How Can Sustainable Agriculture Increase Climate Resilience? A Systematic Review

Agrobiodiversity and smallholder resilience: A scoping review

Agrobiodiversity is often touted as a crucial adaptation strategy to mitigate risks linked to climate change by increasing the response capability of a system to external shocks and, consequently, the smallholder's resilience. This scoping review, conducted following the PRISMA protocol, aims to elucidate how agrobiodiversity's effect on resilience has been conceptualized, analyzed, and reported in the literature and to identify knowledge gaps. We systematically examined 193 articles, with 63 selected for full review based on predefined criteria. Notably, only 16 studies featured actual measurements of the effect of agrobiodiversity on resilience. Our findings indicate that articles often operationalize these complex theoretical concepts using limited variables. Agrobiodiversity is typically measured by crop count, while resilience is assessed through economic, ecological, and/or social dimensions. We identified key attributes expected in resilient systems and found that agrobiodiversity's impact on resilience was positive in 10 cases, negative in 9, and contingent on production types and system shocks in others. This review emphasizes the context-dependent agrobiodiversity-resilience relationship and the need for tailored agricultural diversification strategies. We discuss how inconsistencies between theoretical concepts and practical measures may compromise study validity and comparability and how smallholder context can influence resilience conceptualization. Based on our findings, we propose guidelines for future research and emphasize the need for improved metrics, empirical evidence generation, and mixed-method approaches. Our findings prompt further exploration of key questions to advance our understanding of agrobiodiversity's role in fostering agricultural resilience.

Carabid Beetles (Coleoptera) as Indicators of Sustainability in Agroecosystems: A Systematic Review

The sustainability of agroecosystems is at risk owing to continuous anthropogenic disturbance. As such, there is a need to evaluate indicator taxa that may be used to monitor the health of agricultural management systems. Carabid beetles are ubiquitous and functionally crucial in agroecosystems while at the same time are sensitive to the changes caused by management practices. Their quick response to anthropogenic disturbances has been proposed as a practical and realistic tool for monitoring the sustainability of agricultural practices. However, there is still disagreement about carabids as possible indicators of agroecosystem sustainability. We conducted a systematic review of the responses of carabid beetles to agricultural systems in different biogeographical areas. We examined whether these beetles could serve as potential indicators of agroecosystem sustainability. The ISI Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus were used to search for papers published from 2000-2019. In total, we included 69 studies indicating the use of carabids to monitor the impact of management practices in agroecosystems. Most studies were conducted in European countries (n = 37), while Southern Africa and East Asia countries were significantly under-represented (n = 10). Carabid beetle response to agroecosystems varied between management practices, with biodiversity indices (n = 41: positive 60%, negative 19%, and neutral 19%) being the most measured response variable, followed by functional diversity (n = 28: positive 67%, negative 25%, and neutral 7%). Overall, our findings highlight the need for more research in underdeveloped countries, to investigate the potential of overlooked carabids and include response variables measuring functional diversity in assessing the sustainability of agricultural management. This will assist policy makers and land managers in making active and informed decisions about agroecological disturbances and management.

The persistent impact of drought stress on the resilience of summer maize

Crop resilience refers to the adaptive ability of crops to resist drought at a certain level. Currently, most of the research focuses on the changes in root or photosynthesis traits of crops after drought and rehydration. Still, the persistence effect (drought period (T2) - rehydration period (T3) - harvest period (T4)) of drought stress on crops and quantitative estimation of resilience is still unclear. Field experiments were conducted in this study to determine the persistence effects on above-ground and below-ground growth indicators of summer maize at different levels and durations of drought. Next, an evaluation method for integrated resilience of summer maize was proposed, and a quantitative assessment of integrated resilience was made by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and resilience index calculation. The results showed that the resilience of summer maize decreased with increasing drought levels, which persisted until harvest. Although summer maize resilience was strong after rewatering under light drought (DR1), declined after sustained rewatering. At the same time, production had decreased. However, a specific drought duration could improve the resilience of summer maize under light drought conditions. In particular, leaf biomass and root growth in the 30-50 cm layer could be enhanced under long duration light drought (LDR1), thus improving summer maize resilience and yield. Thus, under water shortage conditions, a certain level and duration drought could improve the resilience and yield of summer maize, which would persist until harvest. Clarifying the persistent effects on the growth indicators of summer maize and quantitatively evaluating the resilience of summer maize could improve agricultural food production and water use efficiency.

