Significance and value of non-traded ecosystem services on farmland

Endophytic fungi associated with Brucea mollis Wall. ex Kurz.: a hidden source of antimicrobial and antioxidant metabolites

Geosmithia pallida (KU693285) was isolated from Brucea mollis an endangered medicinal plant of North-East India. The secondary metabolites, produced by the endophytic fungi, extracted by ethyl acetate were screened for antimicrobial activity. G. pallida extract displayed the highest antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 80.5 ± 1.25 µg/mL. G. pallida also showed the highest antioxidant activity which differed insignificantly from Penicillium sp. (P > 0.05). The G. pallida extract also exhibited the highest cellulase activity and also amylase and protease activities. The cytotoxicity assay of the ethyl acetate extract of this endophyte showed negligible effect (1.93 ± 0.42%) on chromosomal aberration as compared to the control (cyclophosphamide monohydrate) (7.20 ± 1.51%). The internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequence of G. pallida was submitted to the NCBI (Accession number KU693285) from India for the first time. The FT-IR spectrophotometry of the bioactive metabolite of G. pallida showed the presence of different functional groups such as alcohol, carboxylic acids, amines, aromatics, alkyl halides, aliphatic amines and alkynes. The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of acetic acid, 2-phenylethyl ester; tetracosane; cyclooctasiloxane hexadecamethyl; cyclononasiloxane octadecamethyl; octadecanoic acid; phthalic acid, di(2-propylpentyl) ester and nonadecane, 2,6,10,14,18-pentamethyl as the major compounds in the metabolite. The findings of the present work indicated G. pallida as a potential source of important biomolecules without mammalian cytotoxic effects, which can be utilized for pharmaceutical purposes.

Economic valuation of wildlife conservation

This paper reviews concepts and methods for the economic valuation of nature in the context of wildlife conservation and questions them in light of alternative approaches based on deliberation. Economic valuations have been used to set priorities, consider opportunity costs, assess co-benefits of conservation, support the case for conservation in public awareness and advocacy, and drive novel schemes to change incentives. We discuss the foundational principles of mainstream economic valuation in terms of its assumptions about values, markets, and human behaviour; propose a list of valuation studies in relation to wildlife protection; and explain the methods used. We then review critiques of these approaches focusing on the narrow way in which economics conceives of values, and institutional, power, and equity concerns. Finally, we complement conventional approaches commonly used for wildlife valuation with two forms of deliberative valuation: deliberated preferences and deliberative democratic monetary valuation. These are discussed in terms of their potential to address the drawbacks of mainstream economics and to realise the potential of valuation in bridging conservation of nature for its own sake and its important contributions to human well-being.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10344-023-01658-2.

The functional agrobiodiversity in the Douro demarcated region viticulture: utopia or reality? Arthropods as a case-study – A review

Aiming to reduce the losses of biodiversity and the degradation of associated ecosystem services, the United Nations established the 2011-2020 period as the UN Decade on Biodiversity. During this period, the countries involved compromised on implementing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The argument is that biological diversity underpins the functioning of ecosystems and the provision of services essential to human well-being, further contributing to economic development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The purpose of this review is to present results of research and academic works carried out over several years in the Douro Demarcated Region in the field of functional agrobiodiversity, understood as the part of ecosystem biodiversity that provides ecosystem services, which support sustainable agricultural production and can also bring benefits to the regional and global environment and to society as a whole. Such studies specifically aimed to contribute knowledge about the diversity of arthropods in the vineyard ecosystem and about practices that can increase their abundance, diversity and services provided. In this context, a general characterization of the arthropod community identified in the vineyard ecosystem is conducted, complemented by information on the role played, by the taxonomic groups identified. The importance of increasing arthropod populations, the vegetation of vineyard slopes, and the existence of shrubs, forests and hedgerows next to the vineyards is discussed. The fundamental role of soil management practices is also referred, namely that of ground cover and the application of compost from winery wastes in the abundance and diversity of these organisms populations. Finally, bearing in mind the importance of the use of this information by vine growers, the measures taken for its dissemination are also presented.

