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von Jeetze PJ, Weindl I, Johnson JA, Borrelli P, Panagos P, Molina Bacca EJ, Karstens K, Humpenöder F, Dietrich JP, Minoli S, Müller C, Lotze-Campen H, Popp A. Projected landscape-scale repercussions of global action for climate and biodiversity protection. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2515. [PMID: 37193693 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38043-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Land conservation and increased carbon uptake on land are fundamental to achieving the ambitious targets of the climate and biodiversity conventions. Yet, it remains largely unknown how such ambitions, along with an increasing demand for agricultural products, could drive landscape-scale changes and affect other key regulating nature's contributions to people (NCP) that sustain land productivity outside conservation priority areas. By using an integrated, globally consistent modelling approach, we show that ambitious carbon-focused land restoration action and the enlargement of protected areas alone may be insufficient to reverse negative trends in landscape heterogeneity, pollination supply, and soil loss. However, we also find that these actions could be combined with dedicated interventions that support critical NCP and biodiversity conservation outside of protected areas. In particular, our models indicate that conserving at least 20% semi-natural habitat within farmed landscapes could primarily be achieved by spatially relocating cropland outside conservation priority areas, without additional carbon losses from land-use change, primary land conversion or reductions in agricultural productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick José von Jeetze
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, PO Box 601203, 14412, Potsdam, Germany.
- Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Isabelle Weindl
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, PO Box 601203, 14412, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Justin Andrew Johnson
- Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, 1940 Buford Ave, Saint Paul, MN, 55105, USA
| | - Pasquale Borrelli
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Environmental Geosciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Panos Panagos
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra (VA), IT-21027, Italy
| | - Edna J Molina Bacca
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, PO Box 601203, 14412, Potsdam, Germany
- Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kristine Karstens
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, PO Box 601203, 14412, Potsdam, Germany
- Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Florian Humpenöder
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, PO Box 601203, 14412, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Jan Philipp Dietrich
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, PO Box 601203, 14412, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Sara Minoli
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, PO Box 601203, 14412, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Christoph Müller
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, PO Box 601203, 14412, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Hermann Lotze-Campen
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, PO Box 601203, 14412, Potsdam, Germany
- Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Alexander Popp
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, PO Box 601203, 14412, Potsdam, Germany
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Gunton RM. What is enlightened agriculture? A multi-normative approach to the nature and values of food production systems. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2023.979818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The sustainable development of farming is an agenda with strong normative undertones, yet beyond the call to combine enhanced agricultural output with better environmental outcomes, this normativity is rarely unpacked or analysed with respect to different worldviews and value systems. The normative practices approach is a values-explicit framework for analysing the normativity of social practices; here it is applied to agriculture to provide a critique of sustainability. This helps to clarify the nature of farming and the breadth of sometimes incommensurable visions for its sustainable intensification. It also leads to a values-explicit concept of “enlightened agriculture”, defined as models for agricultural systems that explicitly realise aesthetic, jural and moral benefits, possibly at some cost to economic productivity. While any implementation of this qualitative definition will be worldview-dependent, it appears that land-sparing approaches and the promotion of biodiversity per se are unlikely to qualify as enlightened farming, but farming with concern for the wellbeing of humans and non-humans probably does. The recognition that normative worldviews direct social practices implies that there will be profound diversity among visions of good farming, which technical and political proposals ought to account for. In the face of accelerating global change, this diversity may provide both resilience and fertile grounds for new context-sensitive and community-led initiatives.
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Giger M, Musselli I. Could global norms enable definition of sustainable farming systems in a transformative international trade system? DISCOVER SUSTAINABILITY 2023; 4:18. [PMID: 37008991 PMCID: PMC10042758 DOI: 10.1007/s43621-023-00130-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
This paper aims to support differentiation between sustainable and unsustainable agricultural production, with a view to enabling a transformative agricultural trade system by incentivizing sustainable agricultural production. We argue that transformative governance of corresponding global trade flows will need to provide support to the weaker participants in production systems, above all small-scale farmers in the global South, in order to support their food security and a path out of poverty as well as global environmental goals. The present article seeks to provide an overview of internationally agreed norms that can serve as basis for differentiation between sustainable and unsustainable agricultural systems. Such common objectives and benchmarks could then be used in multilateral and binational trade agreements. We propose a list of objectives, criteria, and benchmarks that could contribute to formulation of new trade agreements that strengthen producers who are currently marginalized in international trade flows. While acknowledging that sustainability cannot be easily measured and defined for all site-specific conditions, we posit that it is nevertheless possible to identify such common objectives and benchmarks, based on internationally agreed norms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Giger
- Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Irene Musselli
- Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Torres B, Espinoza Í, Torres A, Herrera-Feijoo R, Luna M, García A. Livelihood Capitals and Opportunity Cost for Grazing Areas' Restoration: A Sustainable Intensification Strategy in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13040714. [PMID: 36830503 PMCID: PMC9952715 DOI: 10.3390/ani13040714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Land use change in pastures is considered one of the leading drivers of tropical deforestation in the Ecuadorian Amazon Region (EAR). To halt and reverse this process, it is necessary to understand, among other factors, the local livelihoods, income from grazing area and the appropriate options to foster sustainable production, incorporating the land-sparing and land-sharing approach. This work was conducted using 167 household surveys along an altitudinal gradient within the buffer and transition zone of the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve (SBR) in the EAR. The results of a comparative analysis of the main capital variables (human, social, natural, financial, and physical), and the opportunity cost of grazing area assessment provides the following key findings: (a) the concepts of land sparing and land sharing should be considered as complementary local strategies, including household livelihoods and the opportunity cost of the grazing area; (b) we should encourage markets with differentiated restoration rights, based on households engaged in low grazing areas' opportunity costs, and making less impact on capitals' livelihood a key element of economic and conservation initiatives; and (c) sectoral policy implications, including moderate intensification and technological improvements to strengthen the pastureland-sparing and -sharing approach, are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bolier Torres
