scholarly journals Ecological intensification and diversification approaches to maintain biodiversity, ecosystem services and food production in a changing world

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-240
Author(s):  
Claire Kremen
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Ecological Intensification ◽  
Agricultural Matrix ◽  
Increase Food Production ◽  
Negative Impacts

How do we redesign agricultural landscapes to maintain their productivity and profitability, while promoting rather than eradicating biodiversity, and regenerating rather than undermining the ecological processes that sustain food production and are vital for a liveable planet? Ecological intensification harnesses ecological processes to increase food production per area through management processes that often diversify croplands to support beneficial organisms supplying these services. By adding more diverse vegetation back into landscapes, the agricultural matrix can also become both more habitable and more permeable to biodiversity, aiding in conserving biodiversity over time. By reducing the need for costly inputs while maintaining productivity, ecological intensification methods can maintain or even enhance profitability. As shown with several examples, ecological intensification and diversification can assist in creating multifunctional landscapes that are more environmentally and economically sustainable. While single methods of ecological intensification can be incorporated into large-scale industrial farms and reduce negative impacts, complete redesign of such systems using multiple methods of ecological intensification and diversification can create truly regenerative systems with strong potential to promote food production and biodiversity. However, the broad adoption of these methods will require transformative socio-economic changes because many structural barriers continue to maintain the current agrichemical model of agriculture.

Energy use in horticulture.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynette Morgan
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Efficient Production ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Human Labour ◽  
Increase Food Production

Abstract Horticultural production requires the use of many different forms of energy. These energy sources range from natural energy such as light, heat and human labour to the widespread use of fossil fuels, electricity and natural gas, which dominate large scale, modern agriculture systems. Energy has been a vital input for efficient production ever since man first began to cultivate crops. Initially, the only energy sources available were human labour to cultivate, sow, weed, fertilize, irrigate, maintain and harvest crops. However, domesticated animals became a major energy source, replacing some of the heavy work required in early horticultural systems. With the development of modern horticultural systems, machinery and equipment, new, energy-intensive technologies in the post-World War II era began to dramatically increase food production (Pelletier et al., 2011). In the second half of the 20th century global food production more than doubled (Khan and Hanjra, 2009). It is projected to continue to increase until 2050 to meet the demands of continued growing populations. This requirement for ever-increasing volumes of food production, coupled with growing societal affluence and demand for a wide and diverse range of horticultural products exported around the globe, will see energy use become even more of a significant factor within the horticultural industry.

scholarly journals Impacts of Climate Change on Food Production and On the Agricultural Environment

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 01-03
Author(s):  
De Wrachien
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Agricultural Environment ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Increase Food Production ◽  
The One ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Despite the enormous advances in our ability to manage the natural world, we have reached the 21st century in awesome ignorance of what is likely to unfold in terms of both the climate changes and the human activities that affect the environment and the responses of the Earth to these stimuli. Globally the prospects of increasing the gross cultivated area are limited by the decease of economically attractive sites for large-scale irrigation and drainage projects. Therefore, increase in food production will necessarily rely on a more accurate application of the crop water requirements on the one hand, and modernization and improvement of irrigation and drainage systems on the other hand. These issues have to be analysed in light of the expected impacts of climate change and environmental sustainability. The present Editorial analyses the relevant aspects of these issues in light of the need to increase food production and for sustainable agricultural environment.

scholarly journals Deconstructing agronomic resource use efficiencies to increase food production

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Porter ◽  
Peter J. Thorburn ◽  
Hamish E. Brown ◽  
Edmar I. Teixeira ◽  
Derrick J. Moot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Use ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Nutrient Use Efficiency ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
Nutrient Use ◽  
Increase Food Production ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
The Difference

