cécile H; Lechowicz, Martin J; Gonzalez, Andrew

    2018-06-01

    Wild bees, which are important for commercial pollination, depend on floral and nesting resources both at farms and in the surrounding landscape. Mass-flowering crops are only in bloom for a few weeks and unable to support bee populations that persist throughout the year. Farm fields and orchards that flower in succession potentially can extend the availability of floral resources for pollinators. However, it is unclear whether the same bee species or genera will forage from one crop to the next, which bees specialize on particular crops, and to what degree inter-crop visitation patterns will be mediated by landscape context. We therefore studied local- and landscape-level drivers of bee diversity and species turnover in apple orchards, blueberry fields, and raspberry fields that bloom sequentially in southern Quebec, Canada. Despite the presence of high bee species turnover, orchards and small fruit fields complemented each other phenologically by supporting two bee genera essential to their pollination: mining bees (Andrena spp.) and bumble bees (Bombus spp.). A number of bee species specialized on apple, blueberry, or raspberry blossoms, suggesting that all three crops could be used to promote regional bee diversity. Bee diversity (rarefied richness, wild bee abundance) was highest across crops in landscapes containing hedgerows, meadows, and suburban areas that provide ancillary nesting and floral resources throughout the spring and summer. Promoting phenological complementarity in floral resources at the farmstead and landscape scales is essential to sustaining diverse wild bee populations. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

  4. Crop residue is key for sustaining maximum food production and for conservation of our biosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crop residue is key in our efforts to move towards agricultural sustainability. This paper provides a quick overview of some selected references and looks at some of the newest advances related to cover crops. Several authors have described in detail the benefits derived from improving soil quality ...

  5. The role of short-rotation woody crops in sustainable development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shepard, J.P.; Tolbert, V.R.

    1996-01-01

    One answer to increase wood production is by increasing management intensity on existing timberland, especially in plantation forests. Another is to convert land currently in agriculture to timberland. Short-rotation woody crops can be used in both cases. But, what are the environmental consequences? Short-rotation woody crops can provide a net improvement in environmental quality at both local and global scales. Conversion of agricultural land to short-rotation woody crops can provide the most environmental quality enhancement by reducing erosion, improving soil quality, decreasing runoff, improving groundwater quality, and providing better wildlife habitat. Forest products companies can use increased production from intensively managed short-rotation woody crop systems to offset decreased yield from the portion of their timberland that is managed less intensively, e.g. streamside management zones and other ecologically sensitive or unique areas. At the global scale, use of short-rotation woody crops for bioenergy is part of the solution to reduce greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels. Incorporating short-rotation woody crops into the agricultural landscape also increases storage of carbon in the soil, thus reducing atmospheric concentrations. In addition, use of wood instead of alternatives such as steel, concrete, and plastics generally consumes less energy and produces less greenhouse gases. Cooperative research can be used to achieve energy, fiber, and environmental goals. This paper will highlight several examples of ongoing cooperative research projects that seek to enhance the environmental aspects of short-rotation woody crop systems. Government, industry, and academia are conducting research to study soil quality, use of mill residuals, nutrients in runoff and groundwater, and wildlife use of short-rotation woody crop systems in order to assure the role of short-rotation crops as a sustainable way of meeting society's needs

  6. Modelling soil borne fungal pathogens of arable crops under climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manici, L M; Bregaglio, S; Fumagalli, D; Donatelli, M

    2014-12-01

    Soil-borne fungal plant pathogens, agents of crown and root rot, are seldom considered in studies on climate change and agriculture due both to the complexity of the soil system and to the incomplete knowledge of their response to environmental drivers. A controlled chamber set of experiments was carried out to quantify the response of six soil-borne fungi to temperature, and a species-generic model to simulate their response was developed. The model was linked to a soil temperature model inclusive of components able to simulate soil water content also as resulting from crop water uptake. Pathogen relative growth was simulated over Europe using the IPCC A1B emission scenario derived from the Hadley-CM3 global climate model. Climate scenarios of soil temperature in 2020 and 2030 were compared to the baseline centred in the year 2000. The general trend of the response of soil-borne pathogens shows increasing growth in the coldest areas of Europe; however, a larger rate of increase is shown from 2020 to 2030 compared to that of 2000 to 2020. Projections of pathogens of winter cereals indicate a marked increase of growth rate in the soils of northern European and Baltic states. Fungal pathogens of spring sowing crops show unchanged conditions for their growth in soils of the Mediterranean countries, whereas an increase of suitable conditions was estimated for the areals of central Europe which represent the coldest limit areas where the host crops are currently grown. Differences across fungal species are shown, indicating that crop-specific analyses should be ran.

  7. From the Academy: Colloquium perspective. Toward cropping systems that enhance productivity and sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, R James

    2006-12-05

    The defining features of any cropping system are (i) the crop rotation and (ii) the kind or intensity of tillage. The trend worldwide starting in the late 20th century has been (i) to specialize competitively in the production of two, three, a single, or closely related crops such as different market classes of wheat and barley, and (ii) to use direct seeding, also known as no-till, to cut costs and save soil, time, and fuel. The availability of glyphosate- and insect-resistant varieties of soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola has helped greatly to address weed and insect pest pressures favored by direct seeding these crops. However, little has been done through genetics and breeding to address diseases caused by residue- and soil-inhabiting pathogens that remain major obstacles to wider adoption of these potentially more productive and sustainable systems. Instead, the gains have been due largely to innovations in management, including enhancement of root defense by antibiotic-producing rhizosphere-inhabiting bacteria inhibitory to root pathogens. Historically, new varieties have facilitated wider adoption of new management, and changes in management have facilitated wider adoption of new varieties. Although actual yields may be lower in direct-seed compared with conventional cropping systems, largely due to diseases, the yield potential is higher because of more available water and increases in soil organic matter. Achieving the full production potential of these more-sustainable cropping systems must now await the development of varieties adapted to or resistant to the hazards shown to account for the yield depressions associated with direct seeding.

  8. Harnessing Genetic Diversity of Wild Gene Pools to Enhance Wheat Crop Production and Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla Ceoloni

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Wild species are extremely rich resources of useful genes not available in the cultivated gene pool. For species providing staple food to mankind, such as the cultivated Triticum species, including hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum, 6x and tetraploid durum wheat (T. durum, 4x, widening the genetic base is a priority and primary target to cope with the many challenges that the crop has to face. These include recent climate changes, as well as actual and projected demographic growth, contrasting with reduction of arable land and water reserves. All of these environmental and societal modifications pose major constraints to the required production increase in the wheat crop. A sustainable approach to address this task implies resorting to non-conventional breeding strategies, such as “chromosome engineering”. This is based on cytogenetic methodologies, which ultimately allow for the incorporation into wheat chromosomes of targeted, and ideally small, chromosomal segments from the genome of wild relatives, containing the gene(s of interest. Chromosome engineering has been successfully applied to introduce into wheat genes/QTL for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, quality attributes, and even yield-related traits. In recent years, a substantial upsurge in effective alien gene exploitation for wheat improvement has come from modern technologies, including use of molecular markers, molecular cytogenetic techniques, and sequencing, which have greatly expanded our knowledge and ability to finely manipulate wheat and alien genomes. Examples will be provided of various types of stable introgressions, including pyramiding of different alien genes/QTL, into the background of bread and durum wheat genotypes, representing valuable materials for both species to respond to the needed novelty in current and future breeding programs. Challenging contexts, such as that inherent to the 4x nature of durum wheat when compared to 6x bread wheat, or

  9. Phosphate fertilisers and management for sustainable crop production in tropical acid soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chien, S.H.; Friesen, D.K.

    2000-01-01

    Extensive research has been conducted over the past 25 years on the management of plant nutrients, especially N and P, for crop production on acidic infertile tropical soils. Under certain conditions, the use of indigenous phosphate rock (PR) and modified PR products, such as partially acidulated PR or compacted mixtures of PR with superphosphates, are attractive alternatives, both agronomically and economically, to the use of conventional water-soluble P fertilisers for increasing crop productivity on Oxisols and Ultisols. A combination of the effects of proper P and N management including biological N 2 fixation, judicious use of lime, and the use of acid-soil tolerant and/or P-efficient cultivars in cropping systems that enhance nutrient cycling and use efficiency, can provide an effective technology to sustainably increase crop productivity and production in tropical agro-ecosystems dominated by these acid soils. (author)

  10. Effects of organic versus conventional arable farming on soil structure and organic matter dynamics in a marine loam in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pulleman, M.M.; Jongmans, A.G.; Marinissen, J.C.Y.; Bouma, J.

    2003-01-01

    We compared the effects of conventional and organic arable farming on soil organic matter (SOM) content, soil structure, aggregate stability and C and N mineralization, which are considered important factors in defining sustainable land management. Within one soil series, three different farming

  11. Towards domestication of Dimorphotheca pluvialis : studies on the genetic improvement of a potential oilseed crop for industrial applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hof, L.

    2000-01-01

    World-wide, but particularly in Western Europe and the USA, the interest in arable crops for non-food use has increased substantially over the past few decades. Surpluses of the major food crops and the industrial interest for renewable resources have led to research and development

  12. Distinct germination response of endangered and common arable weeds to reduced water potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rühl, A T; Eckstein, R L; Otte, A; Donath, T W

    2016-01-01

    Arable weeds are one of the most endangered species groups in Europe. Modern agriculture and intensive land-use management are the main causes of their dramatic decline. However, besides the changes in land use, climate change may further challenge the adaptability of arable weeds. Therefore, we investigated the response pattern of arable weeds to different water potential and temperature regimes during the phase of germination. We expected that endangered arable weeds would be more sensitive to differences in water availability and temperature than common arable weeds. To this end, we set up a climate chamber experiment where we exposed seeds of five familial pairs of common and endangered arable weed species to different temperatures (5/15, 10/20 °C) and water potentials (0.0 to -1.2 MPa). The results revealed a significant relationship between the reaction of arable weed species to water availability and their Red List status. The effects of reduced water availability on total germination, mean germination time and synchrony were significantly stronger in endangered than in common arable weeds. Therefore, global climate change may present a further threat to the survival of endangered arable weed species. © 2015 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  13. Crop 3D-a LiDAR based platform for 3D high-throughput crop phenotyping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Qinghua; Wu, Fangfang; Pang, Shuxin; Zhao, Xiaoqian; Chen, Linhai; Liu, Jin; Xue, Baolin; Xu, Guangcai; Li, Le; Jing, Haichun; Chu, Chengcai

    2018-03-01

    With the growing population and the reducing arable land, breeding has been considered as an effective way to solve the food crisis. As an important part in breeding, high-throughput phenotyping can accelerate the breeding process effectively. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is an active remote sensing technology that is capable of acquiring three-dimensional (3D) data accurately, and has a great potential in crop phenotyping. Given that crop phenotyping based on LiDAR technology is not common in China, we developed a high-throughput crop phenotyping platform, named Crop 3D, which integrated LiDAR sensor, high-resolution camera, thermal camera and hyperspectral imager. Compared with traditional crop phenotyping techniques, Crop 3D can acquire multi-source phenotypic data in the whole crop growing period and extract plant height, plant width, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, leaf inclination angle and other parameters for plant biology and genomics analysis. In this paper, we described the designs, functions and testing results of the Crop 3D platform, and briefly discussed the potential applications and future development of the platform in phenotyping. We concluded that platforms integrating LiDAR and traditional remote sensing techniques might be the future trend of crop high-throughput phenotyping.

  14. Crop Sequence Influences on Sustainable Spring Wheat Production in the Northern Great Plains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph M. Krupinsky

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Cropping systems in American agriculture are highly successful since World War II, but have become highly specialized, standardized, and simplified to meet the demands of an industrialized food system. Minimal attention has been given to the efficient exploitation of crop diversity and the synergistic and/or antagonistic relationships of crops in crop sequences. Objectives of our research were to determine if previous crop sequences have long-term benefits and/or drawbacks on spring wheat seed yield, seed N concentration, and seed precipitation-use efficiency in the semiarid northern Great Plains, USA. Research was conducted 6 km southwest of Mandan, ND using a 10 × 10 crop matrix technique as a research tool to evaluate multiple crop sequence effects on spring wheat (triticum aestivum L. production in 2004 and 2005. Spring wheat production risks can be mitigated when second year crop residue was dry pea (Pisium sativum L. averaged over all first year crop residues. When compared to spring wheat as second year crop residue in the dry year of 2004, dry pea as the second year residue crop resulted in a 30% spring wheat seed yield increase. Sustainable cropping systems need to use precipitation efficiently for crop production, especially during below average precipitation years like 2004. Precipitation use efficiency average over all treatments, during the below average precipitation year was 23% greater than the above average precipitation year of 2005. Diversifying crops in cropping systems improves production efficiencies and resilience of agricultural systems.

  15. Bioethanol production from crops - recent developments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dalton, Colin

    1992-01-01

    The author notes much higher rates of ethanol production in Brazil and the United States of America than in the European Economic Community. While bioethanol from arable crops makes environmental sense there is, at present, a sizeable difference between the value of fuel ethanol (Pound 100-130/t) and the cost of producing it (Pound 236-Pound 450/t). This gap could be remedied using excise duty. Farmers would like to change crop production but await a political initiative. The technology for bioethanol production still needs some fine tuning, with ETBE (an ether produced from reacting isobutylene with ethanol) being preferred to other methods. (UK)

  16. Plant adaptation to acid soils: the molecular basis for crop aluminum resistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aluminum (Al) toxicity on acid soils is a significant limitation to crop production worldwide, as approximately 50% of the world’s potentially arable soils are acidic. Because acid soils are such an important constraint to agriculture, understanding the mechanisms and genes conferring resistance to ...

  17. Weed vegetation ecology of arable land in Salalah, Southern Oman.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Sheikh, Mohamed A

    2013-07-01

    This paper applies multivariate statistical methods to a data set of weed relevés from arable fields in two different habitat types of coastal and mountainous escarpments in Southern Oman. The objectives were to test the effect of environmental gradients, crop plants and time on weed species composition, to rank the importance of these particular factors, and to describe the patterns of species composition and diversity associated with these factors. Through the application of TWINSPAN, DCA and CCA programs on data relating to 102 species recorded in 28 plots and farms distributed in the study area, six plant communities were identified: I- Dichanthium micranthum, II- Cynodon dactylon-D. micranthum, III- Convolvulus arvensis, IV- C. dactylon-Sonchus oleraceus, V- Amaranthus viridis and VI- Suaeda aegyptiaca-Achyranthes aspera. The ordination process (CCA) provided a sequence of plant communities and species diversity that correlated with some anthropogenic factors, physiographic variables and crop types. Therefore, length of time since farm construction, disturbance levels and altitude are the most important factors related to the occurrence of the species. The perennial species correlated with the more degraded mountain areas of new farm stands, whereas most of the annuals correlated with old lowland and less disturbed farms.

  18. Spatial patterns of soil organic carbon stocks in Estonian arable soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suuster, Elsa; Astover, Alar; Kõlli, Raimo; Roostalu, Hugo; Reintam, Endla; Penu, Priit

    2010-05-01

    Soil organic carbon (SOC) determines ecosystem functions, influencing soil fertility, soil physical, chemical and biological properties and crop productivity. Therefore the spatial pattern of SOC stocks and its appropriate management is important at various scales. Due to climate change and the contribution of carbon store in the soils, the national estimates of soil carbon stocks should be determined. Estonian soils have been well studied and mapped at a scale 1:10,000. Previous studies have estimated SOC stocks based on combinations of large groups of Estonian soils and the mean values of the soil profile database, but were not embedded into the geo-referenced databases. These studies have estimated SOC stocks of Estonian arable soils 122.3 Tg. Despite of available soil maps and databases, this information is still very poorly used for spatial soil modelling. The aim of current study is to assess and model spatial pattern of SOC stocks of arable soils on a pilot area Tartu County (area 3089 sq km). Estonian digital soil map and soil monitoring databases are providing a good opportunity to assess SOC stocks at various scales. The qualitative nature of the initial data from a soil map prohibits any straightforward use in modelling. Thus we have used several databases to construct models and linkages between soil properties that can be integrated into soil map. First step was to reorganize the soil map database (44,046 mapping units) so it can be used as an input to modelling. Arable areas were distinguished by a field layer of Agricultural Registers and Information Board, which provides precise information of current land use as it is the basis of paying CAP subsidies. The estimates of SOC content were found by using the arable land evaluation database of Tartu from the Estonian Land Board (comprising 950 sq km and 31,226 fields), where each soil type was assessed separately and average SOC content grouped by texture was derived. SOC content of epipedon varies in

  19. Climate change adaptation in arable land use, and impact on nitrogen load at catchment scale in northern agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katri Rankinen

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Prolongation of the growing season due to a warming climate could represent new opportunities for northern agriculture. Climatic and biotic constraints may challenge future crop production. The objective of this study was to speculate how a range of arable land use patterns, resulting from various policy driven choices, could be introduced into a farming system, and how they would affect the risks associated with nutrient leaching. We found that while adaptation to climate change must include consideration of crop choices, there are conflicts associated with allocations and rotations for various market and policy situations. The expected increase in nutrient loading in the simulations caused by climate change was moderate. The increase can partly be compensated for by changes in farmland use, more in the shorter term than in the longer term to mid-century. In the future, adaptation at cropping system level is potentially an efficient way to manage nutrient load risks.

  20. State and trends of oil crops production in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Tiankui

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper attempts to present a full picture of current situation and future trends of Chinese oil crop production. The total oil crop production remained broadly constant during 2011–2014. The top three oil crops are soybean, peanut and rapeseed, together accounting for more than 70% of total oil crop production. The area under cultivation and the production of peanuts will keep steadily increasing because most Chinese like its pleasant roasted flavor. Because of their high content in polyunsaturated fatty acids and the natural minor functional components in their oils, more attention is being paid to sunflower seed and rice bran. The diminishing availability of arable land and concern over the security of edible oil supplies is driving both a change in cultivation structure of crops and improvements in the efficiency of oilseed production in China.

  1. Factors affecting the species composition of arable field boundary vegetation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kleijn, D.; Verbeek, M.

    2000-01-01

    1. In recent decades the botanical diversity of arable field boundaries has declined drastically. To determine the most important factors related to the species composition of arable field boundaries, the vegetation composition of 105 herbaceous boundaries, 1-m wide, in the central and eastern

  2. Scientific Basis for Sustainable Management of Eucalyptus and Populus as Short-Rotation Woody Crops in the U.S.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric D. Vance

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Short rotation woody crops (SRWC, fast growing tree species that are harvested on short, repeated intervals, can augment traditional fiber sources. These crops have economic and environmental benefits stemming from their capability of supplying fiber on a reduced land base in close proximity to users and when sensitive sites cannot be accessed. Eucalyptus and Populus appear to be genera with the greatest potential to provide supplemental fiber in the U.S. Optimal productivity can be achieved through practices that overcome site limitations and by choosing the most appropriate sites, species, and clones. Some Eucalyptus species are potentially invasive, yet field studies across multiple continents suggest they are slower to disperse than predicted by risk assessments. Some studies have found lower plant and animal diversity in SRWC systems compared to mature, native forests, but greater than some alterative land uses and strongly influenced by stand management, land use history, and landscape context. Eucalyptus established in place of grasslands, arable lands, and, in some cases, native forests can reduce streamflow and lower water tables due to higher interception and transpiration rates but results vary widely, are scale dependent, and are most evident in drier regions.

  3. Hemp: A more sustainable annual energy crop for climate and energy policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finnan, John; Styles, David

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this study was to compare the fuel-chain greenhouse gas balance and farm economics of hemp grown for bioenergy with two perennial bioenergy crops, Miscanthus and willow, and two more traditional annual bioenergy crops, sugar beet and oil seed rape (OSR). The GHG burden of hemp cultivation is intermediate between perennial and traditional annual energy crops, but net fuel chain GHG abatement potential of 11 t/CO 2 eq./ha/year in the mid yield estimate is comparable to perennial crops, and 140% and 540% greater than for OSR and sugar beet fuel chains, respectively. Gross margins from hemp were considerably lower than for OSR and sugar beet, but exceeded those from Miscanthus when organic fertilizers were used and in the absence of establishment grants for the latter crop. Extrapolated up to the EU scale, replacing 25% of OSR and sugar beet production with hemp production could increase net GHG abatement by up to 21 Mt CO 2 eq./year. Hemp is a considerably more efficient bioenergy feedstock than the dominant annual energy crops. Integrated into food crop rotations, hemp need not compete with food supplies, and could provide an appealing option to develop more sustainable non-transport bioenergy supply chains. - Highlights: ► The GHG burden of hemp is intermediate between perennial and annual energy crops. ► Replacing 25% of OSR/beet with hemp could increase GHG abatement by 21 Mt/CO 2 eq./year. ► Hemp is a more efficient bioenergy feedstock than the dominant annual energy crops

  4. Sustainability assessment of GM crops in a Swiss agricultural context

    OpenAIRE

    Speiser , Bernhard; Stolze , Matthias; Oehen , Bernadette; Gessler , Cesare; Weibel , Franco; Bravin , Esther; Kilchenmann , Adeline; Widmer , Albert; Charles , Raffael; Lang , Andreas; Stamm , Christian; Triloff , Peter; Tamm , Lucius

    2012-01-01

    International audience; The aim of this study was to provide an ex ante assessment of the sustainability of genetically modified (GM) crops under the agricultural conditions prevailing in Switzerland. The study addressed the gaps in our knowledge relating to (1) the agronomic risks/benefits in production systems under Swiss conditions (at field and rotation/orchard level), (2) the economic and socio-economic impacts associated with altered farming systems, and (3) the agro-ecological risks/be...

  5. SOME ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT AGRICULTURAL LAND USE AREAS WITHIN THE TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kapinos N.

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Land Fund in Ukraine is experiencing excessive human impact, which is reflected in its performance exceeding the allowable agricultural development and land structure imbalance. The environmental condition of land resources close to critical. Among the largest land area occupied by agricultural land (71% of which - 76% is arable land. Violation environmentally acceptable ratio of arable land, natural grasslands and forests negatively affected the sustainability of agricultural landscapes. Throughout the widespread land degradation processes, among which the most ambitious is the erosion (about 57.5% of the territory, pollution (20% of the territory, flooding (about 12% of the territory. Sustainable (balanced land is one of the key factors of sustainable nature of territorial entities and may be formed of a priority, taking into account environmental factors. In ecological optimization based on value criteria ekolohostabilizuyuchyh and anthropogenic pressures lands should necessarily provide for withdrawal of intensive land use, which in its modal properties can not ensure sustainability of land use. However, today in Ukraine within the territories of communities no project development to optimize land use on the basis of sustainable development. Accordingly, the purpose of the article was the study of certain aspects of Land Management sustainable development of agricultural land within the territories of local communities. The current structure of the land fund of Ukraine was actually formed in the Soviet period, under the influence of policies of extensive agricultural development. Violation environmentally acceptable ratio of arable land, natural grasslands and forests negatively affected the stability and condition of land, which is confirmed by relevant research. In such circumstances, balancing the land proposed to carry out in two stages - the ecological and economic. In ecological optimization criteria based on land value necessarily

  6. Adapting crop rotations to climate change in regional impact modelling assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teixeira, Edmar I; de Ruiter, John; Ausseil, Anne-Gaelle; Daigneault, Adam; Johnstone, Paul; Holmes, Allister; Tait, Andrew; Ewert, Frank

    2018-03-01

    The environmental and economic sustainability of future cropping systems depends on adaptation to climate change. Adaptation studies commonly rely on agricultural systems models to integrate multiple components of production systems such as crops, weather, soil and farmers' management decisions. Previous adaptation studies have mostly focused on isolated monocultures. However, in many agricultural regions worldwide, multi-crop rotations better represent local production systems. It is unclear how adaptation interventions influence crops grown in sequences. We develop a catchment-scale assessment to investigate the effects of tactical adaptations (choice of genotype and sowing date) on yield and underlying crop-soil factors of rotations. Based on locally surveyed data, a silage-maize followed by catch-crop-wheat rotation was simulated with the APSIM model for the RCP 8.5 emission scenario, two time periods (1985-2004 and 2080-2100) and six climate models across the Kaituna catchment in New Zealand. Results showed that direction and magnitude of climate change impacts, and the response to adaptation, varied spatially and were affected by rotation carryover effects due to agronomical (e.g. timing of sowing and harvesting) and soil (e.g. residual nitrogen, N) aspects. For example, by adapting maize to early-sowing dates under a warmer climate, there was an advance in catch crop establishment which enhanced residual soil N uptake. This dynamics, however, differed with local environment and choice of short- or long-cycle maize genotypes. Adaptation was insufficient to neutralize rotation yield losses in lowlands but consistently enhanced yield gains in highlands, where other constraints limited arable cropping. The positive responses to adaptation were mainly due to increases in solar radiation interception across the entire growth season. These results provide deeper insights on the dynamics of climate change impacts for crop rotation systems. Such knowledge can be used

  7. Effects of three management strategies on the seedbank, emergence and the need for hand weeding in an organic arable cropping system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Riemens, M.M.; Groeneveld, R.M.W.; Lotz, L.A.P.; Kropff, M.J.

    2007-01-01

    The effects of three different weed management strategies on the required input of hand weeding in an arable organic farming system, the weed seedbank in the soil and the emerging weed seedling emergence were studied from 1996 to 2003. Strategies were based on population dynamic models and aimed for

  8. Life cycle assessment of various cropping systems utilized for producing biofuels: Bioethanol and biodiesel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Seungdo; Dale, Bruce E.

    2005-01-01

    A life cycle assessment of different cropping systems emphasizing corn and soybean production was performed, assuming that biomass from the cropping systems is utilized for producing biofuels (i.e., ethanol and biodiesel). The functional unit is defined as 1 ha of arable land producing biomass for biofuels to compare the environmental performance of the different cropping systems. The external functions are allocated by introducing alternative product systems (the system expansion allocation approach). Nonrenewable energy consumption, global warming impact, acidification and eutrophication are considered as potential environmental impacts and estimated by characterization factors given by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-TRACI). The benefits of corn stover removal are (1) lower nitrogen related environmental burdens from the soil, (2) higher ethanol production rate per unit arable land, and (3) energy recovery from lignin-rich fermentation residues, while the disadvantages of corn stover removal are a lower accumulation rate of soil organic carbon and higher fuel consumption in harvesting corn stover. Planting winter cover crops can compensate for some disadvantages (i.e., soil organic carbon levels and soil erosion) of removing corn stover. Cover crops also permit more corn stover to be harvested. Thus, utilization of corn stover and winter cover crops can improve the eco-efficiency of the cropping systems. When biomass from the cropping systems is utilized for biofuel production, all the cropping systems studied here offer environmental benefits in terms of nonrenewable energy consumption and global warming impact. Therefore utilizing biomass for biofuels would save nonrenewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gases. However, unless additional measures such as planting cover crops were taken, utilization of biomass for biofuels would also tend to increase acidification and eutrophication, primarily because large nitrogen (and phosphorus

  9. Integrated nutrient management (INM) for sustaining crop productivity and reducing environmental impact: A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Wei; Ma, Baoluo

    2015-01-01

    The increasing food demands of a growing human population and the need for an environmentally friendly strategy for sustainable agricultural development require significant attention when addressing the issue of enhancing crop productivity. Here we discuss the role of integrated nutrient management (INM) in resolving these concerns, which has been proposed as a promising strategy for addressing such challenges. INM has multifaceted potential for the improvement of plant performance and resource efficiency while also enabling the protection of the environment and resource quality. This review examines the concepts, objectives, procedures and principles of INM. A comprehensive literature search revealed that INM enhances crop yields by 8–150% compared with conventional practices, increases water-use efficiency, and the economic returns to farmers, while improving grain quality and soil health and sustainability. Model simulation and fate assessment further reveal that reactive nitrogen (N) losses and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions are reduced substantially under advanced INM practices. Lower inputs of chemical fertilizer and therefore lower human and environmental costs (such as intensity of land use, N use, reactive N losses and GHG emissions) were achieved under advanced INM practices without compromising crop yields. Various approaches and perspectives for further development of INM in the near future are also proposed and discussed. Strong and convincing evidence indicates that INM practice could be an innovative and environmentally friendly strategy for sustainable agriculture worldwide. - Highlights: • The increasing pressure to meet global cereal demand poses great challenge. • A changing environment further threatens cereal production. • Literature summary shows 8–150% yield advantage from use of INM method. • INM contributions to mitigation of environmental costs are remarkable. • High crop productivity and less environmental impact can be

  10. Integrated nutrient management (INM) for sustaining crop productivity and reducing environmental impact: A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Wei, E-mail: weiwu@nwsuaf.edu.cn [College of Agronomy, Northwest A& F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100 (China); Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre (ECORC), Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6 (Canada); Ma, Baoluo, E-mail: Baoluo.Ma@AGR.GC.CA [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre (ECORC), Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6 (Canada)

    2015-04-15

    The increasing food demands of a growing human population and the need for an environmentally friendly strategy for sustainable agricultural development require significant attention when addressing the issue of enhancing crop productivity. Here we discuss the role of integrated nutrient management (INM) in resolving these concerns, which has been proposed as a promising strategy for addressing such challenges. INM has multifaceted potential for the improvement of plant performance and resource efficiency while also enabling the protection of the environment and resource quality. This review examines the concepts, objectives, procedures and principles of INM. A comprehensive literature search revealed that INM enhances crop yields by 8–150% compared with conventional practices, increases water-use efficiency, and the economic returns to farmers, while improving grain quality and soil health and sustainability. Model simulation and fate assessment further reveal that reactive nitrogen (N) losses and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions are reduced substantially under advanced INM practices. Lower inputs of chemical fertilizer and therefore lower human and environmental costs (such as intensity of land use, N use, reactive N losses and GHG emissions) were achieved under advanced INM practices without compromising crop yields. Various approaches and perspectives for further development of INM in the near future are also proposed and discussed. Strong and convincing evidence indicates that INM practice could be an innovative and environmentally friendly strategy for sustainable agriculture worldwide. - Highlights: • The increasing pressure to meet global cereal demand poses great challenge. • A changing environment further threatens cereal production. • Literature summary shows 8–150% yield advantage from use of INM method. • INM contributions to mitigation of environmental costs are remarkable. • High crop productivity and less environmental impact can be

  11. Dedicated Industrial Oilseed Crops as Metabolic Engineering Platforms for Sustainable Industrial Feedstock Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Li-Hua; Krens, Frans; Smith, Mark A; Li, Xueyuan; Qi, Weicong; van Loo, Eibertus N; Iven, Tim; Feussner, Ivo; Nazarenus, Tara J; Huai, Dongxin; Taylor, David C; Zhou, Xue-Rong; Green, Allan G; Shockey, Jay; Klasson, K Thomas; Mullen, Robert T; Huang, Bangquan; Dyer, John M; Cahoon, Edgar B

    2016-02-26

    Feedstocks for industrial applications ranging from polymers to lubricants are largely derived from petroleum, a non-renewable resource. Vegetable oils with fatty acid structures and storage forms tailored for specific industrial uses offer renewable and potentially sustainable sources of petrochemical-type functionalities. A wide array of industrial vegetable oils can be generated through biotechnology, but will likely require non-commodity oilseed platforms dedicated to specialty oil production for commercial acceptance. Here we show the feasibility of three Brassicaceae oilseeds crambe, camelina, and carinata, none of which are widely cultivated for food use, as hosts for complex metabolic engineering of wax esters for lubricant applications. Lines producing wax esters >20% of total seed oil were generated for each crop and further improved for high temperature oxidative stability by down-regulation of fatty acid polyunsaturation. Field cultivation of optimized wax ester-producing crambe demonstrated commercial utility of these engineered crops and a path for sustainable production of other industrial oils in dedicated specialty oilseeds.

  12. COMPARISON OF THE CHOSEN ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES OF THE ARABLE LAND AND FALLOW

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanisław Włodek

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The results and analysis of the chosen physico-chemical soil properties of the fallow, which was not cultivated for 7 years and of the arable land, situated close to it, are presented in this work. Soil moisture content was higher and the weed infestation rate was bigger on the arable land in comparison to fallow. Significant increase of C.org. as well as P, K and Mg availability for plant was noticed on the fallow. On the arable land segetal species were common, whereas on the fallow ruderal species occurred as well. In spite of the close neighborhood of fallow with Solidago gigantea and Solidago canadensis species domination, this species was not reported on the arable land.

  13. EUCLID: Leveraging IPM for sustainable production of fruit and vegetable crops in partnership with China

    OpenAIRE

    Nicot , Philippe C.; Bardin , Marc; Leyronas , Christel; Desneux , Nicolas

    2016-01-01

    EUCLID: Leveraging IPM for sustainable production of fruit and vegetable crops in partnership with China. 13. IOBC-WPRS Meeting of the working group "Biological control of fungal and bacterial plant pathogens. .

  14. Designing a new cropping system for high productivity and sustainable water usage under climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Qingfeng; Wang, Hongfei; Yan, Peng; Pan, Junxiao; Lu, Dianjun; Cui, Zhenling; Zhang, Fusuo; Chen, Xinping

    2017-02-01

    The food supply is being increasingly challenged by climate change and water scarcity. However, incremental changes in traditional cropping systems have achieved only limited success in meeting these multiple challenges. In this study, we applied a systematic approach, using model simulation and data from two groups of field studies conducted in the North China Plain, to develop a new cropping system that improves yield and uses water in a sustainable manner. Due to significant warming, we identified a double-maize (M-M; Zea mays L.) cropping system that replaced the traditional winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) -summer maize system. The M-M system improved yield by 14-31% compared with the conventionally managed wheat-maize system, and achieved similar yield compared with the incrementally adapted wheat-maize system with the optimized cultivars, planting dates, planting density and water management. More importantly, water usage was lower in the M-M system than in the wheat-maize system, and the rate of water usage was sustainable (net groundwater usage was ≤150 mm yr-1). Our study indicated that systematic assessment of adaptation and cropping system scale have great potential to address the multiple food supply challenges under changing climatic conditions.

  15. Giant reed (Arundo donax L. for biogas production: land use saving and nitrogen utilisation efficiency compared with arable crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federico Dragoni

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Aiming to improve the sustainability of biogas supply chains, the research for alternative feedstocks is a key issue and giant reed (Arundo donax L. is a promising no-food crop to be used in anaerobic digestion. In fact, giant reed is a perennial species characterised by low nutrient requirements and is able to provide promising biogas yields. Its suitability for anaerobic digestion is influenced by harvest time, since plant characteristics vary noticeably along the season. Moreover, ensiling is a storage technique that can assure a good preservation of the biomass over time, but also influence the methane yields. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the suitability for biogas production of giant reed silage, according to different cutting regimes, and to evaluate the efficiency in saving land and nitrogen for fuelling biogas plants, in comparison with maize and two sorghum varieties. Methane yields per hectare (Nm3 CH4 ha–1 were determined by multiplying the biochemical methane potential of each substrate by the aboveground biomass of the corresponding crop. The land use coefficient (LU, namely the land needed to fuel one kW power (ha kWe–1, was calculated from the estimated methane yields per hectare. Finally, nitrogen utilisation efficiency (NUtE, which is the ratio between the estimated methane yield and the nitrogen uptake per hectare (Nm3 CH4 kgN–1, was determined for each crop species and according to the harvest time and frequency of giant reed. Overall, a good suitability for ensiling was observed in giant reed. When harvested in September, the crop yielded about 9900 Nm3 CH4 ha–1, while in double harvest systems biomethane was about 12,000 Nm3 CH4 ha–1, +35% and +70% than maize and sorghum respectively. Moreover, giant reed under double harvest management was the most land-conservative option, as LU was about 0.22 ha kWe–1, while in annual crops it was about 0.35 ha kWe–1. The higher NUtE was observed in single

  16. Sustainable crop models for fruit, vegetable and flower quality productions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inglese Paolo

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable development is a paradigm that has evolved over the time, since the ideas of socially acceptable and compatible development, on which it was originally based, are now supported by the more recent notions of ecological equilibria and production process economy, both of which need to be also preserved. Environmental and health safety, rational use of the natural resources and technological tools, upkeep of high social growth rates and respect of a social equity are the basis of the sustainability for any production process, including the agriculture. The new globalization framework has penalized small farms and, at the same time, has put serious constraints to the development of stronger economic systems (medium/large farms, as well. As consequence, the EU has outlined several strategic programs to support small agricultural systems in marginal areas by: 1 strengthening all the quality- related aspects of agricultural production, including nutritional and cultural traits associated to local, typical and in some cases to neglected crops; 2 improving traditional cultural practices by adapting the cropping cycles and fomenting new partnerships between the different parts of the production chain, as for example; promotion of small horticultural chains. Specific political actions for the horticultural production sector have also been developed. Some of these policies are specifically addressed to preserve the biodiversity and to create quality labels certifying typical and/or organic products. All of these are possible strategies that may counteract and cope with the globalization process and increase the competitiveness of many production systems especially those performed by local and small entrepreneurs. New sustainable development models are required by both the market and the implicit requirements of the production system, inside a context on which Europe must face with new emerging economies with lower production costs, by increasing

  17. Integrating social and value dimensions into sustainability assessment of lignocellulosic biofuels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raman, Sujatha; Mohr, Alison; Helliwell, Richard; Ribeiro, Barbara; Shortall, Orla; Smith, Robert; Millar, Kate

    2015-11-01

    The paper clarifies the social and value dimensions for integrated sustainability assessments of lignocellulosic biofuels. We develop a responsible innovation approach, looking at technology impacts and implementation challenges, assumptions and value conflicts influencing how impacts are identified and assessed, and different visions for future development. We identify three distinct value-based visions. From a techno-economic perspective, lignocellulosic biofuels can contribute to energy security with improved GHG implications and fewer sustainability problems than fossil fuels and first-generation biofuels, especially when biomass is domestically sourced. From socio-economic and cultural-economic perspectives, there are concerns about the capacity to support UK-sourced feedstocks in a global agri-economy, difficulties monitoring large-scale supply chains and their potential for distributing impacts unfairly, and tensions between domestic sourcing and established legacies of farming. To respond to these concerns, we identify the potential for moving away from a one-size-fits-all biofuel/biorefinery model to regionally-tailored bioenergy configurations that might lower large-scale uses of land for meat, reduce monocultures and fossil-energy needs of farming and diversify business models. These configurations could explore ways of reconciling some conflicts between food, fuel and feed (by mixing feed crops with lignocellulosic material for fuel, combining livestock grazing with energy crops, or using crops such as miscanthus to manage land that is no longer arable); different bioenergy applications (with on-farm use of feedstocks for heat and power and for commercial biofuel production); and climate change objectives and pressures on farming. Findings are based on stakeholder interviews, literature synthesis and discussions with an expert advisory group.

  18. Ground beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae diversity in Finnish arable land

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.K. HELENIUS

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Carabid data compiled from six independent studies, consisting of 97 799 individuals trapped by pitfalls from Finnish agricultural fields and identified to 111 species were analyzed. Shannon-Wiener H' diversity index was typically around 2.5 and expected species number rarefied to 600 trapped individuals was typically around 30 species. The five most abundant species accounted for 42% of the total catch, and the thirty most abundant species made up 98% of the total catch. Percentage similarities among the assemblages by PS-index were from 16% to 48%. In comparison to published data about carabid diversity in boreal forests, which form the dominating habitat matrix in which Finnish farmland is embedded as relatively small patches, arable fields harbor more species rich assemblages, with more even rank-abundance distributions but variable species composition. Importance of landscape (regional level, instead of spatial level of crop fields, in understanding carabid diversity in farmland is discussed. Inclusion of carabids into monitoring schemes of agro-biodiversity at landscape level is suggested.

  19. Optimization of Southeastern Forest Biomass Crop Production: A Watershed Scale Evaluation of the Sustainability and Productivity of Dedicated Energy Crop and Woody Biomass Operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chescheir, George M. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Nettles, Jami E, [Weyerhaeuser Company; Youssef, Mohamed [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Birgand, Francois [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Amatya, Devendra M. [United States Forest Service; Miller, Darren A. [Weyerhaeuser Company; Sucre, Eric [Weyerhaeuser Company; Schilling, Erik [National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Inc.; Tian, Shiying [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Cacho, Julian F. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Bennett, Erin M. [Ecosystem Planning and Restoration, LLC; Carter, Taylor [HDR; Bowen, Nicole Dobbs [Engineering Design Consultants; Muwamba, Augustine [College of Charleston; Panda, Sudhanshu [University of North Georgia; Christopher, Sheila [Univ. of Notre Dame, IN (United States); Phillips, Brian D. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Appelboom, Timothy [NC Department of Environmental Quality; Skaggs, Richard W. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Greene, Ethan J. [Land Trust for Central North Carolina; Marshall, Craig D. [Mississippi State University; Allen, Elizabeth [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Schoenholtz, Stephen H. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States)

    2018-04-12

    Growing switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) as an intercrop in managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations has emerged as a potential source of bioenergy feedstock. Utilizing land resources between pine trees to produce an energy crop can potentially reduce the demand for land resources used to produce food; however, converting conventionally managed forest land to this new intercropping system constitutes changes in land use and associated management practices, which may affect the environmental and economic sustainability of the land.

    The overall objective of this project is to evaluate the environmental effects of large-scale forest bioenergy crop production and utilize these results to optimize cropping systems in a manner that protects the important ecosystem services provided by forests while contributing to the development of a sustainable and economically-viable biomass industry in the southeastern United States.

    Specific objectives are to:

    1. Quantify the hydrology of different energy crop production systems in watershed scale experiments on different landscapes in the southeast.
    2. Quantify the nutrient dynamics of energy crop production systems in watershed scale experiments to determine the impact of these systems on water quality.
    3. Evaluate the impacts of energy crop production on soil structure, fertility, and organic matter.
    4. Evaluate the response of flora and fauna populations and habitat quality to energy crop production systems.
    5. Develop watershed and regional scale models to evaluate the environmental sustainability and productivity of energy crop and woody biomass operations.
    6. Quantify the production systems in terms of bioenergy crop yield versus the energy and economic costs of production.
    7. Develop and evaluate best management practice guidelines to ensure the environmental sustainability of energy crop production systems.
    Watershed and plot scale studies

  20. Facing the challenge of sustainable bioenergy production: Could halophytes be part of the solution?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Debez, Ahmed; Belghith, Ikram; Friesen, Jan; Montzka, Carsten; Elleuche, Skander

    2017-01-01

    Due to steadily growing population and economic transitions in the more populous countries, renewable sources of energy are needed more than ever. Plant biomass as a raw source of bioenergy and biofuel products may meet the demand for sustainable energy; however, such plants typically compete with food crops, which should not be wasted for producing energy and chemicals. Second-generation or advanced biofuels that are based on renewable and non-edible biomass resources are processed to produce cellulosic ethanol, which could be further used for producing energy, but also bio-based chemicals including higher alcohols, organic acids, and bulk chemicals. Halophytes do not compete with conventional crops for arable areas and freshwater resources, since they grow naturally in saline ecosystems, mostly in semi-arid and arid areas. Using halophytes for biofuel production may provide a mid-term economically feasible and environmentally sustainable solution to producing bioenergy, contributing, at the same time, to making saline areas - which have been considered unproductive for a long time - more valuable. This review emphasises on halophyte definition, global distribution, and environmental requirements. It also examines their enzymatic valorization, focusing on salt-tolerant enzymes from halophilic microbial species that may be deployed with greater advantage compared to their conventional mesophilic counterparts for faster degradation of halophyte biomass.

  1. Tree Crops, a Permanent Agriculture: Concepts from the Past for a Sustainable Future

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Reed Funk

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available J. Russell Smith (1874–1966, a professor of geography at Columbia University, witnessed the devastation of soil erosion during his extensive travels. He first published his landmark text, Tree Crops, A Permanent Agriculture in 1929, in which he described the value of tree crops for producing food and animal feed on sloping, marginal, and rocky soils as a sustainable alternative to annual crop agriculture less suited to these lands. A cornerstone of his thesis was using wide germplasm collection and plant breeding to improve this largely underutilized and genetically unexploited group of plants to develop locally adapted, high-yielding cultivars for the many climatic zones of North America. Smith proposed an establishment of “Institutes of Mountain Agriculture” to undertake this work. For a variety of reasons, though, his ideas were not implemented to any great degree. However, our growing population’s increasing demands on natural resources and the associated environmental degradation necessitate that Smith’s ideas be revisited. In this review, his concepts, supported by modern scientific understanding and advances, are discussed and expanded upon to emphasize their largely overlooked potential to enhance world food and energy security and environmental sustainability. The discussion leads us to propose that his “institutes” be established worldwide and with an expanded scope of work.

  2. Crop residue recycling for economic and environmental sustainability: The case of India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Devi Saroj

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available India is one of the key producers of food grain, oilseed, sugarcane and other agricultural products. Agricultural crops generate considerable amounts of leftover residues, with increases in food production crop residues also increasing. These leftover residues exhibit not only resource loss but also a missed opportunity to improve a farmer’s income. The use of crop residues in various fields are being explored by researchers across the world in areas such as textile composite non-woven making processes, power generation, biogas production, animal feed, compost and manures, etc. The increasing trend in addition of bio-energy cogeneration plants, increasing demand for animal feedstock and increasing trend for organic agriculture indicates a competitive opportunity forcrop residue in Agriculture. It is to be noted that the use of this left over residue isoften not mutually exclusive which makes measurement of its economic value more difficult.For example, straw can be used as animal bedding and thereafter as a crop fertilizer. In view of this, the main aim of this paper envisaged to know about how much crop residue is left unutilized and how best they can be utilized for alternative purposes for environmental stewardship and sustainability. In this context, an attempt has been made to estimate the total crop residue across the states and its economic value though data available from various government sources and a SWOT analysis performed for possible alternative uses of residue in India. This paper also discusses the successful case studies of India and global level of use of crop residues in economic activities. Over all 516 Mtonnes of crop residue was produced in 2014-15 in India among which cereals were the largest producer of crop residue followed by sugarcane. The energy potential from paddy rice straw crop residue was estimated as 486,955 megawatt for 2014-15 and similarly for coarse cereals it was 226,200megawatt.

  3. Plant litter decomposition and carbon sequestration for arable soils. Final report of works. April 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Recous, S.; Barrois, F.; Coppens, F.; Garnier, P.; Grehan, E.; Balesdent, J.; Dambrine, E.; Zeller, B.; Loiseau, P.; Personeni, E.

    2002-01-01

    The general objective of this project was to contribute to the evaluation of land use and management impacts on C sequestration and nitrogen dynamics in soils. The land used through the presence/absence of crops and their species, and the land management through tillage, localisation of crop residues, fertilizer applications,... are important factors that affect the dynamics of organic matters in soils, particularly the mineralization of C and N, the losses to the atmosphere and hydrosphere, the retention of carbon into the soil. This project was conducted by four research groups, three of them having expertise in nutrient cycling of three major agro-ecosystems (arable crops, grasslands, forests) and the fourth one having expertise in modelling long term effects of land use on C storage into the soils. Within this common project one major objective was to better understand the fate of plant litter entering the soil either as above litter or as root litter. The focus was put on two factors that particularly affect decomposition: the initial biochemical quality of plant litter, and the location of the decomposing litter. One innovative aspect of the project was the use of stable isotope as 13 C for carbon, based on the use of enriched or depleted 13 C material, the only option to assess the dynamics of 'new' C entering the soil on the short term, in order to reveal the effects of decomposition factors. Another aspect was the simultaneous study of C and N. The project consisted in experiments relevant for each agro-ecosystem, in forest, grassland and arable soils for which interactions between residue quality and nitrogen availability on the one hand, residue quality and location on the other hand, was investigated. A common experiment was set up to investigate the potential degradability of the various residue used (beech leaf rape straw, young rye, Lolium and dactylic roots) in a their original soils and in a single soil was assessed. Based on these experiments, the

  4. Soil properties, crop production and greenhouse gas emissions from organic and inorganic fertilizer-based arable cropping systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chirinda, Ngonidzashe; Olesen, Jørgen Eivind; Porter, John Roy

    2010-01-01

    Organic and conventional farming practices differ in the use of several management strategies, including use of catch crops, green manure, and fertilization, which may influence soil properties, greenhouse gas emissions and productivity of agroecosystems. An 11-yr-old field experiment on a sandy...... loam soil in Denmark was used to compare several crop rotations with respect to a range of physical, chemical and biological characteristics related to carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) flows. Four organic rotations and an inorganic fertilizer-based system were selected to evaluate effects of fertilizer type...... growth was monitored and grain yields measured at harvest maturity. The different management strategies between 1997 and 2007 led to soil carbon inputs that were on average 18–68% and 32–91% higher in the organic than inorganic fertilizer-based rotations for the sampled winter wheat and spring barley...

  5. Sustainable Soil Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Green, Ole; Evgrafova, Alevtina; Kirkegaard Nielsen, Søren

    Linket til højre henviser til rapporten i trykt format til download. This report provides an overview on new technologies for integrate sustainable and resilient management practices in arable ecosystems for advanced farmers, consultants, NGOs and policy makers. By following sustainable soil...... and soil quality in short- and long-terms. This report also illustrates the importance to combine a system approach for plant production by assessing field readiness, managing in-field traffic management, implementing the sitespecific controlled as well as sensor-controlled seedbed preparation, seeding...

  6. Variability of effects of spatial climate data aggregation on regional yield simulation by crop models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoffmann, H.; Zhao, G.; Bussel, van L.G.J.

    2015-01-01

    Field-scale crop models are often applied at spatial resolutions coarser than that of the arable field. However, little is known about the response of the models to spatially aggregated climate input data and why these responses can differ across models. Depending on the model, regional yield

  7. Earthworm-induced N2O emissions in a sandy soil with surface-applied crop residues

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Giannopoulos, G.; Groenigen, van J.W.; Pulleman, M.M.

    2011-01-01

    Earlier research with endogeic and epigeic earthworm species in loamy arable soil has shown that both earthworm groups can increase nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, provided that crop residue placement matches the feeding strategy of the earthworm ecological group(s). However, it is not yet clear

  8. Nutrient surpluses on integrated arable farms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schröder, J.J.; Asperen, van P.; Dongen, van G.J.M.; Wijnands, F.G.