Delivery of multiple ecosystem services in pasture by shelter created from the hybrid sterile bioenergy grass Miscanthus x giganteus

The benefits of shelter in increasing crop yields and accelerating ripening has been well researched in fruit, arable and horticultural crops. Its benefits to pasture, despite its importance for livestock production, is less well researched. In this work, Miscanthus shelterbelts were established on an intensively irrigated dairy farm. Seven key ecosystem services associated with these belts were identified and quantified. Pasture yield and quality were recorded in Miscanthus-sheltered and control field boundaries with little shelter. Pasture yield increased by up to 14% in the sheltered areas downwind of Miscanthus. Pasture quality was equivalent in the sheltered and open areas. Miscanthus provided more favourable nesting sites for bumblebees and for New Zealand endemic lizards (skinks) compared to field boundaries. The sheltered areas also had higher mineralisation rates of organic matter and higher numbers of earthworms. Using a high-yielding sterile grass such as Miscanthus to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services also produced a bioenergy feedstock. In conclusion, full benefits of shelterbelts to the farming system cannot be fully assessed unless direct and indirect benefits are properly assessed, as in this work.

Intensification for redesigned and sustainable agricultural systems

Redesign of agricultural systems is essential to deliver optimum outcomes as ecological and economic conditions change. The combination of agricultural processes in which production is maintained or increased, while environmental outcomes are enhanced, is currently known as sustainable intensification (SI). SI aims to avoid the cultivation of more land, and thus avoid the loss of unfarmed habitats, but also aims to increase overall system performance without net environmental cost. For example, large changes are now beginning to occur to maximize biodiversity by means of integrated pest management, pasture and forage management, the incorporation of trees into agriculture, and irrigation management, and with small and patch systems. SI is central to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and to wider efforts to improve global food and nutritional security.

Arthropod Pest Control for UK Oilseed Rape - Comparing Insecticide Efficacies, Side Effects and Alternatives

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is an important combinable break crop in the UK, which is largely protected from arthropod pests by insecticidal chemicals. Despite ongoing debate regarding the use of neonicotinoids, the dominant seed treatment ingredients used for this crop, there is little publicly available data comparing the efficacy of insecticides in controlling key arthropod pests or comparing the impacts on non-target species and the wider environment. To provide an insight into these matters, a UK-wide expert survey targeting agronomists and entomologists was conducted from March to June 2015. Based on the opinions of 90 respondents, an average of 20% yield loss caused by the key arthropod pests was expected to have occurred in the absence of insecticide treatments. Relatively older chemical groups were perceived to have lower efficacy for target pests than newer ones, partly due to the development of insecticide resistance. Without neonicotinoid seed treatments, a lack of good control for cabbage stem flea beetle was perceived. Wide spectrum foliar insecticide sprays were perceived to have significantly greater negative impacts than seed treatments on users' health, natural enemies, pollinators, soil and water, and many foliar active ingredients have had potential risks for non-target arthropod species in UK oilseed rape fields for the past 25 years. Overall, 72% of respondents opposed the neonicotinoid restriction, while 10% supported it. Opposition and support of the restriction were largely based on concerns for pollinators and the wider environment, highlighting the uncertainty over the side effects of neonicotinoid use. More people from the government and research institutes leaned towards neutrality over the issue, compared to those directly involved in growing the crop. Neonicotinoid restriction was expected to result in greater effort and expenditure on pest control and lower production (0-1 t/ha less). Alternatives for future oilseed rape protection were then discussed.

Scarcity of ecosystem services: an experimental manipulation of declining pollination rates and its economic consequences for agriculture

Ecosystem services (ES) such as pollination are vital for the continuous supply of food to a growing human population, but the decline in populations of insect pollinators worldwide poses a threat to food and nutritional security. Using a pollinator (honeybee) exclusion approach, we evaluated the impact of pollinator scarcity on production in four brassica fields, two producing hybrid seeds and two producing open-pollinated ones. There was a clear reduction in seed yield as pollination rates declined. Open-pollinated crops produced significantly higher yields than did the hybrid ones at all pollination rates. The hybrid crops required at least 0.50 of background pollination rates to achieve maximum yield, whereas in open-pollinated crops, 0.25 pollination rates were necessary for maximum yield. The total estimated economic value of pollination services provided by honeybees to the agricultural industry in New Zealand is NZD $1.96 billion annually. This study indicates that loss of pollination services can result in significant declines in production and have serious implications for the market economy in New Zealand. Depending on the extent of honeybee population decline, and assuming that results in declining pollination services, the estimated economic loss to New Zealand agriculture could be in the range of NZD $295-728 million annually.

