Quantifying Earth system interactions for sustainable food production: an expert elicitation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Chrysafi ◽  
Vili Virkki ◽  
Mika Jalava ◽  
Vilma Sandström ◽  
Johannes Piipponen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Expert Elicitation ◽  
Green Water ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Land System ◽  
Human Perturbations

Abstract Several safe boundaries of critical Earth system processes have already been crossed by human perturbations. Recent research indicates that not accounting for the interactions between these processes may further narrow the safe operating space for humanity. Yet existing work accounts only for transgression of single boundaries and only a few studies take some of the boundary interactions into account. For future sustainability assessments, it is essential to understand boundary transgressions and their interactions more comprehensively. Here, we explore quantitatively how strongly seven variables, representing Earth system processes relevant to food production, interact with each other, using a structured expert knowledge elicitation. We identify Green water and Land system change as crucial interactive processes through their impacts on multiple relevant processes, while Biosphere integrity-land, freshwater and ocean components appear to be most affected by other Earth system processes, most notably Blue water and Biogeochemical flows. The elicitation also enabled us to map the complex network of mechanisms mediating interactions, to support integrated Earth system and planetary boundaries modelling and assessments. Finally, we created a prioritisation scheme for future research according to the interaction strengths and existing knowledge gaps. Our analysis improves our understanding of Earth system interactions, with clear implications for sustainable use of natural resources such as the biophysical limits for food production.

scholarly journals Technological Advancement and the Economic Benefit of Indonesian Rain-Fed Farming Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
A. A. Sulaiman ◽  
A. Candradijaya ◽  
M. Syakir
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Production Capacity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cropping Pattern ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Drought Tolerant ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Cultivation Techniques

The contribution of rain-fed farming to national food production in Indonesia has yet to be optimal. The major constraint has been limited water supply, where it relies exclusively on the rainfall, and hence its planting index (PI) is still low, on average only 1.05. The establishment of water management system to support rain-fed fields with the introduction of suitable cultivation techniques (gogo rancah, walik jerami, super jarwo, and ratoon paddy) is known to be effective in rain-fed farming. Further, the use of drought-tolerant paddy variety and changing cropping pattern to focus on paddy, maize, and soybean would potentially improve the food production capacity in Indonesia. This study has shown these interventions, when applied to the existing 4 million ha rain-fed fields, are estimated to increase annual rice production by 16.7 million tons. The production of maize and soybean is also expected to increase by 3.7 million tons and 0.98 million tons per year, respectively. It is beyond the scope of this study, however, to consider the actual benefit felt by rain-fed smallholder farmers. Future research with farmers as its focus and the capacity of Indonesian institutions toward rain-fed farming thus will contribute further to the rain-fed farming development in Indonesia. This article shares a strategy in maximising the contribution of the currently available 4 million hectares of rain-fed land to the national food production, and hence sustainable food self-sufficiency in Indonesia.

Hydroponics: potential for augmenting sustainable food production in non-arable regions

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 672-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenin Treftz ◽  
Stanley T. Omaye
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Food Production ◽  
Parallel Increase ◽  
Controlled Environments ◽  
Water Waste

Purpose The purpose of this review of the literature is to provide readers a foundation of understanding whereby future research can move forward in the quest for global sustainable food production. Design/methodology/approach This review includes up-to-date information from evidence-based sources on hydroponics. Topics included are advantages, limitations, nutritional quality and sensory quality Findings Hydroponic growing systems offer the opportunity to at least augment traditional soil-based growing systems in global food production. Some benefits of hydroponic growing systems are limitation of water waste (recirculation), crops grown in controlled environments (control of pests, nutrients and attributes required for optimal plant growth) and ability to manipulate conditions to maximize production in limited space (vertical gardens). Practical implications The human population is increasing with a parallel increase in the demand for food; therefore, food production must increase to meet the need. Originality/value In spite of the rapid interest and proliferation of information by laypeople, evidence-based research is scant on hydroponics. This article provides a summary of the literature on hydroponics and how it may be used for sustainable food production in arid and urban areas.

scholarly journals Calculation of Ecological Compensation Standards for Arable Land Based on the Value Flow of Support Services

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 719
Author(s):  
Yunxiao Bai ◽  
Moucheng Liu ◽  
Lun Yang
Keyword(s):  
Support Services ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Ecological Compensation ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Staple Foods ◽  
Value Flow