A Systematic Review on the Impacts of Climate Change on Coffee Agrosystems

Coffee production is fragile, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports indicate that climate change (CC) will reduce worldwide yields on average and decrease coffee-suitable land by 2050. This article adopted the systematic review approach to provide an update of the literature available on the impacts of climate change on coffee production and other ecosystem services following the framework proposed by the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment. The review identified 148 records from literature considering the effects of climate change and climate variability on coffee production, covering countries mostly from three continents (America, Africa, and Asia). The current literature evaluates and analyses various climate change impacts on single services using qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Impacts have been classified and described according to different impact groups. However, available research products lacked important analytical functions on the precise relationships between the potential risks of CC on coffee farming systems and associated ecosystem services. Consequently, the manuscript recommends further work on ecosystem services and their interrelation to assess the impacts of climate change on coffee following the ecosystem services framework.

Strengthening agroecological resilience through commons-based seed governance in the Philippines

The Filipino agricultural sector is exposed to multiple climatic, economic, and social risks that will likely intensify in the near future. Building agroecological resilience has been proposed to protect small-scale farmers' livelihoods and improve food security in the context of (unexpected) shocks and disruptions, and slow system changes such as climate change. This paper argues that commons-based seed production, based on collective management and ownership of seeds and varieties, can play a central role in building resilience capacities in smallholder communities. I explore this by applying an indicator-based framework to assess the contribution of the Filipino farmer network Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG) to agroecological resilience. I find that the networks' commons-based seed governance builds agroecological resilience in various ways. By equipping small-scale farmers with the tools to regain control over seed production and breeding, they become stewards of an actively evolving collection of varieties. The in situ maintenance and development of traditional, open-pollinated varieties and a network of diversified trial and backup farms build up buffering capacities and foster agrobiodiversity and local adaptation. A focus on regionally available natural resources reduces vulnerabilities to external factors. Adaptive capacities are strengthened through a high degree of flexibility and responsiveness achieved by self-organization and polycentric organizational structures. Broad participation, shared learning and spaces for experimentation support the development of farmers' capacities to respond to diverse challenges. Commons-based approaches to seed governance can thus strengthen agroecological resilience and long-term food security in smallholder agricultural systems.

Sustainable practices in hospitality pre and amid COVID‐19 pandemic: Looking back for moving forward post‐COVID‐19

Sustainability issues are becoming increasingly important in the hospitality sector during crisis times such as COVID‐19 and post‐pandemic. In order to synthesize the literature on sustainable practices in hospitality, we developed a systematic literature to illustrate the dominant sustainable practices in hospitality. We present a comprehensive review of the 48 articles on sustainable practices in hospitality through the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases; spanning over 2 years (2020–2021) pre‐and amid the COVID‐19 pandemic and extending the scope in distinctive ways. Our review has demonstrated that sustainable practices in hospitality have made progress in the years 2020 and 2021. However, there are conceptual and empirical overlaps among sustainable practices in hospitality. Additionally, hospitality sustainable practices research is restricted in research contexts. There is a lack of research on antecedents, outcomes, and integrating theories in studies. By following the guidance presented in this review, we expect to advance and maintain sustainable practices research to provide substantive insights over the coming years post‐COVID‐19. The current research is one of the first studies to systematically review sustainable practices in hospitality pre‐and amid the COVID‐19 pandemic. The research ends with a comprehensive research agenda and a framework to apprise future theoretical and empirical advances in the area.