Highlights- Novel ideosystem method of analysing processes of food production, focussing on resource use efficiencies.- Interactions between resource use efficiencies are asymmetrical. - The ideosystem concept portrays how far a production system approaches maximum efficiency.   Food production per unit land area needs to be increased, thus cropping systems need to use nutrients, water and solar radiation at as close to maximal efficiencies as possible. We deconstruct these efficiencies into their components to define a theoretical crop ideosystem, in which all resource use efficiencies are maximised. This defines an upper biological limit to food production. We then quantify the difference between maximum use efficiencies and those observed in three agronomic systems (maize, cocksfoot, sugarcane) and identify how, in actual farm systems, efficiencies can be raised to raise food production. We find that crop nutrient use efficiency can be limited by low water availability; thus adding nutrients would not raise production but adding water would. The converse situation of water use efficiency being affected by nutrition is not as evident. Ideosystem thinking can be used to define small- and large-scale agronomic systems that optimize water and nutrient use to maximise food production.

scholarly journals An intelligent management system for aquaponics

2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-350
Author(s):  
Divas Karimanzira ◽  
Thomas Rauschenbach
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Optimum Conditions ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Water Recirculation ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
Intelligent Management ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Aquaculture Production ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Population rise, climate change, soil degradation, water scarcity, and food security require efficient and sustainable food production. Aquaponics is a highly efficient way of farming and is becoming increasingly popular. However, large scale aquaponics still lack stability, standardization and proof of economical profitability. The EU-INAPRO project helps to overcome these limitations by introducing digitization, enhanced technology, and developing standardized modular scalable solutions and demonstrating the viability of large aquaponics. INAPRO is based on an innovation a double water recirculation system (DRAPS), one for fish, and the other one for crops. In DRAPS, optimum conditions can be set up individually for fish and crops to increase productivity of both. Moreover, the integration of digital technologies and data management in the aquaculture production and processing systems will enable full traceability and transparency in the processes, increasing consumers’ trust in aquaculture products. In this paper, the innovations and the digitization approach will be introduced and explained and the key benefits of the system will be emphasized.

scholarly journals Homestead Food Production and Maternal and Child Dietary Diversity in Nepal: Variations in Association by Season and Agroecological Zone

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bishnu Dulal ◽  
Gary Mundy ◽  
Rojee Sawal ◽  
Pooja Pandey Rana ◽  
Kenda Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Technical Support ◽  
Population Variation ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Dietary Recall ◽  
Maternal Report ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Agroecological Zone

Background: Suaahara, a large-scale integrated program, aimed to improve diets and nutritional status among women and children, in part by facilitating enhanced homestead food production (EHFP). Objective: This study examines associations between EHFP and maternal and child dietary diversity and variations by season and agroecological zone (AEZ): mountains and terai. Methods: We used data from household monitoring surveys (n = 2101 mothers; n = 994 children, 6-23 months), which included a 7-day dietary recall and maternal report on participation in 5 EHFP activities—received vegetable seeds, chicks, and technical support and participated in training and EHFP groups. We constructed binary variables for each activity and a scale (0-5) summing participation. For dietary diversity, we used the Women’s Dietary Diversity Score using 10 food groups and 7 food groups for child diets. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to assess associations between EHFP participation and dietary diversity by season and AEZ, controlling for potential confounders and clustering. Results: In adjusted models, we found positive associations between dietary diversity and chicks, technical support, and EHFP beneficiary groups; the magnitude of the associations varied by season and AEZ. The degree of participation in 5 EHFP activities was positively associated with maternal dietary diversity in the terai (β = .24, P < .001) and mountains (β = .12, P = .01) and child dietary diversity in the terai (β = .35, P < .001) during the winter. No associations were found in the rainy season. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the potential for EHFP to address dietary diversity constraints among this population. Variation by subnational setting and seasonality suggest that policies and programs should be contextualized.

scholarly journals Exploring economic and legal barriers to commercial aquaponics in the EU through the lens of the UK and policy proposals to address them

