Sustaining Agricultural Systems in the Old and New Worlds: A Long-Term Socio-Ecological Comparison

Darbyshire, S. J., Francis, A., Mulligan, G. A. and Graham, G. 2014. The Biology of Canadian Weeds. 153. Stachys palustris L. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 709–722. Marsh hedge-nettle, Stachys palustris, is a perennial Eurasian member of the mint family, which has become naturalized and weedy in some parts of eastern North America. It is a hexaploid member of a holarctic species complex, which differs morphologically from the primarily tetraploid North American forms. The production of fleshy tuberous rhizomes is the most significant distinctive feature. In Canada, it has been a weed of potato and root crops in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, although other crops and areas, such as soybean in Ontario, are also affected. Usually considered a wetland plant, it readily spreads into drier arable fields from adjacent ditches and wetlands. Several herbicides available for use in Canada have been found to provide limited long-term suppression in agricultural systems, with the best results obtained using combined pre-emergent and post-emergent applications.

Download Full-text

Maize in the Rainfed Areas of Pakistan: An Analysis for Production Sustainability

The Pakistan Development Review ◽

10.30541/v37i4iipp.235-243 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 37 (4II) ◽

pp. 235-243

Author(s):

Kalbe Abbas ◽

Habib Iqbal Javed ◽

Sajjad-ur-rehman Chughtai

Keyword(s):

Economic Conditions ◽

Agricultural Systems ◽

Agricultural Chemicals ◽

Price Structure ◽

Long Period ◽

Self Reliance ◽

Increase Productivity ◽

Production Practices ◽

Sustainable Agricultural Systems

The turning issue in agriculture of this era is sustainability and self reliance. There are several definitions of sustainability described by various scientists. Broadly, it means that the improvement in agriculture should be long lasting in view of changing environmental and socio-economic conditions. The high yielding technology available today is not fully adopted because of high cost and changing price structure of the important inputs. Under the present circumstances, the need arises to tailor the production practices according to the need of the farmers for long-term adoption. Sustainable agricultural systems are those that rely on lower inputs of energy and agricultural chemicals to achieve long-term productivity and environmental compatibility. However, Balanos (1998) concludes that the low input systems are low in productivity. Firebaugh (1990) mentioned the proposals given by J.F. Pars and colleagues that the ultimate target of the farmers in sustainable agriculture is to increase productivity and profitability. He also added that we should get benefit from germplasm which can survive over a long period of time.

Download Full-text

Intensive annual crop production and root development in a tropical acid soil under long-term no-till and soil-amendment management

Crop and Pasture Science ◽

10.1071/cp17233 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 69 (5) ◽

pp. 488 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Claudio H. M. da Costa ◽

Antonio C. A. Carmeis Filho ◽

Carlos A. C. Crusciol ◽

Rogério P. Soratto ◽

Tiara M. Guimarães

Keyword(s):

Soil Fertility ◽

Grain Yield ◽

Common Bean ◽

Crop Yield ◽

Root Development ◽

Plant Nutrition ◽

Soil Amendment ◽

Long Term Results ◽

Agricultural Systems

In tropical conservation agricultural systems, crop yield is limited by soil acidity and root-growth inhibition, especially under intensive crop rotation. This study evaluated the effect of surface applications of lime and phosphogypsum in improving soil fertility and crop yield in a tropical region. Four treatments were evaluated: control (without soil amendment); and application phosphogypsum (2.1 + 2.1 + 2.1 Mg ha–1), lime (2.7 + 2.0 + 2.0 Mg ha–1), and a combination of lime and phosphogypsum at the given rates, applied in 2002, 2004 and 2010, respectively. We evaluated the soil chemical properties, root development, plant nutrition, yield components and grain yield of 10 crops over 4 years using five species: maize (Zea mays), crambe (Crambe abyssinica), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), wheat (Triticum aestivum) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Our long-term results demonstrate the benefits of surface liming in alleviating subsoil acidity, reducing Al3+ toxicity, improving availability of Ca2+ and Mg2+, and increasing accumulation of soil organic matter in all soil profiles at depths up to 0.60 m. For maize and crambe, adding phosphogypsum increased development of plants and reproductive structures, which increased grain yield. Phosphogypsum exhibited synergistic effects in association with lime for maize and common bean. Phosphogypsum did not have an effect on cowpea and wheat, whereas surface liming was essential to improve plant nutrition, grain yield and wheat grain quality. The combination of both soil amendments is an important tool to reduce the soil acidification process, resulting in the highest levels of Ca2+ and Mg2+ and the highest base-saturation values in the topsoil layers (0–0.20 m) over time. Our long-term results showed the viability of surface liming plus phosphogypsum for improving tropical soil fertility, which can reflect an increase in grain yield and contribute to the sustainability of agricultural systems under intensive land use in highly weathered areas.

Download Full-text

Land Use and the Human Impact on the Environment in Medieval Italy

Journal of Interdisciplinary History ◽

10.1162/jinh_a_01303 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 419-444 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Edward M. Schoolman ◽

Scott Mensing ◽

Gianluca Piovesan

Keyword(s):

Middle Ages ◽

Ninth Century ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Small Scale ◽

Fossil Pollen ◽

Agricultural Systems ◽

Medieval Italy ◽

Human Management ◽

Lake Cores

Modern narratives about changes in the Italian landscape during the early Middle Ages have often been based on assumptions about changing demography; the loss and replacement of complex Roman economic, political and agricultural systems; and broader changes in climate. Using fossil pollen taken from lake cores in the Rieti basin to reconstruct local ecological conditions, close examinations of two discreet periods offer new insights into the changes from small-scale agriculture to silvo-pastoralism that began during the late sixth and early seventh centuries. The deforestation of the ninth century, accompanied by an increase in cultivation, was the result of a long-term accumulation of territory under monastic control. The fact that these changes in the landscape run counter to the prevailing climatic conditions underscores the success of human management of the environment.