Evaluation of Satellite-Based Air Temperature Estimates at Eight Diverse Sites in Africa

High resolution satellite and reanalysis-based air temperature estimates have huge potential to complement the sparse networks of air temperature measurements from ground stations in Africa. The recently released Climate Hazards Center Infrared Temperature with Stations (CHIRTS-daily) dataset provides daily minimum and maximum air temperature estimates on a near-global scale from 1983 to 2016. This study assesses the performance of CHIRTS-daily in comparison with measurements from eight ground stations in diverse locations across Africa from 1983 to 2016, benchmarked against the ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis to understand its potential to provide localized temperature information. Compared to ERA5 and ERA5-Land, CHIRTS-daily maximum temperature has higher correlation and lower bias of daily, annual mean maximum and annual extreme maximum temperature. It also exhibits significant trends in annual mean maximum temperature, comparable to those from the station data. CHIRTS-daily minimum temperatures generally have higher correlation, but larger bias than ERA5 and ERA5-Land. However, the results indicate that CHIRTS-daily minimum temperature biases may be largely systematic and could potentially be corrected for. Overall, CHIRTS-daily is highly promising as it outperforms ERA5 and ERA5-Land in many areas, and exhibits good results across a small, but diverse set of sites in Africa. Further studies in specific geographic areas could help support these findings.

Biostimulants for Resilient Agriculture: A Preliminary Assessment in Italy

In agriculture, plant biostimulants have become necessary to meet the United Nations sustainable development goals (UN-SDGs) and advance the European Green Deal. In particular, seaweed-based biostimulants have received a greater acceptance for their several benefits in crop growth and yield. In this study, we evaluated the effects of foliar applications of a vegetable- and brown-algae-based extract (Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) Le Jol. on grapes (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Montepulciano) and olives (Olea europaea L. cv. Coratina) and its agronomic performance in two field experiments in the Apulia region, which is known for its modern agricultural sector. The results highlight that the crop responses differ in grape and olive orchards. The biostimulant application determined significant increases in bunch development (+9.5%) and bunch weight (+10%) compared to the untreated control. In the olive orchard, the yield was not significantly influenced by biostimulant application, whereas we observed quality improvement in the olive oil of the treated plants compared to the control. To better understand the mechanisms behind this difference, the research concludes by suggesting that further research pursues in-depth studies and high scientific and technical proficiency to determine and optimise the rates and timing of applications.

A bibliometric analysis of sustainable agriculture: based on the Web of Science (WOS) platform

The global trends of sustainable agriculture (SA) have expanded dramatically through many scholarly studies in this area. Many literary works have focused on several aspects of sustainable agriculture (SA), such as the effectiveness of pesticide management, impacts on cultivation and enhancement, quantifying with soil, water, and air, agro-ecological activities, ecological aspects, and other areas of focus. The review offers a structured bibliometric and network evaluation that will profoundly observe the recent trends of SA, which other studies in this field have not comprehensively analyzed before. The study's prime objectives are to investigate the progress, trends and themes, and provide a comprehensive mapping of the field of sustainable agriculture. The study utilizes the Web of Science core collection database to search, filter, and extract the published article from 1992-2020. The review commences by exploring over 3000 journal articles, those then filtered into some well-recognized matrix of impacts and published by impactful journals, institutions, and authors. The results indicate a stable growth in publications since 2006, with a sharp improvement from 2010. Thematic assessment of key concepts by exploring the abstract discovered a robust emphasis on quantitative resource associations within a strong subjective focus with farm capacities and inner-sectorial dominations. We reveal how the outcome may assist the sectors to facilitate better understandings and comprehend the challenging transitions based on brainstorming to action formulation.