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Amazon State University (UEA), Pastaza 160101, Ecuador
- Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Cordoba, 14071 Cordoba, Spain
- Postgraduate Unit, State Technical University of Quevedo (UTEQ), Quevedo Av. Quito km, 1 1/2 Vía a Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Quevedo 120550, Ecuador
| | - Ítalo Espinoza
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, State Technical University of Quevedo (UTEQ), Quevedo Av. Quito km, 1 1/2 Vía a Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Quevedo 120550, Ecuador
| | - Alexandra Torres
- Postgraduate Unit, State Technical University of Quevedo (UTEQ), Quevedo Av. Quito km, 1 1/2 Vía a Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Quevedo 120550, Ecuador
- Faculty of Legal, Social and Education Sciences, Technical University of Babahoyo (UTB), Km 3 1/2 Vía a Valencia, Quevedo 120550, Ecuador
| | - Robinson Herrera-Feijoo
- Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, State Technical University of Quevedo (UTEQ), Quevedo Av. Quito km, 1 1/2 Vía a Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Quevedo 120550, Ecuador
| | - Marcelo Luna
- Faculty of Earth Sciences, Amazon State University (UEA), Pastaza 160101, Ecuador
| | - Antón García
- Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Cordoba, 14071 Cordoba, Spain
- Correspondence:
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Molotoks A, Green J, Ribiero V, Wang Y, West C. Assessing the value of biodiversity‐specific footprinting metrics linked to South American soy trade. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Amy Molotoks
- Department of Environment and Geography, Stockholm Environment Institute York University of York York UK
| | - Jonathan Green
- Department of Environment and Geography, Stockholm Environment Institute York University of York York UK
| | | | - Yunxia Wang
- Genetics and Conservation, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Chris West
- Department of Environment and Geography, Stockholm Environment Institute York University of York York UK
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Ausiku PA, Annandale JG, Steyn JM, Sanewe AJ. Crop Model Parameterisation of Three Important Pearl Millet Varieties for Improved Water Use and Yield Estimation. PLANTS 2022; 11:plants11060806. [PMID: 35336688 PMCID: PMC8951074 DOI: 10.3390/plants11060806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Pearl millet is an important crop for food security in Asia and Africa’s arid and semi-arid regions. It is widely grown as a staple cereal grain for human consumption and livestock fodder. Mechanistic crop growth and water balance models are useful to forecast crop production and water use. However, very few studies have been devoted to the development of the model parameters needed for such simulations for pearl millet. The objectives of the study were to determine crop-specific model parameters for each of three pearl millet varieties (landrace, hybrid, and improved), as well as to calibrate and validate the Soil Water Balance (SWB) model for predicting pearl millet production and water use based on weather data. The SWB was chosen because it is widely used in southern Africa; however, the developed parameters should benefit other models as well. The presented crop-specific parameter values were derived from field observations and literature. Varieties with different phenology, maturity dates and tillering habits were grown under well-watered and well-fertilised conditions for calibration purposes. The calibrated model was used to predict biomass production, grain yield and crop water use. The hybrid’s water use efficiency was higher than that of the landrace and improved variety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petrus A. Ausiku
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa; (J.G.A.); (J.M.S.); (A.J.S.)
- Department of Crop Production and Agriculture Technologies, University of Namibia, Private Bag 13301, Windhoek 9000, Namibia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +264-081-257-7907
| | - John G. Annandale
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa; (J.G.A.); (J.M.S.); (A.J.S.)
| | - Joachim Martin Steyn
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa; (J.G.A.); (J.M.S.); (A.J.S.)
| | - Andrew J. Sanewe
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa; (J.G.A.); (J.M.S.); (A.J.S.)
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Schneider JM, Zabel F, Schünemann F, Delzeit R, Mauser W. Global cropland could be almost halved: Assessment of land saving potentials under different strategies and implications for agricultural markets. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263063. [PMID: 35192630 PMCID: PMC8863228 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The pressure on land resources continuously increases not only with the rising demand for agricultural commodities, but also with the growing need for action on global challenges, such as biodiversity loss or climate change, where land plays a crucial role. Land saving as a strategy, where agricultural productivity is increased to allow a reduction of required cropland while sustaining production volumes and meeting demand, could address this trade-off. With our interdisciplinary model-based study, we globally assess regional potentials of land saving and analyze resulting effects on agricultural production, prices and trade. Thereby, different land saving strategies are investigated that (1) minimize required cropland (2) minimize spatial marginalization induced by land saving and (3) maximize the attainable profit. We find that current cropland requirements could be reduced between 37% and 48%, depending on the applied land saving strategy. The generally more efficient use of land would cause crop prices to fall in all regions, but also trigger an increase in global agricultural production of 2.8%. While largest land saving potentials occur in regions with high yield gaps, the impacts on prices and production are strongest in highly populated regions with already high pressure on land. Global crop prices and trade affect regional impacts of land saving on agricultural markets and can displace effects to spatially distant regions. Our results point out the importance of investigating the potentials and effects of land saving in the context of global markets within an integrative, global framework. The resulting land saving potentials can moreover reframe debates on global potentials for afforestation and carbon sequestration, as well as on how to reconcile agricultural production and biodiversity conservation and thus contribute to approaching central goals of the 21st century, addressed for example in the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement or the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia M. Schneider
- Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Florian Zabel
- Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Franziska Schünemann
- Department of Bioeconomy and Computational Science Lab, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Ruth Delzeit
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Kiel, Germany
| | - Wolfram Mauser
- Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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Burchfield EK, Schumacher BL, Spangler K, Rissing A. The State of US Farm Operator Livelihoods. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.795901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In nine of the last 10 years, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reported that the average funds generated on-farm for farm operators to meet living expenses and debt obligations have been negative. This paper pieces together disparate data to understand why farm operators in the most productive agricultural systems on the planet are systematically losing money. The data-driven narrative we present highlights some troubling trends in US farm operator livelihoods. Though US farms are more productive than ever before, rising input costs, volatile production values, and rising land rents have left farmers with unprecedented levels of farm debt, low on-farm incomes, and high reliance on federal programs. For many US farm operators, the indicators of a “good livelihood”—stability, security, equitable rewards for work—are largely absent. We conclude by proposing three axes of intervention that would help US agriculture better sustain all farmers' livelihoods, a crucial step toward improving overall agricultural sustainability: (1) increase the diversity of people, crops, and cropping systems, (2) improve equity in access to land, support, and capital, and (3) improve the quality, accessibility, and content of data to facilitate monitoring of multiple indicators of agricultural “success.”