Food production is the basis for ensuring human survival. Ecological compensation for arable land is important to ensure the sustainable use of arable land and food production. However, how is it possible to set the standard of ecological compensation and how to achieve it scientifically? In this paper, we take China as the study area and link the ecological compensation of arable land with the production, circulation and consumption of three staple foods. The amount of food is converted into the area of arable land needed to produce that food. After calculating the value of ecosystem services that support food production on arable land, the ecological compensation standard is obtained, and the realization mode between regions is constructed. The results show that: (1) the flow of staple foods in China is mainly from north to south and the value of arable land support services provided by northern provinces is greater than that of southern provinces; (2) the province that needs to pay the most ecological compensation for cultivated land is Guangdong Province, with an amount of ¥16.082 billion RMB, and the province that receives the most compensation is Heilongjiang Province, with an amount of ¥21.547 billion RMB; (3) in order to coordinate the collection and distribution of ecological compensation in each province, it is necessary to establish an ecological compensation fund for arable land in the central government. Protecting the ecological status of arable land and ensuring sustainable food production is in the overall interest of the country.

Quantifying Planetary Boundaries interaction strengths with expert knowledge elicitation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Chrysafi ◽  
Mika Jalava ◽  
Vili Virkki ◽  
Miina Porkka ◽  
Vilma Sandström ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Knowledge Elicitation ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Planetary Boundaries ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Custom Made

<p>The concept of planetary boundaries (PBs) was developed to set biophysical limits to human perturbations and to maintain the Earth System at its current steady-state. Research has focused on further updating and improving the PBs, while utilizing them as the conditional basis for sustainable development. A limitation of the current approaches, and focus of our work, is that the PBs closely related to food production are assessed individually without considering their interactions and feedbacks. These PBs include surface water use, land-system change, biogeochemical flows, and biosphere integrity. Such an omission could potentially overestimate the margin for food production within PBs on a local scale, which could have negative implications for sustainable food supply.  </p><p>Here, we aim to quantify these interactions with the ultimate goal of estimating a more realistic safe operating space (SOS) for future food production. We build on earlier literature review-based work that identified and quantified many PBs interactions on global scale but was unable to identify and quantify some of the interactions that are important to food production. Thus, we move a step forward by using expert knowledge elicitation to quantify the PBs interactions important to food production at local scale and to qualitatively map the mediating biophysical mechanisms. Expert knowledge elicitation suits the study well since it can fill knowledge gaps when quantitative data is scarce. In this work, we identified the missing links and expanded our knowledge on existing PBs interactions. Following recent work on updating PBs definitions, we divided the biosphere integrity PB into land, freshwater, and ocean components and the surface water PB into blue and green water components. These divisions accommodate for the differences among the Earth System functions. Where needed, we developed new interim control variables to enable quantifying the interaction strengths.</p><p>The expert knowledge elicitation was conducted remotely following the IDEA elicitation protocol and utilizing a custom-made web application. A total of 37 experts, in various fields of Earth sciences, completed the process and we received input for all 42 interactions, ranging from 5 to 19 responses each, with a median response rate of 9. We collected both quantitative and qualitative data on interaction strengths, tipping points, and mediating mechanisms, which are aggregated and used in synergy to better describe complex Earth System processes. In addition, we aim to highlight the most important interactions in an effort to prioritize them based on their role in the Earth System and existing knowledge gaps.</p>

scholarly journals Synergies and Trade-Offs for Sustainable Food Production in Sweden: An Integrated Approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin Tälle ◽  
Lotten Wiréhn ◽  
Daniel Ellström ◽  
Mattias Hjerpe ◽  
Maria Huge-Brodin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Resource Distribution ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Production Chain ◽  
Sustainable Food Production ◽  
Trade Offs

The production of food can have large impacts on sustainable development in relation to various socio-ecological dimensions, like climate change, the environment, animal welfare, livestock epidemiology, and the economy. To achieve a sustainable food production system in Sweden, an integrated approach that considers all five of these dimensions, and all parts of the food production chain, is necessary. This paper systematically reviewed the literature related to food production in Sweden, especially in association with resource distribution and recycling logistics, and identified potential sustainability interventions and assessed their effects according to the five dimensions. Participation of stakeholders across the food production chain contributed with the focus of the literature search and subsequent synthesis. In general, there were synergies between the sustainability interventions and their effect on climate change and the environment, while there often were trade-offs between effects on the economy and the other dimensions. Few interventions considered effects on animal welfare or livestock epidemiology and few studies dealt with resource distribution and recycling logistics. This indicates that there is a need for future research that considers this in particular, as well as research that considers the whole food production chain and all dimensions at once, and investigates effects across multiple scales.

