scholarly journals Plants, Pathogens, and the Politics of Care: Xylella fastidiosa and the Intra-active Breakdown of Mallorca’s Almond Ecology

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Reisman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Xylella Fastidiosa ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Balearic Islands ◽  
The Political ◽  
Almond Tree ◽  
Agential Realism ◽  
Diversified Farming Systems

Almonds were once “the gold of Mallorca,” a source of modest wealth and a pillar of diversified farming systems for smallholders on the largest of Spain’s Balearic Islands. Now researchers believe nearly every rainfed almond tree on the island will be dead within as few as five years. The introduced bacteria Xylella fastidiosa, enabled by its spittle-bug vector, and emboldened by climate change, has flooded the xylem of these rainfed trees, impeding the flow of fluid and nutrients to the point where the tree can no longer survive. This article enrolls feminist theorizations of care and agential realism to broaden the political scope and stakes of a plant epidemic. I argue that by attending to the care relations underlying pathogenicity we can shift from narratives of landscape purification toward a more-than-human politics of care. Abstracto Una vez las almendras eran “el oro de Mallorca,” una fuente de riqueza modesta y un pilar de un sistema de agricultura diversificada para los payeses (campesinos) de la isla más grande del archipiélago balear de España. Actualmente los investigadores creen que casi todos los almendros de la isla pueden morir dentro de cinco años. Una bacteria introducida,Xylella fastidiosa, apoyada por su insecto vector, el salivazo, y animada por el cambio climático, ha inundado la xilema de los almendros de secano, impidiendo la circulación de fluidos y nutrientes hasta el punto de que el árbol no puede sobrevivir. Este artículo emplea teorizaciones feministas del cuidado y del realismo agencial para ampliar el alcance político de una epidemia de plantas. Argumento que teniendo en cuenta las relaciones de cuidado subyacentes de la patogenicidad, podemos pasar de los temas de purificación del paisaje a una política más-que-humano del cuidado.

scholarly journals Crop Diversification for Improved Weed Management: A Review

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 461
Author(s):  
Gourav Sharma ◽  
Swati Shrestha ◽  
Sudip Kunwar ◽  
Te-Ming Tseng
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Weed Management ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Crop Diversification ◽  
Herbicide Resistant ◽  
Technology Innovations ◽  
Diversified Farming Systems

Weeds are among the major constraints to any crop production system, reducing productivity and profitability. Herbicides are among the most effective methods to control weeds, and reliance on herbicides for weed control has increased significantly with the advent of herbicide-resistant crops. Unfortunately, over-reliance on herbicides leads to environmental-health issues and herbicide-resistant weeds, causing human health and ecological concerns. Crop diversification can help manage weeds sustainably in major crop production systems. It acts as an organizing principle under which technological innovations and ecological insights can be combined to manage weeds sustainably. Diversified cropping can be defined as the conscious inclusion of functional biodiversity at temporal and/or spatial levels to improve the productivity and stability of ecosystem services. Crop diversification helps to reduce weed density by negatively impacting weed seed germination and weed growth. Additionally, diversified farming systems are more resilient to climate change than monoculture systems and provide better crop yield. However, there are a few challenges to adopting a diversified cropping system, ranging from technology innovations, government policies, farm-level decisions, climate change, and market conditions. In this review, we discuss how crop diversification supports sustainable weed management, the challenges associated with it, and the future of weed management with respect to the diversification concept.

scholarly journals Crop Diversification for Improved Weed Management: A Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gourav Sharma ◽  
Swati Shrestha ◽  
Kunwar Sudip ◽  
Te Ming Tseng
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Weed Management ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Crop Diversification ◽  
Herbicide Resistant ◽  
Technology Innovations ◽  
Diversified Farming Systems

Weeds are among the major constraints to any crop production system, reducing productivity and profitability. Herbicides are among the most effective methods to control weeds, and reliance on herbicides for weed control has increased significantly with the advent of herbicide-resistant crops. Unfortunately, over-reliance on herbicides leads to environmental-health issues and herbicide-resistant weeds, causing human-health and ecological concerns. Crop diversification can help manage weeds sustainably in major crop production systems. It acts as an organizing principle under which technological innovations and ecological insights can be combined to manage weeds sustainably. Diversified cropping can be defined as the conscious inclusion of functional biodiversity at temporal and/or spatial levels to improve the productivity and stability of ecosystem services. Crop diversification helps to reduce weed density by negatively impacting weed seed germination and weed growth. Additionally, diversified farming systems are more resilient to climate change than monoculture systems and provide better crop yield. However, there are a few challenges to adopting a diversified cropping system, which ranges from technology innovations, government policies, farm-level decisions, climate change, and market conditions. In this review, we discuss how crop diversification supports sustainable weed management, the challenges associated with it, and the future of weed management with respect to the diversification concept.