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9
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Semenchuk P, Plutzar C, Kastner T, Matej S, Bidoglio G, Erb KH, Essl F, Haberl H, Wessely J, Krausmann F, Dullinger S. Relative effects of land conversion and land-use intensity on terrestrial vertebrate diversity. Nat Commun 2022; 13:615. [PMID: 35105884 PMCID: PMC8807604 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28245-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Land-use has transformed ecosystems over three quarters of the terrestrial surface, with massive repercussions on biodiversity. Land-use intensity is known to contribute to the effects of land-use on biodiversity, but the magnitude of this contribution remains uncertain. Here, we use a modified countryside species-area model to compute a global account of the impending biodiversity loss caused by current land-use patterns, explicitly addressing the role of land-use intensity based on two sets of intensity indicators. We find that land-use entails the loss of ~15% of terrestrial vertebrate species from the average 5 × 5 arcmin-landscape outside remaining wilderness areas and ~14% of their average native area-of-habitat, with a risk of global extinction for 556 individual species. Given the large fraction of global land currently used under low land-use intensity, we find its contribution to biodiversity loss to be substantial (~25%). While both sets of intensity indicators yield similar global average results, we find regional differences between them and discuss data gaps. Our results support calls for improved sustainable intensification strategies and demand-side actions to reduce trade-offs between food security and biodiversity conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Semenchuk
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Christoph Plutzar
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Schottenfeldgasse 29, 1070, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Kastner
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage 25, Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
| | - Sarah Matej
- Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Schottenfeldgasse 29, 1070, Vienna, Austria
| | - Giorgio Bidoglio
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage 25, Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
| | - Karl-Heinz Erb
- Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Schottenfeldgasse 29, 1070, Vienna, Austria
| | - Franz Essl
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Helmut Haberl
- Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Schottenfeldgasse 29, 1070, Vienna, Austria
| | - Johannes Wessely
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Fridolin Krausmann
- Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Schottenfeldgasse 29, 1070, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefan Dullinger
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030, Vienna, Austria
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10
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Balmford A. Concentrating vs. spreading our footprint: how to meet humanity's needs at least cost to nature. J Zool (1987) 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. Balmford
- Conservation Science Group Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
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11
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Rangeland Land-Sharing, Livestock Grazing’s Role in the Conservation of Imperiled Species. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13084466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Land sharing, conserving biodiversity on productive lands, is globally promoted. Much of the land highest in California’s biodiversity is used for livestock production, providing an opportunity to understand land sharing and species conservation. A review of United States Fish and Wildlife Service listing documents for 282 threatened and endangered species in California reveals a complex and varied relationship between grazing and conservation. According to these documents, 51% or 143 of the federally listed animal and plant species are found in habitats with grazing. While livestock grazing is a stated threat to 73% (104) of the species sharing habitat with livestock, 59% (85) of the species are said to be positively influenced, with considerable overlap between species both threatened and benefitting from grazing. Grazing is credited with benefiting flowering plants, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish, crustaceans, and bird species by managing the state’s novel vegetation and providing and maintaining habitat structure and ecosystem functions. Benefits are noted for species across all of California’s terrestrial habitats, except alpine, and for some aquatic habitats, including riparian, wetlands, and temporary pools. Managed grazing can combat anthropomorphic threats, such as invasive species and nitrogen deposition, supporting conservation-reliant species as part of land sharing.
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12
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Species Richness and Carbon Footprints of Vegetable Oils: Can High Yields Outweigh Palm Oil’s Environmental Impact? SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13041813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Palm oil has been widely criticised for its high environmental impacts, leading to calls to replace it with alternative vegetable oils in food and cosmetic products. However, substituting palm oil would be environmentally beneficial only if the environmental footprint per litre oil were lower than those of alternative vegetable oils. Whether this is the case is not obvious, given the high oil yields of oil palm of up to 10 times those of alternative crops. Here, we combine global agricultural and environmental datasets to show that, among the world’s seven major vegetable oil crops (oil palm, soybean, rapeseed, sunflower, groundnut, coconut, olive), oil palm has the lowest average species richness and carbon footprint associated with an annual production of one litre of vegetable oil. For each crop, these yield-adjusted footprints differ substantially between major producer countries, which we find to be largely the result of differences in crop management. Closing agricultural yield gaps of oil crops through improved management practices would significantly reduce the environmental footprints per oil yield. This would minimise the need for further land conversion to oil cropland and indeed could increase production to such an extent that a significant area of oil croplands could be ecologically restored.
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13
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Outlook from the soil perspective of urban expansion and food security. Heliyon 2021; 7:e05860. [PMID: 33490664 PMCID: PMC7809189 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of soil as support for built-up areas represents only one of its several functions. Farmlands at the fringe of conurbations have more chance of being converted into built-up areas due to the favourable topography and the accessibility to existing infrastructure, being in the vicinity of urban areas. We analysed the global land-take during the period 2000-2014. The data are based on a global dataset describing the spatial evolution of human settlements using the Global Human Settlement Layer, which was derived from Landsat images collected in 1975, 1990, 2000 and 2014. Although the global land-take represents roughly 0.1% of the global terrestrial Earth, it affects 1% of the naturally fertile soils, according to the proposed Soil Productivity Indexes (SPI), based upon the potential soil productivity, calculated on the basis of the Harmonized World Soil Database. We have found that, few large conurbations develop on potentially high productive soil, while scarcely productive soils sustain the expansion of several megalopolises. On a global scale and through the centuries, considered comparatively as individual overall age of settlements, a trend between the intrinsic quality of the soils and its use for settlement purposes as major competitor, was not observed.
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14
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Beyer RM, Manica A. Historical and projected future range sizes of the world's mammals, birds, and amphibians. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5633. [PMID: 33159054 PMCID: PMC7648644 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19455-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Species' vulnerability to extinction is strongly impacted by their geographical range size. Formulating effective conservation strategies therefore requires a better understanding of how the ranges of the world's species have changed in the past, and how they will change under alternative future scenarios. Here, we use reconstructions of global land use and biomes since 1700, and 16 possible climatic and socio-economic scenarios until the year 2100, to map the habitat ranges of 16,919 mammal, bird, and amphibian species through time. We estimate that species have lost an average of 18% of their natural habitat range sizes thus far, and may lose up to 23% by 2100. Our data reveal that range losses have been increasing disproportionately in relation to the area of destroyed habitat, driven by a long-term increase of land use in tropical biodiversity hotspots. The outcomes of different future climate and land use trajectories for global habitat ranges vary drastically, providing important quantitative evidence for conservation planners and policy makers of the costs and benefits of alternative pathways for the future of global biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Beyer
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.