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Cammies ◽  
David Mytton ◽  
Rosemary Crichton
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Nutrient Loss ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Application Process ◽  
Organic Certification ◽  
Recirculating Aquaculture ◽  
Economic Barriers ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

AbstractAquaponics is a food production system which connects recirculating aquaculture (fish) to hydroponics (plants) systems. Although aquaponics has the potential to improve soil conditions by reducing erosion and nutrient loss and has been shown to reduce food production related carbon emissions by up to 73%, few commercial aquaponics projects in the EU and UK have been successful. Key barriers to commercial success are insufficient initial investment, an uncertain and complex regulatory environment, and the lack of projects operating on a large scale able to demonstrate profitability. In this paper, we use the UK as a case study to discuss the legal and economic barriers to the success of commercial aquaponics in the EU. We also propose three policies: (1) making aquaponics eligible for the new system of Environmental Land Management grants; (2) making aquaponics eligible for organic certification; and (3) clarifying and streamlining the aquaponics licence application process. The UK’s departure from the EU presents a unique opportunity to review agricultural regulations and subsidies, which in turn could provide evidence that similar reforms are needed in the EU.

Environmental Development Strategies for an Industrial Area (Kochi Industrial Belt)

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annu Reetha Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Industrial Pollution ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Industrial Area ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
Planning Approach ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Technical Solutions

Discharging of wastes and toxic pollutants produced by the industrial activities into the natural environment which consist of air, water and land implies the term Industrial Pollution. It has serious consequences on human life and its health along with several ways of negative impacts on the environment and nature. As far as our nation is concerned most of the major cities are filled with these large-scale industries which place a crucial role financial development of a country. Strictly hindering the development of industries cannot be done as it is vital for the Socio-Economic progress of a country. Yet it is our duty to protect our natural environment by limiting the pollution due to industries. This Study consist of the issues occurred in Eloor- Kadungalloor region as result of the industrial pollution followed by policies for a development plan to enhance the natural and environmental conditions with a planning approach at micro study level. As far as the Kerala context is considered, the major spot which is mostly affected by the industrial pollution is the ‘Edayar Industrial belt’ which is the largest industrial belt in Kerala. This became one of most noted spot because of the continuous dumping of dangerous chemical pollutants from adjacent industries (pesticide and fertilizer manufacturing). It has also resulted in health issues for the inhabitants of the site. Though many complaints have been filed against the companies, there has no proper laws or schemes for taking measures for reduction of pollution have come up so far. Hence this paper deals with the application of technical solutions and strategies for an Environment Improvement plan development for an industrial as well as studying on the issues of sire and its inhabitants.

Bridge Health Monitoring by Infrared Thermography

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masato Matsumoto ◽  
Kyle Ruske
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
High Definition ◽  
Bridge Health Monitoring ◽  
Large Scale Data ◽  
Concrete Bridge Decks ◽  
Federal Highway ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Visual Confirmation ◽  
Inspection Data

<p>Condition ratings of bridge components in the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s Structural Inventory and Appraisal database are determined by bridge inspectors in the field, often by visual confirmation or direct- contact sounding techniques. However, the determination of bridge condition ratings is generally subjective depending on individual inspectors’ knowledge and experience, as well as varying field conditions. There are also limitations to access, unsafe working conditions, and negative impacts of lane closures to account for. This paper describes an alternative method to obtaining informative and diagnostic inspection data for concrete bridge decks: mobile nondestructive bridge deck evaluation technology. The technology uses high- definition infrared and visual imaging to monitor bridge conditions over long-term (or desired) intervals. This combination of instruments benefits from rapid and large-scale data acquisition capabilities. Through its implementation in Japan over the course of two decades, the technology is opening new possibilities in a field with much untapped potential. Findings and lessons learned from our experience in the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania are described as examples of highway-speed mobile nondestructive evaluation in action. To validate the accuracy of delamination detection by the visual and infrared scanning, findings were proofed by physical sounding of the target deck structures.</p>

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