    1996-01-01

    From 1990 to 1993 nutrient fluxes were monitored on 38 private arable farms that had adopted farming strategies aiming at reduced nutrient inputs and substitution of mineral fertilizers by organic fertilizers. The nutrient surplus was defined as the difference between inputs (including inputs

  9. SUSTAINABLE DIVERSIFIED AGRICULTURE AND LAND MANAGEMENT IN THE HIMALAYA: IMPLICATIONS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. M. Bajracharya

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The soil and land resources play a vital role in sustaining the local livelihoods of rural communities in the Himalaya. Most of the arable land has already been brought under cultivation, hence the ever-increasing demand for food and fiber has left farmers with no choice but to intensify agriculture. However, producing more crops and greater quantities of food, fiber and other materials on the same parcel of land can to soil fertility and productivity decline with overall degradation of land quality. Therefore, ways and means to intensify agriculture to enhance productivity without degrading the soil and land resource base have become imperative. Agro-forestry, agro-slivi-pastoral systems, and the adoption of a variety of crop, soil and water management and conservation practices offer potential to deliver multiple benefits without sacrificing the very resource upon which the human population depends. Presented herein are findings on approaches to sustainable intensification of agriculture and land management related to soil OM management and C sequestration for multiple benefits, and, agro-forestry as a crop diversification strategy with both livelihood, and climate change adaptation/mitigation benefits. The results indicate that sustainable soil management practices could lead to significant SOC accumulations (4-8 t/ha over 6 yrs. SOC and soil C stocks tend to increase with elevation due to cooler climate and slow decomposition rates. Carbon stocks for the 3 LU types was in the order CF>AF/LH>AG, suggesting that diversified cropping practices including agro-forestry have good potential sequester C while providing livelihood opportunities and climate adaptive capacity for local farming communities. Biochar amendment increased growth of both coffee plants and radish with mixed grass/weed biochar being most effective. Biochar application also significantly decreased emission of GHGs, especially N2O.

  10. Meteorological risks and impacts on crop production systems in Belgium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gobin, Anne

    2013-04-01

    Extreme weather events such as droughts, heat stress, rain storms and floods can have devastating effects on cropping systems. The perspective of rising risk-exposure is exacerbated further by projected increases of extreme events with climate change. More limits to aid received for agricultural damage and an overall reduction of direct income support to farmers further impacts farmers' resilience. Based on insurance claims, potatoes and rapeseed are the most vulnerable crops, followed by cereals and sugar beets. Damages due to adverse meteorological events are strongly dependent on crop type, crop stage and soil type. Current knowledge gaps exist in the response of arable crops to the occurrence of extreme events. The degree of temporal overlap between extreme weather events and the sensitive periods of the farming calendar requires a modelling approach to capture the mixture of non-linear interactions between the crop and its environment. The regional crop model REGCROP (Gobin, 2010) enabled to examine the likely frequency and magnitude of drought, heat stress and waterlogging in relation to the cropping season and crop sensitive stages of six arable crops: winter wheat, winter barley, winter rapeseed, potato, sugar beet and maize. Since crop development is driven by thermal time, crops matured earlier during the warmer 1988-2008 period than during the 1947-1987 period. Drought and heat stress, in particular during the sensitive crop stages, occur at different times in the cropping season and significantly differ between two climatic periods, 1947-1987 and 1988-2008. Soil moisture deficit increases towards harvesting, such that earlier maturing winter crops may avoid drought stress that occurs in late spring and summer. This is reflected in a decrease both in magnitude and frequency of soil moisture deficit around the sensitive stages during the 1988-2008 period when atmospheric drought may be compensated for with soil moisture. The risk of drought spells during

  11. Aquatic weeds as the next generation feedstock for sustainable bioenergy production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaur, Manpreet; Kumar, Manoj; Sachdeva, Sarita; Puri, S K

    2018-03-01

    Increasing oil prices and depletion of existing fossil fuel reserves, combined with the continuous rise in greenhouse gas emissions, have fostered the need to explore and develop new renewable bioenergy feedstocks that do not require arable land and freshwater resources. In this regard, prolific biomass growth of invasive aquatic weeds in wastewater has gained much attention in recent years in utilizing them as a potential feedstock for bioenergy production. Aquatic weeds have an exceptionally higher reproduction rates and are rich in cellulose and hemicellulose with a very low lignin content that makes them an efficient next generation biofuel crop. Considering their potential as an effective phytoremediators, this review presents a model of integrated aquatic biomass production, phytoremediation and bioenergy generation to reduce the land, fresh water and fertilizer usage for sustainable and economical bioenergy. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  12. European Perspectives on the Adoption of Non-Chemical Weed Management in Reduced Tillage Systems for Arable Crops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Melander, B.; Munier-Jolan, N.; Schwarz, J.

    2012-01-01

    cropping systems to allow for more diversification of the crop rotations to combat these weed problems with less herbicide input. Cover crops, stubble management strategies and tactics that strengthen crop growth relative to weed growth are also seen as important components in future IPM systems...

  13. Phytoremediation, a sustainable remediation technology? II: Economic assessment of CO2 abatement through the use of phytoremediation crops for renewable energy production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Witters, N.; Mendelsohn, R.; Van Passel, S.; Van Slycken, S.; Weyens, N.; Schreurs, E.; Meers, E.; Tack, F.; Vanheusden, B.; Vangronsveld, J.

    2012-01-01

    Phytoremediation could be a sustainable remediation alternative for conventional remediation technologies. However, its implementation on a commercial scale remains disappointing. To emphasize its sustainability, this paper examines whether and how the potential economic benefit of CO 2 abatement for different crops used for phytoremediation or sustainable land management purposes could promote phytotechnologies. Our analysis is based on a case study in the Campine region, where agricultural soils are contaminated with mainly cadmium. We use Life Cycle Analysis to show for the most relevant crops (willow (Salix spp), energy maize (Zea mays), and rapeseed (Brassica napus)), that phytoremediation, used for renewable energy production, could abate CO 2 . Converting this in economic numbers through the Marginal Abatement Cost of CO 2 (€ 20 ton −1 ) we can integrate this in the economic analysis to compare phytoremediation crops among each other, and phytoremediation with conventional technologies. The external benefit of CO 2 abatement when using phytoremediation crops for land management ranges between € 55 and € 501 per hectare. The purpose of these calculations is not to calculate a subsidy for phytoremediation. There is no reason why one would prefer phytoremediation crops for renewable energy production over “normal” biomass. Moreover, subsidies for renewable energy already exist. Therefore, we should not integrate these numbers in the economic analysis again. However, these numbers could contribute to making explicit the competitive advantage of phytoremediation compared to conventional remediation technologies, but also add to a more sustainably funded decision on which crop should be grown on contaminated land. -- Highlights: ► We add CO 2 abatement for each remediation crop to the private economic analysis. ► This values the advantage of phytoremediation compared to conventional remediation. ► This leads to a crop choice that considers an

  14. Ecology of microarthropods in arable soil

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vreeken - Buijs, M.J.

    1998-01-01

    Soil microarthropods are all free-living mites and collembolans, living in the soil. The study presented in this thesis formed part of the Dutch Programme on Soil Ecology of Arable Farming Systems, an integrated multidisciplinary research programme, focused on the functioning of two

  15. Effect of storage conditions on losses and crop utilization of nitrogen from solid cattle manure

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shah, G.M.; Shah, G.A.; Groot, J.C.J.; Oenema, O.; Raza, A.S.; Lantinga, E.A.

    2016-01-01

    The objectives of the present study were to quantify the effects of contrasting methods for storing solid cattle manure on: (i) total carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) balances during storage, and (ii) crop apparent N recovery (ANR) following manure application to arable land, with maize as a test

  16. Fitting maize into sustainable cropping systems on acid soils of the tropics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horst, W.J.

    2000-01-01

    One of the key elements of sustainable cropping systems is the integration of crops and/or crop cultivars with high tolerance of soil acidity and which make most efficient use of the nutrients supplied by soil and fertilizer. This paper is based mainly on on-going work within an EU-funded project combining basic research on plant adaptation mechanisms by plant physiologists, and field experimentation on acid soils in Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia and Guadeloupe by breeders, soil scientists and a agronomists. The results suggest that large genetic variability exists in adaptation of plants to acid soils. A range of morphological and physiological plant characteristics contribute to tolerance of acid soils, elucidation of which has contributed to the development of rapid techniques for screening for tolerance. Incorporation of acid-soil-tolerant species and cultivars into cropping systems contributes to improved nutrient efficiency overall, and thus reduces fertilizer needs. This may help to minimize maintenance applications of fertiliser through various pathways: (i) deeper root growth resulting in more-efficient uptake of nutrients from the sub-soil and less leaching, (ii) more biomass production resulting in less seepage and less leaching, with more intensive nutrient cycling, maintenance of higher soil organic-matter content, and, consequently, less erosion owing to better soil protection by vegetation and mulch. (author)

  17. Defining a land boundary for sustainable livestock consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Zanten, Hannah H E; Herrero, Mario; Hal, Ollie Van; Röös, Elin; Muller, Adrian; Garnett, Tara; Gerber, Pierre J; Schader, Christian; De Boer, Imke J M

    2018-05-22

    The need for more sustainable production and consumption of animal-source food is central to the achievement of the sustainable development goals: within this context, wise use of land is a core challenge and concern. A key question in feeding the future world is: how much animal-source food should we eat? We demonstrate that livestock raised under the circular economy concept could provide a significant, non-negligible part (9-23g/per capita) of our daily protein needs (~50-60 g/per capita). This livestock then would not consume human-edible biomass, such as grains, but mainly convert leftovers from arable land and grass resources into valuable food, implying that production of livestock feed is largely decoupled from arable land. The availability of these biomass streams for livestock then determines the boundaries for livestock production and consumption. Under this concept, the competition for land for feed or food would be minimized and compared to no animal-source food, including some animal-source food in the human diet could free up about one quarter of global arable land. Our results also demonstrate that restricted growth in consumption of animal-source food in Africa and Asia would be feasible under these boundary conditions, while reductions in the rest of the world would be necessary to meet land use sustainability criteria. Managing this expansion and contraction of future consumption of animal-source food is essential for achieving sustainable nutrition security. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  18. Sustainability of energy crops. Four papers by the Centre for Agriculture and Environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanegraaf, M.C.; Van Kuik, M.; Van Zeijts, H.

    1998-07-01

    Between 1994 and 1996 CLM developed a method for assessing the ecological and economic sustainability of producing and using energy from agricultural and forest biomass. The method has much in common with environmental life cycle assessment (LCA). CLM has also co-ordinated a concerted action called 'Environmental aspects of biomass production and routes for European energy supply'. LCA is at present the best available instrument for assessing the ecological sustainability of energy crops. CLM focused on three topics disseminating the results of the concerted action; updating the work on bioethanol, and proposals for new financial instruments. The results are presented in this report. First, the results from the concerted action and work carried out by CLM were disseminated. Papers were presented at the international conference on 'Implementation of solid biofuels for carbon dioxide mitigation', 29-30 September 1997, Uppsala, Sweden, and at the international workshop on 'Environmental aspects of energy crop production', 9-10 October 1997, Brasimone, Italy. In addition, a paper was written on the need to co-ordinate policy options to stimulate the production and use of energy crops from an energy, agricultural and environmental point of view. Second, a study on bioethanol was carried out in which data obtained elsewhere on the use of bioethanol as a transport fuel were revised and updated. The sustainability of bioethanol production from sugar beet was compared with that of bioethanol from winter wheat. Using bioethanol from sugar beet replaces more fossil energy than bioethanol from winter wheat. For both crops, the costs per ton avoided CO2 decrease over time to 2010, but are still higher than electricity routes. The third action was the development of proposals for new financial instruments to stimulate energy production from biomass in the agricultural and forestry sector. This proposal was presented at the ALTENER Seminar on 'Financial incentives for

  19. Sustainable use of Brackish water for crop production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaudhry, M.R.; Iqbal, M.; Subhani, K.M.

    2005-01-01

    The good quality surface-water is not sufficient to meet the crop water requirement for potential crop production. To augment the inadequate supplies of good quality water the only alternative is the use of poor quality , ground water. To explore sustainable use of brackish water a study was conducted in Fordwah Eastern Sadiqia South, Bahawalnagar, Punjab during the year 1998-99 to 2000-2001 with the objective to evaluate the impact of different irrigation treatments on physical and chemical properties of soil and crops yield. The experiment was conducted on farmer's field with his collaboration. The initial soil pH was about 8.0 while ECe and SAR ranged between 2.0 to 4.1 dS m/sup -/1 and 7.1 to 15.1 (mmol/sub c/ L/sup -1/)1/2, respectively with sandy loam texture. The brackish water used for irrigation had ECiw, SAR and RSC between 5.6 to 6.7 dS m/sup -/1, 15.1 to 16.4 (mmolc L/sup -1/sup 1/2/ and 1.52 to 1.64 (mmol/sub c/ L/sup -1/.The crops tested were wheat during Rabi and cotton during Kharif season. The treatments tested were: irrigation with canal water (T/sub 1/), canal water during Rabi and drainage water during Kharif (T/sub 2/), drainage water for two years and canal water for one season(T/sub 3/); and drainage water for three years + application of gypsum at the rate of 25% of CWR and thereafter canal water for one season(T 4). Fertilizers were applied at the rate of 120-60-50 N, P/sub 2/O/sub 5/ and K20 kg ha/sup -1/, respectively in the form of urea, diammonium phosphate and sulfate of potash. Crops irrigated with drainage water visualized yield reduction depending upon the share of drainage water in the irrigation delta. Application of gypsum provided reasonable check against salinity build-up with brackish water irrigation besides a nominal boost of 3 and 5% in yield of wheat and cotton, respectively over comparable treatment of year-round brackish water irrigation lacking gypsum application. Drainage water in alternate arrangement of seasonal

  20. Topographic variability influences the carbon sequestration potential of arable soils

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chirinda, Ngoni; Elsgaard, Lars; Thomsen, Ingrid Kaag

    2012-01-01

    There is presently limited knowledge on the influence of field spatial variability on the carbon (C) sink-source relationships in arable landscapes. This is accompanied by the fact that our understanding of soil profile C dynamics is also limited. This study aimed at investigating how spatial...... results indicated that variability across arable landscapes makes footslope soils both a larger sink of buried soil C and a bigger potential CO2 source than upslope soils....

  1. Soil, crop and emission responses to seasonal-controlled traffic in organic vegetable farming on loam soil

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vermeulen, G.D.; Mosquera Losada, J.

    2009-01-01

    Some organic arable and vegetable farms in the Netherlands use cm-precise guidance of machinery to restrict wheel traffic to fixed traffic lanes and to achieve non-trafficked cropping zones with optimized soil structure in between the lanes. Contrary to controlled traffic farming (CTF) the traffic

  2. Emissions of nitrous oxide from arable organic and conventional cropping systems on two soil types

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chirinda, N.; Carter, Mette Sustmann; Albert, Kristian Rost

    2010-01-01

    Conventional cropping systems rely on targeted short-term fertility management, whereas organic systems depend, in part, on long-term increase in soil fertility as determined by crop rotation and management. Such differences influence soil nitrogen (N) cycling and availability through the year...

  3. Transformation towards more sustainable soil management on Dutch arable farms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Claus, Sebastien; Egdom, van Ilona; Suter, Bruno; Sarpong, Clara; Pappa, Aikaterini; Miah, Imtiaz; Luppa, Caterina; Potters, J.I.

    2017-01-01

    Currently a debate is ongoing in the Netherlands on how to increase soil sustainable management in general and specifically in short term lease. Sustainable practices may not be adopted by farmers because of an interplay between EU, national and provincial legislation, short-term land lease system,

  4. Biochar boosts tropical but not temperate crop yields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeffery, Simon; Abalos, Diego; Prodana, Marija; Catarina Bastos, Ana; van Groenigen, Jan Willem; Hungate, Bruce A.; Verheijen, Frank

    2017-05-01

    Applying biochar to soil is thought to have multiple benefits, from helping mitigate climate change [1, 2], to managing waste [3] to conserving soil [4]. Biochar is also widely assumed to boost crop yield [5, 6], but there is controversy regarding the extent and cause of any yield benefit [7]. Here we use a global-scale meta-analysis to show that biochar has, on average, no effect on crop yield in temperate latitudes, yet elicits a 25% average increase in yield in the tropics. In the tropics, biochar increased yield through liming and fertilization, consistent with the low soil pH, low fertility, and low fertilizer inputs typical of arable tropical soils. We also found that, in tropical soils, high-nutrient biochar inputs stimulated yield substantially more than low-nutrient biochar, further supporting the role of nutrient fertilization in the observed yield stimulation. In contrast, arable soils in temperate regions are moderate in pH, higher in fertility, and generally receive higher fertilizer inputs, leaving little room for additional benefits from biochar. Our findings demonstrate that the yield-stimulating effects of biochar are not universal, but may especially benefit agriculture in low-nutrient, acidic soils in the tropics. Biochar management in temperate zones should focus on potential non-yield benefits such as lime and fertilizer cost savings, greenhouse gas emissions control, and other ecosystem services.

  5. An econometric analysis of changes in arable land utilization using multinomial logit model in Pinggu district, Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yueqing; McNamara, Paul; Wu, Yanfang; Dong, Yue

    2013-10-15

    Arable land in China has been decreasing as a result of rapid population growth and economic development as well as urban expansion, especially in developed regions around cities where quality farmland quickly disappears. This paper analyzed changes in arable land utilization during 1993-2008 in the Pinggu district, Beijing, China, developed a multinomial logit (MNL) model to determine spatial driving factors influencing arable land-use change, and simulated arable land transition probabilities. Land-use maps, as well as social-economic and geographical data were used in the study. The results indicated that arable land decreased significantly between 1993 and 2008. Lost arable land shifted into orchard, forestland, settlement, and transportation land. Significant differences existed for arable land transitions among different landform areas. Slope, elevation, population density, urbanization rate, distance to settlements, and distance to roadways were strong drivers influencing arable land transition to other uses. The MNL model was proved effective for predicting transition probabilities in land use from arable land to other land-use types, thus can be used for scenario analysis to develop land-use policies and land-management measures in this metropolitan area. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Molecular approaches to improvement of Jatropha curcas Linn. as a sustainable energy crop.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudhakar Johnson, T; Eswaran, Nalini; Sujatha, M

    2011-09-01

    With the increase in crude oil prices, climate change concerns and limited reserves of fossil fuel, attention has been diverted to alternate renewable energy sources such as biofuel and biomass. Among the potential biofuel crops, Jatropha curcas L, a non-domesticated shrub, has been gaining importance as the most promising oilseed, as it does not compete with the edible oil supplies. Economic relevance of J. curcas for biodiesel production has promoted world-wide prospecting of its germplasm for crop improvement and breeding. However, lack of adequate genetic variation and non-availability of improved varieties limited its prospects of being a successful energy crop. In this review, we present the progress made in molecular breeding approaches with particular reference to tissue culture and genetic transformation, genetic diversity assessment using molecular markers, large-scale transcriptome and proteome studies, identification of candidate genes for trait improvement, whole genome sequencing and the current interest by various public and private sector companies in commercial-scale cultivation, which highlights the revival of Jatropha as a sustainable energy crop. The information generated from molecular markers, transcriptome profiling and whole genome sequencing could accelerate the genetic upgradation of J. curcas through molecular breeding.

  7. Optimizing root system architecture in biofuel crops for sustainable energy production and soil carbon sequestration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    To, Jennifer Pc; Zhu, Jinming; Benfey, Philip N; Elich, Tedd

    2010-09-08

    Root system architecture (RSA) describes the dynamic spatial configuration of different types and ages of roots in a plant, which allows adaptation to different environments. Modifications in RSA enhance agronomic traits in crops and have been implicated in soil organic carbon content. Together, these fundamental properties of RSA contribute to the net carbon balance and overall sustainability of biofuels. In this article, we will review recent data supporting carbon sequestration by biofuel crops, highlight current progress in studying RSA, and discuss future opportunities for optimizing RSA for biofuel production and soil carbon sequestration.

  8. Sustainable pest regulation in agricultural landscapes: a review on landscape composition, biodiversity and natural pest control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bianchi, F J J A; Booij, C J H; Tscharntke, T

    2006-07-22

    Agricultural intensification has resulted in a simplification of agricultural landscapes by the expansion of agricultural land, enlargement of field size and removal of non-crop habitat. These changes are considered to be an important cause of the rapid decline in farmland biodiversity, with the remaining biodiversity concentrated in field edges and non-crop habitats. The simplification of landscape composition and the decline of biodiversity may affect the functioning of natural pest control because non-crop habitats provide requisites for a broad spectrum of natural enemies, and the exchange of natural enemies between crop and non-crop habitats is likely to be diminished in landscapes dominated by arable cropland. In this review, we test the hypothesis that natural pest control is enhanced in complex patchy landscapes with a high proportion of non-crop habitats as compared to simple large-scale landscapes with little associated non-crop habitat. In 74% and 45% of the studies reviewed, respectively, natural enemy populations were higher and pest pressure lower in complex landscapes versus simple landscapes. Landscape-driven pest suppression may result in lower crop injury, although this has rarely been documented. Enhanced natural enemy activity was associated with herbaceous habitats in 80% of the cases (e.g. fallows, field margins), and somewhat less often with wooded habitats (71%) and landscape patchiness (70%). The similar contributions of these landscape factors suggest that all are equally important in enhancing natural enemy populations. We conclude that diversified landscapes hold most potential for the conservation of biodiversity and sustaining the pest control function.

  9. Emergy Analysis and Sustainability Efficiency Analysis of Different Crop-Based Biodiesel in Life Cycle Perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ren, Jingzheng; Manzardo, Alessandro; Mazzi, Anna

    2013-01-01

    kinds of crop-based biodiesel including soybean-, rapeseed-, sunflower-, jatropha- and palm-based biodiesel production options are studied by emergy analysis; soybean-based scenario is recognized as the most sustainable scenario that should be chosen for further study in China. DEA method is used...

  10. On-farm research in Western Siberia: Potential of adapted management practices for sustainable intensification of crop production systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kühling, Insa; Trautz, Dieter

    2015-04-01

    Western Siberia is of global significance in terms of agricultural production, carbon sequestration and biodiversity preservation. Abandonment of arable land and changes in the use of permanent grasslands were triggered by the dissolution of the Soviet Union in and the following collapse of the state farm system. The peatlands, forests and steppe soils of Western Siberia are one of the most important carbon sinks worldwide. These carbon stocks are, if deteriorated, an important source of radiative forcing even in comparison to anthropogenic emissions. This situation is aggravated by recent and future developments in agricultural land use in the southern part of Western Siberia, in particular in Tyumen province. The increase of drought risk caused by climate change will led to more challenges in these water-limited agricultural production systems. The German-Russian interdisciplinary research project "SASCHA" aims to provide sustainable land management practices to cope with these far-reaching changes for Tyumen province. In particular, on farm scale agricultural strategies are being developed for increased efficiencies in crop production systems. Therefore a 3-factorial field trial with different tillage and seeding operations was installed with spring wheat on 10 ha under practical conditions in 2013. Within all combinations of tillage (no-till/conventional), seed rate (usual/reduced) and seed depth (usual/shallower) various soil parameters as well as plant development and yield components were intensively monitored during the growing seasons. Results after 2-years show significant impacts of the tillage operation on soil moisture and soil temperature. Also a higher trend in nitrogen mineralization could be observed without tillage. Plant development in terms of phenological growth stages took place simultaneously in all variants. Under no-till regime we measured slightly higher grain yields and significant advantages in protein yields. In conjunction with

  11. Molecular mechanisms involved in convergent crop domestication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenser, Teresa; Theißen, Günter

    2013-12-01

    Domestication has helped to understand evolution. We argue that, vice versa, novel insights into evolutionary principles could provide deeper insights into domestication. Molecular analyses have demonstrated that convergent phenotypic evolution is often based on molecular changes in orthologous genes or pathways. Recent studies have revealed that during plant domestication the causal mutations for convergent changes in key traits are likely to be located in particular genes. These insights may contribute to defining candidate genes for genetic improvement during the domestication of new plant species. Such efforts may help to increase the range of arable crops available, thus increasing crop biodiversity and food security to help meet the predicted demands of the continually growing global population under rapidly changing environmental conditions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Macronutrients and trace metals in soil and food crops of Isfahan Province, Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keshavarzi, Behnam; Moore, Farid; Ansari, Maryam; Rastegari Mehr, Meisam; Kaabi, Helena; Kermani, Maryam

    2015-01-01

    The distribution of 10 macronutrients and trace metals in the arable soils of Isfahan Province, their phytoavailability, and associated health risks were investigated; 134 plant and 114 soil samples (from 114 crop fields) were collected and analyzed at harvesting time. Calculation of the soil pollution index (SPI) revealed that arable soil polluted by metals was more severe in the north and southwest of the study area. The results of cluster analysis indicated that Pb, Zn, and Cu share a similar origin from industries and traffic. The concentrations of macronutrients and trace metals in the sampled crops were found in the order of K > Ca > S > Mg > P and Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb, respectively, whereas calculation of the bioconcentration factor (BCF) indicated that the accumulation of the investigated elements in crops was generally in the order of S ≈ K > P > Mg > Ca and Zn > Cu > Mn > Pb > Fe, respectively. Thus, various parameters including crop species and the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil also affected the bioavailability of the elements besides the total element contents in soil. Daily intake (DI) values of elements were lower than the recommended daily intake (RDI) levels in rice grains except for Fe and Mn, but for wheat grains, all elements displayed DI values higher than the RDI. Moreover, based on the hazard index (HI) values, inhabitants are experiencing a significant potential health risk solely due to the consumption of wheat and rice grains (particularly wheat grains). Mn health quotient (HQ) also indicated a high risk of Mn absorption for crop consumer inhabitants.

  13. Azolla domestication towards a biobased economy?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brouwer, Paul; Brautigam, A.; Kulahoglu, C.; Tazelaar, A.O.E.; Kurz, S.; Nierop, K.G.J.; Werf, van der A.K.; Weber, A.P.M.; Schluepmann, H.

    2014-01-01

    Due to its phenomenal growth requiring neither nitrogen fertilizer nor arable land and its biomass composition, the mosquito fern Azolla is a candidate crop to yield food, fuels and chemicals sustainably. To advance Azolla domestication, we research its dissemination, storage and transcriptome.

  14. Azolla domestication towards a biobased economy?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brouwer, Paul; Bräutigam, A.; Külahoglu, C.; Tazelaar, A.O.E.; Kurz, S.; Nierop, K.G.J.; van der Werf, A.; Weber, A.P.M.; Schlupmann, Henriette

    Due to its phenomenal growth requiring neither nitrogen fertilizer nor arable land and its biomass composition, the mosquito fern Azolla is a candidate crop to yield food, fuels and chemicals sustainably. To advance Azolla domestication, we research its dissemination, storage and transcriptome.

  15. The potential of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) for sustainable fibre production: a crop physiological appraisal.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Werf, van der H.M.G.; Mathijssen, E.W.J.M.; Haverkort, A.J.

    1996-01-01

    Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) fibre can be used as a raw material for paper and textile production. A comprehensive research programme in the Netherlands has concluded that fibre hemp is a potentially profitable crop, having the right profile to fit into sustainable farming systems. This paper presents

  16. Biofertilizers function as key player in sustainable agriculture by improving soil fertility, plant tolerance and crop productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhardwaj, Deepak; Ansari, Mohammad Wahid; Sahoo, Ranjan Kumar; Tuteja, Narendra

    2014-05-08

    Current soil management strategies are mainly dependent on inorganic chemical-based fertilizers, which caused a serious threat to human health and environment. The exploitation of beneficial microbes as a biofertilizer has become paramount importance in agriculture sector for their potential role in food safety and sustainable crop production. The eco-friendly approaches inspire a wide range of application of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs), endo- and ectomycorrhizal fungi, cyanobacteria and many other useful microscopic organisms led to improved nutrient uptake, plant growth and plant tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress. The present review highlighted biofertilizers mediated crops functional traits such as plant growth and productivity, nutrient profile, plant defense and protection with special emphasis to its function to trigger various growth- and defense-related genes in signaling network of cellular pathways to cause cellular response and thereby crop improvement. The knowledge gained from the literature appraised herein will help us to understand the physiological bases of biofertlizers towards sustainable agriculture in reducing problems associated with the use of chemicals fertilizers.

  17. Biofertilizers function as key player in sustainable agriculture by improving soil fertility, plant tolerance and crop productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Current soil management strategies are mainly dependent on inorganic chemical-based fertilizers, which caused a serious threat to human health and environment. The exploitation of beneficial microbes as a biofertilizer has become paramount importance in agriculture sector for their potential role in food safety and sustainable crop production. The eco-friendly approaches inspire a wide range of application of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs), endo- and ectomycorrhizal fungi, cyanobacteria and many other useful microscopic organisms led to improved nutrient uptake, plant growth and plant tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress. The present review highlighted biofertilizers mediated crops functional traits such as plant growth and productivity, nutrient profile, plant defense and protection with special emphasis to its function to trigger various growth- and defense-related genes in signaling network of cellular pathways to cause cellular response and thereby crop improvement. The knowledge gained from the literature appraised herein will help us to understand the physiological bases of biofertlizers towards sustainable agriculture in reducing problems associated with the use of chemicals fertilizers. PMID:24885352

  18. Field-based estimates of global warming potential in bioenergy systems of Hawaii: Crop choice and deficit irrigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Replacing fossil fuel with biofuel is environmentally viable only if the net greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of the system is reduced. The effects of replacing annual arable crops with perennial bioenergy feedstocks on net GHG production and soil carbon (C) stock are critical to the system-level bal...

  19. Sustainable biochar effects for low carbon crop production: A 5-crop season field experiment on a low fertility soil from Central China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, X.

    2014-12-01

    GHGs emission than with soil property and crop yield. Thus, our study suggested that biochar amended in dry land could sustain a low carbon production both of maize and wheat in terms of its efficient carbon sequestration, lower GHGs emission intensity and soil improvement over 5 crop seasons after a single amendment.

  20. Farmers' Perception of Integrated Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management for Sustainable Crop Production: A Study of Rural Areas in Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farouque, Md. Golam; Takeya, Hiroyuki

    2007-01-01

    This study aimed to determine farmers' perception of integrated soil fertility and nutrient management for sustainable crop production. Integrated soil fertility (ISF) and nutrient management (NM) is an advanced approach to maintain soil fertility and to enhance crop productivity. A total number of 120 farmers from eight villages in four districts…

  1. Dynamics of the agrochemical fertility parameters of arable soils in the southwestern region of Central Chernozemic zone of Russia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukin, S. V.

    2017-11-01

    Data of the agrochemical survey of arable soils in Belgorod oblast during the period from 1964 to 2014 have been analyzed. The soil cover mainly consists of typical chernozems (Haplic Chernozems) and leached chernozems (Luvic Chernozems) in the forest-steppe zone and ordinary chernozems (Calcic Chernozems) in the steppe zone. Under long-term agricultural use (from 1964 to 2014), the content of mobile phosphorus in arable soils of the region under study has increased from 55 to 137 mg/kg, and the content of mobile potassium has increased from 105 to 147 mg/kg. During the period of 1976-2014, the share of acid soils has increased from 22.8 to 45.8%, including medium-acid soils from 1.5 to 12.6%. No significant changes in the weighted average content of soil organic matter are revealed for the period from 1985 to 2014. The value of this parameter is within the range of 4.8-5.0%. In the 2010-2014, 95.0% of arable soils belonged to the category of low supplied with mobile sulfur; 99.2, 96.9, 94.1, and 54.4% of soils were poorly supplied with zinc, copper, cobalt, and manganese, respectively. During the same period, the maximum average productivity of the crop area (3710 f. u./ha) was noted at the application of 4.8 t/ha organic fertilizers and 97.9 kg/ha organic fertilizers on the average. The maximum long-term yields of sugar beet (36.8 t/ha) and corn grain (4.97 t/ha) were obtained at the application of relatively low fertilizer rates.

  2. Ecological impacts of arable intensification in Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stoate, C.; Boatman, N.D.; Borralho, R.J.; Rio Carvalho, C.; Snoo, de G.R.; Eden, P.

    2001-01-01

    Although arable landscapes have a long history, environmental problems have accelerated in recent decades. The effects of these changes are usually externalised, being greater for society as a whole than for the farms on which they operate, and incentives to correct them are therefore largely

  3. Crop residue decomposition, residual soil organic matter and nitrogen mineralization in arable soils with contrasting textures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Matus, F.J.

    1994-01-01

    To evaluate the significance of cropping, soil texture and soil structure for the decomposition of 14C- and 15N-labelled crop residues, a study was conducted in a sand and a

  4. Development of Trombay pulse crop varieties mutation through induced mutation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dhole, V.J.; Reddy, K.S.

    2016-01-01

    The food prices including pulses were beginning to increase from 2008, something that was not expected to happen before 2020. It was due to climate change, a scarcity of good arable land, water and nutrients. With these obstacles, we must produce almost double than what we are producing now to achieve food security by 2050. It can be achieved through crop improvement. Crop improvement is the art and science of changing the genetic make of crop plant in desire direction through various method of plant breeding. Mutation breeding is one of the techniques which utilize the physical and chemical mutagens to create genetic variability. Till date more than 3200 mutant varieties have been developed worldwide in which two physical mutagens i.e. X-rays and gamma rays have major contributions. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is one of the leading institutes in India where nuclear energy is used for crop improvement, which resulted in to development of 43 improved high yielding varieties in different crops including 19 varieties of pulse crops. These varieties are contributing significantly to production of pulses and ultimately to national food security. (author)

  5. Global Crop Monitoring: A Satellite-Based Hierarchical Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bingfang Wu

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Taking advantage of multiple new remote sensing data sources, especially from Chinese satellites, the CropWatch system has expanded the scope of its international analyses through the development of new indicators and an upgraded operational methodology. The approach adopts a hierarchical system covering four spatial levels of detail: global, regional, national (thirty-one key countries including China and “sub-countries” (for the nine largest countries. The thirty-one countries encompass more that 80% of both production and exports of maize, rice, soybean and wheat. The methodology resorts to climatic and remote sensing indicators at different scales. The global patterns of crop environmental growing conditions are first analyzed with indicators for rainfall, temperature, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR as well as potential biomass. At the regional scale, the indicators pay more attention to crops and include Vegetation Health Index (VHI, Vegetation Condition Index (VCI, Cropped Arable Land Fraction (CALF as well as Cropping Intensity (CI. Together, they characterize crop situation, farming intensity and stress. CropWatch carries out detailed crop condition analyses at the national scale with a comprehensive array of variables and indicators. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, cropped areas and crop conditions are integrated to derive food production estimates. For the nine largest countries, CropWatch zooms into the sub-national units to acquire detailed information on crop condition and production by including new indicators (e.g., Crop type proportion. Based on trend analysis, CropWatch also issues crop production supply outlooks, covering both long-term variations and short-term dynamic changes in key food exporters and importers. The hierarchical approach adopted by CropWatch is the basis of the analyses of climatic and crop conditions assessments published in the quarterly “CropWatch bulletin” which

  6. PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE SOLID AND LIQUID WASTE PRODUCTS FROM THE HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATED ENERGY CROPS GASIFICATION PROCESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Werle

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the results of basic physico-chemical properties of solid (ash and liquid (tar waste products of the gasification process of the heavy metal contaminated energy crops. The gasification process has carried out in a laboratory fixed bed reactor. Three types of energy crops: Miscanthus x giganteus, Sida hermaphrodita and Spartina Pectinata were used. The experimental plots were established on heavy metal contaminated arable land located in Bytom (southern part of Poland, Silesian Voivodship.

  7. Enhancing productivity of salt affected soils through crops and cropping system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, S.S.; Khan, A.R.

    2002-05-01

    The reclamation of salt affected soils needs the addition of soil amendment and enough water to leach down the soluble salts. The operations may also include other simple agronomic techniques to reclaim soils and to know the crops and varieties that may be grown and other management practices which may be followed on such soils (Khan, 2001). The choice of crops to be grown during reclamation of salt affected soils is very important to obtain acceptable yields. This also decides cropping systems as well as favorable diversification for early reclamation, desirable yield and to meet the other requirements of farm families. In any salt affected soils, the following three measures are adopted for reclamation and sustaining the higher productivity of reclaimed soils. 1. Suitable choice of crops, forestry and tree species; 2. Suitable choice of cropping and agroforestry system; 3. Other measures to sustain the productivity of reclaimed soils. (author)

  8. Assessment of various practices of the mitigation of N2O emissions from the arable soils of Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sosulski Tomasz

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This review assesses the adaptability and effectiveness of the basic practices to mitigate the N2O emissions from the arable land in the climate, soil and agricultural conditions of Poland. We have analyzed the decrease in the nitrogen-based fertilization, selection of the fertilizer nitrogen forms, use of biological inhibitors of nitrogen transformation in the soil, control of the acidic soil reaction, reduction in the natural fertilizers use and afforestation of the low productive soils. The challenge evaluating the effectiveness of mitigation practices lies in the inadequacy of the national data on N2O soil emissions in particular agrotechnical conditions. In Poland, circumstances that favor intensive N2O emissions from the arable soils occur uncommonly, as shows the analysis of the literature reporting on the country climate, soil and agricultural conditions alongside the N2O emissions from soils under various cultivation conditions. Consequently, the effectiveness of mitigation practices that relies on an extensification of plant production may be insufficient. It can be assumed that, at the doses of nitrogen fitting the nutritional needs of crops, the soil N2O emissions are low and do not meaningfully differ from the emissions from untreated soils (literature data point to limited N2O emission from arable soils treated with N doses of ≤150-200 kg N·ha-1. The effectiveness of the nitrogen fertilization reduction as an N2O emissions mitigation practice is restricted to intensive farming. A universal registry of the mineral and natural fertilization use could help identify the agricultural holdings with a potential for high N2O emission and foster a targeted application of mitigation practices. It is suggested that normalization and maintenance of the optimum (i.e. close to neutral soil pH should become a more common practice of N2O emissions mitigation in Poland in view of the extent of arable soils acidification and the literature data

  9. Crop improvement projects in Peru

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Broeshart, H.

    1978-01-01

    Only two percent of the territory of Peru consists of arable land. Sixteen million people depend on the production of about three million hectares of land, which means that on the average only 1800 square metres is available per person. It is clear that Peru is one of the poorest countries of the world as far as available arable land is concerned and consequently it will have to drastically increase its agricultural production per unit area or import large quantities of agricultural products to feed its rapidly growing population. Agricultural research on the efficient use of fertilizers is being carried out by the regional experiment station (CRIA), by the National University of Agriculture, La Molina, Lima, dealing with programmes on maize, potatoes, cereals and forage crops, by national universities in the country and by specialized research institutes for tropical agriculture on sugar-cane, cotton, coffee and tea. Isotope and radiation techniques are a particularly effective means of determining the best cultural practices for the efficient use of fertilizers and water, and the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Atomic Energy in Food and Agriculture has been involved in the organization of field and greenhouse programmes at experiment stations and universities in Peru since 1963

  10. A crop production ecology (CPE) approach to sustainable production of biomass for food, feed and fuel

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haverkort, A.J.; Bindraban, P.S.; Conijn, J.G.; Ruijter, de F.J.

    2009-01-01

    With the rapid increase in demand for agricultural products for food, feed and fuel, concerns are growing about sustainability issues. Can agricultural production meet the needs of increasing numbers of people consuming more animal products and using a larger share of crops as fuel for transport,

  11. How can we improve Mediterranean cropping systems?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Benlhabib, O.; Yazar, A.; Qadir, M.

    2014-01-01

    In the Mediterranean region, crop productivity and food security are closely linked to the adaptation of cropping systems to multiple abiotic stresses. Limited and unpredictable rainfall and low soil fertility have reduced agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability. For this reason...... the tested interventions, incorporation of crop residues coupled with supplementary irrigation showed a significantly positive effect on crop productivity, yield stability and environmental sustainability....

  12. Replacing fallow by cover crops: economic sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabriel, José Luis; Garrido, Alberto; Quemada, Miguel

    2013-04-01

    Replacing fallow by cover crops in intensive fertilized systems has been demonstrated as an efficient tool for reducing nitrate leaching. However, despite the evident environmental services provided and the range of agronomic benefits documented in the literature, farmers' adoption of this new technology is still limited because they are either unwilling or unable, although adoption reluctance is frequently rooted in low economic profitability, low water se efficiency or poor knowledge. Economic analyses permit a comparison between the profit that farmers obtain from agricultural products and the cost of adopting specific agricultural techniques. The goal of this study was to evaluate the economic impact of replacing the usual winter fallow with cover crops (barley (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. Vanessa), vetch (Vicia villosa L., cv. Vereda) and rapeseed (Brassica napus L., cv. Licapo)) in irrigated maize systems and variable Mediterranean weather conditions using stochastic Monte-Carlo simulations of key farms' financial performance indicators. The three scenarios studied for each cover crop were: i) just leaving the cover crop residue in the ground, ii) leaving the cover crop residue but reduce following maize fertilization according to the N available from the previous cover crop and iii) selling the cover crop residue for animal feeding. All the scenarios were compared with respect to a typical maize-fallow rotation. With observed data from six different years and in various field trials, looking for different weather conditions, probability distribution functions of maize yield, cover crop biomass production and N fertilizer saving was fitted. Based in statistical sources maize grain price, different forage prices and the cost of fertilizer were fitted to probability distribution functions too. As result, introducing a cover crop involved extra costs with respect to fallow as the initial investment, because new seed, herbicide or extra field operations. Additional

  13. Sustainability of European winter wheat- and maize-based cropping systems: Economic, environmental and social ex-post assessment of conventional and IPM-based systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vasileiadis, V.P.; Dachbrodt-saaydeh, S.; Kudsk, P.; Colnenne-David, C.; Leprince, F.; Holb, I.J.; Kierzek, R.; Furlan, L.; Loddo, D.; Melander, B.; Jørgensen, L.N.; Newton, A.C.; Toque, C.; Dijk, van W.; Lefebvre, M.; Benezit, M.; Sattin, M.

    2017-01-01

    In order to ensure higher sustainability of winter wheat and maize production in Europe, cropping systems featuring different levels of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) need to be tested in the field and validated for their sustainability before being adopted by farmers. However, the sustainability

  14. Groundwater Sustainability Through Optimal Crop Choice in the Indian Punjab

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desai, R.; Siegfried, T. U.; B Krishnamurthy, C.; Sobolowski, S.

    2010-12-01

    total discounted crop revenue being the goal function and non-declining revenue as well as groundwater sustainability constraints. Areas set aside for individual crops in individual seasons and districts are decision variables and levels of support prices determine revenue streams. The SP was solved with a Monte Carlo simulation-based approach by sampling the 100 climate realizations where the expected goal function is approximated by the corresponding sample average function. Results indicate that a climate sensitive crop choice can lead to expected net economic gains while ensuring non-declining groundwater tables at the same time if support prices for water intensive crops are sufficiently low as compared to the prices of climate-sensitive crops. This is promising since it shows that wisely chosen support price signals could incentivize farmers to adopt climate-sensitive crop choice while at the same time stabilize the state fiscal burden from subsidized energy for groundwater pumping. It would, however, imply that India should gradually develop other regions of modern mechanized agricultural so as to ensure sufficient caloric supplies at the national scale.

  15. THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE CROPPING SYSTEMS IN THE HIGHLANDS OF SOUTH-EAST ASIA: GENERAL LESSONS FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael A. Fullen

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available Soil conservation in the highlands of South-East Asia is essential for sustainable agro-environmental development. The effectiveness of soil conservation treatments developed in runoff plots was investigated in farmer-managed plots on a natural catchment. This wasachieved by the development and scientific evaluation of modified and novel cropping practices in a representative highland catchment in Yunnan Province, China. Wang Jia Catchment covers 40.1 hectares near Kedu, in Xundian County, north-east Yunnan (25o28'N, 102o53'E. The initial project consisted of an evaluation of the effects of modified cropping practices on maize productivity and soil properties. This programme was extended to investigate ways of increasing the productivity of maize, wheat and soybean on fragile slopes in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way. The approach incorporates modified and novel agronomic and soil conservation measures, with the evaluation of their agricultural, environmental and socio-economic impacts using multidisciplinary approaches. This European Union funded project involved an international research team from Belgium, China, Ireland, Thailand and the U.K. Five co-ordinated work packages were implemented. Involving: (1 Background agricultural and environmental assessment of Wang Jia Catchment. (2Implementation and evaluation of modified and novel cropping systems for wheat, maize and soybean in the catchment. (3 Cost-benefit analyses of the socio-economic impacts of the changed cropping practices. (4 Comparative scientific evaluation of the cropping techniques in the highlands of northern Thailand. (5 Dissemination of project outcomes and establishment of training programmes for best practice in highland rural development. The lessons of the Project for promoting sustainable agro-environmental development in tropical and subtropical highlands include: (1 Recognizing the importance of both ‘north-south’ and ‘south-south’ co

  16. Is current irrigation sustainable in the United States? An integrated assessment of climate change impact on water resources and irrigated crop yields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blanc, Elodie; Caron, Justin; Fant, Charles; Monier, Erwan

    2017-08-01

    While climate change impacts on crop yields has been extensively studied, estimating the impact of water shortages on irrigated crop yields is challenging because the water resources management system is complex. To investigate this issue, we integrate a crop yield reduction module and a water resources model into the MIT Integrated Global System Modeling framework, an integrated assessment model linking a global economic model to an Earth system model. We assess the effects of climate and socioeconomic changes on water availability for irrigation in the U.S. as well as subsequent impacts on crop yields by 2050, while accounting for climate change projection uncertainty. We find that climate and socioeconomic changes will increase water shortages and strongly reduce irrigated yields for specific crops (i.e., cotton and forage), or in specific regions (i.e., the Southwest) where irrigation is not sustainable. Crop modeling studies that do not represent changes in irrigation availability can thus be misleading. Yet, since the most water-stressed basins represent a relatively small share of U.S. irrigated areas, the overall reduction in U.S. crop yields is small. The response of crop yields to climate change and water stress also suggests that some level of adaptation will be feasible, like relocating croplands to regions with sustainable irrigation or switching to less irrigation intensive crops. Finally, additional simulations show that greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation can alleviate the effect of water stress on irrigated crop yields, enough to offset the reduced CO2 fertilization effect compared to an unconstrained GHG emission scenario.

  17. Carbon dynamics with prolonged arable cropping soils in the Dano district (Southwest Burkina-Faso)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hounkpatin, Ozias; Welp, Gerhard; Amelung, Wulf

    2016-04-01

    The conversion of natural ecosystems into agricultural land affects the atmospheric CO2 concentration whose increase contributes to global warming. In the low activity clay soils (LAC) of the tropics, farming is largely dependent on the level of soil organic carbon (SOC) for sustainable crop production. In this study, we investigated the changes in SOC in Plinthosols along a cultivation chronosequence in the Dano district (Southwest Burkina-Faso). The chronosequence consisted of undisturbed savannah (Y0) and 11 agricultural fields with short and long histories of cultivation ranging from 1-year-old cropland to 29-year-old cropland (Y29). About 14 soil profiles were described and soil composite samples were taken per horizon. Particulate organic matter (POM) was fractionated according to particle size: fraction 2000 - 250 μm (POM1), 250 μm - 53 μm (POM2), 53 μm - 20 μm (POM3), and POM1 > POM3 > POM2 carbon no matter the duration of land use. However, SOC losses occurred not only in the labile C pools but also in the stabile nonPOM fraction with increasing duration of agricultural land use. Compared to the initial carbon content in the Y0 field, about 59% of carbon content loss occurred in the POM1 (> 250 μm), 53% in the POM2 (250 - 53 μm), 52 % in the POM3 (53 - 20 μm) and 47% in the nonPOM fraction (stabilization, its depletion with increasing cultivation intensity suggests that the destruction of aggregates in these fields increased the vulnerability of this pool to microbial degradation. Keywords: Soil organic carbon, Plinthosols, low activity clay soil, POM

  18. Impacts of projected climate change on productivity and nitrogen leaching of crop rotations in arable and pig farming systems in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Doltra, Jordi; Lægdsmand, Mette; Olesen, Jørgen E

    2014-01-01

    The effects of projected changes in climate and atmospheric CO2 concentration on productivity and nitrogen (N) leaching of characteristic arable and pig farming rotations in Denmark were investigated with the FASSET simulation model. The LARS weather generator was used to provide climatic data...... for the baseline period (1961–90) and in combination with two regional circulation models (RCM) to generate climatic data under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) A1B emission scenario for four different 20-year time slices (denoted by midpoints 2020, 2040, 2060 and 2080) for two locations...

  19. Fibre crops as alternative land use for radioactively contaminated arable land

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vandenhove, H.; Van Hees, M.

    2005-01-01

    The transfer of radiocaesium, one of the most important and widespread contaminants following a nuclear accident, to the fibre crops hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) and flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) as well as the distribution of radiocaesium during crop conversion were studied for sandy soil under greenhouse and lysimeters conditions. Soil parameters did not unequivoqually explain the transfer factors (TF) observed. TFs to flax stems ranged from 1.34 to 2.80 x 10 -3 m 2 kg -1 . TFs to seeds are about a factor of 4 lower. During the retting process for separating the fibres from the straw, more than 95% of the activity was removed with the retting water. For hemp, the TF to the stem was about 0.6 x 10 -3 m 2 kg -1 . For hemp, straw and fibres were mechanically separated and TF to straw was about 0.5 x 10 -3 m 2 kg -1 and to fibres 1.0 x 10 -3 m 2 kg -1 . Generally, the TFs to the useable plant parts both for hemp and flax, are low enough to allow for the production of clean end-products (fibre, seed oil, biofuel) even on heavily contaminated land. Given the considerable decontamination during retting, contamination levels in flax fibres would only exceed the exemption limits for fibre use after production in extreme contamination scenarios (>12 300 kBq m -2 ). Since hemp fibres are mechanically separated, use of hemp fibres is more restricted (contamination -2 ). Use of stems as biofuel is restricted to areas with contamination levels of -2 for flax and hemp, respectively. Use of seeds for edible oil production and flour is possible almost without restriction for flax but due to the high TFs to seed observed for hemp (up to 3 x 10 -3 m 2 kg -1 ) consumption of hemp seed products should be considered with care

  20. Sustainability of current GM crop cultivation : Review of people, planet, profit effects of agricultural production of GM crops, based on the cases of soybean, maize, and cotton

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Franke, A.C.; Breukers, M.L.H.; Broer, W.; Bunte, F.H.J.; Dolstra, O.; Engelbronner-Kolff, d' F.M.; Lotz, L.A.P.; Montfort, J.; Nikoloyuk, J.; Rutten, M.M.; Smulders, M.J.M.; Wiel, van de C.C.M.; Zijl, M.

