Soil management in relation to sustainable agriculture and ecosystem services

In the last few decades, a great deal has been written on the use of sustainable agriculture to improve the resilience of ecosystem services to climate change. However, no tangible and systematic evidence exists on how this agriculture would participate in alleviating impacts on vulnerable rural communities. This paper provides a narrative systematic review (SR) integrated with a bibliometric analysis and a concept network analysis to determine how, in this changing climate, sustainable agriculture can increase the resilience of agrosystems. Our search ranged from the date of the first relevant article until the end of 2018.

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Potential of the economic valuation of soil-based ecosystem services to inform sustainable soil management and policy

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.8749 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e8749

Author(s):

Bartosz Bartkowski ◽

Stephan Bartke ◽

Katharina Helming ◽

Carsten Paul ◽

Anja-Kristina Techen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Economic Valuation ◽

Soil Management ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Management Policy ◽

Valuation Theory ◽

Valuation Methods ◽

Political Processes ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Sustainable Soil Management

The concept of ecosystem services, especially in combination with economic valuation, can illuminate trade-offs involved in soil management, policy and governance, and thus support decision making. In this paper, we investigate and highlight the potential and limitations of the economic valuation of soil-based ecosystem services to inform sustainable soil management and policy. We formulate a definition of soil-based ecosystem services as basis for conducting a review of existing soil valuation studies with a focus on the inclusion of ecosystem services and the choice of valuation methods. We find that, so far, the economic valuation of soil-based ecosystem services has covered only a small number of such services and most studies have employed cost-based methods rather than state-of-the-art preference-based valuation methods, even though the latter would better acknowledge the public good character of soil related services. Therefore, the relevance of existing valuation studies for political processes is low. Broadening the spectrum of analyzed ecosystem services as well as using preference-based methods would likely increase the informational quality and policy relevance of valuation results. We point out options for improvement based on recent advances in economic valuation theory and practice. We conclude by investigating the specific roles economic valuation results can play in different phases of the policy-making process, and the specific requirements for its usefulness in this context.

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New challenges in soil management

Acta Agraria Debreceniensis ◽

10.34101/actaagrar/150/1704 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 91-92

Author(s):

Márta Birkás

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Agriculture ◽

Soil Conservation ◽

Crop Production ◽

Production Systems ◽

Soil Management ◽

Soil Protection ◽

Site Specific ◽

The Future ◽

Induced Stresses ◽

New Challenges

Soil management represents two important tasks that are harmonization of the soil protection with demands of the crop to be grown on the given land under prevailing farming condition. Further goals are to preserve and/or develop the soil physical, biological and chemical condition and to avoid the unfavourable changes of the soil biological activity and the soil structure. Classical authors emphasised the importance of creating proper seedbed for plants. In the physical approach, tillage was believed to play an important role in controlling soil processes. Consequently, the period of several centuries dominated by this approach is referred to as the era of crop-oriented tillage (Birkás et al., 2017). The overestimation of the importance of crop requirements resulted in damaging the soils, which inevitably led to turn to the soil-focused tillage. Since the first years of climate change, as the new trends have raised concern, tillage must be turned into a climate-focused effort with the aim of reducing climate-induced stresses through improving soil quality. The development of soil management has always been determined by the economical background. At the same time, deteriorating site conditions have contributed to the conception of new tillage trends by forcing producers to find new solutions (e.g. dry farming theory in the past or adaptable tillage theory nowadays). Győrffy (2009) recited the most important keywords were listed in 2001 and that seemed to be important in the future of crop production. These keywords (endeavours) were as follows: − Biofarming, organic farming, alternative farming, biodynamic farming, low input sustainable agriculture; − Mid-tech farming, sustainable agriculture, soil conservation farming, no till farming, environmentally sound, environmentally friendly, diversity farming; − Crop production system, integrated pest management, integrated farming, high-tech farming; − Site specific production, site-specific technology, spatial variable technology, satellite farming; − Precision farming. Győrffy’s prognosis proved to be realistic and the efforts mentioned above have mostly been implemented. New challenges have also appeared in soil management in relation to the last decades. The most important endeavours for the future are: 1) Preserving climate-induced stresses endangering soils. 2) Turn to use climate mitigation soil tillage and crop production systems. 3) Applying soil management methods are adaptable to the different soil moisture content (over dried or wet may be quite common). 4) Use effectual water conservation tillage. 5) Use soil condition specific tillage depth and method. 6) Adapting the water and soil conservation methods in irrigation. 7) Preserving and improving soil organic matter content by tillage and crop production systems. 8) Considering that stubble residues are matter for soil protection, humus source and earthworm’ feed. 9) Site-specific adoption of green manure and cover crops. 10) Applying site-adopted (precision) fertilization and crop protection. Considering the development in agriculture, new endeavours will occur before long.