| | - Andrea Manica
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
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15
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Hussain MI, Farooq M, Muscolo A, Rehman A. Crop diversification and saline water irrigation as potential strategies to save freshwater resources and reclamation of marginal soils-a review. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2020; 27:28695-28729. [PMID: 32462627 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09111-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Feeding 9 billion by 2050 is one of major challenges for researchers. Use of diversified crops, nonconventional water resources and rehabilitation of marginal lands are alternate options to produce more food to face climate change projections. Adaptation to climate change through climate smart agriculture practices, agroecology activities, and crop-based management packages can help transform the marginal lands from environmental burdens into productive and economic blocks. This review discusses the recent advancements on specialty group of alternate crops (oil seeds, legumes, cereals, medicinal, lignocellulose, and fruit crops) which can adapt in the marginal environments. Availability of alternate water resources (saline water, treated wastewater) for irrigation cannot be omitted. Crop diversification systems involving drought and salt-tolerant crops are likely to be the key to future agricultural and economic growth in the regions where salt-affected soils exist and/or saline aquifers are pumped for irrigation. These systems may tackle three main tasks: sustainable management of land resources and enhancement of per unit productivity; intensification of agroecological practices to increase soil fertility; and improving productivity of marginal lands for diversified climate smart crops. This review explores various aspects of marginal lands and selection of tolerant crop genotypes, crop diversification, and agroecological practices to maximize benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Muhammad Farooq
- Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, 123, Al-Khoud, Oman
- Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Adele Muscolo
- Department of Agriculture, Mediterranea University, Feo di Vito, 89122, Reggio Calabria, Italy
| | - Abdul Rehman
- Department of Crop Sciences and Biotechnology, Dankook University, 119, Dandae-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si, 31116, Korea
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Spangler K, Burchfield EK, Schumacher B. Past and Current Dynamics of U.S. Agricultural Land Use and Policy. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2020.00098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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17
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Global impacts of future cropland expansion and intensification on agricultural markets and biodiversity. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2844. [PMID: 31253787 PMCID: PMC6598988 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10775-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 05/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
With rising demand for biomass, cropland expansion and intensification represent the main strategies to boost agricultural production, but are also major drivers of biodiversity decline. We investigate the consequences of attaining equal global production gains by 2030, either by cropland expansion or intensification, and analyse their impacts on agricultural markets and biodiversity. We find that both scenarios lead to lower crop prices across the world, even in regions where production decreases. Cropland expansion mostly affects biodiversity hotspots in Central and South America, while cropland intensification threatens biodiversity especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, India and China. Our results suggest that production gains will occur at the costs of biodiversity predominantly in developing tropical regions, while Europe and North America benefit from lower world market prices without putting their own biodiversity at risk. By identifying hotspots of potential future conflicts, we demonstrate where conservation prioritization is needed to balance agricultural production with conservation goals. The increase in needs for agricultural commodities is projected to outpace the growth of farmland production globally, leading to high pressure on farming systems in the next decades. Here, the authors investigate the future impact of cropland expansion and intensification on agricultural markets and biodiversity, and suggest the need for balancing agricultural production with conservation goals.
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Qi A, Holland RA, Taylor G, Richter GM. Grassland futures in Great Britain - Productivity assessment and scenarios for land use change opportunities. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 634:1108-1118. [PMID: 29660867 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2017] [Revised: 03/28/2018] [Accepted: 03/31/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
To optimise trade-offs provided by future changes in grassland use intensity, spatially and temporally explicit estimates of respective grassland productivities are required at the systems level. Here, we benchmark the potential national availability of grassland biomass, identify optimal strategies for its management, and investigate the relative importance of intensification over reversion (prioritising productivity versus environmental ecosystem services). Process-conservative meta-models for different grasslands were used to calculate the baseline dry matter yields (DMY; 1961-1990) at 1km2 resolution for the whole UK. The effects of climate change, rising atmospheric [CO2] and technological progress on baseline DMYs were used to estimate future grassland productivities (up to 2050) for low and medium CO2 emission scenarios of UKCP09. UK benchmark productivities of 12.5, 8.7 and 2.8t/ha on temporary, permanent and rough-grazing grassland, respectively, accounted for productivity gains by 2010. By 2050, productivities under medium emission scenario are predicted to increase to 15.5 and 9.8t/ha on temporary and permanent grassland, respectively, but not on rough grassland. Based on surveyed grassland distributions for Great Britain in 2010 the annual availability of grassland biomass is likely to rise from 64 to 72milliontonnes by 2050. Assuming optimal N application could close existing productivity gaps of ca. 40% a range of management options could deliver additional 21∗106tonnes of biomass available for bioenergy. Scenarios of changes in grassland use intensity demonstrated considerable scope for maintaining or further increasing grassland production and sparing some grassland for the provision of environmental ecosystem services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aiming Qi
- Sustainable Agriculture Sciences, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK; Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK
| | - Robert A Holland
- Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Gail Taylor
- Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK; Dept. of Plant Sciences, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Goetz M Richter
- Sustainable Agriculture Sciences, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK.
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Müller C, Elliott J, Pugh TAM, Ruane AC, Ciais P, Balkovic J, Deryng D, Folberth C, Izaurralde RC, Jones CD, Khabarov N, Lawrence P, Liu W, Reddy AD, Schmid E, Wang X. Global patterns of crop yield stability under additional nutrient and water inputs. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0198748. [PMID: 29949598 PMCID: PMC6021068 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2018] [Accepted: 05/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Agricultural production must increase to feed a growing and wealthier population, as well as to satisfy increasing demands for biomaterials and biomass-based energy. At the same time, deforestation and land-use change need to be minimized in order to preserve biodiversity and maintain carbon stores in vegetation and soils. Consequently, agricultural land use needs to be intensified in order to increase food production per unit area of land. Here we use simulations of AgMIP's Global Gridded Crop Model Intercomparison (GGCMI) phase 1 to assess implications of input-driven intensification (water, nutrients) on crop yield and yield stability, which is an important aspect in food security. We find region- and crop-specific responses for the simulated period 1980-2009 with broadly increasing yield variability under additional nitrogen inputs and stabilizing yields under additional water inputs (irrigation), reflecting current patterns of water and nutrient limitation. The different models of the GGCMI ensemble show similar response patterns, but model differences warrant further research on management assumptions, such as variety selection and soil management, and inputs as well as on model implementation of different soil and plant processes, such as on heat stress, and parameters. Higher variability in crop productivity under higher fertilizer input will require adequate buffer mechanisms in trade and distribution/storage networks to avoid food price volatility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joshua Elliott
- University of Chicago and ANL Computation Institute, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- Columbia University Center for Climate Systems Research, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Thomas A. M. Pugh
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Science and Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- IMK-IFU, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | - Alex C. Ruane
- Columbia University Center for Climate Systems Research, New York, New York, United States of America
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Philippe Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Juraj Balkovic