    2011-01-01

    This report adresses the question whether the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops abroad for import in the Netherlands, as compared to the cultivation of their conventional (non-GM) counterparts, is in line with Dutch policy and societal aims striving after more sustainable forms of

  1. Continuous measurements of N2O emissions from arable fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallman, Magdalena; Lammirato, Carlo; Rütting, Tobias; Delin, Sofia; Weslien, Per; Klemedtsson, Leif

    2017-04-01

    Agriculture represents 59 % of the anthropogenic nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, according to the IPCC (Ciais et al. 2013). N2O emissions are typically irregular and vary widely in time and space, which makes it difficult to get a good representation of the emissions (Henault et al. 2012), particularly if measurements have low frequency and/or cover only a short time period. Manual measurements are, for practical reasons, often short-term and low-frequent, or restricted to periods where emissions are expected to be high, e.g. after fertilizing. However, the nature of N2O emissions, being largely unpredictable, calls for continuous or near-continuous measurements over long time periods. So far, rather few long-term, high resolution measurements of N2O emissions from arable fields are reported; among them are Flessa et al. (2002) and Senapati et al. (2016). In this study, we have a two-year data set (2015-2017) with hourly measurements from ten automatic chambers, covering unfertilized controls as well as different nitrogen fertilizer treatments. Grain was produced on the field, and effects of tillage, harvest and other cropping measures were covered. What we can see from the experiment is that (a) the unfertilized control plots seem to follow the same emission pattern as the fertilized plots, at a level similar to the standard mineral fertilized plots (120 kg N ha-1 yr-1) and (b) freeze/thaw emissions are comparable in size to emissions after fertilizing. These two findings imply that the importance of fertilizing to the overall N2O emissions from arable soils may be smaller than previously expected. References: Ciais, P., C. Sabine, G. Bala, L. Bopp, V. Brovkin, J. Canadell et al. 2013: Carbon and Other Biogeochemical Cycles. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung et

  2. Responses of tropical root crops to climate change: implications for Pacific food security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gleadow, R.; Webber, B.; Macness, N.; Lisson, S.; Nauluvula, P.; Hargraves, J.; Crimp, S. J.

    2013-12-01

    Cassava and taro are an important source of calories in many parts of the developing world and hold much promise for meeting the need for food security in equatorial regions. Communities in the Pacific Island countries reliant on agriculture-based livelihood systems have been identified as particularly at risk from climate change, due to likely increases in crop failure, new patterns of pests and diseases, lack of appropriate seed and plant material, loss of livestock and potential loss of arable land. Recent shortfalls in agricultural production resulting from changing export markets, commodity prices, climatic variation, and population growth and urbanisation, have contributed further to regional food insecurity concerns. Cassava and taro contain herbivore defense chemicals that are detrimental to human health (cyanogenic glucosides and calcium oxalate). Unprocessed cassava can cause acute cyanide intoxication, paralysis and even death, especially during droughts. A number of activities are already underway in the Pacific region to identify ways to ameliorate existing climate risk and enhance current agricultural production. Whilst these activities are important to ensure long-term agricultural sustainability, there remains a significant degree of uncertainty as to how effective these strategies may be in the face of a changing and increasingly variable future climate. We present our current understanding of the impact of climate change on key Pacific production systems - specifically those based on the staple root crops, taro and cassava. This includes (1) Our understanding of the responses of cassava and taro crops to existing environmental drivers (climate, soil and nutrient interactions); (2) The responses of cassava and taro crops to enhanced CO2 conditions; and (3) Efforts to model productivity responses (within the APSIM framework) and results for locations in the Pacific.

  3. Energy market as a non-food application for European agriculture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sipilae, K.

    1993-01-01

    Sustainable non-food cropping systems for arable land are being studied intensively both in Scandinavia and elsewhere in Europe to find alternatives, in which the need for economic subvention would be lower than the export subsidies for grain or other food products. The area of arable land available for non-food cultivation is about 1 million hectares in Finland and 20 - 30 million hectares in the European Communities. In addition to conventional crops and afforestatation, it is possible to grow energy plants (willow, poplar, miscanthus, etc.) and agrofibre plants in these areas. Cultivation of energy willows or other corresponding plants of less than 5 m in height is usually not considered afforestation, as a willow field can easily be retaken into agricultural use with certain reservations (e.g., covered drains can be clogged) This article gives a survey of the alternatives for the utilization of non-food cropping systems

  4. Phosphorus requirement for symbiotic N2 fixation: a major challenge for sustainable agro-ecosystems

    OpenAIRE

    Drevon, Jean-Jacques; Abadie, Josiane; Amenc, Laurie; Bargaz, Adnane; Domergue, Odile; Lazali, Mohamed; Pernot, Catherine

    2016-01-01

    Low phophorus availability in about 40% of the world’s arable land limits crop yield, most particularly for leguminous crops when their growth depends upon symbiotic N2-fixation (SNF). Therefore, our work aims to increase the phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) for SNF, and its contribution to a more effective coupling between the P and N bio-geochemical cycles. Myo-inositol hexakisphosphate (phytate) constitutes the main source of organic P in soils, but is unavailable to plants. Phytases are th...

  5. Patterns of bryophyte diversity in arable fields of Lithuania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danguolė Andriušaitytė

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents research data on bryophyte diversity in arable land throughout the territory of Lithuania. The bryoflora was analyzed regarding systematic structure and morphological forms, life-history strategies, mode of reproduction and frequency of species. Bryophyte diversity in arable fields of Lithuania was compared with that of Slovakia and the British Isles, which are positioned in different geographical regions of Europe. A total of 97 species of bryophytes of 25 families and 48 genera were ascertained. Dominance of acrocarpous mosses and thalloid liverworts, high representation of Pottiaceae, Bryaceae, Mielichhoferiaceae and Ricciaceae families as well as Bryum, Dicranella, Pohlia and Riccia genera, wide distribution of annual shuttles and ephemeral colonists, high reproduction effort of the species (frequent sporophytes and asexual propagules were specific features of the bryophytes of the studied habitats as a result of adaptations to regular disturbances. The distribution of species into six frequency groups seemed to be uneven. The most abundant group of species with the lowest frequency (1–3 records covered 53.6% of all species. The group contained about 90% of all many-year potential life span species recorded in the habitat. Species with short life span were distributed quite evenly throughout frequency groups. No regionally-specific species were ascertained in the studied habitat. Most of arable-land-specific species recorded in Lithuania is distributed throughout different regions of Europe.

  6. Small Scale Farmers’ Indigenous Agricultural Adaptation Options in the Face of Declining or Stagnant Crop Yields in the Fako and Meme Divisions of Cameroon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Terence Epule Epule

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Research has proven that, at a national scale in Cameroon, arable crop production is either declining or stagnant. In the face of these trends, governments, local and international organizations, communities and peasant farmers have developed adaptation options to sustain arable production and reduce poverty. Given this general context, and based on population perceptions and four study sites in the Southwest region of Cameroon, this study aims at verifying current trends in arable production and farmers’ adaptation options based on their indigenous knowledge. These analyses are based on the administration of 200 questionnaires and two focus group discussions (FGDs. The data were analysed using SPSS version 20 in which frequencies, percentages and means were calculated. In addition, the chi-squared statistical test of goodness of fit was calculated and the stated hypothesis was validated accordingly. The FGDs were analysed through verbatim transcriptions and with the aid of the context analysis software, Wordstat 7. The results show that current yields (2010–2014 in all the study sites are declining due to deforestation, poor governance, inadequate access to farm inputs such as fertilizers, increased economic opportunities elsewhere and a breakdown of cultural practices, while 10 years (2000–2010 previously, they had been increasing. It has also been found that the main adaptation options/coping mechanisms reported by the respondents in order of highest frquencies are: expansion of farm size, help from relatives and dependents that live on the farm, supplemental occupations or livelihood diversification and usage of organic fertilizers. From the chi-squared test, the alternate hypothesis that, “there is some difference between population proportions for different adaptation options or coping mechanisms” is validated.

  7. Disentangling the root- and detritus-based food chain in the micro-food web of an arable soil by plant removal.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olena Glavatska

    Full Text Available Soil food web structure and function is primarily determined by the major basal resources, which are living plant tissue, root exudates and dead organic matter. A field experiment was performed to disentangle the interlinkage of the root-and detritus-based soil food chains. An arable site was cropped either with maize, amended with maize shoot litter or remained bare soil, representing food webs depending on roots, aboveground litter and soil organic matter as predominant resource, respectively. The soil micro-food web, i.e. microorganisms and nematodes, was investigated in two successive years along a depth transect. The community composition of nematodes was used as model to determine the changes in the rhizosphere, detritusphere and bulk soil food web. In the first growing season the impact of treatments on the soil micro-food web was minor. In the second year plant-feeding nematodes increased under maize, whereas after harvest the Channel Index assigned promotion of the detritivore food chain, reflecting decomposition of root residues. The amendment with litter did not foster microorganisms, instead biomass of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as that of fungi declined in the rooted zone. Likely higher grazing pressure by nematodes reduced microbial standing crop as bacterial and fungal feeders increased. However, populations at higher trophic levels were not promoted, indicating limited flux of litter resources along the food chain. After two years of bare soil microbial biomass and nematode density remained stable, pointing to soil organic matter-based resources that allow bridging periods with deprivation. Nematode communities were dominated by opportunistic taxa that are competitive at moderate resource supply. In sum, removal of plants from the system had less severe effects than expected, suggesting considerable food web resilience to the disruption of both the root and detrital carbon channel, pointing to a legacy of

  8. Disentangling the root- and detritus-based food chain in the micro-food web of an arable soil by plant removal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glavatska, Olena; Müller, Karolin; Butenschoen, Olaf; Schmalwasser, Andreas; Kandeler, Ellen; Scheu, Stefan; Totsche, Kai Uwe; Ruess, Liliane

    2017-01-01

    Soil food web structure and function is primarily determined by the major basal resources, which are living plant tissue, root exudates and dead organic matter. A field experiment was performed to disentangle the interlinkage of the root-and detritus-based soil food chains. An arable site was cropped either with maize, amended with maize shoot litter or remained bare soil, representing food webs depending on roots, aboveground litter and soil organic matter as predominant resource, respectively. The soil micro-food web, i.e. microorganisms and nematodes, was investigated in two successive years along a depth transect. The community composition of nematodes was used as model to determine the changes in the rhizosphere, detritusphere and bulk soil food web. In the first growing season the impact of treatments on the soil micro-food web was minor. In the second year plant-feeding nematodes increased under maize, whereas after harvest the Channel Index assigned promotion of the detritivore food chain, reflecting decomposition of root residues. The amendment with litter did not foster microorganisms, instead biomass of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as that of fungi declined in the rooted zone. Likely higher grazing pressure by nematodes reduced microbial standing crop as bacterial and fungal feeders increased. However, populations at higher trophic levels were not promoted, indicating limited flux of litter resources along the food chain. After two years of bare soil microbial biomass and nematode density remained stable, pointing to soil organic matter-based resources that allow bridging periods with deprivation. Nematode communities were dominated by opportunistic taxa that are competitive at moderate resource supply. In sum, removal of plants from the system had less severe effects than expected, suggesting considerable food web resilience to the disruption of both the root and detrital carbon channel, pointing to a legacy of organic matter

  9. Occurrence of entomopathogenic fungi in arable soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryszard Miętkiewski

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Samples of soil were taken from arable field and from balk. Larvae of Galleria mellonella and Ephestia kühniella were used as an "insect bait" for isolation of entomopathogenic fungi from soil. Metarhizium anisopliae and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus were isolated from both kind of soil. but Beauveria bassiana was present only in soil taken from balk.

  10. Crop diversity loss as primary cause of grey partridge and common pheasant decline in Lower Saxony, Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronnenberg, Katrin; Strauß, Egbert; Siebert, Ursula

    2016-09-09

    The grey partridge (Perdix perdix) and the common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) are galliform birds typical of arable lands in Central Europe and exhibit a partly dramatic negative population trend. In order to understand general habitat preferences we modelled grey partridge and common pheasant densities over the entire range of Lower Saxony. Spatially explicit developments in bird densities were modelled using spatially explicit trends of crop cultivation. Pheasant and grey partridge densities counted annually by over 8000 hunting district holders over 10 years in a range of 3.7 Mio ha constitute a unique dataset (wildlife survey of Lower Saxony). Data on main landscape groups, functional groups of agricultural crops (consisting of 9.5 million fields compiled by the Integrated Administration and Control System) and landscape features were aggregated to 420 municipalities. To model linear 8 or 10 year population trends (for common pheasant and grey partridge respectively) we use rho correlation coefficients of densities, but also rho coefficients of agricultural crops. All models confirm a dramatic decline in population densities. The habitat model for the grey partridge shows avoidance of municipalities with a high proportion of woodland and water areas, but a preference for areas with a high proportion of winter grains and high crop diversity. The trend model confirms these findings with a linear positive effect of diversity on grey partridge population development. Similarly, the pheasant avoids wooded areas but showed some preference for municipalities with open water. The effect of maize was found to be positive at medium densities, but negative at very high proportions. Winter grains, landscape features and high crop diversity are favorable. The positive effect of winter grains and higher crop diversity is also supported by the trend model. The results show the strong importance of diverse crop cultivation. Most incentives favor the cultivation of

  11. Direct and Indirect Short-term Effects of Biochar on Physical Characteristics of an Arable Sandy Loam

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sun, Zhencai; Moldrup, Per; Elsgaard, Lars

    2013-01-01

    Biochar addition to agricultural soil is reported in several studies to reduce climate gas emissions, boost carbon storage, and improve soil fertility and crop productivity. These effects may be partly related to soil physical changes resulting from biochar amendment, but knowledge of how biochar...... application mechanistically affects soil physical characteristics is limited. This study investigated the effect of biochar application on soil structural and functional properties, including specific surface area, water retention, and gas transport parameters. Intact soil cores were taken from a field...... experiment on an arable sandy loam that included four reference plots without biochar and four plots with 20 tons ha(-1) biochar incorporated into the upper 20 cm 7 months before sampling. Water retention was measured at matric potentials ranging from wet (pF 1.0) to extremely dry conditions (pF similar to 6...

  12. Fibre crops as alternative land use for radioactively contaminated arable land

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vandenhove, H [Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, SCK-CEN, Department of Radiation Protection Research, Radioecology Section, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium); Van Hees, M [Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, SCK-CEN, Department of Radiation Protection Research, Radioecology Section, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium)

    2005-07-01

    The transfer of radiocaesium, one of the most important and widespread contaminants following a nuclear accident, to the fibre crops hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) and flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) as well as the distribution of radiocaesium during crop conversion were studied for sandy soil under greenhouse and lysimeters conditions. Soil parameters did not unequivoqually explain the transfer factors (TF) observed. TFs to flax stems ranged from 1.34 to 2.80 x 10{sup -3} m{sup 2} kg{sup -1}. TFs to seeds are about a factor of 4 lower. During the retting process for separating the fibres from the straw, more than 95% of the activity was removed with the retting water. For hemp, the TF to the stem was about 0.6 x 10{sup -3} m{sup 2} kg{sup -1}. For hemp, straw and fibres were mechanically separated and TF to straw was about 0.5 x 10{sup -3} m{sup 2} kg{sup -1} and to fibres 1.0 x 10{sup -3} m{sup 2} kg{sup -1}. Generally, the TFs to the useable plant parts both for hemp and flax, are low enough to allow for the production of clean end-products (fibre, seed oil, biofuel) even on heavily contaminated land. Given the considerable decontamination during retting, contamination levels in flax fibres would only exceed the exemption limits for fibre use after production in extreme contamination scenarios (>12 300 kBq m{sup -2}). Since hemp fibres are mechanically separated, use of hemp fibres is more restricted (contamination <740 kBq m{sup -2}). Use of stems as biofuel is restricted to areas with contamination levels of <250 and 1050 kBq m{sup -2} for flax and hemp, respectively. Use of seeds for edible oil production and flour is possible almost without restriction for flax but due to the high TFs to seed observed for hemp (up to 3 x 10{sup -3} m{sup 2} kg{sup -1}) consumption of hemp seed products should be considered with care.

  13. Transfer factors of radionuclides from Andsols to some selected crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ban-nai, Tadaaki; Yoshida, Satoshi; Muramatsu, Yasuyuki

    2007-01-01

    In order to obtain the applicable transfer factor for Japanese environment, we performed radiotracer experiments on the uptake of 137 Cs, 85 Sr, 54 Mn, 60 Co and 65 Zn by leaf vegetables (two cabbages, komatsuna, spinach and lettuce), root vegetables (radish and carrot) and other crops (wheat, soy bean sweet potato and tomato) using the Andosol (Kuroboku soil), the most common of Japanese arable soils. The ranges of TFs (on a dry weight basis) of 137 Cs, 85 Sr, 60 Co, 54 Mn and 65 Zn for edible parts of crops (leaf vegetables, root vegetables, wheat and soy bean) were 0.09 - 1.42, 0.24 - 3.7, 0.019 - 1.5, 0.31 - 12 and 0.68 - 14, respectively. TFs were, in most cases in the order Mn, Zn, Sr > Cs > Co. (author)

  14. Will breeding for nitrogen use efficient crops lead to nitrogen use efficient cropping systems?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dresbøll, Dorte Bodin; Thorup-Kristensen, Kristian

    2014-01-01

    The benefits of improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in crops are typically studied through the performance of the individual crop. However, in order to increase yields in a sustainable way, improving NUE of the cropping systems must be the aim. We did a model simulation study to investigate h...

  15. Economic and ecological impacts of bioenergy crop production—a modeling approach applied in Southwestern Germany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hans-Georg Schwarz-v. Raumer

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper considers scenarios of cultivating energy crops in the German Federal State of Baden-Württemberg to identify potentials and limitations of a sustainable bioenergy production. Trade-offs are analyzed among income and production structure in agriculture, bioenergy crop production, greenhouse gas emissions, and the interests of soil, water and species habitat protection. An integrated modelling approach (IMA was implemented coupling ecological and economic models in a model chain. IMA combines the Economic Farm Emission Model (EFEM; key input: parameter sets on farm production activities, the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate model (EPIC; key input: parameter sets on environmental cropping effects and GIS geo-processing models. EFEM is a supply model that maximizes total gross margins on farm level with simultaneous calculation of greenhouse gas emission from agriculture production. Calculations by EPIC result in estimates for soil erosion by water, nitrate leaching, Soil Organic Carbon and greenhouse gas emissions from soil. GIS routines provide land suitability analyses, scenario settings concerning nature conservation and habitat models for target species and help to enable spatial explicit results. The model chain is used to calculate scenarios representing different intensities of energy crop cultivation. To design scenarios which are detailed and in step to practice, comprehensive data research as well as fact and effect analyses were carried out. The scenarios indicate that, not in general but when considering specific farm types, energy crop share extremely increases if not restricted and leads to an increase in income. If so this leads to significant increase in soil erosion by water, nitrate leaching and greenhouse gas emissions. It has to be expected that an extension of nature conservation leads to an intensification of the remaining grassland and of the arable land, which were not part of nature conservation measures

  16. Improvements in crop water productivity increase water sustainability and food security—a global analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brauman, Kate A; Foley, Jonathan A; Siebert, Stefan

    2013-01-01

    Irrigation consumes more water than any other human activity, and thus the challenges of water sustainability and food security are closely linked. To evaluate how water resources are used for food production, we examined global patterns of water productivity—food produced (kcal) per unit of water (l) consumed. We document considerable variability in crop water productivity globally, not only across different climatic zones but also within climatic zones. The least water productive systems are disproportionate freshwater consumers. On precipitation-limited croplands, we found that ∼40% of water consumption goes to production of just 20% of food calories. Because in many cases crop water productivity is well below optimal levels, in many cases farmers have substantial opportunities to improve water productivity. To demonstrate the potential impact of management interventions, we calculated that raising crop water productivity in precipitation-limited regions to the 20th percentile of productivity would increase annual production on rainfed cropland by enough to provide food for an estimated 110 million people, and water consumption on irrigated cropland would be reduced enough to meet the annual domestic water demands of nearly 1.4 billion people. (letter)

  17. Sustainable production of grain crops for biofuels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grain crops of the Gramineae are grown for their edible, starchy seeds. Their grain is used directly for human food, livestock feed, and as raw material for many industries, including biofuels. Using grain crops for non-food uses affects the amount of food available to the world. Grain-based biofuel...

  18. Biogas production from energy crops and crop residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehtomaeki, A.

    2006-07-01

    the feedstock increased methane production per digester volume by 16-65% above that obtained from digestion of manure alone. In anaerobic digestion of energy crops in batch leach bed reactors, with and without a second stage methanogenic reactor, the highest methane yields were obtained in the two-stage process without pH adjustment. This process was well suited for anaerobic digestion of the highly degradable sugar beet and grass-clover silage, yielding 0.382-0.390 m3 CH{sub 4} kg-1 VS{sub added} within the 50-55 day solids retention time, corresponding to 85-105% of the methane potential in the substrates. With the more recalcitrant substrates, first year shoots of willow and clover-free grass silage, the methane yields in this process remained at 59-66% of the methane potential in substrates. Only 20% of the methane potential in grass silage was extracted in the one-stage leach bed process, while up to 98% of the total methane yield in the two-stage process originated from the second stage methanogenic reactor. Liquid and solid residues from digestion of grass-clover silage and sugar beet in two-stage leach bed - MF processes were suitable for incorporation to soil as fertiliser and soil-improvement media, whereas in the solid residue from digestion of willow, cadmium concentration exceeded the limit value for use of digestates as fertiliser in arable land. (orig.)

  19. Sustainable conversion of coffee and other crop wastes to biofuels and bioproducts using combined biochemical and thermochemical processes in a multi-stage biorefinery concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    The environmental impact of agricultural waste from processing of food and feed crops is an increasing concern worldwide. Concerted efforts are underway to develop sustainable practices for the disposal of residues from processing of such crops as coffee, sugarcane, or corn. Coffee is crucial to the...

  20. Sustainable Soil Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Green, Ole; Evgrafova, Alevtina; Kirkegaard Nielsen, Søren

    management strategies, which consider the site- and field-specific parameters and agricultural machinery’s improvements, it is possible to maximize production and income, while reducing negative environmental impacts and human health issues induced by agricultural activities as well as improving food......Linket til højre henviser til rapporten i trykt format til download. This report provides an overview on new technologies for integrate sustainable and resilient management practices in arable ecosystems for advanced farmers, consultants, NGOs and policy makers. By following sustainable soil...... and soil quality in short- and long-terms. This report also illustrates the importance to combine a system approach for plant production by assessing field readiness, managing in-field traffic management, implementing the sitespecific controlled as well as sensor-controlled seedbed preparation, seeding...

  1. Agroecology of Novel Annual and Perennial Crops for Biomass Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manevski, Kiril; Jørgensen, Uffe; Lærke, Poul Erik

    The agroecological potential of many crops under sustainable intensification has not been investigated. This study investigates such potential for novel annual and perennial crops grown for biomass production.......The agroecological potential of many crops under sustainable intensification has not been investigated. This study investigates such potential for novel annual and perennial crops grown for biomass production....

  2. On Farm Agronomic and First Environmental Evaluation of Oil Crops for Sustainable Bioenergy Chains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luca Lazzeri

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Energy crops, and in particular oil crops, could be an important occasion for developing new non food production rows for a new multi-functional agriculture in Italy. In this view, the use of local biomass is a fundamental starting point for the development of a virtuous energy chain that should pursue not only agricultural profitability, but also chain sustainability and that is less dependent on the global market, characterized by instability in terms of biomass availability and price. From this perspective, particular attention must be paid to crop choice on the basis of its rusticity and of its adaptability to local growing conditions and to low input cropping systems. In this context, alike woody and herbaceous biomasses, oil crops such as sunflower and rapeseed should be able to support local agricultural bioenergy chain in Italy. In addition, in a local bioenergy chain, the role of the farmers should not be limited just to grain production; but also grain processing should be performed at farm or consortium level in oilseed extraction plants well proportioned to the cropped surface. In this way, by means of a simple power generator, farmer could thus produce its own thermal and electric energy from the oil, maximizing his profit. This objective could also be achieved through the exploitation of the total biomass, including crop residues and defatted seed meals, that may be considered as fundamental additional economic and/or environmental benefits of the chain. This paper reports some results of three-years on-farm experiments on oil crop chain carried out in the framework of “Bioenergie” project, that was focused to enhance farmers awareness of these criteria and to the feasibility at open field scale of low-input cultivation of rapeseed, sunflower and Brassica carinata in seven Italian regions. In several on-farm experiences, these crops produced more than 800 kg ha-1 of oil with good energy properties. Defatted seed meals could be

  3. On Farm Agronomic and First Environmental Evaluation of Oil Crops for Sustainable Bioenergy Chains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luca Lazzeri

    Full Text Available Energy crops, and in particular oil crops, could be an important occasion for developing new non food production rows for a new multi-functional agriculture in Italy. In this view, the use of local biomass is a fundamental starting point for the development of a virtuous energy chain that should pursue not only agricultural profitability, but also chain sustainability and that is less dependent on the global market, characterized by instability in terms of biomass availability and price. From this perspective, particular attention must be paid to crop choice on the basis of its rusticity and of its adaptability to local growing conditions and to low input cropping systems. In this context, alike woody and herbaceous biomasses, oil crops such as sunflower and rapeseed should be able to support local agricultural bioenergy chain in Italy. In addition, in a local bioenergy chain, the role of the farmers should not be limited just to grain production; but also grain processing should be performed at farm or consortium level in oilseed extraction plants well proportioned to the cropped surface. In this way, by means of a simple power generator, farmer could thus produce its own thermal and electric energy from the oil, maximizing his profit. This objective could also be achieved through the exploitation of the total biomass, including crop residues and defatted seed meals, that may be considered as fundamental additional economic and/or environmental benefits of the chain. This paper reports some results of three-years on-farm experiments on oil crop chain carried out in the framework of “Bioenergie” project, that was focused to enhance farmers awareness of these criteria and to the feasibility at open field scale of low-input cultivation of rapeseed, sunflower and Brassica carinata in seven Italian regions. In several on-farm experiences, these crops produced more than 800 kg ha-1 of oil with good energy properties. Defatted seed meals could be

  4. Plant Adaptation to Acid Soils: The Molecular Basis for Crop Aluminum Resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kochian, Leon V; Piñeros, Miguel A; Liu, Jiping; Magalhaes, Jurandir V

    2015-01-01

    Aluminum (Al) toxicity in acid soils is a significant limitation to crop production worldwide, as approximately 50% of the world's potentially arable soil is acidic. Because acid soils are such an important constraint to agriculture, understanding the mechanisms and genes conferring resistance to Al toxicity has been a focus of intense research interest in the decade since the last article on crop acid soil tolerance was published in this journal. An impressive amount of progress has been made during that time that has greatly increased our understanding of the diversity of Al resistance genes and mechanisms, how resistance gene expression is regulated and triggered by Al and Al-induced signals, and how the proteins encoded by these genes function and are regulated. This review examines the state of our understanding of the physiological, genetic, and molecular bases for crop Al tolerance, looking at the novel Al resistance genes and mechanisms that have been identified over the past ten years. Additionally, it examines how the integration of molecular and genetic analyses of crop Al resistance is starting to be exploited for the improvement of crop plants grown on acid soils via both molecular-assisted breeding and biotechnology approaches.

  5. Grain legume-cereal intercropping: The practical application of diversity, competition and facilitation in arable and organic cropping systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Jørnsgaard, B.; Kinane, J.

    2008-01-01

    . Faba bean and lupin had lower yield stability than pea and fertilized barley. However, the different IC used environmental resources for plant growth up to 50% (LER=0.91-1.51) more effectively as compared to the respective SC, but with considerable variation over location, years and crops. The SC...... in Denmark over three consecutive cropping seasons including dual grain legume (pea, faba bean and lupin)-barley intercropping as compared to the respective sole crops (SC). Yield stability of intercrops (IC) was not greater than that of grain legume SC, with the exception of the IC containing faba bean......-15% compared to the corresponding SC. However, especially lupin was suppressed when intercropping, with a reduced N2-fixation from 15 to 5-6 g N m-2. The IC were particularly effective at suppressing weeds, capturing a greater share of available resources than SC. Weed infestation in the different crops...

  6. SPOT-Based Sub-Field Level Monitoring of Vegetation Cover Dynamics: A Case of Irrigated Croplands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olena Dubovyk

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Acquiring multi-temporal spatial information on vegetation condition at scales appropriate for site-specific agricultural management is often complicated by the need for meticulous field measurements. Understanding spatial/temporal crop cover heterogeneity within irrigated croplands may support sustainable land use, specifically in areas affected by land degradation due to secondary soil salinization. This study demonstrates the use of multi-temporal, high spatial resolution (10 m SPOT-4/5 image data in an integrated change vector analysis and spectral mixture analysis (CVA-SMA procedure. This procedure was implemented with the principal objective of mapping sub-field vegetation cover dynamics in irrigated lowland areas within the lowerlands of the Amu Darya River. CVA intensity and direction were calculated separately for the periods of 1998–2006 and 2006–2010. Cumulative change intensity and the overall directional trend were also derived for the entire observation period of 1998–2010. Results show that most of the vector changes were observed between 1998 and 2006; persistent conditions were seen within the study region during the 2006–2010 period. A decreasing vegetation cover trend was identified within 38% of arable land. Areas of decreasing vegetation cover were located principally in the irrigation system periphery where deficient water supply and low soil quality lead to substandard crop development. During the 2006–2010 timeframe, degraded crop cover conditions persisted in 37% of arable land. Vegetation cover increased in 25% of the arable land where irrigation water supply was adequate. This high sub-field crop performance spatial heterogeneity clearly indicates that current land management practices are inefficient. Such information can provide the basis for implementing and adapting irrigation applications and salt leaching techniques to site-specific conditions and thereby make a significant contribution to sustainable

  7. Allelopathic cover crop of rye for integrated weed control in sustainable agroecosystems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincenzo Tabaglio

    2013-02-01

    absorption capability. The insensitivity of A. theophrasti to BOA was due to reduced accumulation in seedlings. Overall, results confirm that the use of a rye cover crop in a suitable crop rotation represents a sustainable weed management practice permitting a reduction in the amount of herbicides used in agroecosystems, thus limiting the environmental risks of intensive agriculture.

  8. Yield gap analysis of feed-crop livestock systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Linden, van der Aart; Oosting, Simon J.; Ven, van de Gerrie W.J.; Veysset, Patrick; Boer, de Imke J.M.; Ittersum, van Martin K.

    2018-01-01

    Sustainable intensification is a strategy contributing to global food security. The scope for sustainable intensification in crop sciences can be assessed through yield gap analysis, using crop growth models based on concepts of production ecology. Recently, an analogous cattle production model

  9. A RAINFALL SIMULATOR STUDY OF INFILTRATION INTO ARABLE SOILS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    WIERDA, A; VEEN, AWL

    Since Hortonian surface runoff is one possible mechanism for the fast transport of agricultural chemicals from arable soils to surface water, more information is needed on its significance in agricultural areas. The present study concerns the sandy soils of the Dutch Cover Sands area, and is based

  10. The Crop Journal: A new scientific journal for the global crop science community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianmin Wan

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available As global population increases and demands for food supplies become greater, we face great challenges in providing more products and in larger quantities from less arable land. Crop science has gained increasing importance in meeting these challenges and results of scientific research must be communicated worldwide on a regular basis. In many countries, however, crop scientists have to publish the results of their investigations in national journals with heterogeneous contents and in their native languages. As a consequence, valuable work often remains unknown to scientists elsewhere. As a big country with a large number of crop scientists, China has a wide range of climatic and ecological environments, diverse plant species and cropping systems, and different regional needs for food supplies, which justify the recent decision by the Crop Science Society of China and the Institute of Crop Science within the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, to launch a new communication channel, The Crop Journal. The goal of The Crop Journal is to meet an urgent need for a major Asia-based journal that covers the diverse fields of crop science. Our aim is to create a vital and thought-provoking journal that will highlight state-of-the-art original work and reviews by high-profile crop scientists and investigative groups throughout the world — a journal that will respond to the needs of specialists in strategic crop research. We will work with scientific and publishing colleagues worldwide, using The Plant Journal and Crop Science as models, to establish The Crop Journal as a broadly based high quality journal and a premier forum for issues in crop science. The Crop Journal will cover a wide range of topics, including crop genetics, breeding, agronomy, crop physiology, germplasm resources, grain chemistry, grain storage and processing, crop management practices, crop biotechnology, and biomathematics. The journal also encourages the submission of review

  11. Biotechnology Towards Energy Crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margaritopoulou, Theoni; Roka, Loukia; Alexopoulou, Efi; Christou, Myrsini; Rigas, Stamatis; Haralampidis, Kosmas; Milioni, Dimitra

    2016-03-01

    New crops are gradually establishing along with cultivation systems to reduce reliance on depleting fossil fuel reserves and sustain better adaptation to climate change. These biological assets could be efficiently exploited as bioenergy feedstocks. Bioenergy crops are versatile renewable sources with the potential to alternatively contribute on a daily basis towards the coverage of modern society's energy demands. Biotechnology may facilitate the breeding of elite energy crop genotypes, better suited for bio-processing and subsequent use that will improve efficiency, further reduce costs, and enhance the environmental benefits of biofuels. Innovative molecular techniques may improve a broad range of important features including biomass yield, product quality and resistance to biotic factors like pests or microbial diseases or environmental cues such as drought, salinity, freezing injury or heat shock. The current review intends to assess the capacity of biotechnological applications to develop a beneficial bioenergy pipeline extending from feedstock development to sustainable biofuel production and provide examples of the current state of the art on future energy crops.

  12. Interactions of glyphosate use with farm characteristics and cropping patterns in Central Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiese, Armin; Schulte, Michael; Theuvsen, Ludwig; Steinmann, Horst-Henning

    2018-05-01

    Although glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the European Union, little is known about the patterns of its usage in arable farming. Therefore, a nationwide survey of 2026 German farmers was analysed to obtain further knowledge about glyphosate applications in conventional European arable farming. Given its broad range of agri-environmental and farm-type conditions, Germany can be regarded as a suitable study region to represent Central European farming. The growing season 2013/2014 was set as a reference. Farmers who participated in the survey employ diverse patterns of glyphosate use. While 23% stated that they did not use glyphosate in the season in question, others applied glyphosate to their total arable area. However, most applications occurred on specific parts of the farm. Application patterns of oilseed rape, winter wheat, maize and sugar beet were studied in detail, and U-shaped distributions of glyphosate use intensity were observed. The effects of farm type and management practices on glyphosate use patterns were mixed in the various crops. Motivation for glyphosate use differs widely within the farming community. Agricultural researchers, extension services and policy makers are recommended to mitigate vulnerabilities associated with glyphosate use, such as routine spraying and practices that increase selection pressure for the evolution of glyphosate-resistant weeds. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  13. Sustainable Table | Welcome to Sustainable Table

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sustainable Seafood Industrial Agriculture Industrial Livestock Production Antibiotics Hormones rBGH Animal , safeguarding animal welfare and supporting local communities. Questions to Ask Asking questions is the best way Livestock Husbandry Sustainable Crop Production Innovative Agriculture New Farmers Organic Agriculture Local

  14. Augmentation of Water Resources Potential and Cropping Intensification Through Watershed Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mondal, Biswajit; Singh, Alka; Singh, S D; Kalra, B S; Samal, P; Sinha, M K; Ramajayam, D; Kumar, Suresh

    2018-02-01

      This paper presents the biophysical impact of various interventions made under watershed development programs, in terms of the creation of additional water resources, and resultant changes in land use and cropping patterns in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh State, India. Both primary and secondary data gathered from randomly selected watersheds and their corresponding control villages were used in this study. Analysis revealed that emphasis was given primarily to the creation of water resources potential during implementation of the programs, which led to augmentation of surface and groundwater availability for both irrigation and non-agricultural purposes. In addition, other land based interventions for soil and moisture conservation, plantation activities, and so forth, were taken up on both arable and nonarable land, which helped to improve land slope and land use, cropping pattern, agricultural productivity, and vegetation cover.

  15. Ammonia volatilization from crop residues and frozen green manure crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Ruijter, F. J.; Huijsmans, J. F. M.; Rutgers, B.

    2010-09-01

    Agricultural systems can lose substantial amounts of nitrogen (N). To protect the environment, the European Union (EU) has adopted several directives that set goals to limit N losses. National Emission Ceilings (NEC) are prescribed in the NEC directive for nitrogen oxides and ammonia. Crop residues may contribute to ammonia volatilization, but sufficient information on their contribution to the national ammonia volatilization is lacking. Experiments were carried out with the aim to assess the ammonia volatilization of crop residues left on the soil surface or incorporated into the soil under the conditions met in practice in the Netherlands during late autumn and winter. Ammonia emission from residues of broccoli, leek, sugar beet, cut grass, fodder radish (fresh and frozen) and yellow mustard (frozen) was studied during two winter seasons using volatilization chambers. Residues were either placed on top of soil or mixed with soil. Mixing residues with soil gave insignificant ammonia volatilization, whereas volatilization was 5-16 percent of the N content of residues when placed on top of soil. Ammonia volatilization started after at least 4 days. Total ammonia volatilization was related to C/N-ratio and N concentration of the plant material. After 37 days, cumulative ammonia volatilization was negligible from plant material with N concentration below 2 percent, and was 10 percent of the N content of plant material with 4 percent N. These observations can be explained by decomposition of plant material by micro-organisms. After an initial built up of the microbial population, NH 4+ that is not needed for their own growth is released and can easily emit as NH 3 at the soil surface. The results of the experiments were used to estimate the contribution of crop residues to ammonia volatilization in the Netherlands. Crop residues of arable crops and residues of pasture topping may contribute more than 3 million kg NH 3-N to the national ammonia volatilization of the

  16. Sustainable development of smallholder crop-livestock farming in developing countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ates, S.; Cicek, H.; Bell, L. W.; Norman, H. C.; Mayberry, D. E.; Kassam, S.; Hannaway, D. B.; Louhaichi, M.

    2018-03-01

    Meeting the growing demand for animal-sourced food, prompted by population growth and increases in average per-capita income in low-income countries, is a major challenge. Yet, it also presents significant potential for agricultural growth, economic development, and reduction of poverty in rural areas. The main constraints to livestock producers taking advantage of growing markets include; lack of forage and feed gaps, communal land tenure, limited access to land and water resources, weak institutions, poor infrastructure and environmental degradation. To improve rural livelihood and food security in smallholder crop-livestock farming systems, concurrent work is required to address issues regarding efficiency of production, risk within systems and development of whole value chain systems. This paper provides a review of several forage based-studies in tropical and non-tropical dry areas of the developing countries. A central tenet of this paper is that forages have an essential role in agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability and livestock nutrition in smallholder mixed farming systems.

  17. Magnetic Measurements as a Useful Tool for the Evaluation of Spatial Variability of the Arable Horizon Thickness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fattakhova, Leysan; Shinkarev, Alexandr; Ryzhikh, Lyudmila; Kosareva, Lina

    2017-04-01

    In normal practice, the thickness of the arable horizon is determined on the basis of field morphological descriptions, allowing the subjectivity of perception and judgment at the crucial role of experience of the researcher. The subject of special interest are independent analytical and technically relatively simple in design approaches to the diagnosis of the lower boundary of the blended plowing the profiles part. Theoretical premises to use spectrophotometry and magnetometry to arable horizon depth diagnose is based on the concept of regular color and magnetic properties vertical differentiation in a profile of virgin soils. This work is devoted to the comparative assessment of the possibility to objectively and reliably diagnose the lower boundary of the arable horizon in gray forest soils by determining the color characteristics and the magnetic susceptibility of their layer-wise samples. It was shown with arable gray forest soil (Cutanic Luvisols (Anthric)) as example that the magnetic susceptibility profile distribution curves can provide more reliable and objective assessment of the arable horizon thickness spatial variability than the profile curves of the color characteristics in the CIELAB coordinates. Therefore, magnetic measurements can be a useful tool for the tillage erosion estimation in the monitoring of soil characteristics in connection with the development of precision agriculture technologies and the organizing of agricultural field plot experiments.

  18. Purchase of Catastrophe Insurance by Dutch Dairy and Arable Farmers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ogurtsov, V.; Asseldonk, van M.A.P.M.; Huirne, R.B.M.

    2009-01-01

    This article analyzed the impact of risk perception, risk attitude, and other farmer personal and farm characteristics on the actual purchase of catastrophe insurance by Dutch dairy and arable farmers. The specific catastrophe insurance types considered were hail–fire–storm insurance for buildings,

  19. 2. symposium energy crops 2009; 2. Symposium Energiepflanzen 2009

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2010-07-27

    Within the meeting '2nd Symposium energy plants 2009', held at 17th to 18th November, 2009, in Berlin (Federal Republic of Germany), the following lectures were held: (1) The bio energy policy of the Federal Government in the area of attention between climatic protection, ecology and economy (Ilse Aigner); (2) Chances and threatens of cultivation of energy plants for a sustainable energy supply (Alois Heissenhuber); (3) Certification as a prerequisite of the global exploration of bio energy (Andreas Feige); (4) A project support in the field of cultivation of energy plants, a review (Andreas Schuette); (5) Results from the investigation of the crop rotation in the EVA network (Armin Vater); (6) Optimisation of the cultivation technology of sorghum millets (Christian Roehricht); (7) The two-culture utilization system - a comparison between ecologic and conventional cultivation (Reinhold Stuelpnagel); (8) Crop rotation with energy plants - Chances and threatens for the plant protection (Baerbel Gerowitt); (9) Efficiency of utilization of water for energy plants (Siegfried Schittenhelm); (10) Utilization of arable food grasses and permanent grassland as a substrate for biogas (Matthias Benke); (11) Economical evaluation of plant fermentation substrates (Dominik Reus); (12) Energy plants as a challenge for the agricultural engineering (Heiner Bruening); (13) Influence of the design of cultivation on the subsequent effects of the cultivation of energy plants (Michael Glemnitz); (14) Energy plants and waters protection - Key aspects and possible options of action (Heike Nitsch); (15) Neophytes as energy plants - Chances and threatens (Werner Kuhn); (16) Manifold in te landscape - extensive cultivation systems with renewable raw materials as an option for nature protection? (Peer Heck); (17) Ecologic aspects of agro forestry systems (Holger Gruenewald); (18) Enhancement of the potential of energy yield of winter wheat (Wolfgang Friedt); (19) Interspersed silphie

  20. Coping with the work constraints in crop-livestock farming systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Taher Sraïri

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to characterize the ways crop-livestock farms adapt themselves to work constraints. A follow-up of work activities was achieved in a sample of 14 family farms. Work times in each agricultural activity (livestock and crops were quantified, distinguishing the contributions of family members and that of the off-farm workers. Results showed that the annual working time averaged 1030 days per year per farm. It increased with multiple activities within farms. Work devoted to livestock averaged 581 days a year, mainly achieved by family members, while crops necessitated 449 days of work, mostly assumed by off farm workers. Farms with limited arable land devoted significant time to livestock. The results also revealed that the gross incomes from one day of work in livestock were almost 50-times less than those from the same duration in cash crops. Altogether, the results confirm the necessity to consider work as a crucial variable determining farming systems’ performances and the use efficiency of this input. As a consequence, in many developing countries, the assumption of plenty of family workers availability may not be valid anymore to justify agricultural policies mainly based on intense on-farm work uses.

  1. Contributions of roots and rootstocks to sustainable, intensified crop production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory, Peter J; Atkinson, Christopher J; Bengough, A Glyn; Else, Mark A; Fernández-Fernández, Felicidad; Harrison, Richard J; Schmidt, Sonja

    2013-03-01

    Sustainable intensification is seen as the main route for meeting the world's increasing demands for food and fibre. As demands mount for greater efficiency in the use of resources to achieve this goal, so the focus on roots and rootstocks and their role in acquiring water and nutrients, and overcoming pests and pathogens, is increasing. The purpose of this review is to explore some of the ways in which understanding root systems and their interactions with soils could contribute to the development of more sustainable systems of intensive production. Physical interactions with soil particles limit root growth if soils are dense, but root-soil contact is essential for optimal growth and uptake of water and nutrients. X-ray microtomography demonstrated that maize roots elongated more rapidly with increasing root-soil contact, as long as mechanical impedance was not limiting root elongation, while lupin was less sensitive to changes in root-soil contact. In addition to selecting for root architecture and rhizosphere properties, the growth of many plants in cultivated systems is profoundly affected by selection of an appropriate rootstock. Several mechanisms for scion control by rootstocks have been suggested, but the causal signals are still uncertain and may differ between crop species. Linkage map locations for quantitative trait loci for disease resistance and other traits of interest in rootstock breeding are becoming available. Designing root systems and rootstocks for specific environments is becoming a feasible target.

  2. Winter cover crop effect on corn seedling pathogens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cover crops are an excellent management tool to improve the sustainability of agriculture. Winter rye cover crops have been used successfully in Iowa corn-soybean rotations. Unfortunately, winter rye cover crops occasionally reduce yields of the following corn crop. We hypothesize that one potential...

  3. Differences in soil quality between organic and conventional farming over a maize crop season

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Carla; Veiga, Adelcia; Puga, João; Kikuchi, Ryunosuke; Ferreira, António

    2017-04-01

    Land degradation in agricultural areas is a major concern. The large number of mechanical interventions and the amount of inputs used to assure high crop productivity, such as fertilizers and pesticides, have negative impacts on soil quality and threaten crop productivity and environmental sustainability. Organic farming is an alternative agriculture system, based on organic fertilizers, biological pest control and crop rotation, in order to mitigate soil degradation. Maize is the third most important cereal worldwide, with 2008 million tons produced in 2013 (IGN, 2016). In Portugal, 120000 ha of arable land is devoted to maize production, leading to annual yields of about 930000 ton (INE, 2015). This study investigates soil quality differences in maize farms under organic and conventional systems. The study was carried out in Coimbra Agrarian Technical School (ESAC), in central region of Portugal. ESAC campus comprises maize fields managed under conventional farming - Vagem Grande (32 ha), and organic fields - Caldeirão (12 ha), distancing 2.8 km. Vagem Grande has been intensively used for grain maize production for more than 20 years, whereas Caldeirão was converted to organic farming in 2008, and is being used to select regional maize varieties. The region has a Mediterranean climate. The maize fields have Eutric Fluvisols, with gentle slopes (analyses. Additional soil samples were also collected with soil ring samplers (137 cm3) for bulk density analyses after sowing. Surface water infiltration was also measured with tension infiltrometer (membrane of 20cm), using different tensions (0 cm, -3cm, -6 cm e -15cm). Decomposition rate and litter stabilisation was assessed over a 3-month period through the Tea Bag Index (Keuskamp et al., 2013). The number and diversity of earthworms were also measured at the surface (0-20cm), through extraction, and at the subsurface (>20cm), using mustard solution.

  4. Biosafety management and commercial use of genetically modified crops in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yunhe; Peng, Yufa; Hallerman, Eric M; Wu, Kongming

    2014-04-01

    As a developing country with relatively limited arable land, China is making great efforts for development and use of genetically modified (GM) crops to boost agricultural productivity. Many GM crop varieties have been developed in China in recent years; in particular, China is playing a leading role in development of insect-resistant GM rice lines. To ensure the safe use of GM crops, biosafety risk assessments are required as an important part of the regulatory oversight of such products. With over 20 years of nationwide promotion of agricultural biotechnology, a relatively well-developed regulatory system for risk assessment and management of GM plants has been developed that establishes a firm basis for safe use of GM crops. So far, a total of seven GM crops involving ten events have been approved for commercial planting, and 5 GM crops with a total of 37 events have been approved for import as processing material in China. However, currently only insect-resistant Bt cotton and disease-resistant papaya have been commercially planted on a large scale. The planting of Bt cotton and disease-resistant papaya have provided efficient protection against cotton bollworms and Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV), respectively. As a consequence, chemical application to these crops has been significantly reduced, enhancing farm income while reducing human and non-target organism exposure to toxic chemicals. This article provides useful information for the colleagues, in particular for them whose mother tongue is not Chinese, to clearly understand the biosafety regulation and commercial use of genetically modified crops in China.

  5. Enhancing Adoption of Irrigation Scheduling to Sustain the Viability of Fruit and Nut Crops in California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulton, A.; Snyder, R.; Hillyer, C.; English, M.; Sanden, B.; Munk, D.