Micro and Macro-level Analysis of Crop Diversification: Evidence from an Agrarian State West Bengal

2020 ◽  
pp. 489-499
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Structure Questionnaire ◽  
Crop Diversification ◽  
The Status ◽  
Block Level ◽  
Diversified Farming Systems

The farming system in West Bengal is being shifted by integration between the set of cash crops and the main food harvest process. This change in diversified farming systems, where smallholders have a production base in rice can complement production; affect technical efficiency and farm performance. The goal of this study was to investigate the status of crop diversification on smallholders in West Bengal. First, crop diversification regions were developed in West Bengal based on the Herfindahl index, which were categorized into three regions. Three sample districts were studied separately at the block level, and 915 small farmers from 41 sample villages of 9 sample blocks were interviewed through a good structure questionnaire for field studies from the sample districts. West Bengal was gradually moving towards multiple crop production. Furthermore, increasing rice production reduced the marginal use of inputs for the production of other crops. Farming and other vital factors such as HYVs area to GCA, average holding size and per capita income in some districts of West Bengal can be identified as determinants of crop diversification.

Does socioeconomic status moderate the political divide on climate change? The roles of education, income, and individualism

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 102024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew T. Ballew ◽  
Adam R. Pearson ◽  
Matthew H. Goldberg ◽  
Seth A. Rosenthal ◽  
Anthony Leiserowitz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Divide

scholarly journals Coastal Scenic Beauty and Sensitivity at the Balearic Islands, Spain: Implication of Natural and Human Factors

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 456
Author(s):  
Alexis Mooser ◽  
Giorgio Anfuso ◽  
Lluís Gómez-Pujol ◽  
Angela Rizzo ◽  
Allan T. Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
User Preferences ◽  
Balearic Islands ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Sensitivity Index ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Human Pressure ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Scenic Beauty

Coastal areas globally are facing a significant range of environmental stresses, enhanced by climate change-related processes and a continuous increase of human activities. The economic benefits of tourism are well-known for coastal regions, but, very often, conflicts arise between short-term benefits and long-term conservation goals. Among beach user preferences, five parameters of greater importance stand out from the rest, i.e., safety, facilities, water quality, litter and scenery; the latter is the main concern of this study. A coastal scenic evaluation was carried out in the Balearic Islands and focused on two major issues: coastal scenic beauty together with sensitivity to natural processes and human pressure. The archipelago is renowned as a top international coastal tourist destination that receives more than 13.5 million visitors (2019). Impressive landscape diversity makes the Balearics Islands an ideal field for this research. In total, 52 sites, respectively located in Ibiza (11), Formentera (5), Mallorca (18) and Menorca (18), were field-tested. In a first step, coastal scenic beauty was quantified using the coastal scenic evaluation system (CSES) method, based on the evaluation of 26 physical and human parameters, and using weighting matrices parameters and fuzzy logic mathematics. An evaluation index (“D”) was obtained for each site, allowing one to classify them in one of the five scenic classes established by the method. Twenty-nine sites were included in class I, corresponding to extremely attractive sites (CSES), which were mainly observed in Menorca. Several sound measures were proposed to maintain and/or enhance sites’ scenic value. In a second step, scenic sensitivity was evaluated using a novel methodological approach that makes possible the assessment of three different coastal scenic sensitivity indexes (CSSI), i.e., the natural sensitivity index NSI, the human sensitivity index HSI and the total sensitivity index TSI. Future climate change trends and projection of tourism development, studied at municipality scale, were considered as correction factors. All the islands showed places highly sensitive to environmental processes, while sensitivity to human pressure was essentially observed at Ibiza and Mallorca. Thereafter, sites were categorized into one of three sensitive groups established by the methodology. Results obtained are useful in pointing out very sensitive sceneries as well as limiting, preventing and/or anticipating future scenic degradation linked to natural and human issues.

scholarly journals A global database of diversified farming effects on biodiversity and yield

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah K. Jones ◽  
Andrea C. Sánchez ◽  
Stella D. Juventia ◽  
Natalia Estrada-Carmona
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Global Database ◽  
Diversified Farming Systems

