scholarly journals Habitat fragmentation and food security in crop pollination systems

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Montoya ◽  
Bart Haegeman ◽  
Sabrina Gaba ◽  
Claire De Mazancourt ◽  
Michel Loreau
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Crop Pollination ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Mediated Effects ◽  
Agricultural Conversion ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Pollination Systems

AbstractEnsuring stable food supplies is recognized as a major challenge for the 21st century, and one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Biodiversity-based approaches to food security are increasingly being supported based on the fact that biodiversity can increase and stabilize crop yields. But agricultural systems are often highly fragmented and it is unclear how such fragmentation affects biodiversity and food production, limiting our capacity to manage agricultural landscapes for food security. Here, we develop a model of crop yield dynamics to investigate how fragmentation of natural habitats for agricultural conversion impacts food production, with a focus on crop pollination. Our results show that fragmentation produces spatial and biodiversity-mediated effects that affect the mean and stability of pollination-dependent crops, with strong consequences for food security. The net effects of fragmentation depend on the strength of the spillover of pollinators to crop land and the degree to which crops depend on animal pollination. Our study sheds new light in the food security debate by showing that high and stable yields depend on biodiversity and the spatial structure of agricultural landscapes, and by revealing the ecological mechanisms of food security in crop pollination systems.

scholarly journals Quantifying synergies and trade-offs in the water-land-energy-food-climate nexus using a multi-model scenario approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Doelman ◽  
Tom Kram ◽  
Benjamin Bodirsky ◽  
Isabelle Weindle ◽  
Elke Stehfest
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Integrated Assessment Model ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Development Goals

<p>The human population has substantially grown and become wealthier over the last decades. These developments have led to major increases in the use of key natural resources such as food, energy and water causing increased pressure on the environment throughout the world. As these trends are projected to continue into the foreseeable future, a crucial question is how the provision of resources as well as the quality of the environment can be managed sustainably.</p><p>Environmental quality and resource provision are intricately linked. For example, food production depends on availability of water, land suitable for agriculture, and favourable climatic circumstances. In turn, food production causes climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions, and affects biodiversity through conversion of natural vegetation to agriculture and through the effects of excessive fertilizer and use of pesticides. There are many examples of the complex interlinkages between different production systems and environmental issues. To handle this complexity the nexus concept has been introduced which recognizes that different sectors are inherently interconnected and must be investigated in an integrated, holistic manner.</p><p>Until now, the nexus literature predominantly exists of local studies or qualitative descriptions. This study present the first qualitative, multi-model nexus study at the global scale, based on scenarios simultaneously developed with the MAgPIE land use model and the IMAGE integrated assessment model. The goal is to quantify synergies and trade-offs between different sectors of the water-land-energy-food-climate nexus in the context of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Each scenario is designed to substantially improve one of the nexus sectors water, land, energy, food or climate. A number of indicators that capture important aspects of both the nexus sectors and related SDGs is selected to assess whether these scenarios provide synergies or trade-offs with other nexus sectors, and to quantify the effects. Additionally a scenario is developed that aims to optimize policy action across nexus sectors providing an example of a holistic approach that achieves multiple sustainable development goals.</p><p>The results of this study highlight many synergies and trade-offs. For example, an important trade-off exists between climate change policy and food security targets: large-scale implementation of bio-energy and afforestation to achieve stringent climate targets negatively impacts food security. An interesting synergy exists between the food, water and climate sectors: promoting healthy diets reduces water use, improves water quality and increases the uptake of carbon by forests.</p>

Reconciling Food Production and Biodiversity Conservation: Land Sharing and Land Sparing Compared

Science ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 333 (6047) ◽  
pp. 1289-1291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Phalan ◽  
Malvika Onial ◽  
Andrew Balmford ◽  
Rhys E. Green
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Land Sharing ◽  
Land Sparing ◽  
Northern India ◽  
Agricultural Intensity ◽  
Promising Strategy ◽  
Negative Impacts

The question of how to meet rising food demand at the least cost to biodiversity requires the evaluation of two contrasting alternatives: land sharing, which integrates both objectives on the same land; and land sparing, in which high-yield farming is combined with protecting natural habitats from conversion to agriculture. To test these alternatives, we compared crop yields and densities of bird and tree species across gradients of agricultural intensity in southwest Ghana and northern India. More species were negatively affected by agriculture than benefited from it, particularly among species with small global ranges. For both taxa in both countries, land sparing is a more promising strategy for minimizing negative impacts of food production, at both current and anticipated future levels of production.

scholarly journals Proportion of Grassland at Landscape Scale Drives Natural Pest Control Services in Agricultural Landscapes