Climate-Resilient Microbial Biotechnology: A Perspective on Sustainable Agriculture

We designed this review to describe a compilation of studies to enlighten the concepts of plant–microbe interactions, adopted protocols in smart crop farming, and biodiversity to reaffirm sustainable agriculture. The ever-increasing use of agrochemicals to boost crop production has created health hazards to humans and the environment. Microbes can bring up the hidden strength of plants, augmenting disease resistance and yield, hereafter, crops could be grown without chemicals by harnessing microbes that live in/on plants and soil. This review summarizes an understanding of the functions and importance of indigenous microbial communities; host–microbial and microbial–microbial interactions; simplified experimentally controlled synthetic flora used to perform targeted operations; maintaining the molecular mechanisms; and microbial agent application technology. It also analyzes existing problems and forecasts prospects. The real advancement of microbiome engineering requires a large number of cycles to obtain the necessary ecological principles, precise manipulation of the microbiome, and predictable results. To advance this approach, interdisciplinary collaboration in the areas of experimentation, computation, automation, and applications is required. The road to microbiome engineering seems to be long; however, research and biotechnology provide a promising approach for proceeding with microbial engineering and address persistent social and environmental issues.

Biological Approaches Promise Innovative and Sustainable Management of Powdery Mildew in Lebanese Squash

Biological management techniques act as a promising and sustainable alternative to alleviate pathogen-induced losses, improve ecosystem functions, and reinforce the resilience of agricultural systems. Lebanese squash production has been threatened by powdery mildew disease caused by the fungus Podosphaera xanthii. Very few studies, even unpublished ones, stress the evaluation of biological control approaches in the Lebanese agriculture sector. Here, we have aimed to evaluate the effect of five safe biological treatments (olive soap, sodium bicarbonate, garlic extract, horsetail, and compost tea) in the management of powdery mildew on Lebanese squash in organic open field conditions. Plants were treated after the first spots of powdery mildew appeared on leaves. We then examined the leaves to evaluate disease incidence and severity, and to compare the ability of the five treatments to reduce powdery mildew disease and incidence, in comparison with the untreated control. Plants treated with sodium bicarbonate and garlic extract were the least affected by powdery mildew regarding disease incidence and severity, while tea compost proved to be the least effective product. Organic management of vegetable crops is extremely important in order to ensure global food security and reduce pesticide applications.

The potential direct economic impact and private management costs of an invasive alien species: Xylella fastidiosa on Lebanese wine grapes

Since its outbreak in 2013 in Italy, the harmful bacterium Xylella fastidiosa has continued to spread throughout the Euro-Mediterranean basin and, more recently, in the Middle East region. Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa is the causal agent of Pierce’s disease on grapevines. At present, this alien subspecies has not been reported in Lebanon but if this biological invader was to spread with no cost-effective and sustainable management, it would put Lebanese vineyards at a certain level of risk. In the absence of an Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa outbreak, the gross revenue generated by Lebanese wine growers is estimated as close to US$22 million/year for an average period of 5 years (2015–2019). The potential quantitative economic impacts of an Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa outbreak and particularly, the private control costs have not been assessed yet for this country as well as for others which Xylella fastidiosa may invade. Here, we have aimed to estimate the potential direct economic impact on growers’ livelihoods and provide the first estimate of the private management costs that a theoretical Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa outbreak in Lebanon would involve. For this purpose, we used a Partial Budget approach at the farm gate. For the country as a whole, we estimated that a hypothetical full spread of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa on Lebanese wine grapes would lead to maximum potential gross revenue losses of almost US$ 11 million for an average recovery period of 4 years, to around US$ 82.44 million for an average grapevine life span period of 30 years in which infected plants are not replaced at all. The first yearly estimated additional management cost is US$853 per potentially infected hectare. For a recovery period of 4 years, the aggregate estimated additional cost would reach US$2374/ha, while the aggregate net change in profit would be US$-4046/ha. Furthermore, additional work will be needed to estimate the public costs of an Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa outbreak in Lebanon. The observed costs in this study support the concerned policy makers and stakeholders to implement a set of reduction management options against Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa at both national and wine growers’ levels. This re-emerging alien biota should not be neglected in this country. This understanding of the potential direct economic impact of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa and the private management costs can also benefit further larger-scale studies covering other potential infection areas and plant hosts.