AbstractWith the Convention on Biological Diversity conference (COP15), United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and United Nations Food Systems Summit, 2021 is a pivotal year for transitioning towards sustainable food systems. Diversified farming systems are key to more sustainable food production. Here we present a global dataset documenting outcomes of diversified farming practices for biodiversity and yields compiled following best standards for systematic review of primary studies and specifically designed for use in meta-analysis. The dataset includes 4076 comparisons of biodiversity outcomes and 1214 of yield in diversified farming systems compared to one of two reference systems. It contains evidence from 48 countries of effects on species from 33 taxonomic orders (spanning insects, plants, birds, mammals, eukaryotes, annelids, fungi, and bacteria) of diversified farming systems producing annual or perennial crops across 12 commodity groups. The dataset presented provides a resource for researchers and practitioners to easily access information on where diversified farming systems effectively contribute to biodiversity and food production outcomes.

scholarly journals Community seed network in an era of climate change: dynamics of maize diversity in Yucatán, Mexico

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianna Fenzi ◽  
Paul Rogé ◽  
Angel Cruz-Estrada ◽  
John Tuxill ◽  
Devra Jarvis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
Farming Community ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Maize Diversity ◽  
Climatic Period ◽  
Small Holder Farmers

AbstractLocal seed systems remain the fundamental source of seeds for many crops in developing countries. Climate resilience for small holder farmers continues to depend largely on locally available seeds of traditional crop varieties. High rainfall events can have as significant an impact on crop production as increased temperatures and drought. This article analyzes the dynamics of maize diversity over 3 years in a farming community of Yucatán state, Mexico, where elevated levels of precipitation forced farmers in 2012 to reduce maize diversity in their plots. We study how farmers maintained their agroecosystem resilience through seed networks, examining the drivers influencing maize diversity and seed provisioning in the year preceding and following the 2012 climatic disturbance (2011–2013). We found that, under these challenging circumstances, farmers focused their efforts on their most reliable landraces, disregarding hybrids. We show that farmers were able to recover and restore the diversity usually cultivated in the community in the year following the critical climate event. The maize dynamic assessed in this study demonstrates the importance of community level conservation of crop diversity. Understanding farmer management strategies of agrobiodiversity, especially during a challenging climatic period, is necessary to promote a more tailored response to climate change in traditional farming systems.

scholarly journals Rethinking Climate, Climate Change, and Their Relationship with Water

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 849
Author(s):  
Demetris Koutsoyiannis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Main Element ◽  
The Political ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
External Agent ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Water Issues

We revisit the notion of climate, along with its historical evolution, tracing the origin of the modern concerns about climate. The notion (and the scientific term) of climate was established during the Greek antiquity in a geographical context and it acquired its statistical content (average weather) in modern times after meteorological measurements had become common. Yet the modern definitions of climate are seriously affected by the wrong perception of the previous two centuries that climate should regularly be constant, unless an external agent acts upon it. Therefore, we attempt to give a more rigorous definition of climate, consistent with the modern body of stochastics. We illustrate the definition by real-world data, which also exemplify the large climatic variability. Given this variability, the term “climate change” turns out to be scientifically unjustified. Specifically, it is a pleonasm as climate, like weather, has been ever-changing. Indeed, a historical investigation reveals that the aim in using that term is not scientific but political. Within the political aims, water issues have been greatly promoted by projecting future catastrophes while reversing true roles and causality directions. For this reason, we provide arguments that water is the main element that drives climate, and not the opposite.

Umstrittene Expertise

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Global Dimension ◽  
The Political ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
Controversial Nature

The current political debates about climate change or the coronavirus pandemic reveal the fundamental controversial nature of expertise in politics and society. The contributions in this volume analyse various facets, actors and dynamics of the current conflicts about knowledge and expertise. In addition to examining the contradictions of expertise in politics, the book discusses the political consequences of its controversial nature, the forms and extent of policy advice, expert conflicts in civil society and culture, and the global dimension of expertise. This special issue also contains a forum including reflections on the role of expertise during the coronavirus pandemic. The volume includes perspectives from sociology, political theory, political science and law.

Klimaatverandering als journalistieke uitdaging: een literatuurstudie

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard van der Wurff
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
The Political ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
News Values ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Political Challenge ◽  
Media Logic ◽  
Political Framing ◽  
Selection Of

Climate change as a challenge for journalism: a review of the literature Climate change as a challenge for journalism: a review of the literature This literature review synthesizes 35 years of research on climate change reporting in industrialized countries. It focuses on the production and content of climate change news. Starting from the notion of the mediatisation of politics, the study shows that news values and media logic shape the selection of climate change related newsworthy events, while political actors and their logics determine the political framing of the issue. Next, implications for public opinion and mediated public debate are briefly assessed. Overall, the findings suggest that reporting focuses on threats and conflicts, favours national rather than transnational angles, reinforces ideological cleavages, downplays deliberative arguments, and disengages citizens. In conclusion, four lines of research are proposed that can help us better understand the role media might play in engaging citizens in a more deliberative mediated debate on climate change as important ecological and political challenge.

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