    2012-04-01

    Enhancing Adoption of Irrigation Scheduling to Sustain the Viability of Fruit and Nut Crops in California Allan Fulton, Richard Snyder, Charles Hillyer, Marshall English, Blake Sanden, and Dan Munk Adoption of scientific methods to decide when to irrigate and how much water to apply to a crop has increased over the last three decades in California. In 1988, less than 4.3 percent of US farmers employed some type of science-based technique to assist in making irrigation scheduling decisions (USDA, 1995). An ongoing survey in California, representing an industry irrigating nearly 0.4 million planted almond hectares, indicates adoption rates ranging from 38 to 55 percent of either crop evapotranspiration (ETc), soil moisture monitoring, plant water status, or some combination of these irrigation scheduling techniques to assist with making irrigation management decisions (California Almond Board, 2011). High capital investment to establish fruit and nut crops, sensitivity to over and under-irrigation on crop performance and longevity, and increasing costs and competition for water have all contributed to increased adoption of scientific irrigation scheduling methods. These trends in adoption are encouraging and more opportunities exist to develop improved irrigation scheduling tools, especially computer decision-making models. In 2009 and 2010, an "On-line Irrigation Scheduling Advisory Service" (OISO, 2012), also referred to as Online Irrigation Management (IMO), was used and evaluated in commercial walnut, almond, and French prune orchards in the northern Sacramento Valley of California. This specific model has many features described as the "Next Generation of Irrigation Schedulers" (Hillyer, 2010). While conventional irrigation management involves simply irrigating as needed to avoid crop stress, this IMO is designed to control crop stress, which requires: (i) precise control of crop water availability (rather than controlling applied water); (ii) quantifying crop

  6. Liming impacts on soils, crops and biodiversity in the UK: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holland, J E; Bennett, A E; Newton, A C; White, P J; McKenzie, B M; George, T S; Pakeman, R J; Bailey, J S; Fornara, D A; Hayes, R C

    2018-01-01

    Fertile soil is fundamental to our ability to achieve food security, but problems with soil degradation (such as acidification) are exacerbated by poor management. Consequently, there is a need to better understand management approaches that deliver multiple ecosystem services from agricultural land. There is global interest in sustainable soil management including the re-evaluation of existing management practices. Liming is a long established practice to ameliorate acidic soils and many liming-induced changes are well understood. For instance, short-term liming impacts are detected on soil biota and in soil biological processes (such as in N cycling where liming can increase N availability for plant uptake). The impacts of liming on soil carbon storage are variable and strongly relate to soil type, land use, climate and multiple management factors. Liming influences all elements in soils and as such there are numerous simultaneous changes to soil processes which in turn affect the plant nutrient uptake; two examples of positive impact for crops are increased P availability and decreased uptake of toxic heavy metals. Soil physical conditions are at least maintained or improved by liming, but the time taken to detect change varies significantly. Arable crops differ in their sensitivity to soil pH and for most crops there is a positive yield response. Liming also introduces implications for the development of different crop diseases and liming management is adjusted according to crop type within a given rotation. Repeated lime applications tend to improve grassland biomass production, although grassland response is variable and indirect as it relates to changes in nutrient availability. Other indicators of liming response in grassland are detected in mineral content and herbage quality which have implications for livestock-based production systems. Ecological studies have shown positive impacts of liming on biodiversity; such as increased earthworm abundance that

  7. Biochar Decelerates Soil Organic Nitrogen Cycling but Stimulates Soil Nitrification in a Temperate Arable Field Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prommer, Judith; Wanek, Wolfgang; Hofhansl, Florian; Trojan, Daniela; Offre, Pierre; Urich, Tim; Schleper, Christa; Sassmann, Stefan; Kitzler, Barbara; Soja, Gerhard; Hood-Nowotny, Rebecca Clare

    2014-01-01

    Biochar production and subsequent soil incorporation could provide carbon farming solutions to global climate change and escalating food demand. There is evidence that biochar amendment causes fundamental changes in soil nutrient cycles, often resulting in marked increases in crop production, particularly in acidic and in infertile soils with low soil organic matter contents, although comparable outcomes in temperate soils are variable. We offer insight into the mechanisms underlying these findings by focusing attention on the soil nitrogen (N) cycle, specifically on hitherto unmeasured processes of organic N cycling in arable soils. We here investigated the impacts of biochar addition on soil organic and inorganic N pools and on gross transformation rates of both pools in a biochar field trial on arable land (Chernozem) in Traismauer, Lower Austria. We found that biochar increased total soil organic carbon but decreased the extractable organic C pool and soil nitrate. While gross rates of organic N transformation processes were reduced by 50–80%, gross N mineralization of organic N was not affected. In contrast, biochar promoted soil ammonia-oxidizer populations (bacterial and archaeal nitrifiers) and accelerated gross nitrification rates more than two-fold. Our findings indicate a de-coupling of the soil organic and inorganic N cycles, with a build-up of organic N, and deceleration of inorganic N release from this pool. The results therefore suggest that addition of inorganic fertilizer-N in combination with biochar could compensate for the reduction in organic N mineralization, with plants and microbes drawing on fertilizer-N for growth, in turn fuelling the belowground build-up of organic N. We conclude that combined addition of biochar with fertilizer-N may increase soil organic N in turn enhancing soil carbon sequestration and thereby could play a fundamental role in future soil management strategies. PMID:24497947

  8. Biochar decelerates soil organic nitrogen cycling but stimulates soil nitrification in a temperate arable field trial.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judith Prommer

    Full Text Available Biochar production and subsequent soil incorporation could provide carbon farming solutions to global climate change and escalating food demand. There is evidence that biochar amendment causes fundamental changes in soil nutrient cycles, often resulting in marked increases in crop production, particularly in acidic and in infertile soils with low soil organic matter contents, although comparable outcomes in temperate soils are variable. We offer insight into the mechanisms underlying these findings by focusing attention on the soil nitrogen (N cycle, specifically on hitherto unmeasured processes of organic N cycling in arable soils. We here investigated the impacts of biochar addition on soil organic and inorganic N pools and on gross transformation rates of both pools in a biochar field trial on arable land (Chernozem in Traismauer, Lower Austria. We found that biochar increased total soil organic carbon but decreased the extractable organic C pool and soil nitrate. While gross rates of organic N transformation processes were reduced by 50-80%, gross N mineralization of organic N was not affected. In contrast, biochar promoted soil ammonia-oxidizer populations (bacterial and archaeal nitrifiers and accelerated gross nitrification rates more than two-fold. Our findings indicate a de-coupling of the soil organic and inorganic N cycles, with a build-up of organic N, and deceleration of inorganic N release from this pool. The results therefore suggest that addition of inorganic fertilizer-N in combination with biochar could compensate for the reduction in organic N mineralization, with plants and microbes drawing on fertilizer-N for growth, in turn fuelling the belowground build-up of organic N. We conclude that combined addition of biochar with fertilizer-N may increase soil organic N in turn enhancing soil carbon sequestration and thereby could play a fundamental role in future soil management strategies.

  9. Biochar decelerates soil organic nitrogen cycling but stimulates soil nitrification in a temperate arable field trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prommer, Judith; Wanek, Wolfgang; Hofhansl, Florian; Trojan, Daniela; Offre, Pierre; Urich, Tim; Schleper, Christa; Sassmann, Stefan; Kitzler, Barbara; Soja, Gerhard; Hood-Nowotny, Rebecca Clare

    2014-01-01

    Biochar production and subsequent soil incorporation could provide carbon farming solutions to global climate change and escalating food demand. There is evidence that biochar amendment causes fundamental changes in soil nutrient cycles, often resulting in marked increases in crop production, particularly in acidic and in infertile soils with low soil organic matter contents, although comparable outcomes in temperate soils are variable. We offer insight into the mechanisms underlying these findings by focusing attention on the soil nitrogen (N) cycle, specifically on hitherto unmeasured processes of organic N cycling in arable soils. We here investigated the impacts of biochar addition on soil organic and inorganic N pools and on gross transformation rates of both pools in a biochar field trial on arable land (Chernozem) in Traismauer, Lower Austria. We found that biochar increased total soil organic carbon but decreased the extractable organic C pool and soil nitrate. While gross rates of organic N transformation processes were reduced by 50-80%, gross N mineralization of organic N was not affected. In contrast, biochar promoted soil ammonia-oxidizer populations (bacterial and archaeal nitrifiers) and accelerated gross nitrification rates more than two-fold. Our findings indicate a de-coupling of the soil organic and inorganic N cycles, with a build-up of organic N, and deceleration of inorganic N release from this pool. The results therefore suggest that addition of inorganic fertilizer-N in combination with biochar could compensate for the reduction in organic N mineralization, with plants and microbes drawing on fertilizer-N for growth, in turn fuelling the belowground build-up of organic N. We conclude that combined addition of biochar with fertilizer-N may increase soil organic N in turn enhancing soil carbon sequestration and thereby could play a fundamental role in future soil management strategies.

  10. Sustainable intensification of China's agroecosystems by conservation agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rattan Lal

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Agriculture in China started about 8000 BCE with cultivation of millet and rice. Thus, China's modern agriculture is rooted in a long evolutionary history of agricultural practices. China's population of 211 million in 1700 increased to 295 million in 1800, 400 million in 1900, 1266 million in 2000, and is 1409 million in 2017. Thus, China has to feed 18.5% of the world population on merely 7% of the world's arable land and with even scarcer water resources. Yet, between 1950 and 2017, the grain production in China increased at a faster rate than that of the population. Total grain production (million ton or Tg was 113 in 1949, 305 in 1970, 462 in 2000, and 603 in 2015. The high agricultural productivity is attributed to high consumption of fertilizers (58.8 Tg in 2015, pesticides (1.81 Tg in 2014, and irrigation (65.7 Mha in 2014. However, the high production is also associated with the severe problems of soil degradation (erosion, water contamination and air pollution. It is estimated that ~40% of China's arable land is degraded to some degree. Thus, there is a strong need for a paradigm shift of sustaining high productivity while restoring quality of natural resources of soil, water and air. In this context, conversion to a system-based conservation agriculture (CA may be an important strategy of sustainable intensification of agro-ecosystems for advancing and sustaining high production while restoring soil health, purifying water and air and improving the environment. The CA has been practiced in China since 1990s and was adopted on ~8.0 Mha in 2015. The available literature shows that conversion to CA increases soil organic C (SOC concentration and stocks mostly in the surface layer while also producing an equivalent agronomic yield. Therefore, a widespread adoption of CA in China would necessitate a deeper understanding of its ecological underpinnings. To be effective, site-specific CA practices must reduce risks of soil erosion under

  11. Assessment of Relationships between Earthworms and Soil Abiotic and Biotic Factors as a Tool in Sustainable Agricultural

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radoslava Kanianska

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Earthworms are a major component of soil fauna communities. They influence soil chemical, biological, and physical processes and vice versa, their abundance and diversity are influenced by natural characteristics or land management practices. There is need to establish their characteristics and relations. In this study earthworm density (ED, body biomass (EB, and diversity in relation to land use (arable land—AL, permanent grasslands—PG, management, and selected abiotic (soil chemical, physical, climate related and biotic (arthropod density and biomass, ground beetle density, carabid density indicators were analysed at seven different study sites in Slovakia. On average, the density of earthworms was nearly twice as high in PG compared to AL. Among five soil types used as arable land, Fluvisols created the most suitable conditions for earthworm abundance and biomass. We recorded a significant correlation between ED, EB and soil moisture in arable land. In permanent grasslands, the main climate related factor was soil temperature. Relationships between earthworms and some chemical properties (pH, available nutrients were observed only in arable land. Our findings indicate trophic interaction between earthworms and carabids in organically managed arable land. Comprehensive assessment of observed relationships can help in earthworm management to achieve sustainable agricultural systems.

  12. 7th International Crop Science Congress Announcement

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2016-01-01

    August 14–19,2016 Beijing,China Crop Science—Innovation and SustainabilityInternational Crop Science Congress(ICSC)is a regular forum for crop scientists from around the world to integrate current knowledge into a global context and international applications.The Congress is organized about every four years beginning in July,1992.The International Crop Science Society has primary oversight for general

  13. Crop production and economic loss due to wind erosion in hot arid ecosystem of India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santra, Priyabrata; Moharana, P. C.; Kumar, Mahesh; Soni, M. L.; Pandey, C. B.; Chaudhari, S. K.; Sikka, A. K.

    2017-10-01

    Wind erosion is a severe land degradation process in hot arid western India and affects the agricultural production system. It affects crop yield directly by damaging the crops through abrasion, burial, dust deposition etc. and indirectly by reducing soil fertility. In this study, an attempt was made to quantify the indirect impact of wind erosion process on crop production loss and associated economic loss in hot arid ecosystem of India. It has been observed that soil loss due to wind erosion varies from minimum 1.3 t ha-1 to maximum 83.3 t ha-1 as per the severity. Yield loss due to wind erosion was found maximum for groundnut (Arachis hypogea) (5-331 kg ha-1 yr-1), whereas minimum for moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia) (1-93 kg ha-1 yr-1). For pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), which covers a major portion of arable lands in western Rajasthan, the yield loss was found 3-195 kg ha-1 yr-1. Economic loss was found higher for groundnut and clusterbean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) than rest crops, which are about

  14. Organizing data in arable farming : towards an ontology of processing potato

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haverkort, A.J.; Top, J.L.; Verdenius, F.

    2006-01-01

    Arable farmers and their suppliers, consultants and procurers are increasingly dealing with gathering and processing of large amounts of data. Data sources are related to mandatory and voluntary registration (certification, tracing and tracking, quality control). Besides data collected for

  15. Pleiotropic effects of herbicide-resistance genes on crop yield: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darmency, Henri

    2013-08-01

    The rapid adoption of genetically engineered herbicide-resistant crop varieties (HRCVs)-encompassing 83% of all GM crops and nearly 8% of the worldwide arable area-is due to technical efficiency and higher returns. Other herbicide-resistant varieties obtained from genetic resources and mutagenesis have also been successfully released. Although the benefit for weed control is the main criteria for choosing HRCVs, the pleiotropic costs of genes endowing resistance have rarely been investigated in crops. Here the available data of comparisons between isogenic resistant and susceptible varieties are reviewed. Pleiotropic harmful effects on yield are reported in half of the cases, mostly with resistance mechanisms that originate from genetic resources and mutagenesis (atrazine in oilseed rape and millet, trifluralin in millet, imazamox in cotton) rather than genetic engineering (chlorsulfuron and glufosinate in some oilseed rape varieties, glyphosate in soybean). No effect was found for sethoxydim and bromoxynil resistance. Variable minor effects were found for imazamox, chlorsulfuron, glufosinate and glyphosate resistance. The importance of the breeding plan and the genetic background on the emergence of these effects is pointed out. Breeders' efforts to produce better varieties could compensate for the yield loss, which eliminates any possibility of formulating generic conclusions on pleiotropic effects that can be applied to all resistant crops. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

  16. The Application of Soil-Agroclimatic Index for Assessing the Agronomic Potential of Arable Lands in the Forest-Steppe Zone of Russia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulgakov, D. S.; Rukhovich, D. I.; Shishkonakova, E. A.; Vil'chevskaya, E. V.

    2018-04-01

    An assessment of the agronomic potential of arable lands in the forest-steppe zone of Russia (by the example of separate soil-agronomic districts) on the basis of the soil-agroclimatic index developed under the supervision of I.I. Karmanov is considered. The agricultural areas (64) separated on the territory of Russia and characterizing soil-agroclimatic conditions for cultivation of major and accompanying crops are differentiated into soil-agronomic districts (SADs) with due account for the administrative division of the country. A large diversity of agroclimatic and agronomical conditions creates the prerequisites for the inclusion of administrative regions into different SADs. The SADs concept implies a detailed analysis of information on the soil properties, geomorphic conditions, and farming conditions. The agronomic potential for major crops in the key SADs in the forest-steppe zone of the East European Plain (Voronezh and Penza oblasts) is high, though it is 25-30% lower than that in the North Caucasus (for winter wheat, sugar beet, sunflower, and spring barley) and in Kaliningrad oblast (for oats). In Western Siberia (Tyumen, Omsk, and Novosibirsk oblasts) and Eastern Siberia (Krasnoyarsk region and Irkutsk oblast), the agronomic potential of spring crops (wheat, barley, and oats) is only utilized by 35-45% in comparison with their European analogues. In the Far East with its monsoon climate and soil conditions (meadow podbels, brown forest soils), the crops characteristic of the European forest-steppe (soybean, rice, sugar beet) and the Trans-Ural forest-steppe (spring wheat) are cultivated. Their biological potential is utilized by only 50-60% in comparison with the European analogues. The materials of this study give us information on the degree of correspondence between the soilagroclimatic potential of the territory and the biological potential of cultivated crops. This is important in the context of improving the natural-agricultural zoning of Russia

  17. Breeding birds on organic and conventional arable farms

    OpenAIRE

    Kragten, Steven

    2009-01-01

    As a result of agricultural intensification, farmland bird populations have been declining dramatically over the past decades. Organic farming is often mentioned to be a possible solution to stop these declines. In order to see whether farmland birds really benefit from organic farming a study was carried out comparing breeding bird densities, breeding success and bird food abundance between organic and conventional arable farms in Flevoland, the Netherlands. skylark (Alauda arvensis) and lap...

  18. Restoration of soil fertility and improvement of cropping systems for sustainable development in the humid savannahs of Cote d'Ivoire

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bachmann, T.

    1999-01-01

    The present FAO-project addresses the soil fertility problems by combining organic with inorganic nutrient sources and actively involving farmers and other beneficiaries in an integrated, long-term development process. A major objective of the project is the participatory on-farm testing and validation of available technological innovations for soil fertility improvement. The results should fulfill two main requirements: (i) provide the farmer with a short-term production increase and (ii) improve/maintain soil fertility in the medium and long-term. The strategic framework of the project is based on the following three main elements: the need to take into account all aspects of soil fertility restoration including areas concerned, cost of fertility restoration, and economic profitability and sustainability; - the need to test all fertility improving measures at farm level in representative agro-ecozones of the humid and sub-humid savannas before their extension at large; the need to identify major macro-economic constraints (e.g. marketing) which impede sustainable agricultural development in the savannah region. The primary goal of the project is to replace traditional shifting cultivation in the humid savannas of the country by economically, ecologically and socially more sustainable production systems. In order to achieve this development objective the project focuses on the following main issues: restoration of soil fertility through improved land and crop management and more efficient use of mineral and organic fertilizers; crop diversification through more efficient use of water resources (irrigation); introduction of new cropping systems which have been successfully tested in countries with similar agro-ecological conditions; adapting traditional land tenure to the market economy; involving the private sector in all aspects of regional development assisted by Government through the creation of a favorable environment. Phase 1: constraint analysis and

  19. THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF REMOTE SENSING IN TRANSGENIC CROP MONITORING PROGRAMS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sustainable agriculture combines efficient production with wise stewardship of the earth's resources. Development of environmentally benign production techniques is one focus of sustainable agriculture. The new transgenic crops producing toxic proteins that target specific crop p...

  20. Biological nitrogen fixation in three long-term organic and conventional arable crop rotation experiments in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pandey, Arjun; Li, Fucui; Askegaard, Margrethe

    2017-01-01

    Biological nitrogen (N) fixation (BNF) by legumes in organic cropping systems has been perceived as a strategy to substitute N import from conventional sources. However, the N contribution by legumes varies considerably depending on legumes species, as well as local soil and climatic conditions...

  1. Farmer’s motivation to adopt sustainable agricultural practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davide Menozzi

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The 2014-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP reform defines new rules for farmers including maintenance of the ecological focus area (EFA. Sustainability is also a requirement to meet consumer expectations and a competitive advantage for firms. This paper aims to evaluate the farmers’ intention to implement sustainable practices related to the EFA measure and to the private sustainability schemes proposed by the food industry. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB was applied on a sample of durum wheat producers to analyse intentions 1 to maintain 7% of the arable land as an EFA, and 2 to implement the private sustainability scheme. Structural equation modelling was applied to test for the relative importance of intention determinants. The farmers’ attitude and past behaviour positively affect intentions to implement the EFA, while perceived behavioural control and attitudes predict intentions to adopt the private sustainability scheme. These results suggest possible interventions that public authorities and supply chain leaders might implement to stimulate farmers’ sustainable behaviours. 

  2. Cumulative impact of GM herbicide-tolerant cropping on arable plants assessed through species-based and functional taxonomies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Squire, Geoffrey R; Hawes, Cathy; Begg, Graham S; Young, Mark W

    2009-01-01

    In a gradualist approach to the introduction of crop biotechnology, the findings of experimentation at one scale are used to predict the outcome of moving to a higher scale of deployment. Movement through scales had occurred for certain genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops in the UK as far as large-scale field trials. However, the land area occupied by these trials was still field experiments. Data were used from experiments on the effect of (GMHT) crops and non-GM, or conventional, comparators in fields sown with four crop types (beet, maize, spring and winter oilseed rape) at a total of 250 sites in the UK between 2000 and 2003. Indices of biodiversity were measured in a split-field design comparing GMHT with the farmers' usual weed management. In the original analyses based on the means at site level, effects were detected on the mass of weeds in the three spring crops and the proportion of broadleaf and grass weeds in winter oilseed rape, but not on indices of plant species diversity. To explore the links between site means and total taxa, accumulation curves were constructed based on the number of plant species (a pool of around 250 species in total) and the number of plant functional types (24), inferred from the general life-history characteristics of a species. Species accumulation differed between GMHT and conventional treatments in direction and size, depending on the type of crop and its conventional management. Differences were mostly in the asymptote of the curve, indicative of the maximum number of species found in a treatment, rather than the steepness of the curve. In winter oilseed rape, 8% more species were accumulated in the GMHT treatment, mainly as a result of the encouragement of grass species by the herbicide when applied in the autumn. (Overall, GMHT winter oilseed rape had strong negative effects on both the food web and the potential weed burden by increasing the biomass of grasses and decreasing that of broadleaf weeds

  3. Converting loss-on-ignition to organic carbon content in arable topsoil: pitfalls and proposed procedure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Johannes Lund; Christensen, Bent Tolstrup; Schjønning, Per

    2018-01-01

    Assessments of changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks depend heavily on reliable values of SOC content obtained by automated high‐temperature C analysers. However, historical as well as current research often relies on indirect SOC estimates such as loss‐on‐ignition (LOI). In this study, we...... revisit the conversion of LOI to SOC using soil from two long‐term agricultural field experiments and one arable field with different contents of SOC, clay and particles fractions were isolated from the arable soil. Samples were analysed for texture, LOI (500...

  4. Nitrous oxide and nitrate concentration in under-drainage from arable fields subject to diffuse pollution mitigation measures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hama-Aziz, Zanist; Hiscock, Kevin; Adams, Christopher; Reid, Brian

    2016-04-01

    Atmospheric nitrous oxide concentrations are increasing by 0.3% annually and a major source of this greenhouse gas is agriculture. Indirect emissions of nitrous oxide (e.g. from groundwater and surface water) account for about quarter of total nitrous oxide emissions. However, these indirect emissions are subject to uncertainty, mainly due to the range in reported emission factors. It's hypothesised in this study that cover cropping and implementing reduced (direct drill) cultivation in intensive arable systems will reduce dissolved nitrate concentration and subsequently indirect nitrous oxide emissions. To test the hypothesis, seven fields with a total area of 102 ha in the Wensum catchment in eastern England have been chosen for experimentation together with two fields (41 ha) under conventional cultivation (deep inversion ploughing) for comparison. Water samples from field under-drainage have been collected for nitrate and nitrous oxide measurement on a weekly basis from April 2013 for two years from both cultivation areas. A purge and trap preparation line connected to a Shimadzu GC-8A gas chromatograph fitted with an electron capture detector was used for dissolved nitrous oxide analysis. Results revealed that with an oilseed radish cover crop present, the mean concentration of nitrate, which is the predominant form of N, was significantly depleted from 13.9 mg N L-1 to 2.5 mg N L-1. However, slightly higher mean nitrous oxide concentrations under the cover crop of 2.61 μg N L-1 compared to bare fields of 2.23 μg N L-1 were observed. Different inversion intensity of soil tended to have no effect on nitrous oxide and nitrate concentrations. The predominant production mechanism for nitrous oxide was nitrification process and the significant reduction of nitrate was due to plant uptake rather than denitrification. It is concluded that although cover cropping might cause a slight increase of indirect nitrous oxide emission, it can be a highly effective

  5. Evaluation of oilseed crop rotations with agro-environmental indicators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pouzet André

    2003-05-01

    Full Text Available The European Common Agricultural Policy is shifting an increasing part of the subsidies to eco-conditionality. Henceforth, it becomes essential to evaluate the environmental effect of agricultural practices, and more generally performances of cropping and farming systems, in order to design and to develop more sustainable systems. This assessment is being implemented for the main cropping systems of some French regions, using environmental indicators. Eleven exposure indicators were chosen in order to represent a wide range of specific sustainability objectives dealing with water, soil, air, non-renewable resources, biodiversity, and landscape. The results present the sustainability assessment for the crop rotations of Champagne Berrichonne region in the Centre of France.

  6. Nitrate leaching and residual effect in dairy crop rotations with grass-clover leys as influenced by sward age, grazing, cutting and fertilizer regimes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksen, Jørgen; Askegaard, Margrethe; Rasmussen, Jim

    2015-01-01

    Intensive dairy farming, with grass-arable crop rotations is challenged by low N use efficiency that may have adverse environmental consequences. We investigated nitrate leaching and N fertility effects of grass–clover leys for five years in two organic crop rotations with different grassland...... with the 2-yr-old leaching the most (36–46 kg N ha−1), and (4) high leaching (>50 kg N ha−1) with lupin and maize, where especially maize was consistently high in all five years (average 81 kg N ha−1). Great care should be taken during all phases of the dairy crop rotation where grasslands cause considerable...... build-up of fertility. With due care and the best management practice, nitrate leaching losses may be reduced to low levels....

  7. Report on the consultants meeting on identification of crop species/cultivars for drought and salinity tolerance for sustained crop yields by using nuclear techniques, in particular the carbon isotope discrimination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    A Consultants Meeting on Identification of Crop Species/Cultivars for Drought and Salinity Tolerance for Sustained Crop Yields by Using Nuclear Techniques, in Particular the Carbon Isotope Discrimination. was held in Vienna at the IAEA Headquarters from 12-16 November 2001. This meeting was conducted in conjunction with a Group Meeting on Novel Approaches for Improving Crop Tolerance to Salinity and Drought. Five consultants from Australia, Mexico, Pakistan, UK and the USA and one representative from FAO attended the Consultant Meeting and nine participants from Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Israel, Pakistan, South Africa and the USA attended the Group Meeting. First two days of the meeting consisted of five technical sessions during which the participants presented papers on various approaches for improving crop tolerance to salinity and drought and the role of nuclear techniques in identification of plants tolerant to the above abiotic stresses. After the presentations, two working groups were formed: one consisting of the participants of the Consultants Meeting and the other the participants of the Group Meeting. The consultants proposed various strategies for using the carbon isotope discrimination technique as a selection tool for identifying higher yielding crop genotypes especially in wheat and rice cropping systems under drought and saline conditions. A proposal was formulated to address the above issues in a framework of a CRP. The participants of the Group Meeting reviewed conventional and molecular approaches for improving crop tolerance to salinity and drought and research priorities were identified for future work on crop productivity improvement under the above stress factors. Recommendations of both working groups were presented at the final session of the meeting. This report provides the details of the proposal formulated by the consultants. Refs

  8. Sustainable and resource efficient intensivation of crop production - Perspectives of agro-ecosystem research Policy paper of the DFG Senate Commission on Agroecosystem Research

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wolters, V.; Isselstein, J.; Stützel, H.; Ordon, F.; Haaren, von C.; Schlecht, E.; Wesseler, J.H.H.; Birner, R.; Lützow, von M.; Brüggemann, N.; Diekkrüger, B.; Fangmeier, A.; Flessa, H.; Kage, H.; Kaupenhohann, M.; Kögel-Knabner, I.; Mosandl, R.; Seppelt, R.

    2014-01-01

    With its policy paper the Senate Commission on Agro-ecosystemResearch of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft(DFG) summarizes potential benefits of basic researchfor the sustainable intensification of crop production. Agro-ecosystems critically contribute to fulfilling the need forincreasing food and

  9. Sustainable management in crop monocultures: the impact of retaining forest on oil palm yield.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Felicity A; Edwards, David P; Sloan, Sean; Hamer, Keith C

    2014-01-01

    Tropical agriculture is expanding rapidly at the expense of forest, driving a global extinction crisis. How to create agricultural landscapes that minimise the clearance of forest and maximise sustainability is thus a key issue. One possibility is protecting natural forest within or adjacent to crop monocultures to harness important ecosystem services provided by biodiversity spill-over that may facilitate production. Yet this contrasts with the conflicting potential that the retention of forest exports dis-services, such as agricultural pests. We focus on oil palm and obtained yields from 499 plantation parcels spanning a total of ≈23,000 ha of oil palm plantation in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We investigate the relationship between the extent and proximity of both contiguous and fragmented dipterocarp forest cover and oil palm yield, controlling for variation in oil palm age and for environmental heterogeneity by incorporating proximity to non-native forestry plantations, other oil palm plantations, and large rivers, elevation and soil type in our models. The extent of forest cover and proximity to dipterocarp forest were not significant predictors of oil palm yield. Similarly, proximity to large rivers and other oil palm plantations, as well as soil type had no significant effect. Instead, lower elevation and closer proximity to forestry plantations had significant positive impacts on oil palm yield. These findings suggest that if dipterocarp forests are exporting ecosystem service benefits or ecosystem dis-services, that the net effect on yield is neutral. There is thus no evidence to support arguments that forest should be retained within or adjacent to oil palm monocultures for the provision of ecosystem services that benefit yield. We urge for more nuanced assessments of the impacts of forest and biodiversity on yields in crop monocultures to better understand their role in sustainable agriculture.

  10. Crop and livestock enterprise integration: Effects of annual crops used for fall forage production on livestock productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diversification of farm enterprises is important to maintain sustainable production systems. Systems that integrate crops and livestock may prove beneficial to each enterprise. Our objectives were to determine the effects of annual crops grazed in the fall and early-winter period on cow and calf gro...

  11. Engineering photosynthesis in plants and synthetic microorganisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurino, Veronica G; Weber, Andreas P M

    2013-01-01

    Photosynthetic organisms, such as cyanobacteria, algae, and plants, sustain life on earth by converting light energy, water, and CO(2) into chemical energy. However, due to global change and a growing human population, arable land is becoming scarce and resources, including water and fertilizers, are becoming exhausted. It will therefore be crucial to design innovative strategies for sustainable plant production to maintain the food and energy bases of human civilization. Several different strategies for engineering improved photosynthesis in crop plants and introducing novel photosynthetic capacity into microorganisms have been reviewed.

  12. GM crops, the environment and sustainable food production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raven, Peter H

    2014-12-01

    Today, over 7.1 billion people rely on the earth's resources for sustenance, and nearly a billion people are malnourished, their minds and bodies unable to develop properly. Globally, population is expected to rise to more than 9 billion by 2050. Given the combined pressures of human population growth, the rapidly growing desire for increased levels of consumption, and the continued use of inappropriate technologies, it is not surprising that humans are driving organisms to extinction at an unprecedented rate. Many aspects of the sustainable functioning of the natural world are breaking down in the face of human-induced pressures including our individual and collective levels of consumption and our widespread and stubborn use of destructive technologies. Clearly, agriculture must undergo a redesign and be better and more effectively managed so as to contribute as well as possible to feeding people, while at the same time we strive to lessen the tragic loss of biodiversity and damage to all of its productive systems that the world is experiencing. For GM crops to be part of the solution, biosafety assessments should not be overly politically-driven or a burdensome impedance to delivering this technology broadly. Biosafety scientists and policy makers need to recognize the undeniable truth that inappropriate actions resulting in indecision also have negative consequences. It is no longer acceptable to delay the use of any strategy that is safe and will help us achieve the ability to feed the world's people.

  13. Magnetopriming - an alternate strategy for crop stress management of field crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anand, Anjali

    2014-01-01

    Abiotic stresses are major deterrent to sustainable crop production worldwide. Seed germination and early seedling growth are considered as the most critical stages of plant growth under stress conditions. Maximising stress tolerance of crop species by breeding is an integral part of development of strategies for improving sustainable food production under stressed environment but the unprecedented rate at which stress is increasing vis-a-vis the time taken for development of a tolerant variety, necessitates exploring alternate strategies of crop stress management. Seed priming has emerged as a promising crop stress management technique that increases the speed of germination thus ensuring synchronized field emergence of the crop. Magnetopriming (exposure of seeds to magnetic field) is a non invasive physical stimulant used for improving seedling vigour that helps in establishment of crop stand under stress. In our experiments on maize; chickpea and wheat under water deficit and salinity, respectively, improved seed water absorption characteristics resulted in faster hydration of enzymes (amylases, protease and dehydrogenase) leading to early germination and enhanced vigour of seedlings under stress. Increased levels of hydrogen peroxide in faster germinating - magnetoprimed seeds, under both the growing conditions, suggested its role in oxidative signaling during seed germination process. An 'oxidative window' for reactive oxygen species ensured that faster germination rate in magnetoprimed seeds led to vigourous seedlings. Improved root system integrated with higher photosynthetic efficiency and efficient partitioning of Na + increased yield from magnetoprimed seeds under salinity in controlled experiments. Magnetopriming can be effectively used as a pre-sowing treatment for mitigating adverse effects of water deficit and salinity at seed germination and early seedling growth. Unlike other conventional priming techniques it avoids seed hydration and

  14. ESTIMATION OF EROSION ACTIVITY IN THE RAVINE COMPLEX OF ARABLE SLOPES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. N. Trofimetz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper describes the results of the evaluation of erosion on arable slopes (in the thalweg part of the ancient microravines, no more than 400 m in length. The radiocesium method has been applied, augmented by the methods of the topographic survey, remote sensing and GIS analysis. It has been shown that layer-by-layer soil sampling in the thalwegs of the modern streams (which are clearly visible on arable slopes allows obtaining the dependence of soil runoff (in centimeters of layer from the activity of Cesium-137 presented in the arable horizon. Conversion of Cesium-137 activities onto a common time scale (by taking into account the radioactive decay made it possible to increase the analyzed data series (in comparison to the previously published data and to obtain the linear dependence with the correlation coefficient of 0.98 (significant at confidence level p=0.05. The 1 cm soil layer was washed out during 26 years on the watershed surface, according to the obtained dependence. About 6 cm layer over the same period was washed out in the thalwegs of the ravines in the lower part of the slope (in its concave part that is accumulation zone. We have found that very high resolution satellite imagery, or aerial photographs, of field surveys are needed for the correct implementation of the GIS analysis when modeling erosion activity of the streambeds. These supporting data have to be collected during the period of snowmelt or rainfall to understand the behavior of streams in the accumulation zones identified by negative values of profile curvature of the relief.

  15. Hierarchical Satellite-based Approach to Global Monitoring of Crop Condition and Food Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Y.; Wu, B.; Gommes, R.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, N.; Zeng, H.; Zou, W.; Yan, N.

    2014-12-01

    The assessment of global food security goes beyond the mere estimate of crop production: It needs to take into account the spatial and temporal patterns of food availability, as well as physical and economic access. Accurate and timely information is essential to both food producers and consumers. Taking advantage of multiple new remote sensing data sources, especially from Chinese satellites, such as FY-2/3A, HJ-1 CCD, CropWatch has expanded the scope of its international analyses through the development of new indicators and an upgraded operational methodology. The new monitoring approach adopts a hierarchical system covering four spatial levels of detail: global (sixty-five Monitoring and Reporting Units, MRU), seven major production zones (MPZ), thirty-one key countries (including China) and "sub- countries." The thirty-one countries encompass more that 80% of both global exports and production of four major crops (maize, rice, soybean and wheat). The methodology resorts to climatic and remote sensing indicators at different scales, using the integrated information to assess global, regional, and national (as well as sub-national) crop environmental condition, crop condition, drought, production, and agricultural trends. The climatic indicators for rainfall, temperature, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) as well as potential biomass are first analysed at global scale to describe overall crop growing conditions. At MPZ scale, the key indicators pay more attention to crops and include Vegetation health index (VHI), Vegetation condition index (VCI), Cropped arable land fraction (CALF) as well as Cropping intensity (CI). Together, they characterise agricultural patterns, farming intensity and stress. CropWatch carries out detailed crop condition analyses for thirty one individual countries at the national scale with a comprehensive array of variables and indicators. The Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), cropped areas and crop condition are

  16. Food and nutritional security requires adequate protein as well as energy, delivered from whole-year crop production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Coles, Graeme D; Wratten, Stephen D; Porter, John Roy

    2016-01-01

    Human food security requires the production of sufficient quantities of both high-quality protein and dietary energy. In a series of case-studies from New Zealand, we show that while production of food ingredients from crops on arable land can meet human dietary energy requirements effectively...... and nutritional security will largely be an outcome of national or regional agroeconomies addressing their own food needs. We hope that our model will be used for similar analyses of food production systems in other countries, agroecological zones and economies....

  17. Sustainability assessment of crop protection systems: SustainOS methodology and its application for apple orchards

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mouron, P.; Heijne, B.; Naef, A.; Strassemever, J.; Haver, F.; Avilla, J.

    2012-01-01

    Crop protection in general and apple crop protection in particular often rely on pesticides, although several alternative pest management measures are available. In this context European agricultural policy requires the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) by 2014. Within IPM, more

  18. Using the CLM Crop Model to assess the impacts of changes in Climate, Atmospheric CO2, Irrigation, Fertilizer and Geographic Distribution on Historical and Future Crop Yields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, P.

    2015-12-01

    Since the start of the green revolution global crop yields have increased linearly for most major cereal crops, so that present day global values are around twice those of the 1960s. The increase in crop yields have allowed for large increases in global agricultural production without correspondingly large increases in cropping area. Future projections under the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSP) framework and other assessments result in increases of global crop production of greater than 100% by the year 2050. In order to meet this increased agricultural demand within the available arable land, future production gains need to be understood in terms of the yield changes due to changes in climate, atmospheric CO2, and adaptive management such as irrigation and fertilizer application. In addition to the changes in crop yield, future agricultural demand will need to be met through increasing cropping areas into what are currently marginal lands at the cost of existing forests and other natural ecosystems. In this study we assess the utility of the crop model within the Community Land Model (CLM Crop) to provide both historical and future guidance on changes in crop yields under a range of global idealized crop modeling experiments. The idealized experiments follow the experimental design of the AgMIP Global Gridded Crop Model Intercomparison (GGCMI) in which CLM Crop is a participating model. The idealized experiments consist of global crop simulations for Cotton, Maize, Rice, Soy, Sugarcane, and Wheat under various climate, atmospheric CO2 levels, irrigation prescription, and nitrogen fertilizer application. The time periods simulated for the experiments are for the Historical period (1901 - 2005), and for the two Representative Concentration Pathways of RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 (2006 - 2100). Each crop is simulated on all land grid cells globally for each time period with atmospheric forcing that is a combination of: 1. transient climate and CO2; 2. transient climate

  19. Diversity in cannabis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijer, de E.

    1994-01-01

    In an effort to reduce the overproduction of a too limited number of arable food crops, several research programs focusing on industrial crops have recently been initiated in the Netherlands. The 'Hemp research program' investigated from 1990 to 1994, the feasibility of hemp as an arable

  20. Soil Tillage Conservation and its Effect on Soil Properties Bioremediation and Sustained Production of Crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusu, Teodor; Ioana Moraru, Paula; Muresan, Liliana; Andriuca, Valentina; Cojocaru, Olesea

    2017-04-01

    soil features resulted in a positive impact on the water permeability of the soil. Availability of soil moisture during the crop growth resulted in better plant water status. Subsequent release of conserved soil water regulated proper plant water status, soil structure, and lowered soil penetrometer resistance. Productions obtained at STC did not have significant differences for the wheat and maize crop but were higher for soybean. The advantages of minimum soil tillage systems for Romanian pedo-climatic conditions can be used to improve methods in low producing soils with reduced structural stability on sloped fields, as well as measures of water and soil conservation on the whole agroecosystem. Presently, it is necessary to make a change concerning the concept of conservation practices and to consider a new approach regarding the good agricultural practice. We need to focus on an upper level concerning conservation by focusing on soil quality. Carbon management is necessary for a complexity of matters including soil, water management, field productivity, biological fuel and climatic change. In conclusion a Sustainable Agriculture includes a range of complementary agricultural practices: (i) minimum soil tillage (through a system of reduced tillage or no-tillage) to preserve the structure, fauna and soil organic matter; (ii) permanent soil cover (cover crops, residues and mulches) to protect the soil and help to remove and control weeds; (iii) various combinations and rotations of the crops which stimulate the micro-organisms in the soil and controls pests, weeds and plant diseases. Acknowledgements: This paper was performed under the frame of the Partnership in priority domains - PNII, developed with the support of MEN-UEFISCDI, project no. PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-0015: Expert System for Risk Monitoring in Agriculture and Adaptation of Conservative Agricultural Technologies to Climate Change, and International Cooperation Program - Sub-3.1. Bilateral AGROCEO c. no. 21BM

  1. Crop and irrigation management strategies for saline-sodic soils and waters aimed at environmentally sustainable agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qadir, M; Oster, J D

    2004-05-05

    Irrigation has long played a key role in feeding the expanding world population and is expected to play a still greater role in the future. As supplies of good-quality irrigation water are expected to decrease in several regions due to increased municipal-industrial-agricultural competition, available freshwater supplies need to be used more efficiently. In addition, reliance on the use and reuse of saline and/or sodic drainage waters, generated by irrigated agriculture, seems inevitable for irrigation. The same applies to salt-affected soils, which occupy more than 20% of the irrigated lands, and warrant attention for efficient, inexpensive and environmentally acceptable management. Technologically and from a management perspective, a couple of strategies have shown the potential to improve crop production under irrigated agriculture while minimizing the adverse environmental impacts. The first strategy, vegetative bioremediation--a plant-assisted reclamation approach--relies on growing appropriate plant species that can tolerate ambient soil salinity and sodicity levels during reclamation of salt-affected soils. A variety of plant species of agricultural significance have been found to be effective in sustainable reclamation of calcareous and moderately sodic and saline-sodic soils. The second strategy fosters dedicating soils to crop production systems where saline and/or sodic waters predominate and their disposal options are limited. Production systems based on salt-tolerant plant species using drainage waters may be sustainable with the potential of transforming such waters from an environmental burden into an economic asset. Such a strategy would encourage the disposal of drainage waters within the irrigated regions where they are generated rather than exporting these waters to other regions via discharge into main irrigation canals, local streams, or rivers. Being economically and environmentally sustainable, these strategies could be the key to future

  2. Building the crops of tomorrow: advantages of symbiont-based approaches to improving abiotic stress tolerance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coleman-Derr, Devin [USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Tringe, Susannah G. [USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States)

    2014-06-06

    The exponential growth in world population is feeding a steadily increasing global need for arable farmland, a resource that is already in high demand. This trend has led to increased farming on subprime arid and semi-arid lands, where limited availability of water and a host of environmental stresses often severely reduce crop productivity. The conventional approach to mitigating the abiotic stresses associated with arid climes is to breed for stress-tolerant cultivars, a time and labor intensive venture that often neglects the complex ecological context of the soil environment in which the crop is grown. In recent years, studies have attempted to identify microbial symbionts capable of conferring the same stress-tolerance to their plant hosts, and new developments in genomic technologies have greatly facilitated such research. Here in this paper, we highlight many of the advantages of these symbiont-based approaches and argue in favor of the broader recognition of crop species as ecological niches for a diverse community of microorganisms that function in concert with their plant hosts and each other to thrive under fluctuating environmental conditions

  3. Building the crops of tomorrow: advantages of symbiont-based approaches to improving abiotic stress tolerance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Devin eColeman-Derr

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The exponential growth in world population is feeding a steadily increasing global need for arable farmland, a resource that is already in high demand. This trend has led to increased farming on subprime arid and semi-arid lands, where limited availability of water and a host of environmental stresses often severely reduce crop productivity. The conventional approach to mitigating the abiotic stresses associated with arid climes is to breed for stress-tolerant cultivars, a time and labor intensive venture that often neglects the complex ecological context of the soil environment in which the crop is grown. In recent years, studies have attempted to identify microbial symbionts capable of conferring the same stress-tolerance to their plant hosts, and new developments in genomic technologies have greatly facilitated such research. Here, we highlight many of the advantages of these symbiont-based approaches and argue in favor of the broader recognition of crop species as ecological niches for a diverse community of microorganisms that function in concert with their plant hosts and each other to thrive under fluctuating environmental conditions.

  4. Green Planet Architecture - A Methodology for Self-Sustainable Distributed Renewable Energy Ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxena, Nikita T.; Thomas, Anna E.; Johnson, Shawana; Venners, John P.; Hendricks, Robert C.

    2012-01-01

    Our planet has been endowed with a host of natural mechanisms to keep the environment and climate in balance. Humans are now facing the need to restore this balance that has been upset in the past years because of a growing population and resource demands. To steer dependency away from freshwater crops and decrease environmental damage from humanity s fuel and energy demands, it is necessary to take advantage of the natural adaptive biomass resources that are already in place. Using methods of Green Planet Architecture, based on compilations of current research and procedures, could lead to new forms of energy and fueling as well as new sources for food and feed. Green Planet Architecture involves climatic adaptive biomass; geospatial intelligence; agri- and aqua-culture life cycles; and soil, wetland, and shoreline restoration. Plants such as Salicornia, seashore mallow, castor, mangroves, and perhaps Moringa can be modified (natural, model-assisted, or genetically modified) to thrive in salt-water and brackish water or otherwise not arable conditions, making them potentially new crops that will not displace traditional farming. These fueling sources also have potential to be used in other rapid-growth industries, such as the aviation industry, that have incentive to move towards more sustainable fuel supplies. This paper highlights an example of how synergistic development of biomass resources and geospatial intelligence high-performance computing capabilities can be focused to resolve potential drought-famine problems. These techniques, provide a basis for future e-science-based discovery (and access) through technology that can be expanded to support global societal applications.

  5. "Green Planet Architecture"-A Methodology for Self-Sustainable Distributed Renewable Energy Ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxena, Nikita T.; Thomas, Anna E.; Johnson, Shawana; Venners, John P.; Hendricks, Robert C.

    2013-01-01

    This planet has been endowed with a host of natural mechanisms to keep the environment and climate in balance. Humans are now facing the need to restore this balance that has been upset in the past years because of a growing population and resource demands. To steer dependency away from freshwater crops and decrease environmental damage from humanity s fuel and energy demands, it is necessary to take advantage of the natural adaptive biomass resources that are already in place. Using methods of "Green Planet Architecture," based on compilations of current research and procedures, could lead to new forms of energy and fueling as well as new sources for food and feed. Green Planet Architecture involves climatic adaptive biomass; geospatial intelligence; agri- and aqua-culture life cycles; and soil, wetland, and shoreline restoration. Plants such as Salicornia, seashore mallow, castor, mangroves, and perhaps Moringa can be modified (naturally, model-assisted, or genetically) to thrive in salt water and brackish water or otherwise not arable conditions, making them potentially new crops that will not displace traditional farming. These fueling sources also have potential to be used in other rapid-growth industries, such as the aviation industry, that have incentive to move towards more sustainable fuel supplies. This report highlights an example of how synergistic development of biomass resources and geospatial intelligence high-performance computing capabilities can be focused to resolve potential drought-famine problems. These techniques provide a basis for future e-science-based discovery (and access) through technology that can be expanded to support global societal applications.

  6. Influence of management and environment on Australian wheat: information for sustainable intensification and closing yield gaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryan, B. A.; King, D.; Zhao, G.

    2014-04-01

    In the future, agriculture will need to produce more, from less land, more sustainably. But currently, in many places, actual crop yields are below those attainable. We quantified the ability for agricultural management to increase wheat yields across 179 Mha of potentially arable land in Australia. Using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM), we simulated the impact on wheat yield of 225 fertilization and residue management scenarios at a high spatial, temporal, and agronomic resolution from 1900 to 2010. The influence of management and environmental variables on wheat yield was then assessed using Spearman’s non-parametric correlation test with bootstrapping. While residue management showed little correlation, fertilization strongly increased wheat yield up to around 100 kg N ha-1 yr-1. However, this effect was highly dependent on the key environment variables of rainfall, temperature, and soil water holding capacity. The influence of fertilization on yield was stronger in cooler, wetter climates, and in soils with greater water holding capacity. We conclude that the effectiveness of management intensification to increase wheat yield is highly dependent upon local climate and soil conditions. We provide context-specific information on the yield benefits of fertilization to support adaptive agronomic decision-making and contribute to the closure of yield gaps. We also suggest that future assessments consider the economic and environmental sustainability of management intensification for closing yield gaps.

  7. A Global Perspective on the Sustainable Performance of Urbanization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liyin Shen

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Urbanization, particularly in developing countries, is a major strategy for development. However, major concerns accompany it, such as air pollution, habitat destruction, and loss of arable land. In responding to these challenges, governments throughout the world have been implementing various policy mechanisms to guide the practice of urbanization towards sustainable development. It appears that there is little research investigating the outcomes of those efforts in implementing sustainable urbanization strategies. This paper provides a profile of sustainable urbanization from a global perspective. Data used for this research cover 111 countries and are collected from the World Bank database and the United Nation database. A ranking list of sustainable performance of urbanization between these countries is produced and discussed. The study suggests that countries at different stages of urbanization have achieved different levels of sustainable performance. The research results provide significant references for future study in the field of urbanization from a global perspective.

  8. Responses of bacterial communities in arable soils in a rice-wheat cropping system to different fertilizer regimes and sampling times.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Zhao

    Full Text Available Soil physicochemical properties, soil microbial biomass and bacterial community structures in a rice-wheat cropping system subjected to different fertilizer regimes were investigated in two seasons (June and October. All fertilizer regimes increased the soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen. Both fertilizer regime and time had a significant effect on soil physicochemical properties and bacterial community structure. The combined application of inorganic fertilizer and manure organic-inorganic fertilizer significantly enhanced the bacterial diversity in both seasons. The bacterial communities across all samples were dominated by Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi at the phylum level. Permutational multivariate analysis confirmed that both fertilizer treatment and season were significant factors in the variation of the composition of the bacterial community. Hierarchical cluster analysis based on Bray-Curtis distances further revealed that bacterial communities were separated primarily by season. The effect of fertilizer treatment is significant (P = 0.005 and accounts for 7.43% of the total variation in bacterial community. Soil nutrients (e.g., available K, total N, total P and organic matter rather than pH showed significant correlation with the majority of abundant taxa. In conclusion, both fertilizer treatment and seasonal changes affect soil properties, microbial biomass and bacterial community structure. The application of NPK plus manure organic-inorganic fertilizer may be a sound fertilizer practice for sustainable food production.