- Ecosystem Services and Management Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria
- Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Delphine Deryng
- Columbia University Center for Climate Systems Research, New York, New York, United States of America
- Climate Analytics, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian Folberth
- Ecosystem Services and Management Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria
| | - R. Cesar Izaurralde
- University of Maryland, Department of Geographical Sciences, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
- Texas A&M University, Texas AgriLife Research and Extension, Temple, Texas, United States of America
| | - Curtis D. Jones
- University of Maryland, Department of Geographical Sciences, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Nikolay Khabarov
- Ecosystem Services and Management Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria
| | - Peter Lawrence
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Earth System Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Wenfeng Liu
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Duebendorf, Switzerland
| | - Ashwan D. Reddy
- University of Maryland, Department of Geographical Sciences, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Erwin Schmid
- Institute for Sustainable Economic Development, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Xuhui Wang
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Sino-French Institute of Earth System Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
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Frei B, Renard D, Mitchell MGE, Seufert V, Chaplin‐Kramer R, Rhemtulla JM, Bennett EM. Bright spots in agricultural landscapes: Identifying areas exceeding expectations for multifunctionality and biodiversity. J Appl Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Frei
- Department of Natural Resource SciencesMcGill University Sainte Anne de Bellevue QC Canada
| | - Delphine Renard
- Bren School of Environmental Science & ManagementUniversity of California Santa Barbara California
| | - Matthew G. E. Mitchell
- Institute for Resources Environment and Sustainability University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
| | - Verena Seufert
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research ‐ Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK‐IFU) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Karlsruhe Germany
| | | | - Jeanine M. Rhemtulla
- Department of Forest Conservation Science University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
| | - Elena M. Bennett
- Department of Natural Resource SciencesMcGill University Sainte Anne de Bellevue QC Canada
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Egli L, Meyer C, Scherber C, Kreft H, Tscharntke T. Winners and losers of national and global efforts to reconcile agricultural intensification and biodiversity conservation. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:2212-2228. [PMID: 29389056 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2017] [Revised: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Closing yield gaps within existing croplands, and thereby avoiding further habitat conversions, is a prominently and controversially discussed strategy to meet the rising demand for agricultural products, while minimizing biodiversity impacts. The agricultural intensification associated with such a strategy poses additional threats to biodiversity within agricultural landscapes. The uneven spatial distribution of both yield gaps and biodiversity provides opportunities for reconciling agricultural intensification and biodiversity conservation through spatially optimized intensification. Here, we integrate distribution and habitat information for almost 20,000 vertebrate species with land-cover and land-use datasets. We estimate that projected agricultural intensification between 2000 and 2040 would reduce the global biodiversity value of agricultural lands by 11%, relative to 2000. Contrasting these projections with spatial land-use optimization scenarios reveals that 88% of projected biodiversity loss could be avoided through globally coordinated land-use planning, implying huge efficiency gains through international cooperation. However, global-scale optimization also implies a highly uneven distribution of costs and benefits, resulting in distinct "winners and losers" in terms of national economic development, food security, food sovereignty or conservation. Given conflicting national interests and lacking effective governance mechanisms to guarantee equitable compensation of losers, multinational land-use optimization seems politically unlikely. In turn, 61% of projected biodiversity loss could be avoided through nationally focused optimization, and 33% through optimization within just 10 countries. Targeted efforts to improve the capacity for integrated land-use planning for sustainable intensification especially in these countries, including the strengthening of institutions that can arbitrate subnational land-use conflicts, may offer an effective, yet politically feasible, avenue to better reconcile future trade-offs between agriculture and conservation. The efficiency gains of optimization remained robust when assuming that yields could only be increased to 80% of their potential. Our results highlight the need to better integrate real-world governance, political and economic challenges into sustainable development and global change mitigation research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Egli
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Workgroup on Endangered Species, J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Department of Ecological Modelling, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Carsten Meyer
- Macroecology & Society, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, Pharmacy and Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christoph Scherber
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Holger Kreft
- Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, Faculty of Forest Sciences, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL), University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL), University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
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Le Roux DS, Ikin K, Lindenmayer DB, Manning AD, Gibbons P. The value of scattered trees for wildlife: Contrasting effects of landscape context and tree size. DIVERS DISTRIB 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Darren S. Le Roux
- The Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Canberra ACT Australia
- Parks and Conservation Service Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate ACT Government Canberra ACT Australia
| | - Karen Ikin
- The Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Canberra ACT Australia
| | - David B. Lindenmayer
- The Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Canberra ACT Australia
| | - Adrian D. Manning
- The Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Canberra ACT Australia
| | - Philip Gibbons
- The Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Canberra ACT Australia
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Abstract
Clearing wild forests to grow food, fibre, and fuel products can deliver large financial gains. However, the benefits that people obtain from forests—known as ecosystem services—are rarely considered in economic calculations, partly because there are few markets onto which they can be traded. In some regions, the benefits delivered by nature might be more economically valuable. A new study maps where it is profitable to replace tropical forests with cropland and how this might change under future agricultural production and carbon prices. The findings address a major applied challenge by helping to identify sites where forest conservation can be economically viable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J. Tanentzap
- Ecosystems and Global Change Group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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24
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Biotechnological route for sustainable succinate production utilizing oil palm frond and kenaf as potential carbon sources. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2017; 101:3055-3075. [PMID: 28280869 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-017-8210-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Revised: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Due to the world's dwindling energy supplies, greater thrust has been placed on the utilization of renewable resources for global succinate production. Exploration of such biotechnological route could be seen as an act of counterbalance to the continued fossil fuel dominance. Malaysia being a tropical country stands out among many other nations for its plenty of resources in the form of lignocellulosic biomass. To date, oil palm frond (OPF) contributes to the largest fraction of agricultural residues in Malaysia, while kenaf, a newly introduced fiber crop with relatively high growth rate, holds great potential for developing sustainable succinate production, apart from OPF. Utilization of non-food, inexhaustible, and low-cost derived biomass in the form of OPF and kenaf for bio-based succinate production remains largely untapped. Owing to the richness of carbohydrates in OPF and kenaf, bio-succinate commercialization using these sources appears as an attractive proposition for future sustainable developments. The aim of this paper was to review some research efforts in developing a biorefinery system based on OPF and kenaf as processing inputs. It presents the importance of the current progress in bio-succinate commercialization, in addition to describing the potential use of different succinate production hosts and various pretreatments-saccharifications under development for OPF and kenaf. Evaluations on the feasibility of OPF and kenaf as fermentation substrates are also discussed.
