Application of Plant Biodiversity for Improving Nutrient Cycling

Application of Plant Biodiversity for Improving Nutrient Cycling
Author: Katja Witzel
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2022-11-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 2889744140

The current agricultural plant production system is dominated by mono-cropping with genetically uniform cultivars. This genetic erosion has led to a displacement of locally adapted landraces and cultivars and poses a serious threat to plant productivity in stressed agro-ecosystems. The adaptation of crops to drought, heat, salinity, and low soil fertility is becoming paramount due to global climate change. Utilizing exotic or underused germplasms as a source of adaptive traits is a largely untapped way to ensure a stable yield. The task to apply biodiversity in crop production to confer food security and sustainability was acknowledged by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and reflected by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In many parts of the world, poor soil fertility threatens yield stability. Therefore, the soil nutrient reserve must be replenished to sustain crop yield. Mineral fertilizer in excess, however, is detrimental to the environment. For instance, elevated loads of nitrogen, phosphorus, or chlorine pollute water bodies and impact on biodiversity. Major anticipated concerns for our agricultural systems are the limitation in phosphorus, temperature increase, extreme and unpredictable weather events, and salinity. Therefore, environmentally friendly strategies to optimize nutrient cycling are urgently required and this involves increasing nutrient use efficiency. In the face of climate change, it is necessary to mine crop biodiversity to increase nutrient uptake and usage, and to help implement a "Zero-Waste" concept in plant nutrition. This Research Topic is intended to provide an updated view on the use of crop biodiversity to open new avenues for improved nutrient cycling. We welcome contributions (Original Research, Review, Mini Review, and Perspective) covering any of the following aspects: - Studies on improving nutrient fluxes through control of production factors both in controlled environments and in the field (horticulture/agriculture) - Screening and application of genebank material for improved nutrient use efficiency - Studies on the effect of combining (novel) crop species (multi-cropping, intercropping, rotations, cover cropping) on crop performance and nutrient availability - Effect of mutualistic species (mycorrhiza or bacteria) on nutrient cycling; e.g. improvement of nutrient uptake and by mutualism. - Climate change-driven effects on nutrient cycling; e.g. how do different temperatures/precipitation influence nutrient cycling through soils?

The Role of Smallholder Farms in Food and Nutrition Security

The Role of Smallholder Farms in Food and Nutrition Security
Author: Sergio Gomez y Paloma
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2020-01-01
Genre: Agriculture
ISBN: 3030421481

This open access book discusses the current role of smallholders in connection with food security and poverty reduction in developing countries. It addresses the opportunities they enjoy, and the constraints they face, by analysing the availability, access to and utilization of production factors. Due to the relevance of smallholder farms, enhancing their production capacities and economic and social resilience could produce positive impacts on food security and nutrition at a number of levels. In addition to the role of small farmers as food suppliers, the book considers their role as consumers and their level of nutrition security. It investigates the link between agriculture and nutrition in order to better understand how agriculture affects human health and dietary patterns. Given the importance of smallholdings, strategies to increase their productivity are essential to improving food and nutrition security, as well as food diversity.

Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems

Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems
Author: Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2017-03-15
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0128054018

Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems examines the climate, environmental, and human effects on agroecosystems and how the existing paradigms must be revised in order to establish sustainable production. The increased demand for food and fuel exerts tremendous stress on all aspects of natural resources and the environment to satisfy an ever increasing world population, which includes the use of agriculture products for energy and other uses in addition to human and animal food. The book presents options for ecological systems that mimic the natural diversity of the ecosystem and can have significant effect as the world faces a rapidly changing and volatile climate. The book explores the introduction of sustainable agroecosystems that promote biodiversity, sustain soil health, and enhance food production as ways to help mitigate some of these adverse effects. New agroecosystems will help define a resilient system that can potentially absorb some of the extreme shifts in climate. Changing the existing cropping system paradigm to utilize natural system attributes by promoting biodiversity within production agricultural systems, such as the integration of polycultures, will also enhance ecological resiliency and will likely increase carbon sequestration. - Focuses on the intensification and integration of agroecosystem and soil resiliency by presenting suggested modifications of the current cropping system paradigm - Examines climate, environment, and human effects on agroecosystems - Explores in depth the wide range of intercalated soil and plant interactions as they influence soil sustainability and, in particular, soil quality - Presents options for ecological systems that mimic the natural diversity of the ecosystem and can have significant effect as the world faces a rapidly changing and volatile climate

Plant Biodiversity and Genetic Resources

Plant Biodiversity and Genetic Resources
Author: Andreas W. Ebert
Publisher: MDPI
Total Pages: 672
Release: 2021-06-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3036508945

The papers included in this Special Issue address a variety of important aspects of plant biodiversity and genetic resources, including definitions, descriptions, and illustrations of different components and their value for food and nutrition security, breeding, and environmental services. Furthermore, comprehensive information is provided regarding conservation approaches and techniques for plant genetic resources, policy aspects, and results of biological, genetic, morphological, economic, social, and breeding-related research activities. The complexity and vulnerability of (plant) biodiversity and its inherent genetic resources, as an integral part of the contextual ecosystem and the human web of life, are clearly demonstrated in this Special Issue, and for several encountered problems and constraints, possible approaches or solutions are presented to overcome these.