Towards a green water planetary boundary

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Wang-Erlandsson ◽  
Ruud van der Ent ◽  
Arie Staal ◽  
Miina Porkka ◽  
Arne Tobian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Expert Elicitation ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Green Water ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Spatially Distributed ◽  
System Functioning ◽  
Operating Space

<p>Green water - soil moisture, evaporation, and precipitation over land - is fundamental to safeguard Earth system functioning. Nonlinear green-water driven changes in climate, ecosystems, biogeochemistry, and hydrology are becoming increasingly evident and widespread. Yet, considerations of continental to planetary scale green-water dynamics are yet to be assessed and incorporated in management and governance. Here, we propose a green water planetary boundary (PB) - as part of the planetary boundary framework that demarcates a global “safe-operating space” for humanity - for assessing green-water related changes that can affect the capacity of the Earth system to remain in Holocene-like conditions. We consider green-water related processes associated with all scales: spatially distributed units, regions or biomes, and the Earth system as a whole. The proposed green water PB variable is selected through expert elicitation based on a set of transparent evaluation criteria that consider both scientific and governability aspects. Finally, we clarify the appropriate use of a green water PB, outline remaining challenges, and propose a research agenda for future navigation and quantitative assessments of the biophysical Earth system scale boundaries of green water changes.</p>

Governing climate change for sustainable food production: A case study of emerging markets

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-75
Author(s):  
Robert Ddamulira
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Future Success ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
Change Impact ◽  
Document Review

This article addresses three research questions: How does climate change impact food production? What are the governance challenges associated with managing such impacts? What are the conditions for future success in managing the impacts of climate change on food production? To answer these questions, the researcher undertook a document review and analysis to address these various aspects with a major focus on East Africa. The study finds that climate change affects food production largely through its physical impacts on precipitation and increased the frequency of extreme weather events. Within a context of weak governance; climate change further challenges governance institutional structures and mechanisms. The study concludes that specific aspects of the prevailing climate change governance regime require major reforms (particularly the role of the state, corporations and civil society) while other climate governance mechanisms need to be completely overhauled (for example through establishment of a new World Environment Organization).

New Territories of Positive Life-Span Development: Wisdom and Life Longings

2009 ◽  
pp. 170-184
Author(s):  
Susanne Scheibe ◽  
Ute Kunzmann ◽  
Paul B. Baltes
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Life Span Development ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
The Life Course

In search for concepts that help understand how individuals strive for growth and perfection within the boundaries and constraints of human lives, we describe theory and research on the concepts of wisdom, or expert knowledge about human nature and the life course, and Sehnsucht (life longings), the recurring and strong desire for ideal (utopian), alternative states and expressions of life. Both represent relatively new concepts on the agenda of lifespan research, originating from an interest in identifying major topics of public and humanist discourse about the potentials and constraints of life-span development and finding ways to measure them with the methods of normative psychological science. Despite their complexity and multiple meanings, progress has been made in the theory-driven operationalization of wisdom and life longings, allowing new insights into their ontogenesis and role for positive development. Emerging research shows that wisdom and life longings do not directly promote a hedonic life orientation or happiness: neither the insight that life is incomplete (wisdom) nor the experience of this incompleteness (life longings) is compatible with feelings of unequivocal joy and pleasure. Yet, there is emerging evidence that they contribute to other aspects of positive development, emphasizing personal growth, meaning, and the aligning of one's own and other's well-being. We suggest that future research should focus on the links of wisdom and life longings with multiple developmental outcomes and the possible interplay of both concepts in promoting positive development.

scholarly journals Integrating Theory in Co-design: An Abductive Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-77
Author(s):  
Erin Hurley ◽  
Timo Dietrich ◽  
Sharyn Rundle-Thiele
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognitive Theory ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Social Marketing ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Abductive Inference ◽  
Design Framework ◽  
Research Recommendations

Co-design empowers people, giving them a voice in social marketing program design; however, approaches have mostly excluded expert knowledge. An abductive approach to co-design allows for inclusion of expert knowledge, providing theoretical guidance while simultaneously investigating user views and ideas extending understanding beyond known effective approaches. We use the seven-step co-design framework and outline how an abductive inference can be applied to co-design. Social cognitive theory constructs were integrated into the seven-step co-design process. The abductive approach to co-design was tested in two co-design sessions involving 40 participants. Findings demonstrate that theory can be successfully integrated into the seven-step co-design process through utilization of theory-mapped activity cards. This article provides guidance on how theory can be incorporated into ideation and insight generation. Limitations and future research recommendations are provided.

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.

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