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Hardman CJ, Harrison DPG, Shaw PJ, Nevard TD, Hughes B, Potts SG, Norris K. Supporting local diversity of habitats and species on farmland: a comparison of three wildlife-friendly schemes. J Appl Ecol 2016; 53:171-180. [PMID: 27570258 PMCID: PMC4982055 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2015] [Accepted: 10/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Restoration and maintenance of habitat diversity have been suggested as conservation priorities in farmed landscapes, but how this should be achieved and at what scale are unclear. This study makes a novel comparison of the effectiveness of three wildlife‐friendly farming schemes for supporting local habitat diversity and species richness on 12 farms in England. The schemes were: (i) Conservation Grade (Conservation Grade: a prescriptive, non‐organic, biodiversity‐focused scheme), (ii) organic agriculture and (iii) a baseline of Entry Level Stewardship (Entry Level Stewardship: a flexible widespread government scheme). Conservation Grade farms supported a quarter higher habitat diversity at the 100‐m radius scale compared to Entry Level Stewardship farms. Conservation Grade and organic farms both supported a fifth higher habitat diversity at the 250‐m radius scale compared to Entry Level Stewardship farms. Habitat diversity at the 100‐m and 250‐m scales significantly predicted species richness of butterflies and plants. Habitat diversity at the 100‐m scale also significantly predicted species richness of birds in winter and solitary bees. There were no significant relationships between habitat diversity and species richness for bumblebees or birds in summer. Butterfly species richness was significantly higher on organic farms (50% higher) and marginally higher on Conservation Grade farms (20% higher), compared with farms in Entry Level Stewardship. Organic farms supported significantly more plant species than Entry Level Stewardship farms (70% higher) but Conservation Grade farms did not (10% higher). There were no significant differences between the three schemes for species richness of bumblebees, solitary bees or birds. Policy implications. The wildlife‐friendly farming schemes which included compulsory changes in management, Conservation Grade and organic, were more effective at increasing local habitat diversity and species richness compared with the less prescriptive Entry Level Stewardship scheme. We recommend that wildlife‐friendly farming schemes should aim to enhance and maintain high local habitat diversity, through mechanisms such as option packages, where farmers are required to deliver a combination of several habitats.
The wildlife‐friendly farming schemes which included compulsory changes in management, Conservation Grade and organic, were more effective at increasing local habitat diversity and species richness compared with the less prescriptive Entry Level Stewardship scheme. We recommend that wildlife‐friendly farming schemes should aim to enhance and maintain high local habitat diversity, through mechanisms such as option packages, where farmers are required to deliver a combination of several habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe J Hardman
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading RG6 6AR UK
| | - Dominic P G Harrison
- Engineering and the Environment University of Southampton Highfield Southampton SO17 1BJ UK
| | - Pete J Shaw
- Engineering and the Environment University of Southampton Highfield Southampton SO17 1BJ UK
| | - Tim D Nevard
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods Charles Darwin University Darwin NT 0909 Australia; Conservation Grade2 Gransden Park Abbotsley Cambridgeshire PE19 6TY UK
| | - Brin Hughes
- Conservation Grade 2 Gransden Park Abbotsley Cambridgeshire PE19 6TY UK
| | - Simon G Potts
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading Reading RG6 6AR UK
| | - Ken Norris
- Institute of Zoology Zoological Society of London London NW1 4RY UK
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Dotta G, Phalan B, Silva TW, Green R, Balmford A. Assessing strategies to reconcile agriculture and bird conservation in the temperate grasslands of South America. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2016; 30:618-627. [PMID: 26400720 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2015] [Revised: 09/11/2015] [Accepted: 09/20/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Globally, agriculture is the greatest source of threat to biodiversity, through both ongoing conversion of natural habitat and intensification of existing farmland. Land sparing and land sharing have been suggested as alternative approaches to reconcile this threat with the need for land to produce food. To examine which approach holds most promise for grassland species, we examined how bird population densities changed with farm yield (production per unit area) in the Campos of Brazil and Uruguay. We obtained information on biodiversity and crop yields from 24 sites that differed in agricultural yield. Density-yield functions were fitted for 121 bird species to describe the response of population densities to increasing farm yield, measured in terms of both food energy and profit. We categorized individual species according to how their population changed across the yield gradient as being positively or negatively affected by farming and according to whether the species' total population size was greater under land-sparing, land-sharing, or an intermediate strategy. Irrespective of the yield, most species were negatively affected by farming. Increasing yields reduced densities of approximately 80% of bird species. We estimated land sparing would result in larger populations than other sorts of strategies for 67% to 70% of negatively affected species, given current production levels, including three threatened species. This suggests that increasing yields in some areas while reducing grazing to low levels elsewhere may be the best option for bird conservation in these grasslands. Implementing such an approach would require conservation and production policies to be explicitly linked to support yield increases in farmed areas and concurrently guarantee that larger areas of lightly grazed natural grasslands are set aside for conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Dotta
- University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology, Conservation Science Group, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
- Current address: Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Laboratório de Ornitologia, sala 112, Avenida Ipiranga, 6681, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - B Phalan
- University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology, Conservation Science Group, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
| | - T W Silva
- Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Laboratório de Ornitologia, sala 112, Avenida Ipiranga, 6681, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90619-900, Brazil
| | - R Green
- University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology, Conservation Science Group, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
| | - A Balmford
- University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology, Conservation Science Group, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
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Law EA, Bryan BA, Meijaard E, Mallawaarachchi T, Struebig MJ, Watts ME, Wilson KA. Mixed policies give more options in multifunctional tropical forest landscapes. J Appl Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A. Law
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4072 Australia
| | | | - Erik Meijaard
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4072 Australia
- Borneo Futures 22 & 23 Jalan Sultan, BS8811 Bandar Seri Begawan Negara Brunei DarussalamIndonesia
| | | | - Matthew J. Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology University of Kent Canterbury Kent CT2 7NZ UK
| | - Matthew E. Watts
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Kerrie A. Wilson
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4072 Australia