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Perrot ◽  
Adrien Rusch ◽  
Camille Coux ◽  
Sabrina Gaba ◽  
Vincent Bretagnolle
Keyword(s):  
Pest Control ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Arable Fields ◽  
Cereal Fields ◽  
Natural Pest Control

Managing regulating ecosystem services delivered by biodiversity in farmland is a way to maintain crop yields while reducing the use of agrochemicals. Because semi-natural habitats provide shelter and food for pest enemies, a higher proportion of semi-natural habitats in the landscape or their proximity to crops may enhance pest control in arable fields. However, the ways in which the spatial arrangement of these habitats affects the delivery of this beneficial ecosystem service to crops remains poorly known. Here, we investigated the relative effects of the amount of grassland in the landscape versus the distance to the nearest grassland on the predation rates of weed seeds and aphids into 52 cereal fields. We found that both seed and aphid predation levels increased with the proportion of grassland in a 500 m radius buffer while the distance to the nearest grassland displayed no effect. We show that increasing from 0 to 50% the proportion of grasslands in a 500 m radius, respectively, increased seed and aphid predation by 38 and 20%. In addition to the strong effect of the proportion of grassland, we found that seed predation increased with the proportion of forest fragments while aphid predation increased with the proportion of organic farming in the landscape. Overall, our results reveal that natural pest control in cereal crops is not related to the distance to the nearest grassland, suggesting that natural enemies are not limited by their dispersal ability. Our study indicates that maintaining key semi-natural habitats, such as grasslands, is needed to ensure natural pest control and support food production in agricultural landscapes.

scholarly journals Potential and attainable food production and food security in different regions

1997 ◽  
Vol 352 (1356) ◽  
pp. 917-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.W. T. Penning De Vries ◽  
R. Rabbinge ◽  
J. J. R. Groot
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Food Crops ◽  
Regional Food ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
Agricultural Use

Growing prosperity in the South is accompanied by human diets that will claim more natural resources per capita. This reality, combined with growing populations, may raise the global demand for food crops two– to four–fold within two generations. Considering the large volume of natural resources and potential crop yields, it seems that this demand can be met smoothly. However, this is a fallacy for the following reasons. (i) Geographic regions differ widely in their potential food security: policy choices for agricultural use of natural resources are limited in Asia. For example, to ensure national self–sufficiency and food security, most of the suitable land (China) and nearly all of the surface water (India) are needed. Degradation restricts options further. (ii) The attainable level of agricultural production depends also on socio–economic conditions. Extensive poverty keeps the attainable food production too low to achieve food security, even when the yield gap is wide, as in Africa. (iii) Bio–energy, non–food crops and nature ‘compete’ with food crops for natural resources. Global and regional food security are attainable, but only with major efforts. Strategies to achieve alternative aims will be discussed.

Closing Yield Gaps: Consequences for the Global Food Supply, Environmental Quality & Food Security

Daedalus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 45-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel D. Mueller ◽  
Seth Binder
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Yield Gap ◽  
Yield Gaps

The social, economic, and environmental costs of feeding a burgeoning and increasingly affluent human population will depend, in part, on how we increase crop production on under-yielding agricultural landscapes, and by how much. Such areas have a “yield gap” between the crop yields they achieve and the crop yields that could be achieved under more intensive management. Crop yield gaps have received increased attention in recent years due to concerns over land scarcity, stagnating crop yield trends in some important agricultural areas, and large projected increases in food demand. Recent analyses of global data sets and results from field trials have improved our understanding of where yield gaps exist and their potential contribution to increasing the food supply. Achieving yield gap closure is a complex task: while agronomic approaches to closing yield gaps are generally well-known, a variety of social, political, and economic factors allow them to persist. The degree to which closing yield gaps will lead to greater food security and environmental benefits remains unclear, and will be strongly influenced by the particular strategies adopted.

scholarly journals Climate Change, Flood Disaster Risk and Food Security Nexus in Northern Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael Ane Atanga ◽  
Vitus Tankpa
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Flood Disaster ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Disaster Impacts ◽  
Flood Disasters ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