Download Full-text

Denitrification in a vertisol under long-term tillage and no-tillage management in dryland agricultural systems: Key genes and potential rates

Applied Soil Ecology ◽

10.1016/j.apsoil.2010.12.003 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 221-225 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Sebastiana Melero ◽

Alfredo Pérez-de-Mora ◽

José Manuel Murillo ◽

Franz Buegger ◽

Kristina Kleinedam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

No Tillage ◽

Agricultural Systems ◽

Key Genes

Download Full-text

Management and Land Cover Changes in the Western Carpathian Traditional Orchard Landscape in the Period after 1948

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020366 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 366

Author(s):

Hubert Žarnovičan ◽

Jozef Kollár ◽

Vladimír Falťan ◽

František Petrovič ◽

Marian Gábor

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Agricultural Systems ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Rural Landscapes ◽

Management Regime ◽

Management Measures ◽

Management Measure ◽

Land Use And Management ◽

Management Changes

In Slovakia, traditional orchards, like other European rural landscapes and their agricultural systems, are at long-term risk from changes in land use and management. We focused on this issue in the Nová Baňa dispersed settlement region (central Slovakia), which contains numerous traditional orchards. Management changes over the period 1949–2017 were evaluated on the basis of structured interviews conducted with the owners of 63 traditional orchards. Management measures were evaluated separately for 1949, 1970, 1991, 2000, 2007 and 2017. These data were supplemented by data on land cover over time, with an emphasis on orchards, evaluated for the years 1949, 1976, 1991 and 2017 using historical orthophoto maps. Traditional orchard management included mowing, grazing, plowing, fertilizing, and litter raking. By 2017, the management regime had changed in 92% of orchards. The use of plowing and grazing in orchards decreased, and the use of mulching has increased since 2000. From 1949 to 2017, the number of identifiable management regimes doubled; regimes consisting of a single management measure appeared, while regimes of multiple management measures decreased in frequency. Between 1949 and 2017, there was a total decrease of 38.36% in the area of traditional orchards; 31.62% of orchards remained unchanged. The largest decrease was caused by orchard conversion into grasslands (18.93%), forests (13.81%), shrubs (9.42%) and urbanized areas (8.87%).

Download Full-text

Challenges and agroecological approaches in crop production

Acta Agraria Debreceniensis ◽

10.34101/actaagrar/150/1703 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 75-89

Author(s):

Zoltán Berzsényi

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Crop Production ◽

Ecosystem Approach ◽

Agricultural Products ◽

Environmental Harm ◽

Agricultural Systems ◽

World Demand ◽

Global Population

Never has the need been greater for an ecosystem approach to agriculture. As our global population exceeds 9 billion in the next 30 years, with a concomitant demand for agricultural products, ever more pressure will be placed on our agricultural systems. Meanwhile, climate change is altering the ecological settings in which agriculture is practiced, demanding adaptation. Knowledge generated by long-term research will help to address one of the grand challenges of our time: how to meet sustainably the growing world demand for agricultural products – in a way that minimizes environmental harm and enhances the delivery of a diverse array of ecosystem services.

Download Full-text

Rhizosphere Microbiomes in a Historical Maize/Soybean Rotation System respond to Host Species and Nitrogen Fertilization at Genus and Sub-genus Levels

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.03132-20 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michael A. Meier ◽

Martha G. Lopez-Guerrero ◽

Ming Guo ◽

Marty R. Schmer ◽

Joshua R. Herr ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Breeding ◽

Crop Rotation ◽

Nitrogen Fertilization ◽

N Fertilization ◽

Plant Health ◽

Bulk Soil ◽

Agricultural Systems ◽

Rotation System ◽

Field Management

Root associated microbes are key players in plant health, disease resistance, and nitrogen (N) use efficiency. It remains largely unclear how the interplay of biological and environmental factors affects rhizobiome dynamics in agricultural systems. Here, we quantified the composition of rhizosphere and bulk soil microbial communities associated with maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) in a long-term crop rotation study under conventional fertilization and low N regimes. Over two growing seasons, we evaluated the effects of environmental conditions and several treatment factors on the abundance of rhizosphere and soil colonizing microbial taxa. Time of sampling, host plant species and N fertilization had major effects on microbiomes, while no effect of crop rotation was observed. Using variance partitioning as well as 16S sequence information, we further defined a set of 82 microbial genera and functional taxonomic groups at the sub-genus level that show distinct responses to treatment factors. We identified taxa that are highly specific to either maize or soybean rhizospheres, as well as taxa that are sensitive to N fertilization in plant rhizospheres and bulk soil. This study provides insights to harness the full potential of soil microbes in maize and soybean agricultural systems through plant breeding and field management. Importance Plant roots are colonized by large numbers of microbes, some of which may help the plant acquire nutrients and fight diseases. Our study contributes to a better understanding of root-colonizing microbes in the widespread and economically important maize/soybean crop rotation system. The long-term goal of this research is to optimize crop plant varieties and field management to create the best possible conditions for beneficial plant-microbe interactions to occur. These beneficial microbes may be harnessed to sustainably reduce dependency on pesticides and industrial fertilizer. We identify groups of microbes specific to the maize or to the soybean host and microbes that are sensitive to nitrogen fertilization. These microbes represent candidates that may be influenced through plant breeding or field management, and future research will be directed towards elucidating their roles in plant health and nitrogen usage.

Download Full-text