Overview of Research on Sustainable Agriculture in Developing Countries. The Case of Mexico

One of the principal challenges faced by Mexican agriculture is the development of management models that are able to increase production while respecting the environment and generating wealth for society as a whole. In recent years, the number of studies analysing the sustainability of Mexican agriculture has grown significantly. The purpose of this study is to analyse the evolution of the research on the sustainability of agriculture in Mexico. For this purpose, a review and bibliometric analysis of a sample of 867 articles was carried out. The results reveal that the research has focused on the development of sustainable agricultural models in vulnerable rural areas, the sustainable exploitation of agroforestry systems, the development of energy crops for different uses, water resource management and land uses and their changes, conservation farming and climate change. Although research focused on sustainability is still in its early stages, it has become a priority field. A need to promote research from the economic and social disciplines may be observed, together with holistic projects that include the three pillars of sustainability (social, economic and environmental). This study could be useful to researchers in this field as it identifies the recent trends and principal agents that drive knowledge.

Landscape restoration due to Xylella fastidiosa invasion in Italy: Assessing the hypothetical public’s preferences

Since 2013, the olive landscapes have gradually degenerated due to the spread and establishment of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca (hereafter Xf) in Apulia, southern Italy. From 2013 to 2019, a total of approximately 54,000 hectares of olive orchards in the south of this region have been seriously damaged, and their restoration will progressively regenerate the economic, social, cultural and environmental nonmarket benefits. Since there is a willingness to restore the affected landscape in the best interest of the local citizens, this research aims to predict their preference heterogeneity and willingness to pay (WTP) to improve this landscape and continue research and experimentation in relation to Olive Quick Decline Syndrome Disease by the bacterium. For this purpose, a choice experiment method is used. The social field survey includes a representative sample of 683 respondents in three major cities (Foggia, Bari and Lecce) of Apulia region. The results reveal that for the local citizens interviewed, the most appreciated olive landscape services are cultural heritage and aesthetic values. In addition, the findings revealed citizens’ positive appreciation of improving the damaged olive landscape, while respondents are not willing to pay a premium for research. The results show that the average value that Apulians are willing to pay for landscape restoration is about 5.7 million of € per year. Further, this research has implications for land use planners in the study area, which faces issues of harmful pathogen management and land revival.

Design and Implementation of an Energy-Efficient Weather Station for Wind Data Collection

Agriculture faces critical challenges caused by changing climatic factors and weather patterns with random distribution. This has increased the need for accurate local weather predictions and weather data collection to support precision agriculture. The demand for uninterrupted weather stations is overwhelming, and the Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to address this demand. One major challenge of energy constraint in remotely deployed IoT devices can be resolved using weather stations that are energy neutral. This paper focuses on optimizing the energy consumption of a weather station by optimizing the data collected and sent from the sensor deployed in remote locations. An asynchronous optimization algorithm for wind data collection has been successfully developed, using the development lifecyle specifically designed for weather stations and focused on achieving energy neutrality. The developed IoT weather station was deployed in the field, and it has the potential to reduce the power consumption of the weather station by more than 60%.

Towards Sustainable Organic Farming Systems

The European Union green deal has proposed the “organic farming action plan” to render a farming system that is more sustainable and adaptable in terms of climate change mitigation and thus enable meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). While this policy instrument is fundamental to achieving sustainable agriculture, there is still no agreement on what sustainable agriculture is and how to measure it. This opinion paper proposes an ecosystem-based framework for the crop life cycle to determine the balance between the economic, social, and environmental pillars of sustainability toward supporting decision-making.