  9. Soil organic (14)C dynamics : Effects of pasture installation on arable land

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Romkens, P.F A M; Hassink, J; van der Plicht, Johannes

    1998-01-01

    In a study addressing composition and recovery of soil carbon following pasture installation on arable land, radiocarbon isotope ratios were measured in size- and density-separated soil organic matter (SOM) fractions in a pasture and maize plot. The average soil carbon age increased with depth from

  10. Projekt OK-NET-ARABLE : mahetootmiseks vajalik teave tuleb tuua praktikuteni / Airi Vetemaa

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Vetemaa, Airi

    2015-01-01

    OK-NET-ARABLE, mida võiks tõlkida kui põllukultuuride kasvatuse alast maheteabe võrgustikku, on ELi teadusrahastu Horisont 2020 projekt, mille eesmärk on vahendada innovaatilist ja traditsioonilist teavet mahetootjate, nõustajate ja teadlaste vahel, suurendamaks mahepõllukultuuride produktiivsust ja kvaliteeti üle Euroopa

  11. Soil organic 14C dynamics: effects of pasture installation on arable land

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Römkens, P.F.A.M.; Plicht, van der J.; Hassink, J.

    1998-01-01

    In a study addressing composition and recovery of soil carbon following pasture installation on arable land, radiocarbon isotope ratios were measured in size-and density-separated soil organic matter (SOM) fractions in a pasture and maize plot. The average soil carbon age increased with depth from

  12. Effects of Genetically Modified Crops on Food Security

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MS Hosseini

    2018-03-01

    CONCLUSION: Therefore, discussing the existing concerns about production of GM crops should be with caution because there is little information on the impact of GM crops on sustainable agriculture. Thus, it requires decision making at national and even international levels.

  13. Neonicotinoid concentrations in arable soils after seed treatment applications in preceding years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Ainsley; Harrington, Paul; Turnbull, Gordon

    2014-12-01

    Concentrations of the neonicotinoid insecticides clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid were determined in arable soils from a variety of locations in England. In soil samples taken from the central area of fields, concentrations of clothianidin ranged from 0.02 to 13.6 µg kg(-1) . Thiamethoxam concentrations were between clothianidin and thiamethoxam were lower in soil samples taken from the edges of fields than from the centres of fields, but this difference was less pronounced for imidacloprid. This work gives a clear indication of the levels of neonicotinoids in arable soils after typical use of these compounds as seed dressings in the United Kingdom. There was evidence that imidacloprid was more persistent in the soils studied than clothianidin and thiamethoxam. As clothianidin and thiamethoxam have largely superseded imidacloprid in the United Kingdom, neonicotinoid levels were lower than suggested by predictions based on imidacloprid alone. © 2014 Crown copyright. Pest Management Science © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

  14. Crop and livestock enterprise integration: Livestock impacts on forage, stover, and grain production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enterprise diversity is the key to ensure productive and sustainable agriculture for the future. Integration of crops and livestock enterprises is one way to improve agricultural sustainability, and take advantage of beneficial enterprise synergistic effects. Our objectives were to develop cropping ...

  15. The motivations for the diversification of the Nigerian economy focusing on sustainable agriculture

    OpenAIRE

    György Iván, Neszmélyi

    2014-01-01

    Agriculture is one of the major branches of the economy in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. It employs around 70% of the population and its contribution to the national GDP ranges around 45% (2012). In spite of the fact that most of the area is arable the majority of food, the Nigerian population consumes, comes from imports. The paper attempts to provide in insight to the reasons, why Nigeria could still not achievew self sufficiency from major food crops and livestock. Beyond t...

  16. Sustainability of Marketing Food Crops through the Internet in Lagos ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    abdulaphyz

    Key Words: Marketing food crop, internet marketing in Nigeria .... have been made easy such that prospective customers are exposed to the varieties via ... earlier found a positive relationship between perceived usefulness and adoption of .... crops, varieties and, easy and personalized experience devised as encouraging ...

  17. Visualisation of uncertainty for the trade-off triangle used in sustainable agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Paul; Takahashi, Taro; Lee, Michael

    2017-04-01

    Agriculture at the global-scale is at a critical juncture where competing requirements for maximal production and minimal pollution have led to the concept of sustainable intensification. All farming systems (arable, grasslands, etc.) are part of this debate, where each have particular associated environmental risks such as water and air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and soil degradation, as well as issues affecting production efficiency, product quality and consumer acceptability, reflected in the development of agricultural sustainability policies. These challenges necessitate multidisciplinary solutions that can only be properly researched, implemented and tested in real-world production systems which are suited to their geographical and climatic production practice. In this respect, various high-profile agricultural data collection experiments have been set up, such as the North Wyke Farm Platform (http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/farmplatform) to research agricultural productivity and ecosystem responses to different management practices. In this farm-scale grasslands experiment, data on hydrology, emissions, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, productivity and livestock welfare/health are collected, that in turn, are converted to trade-off metrics with respect to: (i) economic profits, (ii) societal benefits and (iii) environmental concerns, under the umbrella of sustainable intensification. Similar agriculture research platforms have similar objectives, where data collections are ultimately synthesised into trade-off metrics. Trade-offs metrics can then be usefully visualized via the usual sustainable triangle, with a new triangle for each key time period (e.g. baseline versus post-baseline). This enables a visual assessment of change in sustainability harmony or discord, according to the remit of the given research experiment. In this paper, we discuss different approaches to calculation of the sustainability trade-off metrics that are required from the farm

  18. Invited review: Sustainable forage and grain crop production for the US dairy industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, N P; Russelle, M P; Powell, J M; Sniffen, C J; Smith, S I; Tricarico, J M; Grant, R J

    2017-12-01

    A resilient US dairy industry will be underpinned by forage and crop production systems that are economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. Land use for production of perennial and annual forages and grains for dairy cattle must evolve in response to multiple food security and environmental sustainability issues. These include increasing global populations; higher incomes and demand for dairy and other animal products; climate change with associated temperature and moisture changes; necessary reductions in carbon and water footprints; maintenance of soil quality and soil nutrient concerns; and competition for land. Likewise, maintaining producer profitability and utilizing practices accepted by consumers and society generally must also be considered. Predicted changes in climate and water availability will likely challenge current feed and dairy production systems and their national spatial distribution, particularly the western migration of dairy production in the late 20th century. To maintain and stabilize profitability while reducing carbon footprint, particularly reductions in methane emission and enhancements in soil carbon sequestration, dairy production will need to capitalize on genetic and management innovations that enhance forage and grain production and nutritive value. Improved regional and on-farm integration of feed production and manure utilization is needed to reduce environmental nitrogen and phosphorus losses and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Resilient and flexible feed production strategies are needed to address each of these challenges and opportunities to ensure profitable feeding of dairy cattle and a sustainable dairy industry. The Authors. Published by the Federation of Animal Science Societies and Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).

  19. Effect of crop rotation on soil nutrient balance and weediness in soddy podzolic organic farming fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarina, Livija; Zarina, Liga

    2017-04-01

    The nutrient balance in different crop rotations under organic cropping system has been investigated in Latvia at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Economics since 2006. Latvia is located in a humid and moderate climatic region where the rainfall exceeds evaporation (soil moisture coefficient > 1) and the soil moisture regime is characteristic with percolation. The average annual precipitation is 670-850 mm. The average temperature varies from -6.7° C in January to 16.5 °C in July. The growing season is 175 - 185 days. The most widespread are podzolic soils and mainly they are present in agricultural fields in all regions of Latvia. In a wider sense the goal of the soil management in organic farming is a creation of the biologically active flora and fauna in the soil by maintaining a high level of soil organic matter which is good for crops nutrient balance. Crop rotation is a central component of organic farming systems and has many benefits, including growth of soil microbial activity, which may increase nutrient availability. The aim of the present study was to calculate nutrient balance for each crop in the rotations and average in each rotation. Taking into account that crop rotations can limit build-up of weeds, additionally within the ERA-net CORE Organic Plus transnational programs supported project PRODIVA the information required for a better utilization of crop diversification for weed management in North European organic arable cropping systems was summarized. It was found that the nutrient balance was influenced by nutrients uptake by biomass of growing crops in crop rotation. The number of weeds in the organic farming fields with crop rotation is dependent on the cultivated crops and the succession of crops in the crop rotation.

  20. Impacts of crop insurance on water withdrawals for irrigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deryugina, Tatyana; Konar, Megan

    2017-12-01

    Agricultural production remains particularly vulnerable to weather fluctuations and extreme events, such as droughts, floods, and heat waves. Crop insurance is a risk management tool developed to mitigate some of this weather risk and protect farmer income in times of poor production. However, crop insurance may have unintended consequences for water resources sustainability, as the vast majority of freshwater withdrawals go to agriculture. The causal impact of crop insurance on water use in agriculture remains poorly understood. Here, we determine the empirical relationship between crop insurance and irrigation water withdrawals in the United States. Importantly, we use an instrumental variables approach to establish causality. Our methodology exploits a major policy change in the crop insurance system - the 1994 Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act - which imposed crop insurance requirements on farmers. We find that a 1% increase in insured crop acreage leads to a 0.223% increase in irrigation withdrawals, with most coming from groundwater aquifers. We identify farmers growing more groundwater-fed cotton as an important mechanism contributing to increased withdrawals. A 1% increase in insured crop acreage leads to a 0.624% increase in cotton acreage, or 95,602 acres. These results demonstrate that crop insurance causally leads to more irrigation withdrawals. More broadly, this work underscores the importance of determining causality in the water-food nexus as we endeavor to achieve global food security and water resources sustainability.

  1. Exploring the Patterns and Mechanisms of Reclaimed Arable Land Utilization under the Requisition-Compensation Balance Policy in Wenzhou, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Lin

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Arable land in China is undergoing significant changes, with massive losses of arable land due to rapid urbanization and the reclamation of arable land from other lands to compensate for these losses. Many studies have analyzed arable land loss, but less attention has been paid to land reclamation, and the utilization of reclaimed land remains unclear. The goal of our study was to characterize the patterns and efficiency of the utilization of reclaimed land and to identify the factors influencing the land utilization process in Wenzhou using remote sensing, geographic information systems and logistic regression. Our results showed that only 37% of the total reclaimed land area was under cultivation, and other lands were still bare or had been covered by trees and grasses. The likelihood that reclaimed land was used for cultivation was highly correlated with the land use type of its neighboring or adjacent parcels. Reclaimed land utilization was also limited at high elevations in lands with poor soil fertility and in lands at a great distance from rural residential areas. In addition, parcels located in the ecological protection zone were less likely to be cultivated. Therefore, we suggest that the important determinants should be considered when identifying the most suitable land reclamation areas.

  2. Conversion of Forests to Arable Land and its Effect on Soil Physical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Prof. Ogunji

    Conversion of Forests to Arable Land and its Effect on Soil ... greater hydraulic conductivity than those under cultivation and this may indicate greater pore ... stability and clay dispersion index were 10% higher and 28% lower in the .... degraded the physical properties, making the soil more prone to soil erosion by water.

  3. Sustainable introduction of GM crops into european agriculture: a summary report of the FP6 SIGMEA research project*

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Messéan Antoine

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available In 2003, the European Commission established the principle of coexistence which refers to “the ability of farmers to make a practical choice between conventional, organic and GM-crop production, in compliance with the legal obligations for labelling and/or purity standards” and laid down guidelines defining the context of this coexistence1. In order to determine what is needed for the sustainable introduction of GM crops in Europe, the cross-disciplinary SIGMEA Research Project was set up to create a science-based framework to inform decision-makers. SIGMEA has (i collated and analysed European data on gene flow and the environmental impacts of the major crop species which are likely to be transgenic in the future (maize, rapeseed, sugar beet, rice, and wheat, (ii designed predictive models of gene flow at the landscape level, (iii analysed the technical feasibility and economic impacts of coexistence in the principal farming regions of Europe, (iv developed novel GMO detection methods, (v addressed legal issues related to coexistence, and (vi proposed public and farm scale decisionmaking tools, as well as guidelines regarding management and governance. This publishable version of the final activity report of the FP6 SIGMEA research project, covers the fourteen major issues under investigation.

  4. NASA's GreenLab Research Facility: A Guide for a Self-Sustainable Renewable Energy Ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bomani, B. M. McDowell; Hendricks, R. C.; Elbuluk, Malik; Okon, Monica; Lee, Eric; Gigante, Bethany

    2011-01-01

    There is a large gap between the production and demand for energy from alternative fuel and alternative renewable energy sources. The sustainability of humanity, as we know it, directly depends on the ability to secure affordable fuel, food, and freshwater. NASA Glenn Research Center (Glenn) has initiated a laboratory pilot study on using biofuels as viable alternative fuel resources for the field of aviation, as well as utilizing wind and solar technology as alternative renewable energy resources. The GreenLab Research Facility focuses on optimizing biomass feedstock using algae and halophytes as the next generation of renewable aviation fuels. The unique approach in this facility helps achieve optimal biomass feedstock through climatic adaptation of balanced ecosystems that do not use freshwater, compete with food crops, or use arable land. In addition, the GreenLab Research Facility is powered, in part, by alternative and renewable energy sources, reducing the major environmental impact of present electricity sources. The ultimate goal is to have a 100 percent clean energy laboratory that, when combined with biomass feedstock research, has the framework in place for a self-sustainable renewable energy ecosystem that can be duplicated anywhere in the world and can potentially be used to mitigate the shortage of food, fuel, and water. This paper describes the GreenLab Research Facility at Glenn and its power and energy sources, and provides recommendations for worldwide expansion and adoption of the facility s concept.

  5. EFFECTIVENESS OF SELECTION OF WHEAT TO MODERN REQUIREMENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE III. ENERGY PRODUCTIVITY OF CROPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisaveta Vasileva

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Aim of the study was to conclude on adaptation of modern varieties to the requirements of sustainable agriculture and hence the effectiveness of their methods of selection with respect to these requirements. The comparison between genotypes in two directions - by the selection methods by which they were established and according to the time of their creation. Energy assessment shows that the gross energy yield of grain is higher ( in average 5% over standard for varieties produced by the methods of the Intervarietal hybridization and during the period 1995 to 1999. While absolute maximum values of the energy productivity of grain (at N18 and maximum average total gross energy productivity of crops (4% above standard were detected in genotypes generated by the methods of mutagenesis by irradiation with gamma rays. Absolute maximum value of the energy productivity of crops were reported in cultivar Zdravko (at N18, which was established by the method of plant biotechnology by combining and somaclonal variation.

  6. Bioenergy production from perennial energy crops: a consequential LCA of 12 bioenergy scenarios including land use changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tonini, Davide; Hamelin, Lorie; Wenzel, Henrik; Astrup, Thomas

    2012-12-18

    In the endeavor of optimizing the sustainability of bioenergy production in Denmark, this consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluated the environmental impacts associated with the production of heat and electricity from one hectare of Danish arable land cultivated with three perennial crops: ryegrass (Lolium perenne), willow (Salix viminalis) and Miscanthus giganteus. For each, four conversion pathways were assessed against a fossil fuel reference: (I) anaerobic co-digestion with manure, (II) gasification, (III) combustion in small-to-medium scale biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants and IV) co-firing in large scale coal-fired CHP plants. Soil carbon changes, direct and indirect land use changes as well as uncertainty analysis (sensitivity, MonteCarlo) were included in the LCA. Results showed that global warming was the bottleneck impact, where only two scenarios, namely willow and Miscanthus co-firing, allowed for an improvement as compared with the reference (-82 and -45 t CO₂-eq. ha⁻¹, respectively). The indirect land use changes impact was quantified as 310 ± 170 t CO₂-eq. ha⁻¹, representing a paramount average of 41% of the induced greenhouse gas emissions. The uncertainty analysis confirmed the results robustness and highlighted the indirect land use changes uncertainty as the only uncertainty that can significantly change the outcome of the LCA results.

  7. Statistical analysis and modelling of surface runoff from arable fields

    OpenAIRE

    P. Fiener; K. Auerswald; F. Winter; M. Disse

    2013-01-01

    Surface runoff generation on arable fields is an important driver of (local) flooding, on-site and off-site damages by erosion, and of nutrient and agrochemical transport. In general, three different processes generate surface runoff (Hortonian runoff, saturation excess runoff, and return of subsurface flow). Despite the developments in our understanding of these processes it remains difficult to predict, which processes govern runoff generation during the course of an event or through...

  8. Breeding crop plants with deep roots: their role in sustainable carbon, nutrient and water sequestration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kell, Douglas B.

    2011-01-01

    Background The soil represents a reservoir that contains at least twice as much carbon as does the atmosphere, yet (apart from ‘root crops’) mainly just the above-ground plant biomass is harvested in agriculture, and plant photosynthesis represents the effective origin of the overwhelming bulk of soil carbon. However, present estimates of the carbon sequestration potential of soils are based more on what is happening now than what might be changed by active agricultural intervention, and tend to concentrate only on the first metre of soil depth. Scope Breeding crop plants with deeper and bushy root ecosystems could simultaneously improve both the soil structure and its steady-state carbon, water and nutrient retention, as well as sustainable plant yields. The carbon that can be sequestered in the steady state by increasing the rooting depths of crop plants and grasses from, say, 1 m to 2 m depends significantly on its lifetime(s) in different molecular forms in the soil, but calculations (http://dbkgroup.org/carbonsequestration/rootsystem.html) suggest that this breeding strategy could have a hugely beneficial effect in stabilizing atmospheric CO2. This sets an important research agenda, and the breeding of plants with improved and deep rooting habits and architectures is a goal well worth pursuing. PMID:21813565

  9. Controlled release for crop and wood protection: Recent progress toward sustainable and safe nanostructured biocidal systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattos, Bruno D; Tardy, Blaise L; Magalhães, Washington L E; Rojas, Orlando J

    2017-09-28

    We review biocide delivery systems (BDS), which are designed to deter or control harmful organisms that damage agricultural crops, forests and forest products. This is a timely topic, given the growing socio-economical concerns that have motivated major developments in sustainable BDS. Associated designs aim at improving or replacing traditional systems, which often consist of biocides with extreme behavior as far as their solubility in water. This includes those that compromise or pollute soil and water (highly soluble or volatile biocides) or those that present low bioavailability (poorly soluble biocides). Major breakthroughs are sought to mitigate or eliminate consequential environmental and health impacts in agriculture and silviculture. Here, we consider the most important BDS vehicles or carriers, their synthesis, the environmental impact of their constituents and interactions with the active components together with the factors that affect their rates of release such as environmental factors and interaction of BDS with the crops or forest products. We put in perspective the state-of-the-art nanostructured carriers for controlled release, which need to address many of the challenges that exist in the application of BDS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. How much Nitrous Oxide is produced in cultivation of biofuels on arable land in Sweden?; Hur mycket lustgas blir det vid odling av biobraenslen paa aakermark i Sverige?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kasimir Klemedtsson, Aasa (Univ. of Goeteborg, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Goeteborg (Sweden). Physical Geography)

    2010-03-15

    Several methods that can be used to estimate the emission of nitrous oxide from arable land are discussed, all of them with their pros and cons. 1 The base for all estimation methods is field measurements, well executed with a technique designed for the production of high quality data. Published field data of good quality were collected from areas in north Europe and America, both from grain and rape crops and unfertilised grasslands where natural background emission is assumed. The compilation shows that grasslands emit in average 0.3 +- 0.1 kg N{sub 2}O-N/ha/year. In crop systems where a high amount of nitrogen is repeatedly added to the soil, the soil N store will contribute to N{sub 2}O emission coming years. This is one reason why emission is higher for unfertilised arable land (where nitrogen have been added previous years) compared to unfertilised grassland, 1 +- 0.1 kg N{sub 2}O-N/ha/year. Fertilised arable lands have higher emission, in average around 3 kg N{sub 2}O-N/ha/year. In comparison, field measurements in Sweden have shown lower emission, 0.6 and 2 kg N{sub 2}O-N/ha/year from clay and sandy soil respectively. 2 The IPCC method is the best known, where the emission from arable land is estimated as a function of added nitrogen. In reality there is no correlation between a low N-addition and the emission of nitrous oxide since the N-addition needs to be high to have influence on the nitrous oxide emission..25 or the new factor 1% of added N has been used in many LCA's as an estimator for nitrous oxide and the uncertainty span of 0,3 and 3% is seldom used. The method underestimates the size of nitrous oxide emission in many systems and cannot estimate a true emission from individual fields. 3 Globally there is a connection between the increase in reactive nitrogen and the increase of atmospheric nitrous oxide, which is the base for a method suggested by Crutzen et al. Nitrous oxide emission has been estimated to be 3-5% of both biological nitrogen

  11. Barriers and drivers towards the incorporation of crop residue in the soil. Analysis of Italian farmers’ opinion with the theory of planned behaviour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luca Bechini

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Despite the benefits arising from incorporating crop residue in the soil, some farmers decide to burn or sell it. The objective of the work described in this paper was to quantify the adoption of crop residue incorporation by Italian farmers, and to identify the barriers and drivers that they perceive towards this agricultural management practice. We applied a behavioural approach, based on the theory of planned behaviour. In agriculture, this theory can be used to study individual farmer beliefs to understand the intention to adopt agricultural management practices. Based on preliminary semi-structured interviews with 24 farmers, we have prepared and disseminated a structured questionnaire in dairy farms in the plain of northern Italy, in arable farms in the plain of northern, central, and southern Italy, and in arable farms in the hill of central and southern Italy. The questionnaire contained questions to reveal subjective beliefs of the farmers on the outcomes of incorporating crop residue, and on the referents and control factors that might influence adoption. We have received 315 filled questionnaires from 16 regions and 54 provinces. The survey has identified major drivers and barriers towards the incorporation of crop residue in the soil. The main drivers were the expected improvement of soil quality (higher soil organic matter, improved structure and fertility, the expected increase of grain protein concentration in the following wheat crop, the availability of adequate machinery, the prohibition of burning crop residue, and the knowledge that incorporation is important (which emphasizes the importance of an effective advisory service. The main barriers were the costs of incorporation, the need to increase the use of nitrogen fertiliser when straw is incorporated, and the problems to sow the following crop in the presence of residue. While on the basis of the preliminary interviews we expected that the possibility to sell the straw and

  12. Forestry and fiber crop production in the higher rainfall areas of tropical Australia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wood, I.M.; Volck, H.E.; Cameron, D.M.; Thomson, N.J.

    1981-01-01

    An analysis of the nearly 1 million square km of higher rainfall area shows that less than 4% has potential for arable agriculture or commercial forestry. Except for rain forest on the eastern Queensland coast (now largely protected), native forest has little potential for timber or pulp. Plantations of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis offer the best potential for forest production in Queensland and Northern Territory. The most promising agricultural fiber crops for paper pulp are bagasse, which could be upgraded by mixing with pine mill wastes, and kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus). The freight costs involved in a forestry and fiber project in northern Australia are analyzed and the possibility of some local processing is considered. (Refs. 33).

  13. Modelling the economics of farm-based anaerobic digestion in a UK whole-farm context

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, Philip; Salter, Andrew

    2013-01-01

    Anaerobic digestion (AD) technologies convert organic wastes and crops into methane-rich biogas for heating, electricity generation and vehicle fuel. Farm-based AD has proliferated in some EU countries, driven by favourable policies promoting sustainable energy generation and GHG mitigation. Despite increased state support there are still few AD plants on UK farms leading to a lack of normative data on viability of AD in the whole-farm context. Farmers and lenders are therefore reluctant to fund AD projects and policy makers are hampered in their attempts to design policies that adequately support the industry. Existing AD studies and modelling tools do not adequately capture the farm context within which AD interacts. This paper demonstrates a whole-farm, optimisation modelling approach to assess the viability of AD in a more holistic way, accounting for such issues as: AD scale, synergies and conflicts with other farm enterprises, choice of feedstocks, digestate use and impact on farm Net Margin. This modelling approach demonstrates, for example, that: AD is complementary to dairy enterprises, but competes with arable enterprises for farm resources. Reduced nutrient purchases significantly improve Net Margin on arable farms, but AD scale is constrained by the capacity of farmland to absorb nutrients in AD digestate. -- Highlights: •Lack of empirical data on UK farm AD is barrier to investment and policy formulation. •A modelling approach used to assess economic viability of AD in whole-farm context. •AD increases dairy and arable farm net margin including by savings in nutrient costs. •AD margins better for a few crops than other uses, especially wheat and beet crops. •AD co-exists with dairy, but to obtain best margin displaces conventional cropping

  14. Feed legumes for truly sustainable crop-animal systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paolo Annicchiarico

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Legume cultivation has sharply decreased in Italy during the last 50 years. Lucerne remains widely grown (with about 12% of its area devoted to dehydration, whereas soybean is definitely the most-grown grain legume. Poor legume cropping is mainly due to the gap in yielding ability with major cereals, which has widened up in time according to statistical data. Lucerne displays definitely higher crude protein yield and somewhat lower economic gap with benchmark cereals than feed grain legumes. Pea because of high feed energy production per unit area and rate of genetic progress, and white lupin because of high protein yield per unit area, are particularly interesting for Italian rain-fed environments. Greater legume cultivation in Europe is urged by the need for reducing energy and green-house gas emissions and excessive and unbalanced global N flows through greater symbiotic N fixation and more integrated crop-animal production, as well as to cope with ongoing and perspective raising prices of feed proteins and N fertilisers and insecurity of feed protein supplies. The transition towards greater legume cultivation requires focused research effort, comprehensive stakeholder cooperation and fair economic compensation for legume environmental services, with a key role for genetic improvement dragged by public breeding or pre-breeding. New opportunities for yield improvement arise from the ongoing development of cost-efficient genome-enabled selection procedures, enhanced adaptation to specific cropping conditions via ecophysiological and evolutionary-based approaches, and more thorough exploitation of global genetic resources.

  15. Climate protection and energy crops. Potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction through crop rotation and crop planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eckner, Jens; Peter, Christiane; Vetter, Armin

    2015-01-01

    The EVA project compares nationwide energy crops and crop rotations on site-specific productivity. In addition to agronomic suitability for cultivation economic and environmental benefits and consequences are analyzed and evaluated. As part of sustainability assessment of the tested cultivation options LCAs are established. The model MiLA developed in the project uses empirical test data and site parameters to prepare the inventory balances. At selected locations different cultivation and fertilization regimes are examined comparatively. In the comparison of individual crops and crop rotation combinations cultivation of W.Triticale-GPS at the cereals favor location Dornburg causes the lowest productrelated GHG-emissions. Due to the efficient implementation of nitrogen and the substrate properties of maize is the cultivation despite high area-related emissions and N-expenses at a low level of emissions. Because of the intensity the two culture systems offer lower emissions savings potentials with high area efficiency. Extensification with perennial alfalfagrass at low nitrogen effort and adequate yield performance show low product-related emissions. Closing the nutrient cycles through a recirculation of digestates instead of using mineral fertilization has a climate-friendly effect. Adapted intensifies of processing or reduced tillage decrease diesel consumption and their related emissions.

  16. State of the art and perspectives of the cultivation of energy crops in Hesse. Significance, procedure of cultivation, sustainability; Stand und Perspektiven des Energiepflanzenanbaus in Hessen. Bedeutung, Anbauverfahren, Nachhaltigkeit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-07-15

    In line with the further increase in the use of renewable energy sources, the expansion of biomass utilization in Hesse increasingly becomes important. In light of the increasing criticism of the cultivation of energy crops, it is important to learn about the situation in the Federal State Hessen (Federal Republic of Germany). Under this aspect, the booklet under consideration contributes to proper information and creating acceptance in the current discussion on the development of bioenergy in Hessen. In particular, the brochure reports on the following topics: (1) What is the advantage of the bioenergy in Hessen?; (2) Scope of the cultivation of energy crops in the Hessian agriculture?; (3) Economic aspects of the cultivation of energy crops for biogas plants; (4) Cultivation of oil crops for the production of biodiesel oil and vegetable oil; (5) Cultivation of cereals and sugar beet for bioethanol production; (6) One-year-old energy crops; (7) Perennial energy crops; (8) Aspects of sustainability in the cultivation of energy crops; (9) Areas of conflict in the cultivation of energy crops.

  17. Enhancing Sustainable Development of Diverse Agriculture in Bangladesh

    OpenAIRE

    Alam, Jahangir

    2005-01-01

    The report presents the current status of some selected CGPRT Crops (secondary crops) and examines their potentials in enhancing the sustainable development of diverse agriculture in Bangladesh. Agriculture in Bangladesh is composed of crop, livestock, fisheries and forestry subsectors. This study deals primarily with crop agriculture and the scope of diversification is limited to crop rather than agricultural diversification.

  18. Carbon Dioxide in Arable Soil Profiles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chirinda, Ngoni; Plauborg, Finn; Heckrath, Goswin Johann

    2014-01-01

    on the comparability of results obtained using different methods is limited. We therefore aimed to compare the dynamics in soil CO2 concentrations obtained from an automated system (GMP343 sensors) to those from a manually operated measurement system (i.e., soil gas sampled using stainless steel needles and rods......Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in arable soil profiles are influenced by autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration as well as soil physical properties that regulate gas transport. Whereas different methods have been used to assess dynamics of soil CO2 concentrations, our understanding...... systems. Within the measurement range for the GMP343 sensors (0-20,000 ppm), mean results from the two systems were similar within the plough layer at the upslope (P = 0.060) and footslope (P = 0.139) position, and also below the plough layer at the upslope position (P = 0.795). However, results from...

  19. Investigating an Ethical Approach to Genetically Modified Crops in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Genetically modified (GM) crops gained attention in southern Africa in the context of broader debates about the struggle for food security and poverty alleviation to achieve sustainable development. The prospects of GM crops as a technological innovation have provoked numerous debates and environmental concern ...

  20. Soil health: a comparison between organically and conventionally managed arable soils in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Diepeningen, van A.D.; Blok, W.J.; Korthals, G.W.; Bruggen, van A.H.C.; Ariena, H.C.

    2005-01-01

    A comparative study of 13 organic and 13 neighboring conventional arable farming systems was conducted in the Netherlands to determine the effect of management practices on chemical and biological soil properties and soil health. Soils were analyzed using a polyphasic approach combining traditional

  1. Influence of management and environment on Australian wheat: information for sustainable intensification and closing yield gaps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryan, B A; King, D; Zhao, G

    2014-01-01

    In the future, agriculture will need to produce more, from less land, more sustainably. But currently, in many places, actual crop yields are below those attainable. We quantified the ability for agricultural management to increase wheat yields across 179 Mha of potentially arable land in Australia. Using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM), we simulated the impact on wheat yield of 225 fertilization and residue management scenarios at a high spatial, temporal, and agronomic resolution from 1900 to 2010. The influence of management and environmental variables on wheat yield was then assessed using Spearman’s non-parametric correlation test with bootstrapping. While residue management showed little correlation, fertilization strongly increased wheat yield up to around 100 kg N ha −1  yr −1 . However, this effect was highly dependent on the key environment variables of rainfall, temperature, and soil water holding capacity. The influence of fertilization on yield was stronger in cooler, wetter climates, and in soils with greater water holding capacity. We conclude that the effectiveness of management intensification to increase wheat yield is highly dependent upon local climate and soil conditions. We provide context-specific information on the yield benefits of fertilization to support adaptive agronomic decision-making and contribute to the closure of yield gaps. We also suggest that future assessments consider the economic and environmental sustainability of management intensification for closing yield gaps. (paper)

  2. Optimal Cropping Pattern Based on Multiple Economic, Regional, and Agricultural Sustainability Criteria in Sari, Iran: Application of a Consolidated Model of AHP and Linear Programming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Fallahi

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Determining a suitable cropping pattern is an important task for planners and requires an exact and realistic decision-making process based on several goals and criteria corresponding to secure the interest of agricultural beneficiaries in long-term. Accordingly, this study reviews the current pattern operated by farmers in Sari, Iran, and intends to provide a cropping pattern that considers the multifold regional and agricultural sustainability criteria along with economic considerations. Materials and Methods: In order to achieve the study goals, a consolidated model of AHP and Linear Programming was applied. For this purpose, we constructed a three-level AHP, including a goal (determining the weight of each crop, seven criteria, and seven alternatives. Profitability, compatibility with regional and geographical conditions, water consumption, environmental effects of cropping, job creation opportunities, skill and proficiency required for producing a crop, and risk taken to cultivate a crop were considered as the criteria in the model. Seven alternative crops including rice, wheat, rapeseed, barley, soybean, clover, and vegetables were considered too. The next step is determining the weight of each criterion with regard to the goal and the weight of each alternative with regard to each criteria. By multiplying these weights, final weights for various crops were obtained from the model. Derived weights for each crop were then applied as objective function coefficients in the Linear Programming model and the model was solved subject to the constraints. Results and Discussion: Optimal cropping pattern determined based on the consolidated model of AHP and Linear Programming and the results compared to a scenario that only looks forward to maximizing the economic interests. Due to the low profitability of rapeseed and barley, these crops eliminated from the pattern in the profit-maximizing scenario. According to the results, the

  3. Energy crops for biogas plants. Bavaria; Energiepflanzen fuer Biogasanlagen. Bayern

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aigner, A.; Biertuempel, A.; Conrad, M. (and others)

    2012-08-15

    For agriculturists in Bavaria (Federal Republic of Germany), the brochure under consideration provides recommendations on alternative crop rotation systems. With the help of these alternative cultivation systems, crop rotation with high yields in combination with high diversity, diversification and sustainability can be realized. Subsequently to the presentation of energy crops for the production of biogas, recommendations for the design of crop rotation are given. Other chapters of this booklet deal with ensilage and gas yields as well as the economics of energy crop cultivation.

  4. Protein crop production at the northern margin of farming: to boost or not to boost

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pirjo Peltonen-Sainio

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Global changes in food demand resulting from population growth and more meat-intensive diets require an increase in global protein crop production, not least as climate change and increasing scarcity of fresh water could restrict future production. In contrast to many other regions, in Finland climate change could open new opportunities through enabling more diverse cropping systems. It is justified to re-enquire whether the extent and intensity of protein crop production are optimized, resources are used efficiently and sustainably, cropping systems are built to be resilient and whether ecological services that protein crops provide are utilized appropriately. This paper aims to analyze in a descriptive manner the biological grounds for sustainable intensification of protein crop production in Finland. Production security is considered by evaluating the effects of and likelihood for constraints typical for northern conditions, examining historical and recent crop failures and estimating ecosystem services that more extensive introduction of protein crops potentially provide for northern cropping systems now and in a changing climate. There is an evident potential to expand protein crop production sustainably to a couple of times its current area. In general, variability in protein yields tends to be higher for protein crops than spring cereals. Nevertheless, protein yield variability was not necessarily systematically higher for Finland, when compared with other European regions, as it was for cereals. Protein crops provide significant ecological services that further support their expanded production. By this means protein self-sufficiency remains unrealistic, but increased production of protein crops can be achieved. The expansion of rapeseed and legumes areas also seems to be economically feasible. From the economic viewpoint, an increase in domestic protein supply requires that farmers have economic incentives to a cultivate protein

  5. Increased nutritional value in food crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goicoechea, Nieves; Antolín, M Carmen

    2017-09-01

    Modern agriculture and horticulture must combine two objectives that seem to be almost mutually exclusive: to satisfy the nutritional needs of an increasing human population and to minimize the negative impact on the environment. These two objectives are included in the Goal 2 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations: 'End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture'. Enhancing the nutritional levels of vegetables would improve nutrient intake without requiring an increase in consumption. In this context, the use of beneficial rhizospheric microorganisms for improving, not only growth and yield, but also the nutrient quality of crops represents a promising tool that may respond to the challenges for modern agriculture and horticulture and represents an alternative to the genetic engineering of crops. This paper summarizes the state of the art, the current difficulties associated to the use of rhizospheric microorganisms as enhancers of the nutritional quality of food crops as well as the future prospects. © 2017 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

  6. Food and nutritional security requires adequate protein as well as energy, delivered from whole-year crop production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coles, Graeme D; Wratten, Stephen D; Porter, John R

    2016-01-01

    Human food security requires the production of sufficient quantities of both high-quality protein and dietary energy. In a series of case-studies from New Zealand, we show that while production of food ingredients from crops on arable land can meet human dietary energy requirements effectively, requirements for high-quality protein are met more efficiently by animal production from such land. We present a model that can be used to assess dietary energy and quality-corrected protein production from various crop and crop/animal production systems, and demonstrate its utility. We extend our analysis with an accompanying economic analysis of commercially-available, pre-prepared or simply-cooked foods that can be produced from our case-study crop and animal products. We calculate the per-person, per-day cost of both quality-corrected protein and dietary energy as provided in the processed foods. We conclude that mixed dairy/cropping systems provide the greatest quantity of high-quality protein per unit price to the consumer, have the highest food energy production and can support the dietary requirements of the highest number of people, when assessed as all-year-round production systems. Global food and nutritional security will largely be an outcome of national or regional agroeconomies addressing their own food needs. We hope that our model will be used for similar analyses of food production systems in other countries, agroecological zones and economies.

  7. Root length densities of UK wheat and oilseed rape crops with implications for water capture and yield

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Charlotte A.; Sylvester-Bradley, Roger; Berry, Peter M.

    2015-01-01

    Root length density (RLD) was measured to 1 m depth for 17 commercial crops of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) and 40 crops of winter oilseed rape [Brassica napus; oilseed rape (OSR)] grown in the UK between 2004 and 2013. Taking the critical RLD (cRLD) for water capture as 1cm cm–3, RLDs appeared inadequate for full water capture on average below a depth of 0.32 m for winter wheat and below 0.45 m for OSR. These depths compare unfavourably (for wheat) with average depths of ‘full capture’ of 0.86 m and 0.48 m, respectively, determined for three wheat crops and one OSR crop studied in the 1970s and 1980s, and treated as references here. A simple model of water uptake and yield indicated that these shortfalls in wheat and OSR rooting compared with the reference data might be associated with shortfalls of up to 3.5 t ha–1 and 1.2 t ha–1, respectively, in grain yields under water-limited conditions, as increasingly occur through climate change. Coupled with decreased summer rainfall, poor rooting of modern arable crops could explain much of the yield stagnation that has been observed on UK farms since the 1990s. Methods of monitoring and improving rooting under commercial conditions are reviewed and discussed. PMID:25750427

  8. Molecular, Genetic and Agronomic Approaches to Utilizing Pulses as Cover Crops and Green Manure into Cropping Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tani, Eleni; Abraham, Eleni; Chachalis, Demosthenis; Travlos, Ilias

    2017-06-05

    Cover crops constitute one of the most promising agronomic practices towards a more sustainable agriculture. Their beneficial effects on main crops, soil and environment are many and various, while risks and disadvantages may also appear. Several legumes show a high potential but further research is required in order to suggest the optimal legume cover crops for each case in terms of their productivity and ability to suppress weeds. The additional cost associated with cover crops should also be addressed and in this context the use of grain legumes such as cowpea, faba bean and pea could be of high interest. Some of the aspects of these grain legumes as far as their use as cover crops, their genetic diversity and their breeding using conventional and molecular approaches are discussed in the present review. The specific species seem to have a high potential for use as cover crops, especially if their noticeable genetic diversity is exploited and their breeding focuses on several desirable traits.

  9. Molecular, Genetic and Agronomic Approaches to Utilizing Pulses as Cover Crops and Green Manure into Cropping Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tani, Eleni; Abraham, Eleni; Chachalis, Demosthenis; Travlos, Ilias

    2017-01-01

    Cover crops constitute one of the most promising agronomic practices towards a more sustainable agriculture. Their beneficial effects on main crops, soil and environment are many and various, while risks and disadvantages may also appear. Several legumes show a high potential but further research is required in order to suggest the optimal legume cover crops for each case in terms of their productivity and ability to suppress weeds. The additional cost associated with cover crops should also be addressed and in this context the use of grain legumes such as cowpea, faba bean and pea could be of high interest. Some of the aspects of these grain legumes as far as their use as cover crops, their genetic diversity and their breeding using conventional and molecular approaches are discussed in the present review. The specific species seem to have a high potential for use as cover crops, especially if their noticeable genetic diversity is exploited and their breeding focuses on several desirable traits. PMID:28587254

  10. Hands-On Crops! How Long-Term Activities Improve Students' Knowledge of Crop Species. A Pretest-Posttest Study of the Greenhouse Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fritsch, Eva-Maria; Lechner-Walz, Cornelia; Dreesmann, Daniel C.

    2015-01-01

    In terms of sustainability, renewable resources, nourishment and healthy diet, crops are important to the public. Thus, knowledge of crops is needed in order to enable people to participate in public discussions and take responsibility. This is in contrast to former surveys showing that students' knowledge of and interest in plants in general,…

  11. EUE (energy use efficiency) of cropping systems for a sustainable agriculture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alluvione, Francesco; Moretti, Barbara; Sacco, Dario; Grignani, Carlo

    2011-01-01

    Energy efficiency of agriculture needs improvement to reduce the dependency on non-renewable energy sources. We estimated the energy flows of a wheat-maize-soybean-maize rotation of three different cropping systems: (i) low-input integrated farming (LI), (ii) integrated farming following European Regulations (IFS), and (iii) conventional farming (CONV). Balancing N fertilization with actual crop requirements and adopting minimum tillage proved the most efficient techniques to reduce energy inputs, contributing 64.7% and 11.2% respectively to the total reduction. Large differences among crops in energy efficiency (maize: 2.2 MJ kg -1 grain; wheat: 2.6 MJ kg -1 grain; soybean: 4.1 MJ kg -1 grain) suggest that crop rotation and crop management can be equally important in determining cropping system energy efficiency. Integrated farming techniques improved energy efficiency by reducing energy inputs without affecting energy outputs. Compared with CONV, energy use efficiency increased 31.4% and 32.7% in IFS and LI, respectively, while obtaining similar net energy values. Including SOM evolution in the energy analysis greatly enhanced the energy performance of IFS and, even more dramatically, LI compared to CONV. Improved energy efficiency suggests the adoption of alternative farming systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. However, a thorough evaluation should include net global warming potential assessment. -- Highlights: → We evaluated the energy flows of integrated as alternative to conventional Farming. → Energy flows, soil organic matter evolution included, were analyzed following process analysis. → Energy flows were compared using indicators. → Integrated farming improved energy efficiency without affecting net energy. → Inclusion of soil organic matter in energy analysis accrue environmental evaluation.

  12. Distribution patterns of segetal weeds of cereal crops in tajikistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nowak, A.; Nowak, S.

    2015-01-01

    Using the literature data and field research conducted in 2009-2013 the distribution patterns, habitat conditions, phytogeographical characterisation and endangerment of weeds occurring in cereal crops in Tajikistan were analysed. We found out that Tajik weed flora of cereal crops counts 686 taxa. The most species rich families include Asteraceae, Poaceae and Fabaceae. The highest number of cereal weeds were noted in large river valleys of Syr-Daria, Amu-Daria and their tributaries in south-western and northern Tajikistan. This subregions have the warmest climate conditions and extensive arable lands. The greatest weed species richness was observed in submontane and montane elevations between approx. 700 and 1,900 m a.s. Cereal weeds occur frequently outside segetal communities in Tajikistan. They were noted usually in screes, wastelands, xerothermophilous grasslands, river gravel beds and in steppes habitats. The assessment of threat status reveals that ca. 33% of total cereal weed flora in Tajikistan are disappearing or occur very rarely. According to the chorological data we find that in the cereals of Tajikistan, 35 endemic and 14 subendemic species occur. The most numerous chorological elements of threatened weed flora of Tajikistan are Irano-Turanian (55%), pluriregional (16%), cosmopolitan (14,5%), Mediterranean (9%) and Eurosiberian (5%) species. Further research is suggested to explore the distribution patterns of all weed species in Tajikistan as it should be useful for economy and effectiveness of crop production as well as conservation of most valuable species. (author)

  13. Features of Terra MOD11A2DAY in Operational Forecastof Grain Crops Yield in Kazakhstan with AN 8 Day Renewal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terekhov, A.

    2011-08-01

    The Kazakhstan, with export capacity of 6-8 million tons, is one of the largest wheat exporter in the world. About 16 million hectares of unirrigated land is used for monocultural cultivation of cereals (wheat and barley). Most of the cropland is located in the steppe and forest steppe zone. The moisture deficit limits the crop productivity and creates a strong dependency of its state of the moisture conditions during vegetation season. In Kazakhstan, the average grain yield variations are sufficiently large, from 0.9 (2010) to 1.4 tonha (2007). Given the high volatility of the gross grain harvest and export potential, respectively, methods of early satellite forecast of grain yield with high frequency of the renewal are of the great interest. In Kazakhstan, the variations in the weather growing season determine the yield of grain crops. By significant weather parameters include: the spring soil moisture, humidity and air temperature, rainfall, and several others. Plants respond to the sum of all parameters through the volume of green biomass. The regional cereal state can be estimated from satellite vegetation indices, which are particularly informative in the period of its seasonal peak. Another satellite parameter closely related to humidity conditions may be the land surface temperature (LST). Product USGS: TERRA MOD11A2DAY represents the 8-days LST composite was tested in the task of estimating of arable lands temperature in Northern Kazakhstan. The description of the temperature conditions of the growing season based on the temperature calibrated index (TCI), which was introduced by Kogan. TCI provides a weighted assessment of the current LST on a scale of 0-100, where 0 - the lowest, respectively, 100 as a high temperature, recorded during the observation period at a given location at a given time window. The monitoring period included 2004-2010 years. During the beginning of the growing season was taken on April 15, season end on 20 August - ripeness stage

  14. Biomass energy: Sustainable solution for greenhouse gas emission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadrul Islam, A. K. M.; Ahiduzzaman, M.

    2012-06-01

    Biomass is part of the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is produced after combustion of biomass. Over a relatively short timescale, carbon dioxide is renewed from atmosphere during next generation of new growth of green vegetation. Contribution of renewable energy including hydropower, solar, biomass and biofuel in total primary energy consumption in world is about 19%. Traditional biomass alone contributes about 13% of total primary energy consumption in the world. The number of traditional biomass energy users expected to rise from 2.5 billion in 2004 to 2.6 billion in 2015 and to 2.7 billion in 2030 for cooking in developing countries. Residential biomass demand in developing countries is projected to rise from 771 Mtoe in 2004 to 818 Mtoe in 2030. The main sources of biomass are wood residues, bagasse, rice husk, agro-residues, animal manure, municipal and industrial waste etc. Dedicated energy crops such as short-rotation coppice, grasses, sugar crops, starch crops and oil crops are gaining importance and market share as source of biomass energy. Global trade in biomass feedstocks and processed bioenergy carriers are growing rapidly. There are some drawbacks of biomass energy utilization compared to fossil fuels viz: heterogeneous and uneven composition, lower calorific value and quality deterioration due to uncontrolled biodegradation. Loose biomass also is not viable for transportation. Pelletization, briquetting, liquefaction and gasification of biomass energy are some options to solve these problems. Wood fuel production is very much steady and little bit increase in trend, however, the forest land is decreasing, means the deforestation is progressive. There is a big challenge for sustainability of biomass resource and environment. Biomass energy can be used to reduce greenhouse emissions. Woody biomass such as briquette and pellet from un-organized biomass waste and residues could be used for alternative to wood fuel, as a result, forest will be saved and

  15. Changes in the Structure of a Nigerian Soil under Different Land Management Practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua Olalekan Ogunwole

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Quantification of soil physical quality (SPQ and pore size distribution (PSD can assist understanding of how changes in land management practices influence dynamics of soil structure, and this understanding could greatly improve the predictability of soil physical behavior and crop yield. The objectives of this study were to measure the SPQ index under two different land management practices (the continuous arable cropping system and natural bush fallow system, and contrast the effects of these practices on the structure of PSD using soil water retention data. Soil water retention curves obtained from a pressure chamber were fitted to van Genuchten’s equation, setting m (= 1-1/n. Although values for soil bulk density were high, soils under the continuous arable cropping system had good SPQ, and maintained the capacity to support root development. However, soils under the natural bush fallow system had a worse structure than the continuous arable system, with restrictions in available water capacity. These two management systems had different PSDs. Results showed the inferiority of the natural bush fallow system with no traffic restriction (which is the common practice in relation to the continuous arable cropping system in regard to physical quality and structure.

  16. Effect of resource conserving techniques on crop productivity in rice-wheat cropping system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mann, R.A.; Munir, M.; Haqqani, A.M.

    2004-01-01

    Rice-wheat cropping system is the most important one in Pakistan. The system provides food and livelihood for more than 15 million people in the country. The productivity of the system is much lower than the potential yields of both rice and wheat crops. With the traditional methods, rice-wheat system is not a profitable one to many farmers. Hence, Cost of cultivation must be reduced and at the same time, efficiency of resources like irrigation water, fuel, and fertilizers must be improved to make the crop production system more viable and eco- friendly. Resource conserving technology (RCT) must figure highly in this equation, since they play a major role in achieving the above goals. The RCT include laser land leveling, zero-tillage, bed furrow irrigation method and crop residue management. These technologies were evaluated in irrigated areas of Punjab where rice follows wheat. The results showed that paddy yield was not affected by the new methods. Direct seeding of rice crop saved irrigation water by 13% over the conventionally planted crop. Weeds were the major problem indirect seeded crop, which could be eliminated through cultural, mechanical and chemical means. Wheat crop on beds produced the highest yield but cost of production was minimum in the zero-till wheat crop. Planting of wheat on raised beds in making headway in low- lying and poorly drained areas. Thus, resource conserving tillage technology provides a tool for making progress towards improving and sustaining wheat production system, helping with food security and poverty alleviation in Pakistan in the next few decades. (author)

  17. Robust cropping systems to tackle pests under climate change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lamichhane, Jay Ram; Barzman, Marco; Booij, Kees

    2015-01-01

    ) and the severity of their outbreaks. Increasing concerns over health and the environment as well as new legislation on pesticide use, particularly in the European Union, urge us to find sustainable alternatives to pesticide-based pest management. Here, we review the effect of climate change on crop protection......Agriculture in the twenty-first century faces the challenge of meeting food demands while satisfying sustainability goals. The challenge is further complicated by climate change which affects the distribution of crop pests (intended as insects, plants, and pathogenic agents injurious to crops...... and propose strategies to reduce the impact of future invasive as well as rapidly evolving resident populations. The major points are the following: (1) the main consequence of climate change and globalization is a heightened level of unpredictability of spatial and temporal interactions between weather...