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Cultid-Medina CA, Escobar F. Assessing the Ecological Response of Dung Beetles in an Agricultural Landscape Using Number of Individuals and Biomass in Diversity Measures. ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2016; 45:310-319. [PMID: 26803806 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvv219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The global increase in demand for productive land requires us to increase our knowledge of the value of agricultural landscapes for the management and conservation of biodiversity, particularly in tropical regions. Thus, comparative studies of how different community attributes respond to changes in land use under different levels of deforestation intensity would be useful. We analyzed patterns of dung beetle diversity in an Andean region dominated by sun-grown coffee. Diversity was estimated using two measures of species abundance (the number of individuals and biomass) and was compared among four types of vegetation cover (forest, riparian forest, sun-grown coffee, and pastures) in three landscape plots with different degrees of deforestation intensity (low, intermediate, and high). We found that dung beetle diversity patterns differed between types of vegetation cover and degree of deforestation, depending on whether the number of individuals or biomass was used. Based on biomass, inequality in the dung beetle community was lowest in the forest, and increased in the sun-grown coffee and pastures across all levels of deforestation, particularly for the increasing dominance of large species. The number of beetles and biomass indicate that the spatial dominance of sun-grown coffee does not necessarily imply the drastic impoverishment of dung beetle diversity. In fact, for these beetles, it would seem that the landscape studied has not yet crossed "a point of no return." This system offers a starting point for exploring biodiversity management and conservation options in the sun-grown coffee landscapes of the Colombian Andes.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A Cultid-Medina
- Investigador Asociado, Wildlife Conservation Society-Colombia Program, Calle 2 No. 42-23, Cali, Colombia , Grupo de Investigación en Biología, Ecología y Manejo de Hormigas, Departamento de Biología, Universidad del Valle, Calle 13 No. 100-00, Cali, Colombia,
| | - F Escobar
- Instituto de Ecología, A. C, Apartado Postal 63, Xalapa, Veracruz, México , and
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Leftwich PT, Bolton M, Chapman T. Evolutionary biology and genetic techniques for insect control. Evol Appl 2016; 9:212-30. [PMID: 27087849 PMCID: PMC4780389 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2015] [Accepted: 05/25/2015] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The requirement to develop new techniques for insect control that minimize negative environmental impacts has never been more pressing. Here we discuss population suppression and population replacement technologies. These include sterile insect technique, genetic elimination methods such as the release of insects carrying a dominant lethal (RIDL), and gene driving mechanisms offered by intracellular bacteria and homing endonucleases. We also review the potential of newer or underutilized methods such as reproductive interference, CRISPR technology, RNA interference (RNAi), and genetic underdominance. We focus on understanding principles and potential effectiveness from the perspective of evolutionary biology. This offers useful insights into mechanisms through which potential problems may be minimized, in much the same way that an understanding of how resistance evolves is key to slowing the spread of antibiotic and insecticide resistance. We conclude that there is much to gain from applying principles from the study of resistance in these other scenarios - specifically, the adoption of combinatorial approaches to minimize the spread of resistance evolution. We conclude by discussing the focused use of GM for insect pest control in the context of modern conservation planning under land-sparing scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip T. Leftwich
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | - Michael Bolton
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | - Tracey Chapman
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
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Kehoe L, Kuemmerle T, Meyer C, Levers C, Václavík T, Kreft H. Global patterns of agricultural land-use intensity and vertebrate diversity. DIVERS DISTRIB 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Kehoe
- Geography Department; Humboldt-University Berlin; Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin Germany
| | - Tobias Kuemmerle
- Geography Department; Humboldt-University Berlin; Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin Germany
- Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems; Humboldt-University Berlin; Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin Germany
| | - Carsten Meyer
- Free Floater Research Group Biodiversity, Macroecology & Conservation Biogeography; Georg August-University of Göttingen; 37077 Göttingen Germany
| | - Christian Levers
- Geography Department; Humboldt-University Berlin; Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin Germany
| | - Tomáš Václavík
- Department of Computational Landscape Ecology; UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research; 04318 Leipzig Germany
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Faculty of Science; Palacký University Olomouc; 78346 Olomouc Czech Republic
| | - Holger Kreft
- Free Floater Research Group Biodiversity, Macroecology & Conservation Biogeography; Georg August-University of Göttingen; 37077 Göttingen Germany
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31
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Abstract
Conservation biologists are devoting an increasing amount of energy to debating whether land sparing (high-yielding agriculture on a small land footprint) or land sharing (low-yielding, wildlife-friendly agriculture on a larger land footprint) will promote better outcomes for local and global biodiversity. In turn, concerns are mounting about how to feed the world, given increasing demands for food. In this review, I evaluate the land-sparing/land-sharing framework--does the framework stimulate research and policy that can reconcile agricultural land use with biodiversity conservation, or is a revised framing needed? I review (1) the ecological evidence in favor of sparing versus sharing; (2) the evidence from land-use change studies that assesses whether a relationship exists between agricultural intensification and land sparing; and (3) how that relationship may be affected by socioeconomic and political factors. To address the trade-off between biodiversity conservation and food production, I then ask which forms of agricultural intensification can best feed the world now and in the future. On the basis of my review, I suggest that the dichotomy of the land-sparing/land-sharing framework limits the realm of future possibilities to two, largely undesirable, options for conservation. Both large, protected regions and favorable surrounding matrices are needed to promote biodiversity conservation; they work synergistically and are not mutually exclusive. A "both-and" framing of large protected areas surrounded by a wildlife-friendly matrix suggests different research priorities from the "either-or" framing of sparing versus sharing. Furthermore, wildlife-friendly farming methods such as agroecology may be best adapted to provide food for the world's hungry people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Kremen
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California
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32
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Abstract
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other international agencies have concluded that global crop production is at risk due to climate change, population growth, and changing food preferences. Society expects that the agricultural sciences will innovate solutions to these problems and provide food security for the foreseeable future. My thesis is that an integrated research plan merging agronomic and genetic approaches has the greatest probability of success. I present a template for a research plan based on the lessons we have learned from the Green Revolution and from the development of genetically engineered crops that may guide us to meet this expectation. The plan starts with a vision of how the crop management system could change, and I give a few examples of innovations that are very much in their infancy but have significant potential. The opportunities need to be conceptualized on a regional basis for each crop to provide a target for change. The plan gives an overview of how the tools of plant biotechnology can be used to create the genetic diversity needed to implement the envisioned changes in the crop management system, using the development of drought tolerance in maize (Zea mays L.) as an example that has led recently to the commercial release of new hybrids in the USA. The plan requires an interdisciplinary approach that integrates and coordinates research on plant biotechnology, genetics, physiology, breeding, agronomy, and cropping systems to be successful.