Mechanisms Underlying the Relationship Between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function

Mechanisms Underlying the Relationship Between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function
Author:
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2019-10-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0081029136

Advances in Ecological Research, Volume 61, the latest release in this ongoing series includes specific chapters on the Mechanistic links between biodiversity and ecosystem function, A multitrophic, eco-evolutionary perspective on biodiversity–ecosystem functioning research, Linking species coexistence to ecosystem functioning - a conceptual framework from ecological first principles, Species contributions to above and below ground biodiversity effects in the Trait-Based Experiment, Plant diversity effects on element cycling, Plant diversity effects on consumer community structure, stability, and ecosystem function, Plant community assembly and the consequences for ecosystem function, and more. - Provides information that relates to a thorough understanding of the field of ecology - Deals with topical and important reviews on the physiologies, populations and communities of plants and animals

The Biology of Soil

The Biology of Soil
Author: Richard Bardgett
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2005-06-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780198525035

Soil science has undergone a renaissance with increasing awareness of the importance of soil organisms and below-ground biotic interactions as drivers of community and ecosystem properties.

World Agriculture

World Agriculture
Author: Jelle Bruinsma
Publisher: Earthscan
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2003
Genre: Agricultural estimating and reporting
ISBN: 1844070077

First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Nutrient Cycling in Terrestrial Ecosystems

Nutrient Cycling in Terrestrial Ecosystems
Author: Petra Marschner
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 409
Release: 2007-05-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3540680276

This book presents a comprehensive overview of nutrient cycling processes and their importance for plant growth and ecosystem sustainability. The book combines fundamental scientific studies and devised practical approaches. It contains contributions of leading international authorities from various disciplines resulting in multidisciplinary approaches, and all chapters have been carefully reviewed. This volume will support scientists and practitioners alike.

Sustainable Living with Environmental Risks

Sustainable Living with Environmental Risks
Author: Nobuhiro Kaneko
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2014-03-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 4431548041

We are not free from environmental risks that accompany the development of human societies. Modern economic development has accelerated environmental pollution, caused loss of natural habitats, and modified landscapes. These environmental changes have impacted natural systems: water and heat circulation, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity. These changes in natural systems degrade ecosystem services and subsequently increase environmental risks for humans. Environmental risks, therefore, are not only human health risks by pollution, climatic anomalies and natural disasters, but also degradation of ecosystem services on which most people are relying for their lives. We cannot entirely eliminate the risks, because it is not possible to attain zero impact on the environment, but we need to find a mechanism that minimizes environmental risks for human sustainably. This is the idea of the interdisciplinary framework of “environmental risk management” theory, which advocates harmony between economic development and environmental conservation. Based on this theory, the Sustainable Living with Environmental Risk (SLER) programme, adopted by the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) as one of its strategic programmes, has been training graduate students at the Yokohama National University, Japan, from 2009 to 2013 to become future environmental leaders who will take the initiative in reducing the level of environmental risks and in protecting natural resources in the developing nations of Asia and Africa. This book provides students and teachers of this new academic field with a comprehensive coverage of case studies of environmental risks and their practical management technologies not only in Japan but also in developing nations in Asia and Africa.

Nourishment

Nourishment
Author: Fred Provenza
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2018
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1603588027

Reflections on feeding body and spirit in a world of change Animal scientists have long considered domestic livestock to be too dumb to know how to eat right, but the lifetime research of animal behaviorist Fred Provenza and his colleagues has debunked this myth. Their work shows that when given a choice of natural foods, livestock have an astoundingly refined palate, nibbling through the day on as many as fifty kinds of grasses, forbs, and shrubs to meet their nutritional needs with remarkable precision. In Nourishment Provenza presents his thesis of the wisdom body, a wisdom that links flavor-feedback relationships at a cellular level with biochemically rich foods to meet the body's nutritional and medicinal needs. Provenza explores the fascinating complexity of these relationships as he raises and answers thought-provoking questions about what we can learn from animals about nutritional wisdom. What kinds of memories form the basis for how herbivores, and humans, recognize foods? Can a body develop nutritional and medicinal memories in utero and early in life? Do humans still possess the wisdom to select nourishing diets? Or, has that ability been hijacked by nutritional "authorities"? Consumers eager for a "quick fix" have empowered the multibillion-dollar-a-year supplement industry, but is taking supplements and enriching and fortifying foods helping us, or is it hurting us? On a broader scale Provenza explores the relationships among facets of complex, poorly understood, ever-changing ecological, social, and economic systems in light of an unpredictable future. To what degree do we lose contact with life-sustaining energies when the foods we eat come from anywhere but where we live? To what degree do we lose the mythological relationship that links us physically and spiritually with Mother Earth who nurtures our lives? Provenza's paradigm-changing exploration of these questions has implications that could vastly improve our health through a simple change in the way we view our relationships with the plants and animals we eat. Our health could be improved by eating biochemically rich foods and by creating cultures that know how to combine foods into meals that nourish and satiate. Provenza contends the voices of "authority" disconnect most people from a personal search to discover the inner wisdom that can nourish body and spirit. That journey means embracing wonder and uncertainty and avoiding illusions of stability and control as we dine on a planet in a universe bent on consuming itself.