  18. Climate change adaptability of cropping and farming systems for Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justes, Eric; Rossing, Walter; Vermue, Anthony

    systems to CC through a gradient of adaptation strategies. Methods: The adaptation strategies are evaluated at cropping and farming systems as well as regional levels for nine “Adaptation Pilots” along a North-South climate gradient in the EU. Three categories of strategies are evaluated: i) Resistance...... and foster learning in participatory co-design workshops. Results and expectations: The expected results of the Climate-CAFE on-going project will produce an overview of potential CC adaptation measures for selected sites across the EU, along with mutual learning experiences for improved understanding......Introduction: Prospective studies showed that the European agriculture will be impacted by climate change (CC) with different effects depending on the geographic region. The ERA-Net+ project Climate-CAFE (call of FACCE-JPI) aims to improve the “adaptive capacity” of arable and forage based farming...

  19. Sustainable agriculture: a challenge in Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.A.A. Faroque

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The sustainability of conventional agriculture in Bangladesh is under threat from the continuous degradation of land and water resources, and from declining yields due to indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals. Government is pursuing efforts to promote sustainable agriculture with emphasis on better use of on-farm resources and the reduction of external inputs. This paper presents four dimensions of agricultural sustainability as productivity, environmental stability, economical profitability, and social and economic equity. Six characters were selected to evaluate sustainability. Significant differences were found between the two systems (conventional and sustainable agriculture in crop diversification, soil fertility management, pests and diseases management, use of agro-chemicals and environmental issues. However, no significant variations were found in other indicators such as land-use pattern, crop yield and stability, risk and uncertainties, and food security. Although crop yield and financial return were found to be slightly higher in the conventional system, the economic return and value addition per unit of land did not show any difference. It can be suggested that sustainable agriculture has a tendency towards becoming environmental, economically and socially more sound than conventional agriculture, as it requires considerably less agro-chemicals, adds more organic matter to the soil, provides balanced food, and requires higher local inputs without markedly compromising output and financial benefits. Broad-policy measures, including the creation of mass awareness of adverse health effects of agrochemical-based products, are outlined for the promotion of sustainable agriculture.

  20. Integrated soil, water and nutrient management for sustainable rice-wheat cropping systems in Asia. Report of a FAO/IAEA consultants' meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-01-01

    A Consultants' Meeting on 'Integrated soil, water and nutrient management for sustainable rice-wheat cropping systems in Asia' was held at FAO, Rome, August 22-25, 2000. Five consultants, together with one staff from IAEA headquarters, one staff from IAEA Laboratories, Seibersdorf, five staff from FAO headquarters, two staff from FAO regional offices, one observer from ACIAR, one observer from Cornell University with expertise in crop, nutrient, soil and water management, attended the meeting. The consultants presented reviews of the situation regarding studies of water and nutrient dynamics in rice-wheat systems in South Asia. These were complemented by a paper on the development of 15 N techniques to study the contribution of N from legumes. The consultants also provided recommendations on the formulation and implementation of an FAO/IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP). Refs, figs, tabs

  1. Sensitive indicators of side-effects of pesticides on the epigeal fauna of Arable land

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Everts, J.W.

    1990-01-01

    The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the possible impact of pesticides on epigeal arthropods in arable land. It was also envisaged to develop a predictive model for possible undesirable effects of pesticides on the epigeal arthropod fauna using an indicator species from

  2. Bio-based and biodegradable plastics for use in crop production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riggi, Ezio; Santagata, Gabriella; Malinconico, Mario

    2011-01-01

    The production and management of crops uses plastics for many applications (e.g., low tunnels, high tunnels, greenhouses, mulching, silage bags, hay bales, pheromone traps, coatings of fertilizers or pesticides or hormones or seeds, and nursery pots and containers for growing transplants). All these applications have led some authors to adopt the term "plasticulture" when discussing the use of plastic materials in agriculture and related industries. Unfortunately, the sustainability of this use of plastics is low, and renewability and degradability have become key words in the debate over sustainable production and utilization of plastic. Recently, researchers and the plastics industry have made strong efforts (i) to identify new biopolymers and natural additives from renewable sources that can be used in plastics production and (ii) to enhance the degradability (biological or physical) of the new ecologically sustainable materials. In the present review, we describe the main research results, current applications, patents that have been applied for in the last two decades, and future perspectives on sustainable use of plastics to support crop production. The article presents some promising patents on bio-based and biodegradable plastics for use in crop production.

  3. Ecological Sustainability of a Wheat-cotton Agroecosystem in Khorassan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    abdolmajid mahdavi damghani

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available In order to develop a sustainability index (SI for quantifying the sustainability of a wheat-cotton agroecosystem, a study was conducted in 2003 in the Khorassan province. Data of socio-economic, agronomic and ecological indicators were collected using 518 questionnaires. Results showed that only 18.6 percent of farmers gained the half or more of SI scores. The mean SI score was 44.0 which indicate that these agroecosystems are not sustainable. Results of this study are in consistent with other reports in other regions of the country. Livestock production, crop production, and water and irrigation indicators had the lowest score (6, 31, and 37, respectively. The backward stepwise regression analysis indicated that SI can be predicted from a linear combination of field size, wheat yield, crop residue management, crop income and education and extension services, while application of chemical fertilizers did not add to the prediction ability of SI. Results also showed that any progress in farmers’ education, economic viability, crop production management and water use efficiency could improve overall sustainability of these agroecosystems substantially.

  4. Yields of crops on a rhodic ferralsol in southern Brazil in relation to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Even though no-tillage, crop rotation management systems have been accepted as useful for sustaining crop production, there is the need to identify which crops can be used for such rotations. This study evaluated the dry matter and grain yields of eight winter and two summer crops (maize, Zea mays L. and soybean, ...

  5. Green biotechnology, nanotechnology and bio-fortification: perspectives on novel environment-friendly crop improvement strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yashveer, Shikha; Singh, Vikram; Kaswan, Vineet; Kaushik, Amit; Tokas, Jayanti

    2014-10-01

    Food insecurity and malnutrition are prominent issues for this century. As the world's population continues to increase, ensuring that the earth has enough food that is nutritious too will be a difficult task. Today one billion people of the world are undernourished and more than a third are malnourished. Moreover, the looming threat of climate change is exasperating the situation even further. At the same time, the total acreage of arable land that could support agricultural use is already near its limits, and may even decrease over the next few years due to salination and desertification patterns resulting from climate change. Clearly, changing the way we think about crop production must take place on multiple levels. New varieties of crops must be developed which can produce higher crop yields with less water and fewer agricultural inputs. Besides this, the crops themselves must have improved nutritional qualities or become biofortified in order to reduce the chances of 'hidden hunger' resulting from malnourishment. It is difficult to envision the optimum way to increase crop production using a single uniform strategy. Instead, a variety of approaches must be employed and tailored for any particular agricultural setting. New high-impact technologies such as green biotechnology, biofortification, and nanotechnology offer opportunities for boosting agricultural productivity and enhancing food quality and nutritional value with eco-friendly manner. These agricultural technologies currently under development will renovate our world to one that can comfortably address the new directions, our planet will take as a result of climate change.

  6. Sustainability considerations for electricity generation from biomass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evans, Annette; Strezov, Vladimir; Evans, Tim J.

    2010-01-01

    The sustainability of electricity generation from biomass has been assessed in this work according to the key indicators of price, efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, availability, limitations, land use, water use and social impacts. Biomass produced electricity generally provides favourable price, efficiency, emissions, availability and limitations but often has unfavorably high land and water usage as well as social impacts. The type and growing location of the biomass source are paramount to its sustainability. Hardy crops grown on unused or marginal land and waste products are more sustainable than dedicated energy crops grown on food producing land using high rates of fertilisers. (author)

  7. Smart investments in sustainable food production: revisiting mixed crop-livestock systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrero, M; Thornton, P K; Notenbaert, A M; Wood, S; Msangi, S; Freeman, H A; Bossio, D; Dixon, J; Peters, M; van de Steeg, J; Lynam, J; Parthasarathy Rao, P; Macmillan, S; Gerard, B; McDermott, J; Seré, C; Rosegrant, M

    2010-02-12

    Farmers in mixed crop-livestock systems produce about half of the world's food. In small holdings around the world, livestock are reared mostly on grass, browse, and nonfood biomass from maize, millet, rice, and sorghum crops and in their turn supply manure and traction for future crops. Animals act as insurance against hard times and supply farmers with a source of regular income from sales of milk, eggs, and other products. Thus, faced with population growth and climate change, small-holder farmers should be the first target for policies to intensify production by carefully managed inputs of fertilizer, water, and feed to minimize waste and environmental impact, supported by improved access to markets, new varieties, and technologies.

  8. Virtual water trade and time scales for loss of water sustainability: a comparative regional analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goswami, Prashant; Nishad, Shiv Narayan

    2015-03-20

    Assessment and policy design for sustainability in primary resources like arable land and water need to adopt long-term perspective; even small but persistent effects like net export of water may influence sustainability through irreversible losses. With growing consumption, this virtual water trade has become an important element in the water sustainability of a nation. We estimate and contrast the virtual (embedded) water trades of two populous nations, India and China, to present certain quantitative measures and time scales. Estimates show that export of embedded water alone can lead to loss of water sustainability. With the current rate of net export of water (embedded) in the end products, India is poised to lose its entire available water in less than 1000 years; much shorter time scales are implied in terms of water for production. The two cases contrast and exemplify sustainable and non-sustainable virtual water trade in long term perspective.

  9. Analysing Production Technology and Risk in Organic and Conventional Dutch Arable Farming using Panel Data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gardebroek, C.; Chavez Clemente, M.D.; Oude Lansink, A.G.J.M.

    2010-01-01

    Abstract This paper compares the production technology and production risk of organic and conventional arable farms in the Netherlands. Just–Pope production functions that explicitly account for output variability are estimated using panel data of Dutch organic and conventional farms. Prior

  10. Boosting innate immunity to sustainably control diseases in crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicaise, Valerie

    2017-10-01

    Viruses cause epidemics in all major crops, threatening global food security. The development of efficient and durable resistance able to withstand viral attacks represents a major challenge for agronomy, and relies greatly on the understanding of the molecular dialogue between viral pathogens and their hosts. Research over the last decades provided substantial advances in the field of plant-virus interactions. Remarkably, the advent of studies of plant innate immunity has recently offered new strategies exploitable in the field. This review summarizes the recent breakthroughs that define the mechanisms underlying antiviral innate immunity in plants, and emphasizes the importance of integrating that knowledge into crop improvement actions, particularly by exploiting the insights related to immune receptors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Cover Crops in West Africa: Contributing to Sustainable Agriculture ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    It documents past experiences withcover cropping in Africa and will hopefully ... Adaptation strategies for two Colombian cities were discussed at ADAPTO's ... International Water Resources Association, in close collaboration with IDRC, ...

  12. Fracciones de carbono orgánico en la capa arable: efecto de los sistemas de cultivo y fertilización nitrogenada Organic carbon fractions in the arable layer: cropping systems and nitrogen fertilization effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maximiliano J Eiza

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available Nuestro objetivo fue evaluar el efecto de siete sistemas de cultivo (SC en un experimento de larga duración: pastura permanente (PP, agricultura permanente bajo siembra directa (SD (SD100 y labranza convencional (LC (LC100, rotación agricultura pastura (50%-50% del tiempo bajo SD (SD50 y LC (LC50, rotación agricultura pastura (75%-25% del tiempo bajo SD (SD75 y LC (LC75 y dos dosis de fertilización nitrogenada: 0 y 120 kg N ha-1, sobre el carbono orgánico total (COT y particulado (COP, para 0-20 cm en 1994 y para 0-5, 5-20 y 0-20 cm de profundidad en 2003. En 1994, los mayores COP y COT se asociaron a manejos con períodos agrícolas previos cortos. En 2003, se encontraron diferencias entre SC en COT en la capa de 0-5 cm de profundidad, siendo PP, LC50 y SD50 los tratamientos con mayor COT. El COP fue más alto bajo PP, LC50 y SD50 a 0-5 y 0-20 cm de profundidad. A 0-5 cm COP bajo SD fue significativamente mayor que bajo LC. A 5-20 cm de profundidad, las diferencias en COP no fueron claras entre SC aunque, tendió a disminuir con los años bajo agricultura. La fertilización determinó mayor COP a 5-20 y 0-20 cm de profundidad. Las diferencias en la variación entre 1994 y 2003 entre SC fueron significativas para COP y COT. Por otro lado, la variación relativa de COP fue más alta que la de las otras variables. Se concluye que las rotaciones cortas de agricultura-pastura, la SD y la fertilización nitrogenada mejoran el COP y el COT. Para las condiciones de este experimento, COP ha sido un indicador más sensible que COT y sería capaz de detectar los efectos de las prácticas de manejo.In the southeastern Buenos Aires Province (Argentina unsuitable combination of crop rotation and tillage systems (cropping systems, SC has reduced soil organic matter content. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of seven SC in a long term experiment (since 1976 started in 1994: permanent pasture (PP, permanent cropping under no tillage (SD (SD100 and

  13. Plant litter decomposition and carbon sequestration for arable soils. Final report of works. April 2005; Biodegradation des litieres et sequestration du carbone dans les ecosystemes cultives et perennes. Rapport final des travaux Avril 2005

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Recous, S.; Barrois, F.; Coppens, F.; Garnier, P.; Grehan, E. [Institut National de Recherches Agronomiques (INRA), Unite d' Agronomie Laon-Reims-Mons (France); Balesdent, J. [CNRS-CEA-Univ.de la Mediterranee, UMR 6191, Lab. d' Ecologie Microbienne de la Rhizosphere, 13 - Saint Paul lez Durance (France); Dambrine, E.; Zeller, B. [Institut National de Recherches Agronomiques (INRA), Unite Biogeochimie des Ecosystemes Forestiers, 54 - Nancy (France); Loiseau, P.; Personeni, E. [Institut National de Recherches Agronomiques (INRA), Unite d' Agronomie, 63 - Clermont-Ferrand (France)

    2002-07-01

    The general objective of this project was to contribute to the evaluation of land use and management impacts on C sequestration and nitrogen dynamics in soils. The land used through the presence/absence of crops and their species, and the land management through tillage, localisation of crop residues, fertilizer applications,... are important factors that affect the dynamics of organic matters in soils, particularly the mineralization of C and N, the losses to the atmosphere and hydrosphere, the retention of carbon into the soil. This project was conducted by four research groups, three of them having expertise in nutrient cycling of three major agro-ecosystems (arable crops, grasslands, forests) and the fourth one having expertise in modelling long term effects of land use on C storage into the soils. Within this common project one major objective was to better understand the fate of plant litter entering the soil either as above litter or as root litter. The focus was put on two factors that particularly affect decomposition: the initial biochemical quality of plant litter, and the location of the decomposing litter. One innovative aspect of the project was the use of stable isotope as {sup 13}C for carbon, based on the use of enriched or depleted {sup 13}C material, the only option to assess the dynamics of 'new' C entering the soil on the short term, in order to reveal the effects of decomposition factors. Another aspect was the simultaneous study of C and N. The project consisted in experiments relevant for each agro-ecosystem, in forest, grassland and arable soils for which interactions between residue quality and nitrogen availability on the one hand, residue quality and location on the other hand, was investigated. A common experiment was set up to investigate the potential degradability of the various residue used (beech leaf rape straw, young rye, Lolium and dactylic roots) in a their original soils and in a single soil was assessed. Based on

  14. Science management in the Plant Health Research Institute and its contribution to the environment protection and sustainability of the Cuban agricultural systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muiño-García Berta Lina

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The mission of INISAV is to contribute to the reduction of risks and losses by pests without affecting the environment on a sustainable basis. Its management is based on a science model linked with environment and characterized by 4 phases: the planning of research’s, their implementation, validation and adoption in the agriculture practice. Three main results of research are described: Biological control Program (PBC, Pest Management Programs (PMP and the Elimination of the use of methyl bromide. A national network of 251 Laboratories for reproduction of entomophagues and entomopathogens (CREE was designed and implemented, together with 4 biopesticide production plants. Thirteen (13 biological products and technologies were created. Furthermore, pest management programs (PMP were extended in more than 25 crops for conventional and agro-ecological systems, as well as adoption of PMP to replace methyl bromide. The impacts of the results to the environment, agricultural production, the country's economy, and rural communities, were confirmed by the significant reduction of imports of chemical pesticides, from 40 000 t in 1974 to about 3000 t in 2012. In 1988 the arable area benefited by bioproducts was 300 000 ha while in 2012 amounted to 1 354 000 ha. The elimination of 80 t of methyl bromide in tobacco, 35 t in the other sectors, the reduction of other agrochemicals, the incorporation of biological control applications and some management measures, are considered the main basis for sustainability in crops. At present, 72% of the total area planted is under applications of pesticides in PMP. Of these, 38% with only biological products, 34% the combination of biological and chemical pesticides and in the remaining 28% apply phytosanitary alternatives included in the pest management programs.

  15. Earthworm-induced distribution of organic matter in macro-aggregates from differently managed arable fields.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marinissen, J.C.Y.; Hillenaar, S.I.

    1997-01-01

    To study the influence of soil structure on organic matter decomposition, and the possible role of earthworms therein, aggregates of the size of earthworm casts (3-4.8 mm) were sieved from air-dry soil of three arable fields. Due to different management histories (in terms of manuring and pesticide

  16. Sustainability of agricultural water use worldwide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuninetti, M.; Tamea, S.; Dalin, C.

    2017-12-01

    Water is a renewable but limited resource. Most human use of freshwater resources is for agriculture, and global water demand for agriculture is increasing because of the growth in food demand, driven by increasing population and changing diets. Hence, measuring the pressure exerted by agriculture on freshwater sources is a key issue. The sustainability of water use depends on the water source renewability rate: the water use is not sustainable (depleting the water storage) where/when it exceeds the renewable freshwater availability. In this study, we explore the sustainability of rain and irrigation water use for the production of nine major crops, globally at a 5'x5' spatial resolution. We split the crop water use into soil moisture (from rainfall) and irrigation, with, for the first time, separating ground- and surface-water sources, which is a key distinction because the renewability of these two water sources can be very different. In order to physically quantify the extent to which crop water use is sustainable, we measure the severity of the source depletion as the number of years required for the hydrological cycle to replenish the water resource used by the annual crop production, namely the Water Debt. This newly developed indicator allows one to compare the depletion level of the three water sources at a certain location for a specific crop. Hence, we mapped, for each crop, the number of years required to replenish the water withdrawn from soil-, surface- and ground-water resources. Each map identifies the hotspots for each water source, highlighting regions and crops that threaten most the water resource. We found that the water debt with soil moisture is heterogeneous in space but always lower than one year indicating a non-surprising sustainability of rain-fed agriculture. Rice and sugarcane make the largest contribution to global soil moisture depletion. Water debt in surface water is particularly high in areas of intense wheat and cotton production

  17. Sustainable use of pig slurry, with and without treatment, as an amendment organic in almond crop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dominguez Oliver, S. G.; Faz Cano, A.

    2009-01-01

    This study consists in the use of different forms of slurry, as an organic fertilizer, on almond trees located in La Aljorra (Cartegena, Murcia). The slurry used comes from a farm near the area of study, which has a treatment system composed by tree parts: a phase separator, a bioreactor and 5 constructed wetlands of vertical flow. Different phases of slurry are obtained from each part of the system. The results show the reduction of most of the parameters lime salinity, BOD 5 QOD, nitrate, etc. The use of these effluents as an organic amend in different doses, supposes a sustainable way of management of these residues; at the same time it improves the soil properties and the agronomic quality of the almond tree crop. (Author) 4 refs.

  18. Influence of ecohydrologic feedbacks from simulated crop growth on integrated regional hydrologic simulations under climate scenarios

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Walsum, P. E. V.; Supit, I.

    2012-06-01

    Hydrologic climate change modelling is hampered by climate-dependent model parameterizations. To reduce this dependency, we extended the regional hydrologic modelling framework SIMGRO to host a two-way coupling between the soil moisture model MetaSWAP and the crop growth simulation model WOFOST, accounting for ecohydrologic feedbacks in terms of radiation fraction that reaches the soil, crop coefficient, interception fraction of rainfall, interception storage capacity, and root zone depth. Except for the last, these feedbacks are dependent on the leaf area index (LAI). The influence of regional groundwater on crop growth is included via a coupling to MODFLOW. Two versions of the MetaSWAP-WOFOST coupling were set up: one with exogenous vegetation parameters, the "static" model, and one with endogenous crop growth simulation, the "dynamic" model. Parameterization of the static and dynamic models ensured that for the current climate the simulated long-term averages of actual evapotranspiration are the same for both models. Simulations were made for two climate scenarios and two crops: grass and potato. In the dynamic model, higher temperatures in a warm year under the current climate resulted in accelerated crop development, and in the case of potato a shorter growing season, thus partly avoiding the late summer heat. The static model has a higher potential transpiration; depending on the available soil moisture, this translates to a higher actual transpiration. This difference between static and dynamic models is enlarged by climate change in combination with higher CO2 concentrations. Including the dynamic crop simulation gives for potato (and other annual arable land crops) systematically higher effects on the predicted recharge change due to climate change. Crop yields from soils with poor water retention capacities strongly depend on capillary rise if moisture supply from other sources is limited. Thus, including a crop simulation model in an integrated

  19. The gross- and net-irrigation requirements of crops and model farms with different root zone capacities at ten locations in Denmark 1990-2015

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    ten Damme, Loraine; Andersen, Mathias Neumann

    abstraction permits for irrigation. Here we present estimates of the gross and net irrigation water requirements for a range of agricultural crops and model farms in 10 locations across Denmark for the years 1990-2015. We generally found higher values for the irrigation requirement than previous studies...... conducted 40 years ago. The annual irrigation water requirement varied according to farm type (dairy, arable/pig and potatoes), location,soil type and especially year with more than 300%. Abstraction permits based on average values are deemed less suitable as they may restrict farmers’ production in one out...

  20. SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ WILLINGNESS TO INCORPORATE BIOFUEL CROPS INTO CROPPING SYSTEMS IN MALAWI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beston Bille Maonga

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Using cross-sectional data, this study analysed the critical and significant socioeconomic factors with high likelihood to determine smallholder farmers’ decision and willingness to adopt jatropha into cropping systems in Malawi. Employing desk study and multi-stage random sampling technique a sample of 592 households was drawn from across the country for analysis. A probit model was used for the analysis of determinants of jatropha adoption by smallholder farmers. Empirical findings show that education, access to loan, bicycle ownership and farmers’ expectation of raising socioeconomic status are major significant factors that would positively determine probability of smallholder farmers’ willingness to adopt jatropha as a biofuel crop on the farm. Furthermore, keeping of ruminant herds of livestock, long distance to market and fears of market unavailability have been revealed to have significant negative influence on farmers’ decision and willingness to adopt jatropha. Policy implications for sustainable crop diversification drive are drawn and discussed.

  1. Restoration of species-rich grasslands on ex-arable land: Seed addition outweighs soil fertility reduction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kardol, P.; Van der Wal, A.; Bezemer, T.M.; De Boer, W.; Duyts, H.; Holtkamp, R.; Van der Putten, W.H.

    2008-01-01

    A common practice in biodiversity conservation is restoration of former species-rich grassland on ex-arable land. Major constraints for grassland restoration are high soil fertility and limited dispersal ability of plant species to target sites. Usually, studies focus on soil fertility or on methods

  2. Soil structure and earthworm activity in an marine silt loam under pasture versus arable land

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jongmans, A.G.; Pulleman, M.M.; Marinissen, J.C.Y.

    2001-01-01

    Agricultural management influences soil organic matter (SOM) and earthworm activity which interact with soil structure. We aimed to describe the change in earthworm activity and related soil (micro)structure and SOM in a loamy Eutrodept as affected by permanent pasture (PP) and conventional arable

  3. Robust cropping systems to tackle pests under climate change. A review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lamichhane, J.R.; Barzman, M.; Booij, C.J.H.; Boonekamp, P.M.; Desneux, N.; Huber, L.; Kudsk, P.; Langrell, S.R.H.; Ratnadass, A.; Ricci, P.; Sarah, J.L.; Messéan, A.

    2015-01-01

    Agriculture in the twenty-first century faces the challenge of meeting food demands while satisfying sustainability goals. The challenge is further complicated by climate change which affects the distribution of crop pests (intended as insects, plants, and pathogenic agents injurious to crops) and

  4. Towards a globally optimized crop distribution: Integrating water use, nutrition, and economic value

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, K. F.; Seveso, A.; Rulli, M. C.; D'Odorico, P.

    2016-12-01

    Human demand for crop production is expected to increase substantially in the coming decades as a result of population growth, richer diets and biofuel use. In order for food production to keep pace, unprecedented amounts of resources - water, fertilizers, energy - will be required. This has led to calls for `sustainable intensification' in which yields are increased on existing croplands while seeking to minimize impacts on water and other agricultural resources. Recent studies have quantified aspects of this, showing that there is a large potential to improve crop yields and increase harvest frequencies to better meet human demand. Though promising, both solutions would necessitate large additional inputs of water and fertilizer in order to be achieved under current technologies. However, the question of whether the current distribution of crops is, in fact, the best for realizing sustainable production has not been considered to date. To this end, we ask: Is it possible to increase crop production and economic value while minimizing water demand by simply growing crops where soil and climate conditions are best suited? Here we use maps of yields and evapotranspiration for 14 major food crops to identify differences between current crop distributions and where they can most suitably be planted. By redistributing crops across currently cultivated lands, we determine the potential improvements in calorie (+12%) and protein (+51%) production, economic output (+41%) and water demand (-5%). This approach can also incorporate the impact of future climate on cropland suitability, and as such, be used to provide optimized cropping patterns under climate change. Thus, our study provides a novel tool towards achieving sustainable intensification that can be used to recommend optimal crop distributions in the face of a changing climate while simultaneously accounting for food security, freshwater resources, and livelihoods.

  5. Big agronomic data validates an oxymoron: Sustainable intensification under climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crop science is increasingly embracing big data to reconcile the apparent rift between intensification of food production and sustainability of a steadily stressed production base. A strategy based on long-term agroecosystem research and modeling simulation of crops, crop rotations and cropping sys...

  6. Economic comparison of food, non food crops, set-aside at a regional level with a linear programming model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sourie, J.C.; Hautcolas, J.C.; Blanchet, J.

    1992-01-01

    This paper is concerned with a regional linear programming model. Its purpose is a simulation of the European Economic Community supply of non-food crops at the farm gate according to different sets of European Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) measures. The methodology is first described with a special emphasis on the aggregation problem. The model allows the simultaneous calculation of the impact of non food crops on the farmer's income and on the agricultural budget. The model is then applied to an intensive agricultural region (400 000 ha of arable land). In this region, sugar beet and rape seem the less costly resources, both for the farmers and the CAP taxpayers. An improvement of the economic situation of the two previous agents can be obtained only if a tax exemption on ethanol and rape oil and a subsidy per hactare are allowed. This subsidy can be lower than the set aside premium. (author)

  7. Determinants and the perceived effects of adoption of sustainable improved food crop technologies by smallholder farmers along the value chain in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abiodun Elijah Obayelu

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Adoption of improved agricultural technologies is fundamental to transformation of sustainable farming system, and a driving force for increasing agricultural productivity. This study provides empirical evidence on the determinants, and the perceived effects of adoption of improved food crop technologies in Nigeria. It is a cross-sectional survey of available technologies and 1,663 farm households in Nigeria. Data were analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed very low technology adoption index. Available food crop production technologies used by sampled respondents were assessed as effective, appropriate, readily available, affordable, durable, user and gender friendly, with requisite skill to use them. However, processing technologies such as cabinet dryer were observed as unaffordable, not durable, not gender or users friendly. Packaging machines are also not users or gender friendly; washing machine not affordable, durable and gender friendly. Grain processing technologies like De-stoner, grading, and packaging machines are still not locally available and affordable. While parboilers have a negative impact on product quality, farmers’ health and the environment, tomato grinding machines have positive impact on the quality of the product, health of the users, yield and negatively affect the environment. The main determinants of adoption are the crop types, farm size and locations. Adoption of herbicide and inorganic fertilizer were influenced by travel cost to nearest place of acquisition, while the age of farmer has a positive and significant influence on the adoption of pesticide, water management and cassava harvester. Interestingly, male farmers only exhibit greater likelihood of adopting land preparation, inorganic and organic fertilizer technologies compared to their female counterpart. Therefore, policy options that consider all users at the development stages, favour reduction of travel cost

  8. Importance of Animals in Agricultural Sustainability and Food Security.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, Lawrence P; Wulster-Radcliffe, Meghan C; Aaron, Debra K; Davis, Teresa A

    2015-07-01

    A conservative projection shows the world's population growing by 32% (to 9.5 billion) by 2050 and 53% (to 11 billion) by 2100 compared with its current level of 7.2 billion. Because most arable land worldwide is already in use, and water and energy also are limiting, increased production of food will require a substantial increase in efficiency. In this article, we highlight the importance of animals to achieving food security in terms of their valuable contributions to agricultural sustainability, especially in developing countries, and the high nutritional value of animal products in the diet. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

  9. Sustainable irrigation and nitrogen management of fertigated vegetable crops

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thompson, R.B.; Incrocci, L.; Voogt, W.; Pardossi, A.; Magán, J.J.

    2017-01-01

    Fertigation in combination with drip irrigation is being increasingly used in vegetable crop production. From a nutrient management perspective, this combination provides the technical capacity for precise nitrogen (N) nutrition, both spatially and temporally. With these systems, N and other

  10. Integrated crop management: an approach to sustainable agricultural development.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meerman, F.; Ven, van de G.W.J.; Keulen, van H.; Breman, H.

    1996-01-01

    In developing countries, agriculture is being intensified to produce more food and agricultural products. In most agricultural development strategies, the order of priorities is on: (i) increasing yields, (ii) crop protection, and (iii) human health, environmental and social aspects. This sequential

  11. Wettability, soil organic matter and structure-properties of typical chernozems under the forest and under the arable land

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bykova, Galina; Umarova, Aminat; Tyugai, Zemfira; Milanovskiy, Evgeny; Shein, Evgeny

    2017-04-01

    Intensive tillage affects the properties of soil: decrease in content of soil organic matter and in hydrophobicity of the soil's solid phase, the reduction of amount of water stable aggregates - all this leads to deterioration of the structure of the soil and affects the process of movement of moisture in the soil profile. One of the hypotheses of soil's structure formation ascribes the formation of water stable aggregates with the presence of hydrophobic organic substances on the surface of the soil's solid phase. The aim of this work is to study the effect of tillage on properties of typical chernozems (pachic Voronic Chernozems, Haplic Chernozems) (Russia, Kursk region), located under the forest and under the arable land. The determination of soil-water contact angle was performed by a Drop Shape Analyzer DSA100 (Krüss GmbH, Germany) by the static sessile drop method. For all samples the content of total and organic carbon by dry combustion in oxygen flow and the particle size distribution by the laser diffraction method on the device Analysette 22 comfort, FRITCH, Germany were determined. The estimation of aggregate composition was performed by dry sieving (AS 200, Retsch, Germany), the content of water stable aggregates was estimated by the Savvinov method. There was a positive correlation between the content of organic matter and soil's wettability in studied soils, a growth of contact angle with the increasing the content of organic matter. Under the forest the content of soil organic matter was changed from 6,41% on the surface up to 1,9% at the depth of 100 cm. In the Chernozem under the arable land the organic carbon content in arable horizon is almost two times less. The maximum of hydrophobicity (78.1o) was observed at the depth of 5 cm under the forest. In the profile under the arable land the contact angle value at the same depth was 50o. The results of the structure analysis has shown a decrease in the content of agronomically valuable and water

  12. Energy crops for biogas plants. Saxony-Anhalt; Energiepflanzen fuer Biogasanlagen. Sachsen-Anhalt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boese, L.; Buttlar, C. von; Boettcher, K. (and others)

    2012-07-15

    For agriculturists in Saxony-Anhalt (Federal Republic of Germany), the brochure under consideration provides recommendations on alternative crop rotation systems. With the help of these alternative cultivation systems, crop rotation with high yields in combination with high diversity, diversification and sustainability can be realized. Subsequently to the presentation of energy crops for the production of biogas, recommendations for the design of crop rotation are given. Other chapters of this booklet deal with ensilage and gas yields as well as the economics of energy crop cultivation.

  13. Energy crops for biogas plants. Baden-Wuerttemberg; Energiepflanzen fuer Biogasanlagen. Baden-Wuerttemberg

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Butz, A.; Heiermann, M.; Herrmann, C. [and others

    2013-05-01

    For agriculturists in Baden-Wuerttemberg (Federal Republic of Germany), the brochure under consideration provides recommendations on alternative crop rotation systems. With the help of these alternative cultivation systems, crop rotation with high yields in combination with high diversity, diversification and sustainability can be realized. Subsequently to the presentation of energy crops for the production of biogas, recommendations for the design of crop rotation are given. Other chapters of this booklet deal with ensilage and gas yields as well as the economics of energy crop cultivation.

  14. In vitro conservation and sustained production of breadfruit ( Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae): modern technologies for a traditional tropical crop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murch, Susan J.; Ragone, Diane; Shi, Wendy Lei; Alan, Ali R.; Saxena, Praveen K.

    2008-02-01

    Breadfruit ( Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae) is a traditionally cultivated, high-energy, high-yield crop, but widespread use of the plant for food is limited by poor quality and poor storage properties of the fruit. A unique field genebank of breadfruit species and cultivars exists at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in the Hawaiian Islands and is an important global resource for conservation and sustainable use of breadfruit. However, this plant collection could be damaged by a random natural disaster such as a hurricane. We have developed a highly efficient in vitro plant propagation system to maintain, conserve, mass propagate, and distribute elite varieties of this important tree species. Mature axillary shoot buds were collected from three different cultivars of breadfruit and proliferated using a cytokinin-supplemented medium. The multiple shoots were maintained as stock cultures and repeatedly used to develop whole plants after root differentiation on a basal or an auxin-containing medium. The plantlets were successfully grown under greenhouse conditions and were reused to initiate additional shoot cultures for sustained production of plants. Flow cytometry was used to determine the nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid content and the ploidy status of the in vitro grown population. The efficacy of the micropropagation protocols developed in this study represents a significant advancement in the conservation and sustained mass propagation of breadfruit germplasm in a controlled environment free from contamination.

  15. The Danish energy crop research and development project - main conclusions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gylling, Morten

    2003-01-01

    Production of energy crops in Denmark is more or less non-existent in Denmark at the time being. However, the need for biomass on the other side of year 2005 exceeds the existing biomass resources and a substantial amount of energy crops will be necessary in order to fulfil the goals in Energy 21. The targeted share of the use of renewable energy sources by year 2030 is approximately 30%. Energy crops are seen as the most important new resource in order to create a balanced input mix of renewable in the energy system. The energy crops are mainly seen as fuel in small and medium sized CHP plants and in the big power plants. The Danish energy crop project consists of three main parts: a demonstration part, a research and development part, and an overall assessment part. Based on the results from the project the following overall conclusions can be made: Seen from a strictly market and production economic point of view energy crops will not be competitive in a foreseeable future, neither as a production for farmers nor as a fuel at the utility companies; The costs per GJ of energy crops are still higher than a GJ of straw; The cost difference between annual and perennial energy crops are slightly in favour of perennials, however the conditions on the individual farms should govern the choice between annual and perennial energy crops; Energy crops must be seen as part of an overall environmental scheme covering both agriculture and the energy sector; Given the right production scheme energy crops can be grown on environmental sensitive areas and on most ground water protection areas; Adding the potential sustainability benefits like reduced nutrient leakage and reduced CO 2 emissions energy crops seem to be a sensible and sustainable solution; Due to different handling, storage and fuel characteristics an all year delivery scheme of energy crops should include a mix of different energy crops to keep overall cost down. (BA)

  16. Microbial biomass and nutrient dynamics during decomposition of cover crop mixtures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Drost, S.M.

    2016-01-01

    Sustainable agriculture is needed to reduce losses of soil organic matter (SOM) and to ensure crop production with a minimum of negative impact on the environment. Cover crops, planted in the fallow season, are commonly used to improve soil functions, such as soil structure, nutrient cycling,

  17. Modelling soil organic carbon concentration of mineral soils in arable lands using legacy soil data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Suuster, E; Ritz, Christian; Roostalu, H

    2012-01-01

    is appropriate if the study design has a hierarchical structure as in our scenario. We used the Estonian National Soil Monitoring data on arable lands to predict SOC concentrations of mineral soils. Subsequently, the model with the best prediction accuracy was applied to the Estonian digital soil map...

  18. The benefits of herbicide-resistant crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Jerry M

    2012-10-01

    Since 1996, genetically modified herbicide-resistant crops, primarily glyphosate-resistant soybean, corn, cotton and canola, have helped to revolutionize weed management and have become an important tool in crop production practices. Glyphosate-resistant crops have enabled the implementation of weed management practices that have improved yield and profitability while better protecting the environment. Growers have recognized their benefits and have made glyphosate-resistant crops the most rapidly adopted technology in the history of agriculture. Weed management systems with glyphosate-resistant crops have often relied on glyphosate alone, have been easy to use and have been effective, economical and more environmentally friendly than the systems they have replaced. Glyphosate has worked extremely well in controlling weeds in glyphosate-resistant crops for more than a decade, but some key weeds have evolved resistance, and using glyphosate alone has proved unsustainable. Now, growers need to renew their weed management practices and use glyphosate with other cultural, mechanical and herbicide options in integrated systems. New multiple-herbicide-resistant crops with resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides will expand the utility of existing herbicide technologies and will be an important component of future weed management systems that help to sustain the current benefits of high-efficiency and high-production agriculture. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

  19. Global Simulation of Bioenergy Crop Productivity: Analytical framework and Case Study for Switchgrass

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nair, S. Surendran [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK); Nichols, Jeff A. {Cyber Sciences} [ORNL; Post, Wilfred M [ORNL; Wang, Dali [ORNL; Wullschleger, Stan D [ORNL; Kline, Keith L [ORNL; Wei, Yaxing [ORNL; Singh, Nagendra [ORNL; Kang, Shujiang [ORNL

    2014-01-01

    Contemporary global assessments of the deployment potential and sustainability aspects of biofuel crops lack quantitative details. This paper describes an analytical framework capable of meeting the challenges associated with global scale agro-ecosystem modeling. We designed a modeling platform for bioenergy crops, consisting of five major components: (i) standardized global natural resources and management data sets, (ii) global simulation unit and management scenarios, (iii) model calibration and validation, (iv) high-performance computing (HPC) modeling, and (v) simulation output processing and analysis. A case study with the HPC- Environmental Policy Integrated Climate model (HPC-EPIC) to simulate a perennial bioenergy crop, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and global biomass feedstock analysis on grassland demonstrates the application of this platform. The results illustrate biomass feedstock variability of switchgrass and provide insights on how the modeling platform can be expanded to better assess sustainable production criteria and other biomass crops. Feedstock potentials on global grasslands and within different countries are also shown. Future efforts involve developing databases of productivity, implementing global simulations for other bioenergy crops (e.g. miscanthus, energycane and agave), and assessing environmental impacts under various management regimes. We anticipated this platform will provide an exemplary tool and assessment data for international communities to conduct global analysis of biofuel biomass feedstocks and sustainability.

  20. Enzymatic saccharification of dilute acid pretreated saline crops for fermentable sugar production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zheng, Yi; Zhang, Ruihong [Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, University of California, Davis One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Pan, Zhongli [Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, University of California, Davis One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Processed Foods Research Unit, USDA-ARS-WRRC, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710 (United States); Wang, Donghai [Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506 (United States)

    2009-11-15

    Four saline crops [athel (Tamarix aphylla L), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Jose Tall Wheatgrass (Agropyron elongatum), and Creeping Wild Ryegrass (Leymus triticoides)] that are used in farms for salt uptake from soil and drainage irrigation water have the potential for fuel ethanol production because they don't take a large number of arable lands. Dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis were conducted to select the optimum pretreatment conditions and the best saline crop for further enzymatic hydrolysis research. The optimum dilute acid pretreatment conditions included T = 165 C, t = 8 min, and sulfuric acid concentration 1.4% (w/w). Creeping Wild Ryegrass was decided to be the best saline crop. Solid loading, cellulase and {beta}-glucosidase concentrations had significant effects on the enzymatic hydrolysis of dilute acid pretreated Creeping Wild Ryegrass. Glucose concentration increased by 36 mg/mL and enzymatic digestibility decreased by 20% when the solid loading increased from 4 to 12%. With 8% solid loading, enzymatic digestibility increased by over 30% with the increase of cellulase concentration from 5 to 15 FPU/g-cellulose. Under given cellulase concentration of 15 FPU/g-cellulose, 60% increase of enzymatic digestibility of pretreated Creeping Wild Ryegrass was obtained with the increase of {beta}-glucosidase concentration up to 15 CBU/g-cellulose. With a high solid loading of 10%, fed-batch operation generated 12% and 18% higher enzymatic digestibility and glucose concentration, respectively, than batch process. (author)

  1. Genomics of crop wild relatives: expanding the gene pool for crop improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brozynska, Marta; Furtado, Agnelo; Henry, Robert J

    2016-04-01

    Plant breeders require access to new genetic diversity to satisfy the demands of a growing human population for more food that can be produced in a variable or changing climate and to deliver the high-quality food with nutritional and health benefits demanded by consumers. The close relatives of domesticated plants, crop wild relatives (CWRs), represent a practical gene pool for use by plant breeders. Genomics of CWR generates data that support the use of CWR to expand the genetic diversity of crop plants. Advances in DNA sequencing technology are enabling the efficient sequencing of CWR and their increased use in crop improvement. As the sequencing of genomes of major crop species is completed, attention has shifted to analysis of the wider gene pool of major crops including CWR. A combination of de novo sequencing and resequencing is required to efficiently explore useful genetic variation in CWR. Analysis of the nuclear genome, transcriptome and maternal (chloroplast and mitochondrial) genome of CWR is facilitating their use in crop improvement. Genome analysis results in discovery of useful alleles in CWR and identification of regions of the genome in which diversity has been lost in domestication bottlenecks. Targeting of high priority CWR for sequencing will maximize the contribution of genome sequencing of CWR. Coordination of global efforts to apply genomics has the potential to accelerate access to and conservation of the biodiversity essential to the sustainability of agriculture and food production. © 2015 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Self-Sustaining Crop Production Unit, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — NASA's goals to explore deep space through manned missions requires development of self-sustaining life support systems. A diverse team from Freight Farms, Inc. have...

  3. Sustainable Biofuel Crops Project, Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Juhn, Daniel [Conservation International, Arlington, VA (United States). Moore Center for Science and Oceans. Integrated Assessment and Planning; Grantham, Hedley [Conservation International, Arlington, VA (United States). Moore Center for Science and Oceans. Integrated Assessment and Planning

    2014-05-28

    Over the last six years, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has developed the Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) Approach to help countries design and implement sustainable bioenergy policies and strategies. The BEFS Approach consists of two sets of multidisciplinary and integrated tools and guidance (the BEFS Rapid Appraisal and the BEFS Detailed Analysis) to facilitate better decision on bioenergy development which should foster both food and energy security, and contribute to agricultural and rural development. The development of the BEFS Approach was for the most part funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Recognizing the need to provide support to countries that wanted an initial assessment of their sustainable bioenergy potential, and of the associated opportunities, risks and trade offs, FAO began developing the BEFS-RA (Rapid Appraisal). The BEFS RA is a spreadsheet–based assessment and analysis tool designed to outline the country's basic energy, agriculture and food security context, the natural resources potential, the bioenergy end use options, including initial financial and economic implications, and the identification of issues that might require fuller investigation with the BEFS Detailed Analysis.

  4. Crop Depredation by Birds in Deccan Plateau, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manoj Ashokrao Kale

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Extent of crop depredation in agricultural fields of groundnut, pearl millet, peas, sorghum and sunflower was assessed in Pune, Akola and Amravati, the three productive districts of Maharashtra, India. The study included interviews with the farmers, identification of the bird species responsible for the crop depredation and actual field assessment of damage. The problem of crop depredation is severe for the crops mostly during harvesting season. Most farmers were not satisfied with the conventional bird repelling techniques. A maximum depredation was observed by Sorghum crops by house sparrows Passer domesticus, baya weavers Ploceus philippinus, and rose-ringed parakeets Psittacula krameri, accounting to 52% of the total damage. Blue rock pigeons Columba livia damaged 42% of the peas crop (chick peas and pigeon peas, while house sparrows and baya weaver damaged the groundnut crop by 26% in the sampling plots. House sparrow Passer domesticus and baya weaver Ploceus philippinus damaged the groundnut crop in the sampling plots just after the sowing period. The sustainable solution for reducing crop depredation is a need for the farmers and also such techniques will help avoid direct or indirect effects of use of lethal bird control techniques on bird species.

  5. Mapping marginal croplands suitable for cellulosic feedstock crops in the Great Plains, United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Yingxin; Wylie, Bruce K.

    2016-01-01

    Growing cellulosic feedstock crops (e.g., switchgrass) for biofuel is more environmentally sustainable than corn-based ethanol. Specifically, this practice can reduce soil erosion and water quality impairment from pesticides and fertilizer, improve ecosystem services and sustainability (e.g., serve as carbon sinks), and minimize impacts on global food supplies. The main goal of this study was to identify high-risk marginal croplands that are potentially suitable for growing cellulosic feedstock crops (e.g., switchgrass) in the US Great Plains (GP). Satellite-derived growing season Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, a switchgrass biomass productivity map obtained from a previous study, US Geological Survey (USGS) irrigation and crop masks, and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop indemnity maps for the GP were used in this study. Our hypothesis was that croplands with relatively low crop yield but high productivity potential for switchgrass may be suitable for converting to switchgrass. Areas with relatively low crop indemnity (crop indemnity marginal croplands in the GP are potentially suitable for switchgrass development. The total estimated switchgrass biomass productivity gain from these suitable areas is about 5.9 million metric tons. Switchgrass can be cultivated in either lowland or upland regions in the GP depending on the local soil and environmental conditions. This study improves our understanding of ecosystem services and the sustainability of cropland systems in the GP. Results from this study provide useful information to land managers for making informed decisions regarding switchgrass development in the GP.

  6. Impact of Corn Residue Removal on Crop and Soil Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, J. M.; Wilhelm, W. W.; Hatfield, J. L.; Voorhees, W. B.; Linden, D.

    2003-12-01

    Over-reliance on imported fuels, increasing atmospheric levels of greenhouses and sustaining food production for a growing population are three of the most important problems facing society in the mid-term. The US Department of Energy and private enterprise are developing technology necessary to use high cellulose feedstock, such as crop residues, for ethanol production. Based on production levels, corn (Zea mays L.) residue has potential as a biofuel feedstock. Crop residues are a renewable and domestic fuel source, which can reduce the rate of fossil fuel use (both imported and domestic) and provide an additional farm commodity. Crop residues protect the soil from wind and water erosion, provide inputs to form soil organic matter (a critical component determining soil quality) and play a role in nutrient cycling. Crop residues impact radiation balance and energy fluxes and reduce evaporation. Therefore, the benefits of using crop residues as fuel, which removes crop residues from the field, must be balanced against negative environmental impacts (e.g. soil erosion), maintaining soil organic matter levels, and preserving or enhancing productivity. All ramifications of new management practices and crop uses must be explored and evaluated fully before an industry is established. There are limited numbers of long-term studies with soil and crop responses to residue removal that range from negative to negligible. The range of crop and soil responses to crop residue removal was attributed to interactions with climate, management and soil type. Within limits, corn residue can be harvested for ethanol production to provide a renewable, domestic source of energy feedstock that reduces greenhouse gases. Removal rates must vary based on regional yield, climatic conditions and cultural practices. Agronomists are challenged to develop a protocol (tool) for recommending maximum permissible removal rates that ensure sustained soil productivity.

  7. Impacts of domestication on the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis of 27 crop species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martín-Robles, Nieves; Lehmann, Anika; Seco, Erica; Aroca, Ricardo; Rillig, Matthias C; Milla, Rubén

    2018-04-01

    The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is key to plant nutrition, and hence is potentially key in sustainable agriculture. Fertilization and other agricultural practices reduce soil AM fungi and root colonization. Such conditions might promote the evolution of low mycorrhizal responsive crops. Therefore, we ask if and how evolution under domestication has altered AM symbioses of crops. We measured the effect of domestication on mycorrhizal responsiveness across 27 crop species and their wild progenitors. Additionally, in a subset of 14 crops, we tested if domestication effects differed under contrasting phosphorus (P) availabilities. The response of AM symbiosis to domestication varied with P availability. On average, wild progenitors benefited from the AM symbiosis irrespective of P availability, while domesticated crops only profited under P-limited conditions. Magnitudes and directions of response were diverse among the 27 crops, and were unrelated to phylogenetic affinities or to the coordinated evolution with fine root traits. Our results indicate disruptions in the efficiency of the AM symbiosis linked to domestication. Under high fertilization, domestication could have altered the regulation of resource trafficking between AM fungi and associated plant hosts. Provided that crops are commonly raised under high fertilization, this result has important implications for sustainable agriculture. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

  8. Advancing environmental risk assessment for transgenic biofeedstock crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolt Jeffrey D

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Transgenic modification of plants is a key enabling technology for developing sustainable biofeedstocks for biofuels production. Regulatory decisions and the wider acceptance and development of transgenic biofeedstock crops are considered from the context of science-based risk assessment. The risk assessment paradigm for transgenic biofeedstock crops is fundamentally no different from that of current generation transgenic crops, except that the focus of the assessment must consider the unique attributes of a given biofeedstock crop and its environmental release. For currently envisioned biofeedstock crops, particular emphasis in risk assessment will be given to characterization of altered metabolic profiles and their implications relative to non-target environmental effects and food safety; weediness and invasiveness when plants are modified for abiotic stress tolerance or are domesticated; and aggregate risk when plants are platforms for multi-product production. Robust risk assessments for transgenic biofeedstock crops are case-specific, initiated through problem formulation, and use tiered approaches for risk characterization.