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Didham RK, Barker GM, Bartlam S, Deakin EL, Denmead LH, Fisk LM, Peters JMR, Tylianakis JM, Wright HR, Schipper LA. Agricultural intensification exacerbates spillover effects on soil biogeochemistry in adjacent forest remnants. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0116474. [PMID: 25575017 PMCID: PMC4289067 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2014] [Accepted: 12/09/2014] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Land-use intensification is a central element in proposed strategies to address global food security. One rationale for accepting the negative consequences of land-use intensification for farmland biodiversity is that it could ‘spare’ further expansion of agriculture into remaining natural habitats. However, in many regions of the world the only natural habitats that can be spared are fragments within landscapes dominated by agriculture. Therefore, land-sparing arguments hinge on land-use intensification having low spillover effects into adjacent protected areas, otherwise net conservation gains will diminish with increasing intensification. We test, for the first time, whether the degree of spillover from farmland into adjacent natural habitats scales in magnitude with increasing land-use intensity. We identified a continuous land-use intensity gradient across pastoral farming systems in New Zealand (based on 13 components of farmer input and soil biogeochemistry variables), and measured cumulative off-site spillover effects of fertilisers and livestock on soil biogeochemistry in 21 adjacent forest remnants. Ten of 11 measured soil properties differed significantly between remnants and intact-forest reference sites, for both fenced and unfenced remnants, at both edge and interior. For seven variables, the magnitude of effects scaled significantly with magnitude of surrounding land-use intensity, through complex interactions with fencing and edge effects. In particular, total C, total N, δ15N, total P and heavy-metal contaminants of phosphate fertilizers (Cd and U) increased significantly within remnants in response to increasing land-use intensity, and these effects were exacerbated in unfenced relative to fenced remnants. This suggests movement of livestock into surrounding natural habitats is a significant component of agricultural spillover, but pervasive changes in soil biogeochemistry still occur through nutrient spillover channels alone, even in fenced remnants set aside for conservation. These results have important implications for the viability of land-sparing as a strategy for balancing landscape-level conservation and production goals in agricultural landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphael K. Didham
- School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
- CSIRO Land & Water Flagship, Perth, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | | | | | - Elizabeth L. Deakin
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Forests and Livelihoods Programme, CIFOR Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Lisa H. Denmead
- School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Louise M. Fisk
- Institute of Agriculture, School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | | | - Jason M. Tylianakis
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah R. Wright
- School of Science, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
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Barcelos E, Rios SDA, Cunha RNV, Lopes R, Motoike SY, Babiychuk E, Skirycz A, Kushnir S. Oil palm natural diversity and the potential for yield improvement. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2015; 6:190. [PMID: 25870604 PMCID: PMC4375979 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2014] [Accepted: 03/09/2015] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
African oil palm has the highest productivity amongst cultivated oleaginous crops. Species can constitute a single crop capable to fulfill the growing global demand for vegetable oils, which is estimated to reach 240 million tons by 2050. Two types of vegetable oil are extracted from the palm fruit on commercial scale. The crude palm oil and kernel palm oil have different fatty acid profiles, which increases versatility of the crop in industrial applications. Plantations of the current varieties have economic life-span around 25-30 years and produce fruits around the year. Thus, predictable annual palm oil supply enables marketing plans and adjustments in line with the economic forecasts. Oil palm cultivation is one of the most profitable land uses in the humid tropics. Oil palm fruits are the richest plant source of pro-vitamin A and vitamin E. Hence, crop both alleviates poverty, and could provide a simple practical solution to eliminate global pro-vitamin A deficiency. Oil palm is a perennial, evergreen tree adapted to cultivation in biodiversity rich equatorial land areas. The growing demand for the palm oil threatens the future of the rain forests and has a large negative impact on biodiversity. Plant science faces three major challenges to make oil palm the key element of building the future sustainable world. The global average yield of 3.5 tons of oil per hectare (t) should be raised to the full yield potential estimated at 11-18t. The tree architecture must be changed to lower labor intensity and improve mechanization of the harvest. Oil composition should be tailored to the evolving needs of the food, oleochemical and fuel industries. The release of the oil palm reference genome sequence in 2013 was the key step toward this goal. The molecular bases of agronomically important traits can be and are beginning to be understood at the single base pair resolution, enabling gene-centered breeding and engineering of this remarkable crop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edson Barcelos
- Embrapa Amazonia Ocidental, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Manaus, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Edson Barcelos, Embrapa Amazonia Ocidental, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Rodovia AM 010, Km 29, Manaus, Amazonas 69011-970, Brazil
| | - Sara de Almeida Rios
- Embrapa Amazonia Ocidental, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Raimundo N. V. Cunha
- Embrapa Amazonia Ocidental, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Lopes
- Embrapa Amazonia Ocidental, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Sérgio Y. Motoike
- Department of Phytotechnology, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil
| | - Elena Babiychuk
- Department of Sustainable Development, Vale Institute of Technology, Belém, Brazil
| | - Aleksandra Skirycz
- Department of Sustainable Development, Vale Institute of Technology, Belém, Brazil
| | - Sergei Kushnir
- Department of Sustainable Development, Vale Institute of Technology, Belém, Brazil
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35
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Shackelford GE, Steward PR, German RN, Sait SM, Benton TG. Conservation planning in agricultural landscapes: hotspots of conflict between agriculture and nature. DIVERS DISTRIB 2014; 21:357-367. [PMID: 26430381 PMCID: PMC4579854 DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Aim Conservation conflict takes place where food production imposes a cost on wildlife conservation and vice versa. Where does conservation impose the maximum cost on production, by opposing the intensification and expansion of farmland? Where does conservation confer the maximum benefit on wildlife, by buffering and connecting protected areas with a habitable and permeable matrix of crop and non-crop habitat? Our aim was to map the costs and benefits of conservation versus production and thus to propose a conceptual framework for systematic conservation planning in agricultural landscapes. Location World-wide. Methods To quantify these costs and benefits, we used a geographic information system to sample the cropland of the world and map the proportion of non-crop habitat surrounding the cropland, the number of threatened vertebrates with potential to live in or move through the matrix and the yield gap of the cropland. We defined the potential for different types of conservation conflict in terms of interactions between habitat and yield (potential for expansion, intensification, both or neither). We used spatial scan statistics to find ‘hotspots’ of conservation conflict. Results All of the ‘hottest’ hotspots of conservation conflict were in sub-Saharan Africa, which could have impacts on sustainable intensification in this region. Main conclusions Systematic conservation planning could and should be used to identify hotspots of conservation conflict in agricultural landscapes, at multiple scales. The debate between ‘land sharing’ (extensive agriculture that is wildlife friendly) and ‘land sparing’ (intensive agriculture that is less wildlife friendly but also less extensive) could be resolved if sharing and sparing were used as different types of tool for resolving different types of conservation conflict (buffering and connecting protected areas by maintaining matrix quality, in different types of matrix). Therefore, both sharing and sparing should be prioritized in hotspots of conflict, in the context of countryside biogeography.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter R Steward
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Richard N German
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Steven M Sait
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Tim G Benton
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
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36
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Carrasco LR, Larrosa C, Milner-Gulland EJ, Edwards DP. Conservation. A double-edged sword for tropical forests. Science 2014; 346:38-40. [PMID: 25278600 DOI: 10.1126/science.1256685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L R Carrasco
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 117543 Singapore
| | - C Larrosa
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 117543 Singapore. Department of Life Sciences, Silwood Park Campus, Imperial College London, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, UK.
| | - E J Milner-Gulland
- Department of Life Sciences, Silwood Park Campus, Imperial College London, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, UK
| | - D P Edwards
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
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37
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Poppy GM, Jepson PC, Pickett JA, Birkett MA. Achieving food and environmental security: new approaches to close the gap. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2014; 369:20120272. [PMID: 24535384 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- G M Poppy
- Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, , Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
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