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Neonicotinoids and Their Impact on Ecosystem Services for Agriculture and Biodiversity in Africa: A Review and Recommendations to Policymakers

10.17159/assaf.2021/0069 ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Sustainable Agriculture ◽

International Development ◽

Service Providers ◽

Harmful Effect ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Beneficial Insects ◽

Wide Range ◽

African Agriculture

Agriculture is critically important for African societies and economies but ensuring food security for Africa’s growing population is a major challenge. One particular concern are pesticides called ‘neonicotinoids’, which render all parts of a plant toxic to all insects and contaminate the soil and water bodies. By exposing all organisms to the toxins, neonicotinoids also harm beneficial insects that provide many important ‘ecosystem services’, such as pollination, soil development, and natural pest control, which are an integral part of sustainable agriculture. Neonicotinoids have contributed to the loss of ecosystem services from pollinators and other insects in Europe and elsewhere, and several of them have been banned in the (European Union) EU and other countries due to their harmful effect on beneficial insects. Africa, with its rich biodiversity and heavy reliance on agricultural production, is one of the fastest-growing pesticide markets in the world, so protecting it from the harmful effects of neonicotinoids is vital to ensuring a sustainable agriculture that provides food security. The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), in collaboration with the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) has recently completed a project exploring the use and effects of neonicotinoids in African agriculture. This project brought together experts from 17 African countries, reviewed the relevant African scientific literature, and analysed the state of knowledge on neonicotinoids and their impact on ecosystem services for agriculture and on biodiversity in Africa. The resultant report ‘Neonicotinoid insecticides: use and effects in African agriculture. A review and recommendations to policy makers’ (NASAC, 2019) has collated an unprecedented amount of information, identified gaps in scientific knowledge and research relating to neonicotinoids in Africa, and developed key recommendations from science to policy-makers to ensure the sustainability of African agriculture and thus food security. One year after the launch of the NASAC report, the purpose of this virtual event was to introduce the report, including an update on recent global scientific and African policy developments regarding neonicotinoids, and to discuss its implications with a wide range of stakeholders, with the aim of stimulating policy and research action on this important issue. The target audience and participants included South African and Southern African Development Community (SADC) policymakers, regulatory agencies, government departments, agricultural associations, extension-service providers, research institutes, international development agencies, representatives of embassies, and other interested stakeholders.

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Tools for Sustainable Soil Management: Soil Ecosystem Services, EROI and Economic Analysis

Ecological Economics ◽

10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.11.010 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 157 ◽

pp. 109-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jón Örvar G. Jónsson ◽

Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir ◽

Nikolaos P. Nikolaidis ◽

Georgios V. Giannakis

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Economic Analysis ◽

Soil Management ◽

Soil Ecosystem ◽

Sustainable Soil Management ◽

Soil Ecosystem Services

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How Can Sustainable Agriculture Increase Climate Resilience? A Systematic Review

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12083119 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 3119 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Daniel El Chami ◽

André Daccache ◽

Maroun El Moujabber

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Rural Communities ◽

Sustainable Agriculture ◽

Full Range ◽

Future Research ◽

Research Strategies ◽

Cycle Basis ◽

Climate Resilience

In the last few decades, a great deal has been written on the use of sustainable agriculture to improve the resilience of ecosystem services to climate change. However, no tangible and systematic evidence exists on how this agriculture would participate in alleviating impacts on vulnerable rural communities. This paper provides a narrative systematic review (SR) integrated with a bibliometric analysis and a concept network analysis to determine how, in this changing climate, sustainable agriculture can increase the resilience of agrosystems. Our search ranged from the date of the first relevant article until the end of 2018. The results generated demonstrated the following: (a) Only single practices and methods have been studied to assess the impacts on single ecosystem services; (b) Soil quality and health are considered a key indicator of sustainable agriculture; (c) Although the assessed practices and methods were shown to improve the biodiversity of agrosystems, which makes them more resilient to extreme climate events, we are still far from developing interdisciplinary and multidimensional agriculture that integrates all management aspects and generates a full range of ecosystem services. In conclusion, this study addressed the following recommendations for the scientific community and policymakers to orient future research strategies and efforts: (a) The integration of all agrosystem services into sustainable management using an ecosystem-based approach on a life-cycle basis using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method; (b) Improving the scientific understanding of traditional knowledge to facilitate greater synergy and further integration; (c) The unification of assessment methods and indicators for the quantification of impacts; (d) The creation of a platform to share, monitor, screen, and approve assessments and evaluations of sustainable agriculture by region.

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