Potential ecosystem service delivery by endemic plants in New Zealand vineyards: successes and prospects

Vineyards worldwide occupy over 7 million hectares and are typically virtual monocultures, with high and costly inputs of water and agro-chemicals. Understanding and enhancing ecosystem services can reduce inputs and their costs and help satisfy market demands for evidence of more sustainable practices. In this New Zealand work, low-growing, endemic plant species were evaluated for their potential benefits as Service Providing Units (SPUs) or Ecosystem Service Providers (ESPs). The services provided were weed suppression, conservation of beneficial invertebrates, soil moisture retention and microbial activity. The potential Ecosystem Dis-services (EDS) from the selected plant species by hosting the larvae of a key vine moth pest, the light-brown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana), was also quantified. Questionnaires were used to evaluate winegrowers’ perceptions of the value of and problems associated with such endemic plant species in their vineyards. Growth and survival rates of the 14 plant species, in eight families, were evaluated, with Leptinella dioica (Asteraceae) and Acaena inermis ‘purpurea’ (Rosaceae) having the highest growth rates in terms of area covered and the highest survival rate after 12 months. All 14 plant species suppressed weeds, with Leptinella squalida, Geranium sessiliforum (Geraniaceae), Hebe chathamica (Plantaginaceae), Scleranthus uniflorus (Caryophyllaceae) and L. dioica, each reducing weed cover by >95%. Plant species also differed in the diversity of arthropods that they supported, with the Shannon Wiener diversity index (H′) for these taxa ranging from 0 to 1.3. G. sessiliforum and Muehlenbeckia axillaris (Polygonaceae) had the highest invertebrate diversity. Density of spiders was correlated with arthropod diversity and G. sessiliflorum and H. chathamica had the highest densities of these arthropods. Several plant species associated with higher soil moisture content than in control plots. The best performing species in this context were A. inermis ‘purpurea’ and Lobelia angulata (Lobeliaceae). Soil beneath all plant species had a higher microbial activity than in control plots, with L. dioica being highest in this respect. Survival proportion to the adult stage of the moth pest, E. postvittana, on all plant species was poor (<0.3). When judged by a ranking combining multiple criteria, the most promising plant species were (in decreasing order) G. sessiliflorum, A. inermis ‘purpurea’, H. chathamica, M. axillaris, L. dioica, L. angulata, L. squalida and S. uniflorus. Winegrowers surveyed said that they probably would deploy endemic plants around their vines. This research demonstrates that enhancing plant diversity in vineyards can deliver SPUs, harbour ESPs and therefore deliver ES. The data also shows that growers are willing to follow these protocols, with appropriate advice founded on sound research.

What works in conservation? Using expert assessment of summarised evidence to identify practices that enhance natural pest control in agriculture

This paper documents an exercise to synthesize and assess the best available scientific knowledge on the effectiveness of different farm practices at enhancing natural pest regulation in agriculture. It demonstrates a novel combination of three approaches to evidence synthesis-systematic literature search, collated synopsis and evidence assessment using an expert panel. These approaches follow a logical sequence moving from a large volume of disparate evidence to a simple, easily understandable answer for use in policy or practice. The example of natural pest regulation in agriculture was selected as a case study within two independent science-policy interface projects, one European and one British. A third funder, a private business, supported the final stage to translate the synthesized findings into a useful, simplified output for agronomists. As a whole, the case study showcases how a network of scientific knowledge holders and knowledge users can work together to improve the use of science in policy and practice. The process identified five practices with good evidence of a benefit to natural pest regulation, with the most beneficial being 'Combine trap and repellent crops in a push-pull system'. It highlights knowledge gaps, or potential research priorities, by showing practices considered important by stakeholders for which there is not enough evidence to make an assessment of effects on natural pest regulation, including 'Alter the timing of pesticide application.' Finally, the process identifies several important practices where the volume of evidence of effects on natural pest regulation was too large (>300 experimental studies) to be summarised with the resources available, and for which focused systematic reviews may be the best approach. These very well studied practices include 'Reduce tillage' and 'Plant more than one crop per field'.

Organic agriculture in the twenty-first century

Organic agriculture has a history of being contentious and is considered by some as an inefficient approach to food production. Yet organic foods and beverages are a rapidly growing market segment in the global food industry. Here, we examine the performance of organic farming in light of four key sustainability metrics: productivity, environmental impact, economic viability and social wellbeing. Organic farming systems produce lower yields compared with conventional agriculture. However, they are more profitable and environmentally friendly, and deliver equally or more nutritious foods that contain less (or no) pesticide residues, compared with conventional farming. Moreover, initial evidence indicates that organic agricultural systems deliver greater ecosystem services and social benefits. Although organic agriculture has an untapped role to play when it comes to the establishment of sustainable farming systems, no single approach will safely feed the planet. Rather, a blend of organic and other innovative farming systems is needed. Significant barriers exist to adopting these systems, however, and a diversity of policy instruments will be required to facilitate their development and implementation.