  9. Crop rotation in the Valle Calido del Alto Magdalena a sustainable focus of high yield

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfaro Rodriguez, Ricardo; Maria Caicedo, Antonio; Amezquita Collazos, Edgar; Castro Franco, Hugo Eduardo

    1996-01-01

    Experiments were carried out during five years at the Nataima Research Center, located at 431 m.a.s.l, with average temperature of 28 Celsius degrades and annual rainfall of 1274 Boyaca mm, on a soil classified as Arenic Haplustalf, to evaluate different crops rotation based on rice and sorghum; the combinations used were as follows; rice-rice (R-R), rice-- soybean (R-SY), rice-crotalaria-sorghum (R-C-S), sorghum-sorghum (S-S), sorghum-soybean (S-SY) and cotton-sorghum (Al-S). Simultaneously it was evaluated the response to four nitrogen levels, which allowed to find out yield functions and optimum economical. The rotations S-SY, R-SY and AI-S have been the best qualified from an environmental perspective. Sorghum-soybean rotation presents increases in yield compared with expected values, which allows thinking that it is a truly sustainable rotation. This rotation also had an excellent profitability and for that reason is considered the best option within the goals of this work

  10. Biotechnological advances for combating Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin contamination in crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatnagar-Mathur, Pooja; Sunkara, Sowmini; Bhatnagar-Panwar, Madhurima; Waliyar, Farid; Sharma, Kiran Kumar

    2015-05-01

    Aflatoxins are toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic and immunosuppressive byproducts of Aspergillus spp. that contaminate a wide range of crops such as maize, peanut, and cotton. Aflatoxin not only affects crop production but renders the produce unfit for consumption and harmful to human and livestock health, with stringent threshold limits of acceptability. In many crops, breeding for resistance is not a reliable option because of the limited availability of genotypes with durable resistance to Aspergillus. Understanding the fungal/crop/environment interactions involved in aflatoxin contamination is therefore essential in designing measures for its prevention and control. For a sustainable solution to aflatoxin contamination, research must be focused on identifying and improving knowledge of host-plant resistance factors to aflatoxin accumulation. Current advances in genetic transformation, proteomics, RNAi technology, and marker-assisted selection offer great potential in minimizing pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination in cultivated crop species. Moreover, developing effective phenotyping strategies for transgenic as well as precision breeding of resistance genes into commercial varieties is critical. While appropriate storage practices can generally minimize post-harvest aflatoxin contamination in crops, the use of biotechnology to interrupt the probability of pre-harvest infection and contamination has the potential to provide sustainable solution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Sustainable food systems for optimal planetary health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canavan, Chelsey R; Noor, Ramadhani A; Golden, Christopher D; Juma, Calestous; Fawzi, Wafaie

    2017-06-01

    Sustainable food systems are an important component of a planetary health strategy to reduce the threat of infectious disease, minimize environmental footprint and promote nutrition. Human population trends and dietary transition have led to growing demand for food and increasing production and consumption of meat, amid declining availability of arable land and water. The intensification of livestock production has serious environmental and infectious disease impacts. Land clearing for agriculture alters ecosystems, increases human-wildlife interactions and leads to disease proliferation. Context-specific interventions should be evaluated towards optimizing nutrition resilience, minimizing environmental footprint and reducing animal and human disease risk. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

  12. Influence of time scale wind speed data on sustainability analysis for irrigating greenhouse crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz Méndez, Rodrigo; García Llaneza, Joaquín; Peillón, Manuel; Perdigones, Alicia; Sanchez, Raul; Tarquis, Ana M.; Garcia, Jose Luis

    2014-05-01

    Appropriate water supply at crop/farm level, with suitable costs, is becoming more and more important. Energy management is closely related to water supply in this context, being wind energy one of the options to be considered, using wind pumps for irrigation water supply. Therefore, it is important to characterize the wind speed frequency distribution to study the technical feasibility to use its energy for irrigation management purpose. The general objective of this present research is to analyze the impact of time scale recorded wind speed data in the sustainability for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) grown under greenhouse at Cuban conditions using drip irrigation system. For this porpoise, a daily estimation balance between water needs and water availability was used to evaluate the feasibility of the most economic windmill irrigation system. Several factors were included: wind velocity (W, m/s) in function of the time scale averaged, flow supplied by the wind pump as a function of the elevation height (H, m) and daily greenhouse evapotranspiration. Monthly volumes of water required for irrigation (Dr, m3/ha) and in the water tank (Vd, m3), as well as the monthly irrigable area (Ar, ha), were estimated by cumulative deficit water budgeting taking in account these factors. Three-hourly wind velocity (W3h, m/s) data from 1992 till 2008 was available for this study. The original data was grouped in six and twelve hourly data (W6h and W12h respectively) as well as daily data (W24h). For each time scale the daily estimation balance was applied. A comparison of the results points out a need for at least three-hourly data to be used mainly in the months in which mean wind speed are close or below the pumps threshold speed to start-up functioning. References Manuel Esteban Peillon Mesa, Ana Maria Tarquis Alfonso, José Luis García Fernández, and Raúl Sánchez Calvo. The use of wind pumps for irrigating greenhouse tomato crops: a case study in Cuba. Geophysical

  13. Decreasing Fertilizer use by Optimizing Plant-microbe Interactions for Sustainable Supply of Nitrogen for Bioenergy Crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schicklberger, M. F.; Huang, J.; Felix, P.; Pettenato, A.; Chakraborty, R.

    2013-12-01

    Nitrogen (N) is an essential component of DNA and proteins and consequently a key element of life. N often is limited in plants, affecting plant growth and productivity. To alleviate this problem, tremendous amounts of N-fertilizer is used, which comes at a high economic price and heavy energy demand. In addition, N-fertilizer also significantly contributes to rising atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Therefore, the addition of fertilizer to overcome N limitation is highly undesirable. To explore reduction in fertilizer use our research focuses on optimizing the interaction between plants and diazotrophic bacteria, which could provide adequate amounts of N to the host-plant. Therefore we investigated the diversity of microbes associated with Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), considered as potential energy crop for bioenergy production. Several bacterial isolates with representatives from Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteriodetes and Bacilli were obtained from the roots, leaves, rhizoplane and rhizosphere of these plants. Majority of these isolates grew best with simple sugars and small organic acids. As shown by PCR amplification of nifH, several of these isolates are potential N2-fixing bacteria. We investigated diazotrophs for their response to elevated temperature and salinity (two common climate change induced stresses found on marginal lands), their N2-fixing ability, and their response to root exudates (which drive microbial colonization of the plant). Together this understanding is necessary for the development of eco-friendly, economically sustainable energy crops by decreasing their dependency on fertilizer.

  14. Manual for prototyping integrated and ecological arable farming systems (I/EAFS) in interaction with pilot farms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vereijken, P.

    1999-01-01

    A manual for prototyping Integrated and Ecological Arable Farming Systems (I/EAFS) in interaction with pilot farms is presented. It concerns a comprehensive and consistent approach of 5 steps. Step 1 is establishing a hierarchy of objectives considering the shortcomings of current farming systems in

  15. Energy balance of chosen crops and their potential to saturate energy consumption in Slovakia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarína Hrčková

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present work was to assess and compare energy inputs and outputs of various crop managements in 2011–2012. Two main crops on arable land and three permanent grasslands were investigated. Silage maize (Zea mays L. and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. were grown on lowland, whilst two semi-natural grasslands and grassland infested by tufted hair-grass (Deschampsia caespitose (L. P. Beauv were located in mountainous regions of Slovakia. In these crops and grasslands the dry matter yield was measured and subsequently the supplementary energy, energy gain and unifying energy value – tonne of oil equivalent (TOE – were calculated. Silage maize with 233.37 GJ*ha-1 has provided the highest energy gain. In the group of grasslands, grassland infested by tufted hair-grass has offered the highest energy gain (59.77 GJ*ha-1. And this grassland had the lowest requirement on the supplementary energy (3.66 GJ*ha-1, contrary to silage maize with highest one (12.37 GJ*ha-1. The total energy potential of the crop biomasses was confronted with energy consumption in Slovakia. Winter wheat has the biggest energy potential, but it could cover only 19.6% and 11.3% total consumption of electricity or natural gas, respectively. Large area of permanent grasslands and their spatial location make them an important energy reservoir for bioenergy production. But, it is not possible to replace all consumed fossil fuels by bioenergy from these tested renewable energy sources.

  16. Changes in the Metagenome of Prokaryotic Community as an Indicator of Fertility of Arable Soddy-Podzolic Soils upon Fertilizer Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naliukhin, A. N.; Khamitova, S. M.; Glinushkin, A. P.; Avdeev, Yu. M.; Snetilova, V. S.; Laktionov, Yu. V.; Surov, V. V.; Siluyanova, O. V.; Belozerov, D. A.

    2018-03-01

    The influence of different systems of fertilization and liming on the changes in the taxonomic structure of prokaryotic community in arable soddy-podzolic soil (Albic Retisol (Loamic, Aric, Cutanic, Differentic, Ochric)) was studied in a stationary field experiment of Vologda State Dairy Farming Academy with the use of high-performance sequencing method of gene 16S rRNA. The 25-year-old fallow plot, in which the intensity of microbiological processes was close to that in the virgin soddy-podzolic soils, was used as a control. At the first stage, dominant phyla were identified: Proteobacteria (45.3-56.2%), Actinobacteria (13.6-20.4%), Bacteroidetes (7.2-19.3%), Acidobacteria (7.1-11.5%), and Verrucomicrobia (4.3-10.3%). Several groups of microorganisms-indicators, whose portion changes in the arable soil under the influence of liming, fertilizer application, and soil treatment in comparison with the control, were determined. The applied approach made it possible to relate the taxonomic structure of the soil microbial cenosis with external factors for assessing changes in the structure of soil microbial complex under the impact of different uses of the arable soil.

  17. Reduced soil cultivation and organic fertilization on organic farms: effects on crop yield and soil physical traits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Surböck, Andreas; Gollner, Gabriele; Klik, Andreas; Freyer, Bernhard; Friedel, Jürgen K.

    2017-04-01

    A continuous investment in soil fertility is necessary to achieve sustainable yields in organic arable farming. Crucial factors here besides the crop rotation are organic fertilization and the soil tillage system. On this topic, an operational group (Project BIOBO*) was established in the frame of an European Innovation Partnership in 2016 consisting of organic farmers, consultants and scientists in the farming region of eastern Austria. The aim of this group is the development and testing of innovative, reduced soil cultivation, green manure and organic fertilization systems under on-farm and on-station conditions to facilitate the sharing and transfer of experience and knowledge within and outside the group. Possibilities for optimization of the farm-specific reduced soil tillage system in combination with green manuring are being studied in field trials on six organic farms. The aim is to determine, how these measures contribute to an increase in soil organic matter contents, yields and income, to an improved nitrogen and nutrient supply to the crops, as well as support soil fertility in general. Within a long-term monitoring project (MUBIL), the effects of different organic fertilization systems on plant and soil traits have been investigated since 2003, when the farm was converted to organic management. The examined organic fertilization systems, i.e. four treatments representing stockless and livestock keeping systems, differ in lucerne management and the supply of organic manure (communal compost, farmyard manure, digestate from a biogas plant). Previous results of this on-station experiment have shown an improvement of some soil properties, especially soil physical properties, since 2003 in all fertilization systems and without differences between them. The infiltration rate of rainwater has increased because of higher hydraulic conductivity. The aggregate stability has shown also positive trends, which reduces the susceptibility to soil erosion by wind and

  18. Comparative value of wild and domestic plants in home gardens of a South African rural village

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    High, C

    2000-03-01

    Full Text Available Rural inhabitants make considerable use of wild resources from communal areas around their settlements, as well as from arable and residential plots. These wild resources compete with the main crops planted in arable plots and home gardens, but play...

  19. Cover crops mitigate direct greenhouse gases balance but reduce drainage under climate change scenarios in temperate climate with dry summers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tribouillois, Hélène; Constantin, Julie; Justes, Eric

    2018-02-14

    Cover crops provide ecosystem services such as storing atmospheric carbon in soils after incorporation of their residues. Cover crops also influence soil water balance, which can be an issue in temperate climates with dry summers as for example in southern France and Europe. As a consequence, it is necessary to understand cover crops' long-term influence on greenhouse gases (GHG) and water balances to assess their potential to mitigate climate change in arable cropping systems. We used the previously calibrated and validated soil-crop model STICS to simulate scenarios of cover crop introduction to assess their influence on rainfed and irrigated cropping systems and crop rotations distributed among five contrasted sites in southern France from 2007 to 2052. Our results showed that cover crops can improve mean direct GHG balance by 315 kg CO 2 e ha -1  year -1 in the long term compared to that of bare soil. This was due mainly to an increase in carbon storage in the soil despite a slight increase in N 2 O emissions which can be compensated by adapting fertilization. Cover crops also influence the water balance by reducing mean annual drainage by 20 mm/year but increasing mean annual evapotranspiration by 20 mm/year compared to those of bare soil. Using cover crops to improve the GHG balance may help to mitigate climate change by decreasing CO 2 e emitted in cropping systems which can represent a decrease from 4.5% to 9% of annual GHG emissions of the French agriculture and forestry sector. However, if not well managed, they also could create water management issues in watersheds with shallow groundwater. Relationships between cover crop biomass and its influence on several variables such as drainage, carbon sequestration, and GHG emissions could be used to extend our results to other conditions to assess the cover crops' influence in a wider range of areas. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. The corporate shaping of GM crops as a technology for the poor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Glover, D.

    2010-01-01

    Genetically modified (GM, transgenic) crops are often invoked in debates about poverty, hunger, and agricultural development. The framing of GM crops as a 'pro-poor' and environmentally sustainable technology was partly a creation of the biotechnology industry, but cannot be explained as merely a

  1. Post-dispersal seed predation of woody forest species limits recolonization of forest plantations on ex-arable land

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bruun, Hans Henrik; Valtinat, Karin; Kollmann, Johannes

    2010-01-01

    be differences in recruitment. The present study addresses post-dispersal seed predation, mainly of woody plants, as the factor limiting the recolonization of young oak plantations in southern Sweden. Our objectives were to investigate differences in dispersal and post-dispersal seed predation between first......, the colonization of forest plantations by native shrubs and trees appears to be habitat-limited; the only exception being Rhamnus catharticus, for which poor dispersal ability may be more important. Post-dispersal seed predation of forest shrubs and trees was marked, especially in relatively small and isolated...... plantations on ex-arable land. There was a high seed predation of Crataegus monogyna, Sorbus aucuparia and Viburnum opulus on ex-arable land, while that of Frangula alnus and Sambucus racemosa was not associated with site placement and land-use history. Seed predation is probably a more important factor...

  2. Field Scale Studies on the Spatial Variability of Soil Quality Indicators in Washington State, USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey L. Smith

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Arable lands are needed for sustainable agricultural systems to support an ever-growing human population. Soil quality needs to be defined to assure that new land brought into crop production is sustainable. To evaluate soil quality, a number of soil attributes will need to be measured, evaluated, and integrated into a soil-quality index using the multivariable indicator kriging (MVIK procedure. This study was conducted to determine the spatial variability and correlation of indicator parameters on a field scale with respect to soil quality and suitability for use with MVIK. The variability of the biological parameters decreased in the order of respiration > enzyme assays and qCO2 > microbial biomass C. The distribution frequency of all parameters except respiration were normal although the spatial distribution across the landscape was highly variable. The biological parameters showed little correlation with each other when all data points were considered; however, when grouped in smaller sections, the correlations were more consistent with observed patterns across the field. To accurately assess soil quality, and arable land use, consideration of spatial and temporal variability, soil conditions, and other controlling factors must be taken into account.

  3. Energy crops for biogas plants. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; Energiepflanzen fuer Biogasanlagen. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aurbacher, J.; Bull, I.; Formowitz, B. (and others)

    2012-06-15

    For agriculturists in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Federal Republic of Germany), the brochure under consideration provides recommendations on alternative crop rotation systems. With the help of these alternative cultivation systems, crop rotation with high yields in combination with high diversity, diversification and sustainability can be realized. Subsequently to the presentation of energy crops for the production of biogas, recommendations for the design of crop rotation are given. Other chapters of this booklet deal with ensilage and gas yields as well as the economics of energy crop cultivation.

  4. Climate change adaptation: a panacea for food security in Ondo State, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatuase, A. I.

    2017-08-01

    This paper examines the likely perceived causes of climate change, adaptation strategies employed and technical inefficiency of arable crop farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. Data were obtained from primary sources using a set of structured questionnaire assisted with interview schedule. Multistage sampling technique was used. Data were analyzed using the following: descriptive statistics and the stochastic frontier production function. The findings showed that majority of the respondents (59.1 %) still believed that climate change is a natural phenomenon that is beyond man's power to abate while industrial release, improper sewage disposal, fossil fuel use, deforestation and bush burning were perceived as the most human factors that influence climate change by the category that chose human activities (40.9 %) as the main causes of climate change. The main employed adaptation strategies by the farmers were mixed cropping, planting early matured crop, planting of resistant crops and use of agrochemicals. The arable crop farmers were relatively technically efficient with about 53 % of them having technical efficiency above the average of 0.784 for the study area. The study observed that education, adaptation, perception, climate information and farming experience were statistically significant in decreasing inefficiency of arable crop production. Therefore, advocacy on climate change and its adaptation strategies should be intensified in the study area.

  5. Caesium-137 soil-to-plant transfer for representative agricultural crops of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants in post-Chernobyl steppe landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paramonova, Tatiana; Komissarova, Olga; Turykin, Leonid; Kuzmenkova, Natalia; Belyaev, Vladimir

    2016-04-01

    The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 had a large-scale action on more than 2.3 million hectares agricultural lands in Russia. The area of radioactively contaminated chernozems of semi-arid steppe zone with initial levels of Cs-137 185-555 kBq/m2 in Tula region received the name "Plavsky radioactive hotspot". Nowadays, after the first half-life period of Cs-137 arable chernozems of the region are still polluted with 3-6-fold excess above the radioactive safety standard (126-228 kBq/m2). Therefore, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of Cs-137 soil-to-plant transfer are currently a central problem for land use on the territory. The purpose of the present study was revealing the biological features of Cs-137 root uptake from contaminated arable chernozems by different agricultural crops. The components of a grass mixture growing at the central part of Plavsky radioactive hotspot with typical dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants - galega (Galega orientalis, Fabaceae family) and bromegrass (Bromus inermis, Gramineae family) respectively - were selected for the investigation, that was conducted during the period of harvesting in 2015. An important point was that the other factors influenced on Cs-137 soil-to-plant transfer - the level of soil pollution, soil properties, climatic conditions, vegetative phase, etc. - were equal. So, biological features of Cs-137 root uptake could be estimated the most credible manner. As a whole, general discrimination of Cs-137 root uptake was clearly shown for both agricultural crops. Whereas Cs-137 activity in rhizosphere 30-cm layer of arable chernozem was 371±74 Bq/kg (140±32 kBq/m2), Cs-137 activities in plant biomass were one-two orders of magnitude less, and transfer factor (TF) values (the ratio of the Cs-137 activities in vegetation and in soil) not exceeded 0.11. At the same time bioavailability of Cs-137 for bromegrass was significantly higher than for galega: TFs in total biomass of the

  6. Emergy analysis of cropping-grazing system in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, L.X.; Yang, Z.F.; Chen, G.Q.

    2007-01-01

    An ecological energetic evaluation is presented in this paper as a complement to economic account for the cropping-grazing system in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China in the year 2000. Based on Odum's well-known concept of emergy in terms of embodied solar energy as a unified measure for environmental resources, human or animal labors and industrial products, a systems diagram is developed for the crop and livestock productions with arms and sub-arms for free renewable natural resource input, purchased economic investment, yields of and interactive fluxes between the cropping and grazing sub-industries. In addition to conventional systems indices of the emergy yield ratio (EYR), emergy investment ratio (EIR), environmental load ratio (ELR) and environmental sustainability index (ESI) introduced for congregated systems ecological assessment with essential implication for sustainability, new indicators of soil emergy cost (SEC), self-support intensity (SSI) and self-support orientation (SSO) are defined to characterize the desertification and internal recycling associated with the special agricultural system. Extensive emergy accounting is made for the cropping-grazing system as a whole as well as for the cropping and grazing subsystems. The overall cropping-grazing system is shown with outstanding production competence compared with agricultural systems in some other provinces and the national average in China, though confronted with severe desertification associated with soil loss. The production of crops has higher emergy density and yield rate per unit area as well as higher rate of soil loss than grazing system. The soil emergy cost defined as the soil loss emergy divided by the yield emergy is estimated to be of the same value for both of the subsystems, but the grazing activity is with less extraction intensity, leaving rangeland to rest and rehabilitate. Suggestions with regard to the local sustainability and national ecological security in

  7. Growth rate of Heterobasidion annosum in Picea abies established on forest land and arable land

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bendz-Hellgren, M.; Johansson, Martin; Swedjemark, G.; Stenlid, J. [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden). Dept. of Forest Mycology and Pathology; Brandtberg, P.O. [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden). Dept. of Ecology and Environmental Research

    1999-07-01

    The growth rates of Heterobasidion annosum in Norway spruce were investigated in southern Sweden. In one study, stump and tree roots in stands established on previous forest or arable land were inoculated with H. annosum-infested sawdust. After 1-3 yrs, the linear extent of colonization by the fungus was measured, based on detection of its conidiophores on incubated samples. The average growth rate was 25 cm yr{sup -1} in stump roots and 9 cm yr{sup -1} in tree roots, neither of which differed significantly between forest and arable land. The feeling of a decayed tree could enhance the spread of H. annosum within root systems. In the second study, the height of discoloration and extent of colonization by H. annosum, measured as above, were assessed in naturally infected trees. On average, discoloration moved through the roots and stem at a rate of 36 cm yr{sup -1}. Heterobasidion annosum was found 60 cm in advance of the discoloration, corresponding to a growth rate of 52 cm yr{sup -1}.

  8. Energy crops for biogas plants. Brandenburg; Energiepflanzen fuer Biogasanlagen. Brandenburg

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adam, L.; Barthelmes, G.; Biertuempfel, A. (and others)

    2012-06-15

    In the brochure under consideration, the Agency for Renewable Resources (Guelzen-Pruezen, Federal Republic of Germany) reported on recommendations on alternative cropping systems for energy crop rotations in order to achieve high yields in combination with high diversity, risk spreading and sustainability. In particular, the natural site conditions in the Federal State of Brandenburg (Federal Republic of Germany) are determined.

  9. Effects of agricultural practices of three crops on the soil communities under Mediterranean conditions: field evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leitão, Sara; José Cerejeira, Maria; Abreu, Manuela; Sousa, José Paulo

    2014-05-01

    Sustainable agricultural production relies on soil communities as the main actors in key soil processes necessary to maintain sustainable soil functioning. Soil biodiversity influences soil physical and chemical characteristics and thus the sustainability of crop and agro-ecosystems functioning. Agricultural practices (e.g.: soil tillage, pesticides and fertilizer applications, irrigation) may affects negatively or positively soil biodiversity and abundances by modifying the relationships between organisms in the soil ecosystem. The present study aimed to study the influence of agricultural practices of three crops (potato, onion and maize) under Mediterranean climate conditions on soil macro- and mesofauna during their entire crop cycles. Effects on soil communities were assessed at a higher tier of environmental risk assessment comprising field testing of indigenous edaphic communities in a selected study-site located in a major agriculture region of Central Portugal, Ribatejo e Oeste, neighbouring protected wetlands. A reference site near the agricultural field site was selected as a Control site to compare the terrestrial communities' composition and variation along the crop cycle. The field soil and Control site soil are sandy loam soils. Crops irrigation was performed by center-pivot (automated sprinkler that rotates in a half a circle area) and by sprinklers. Soil macro- and mesofauna were collected at both sites (field and Control) using two methodologies through pitfall trapping and soil sampling. The community of soil macro- and mesofauna of the three crops field varied versus control site along the crops cycles. Main differences were due to arachnids, coleopterans, ants and adult Diptera presence and abundance. The feeding activity of soil fauna between control site and crop areas varied only for potato and onion crops vs. control site but not among crops. Concentration of pesticides residues in soil did not cause apparent negative effects on the soil

  10. Trade and commerce in improved crops and food: an essay on food security.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kershen, Drew L

    2010-11-30

    Agricultural trade between nations is a significant proportion of total international trade. Agricultural trade in transgenic crops faces extra complications due to the existence of domestic and international regimes that focus specifically on agricultural biotechnology. These specialized regimes create legal and commercial challenges for trade in transgenic crops that have significant implications for the food security of the nations of the world. By food security, one should understand not just the available supply of food, but also the quality of the food and the environmental impact of agricultural production systems. These specialized regimes for transgenic crops can either encourage or hinder the adoption of agricultural biotechnology as a sustainable intensive agriculture. Sustainable intensive agriculture offers hope for agronomic improvements for agricultural production, socio-economic betterment for farmers and environmental benefits for societies. Sustainable intensive agriculture offers particular hope for the poorest farmers of the world because agricultural biotechnology is a technology in the seed. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Suppression of soilborne pathogens in mixed cropping systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hiddink, G.A.

    2008-01-01

    Since the green revolution, agricultural production has increased tremendously due to synthetic fertilizers, chemical crop protectants and high yielding plant varieties. However, soilborne pathogens remain yield-limiting factors in agricultural production. Hardly any sustainable solutions are

  12. Blue and green water use of cultivating selected crops in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harun, Siti Norliyana; Hanafiah, Marlia M.

    2018-04-01

    Sustainability of water resources should be a concern parallel to the fast pace of economic development. This study was conducted to estimate the total water consumption of growing 9 crops in Peninsular Malaysia which divided into two category of crops; fruits and vegetables, i.e. mandarin, banana, mango, pineapple, watermelon, cucumber, eggplant, green bean and lettuce. The water footprint of these crops was estimated based on 9 years data of climate and crop (2005-2013). The crop water use was determined using CROPWAT 8.0 model and Penman-Monteith equation. It was found that the green water footprint for cultivating 9 crops was higher compared to blue water footprint. The blue water footprint ranged from 20.97m3/ton to 197.84m3/ton, whereas the green water footprint ranged from 129.8m3/ton to 1586.2m3/ton. Banana has the highest total water footprint (1717.10m3/ton) and the lowest total water footprint was obtained for cucumber (175.07m3/ton). In conclusion, water consumption for cultivating agricultural crops will accelerate the competition on the consumption of clean water with the other sectors. However, the availability of water resource in Peninsular Malaysia is still sufficient to fulfill the demands for water at the present time. Further study should include grey water as well as an indicator for water quality to help in assessing the sustainable, efficient and equitable use of water resources.

  13. Global Simulation of Bioenergy Crop Productivity: Analytical Framework and Case Study for Switchgrass

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Shujiang [ORNL; Kline, Keith L [ORNL; Nair, S. Surendran [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK); Nichols, Dr Jeff A [ORNL; Post, Wilfred M [ORNL; Brandt, Craig C [ORNL; Wullschleger, Stan D [ORNL; Wei, Yaxing [ORNL; Singh, Nagendra [ORNL

    2013-01-01

    A global energy crop productivity model that provides geospatially explicit quantitative details on biomass potential and factors affecting sustainability would be useful, but does not exist now. This study describes a modeling platform capable of meeting many challenges associated with global-scale agro-ecosystem modeling. We designed an analytical framework for bioenergy crops consisting of six major components: (i) standardized natural resources datasets, (ii) global field-trial data and crop management practices, (iii) simulation units and management scenarios, (iv) model calibration and validation, (v) high-performance computing (HPC) simulation, and (vi) simulation output processing and analysis. The HPC-Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (HPC-EPIC) model simulated a perennial bioenergy crop, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), estimating feedstock production potentials and effects across the globe. This modeling platform can assess soil C sequestration, net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, nonpoint source pollution (e.g., nutrient and pesticide loss), and energy exchange with the atmosphere. It can be expanded to include additional bioenergy crops (e.g., miscanthus, energy cane, and agave) and food crops under different management scenarios. The platform and switchgrass field-trial dataset are available to support global analysis of biomass feedstock production potential and corresponding metrics of sustainability.

  14. Grassland-Cropping Rotations: An Avenue for Agricultural Diversification to Reconcile High Production with Environmental Quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemaire, Gilles; Gastal, François; Franzluebbers, Alan; Chabbi, Abad

    2015-11-01

    A need to increase agricultural production across the world to ensure continued food security appears to be at odds with the urgency to reduce the negative environmental impacts of intensive agriculture. Around the world, intensification has been associated with massive simplification and uniformity at all levels of organization, i.e., field, farm, landscape, and region. Therefore, we postulate that negative environmental impacts of modern agriculture are due more to production simplification than to inherent characteristics of agricultural productivity. Thus by enhancing diversity within agricultural systems, it should be possible to reconcile high quantity and quality of food production with environmental quality. Intensification of livestock and cropping systems separately within different specialized regions inevitably leads to unacceptable environmental impacts because of the overly uniform land use system in intensive cereal areas and excessive N-P loads in intensive animal areas. The capacity of grassland ecosystems to couple C and N cycles through microbial-soil-plant interactions as a way for mitigating the environmental impacts of intensive arable cropping system was analyzed in different management options: grazing, cutting, and ley duration, in order to minimize trade-offs between production and the environment. We suggest that integrated crop-livestock systems are an appropriate strategy to enhance diversity. Sod-based rotations can temporally and spatially capture the benefits of leys for minimizing environmental impacts, while still maintaining periods and areas of intensive cropping. Long-term experimental results illustrate the potential of such systems to sequester C in soil and to reduce and control N emissions to the atmosphere and hydrosphere.

  15. Multicriteria analysis for the selection of the most appropriate energy crops: the case of Cyprus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kylili, Angeliki; Christoforou, Elias; Fokaides, Paris A.; Polycarpou, Polycarpos

    2016-01-01

    Energy crops are considered key actors in meeting the international and European carbon reduction targets, increasing the national energy security through renewable energy production, mitigating climate change impacts, and promoting sustainability. Multicriteria analysis is a suitable decision-making tool for the energy sector, where the final decisions have to consider for a range of aspects, and can be utilised as well for deciding on appropriate energy crops. In this paper, a popular multicriteria method, PROMETHEE, is employed for the identification of the most optimal energy crops for their exploitation in Cyprus. The criteria and the weights of each are defined, and accordingly five different scenarios are developed and examined. The obtained results indicated that the promotion of second-generation energy crops is more ideal in terms of the set objectives, as well as more sustainable than the exploitation of any first-generation energy crop.

  16. Greenhouse gas emissions from cultivation of energy crops may affect the sustainability of biofuels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carter, Mette Sustmann; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Heiske, Stefan

    2011-01-01

    will be lower than indicated by our data. We obtained the greatest net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by co-production of bioethanol and biogas or by biogas alone produced from either fresh grass-clover or whole crop maize. Here the net reduction corresponded to about 8 tons CO2 per hectare per year...... or incorporation of crop residues. In this study we relate measured field emissions of N2O to the reduction in fossil fuel-derived CO2, which is obtained when energy crops are used for biofuel production. The analysis includes five organically managed crops (viz. maize, rye, rye-vetch, vetch and grass......-clover) and three scenarios for conversion of biomass to biofuel. The scenarios are 1) bioethanol production, 2) biogas production and 3) co-production of bioethanol and biogas, where the energy crops are first used for bioethanol fermentation and subsequently the residues from this process are utilized for biogas...

  17. Research fields, challenges and opportunities in European oilseed crops breeding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincourt Patrick

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Due to the geographical specialization in oilseed world production, Europe has a major role to play in winter oilseed rape and sunflower breeding. Mainly based on the most recen t results, this review aims to identify the main research and breeding targets for these two crops, as seen through publications, with an attempt to suggest what are opportunities and challenges in these research fields. Growing a healthy and yielding crop remains the key driver for agronomic production. However sustainability and environmental profiles of the cultivar are now entering the field of play: The sustainability concern invested the field of resistance to diseases. Nitrogen use efficiency became an important target for Brassica napus, and crop resilience toward drought stresses is the way chosen in Helianthus annuus breeding for yield improvement. Significant advances are underway for quality traits, but the uncertainty on nutritional and industrial demand may explain why the product diversification remains low.

  18. Increase globe artichoke cropping sustainability using sub-surface drip-irrigation systems in a Mediterranean coastal area for reducing groundwater withdrawal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mantino, Alberto; Marchina, Chiara; Bonari, Enrico; Fabbrizzi, Alessandro; Rossetto, Rudy

    2017-04-01

    During the last decades in coastal areas of the Mediterranean basin, human growth posed severe stresses on freshwater resources due to increasing demand by agricultural, industrial and civil activities, in particular on groundwater. This in turn led to worsening of water quality, loss/reduction of wetlands, up to soil salinization and abandonment of agricultural areas. Within the EU LIFE REWAT project a number of demonstration measures will take place in the lower Cornia valley (Livorno, Italy), both structural (pilot) and non-structural (education, dissemination and capacity building), aiming at achieving sustainable and participated water management. In particular, the five demonstration actions are related to: (1) set up of a managed aquifer recharge facility, (2) restoration of a Cornia river reach, (3) water saving in the civil water supply sector, (4) water saving in agriculture, (5) reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation purposes. Thus, the REWAT project general objective is to develop a new model of governance for sustainable development of the lower Cornia valley based on the water asset at its core. As per water use in agriculture, the lower Cornia valley is well known for the horticultural production. In this regard, globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus L. (Fiori)) crops, a perennial cool-season vegetable, cover a surface of about 600 ha. In order to increase stability and productivity of the crop, about 2000 - 4000 m3 ha-1 yr-1 of irrigation water is required. Recent studies demonstrated that yield of different crops increases using Sub-surface Drip-Irrigation (SDI) system under high frequency irrigation management enhancing water use efficiency. In the SDI systems, the irrigation water is delivered to the plant root zone, below the soil surface by buried plastic tubes containing embedded emitters located at regular spacing. Within the LIFE REWAT, the specific objectives of the pilot on irrigation efficiency is to (i) demonstrate the

  19. Mycorrhiza formation and nutrient concentration in leeks (¤Allium porrum¤) in relation to previous crop and cover crop management on high P soils

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, J.N.; Larsen, J.; Jakobsen, I.

    2005-01-01

    An improved integration of mycorrhizas may increase the sustainability in plant production. Two strategies for increasing the soil inoculum potential of mycorrhizal fungi were investigated in field experiments with leeks: Pre-cropping with mycorrhizal main crops and pre-establishment of mycorrhizal......, increased the colonization of leek roots by mycorrhizal fungi. During early growth stages, this increase was 45-95% relative to no cover crop. However, cover cropping did not significantly increase nutrient concentration or growth. These variables were not influenced by the time of cover crop incorporation...... or tillage treatments. Differences in colonization, nutrient uptake and plant growth diminished during the growing period and at the final harvest date, the effects on plant production disappeared. High soil P level or high soil inoculum level was most likely responsible for the limited response of increased...

  20. Diverse effects of crop distribution and climate change on crop production in the agro-pastoral transitional zone of China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiao, Jianmin; Yu, Deyong; Wang, Qianfeng; Liu, Yupeng

    2018-06-01

    Both crop distribution and climate change are important drivers for crop production and can affect food security, which is an important requirement for sustainable development. However, their effects on crop production are confounded and warrant detailed investigation. As a key area for food production that is sensitive to climate change, the agro-pastoral transitional zone (APTZ) plays a significant role in regional food security. To investigate the respective effects of crop distribution and climate change on crop production, the well-established GIS-based Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model was adopted with different scenario designs in this study. From 1980 to 2010, the crop distribution for wheat, maize, and rice witnessed a dramatic change due to agricultural policy adjustments and ecological engineering-related construction in the APTZ. At the same time, notable climate change was observed. The simulation results indicated that the climate change had a positive impact on the crop production of wheat, maize, and rice, while the crop distribution change led to an increase in the production of maize and rice, but a decrease in the wheat production. Comparatively, crop distribution change had a larger impact on wheat (-1.71 × 106 t) and maize (8.53 × 106 t) production, whereas climate change exerted a greater effect on rice production (0.58 × 106 t), during the period from 1980 to 2010 in the APTZ. This study is helpful to understand the mechanism of the effects of crop distribution and climate change on crop production, and aid policy makers in reducing the threat of future food insecurity.

  1. Diverse effects of crop distribution and climate change on crop production in the agro-pastoral transitional zone of China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiao, Jianmin; Yu, Deyong; Wang, Qianfeng; Liu, Yupeng

    2017-07-01

    Both crop distribution and climate change are important drivers for crop production and can affect food security, which is an important requirement for sustainable development. However, their effects on crop production are confounded and warrant detailed investigation. As a key area for food production that is sensitive to climate change, the agro-pastoral transitional zone (APTZ) plays a significant role in regional food security. To investigate the respective effects of crop distribution and climate change on crop production, the well-established GIS-based Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model was adopted with different scenario designs in this study. From 1980 to 2010, the crop distribution for wheat, maize, and rice witnessed a dramatic change due to agricultural policy adjustments and ecological engineering-related construction in the APTZ. At the same time, notable climate change was observed. The simulation results indicated that the climate change had a positive impact on the crop production of wheat, maize, and rice, while the crop distribution change led to an increase in the production of maize and rice, but a decrease in the wheat production. Comparatively, crop distribution change had a larger impact on wheat (-1.71 × 106 t) and maize (8.53 × 106 t) production, whereas climate change exerted a greater effect on rice production (0.58 × 106 t), during the period from 1980 to 2010 in the APTZ. This study is helpful to understand the mechanism of the effects of crop distribution and climate change on crop production, and aid policy makers in reducing the threat of future food insecurity.

  2. Lucerne (Medicago sativa) or grass-clover as cut-and-carry fertilizers in organic agriculture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Burgt, van der G.J.H.M.; Eekeren, van N.J.M.; Scholberg, J.M.S.; Koopmans, C.J.

    2013-01-01

    Onfarm nitrogen fixation is a driving force in organic agriculture. The efficiency with which this nitrogen is used can be increased by using lucerne (Medicago sativa) or grassclover directly as sources of fertilizer on arable land: cutandcarry fertilizers. In two arable crops, the use of lucerne

  3. Nitrogen balance in a hilly semi-agricultural watershed in Northern Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Pieri

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The research was carried out for 7 years, 1998-2005, in a semi-agricultural watershed, called Centonara, set within a natural regional park and situated in the hills surrounding Bologna, northern Italy. This area is characterized by one of the most interesting badlands complexes in Europe and represents one of the main points of naturalistic interest. The watershed is partially cultivated (about 30% of the total area with arable crops, mostly cereals and alfalfa. To evaluate the impact of agricultural activity on the eco-sustainability of this area, the nitrogen (N balance was computed. Although it is only an estimation of the potential environmental damage, the nitrogen balance is a useful indicator of the risk posed to the environment from excessive nitrogen and can be useful to understand the possible effects of a certain type of agricultural and environmental management and policy. The balance was calculated by computing the difference between all inputs and all outputs. The nitrogen balance of the watershed was found to be sustainable, with an annual nitrogen balance ranging between –2.3 and +4.4 kg ha–1. Despite the limited presence of arable lands, the agricultural management played the main role in determining the sustainability of the watershed, strongly influencing both the principal N sources and sinks. In fact, major N inputs derived from inorganic fertilization (8.1-15.5 kg ha–1yr–1 and biological fixation (8.3-14.3 kg ha–1yr–1. On the other hand, plant removal constituted the most important output (17.7-25.6 kg ha–1yr–1. N losses in the drainage water were limited (3.0-9.5 kg ha–1yr–1 and the Centonara stream water was found to be unpolluted, with a nitrate concentration always below the EU limit for drinking water. The similar magnitude of total N inputs and outputs indicated that the crop management, especially the crop rotation and the N fertilization, in the Centonara watershed has reached a good level of

  4. Sustainable conversion of coffee and other crop wastes to biofuels and bioproducts using coupled biochemical and thermochemical processes in a multi-stage biorefinery concept.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Stephen R; López-Núñez, Juan Carlos; Jones, Marjorie A; Moser, Bryan R; Cox, Elby J; Lindquist, Mitch; Galindo-Leva, Luz Angela; Riaño-Herrera, Néstor M; Rodriguez-Valencia, Nelson; Gast, Fernando; Cedeño, David L; Tasaki, Ken; Brown, Robert C; Darzins, Al; Brunner, Lane

    2014-10-01

    The environmental impact of agricultural waste from the processing of food and feed crops is an increasing concern worldwide. Concerted efforts are underway to develop sustainable practices for the disposal of residues from the processing of such crops as coffee, sugarcane, or corn. Coffee is crucial to the economies of many countries because its cultivation, processing, trading, and marketing provide employment for millions of people. In coffee-producing countries, improved technology for treatment of the significant amounts of coffee waste is critical to prevent ecological damage. This mini-review discusses a multi-stage biorefinery concept with the potential to convert waste produced at crop processing operations, such as coffee pulping stations, to valuable biofuels and bioproducts using biochemical and thermochemical conversion technologies. The initial bioconversion stage uses a mutant Kluyveromyces marxianus yeast strain to produce bioethanol from sugars. The resulting sugar-depleted solids (mostly protein) can be used in a second stage by the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica to produce bio-based ammonia for fertilizer and are further degraded by Y. lipolytica proteases to peptides and free amino acids for animal feed. The lignocellulosic fraction can be ground and treated to release sugars for fermentation in a third stage by a recombinant cellulosic Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which can also be engineered to express valuable peptide products. The residual protein and lignin solids can be jet cooked and passed to a fourth-stage fermenter where Rhodotorula glutinis converts methane into isoprenoid intermediates. The residues can be combined and transferred into pyrocracking and hydroformylation reactions to convert ammonia, protein, isoprenes, lignins, and oils into renewable gas. Any remaining waste can be thermoconverted to biochar as a humus soil enhancer. The integration of multiple technologies for treatment of coffee waste has the potential to

  5. Conservation and Use of Genetic Resources of Underutilized Crops in the Americas—A Continental Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gea Galluzzi

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Latin America is home to dramatically diverse agroecological regions which harbor a high concentration of underutilized plant species, whose genetic resources hold the potential to address challenges such as sustainable agricultural development, food security and sovereignty, and climate change. This paper examines the status of an expert-informed list of underutilized crops in Latin America and analyses how the most common features of underuse apply to these. The analysis pays special attention to if and how existing international policy and legal frameworks on biodiversity and plant genetic resources effectively support or not the conservation and sustainable use of underutilized crops. Results show that not all minor crops are affected by the same degree of neglect, and that the aspects under which any crop is underutilized vary greatly, calling for specific analyses and interventions. We also show that current international policy and legal instruments have so far provided limited stimulus and funding for the conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of these crops. Finally, the paper proposes an analytical framework for identifying and evaluating a crop’s underutilization, in order to define the most appropriate type and levels of intervention (international, national, local for improving its status.

  6. The scientific grand challenges of the 21st century for the Crop Science Society of America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crop science is a highly integrative science field employing expertise from multiple disciplines to broaden our understanding of agronomic, turf, and forage crops. A major goal of crop science is to ensure an adequate and sustainable production of food, feed, fuel, and fiber for our world’s growing ...

  7. Investigation of ethanol productivity of cassava crop as a sustainable ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    GREGORY

    2010-08-30

    Aug 30, 2010 ... the most dominant among the plant materials are the energy crops. ... even reverse CO2 emissions by taking carbon out of the air and sequestering it in ... ethanol unsuitable for human consumption. Enzymes are used to ...

  8. Effects of Weather Variability on Crop Abandonment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kelvin Mulungu

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In Zambia, every year some parts of the maize fields are abandoned post-planting. Reasons for this are not clearly known. In this paper, we examine the influence of soil and climatic factors on crop abandonment using a six-year (2007–2012 panel data by modeling the planted-to-harvested ratio (a good indicator of crop abandonment using a fractional and linear approach. Therefore, for the first time, our study appropriately (as supported by the model specification tests that favour fractional probit over linear models the fractional nature of crop abandonment. Regression results, which are not very different between the two specifications, indicate that, more than anything, high rainfall immediately after planting and inadequate fertilizer are the leading determinants of crop abandonment. In the agro-ecological region where dry planting takes place, low temperature during planting months negatively affects the harvested area. The results have implications on the sustainability of farming systems in the face of a changing climate.

  9. Improving Resilience of Northern Field Crop Systems Using Inter-Seeded Red Clover: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William Deen

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available In light of the environmental challenges ahead, resilience of the most abundant field crop production systems must be improved to guarantee yield stability with more efficient use of nitrogen inputs, soil and water resources. Along with genetic and agronomic innovations, diversification of northern agro-ecosystems using inter-seeded legumes provides further opportunities to improve land management practices that sustain crop yields and their resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses. Benefits of legume cover crops have been known for decades and red clover (Trifolium pratense is one of the most common and beneficial when frost-seeded under winter wheat in advance of maize in a rotation. However, its use has been declining mostly due to the use of synthetic fertilizers and herbicides, concerns over competition with the main crop and the inability to fully capture red clover benefits due to difficulties in the persistence of uniform stands. In this manuscript, we first review the environmental, agronomic, rotational and economical benefits associated with inter-seeded red clover. Red clover adaptation to a wide array of common wheat-based rotations, its potential to mitigate the effects of land degradation in a changing climate and its integration into sustainable food production systems are discussed. We then identify areas of research with significant potential to impact cropping system profitability and sustainability.

  10. Evaluating the environmental sustainability of energy crops: A life cycle assessment of Spanish rapeseed and Argentinean soybean cultivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisca Fernández-Tirado

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Rapeseed oil is expected to be increasingly used in Spain as raw material to produce biodiesel to the detriment of extra-EU imports of biodiesel mainly based on soybean oil from Argentina. Therefore, the environmental impacts produced throughout the life cycle of energy crops used to produce biodiesel which is consumed in Spain could be radically affected. In this context, the environmental impacts of rapeseed cultivation in Spain and soybean cultivation in Argentina, were compared under certain growing conditions using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA. Two methods of calculation for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA and two functional units (FUs were used to test potential biases. The results showed that the cultivation of soybean in Argentina had, in general, fewer environmental impacts than rapeseed cultivation in Spain when the FU was the area of cultivation, but these findings are inverted when the analysis is conducted according to the energy content of the biodiesel obtained from these crops. Soybean in fact has very low oil content, meaning that larger areas of land are required to obtain the same amount of biodiesel and that consequently it has a higher environmental impact by energy content. Fertilization was, in general, the process that generated the greatest environmental burdens, and is an area in which improvement is necessary in order to increase sustainability, particularly with regard to Spanish rapeseed.

  11. Evaluating the environmental sustainability of energy crops: A life cycle assessment of Spanish rapeseed and Argentinean soybean cultivation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernández-Tirado, F.; Parra-López, C.; Romero-Gámez, M.

    2017-01-01

    Rapeseed oil is expected to be increasingly used in Spain as raw material to produce biodiesel to the detriment of extra-EU imports of biodiesel mainly based on soybean oil from Argentina. Therefore, the environmental impacts produced throughout the life cycle of energy crops used to produce biodiesel which is consumed in Spain could be radically affected. In this context, the environmental impacts of rapeseed cultivation in Spain and soybean cultivation in Argentina, were compared under certain growing conditions using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Two methods of calculation for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) and two functional units (FUs) were used to test potential biases. The results showed that the cultivation of soybean in Argentina had, in general, fewer environmental impacts than rapeseed cultivation in Spain when the FU was the area of cultivation, but these findings are inverted when the analysis is conducted according to the energy content of the biodiesel obtained from these crops. Soybean in fact has very low oil content, meaning that larger areas of land are required to obtain the same amount of biodiesel and that consequently it has a higher environmental impact by energy content. Fertilization was, in general, the process that generated the greatest environmental burdens, and is an area in which improvement is necessary in order to increase sustainability, particularly with regard to Spanish rapeseed.

  12. Evaluating the environmental sustainability of energy crops: A life cycle assessment of Spanish rapeseed and Argentinean soybean cultivation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fernández-Tirado, F.; Parra-López, C.; Romero-Gámez, M.

    2017-09-01

    Rapeseed oil is expected to be increasingly used in Spain as raw material to produce biodiesel to the detriment of extra-EU imports of biodiesel mainly based on soybean oil from Argentina. Therefore, the environmental impacts produced throughout the life cycle of energy crops used to produce biodiesel which is consumed in Spain could be radically affected. In this context, the environmental impacts of rapeseed cultivation in Spain and soybean cultivation in Argentina, were compared under certain growing conditions using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Two methods of calculation for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) and two functional units (FUs) were used to test potential biases. The results showed that the cultivation of soybean in Argentina had, in general, fewer environmental impacts than rapeseed cultivation in Spain when the FU was the area of cultivation, but these findings are inverted when the analysis is conducted according to the energy content of the biodiesel obtained from these crops. Soybean in fact has very low oil content, meaning that larger areas of land are required to obtain the same amount of biodiesel and that consequently it has a higher environmental impact by energy content. Fertilization was, in general, the process that generated the greatest environmental burdens, and is an area in which improvement is necessary in order to increase sustainability, particularly with regard to Spanish rapeseed.

  13. The Use of Organic vs. Chemical Fertilizer with a Mineral Losses Tax: The Case of Dutch Arable Farmers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Feinerman, E.; Komen, M.H.C.