This research reviews climate change, flood disasters impacts and food security nexus in northern Ghana. The impacts of climate change include flood disasters which in turn affect food production with subsequent impact on food security. While climate change impact can be positive in some regions, it can be negative in other regions as it could lead to excess or lack of water, which negatively affects food production. Most especially, flood disasters have reportedly become frequent with devastating consequences on food production. Literature further suggests that the frequency of floods and their impacts have the potential to increase in the future. Floods inundate farms, pastures and livestock, which could subsequently reduce crop yields and animal production. Floods also destroys physical infrastructure and disrupts socio-economic activities which are linked to agriculture sector and could affect food production. This eventually decreases food availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability in the region. Northern Ghana has experienced flood disasters with increased frequency, which are related to climate change impacts. Although there is research on climate change, flood disasters, and food security issues in northern Ghana, the literature thus far indicates no clear focus of studies that focuses on the nexus of climate change, flood disasters, and food security of the study site. Thus, this research seeks to review the nexus of climate change, and flood disaster impacts on food security in northern Ghana with their implications on food security in the region. This study has two main research objectives. The first objective of this research is to identify and understand the potential impacts of climate change and flood disasters on food production in the study site. The second research objective is to explain the connection between climate change and flood disasters and the implications of this relationship on food security in the study site. This review study focuses on climate change, flood disasters, and food production to understand the critical impacts of climate change and flood disasters on food security in the northern part of Ghana. The aim of this research is to contribute to literature and discussion of the nexus of climate change, flood disaster impacts and food security sub-Saharan Africa.

Impacts of Land Use Change on Food Security in Nigeria: An integration of stakeholder participation in bioeconomic modelling

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kashimana Amanda Ivo
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Annual Population ◽  
Societal Changes ◽  
Land Systems ◽  
Development Goals

<p>Two hundred million persons at an annual population growth rate of 2.5% in addition to uncertainty in climate and societal changes challenges development goals particularly food security in Nigeria. Food security challenges primarily originate from conflicts in agricultural and forestry land systems causing changes in the systems. Agricultural and forestry land systems constitute 77.7% and 7.7% of land area in Nigeria. However, pressured by an increasing population and a changing climate, society and even seemingly divergent policy objectives, these systems have failed to ensure food security. The challenge for Nigeria is to simultaneously maintain a 5% annual increment in food production and conserve 10% of its land area as forest. With agriculture already occupying 77.7% of the total land area, what will a 5% annual increment in food production and a 10% conservation of land area mean for both agriculture and forestry systems? Would these targets require an expansion or intensification or an integration of both systems? This paper provides insights into opportunities and trade-off for optimal land use systems in Nigeria by answering questions such as how can its land use be optimized for biodiversity conservation and agricultural production targets? Amidst the aforementioned targets what plausible governance, management technologies and policy adjustments can aid food security in Nigeria and at what cost?</p>

scholarly journals Nutrition in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i19-i23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Grosso ◽  
Alberto Mateo ◽  
Natalie Rangelov ◽  
Tatjana Buzeti ◽  
Christopher Birt
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Common Framework ◽  
Development Goals

Abstract The 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represents a common framework of international cooperation to promote sustainable development. Nutrition is the key point for the SDG 2 ‘End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’ and is an essential component for achieving many of the other targets: overall, the nutritional aspects of the SDGs aim to promote healthy and sustainable diets and ensure food security globally. While undernutrition is of minimal concern in the European Union Member States, trends in childhood obesity are still alarming and far from any desirable target. European food production systems have improved over the last years, with immediate impact on several environmental aspects; however, a comprehensive regulatory framework to fulfil the environmental and climate targets is still lacking. Policy actions at multinational level are needed to achieve global nutrition targets designed to guide progress towards tackling all forms of malnutrition while preserving the environment through virtuous food production and food systems.

scholarly journals Habitat fragmentation and food security in crop pollination systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Montoya ◽  
Bart Haegeman ◽  
Sabrina Gaba ◽  
Claire De Mazancourt ◽  
Michel Loreau
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Crop Pollination ◽  
Pollination Systems

scholarly journals Food Security and Transition towards Sustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12433
Author(s):  
Mohammad Fazle Rabbi ◽  
Morshadul Hasan ◽  
Sándor Kovács
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Sustainable Food Production ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Development Goals

In the light of linkages in various scales and targets, the complex and nuanced design of the sustainable development goals (SDG) raises more challenges in their implementation on the ground. This paper reviewed 25 food security indicators, proposed improvements to facilitate operationalization, and illustrated practical implementation. The research focused on three essential blind spots that arise from the potential interactions between sustainable food production, consumption, and domestic material consumption (DMC). Projection of latent structure regression was applied to link food security and sustainable development goals. Findings revealed that the key target in reducing trade-offs was the integration of DMC with sustainable food production and consumption. DMC was positively correlated with the creation of coherent SDG strategies and sustainable food security. Practical implications were discussed by highlighting how to achieve food security across contrasting development contexts and the challenges of addressing the links between targets and indicators within and beyond SDGs 2 and 12. The results are useful for setting a proper strategy for sustainable production and consumption that can improve the efficient use of resources in the eight Central European countries.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document