    2005-01-01

    The paper focuses on farm-level nitrogen fertilization strategies of Dutch arable farmers for analyzing the substitution of organic fertilizers (manure) with chemical fertilizers. The model developed investigates the impact of the major parameters affecting the inferiority of manure compared with

  14. Integrated Systems Mitigate Land Degradation and Improve Agricultural System Sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landblom, Douglas; Senturklu, Songul; Cihacek, Larry; Brevik, Eric

    2017-04-01

    Rain-fed agricultural production supported by exogenous inputs is not sustainable because a continuous influx of expensive inputs (fertilizer, chemicals, fossil fuel, labor, tillage, and other) is required. Alternatives to traditional management allow natural occurring dynamic soil processes to provide the necessary microbial activity that supports nutrient cycling in balance with nature. Research designed to investigate the potential for integrated systems to replace expensive inputs has shown that healthy soils rich in soil organic matter (SOM) are the foundation upon which microbial nutrient cycling can reduce and eventually replace expensive fertilizer. No-till seed placement technology effectively replaces multiple-pass cultivation conserving stored soil water in semi-arid farming systems. In multi-crop rotations, cool- and warm-season crops are grown in sequence to meet goals of the integrated farming and ranching system, and each crop in the rotation complements the subsequent crop by supplying a continuous flow of essential SOM for soil nutrient cycling. Grazing animals serve an essential role in the system's sustainability as non-mechanized animal harvesters that reduce fossil fuel consumption and labor, and animal waste contributes soil nutrients to the system. Integrated systems' complementarity has contributed to greater soil nutrient cycling and crop yields, fertilizer reduction or elimination, greater yearling steer grazing net return, reduced cow wintering costs grazing crop residues, increased wildlife sightings, and reduced environmental footprint. Therefore, integrating crop and animal systems can reverse soil quality decline and adopting non-traditional procedures has resulted in a wider array of opportunities for sustainable agriculture and profitability.

  15. Effect of Mixed Systems on Crop Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senturklu, Songul; Landblom, Douglas; Cihacek, Larry; Brevik, Eric

    2017-04-01

    The goals of this non-irrigated research has been to determine the effect of mixed systems integration on crop, soil, and beef cattle production in the northern Great Plains region of the United States. Over a 5-year period, growing spring wheat (HRSW-C) continuously year after year was compared to a 5-year crop rotation that included spring wheat (HRSW-R), cover crop (dual crop consisting of winter triticale/hairy vetch seeded in the fall and harvested for hay followed by a 7-species cover crop that was seeded in June after hay harvest), forage corn, field pea/barley, and sunflower. Control 5-year HRSW yield was 2690 kg/ha compared to 2757 kg/ha for HRSW grown in rotation. Available soil nitrogen (N) is often the most important limitation for crop production. Expensive fertilizer inputs were reduced in this study due to the mixed system's complementarity in which the rotation system that included beef cattle grazing sustained N availability and increased nutrient cycling, which had a positive effect on all crops grown in the rotation. Growing HRSW continuously requires less intensive management and in this research was 14.5% less profitable. Whereas, when crop management increased and complementing crops were grown in rotation to produce crops and provide feed for grazing livestock, soil nutrient cycling improved. Increased nutrient cycling increased crop rotation yields and yearling beef cattle steers that grazing annual forages in the rotation gain more body weight than similar steers grazing NGP native range. Results of this long-term research will be presented in a PICO format for participant discussion.

  16. Simulating the impacts of land use in northwest Europe on Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE): the role of arable ecosystems, grasslands and forest plantations in climate change mitigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdalla, Mohamed; Saunders, Matthew; Hastings, Astley; Williams, Mike; Smith, Pete; Osborne, Bruce; Lanigan, Gary; Jones, Mike B

    2013-11-01

    In this study, we compared measured and simulated Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) values from three wide spread ecosystems in the southeast of Ireland (forest, arable and grassland), and investigated the suitability of the DNDC (the DeNitrification-DeComposition) model to estimate present and future NEE. Although, the field-DNDC version overestimated NEE at temperatures >5 °C, forest-DNDC under-estimated NEE at temperatures >5 °C. The results suggest that the field/forest DNDC models can successfully estimate changes in seasonal and annual NEE from these ecosystems. Differences in NEE were found to be primarily land cover specific. The annual NEE was similar for the grassland and arable sites, but due to the contribution of exported carbon, the soil carbon increased at the grassland site and decreased at the arable site. The NEE of the forest site was an order of magnitude larger than that of the grassland or arable ecosystems, with large amounts of carbon stored in woody biomass and the soil. The average annual NEE, GPP and Reco values over the measurement period were -904, 2379 and 1475 g C m(-2) (forest plantations), -189, 906 and 715 g C m(-2) (arable systems) and -212, 1653 and 1444 g C m(-2) (grasslands), respectively. The average RMSE values were 3.8 g C m(-2) (forest plantations), 0.12 g C m(-2) (arable systems) and 0.21 g C m(-2) (grasslands). When these models were run with climate change scenarios to 2060, predictions show that all three ecosystems will continue to operate as carbon sinks. Further, climate change may decrease the carbon sink strength in the forest plantations by up to 50%. This study supports the use of the DNDC model as a valid tool to predict the consequences of climate change on NEE from different ecosystems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Agronomic & entomological results from 7 years of dryland cropping systems research at Briggsdale, Colorado

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dryland crop production in the semi-arid Great Plains is limited by both the quantity and timing of precipitation. Sustainable dryland cropping systems maximize precipitation use efficiency by managing precipitation capture, storage, and use. Pest management approaches are also critical for efficie...

  18. Energy potential of agricultural crops in Kosovo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahiti, Naser; Sfishta, Avni; Gramatikov, Plamen

    2015-01-01

    Primary energy mix in Kosovo with 98 % consisting of lignite and only 2 % of water is far from portfolio of primary energy sources which could contribute to a sustainable and environmental friendly energy supply of the country. In order to improve the situation, government is supporting activities in favor of upgrading of electricity production capacities based on Renewable Energy Sources. Corresponding action plans and feed in tariffs are already in place. However, prior to any investment, one needs specific results on available potential. Current study provides results of the analysis of Kosovo potential for energy production by using of agricultural crops. Study is based on national statistics on available agricultural crops in Kosovo and provides results on biomass potential of crops, corresponding energy potential and an assessment of financial cost of energy produced.

  19. A global overview of biotech (GM) crops: adoption, impact and future prospects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Clive

    2010-01-01

    In the early 1990s, some were skeptical that genetically modified (GM) crops, now referred to as biotech crops, could deliver improved products and make an impact at the farm level. There was even more skepticism that developing countries would adopt biotech crops. The adoption of and commercialization of biotech crops in 2008 is reviewed. The impact of biotech crops are summarized including their contribution to: global food, feed and fiber security; a safer environment; a more sustainable agriculture; and the alleviation of poverty, and hunger in the developing countries of the world. Future prospects are discussed. Notably, Egypt planted Bt maize for the first time in 2008 thereby becoming the first country in the Arab world to commercialize biotech crops.

  20. Energy crops in rotation. A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zegada-Lizarazu, Walter; Monti, Andrea [Department of Agroenvironmental Science and Technology, University of Bologna, Viale G. Fanin, 44 - 40127, Bologna (Italy)

    2011-01-15

    The area under energy crops has increased tenfold over the last 10 years, and there is large consensus that the demand for energy crops will further increase rapidly to cover several millions of hectares in the near future. Information about rotational systems and effects of energy crops should be therefore given top priority. Literature is poor and fragmentary on this topic, especially about rotations in which all crops are exclusively dedicated to energy end uses. Well-planned crop rotations, as compared to continuous monoculture systems, can be expected to reduce the dependence on external inputs through promoting nutrient cycling efficiency, effective use of natural resources, especially water, maintenance of the long-term productivity of the land, control of diseases and pests, and consequently increasing crop yields and sustainability of production systems. The result of all these advantages is widely known as crop sequencing effect, which is due to the additional and positive consequences on soil physical-chemical and biological properties arising from specific crops grown in the same field year after year. In this context, the present review discusses the potential of several rotations with energy crops and their possibilities of being included alongside traditional agriculture systems across different agro-climatic zones within the European Union. Possible rotations dedicated exclusively to the production of biomass for bioenergy are also discussed, as rotations including only energy crops could become common around bio-refineries or power plants. Such rotations, however, show some limitations related to the control of diseases and to the narrow range of available species with high production potential that could be included in a rotation of such characteristics. The information on best-known energy crops such as rapeseed (Brassica napus) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) suggests that conventional crops can benefit from the introduction of energy crops in

  1. Vertical migration of 85Sr, 137Cs and 131I in various arable and undisturbed soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palagyi, S.; Palagyiova, J.

    2002-01-01

    Vertical migration of 85 Sr, 137 Cs and 131 I in some arable and undisturbed single-contaminated soils was studied by gamma-spectrometry measurements in lysimetric laboratory conditions applying irrigation of the soil profiles with wet atmospheric precipitation for about one year (except radioiodine). A new simple exponential compartment (box) model was derived, allowing us to calculate the migration rate constants and migration rates in the individual soil layers (vertical sections) as well as the total vertical migration rate constants and total vertical migration rates of radionuclides in the bulk soil horizon. The data from the time dependence of the depth activity distribution (radionuclide concentration along the vertical soil profile) were used to test the model. The migration rate constants and migration rates were found to be affected by the contaminating radionuclides as well as by the site, type and depth of the soil. The relaxation times of the radionuclides in the soil horizons were calculated. The effects on the rate parameters of the permanent grass cover and the zeolite applied onto the arable soil surfaces were also investigated

  2. Assessment of the radiocaesium levels in irish soils and its transfer to crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacNeill, Geraldine; Duffy, J.T.; Cunningham, J.D.; Coulter, B.; Diamond, S.; McAulay, I.R.; Moran, D.

    1991-02-01

    The behaviour of radiocaesium deposited by the Chernobyl fall-out was investigated in eleven different permanent pastures and arable lands. Samples of grass and subjacent soil at various depths were collected and analysed for their caesium content during a period extending from the Spring of 1987 (one year after the accident) to the Autumn of 1988. Soil from tillage land along with vegetable and grain crops from this land were also sampled and subjected to gamma spectrometric analysis. The results for the pasture soils show that there has been limited downward migration of Chernobyl caesium. In October 1988 more than 88% of caesium of Chernobyl origin was still retained in the 0-10 cm layer of undisturbed pasture soil. It would also appear that at most sites more than 70% of weapons deposited caesiym is still contained in the 0-15 cm soil layer

  3. Influence of long-term land use (arable and forest) and soil mineralogy on organic carbon stocks as well as composition and stability of soil organic matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaiser, M.; Ellerbrock, R. H.; Wulf, M.; Dultz, S.; Hierath, C.; Sommer, M.

    2009-04-01

    The function of soils to sequester organic carbon (OC) and their related potential to mitigate the greenhouse effect is strongly affected by land use and soil mineralogy. This study is aimed to clarify long-term impacts of arable and forest land use as well as soil mineralogy on topsoil soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks as well as soil organic matter (SOM) composition and stability. Topsoil samples were taken from deciduous forest and adjacent arable sites (within Germany) that are continuously used for more than 100 years. The soils are different in genesis (Albic and Haplic Luvisol (AL, HL), Colluvic and Haplic Regosol (CR, HR), Haplic and Vertic Cambisol (HC, VC), Haplic Stagnosol (HSt)). First, particulate and water soluble organic matter were separated from the topsoil samples (Ap and Ah horizons). From the remaining solid extraction residues the Na-pyrophosphate soluble organic matter fractions (OM(PY)) were extracted, analysed for its OC content (OC(PY)) and characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and 14C analyses. The SOC stocks calculated for 0-40 cm depth are in general larger for the forest as compared to the adjacent arable soils (except VC). The largest difference between forest and arable topsoils was detected for the HR site (5.9 kg m-2) and seemed to be caused by a two times larger stock of exchangeable Ca of the forest topsoil. For the arable topsoils multiple regression analyses indicate a strong influence of clay, oxalate soluble Al and pyrophosphate soluble Mg on the content of OC(PY) weighted with its C=O content. Such relation is not found for the forest topsoils. Further, a positive relation between Δ14C values of OM(PY) and the following independent variables: (i) specific mineral surface area, (ii) relative C=O group content in OM(PY) and (iii) soil pH is found for the arable topsoils (pH 6.7 - 7.5) suggesting an increase in OM(PY) stability with increasing interactions between OM(PY) and soil mineral surfaces via cation bridging. A similar

  4. Sequential use of the STICS crop model and of the MACRO pesticide fate model to simulate pesticides leaching in cropping systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lammoglia, Sabine-Karen; Moeys, Julien; Barriuso, Enrique; Larsbo, Mats; Marín-Benito, Jesús-María; Justes, Eric; Alletto, Lionel; Ubertosi, Marjorie; Nicolardot, Bernard; Munier-Jolain, Nicolas; Mamy, Laure

    2017-03-01

    The current challenge in sustainable agriculture is to introduce new cropping systems to reduce pesticides use in order to reduce ground and surface water contamination. However, it is difficult to carry out in situ experiments to assess the environmental impacts of pesticide use for all possible combinations of climate, crop, and soils; therefore, in silico tools are necessary. The objective of this work was to assess pesticides leaching in cropping systems coupling the performances of a crop model (STICS) and of a pesticide fate model (MACRO). STICS-MACRO has the advantage of being able to simulate pesticides fate in complex cropping systems and to consider some agricultural practices such as fertilization, mulch, or crop residues management, which cannot be accounted for with MACRO. The performance of STICS-MACRO was tested, without calibration, from measurements done in two French experimental sites with contrasted soil and climate properties. The prediction of water percolation and pesticides concentrations with STICS-MACRO was satisfactory, but it varied with the pedoclimatic context. The performance of STICS-MACRO was shown to be similar or better than that of MACRO. The improvement of the simulation of crop growth allowed better estimate of crop transpiration therefore of water balance. It also allowed better estimate of pesticide interception by the crop which was found to be crucial for the prediction of pesticides concentrations in water. STICS-MACRO is a new promising tool to improve the assessment of the environmental risks of pesticides used in cropping systems.

  5. Spatial optimization of cropping pattern for sustainable food and biofuel production with minimal downstream pollution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Femeena, P V; Sudheer, K P; Cibin, R; Chaubey, I

    2018-04-15

    compromising on food and biofuel production. Optimization runs yielded an optimal cropping pattern with 32% of watershed area in stover removal, 15% in switchgrass and 2% in Miscanthus. The optimal scenario resulted in 14% reduction in nitrate and 22% reduction in total phosphorus from the baseline. This framework can be used as an effective tool to take decisions regarding environmentally and economically sustainable strategies to minimize the nutrient delivery at minimal biomass production cost, while simultaneously meeting food and biofuel production targets. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Heavy metal content in ash of energy crops growing in sewage-contaminated natural wetlands: Potential applications in agriculture and forestry?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonanno, Giuseppe; Cirelli, Giuseppe Luigi; Toscano, Attilio; Giudice, Rosa Lo; Pavone, Pietro

    2013-01-01

    One of the greatest current challenges is to find cost-effective and eco-friendly solutions to the ever increasing needs of modern society. Some plant species are suitable for a multitude of biotechnological applications such as bioenergy production and phytoremediation. A sustainable practice is to use energy crops to clean up polluted lands or to treat wastewater in constructed wetlands without claiming further arable land for biofuel production. However, the disposal of combustion by-products may add significant costs to the whole process, especially when it deals with toxic waste. This study aimed to investigate the possibility of recycling ash from energy biomass as a fertilizer for agriculture and forestry. In particular, the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn were analyzed in the plant tissues and corresponding ash of the grasses Phragmites australis and Arundo donax, collected in an urban stream affected by domestic sewage. Results showed that the metal concentration in ash is 1.5–3 times as high as the values in plant tissues. However, metal enriched ash showed much lower element concentrations than the legal limits for ash reutilization in agriculture and forestry. This study found that biomass ash from constructed wetlands may be considered as a potential fertilizer rather than hazardous waste. Energy from biomass can be a really sustainable and clean option not only through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but also through ash recycling for beneficial purposes, thus minimizing the negative impacts of disposal. - Highlights: • Metal content in ash reflects the element concentrations in Phragmites australis and Arundo donax. • Metal enriched ash of both species may be recycled as fertilizers in agriculture and forestry. • Constructed wetlands may produce a large amount of plant ash-based fertilizers from P. australis and A. donax

  7. Heavy metal content in ash of energy crops growing in sewage-contaminated natural wetlands: Potential applications in agriculture and forestry?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bonanno, Giuseppe, E-mail: bonanno.giuseppe@unict.it [Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Via Longo 19, 95125, Catania (Italy); Cirelli, Giuseppe Luigi; Toscano, Attilio [Department of Agri-Food and Environmental Systems Management, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123, Catania (Italy); Giudice, Rosa Lo; Pavone, Pietro [Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Via Longo 19, 95125, Catania (Italy)

    2013-05-01

    One of the greatest current challenges is to find cost-effective and eco-friendly solutions to the ever increasing needs of modern society. Some plant species are suitable for a multitude of biotechnological applications such as bioenergy production and phytoremediation. A sustainable practice is to use energy crops to clean up polluted lands or to treat wastewater in constructed wetlands without claiming further arable land for biofuel production. However, the disposal of combustion by-products may add significant costs to the whole process, especially when it deals with toxic waste. This study aimed to investigate the possibility of recycling ash from energy biomass as a fertilizer for agriculture and forestry. In particular, the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn were analyzed in the plant tissues and corresponding ash of the grasses Phragmites australis and Arundo donax, collected in an urban stream affected by domestic sewage. Results showed that the metal concentration in ash is 1.5–3 times as high as the values in plant tissues. However, metal enriched ash showed much lower element concentrations than the legal limits for ash reutilization in agriculture and forestry. This study found that biomass ash from constructed wetlands may be considered as a potential fertilizer rather than hazardous waste. Energy from biomass can be a really sustainable and clean option not only through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but also through ash recycling for beneficial purposes, thus minimizing the negative impacts of disposal. - Highlights: • Metal content in ash reflects the element concentrations in Phragmites australis and Arundo donax. • Metal enriched ash of both species may be recycled as fertilizers in agriculture and forestry. • Constructed wetlands may produce a large amount of plant ash-based fertilizers from P. australis and A. donax.

  8. Conservation tillage impacts on soil, crop and the environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mutiu Abolanle Busari

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available There is an urgent need to match food production with increasing world population through identification of sustainable land management strategies. However, the struggle to achieve food security should be carried out keeping in mind the soil where the crops are grown and the environment in which the living things survive. Conservation agriculture (CA, practising agriculture in such a way so as to cause minimum damage to the environment, is being advocated at a large scale world-wide. Conservation tillage, the most important aspect of CA, is thought to take care of the soil health, plant growth and the environment. This paper aims to review the work done on conservation tillage in different agro-ecological regions so as to understand its impact from the perspectives of the soil, the crop and the environment. Research reports have identified several benefits of conservation tillage over conventional tillage (CT with respect to soil physical, chemical and biological properties as well as crop yields. Not less than 25% of the greenhouse gas effluxes to the atmosphere are attributed to agriculture. Processes of climate change mitigation and adaptation found zero tillage (ZT to be the most environmental friendly among different tillage techniques. Therefore, conservation tillage involving ZT and minimum tillage which has potential to break the surface compact zone in soil with reduced soil disturbance offers to lead to a better soil environment and crop yield with minimal impact on the environment. Keywords: Atmosphere, Greenhouse gases, Conservation tillage, Sustainable crop yield

  9. (Hordeum Vulgare) Crop Coefficient and Comparative Assessment

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Bheema

    The second prerequisite for sustainable use of water was developing/ ... Following the construction of .... pond capacity, the irrigation method, soil type, major crops grown in the area, and the ... determines the viability of any irrigation project. .... lack of awareness, lack of skill, technology and lack of adequate knowledge in ...

  10. Effects of a copper tolerant grass (Agrostis capillaris) on the ecosystem of a copper-contaminated arable soil

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boon, G.T.; Bouwman, L.A.; Bloem, J.; Römkens, P.F.A.M.

    1998-01-01

    To test how a dysfunctioning ecosystem of a severely metal-polluted soil responds to renewed plant growth, a pot experiment was conducted with soil from an experimental arable field with pH and copper gradients imposed 13 years ago. In this experimentfour pH/copper combinations from this field were

  11. Biomass production of 12 winter cereal cover crop cultivars and their effect on subsequent no-till corn yield

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cover crops can improve the sustainability and resilience of corn and soybean production systems. However, there have been isolated reports of corn yield reductions following winter rye cover crops. Although there are many possible causes of corn yield reductions following winter cereal cover crops,...

  12. Improving crop nutrient efficiency through root architecture modifications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xinxin; Zeng, Rensen; Liao, Hong

    2016-03-01

    Improving crop nutrient efficiency becomes an essential consideration for environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture. Plant growth and development is dependent on 17 essential nutrient elements, among them, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are the two most important mineral nutrients. Hence it is not surprising that low N and/or low P availability in soils severely constrains crop growth and productivity, and thereby have become high priority targets for improving nutrient efficiency in crops. Root exploration largely determines the ability of plants to acquire mineral nutrients from soils. Therefore, root architecture, the 3-dimensional configuration of the plant's root system in the soil, is of great importance for improving crop nutrient efficiency. Furthermore, the symbiotic associations between host plants and arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi/rhizobial bacteria, are additional important strategies to enhance nutrient acquisition. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the current understanding of crop species control of root architecture alterations in response to nutrient availability and root/microbe symbioses, through gene or QTL regulation, which results in enhanced nutrient acquisition. © 2015 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  13. Climate protection and energy crops. Potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction through crop rotation and crop planning; Klimaschutz und Energiepflanzenanbau. Potenziale zur Treibhausgasemissionsminderung durch Fruchtfolge- und Anbauplanung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eckner, Jens [Thueringer Landesanstalt fuer Landwirtschaft (Germany); Peter, Christiane; Vetter, Armin

    2015-07-01

    The EVA project compares nationwide energy crops and crop rotations on site-specific productivity. In addition to agronomic suitability for cultivation economic and environmental benefits and consequences are analyzed and evaluated. As part of sustainability assessment of the tested cultivation options LCAs are established. The model MiLA developed in the project uses empirical test data and site parameters to prepare the inventory balances. At selected locations different cultivation and fertilization regimes are examined comparatively. In the comparison of individual crops and crop rotation combinations cultivation of W.Triticale-GPS at the cereals favor location Dornburg causes the lowest productrelated GHG-emissions. Due to the efficient implementation of nitrogen and the substrate properties of maize is the cultivation despite high area-related emissions and N-expenses at a low level of emissions. Because of the intensity the two culture systems offer lower emissions savings potentials with high area efficiency. Extensification with perennial alfalfagrass at low nitrogen effort and adequate yield performance show low product-related emissions. Closing the nutrient cycles through a recirculation of digestates instead of using mineral fertilization has a climate-friendly effect. Adapted intensifies of processing or reduced tillage decrease diesel consumption and their related emissions.

  14. Role of varieties in sustainable rice production in Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Othman Omar; Saad Abdullah

    2002-01-01

    Rice is the staple food of Malaysians. Rice production in Malaysia is concentrated in granary areas, which are provided with irrigation facilities. There is no plan to increase the size or the number of these granary areas, thus productivity per unit area must be increased to sustain the current level of self-sufficiency. Variety determines the potential productivity; environment and crop management determine how much of this potential is realized. Crop management is very important, as any drop in the level of management will effect productivity. However there are characteristics / factors that can be incorporated into varieties which can buffer the effect of environment and crop management. Pests and diseases can result in severe yield loss and lead to non-sustainable production. Varietal resistance to some of these diseases can be incorporated into rice varieties. Active breeding to incorporate rice resistance to blast, PMV (tungro), bacterial blight and brown planthopper is being currently carried out Factors that determine or justify the active breeding status are: importance of Oe pests diseases, resistance sources and the availability of efficient screening procedure. Sheath blight is also an important disease in direct seeded crops as it can cause severe yield loss, but good resistant sources are not available for incorporation and the screening procedure is also not very efficient. Biotechnologists are working hard to introduce resistance from other crops and also develop other resistance mechanisms for sheath blight. Water, shortage or excess, is a major cause of non-sustainable production. The breeding of short-term varieties can overcome water problems or shortages. Negative interaction between varietal characteristics and environment do occur. Finally farmers have to decide which factors of the environment cannot be easily controlled, and choose the correct varieties in order to achieve sustainable production. (Author)

  15. Investigation of ethanol productivity of cassava crop as a sustainable ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The ethanol productivity of cassava crop was investigated in a laboratory experiment by correlating volumes and masses of ethanol produced to the masses of samples used. Cassava tubers (variety TMS 30555) were peeled, cut and washed. 5, 15, 25 and 35 kg samples of the tubers were weighed in three replicates, ...

  16. Enhancing Soil Productivity Using a Multi-Crop Rotation and Beef Cattle Grazing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Şentürklü, Songül; Landblom, Douglas; Cihacek, Larry; Brevik, Eric

    2016-04-01

    Agricultural production systems that include complimentary plant, soil and animal interaction contribute to sustainability. In sustainable livestock systems integrated with crop production, the soil resource is impacted positively. The goal of this research was to maximize beef cattle and crop economic yield, while improving the soil resource by increasing soil organic matter (SOM) and subsequently seasonal soil nitrogen fertility over a 5-year period (2011-2015). Each experimental crop field used in the study was 1.74 ha. Small-seeded crops were planted using a JD 1590 No-Till drill. Corn (C) and sunflowers (SF) were planted using a JD 7000 No-Till planter. The cropping sequence used in the study was SF, hard red spring wheat (HRSW), fall seeded winter triticale-hairy vetch (T-HV), spring harvested for hay/mid-June seeded 7-species cover crop (CC; SF, Everleaf Oat, Flex Winter Pea, HV, Winfred Forage Rape, Ethiopian Cabbage, Hunter Leaf Turnip), C (85-day var.), and field pea-barley intercrop (PBY). The HRSW and SF were harvested as cash crops and the PBY, C, and CC were harvested by grazing cattle. In the system, yearling beef steers grazed PBY and unharvested C before feedlot entry, and after weaning, gestating cows grazed CC. Seasonal soil nitrogen fertility was measured at 0-15, 15-30, and 30-61 cm depths approximately every two weeks from June to October, 2014. The regression illustrating the relationship between SOM and average seasonal available mineral nitrogen shows that for each percentage increase in SOM there is a corresponding N increase of 1.47 kg/ha. Nitrogen fertilizer applications for the 5-year period of the study were variable; however, the overall trend was for reduced fertilizer requirement as SOM increased. At the same time, grain, oilseed, and annual forage crop yields increased year over year (2011-2015) except for the 2014 crop year, when above average precipitation delayed seeding and early frost killed the C and SF crops prematurely

  17. Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, Alexandra-Maria; Vaissière, Bernard E; Cane, James H; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Cunningham, Saul A; Kremen, Claire; Tscharntke, Teja

    2007-02-07

    The extent of our reliance on animal pollination for world crop production for human food has not previously been evaluated and the previous estimates for countries or continents have seldom used primary data. In this review, we expand the previous estimates using novel primary data from 200 countries and found that fruit, vegetable or seed production from 87 of the leading global food crops is dependent upon animal pollination, while 28 crops do not rely upon animal pollination. However, global production volumes give a contrasting perspective, since 60% of global production comes from crops that do not depend on animal pollination, 35% from crops that depend on pollinators, and 5% are unevaluated. Using all crops traded on the world market and setting aside crops that are solely passively self-pollinated, wind-pollinated or parthenocarpic, we then evaluated the level of dependence on animal-mediated pollination for crops that are directly consumed by humans. We found that pollinators are essential for 13 crops, production is highly pollinator dependent for 30, moderately for 27, slightly for 21, unimportant for 7, and is of unknown significance for the remaining 9. We further evaluated whether local and landscape-wide management for natural pollination services could help to sustain crop diversity and production. Case studies for nine crops on four continents revealed that agricultural intensification jeopardizes wild bee communities and their stabilizing effect on pollination services at the landscape scale.

  18. Variation of Bacterial Community Diversity in Rhizosphere Soil of Sole-Cropped versus Intercropped Wheat Field after Harvest

    OpenAIRE

    Yang, Zhenping; Yang, Wenping; Li, Shengcai; Hao, Jiaomin; Su, Zhifeng; Sun, Min; Gao, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Chunlai

    2016-01-01

    As the major crops in north China, spring crops are usually planted from April through May every spring and harvested in fall. Wheat is also a very common crop traditionally planted in fall or spring and harvested in summer year by year. This continuous cropping system exhibited the disadvantages of reducing the fertility of soil through decreasing microbial diversity. Thus, management of microbial diversity in the rhizosphere plays a vital role in sustainable crop production. In this study, ...

  19. Heavy Metals Technogenic Pollution of Plough Lands Arable Layer in the Chelyabinsk Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mantorova, G. F.

    2017-11-01

    Environmental protection and rational use of natural resources in agriculture are the main directions of this scientific research. Contamination is caused by the substances of chemical, radiation and biological origin above the maximum permissible concentration (MPC). The main source of soil contamination in the arable land, hayfields and pastures is the waste of livestock complexes, agricultural chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides), motor vehicle exhausts, industrial emissions, sewage from settlements, etc. The ecological state of the soil and vegetation cover is largely determined by agricultural activities. The agricultural production technology complicating is accompanied by increase in the degree of environmental risk, especially in the chemicalization of agriculture. Pollution also enters the soil with atmospheric precipitation, surface waste. They are also introduced into the soil layer by soil and groundwater. The most dangerous for human health is considered to be contamination with heavy metals (HM)-lead, mercury and cadmium. However, the concentration of the rest elements is no less harmful. The paradox of heavy metals is that in certain quantities they are necessary to ensure the normal life of plants and organisms but their excess can lead to serious diseases and even death. A nutritional cycle causes harmful compounds to enter the human body and often cause great harm to health. The present work reveals the results of the research of a long-term experience on accumulation and distribution of heavy metals on the arable layer profile depending on the concentration in humus soil and the system of ground processing.

  20. Environmental effects of growing short-rotation woody crops on former agricultural lands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tolbert, V.R.; Thornton, F.C.; Joslin, J.D.

    1997-01-01

    Field-scale studies in the Southeast have been addressing the environmental effects of converting agricultural lands to biomass crop production since 1994. Erosion, surface water quality and quantity and subsurface movement of water and nutrients from woody crops, switchgrass and agricultural crops are being compared. Nutrient cycling, soil physical changes, and crop productivity are also being monitored at the three sites. Maximum sediment losses occurred in the spring and fall. Losses were greater from sweetgum planted without a cover crop than with a cover crop. Nutrient losses of N and P in runoff and subsurface water occurred primarily after spring fertilizer application. These field plot studies are serving as the basis for a water shed study initiated in 1997. Results from the two studies will be used to develop and model nutrient and hydrologic budgets for woody crop plantings to identify potential constraints to sustainable deployment of short-rotation woody crops in the southeastern United States. (author)

  1. one of the keys to attaining and sustaining higher crop yields

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Interim fertiliser recommendations for different crops at selected locations in Uganda. ... However, these recommendations (Table 5) need updating to reflect the decline in soil fertility ... and have longer residual effects in soil compared to high.

  2. Synthetic biology assemblies for sustainable space exploration

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The work utilized synthetic biology to create sustainable food production processes by developing technology to efficiently convert inedible crop waste to...

  3. Evaluation of the Fertility Status and Suitability of some Soils for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Evaluation of the Fertility Status and Suitability of some Soils for Arable Cropping In the ... Nigerian Journal of Soil Science ... cropping in the newly established Teaching and Research Farm of the Federal University of Technology, Minna.

  4. Reducing soil erosion and nutrient loss on sloping land under crop-mulberry management system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Fangling; Xie, Deti; Wei, Chaofu; Ni, Jiupai; Yang, John; Tang, Zhenya; Zhou, Chuan

    2015-09-01

    Sloping croplands could result in soil erosion, which leads to non-point source pollution of the aquatic system in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region. Mulberry, a commonly grown cash plant in the region, is traditionally planted in contour hedgerows as an effective management practice to control soil erosion and non-point source pollution. In this field study, surface runoff and soil N and P loss on sloping land under crop-mulberry management were investigated. The experiments consisted of six crop-mulberry treatments: Control (no mulberry hedgerow with mustard-corn rotation); T1 (two-row contour mulberry with mustard-corn rotation); T2 (three-row contour mulberry with mustard-corn rotation); T3 (border mulberry and one-row contour mulberry with mustard-corn rotation); T4 (border mulberry with mustard-corn rotation); T5 (two-row longitudinal mulberry with mustard). The results indicated that crop-mulberry systems could effectively reduce surface runoff and soil and nutrient loss from arable slope land. Surface runoff from T1 (342.13 m(3) hm(-2)), T2 (260.6 m(3) hm(-2)), T3 (113.13 m(3) hm(-2)), T4 (114 m(3) hm(-2)), and T5 (129 m(3) hm(-2)) was reduced by 15.4, 35.6, 72.0, 71.8, and 68.1%, respectively, while soil loss from T1 (0.21 t hm(-2)), T2 (0.13 t hm(-2)), T3 (0.08 t hm(-2)), T4 (0.11 t hm(-2)), and T5 (0.12 t hm(-2)) was reduced by 52.3, 70.5, 81.8, 75.0, and 72.7%, respectively, as compared with the control. Crop-mulberry ecosystem would also elevate soil N by 22.3% and soil P by 57.4%, and soil nutrient status was contour-line dependent.

  5. Achieving sustainable cultivation of potatoes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Every phase of the production cycle impacts the sustainability of potato. Potato physiology determines how genetically encoded developmental attributes interact with local environmental conditions as modified through agricultural practice to produce a perishable crop. In this chapter we highlight ho...

  6. Water balance in afforestation chronosequences of common oak and Norway spruce on former arable land in Denmark and southern Sweden

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rosenqvist, L.; Hansen, K.; Vesterdal, L.; Salm, van der C.

    2010-01-01

    Precipitation, throughfall and soil moisture were measured, and interception, transpiration and water recharge were estimated in four afforestation chronosequences on former arable land at two Danish locations (Vestskoven and Gejlvang) and at one southern Swedish location (Tonnersjoheden).

  7. Undergraduate Sustainable Learning: Effects of Sustainable Soilless Media on Production and Sensory Evaluation of Cucumbers, Basil, Parsley, and Lettuce

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victoria Russell

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Modern greenhouse production has been ~100% reliant on fossil fuels for all inputs (glazing, heating, fertilization, lighting, post-harvest. Recent innovations may reduce fossil fuel dependence but their effectiveness may not be thoroughly tested. To promote education in sustainable production, undergraduate students in Greenhouse Management class (Hort 3002W; University of Minnesota tested the effectiveness of two organic or ‘sustainable’ soilless media (Sunshine Natural and Organic Growing Mix, Sungro Metro-Mix Special Blend with a control (Sunshine LC8 Professional for crop production (height, leaf/flower number, yield and sensory evaluations (appearance, texture, taste, purchase of cucumbers (‘Big Burpless Hybrid’, ‘Sweet Burpless Hybrid’, basil (‘Opal Purple’, ‘Redleaf’, parsley (‘Green River’, ‘Extra Curled Dwarf’, ‘Hamburg’, and lettuce (Flying Saucer ‘Green’, ‘Red’. Significant differences between sustainable vs. control soils occurred for plant growth, depending on vegetative or reproductive traits, crops, and cultivars. These differences occasionally disappeared for sensory evaluation of edible components. In most crops, however, cultivars were highly significant factors. Undergraduate research can be used to provide directionality for future vegetable and herb plant breeding to focus on creating cultivars with increased yield and high consumer acceptance when grown in sustainable greenhouse soilless mixes.

  8. The Potential Role of Neglected and Underutilised Crop Species as Future Crops under Water Scarce Conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chivenge, Pauline; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe; Modi, Albert T.; Mafongoya, Paramu

    2015-01-01

    Modern agricultural systems that promote cultivation of a very limited number of crop species have relegated indigenous crops to the status of neglected and underutilised crop species (NUCS). The complex interactions of water scarcity associated with climate change and variability in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and population pressure require innovative strategies to address food insecurity and undernourishment. Current research efforts have identified NUCS as having potential to reduce food and nutrition insecurity, particularly for resource poor households in SSA. This is because of their adaptability to low input agricultural systems and nutritional composition. However, what is required to promote NUCS is scientific research including agronomy, breeding, post-harvest handling and value addition, and linking farmers to markets. Among the essential knowledge base is reliable information about water utilisation by NUCS with potential for commercialisation. This commentary identifies and characterises NUCS with agronomic potential in SSA, especially in the semi-arid areas taking into consideration inter alia: (i) what can grow under water-scarce conditions, (ii) water requirements, and (iii) water productivity. Several representative leafy vegetables, tuber crops, cereal crops and grain legumes were identified as fitting the NUCS category. Agro-biodiversity remains essential for sustainable agriculture. PMID:26016431

  9. The Potential Role of Neglected and Underutilised Crop Species as Future Crops under Water Scarce Conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pauline Chivenge

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Modern agricultural systems that promote cultivation of a very limited number of crop species have relegated indigenous crops to the status of neglected and underutilised crop species (NUCS. The complex interactions of water scarcity associated with climate change and variability in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA, and population pressure require innovative strategies to address food insecurity and undernourishment. Current research efforts have identified NUCS as having potential to reduce food and nutrition insecurity, particularly for resource poor households in SSA. This is because of their adaptability to low input agricultural systems and nutritional composition. However, what is required to promote NUCS is scientific research including agronomy, breeding, post-harvest handling and value addition, and linking farmers to markets. Among the essential knowledge base is reliable information about water utilisation by NUCS with potential for commercialisation. This commentary identifies and characterises NUCS with agronomic potential in SSA, especially in the semi-arid areas taking into consideration inter alia: (i what can grow under water-scarce conditions, (ii water requirements, and (iii water productivity. Several representative leafy vegetables, tuber crops, cereal crops and grain legumes were identified as fitting the NUCS category. Agro-biodiversity remains essential for sustainable agriculture.

  10. Response of rhizosphere microbial community structure and diversity to heavy metal co-pollution in arable soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Linjing; Zeng, Guangming; Fan, Changzheng; Lu, Lunhui; Chen, Xunfeng; Chen, Ming; Wu, Haipeng; He, Xiaoxiao; He, Yan

    2015-10-01

    Due to the emerging environmental issues related to heavy metals, concern about the soil quality of farming lands near manufacturing district is increasing. Investigating the function of soil microorganisms exposed to long-term heavy metal contamination is meaningful and important for agricultural soil utilization. This article studied the potential influence of several heavy metals on microbial biomass, activity, abundance, and community composition in arable soil near industrial estate in Zhuzhou, Hunan province, China. The results showed that soil organic contents (SOC) were significantly positive correlated with heavy metals, whereas dehydrogenase activity (DHA) was greatly depressed by the heavy metal stress. Negative correlation was found between heavy metals and basal soil respiration (BSR), and no correlation was found between heavy metals and microbial biomass content (MBC). The quantitative PCR (QPCR) and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis could suggest that heavy metal pollution has significantly decreased abundance of bacteria and fungi and also changed their community structure. The results could contribute to evaluate heavy metal pollution level in soil. By combining different environmental parameters, it would promote the better understanding of heavy metal effect on the size, structure, and activity of microbial community in arable soil.

  11. Investigating the Sustainability of Perennial Agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutherlin, C. E.; Brunsell, N. A.; De Oliveira, G.; Crews, T.; Vico, G.

    2017-12-01

    The changing climate leads to uncertainties concerning the sustainability of certain agricultural resources, and with the additional stresses of an increasing global population, uncertainty in food security will greatly increase. To adhere to future food demands in the face of this changing climate, perennial agriculture has been a proposed solution. However, it is equally important to assure that perennial agriculture is not negatively affecting the climate in exchange for this proposed more robust food source. We chose to examine the interactions between perennial and annual agricultural crops by focusing on the efficiency of exchanges with the atmosphere. This is done using the omega decoupling factor for 4 different sites as a way of quantifying the contributions of radiation and stomatal conductance over the resulting water and carbon cycles. This gives us an indication of how the plant canopy is interacting with, and influencing the local microclimate. Ultimately, this should give us an indication of the ability of perennial crops to aid in the climate mitigation process. We hypothesized that the perennial site chosen would have omega values more similar to the omega values of a natural grassland rather than an annual crop site. Using AmeriFlux towers to determine the canopy values needed to calculate the omega decoupling factor, we focused on the Kernza perennial crops being grown at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas (KLS), in comparison to a natural grassland in Manhattan, Kansas (KON), a typical land cover model in Lawrence, Kansas (KFS), and an annual crop site in Lamont, Oklahoma (ARM). These results will allow us to move forward in the investigation of perennial crops as a sustainable food source.

  12. Crop Resources Ethic in Plant Genetic Engineering and Fortune Transfer Between Generations

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    WANG Xiaowei; DING Guangzhou; LIANG Xueqing

    2006-01-01

    The relation between human and crop resources belongs to the ethic of resources exploitation. The purposes of discussing the ethic of crop resources are to protect the ecology and safety of crops, to gain sustainable development, furthermore, to choose and form the production structure that is favorable to saving crop resources and protecting the ecology of crops. Plant genetic engineering is the technology of molecule breeding of rearrangement of inheritance materials at the level of molecule directionally, of improving plant properties and of breeding high quality and yield varieties of crops. The prominent effects of the technology on the crop ecological system are human subjective factors increasing as well as violating the nature and intensifying the conflict between human being and nature.Therefore, in plant genetic engineering, crop resources exploitation should follow certain ethic principles. Under the theory of ethics of natural resources, by the means of biologioal statistics, the author systematically analyzed the possible model of crop resources transfer between generations as well as the transfer mode of magnitude of real materials and magnitude of value.

  13. Cultivation Of Microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris For Biodiesel Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blinová Lenka

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Production of biofuel from renewable sources is considered to be one of the most sustainable alternatives to petroleum sourced fuels. Biofuels are also viable means of environmental and economic sustainability. Biofuels are divided into four generations, depending on the type of biomass used for biofuels production. At present, microalgae are presented as an ideal third generation biofuel feedstock because of their rapid growth rate. They also do not compete with food or feed crops, and can be produced on non-arable land. Cultivation conditions (temperature, pH, light, nutrient quantity and quality, salinity, aerating are the major factors that influence photosynthesis activity and behaviour of the microalgae growth rate. In this paper, we present an overview about the effect of cultivation conditions on microalgae growth.

  14. Assessing uncertainties in crop and pasture ensemble model simulations of productivity and N2 O emissions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehrhardt, Fiona; Soussana, Jean-François; Bellocchi, Gianni; Grace, Peter; McAuliffe, Russel; Recous, Sylvie; Sándor, Renáta; Smith, Pete; Snow, Val; de Antoni Migliorati, Massimiliano; Basso, Bruno; Bhatia, Arti; Brilli, Lorenzo; Doltra, Jordi; Dorich, Christopher D; Doro, Luca; Fitton, Nuala; Giacomini, Sandro J; Grant, Brian; Harrison, Matthew T; Jones, Stephanie K; Kirschbaum, Miko U F; Klumpp, Katja; Laville, Patricia; Léonard, Joël; Liebig, Mark; Lieffering, Mark; Martin, Raphaël; Massad, Raia S; Meier, Elizabeth; Merbold, Lutz; Moore, Andrew D; Myrgiotis, Vasileios; Newton, Paul; Pattey, Elizabeth; Rolinski, Susanne; Sharp, Joanna; Smith, Ward N; Wu, Lianhai; Zhang, Qing

    2018-02-01

    Simulation models are extensively used to predict agricultural productivity and greenhouse gas emissions. However, the uncertainties of (reduced) model ensemble simulations have not been assessed systematically for variables affecting food security and climate change mitigation, within multi-species agricultural contexts. We report an international model comparison and benchmarking exercise, showing the potential of multi-model ensembles to predict productivity and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions for wheat, maize, rice and temperate grasslands. Using a multi-stage modelling protocol, from blind simulations (stage 1) to partial (stages 2-4) and full calibration (stage 5), 24 process-based biogeochemical models were assessed individually or as an ensemble against long-term experimental data from four temperate grassland and five arable crop rotation sites spanning four continents. Comparisons were performed by reference to the experimental uncertainties of observed yields and N 2 O emissions. Results showed that across sites and crop/grassland types, 23%-40% of the uncalibrated individual models were within two standard deviations (SD) of observed yields, while 42 (rice) to 96% (grasslands) of the models were within 1 SD of observed N 2 O emissions. At stage 1, ensembles formed by the three lowest prediction model errors predicted both yields and N 2 O emissions within experimental uncertainties for 44% and 33% of the crop and grassland growth cycles, respectively. Partial model calibration (stages 2-4) markedly reduced prediction errors of the full model ensemble E-median for crop grain yields (from 36% at stage 1 down to 4% on average) and grassland productivity (from 44% to 27%) and to a lesser and more variable extent for N 2 O emissions. Yield-scaled N 2 O emissions (N 2 O emissions divided by crop yields) were ranked accurately by three-model ensembles across crop species and field sites. The potential of using process-based model ensembles to predict jointly

  15. Crops in silico: Generating virtual crops using an integrative and multi-scale modeling platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    There are currently 795 million hungry people in the world and 98 percent of them are in developing countries. Food demand is expected to increase by 70% by 2050. With a reduction in arable land, decreases in water availability, and an increasing impact of climate change, innovative technologies are...

  16. Impact of crop residue management on crop production and soil chemistry after seven years of crop rotation in temperate climate, loamy soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiel, Marie-Pierre; Barbieux, Sophie; Pierreux, Jérôme; Olivier, Claire; Lobet, Guillaume; Roisin, Christian; Garré, Sarah; Colinet, Gilles; Bodson, Bernard; Dumont, Benjamin

    2018-01-01

    Society is increasingly demanding a more sustainable management of agro-ecosystems in a context of climate change and an ever growing global population. The fate of crop residues is one of the important management aspects under debate, since it represents an unneglectable quantity of organic matter which can be kept in or removed from the agro-ecosystem. The topic of residue management is not new, but the need for global conclusion on the impact of crop residue management on the agro-ecosystem linked to local pedo-climatic conditions has become apparent with an increasing amount of studies showing a diversity of conclusions. This study specifically focusses on temperate climate and loamy soil using a seven-year data set. Between 2008 and 2016, we compared four contrasting residue management strategies differing in the amount of crop residues returned to the soil (incorporation vs. exportation of residues) and in the type of tillage (reduced tillage (10 cm depth) vs. conventional tillage (ploughing at 25 cm depth)) in a field experiment. We assessed the impact of the crop residue management on crop production (three crops-winter wheat, faba bean and maize-cultivated over six cropping seasons), soil organic carbon content, nitrate ([Formula: see text]), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) soil content and uptake by the crops. The main differences came primarily from the tillage practice and less from the restitution or removal of residues. All years and crops combined, conventional tillage resulted in a yield advantage of 3.4% as compared to reduced tillage, which can be partly explained by a lower germination rate observed under reduced tillage, especially during drier years. On average, only small differences were observed for total organic carbon (TOC) content of the soil, but reduced tillage resulted in a very clear stratification of TOC and also of P and K content as compared to conventional tillage. We observed no effect of residue management on the [Formula: see

  17. Start with the seed: Native crops, indigenous knowledge, and community seed systems prerequisites for food sovereignty

    Science.gov (United States)

    The dynamic conservation and sustainable utilization of native crop genetic resources are crucial for food sovereignty of Native American communities. Indigenous knowledge of crop diversity when linked to food traditions, local practices and social norms provide the basis for building sovereign comm...

  18. On the Water-Food Nexus: an Optimization Approach for Water and Food Security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mortada, Sarah; Abou Najm, Majdi; Yassine, Ali; Alameddine, Ibrahim; El-Fadel, Mutasem

    2016-04-01

    Water and food security is facing increased challenges with population increase, climate and land use change, as well as resource depletion coupled with pollution and unsustainable practices. Coordinated and effective management of limited natural resources have become an imperative to meet these challenges by optimizing the usage of resources under various constraints. In this study, an optimization model is developed for optimal resource allocation towards sustainable water and food security under nutritional, socio-economic, agricultural, environmental, and natural resources constraints. The core objective of this model is to maximize the composite water-food security status by recommending an optimal water and agricultural strategy. The model balances between the healthy nutritional demand side and the constrained supply side while considering the supply chain in between. It equally ensures that the population achieves recommended nutritional guidelines and population food-preferences by quantifying an optimum agricultural and water policy through transforming optimum food demands into optimum cropping policy given the water and land footprints of each crop or agricultural product. Through this process, water and food security are optimized considering factors that include crop-food transformation (food processing), water footprints, crop yields, climate, blue and green water resources, irrigation efficiency, arable land resources, soil texture, and economic policies. The model performance regarding agricultural practices and sustainable food and water security was successfully tested and verified both at a hypothetical and pilot scale levels.

  19. Mechanisms of adaptation of small grains to soil acidity

    OpenAIRE

    Đalović Ivica G.; Maksimović Ivana V.; Kastori Rudolf R.; Jelić Miodrag Ž.

    2010-01-01

    Acid soils limit crop production on 30-40% of the world's arable land and up to 70% of the world's potentially arable land. Over 60% of the total arable lands in Serbia are acid soils. Soil acidity is determined by hydrogen (H+) in soil solution and it is influenced by edaphic, climatic, and biological factors. Major constraints for plant growth on acid mineral soils are toxic concentrations of mineral elements like Al of H+ and/or low mineral nutrient availability due to low solubility (e.g....

  20. Inverse Problems and Data Fusion for crop production applications targeting optimal growth - Fertilization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kaur, Bipjeet; Owusu, Robert K. A.

    2015-01-01

    of the crop growth process based on information on soil quality, field seeding, spraying/fertilization and environmental information in general. Finally, references to software tools, which could form the basis for an open source platform for a planning and monitoring system for optimal crop growth......, such that the crop yield is optimized with respect to several parameters (e.g. high end user value and minimum environmental impact), thus obtaining a sustainable production. The growth process optimization is based on information, including sensor based measurements with sensor quality monitoring, from previous......This work in progress is a contribution to crop growth systems for planning and monitoring of farm activities and practices by farmers. The work outlines the initial findings related to modelling, simulation and visualization techniques for crop growth, specifically targeting the barley crop...