Alison M Carswell, Simon Willcock, Martin S A Blackwell, Hari Ram Upadhayay, Paul Harris, Graham McAuliffe, Andrew L Neal, M Jordana Rivero, Laura M Cardenas, Stephan M Haefele, Andrew P Whitmore, John A Dearing, Fusuo Zhang, Mark Farrell, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Yuri Jacques A B da Silva, Kwame Agyei Frimpong, Adrian L Collins
{"title":"Agricultural practices can threaten soil resilience through changing feedback loops.","authors":"Alison M Carswell, Simon Willcock, Martin S A Blackwell, Hari Ram Upadhayay, Paul Harris, Graham McAuliffe, Andrew L Neal, M Jordana Rivero, Laura M Cardenas, Stephan M Haefele, Andrew P Whitmore, John A Dearing, Fusuo Zhang, Mark Farrell, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Yuri Jacques A B da Silva, Kwame Agyei Frimpong, Adrian L Collins","doi":"10.1038/s44264-025-00098-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44264-025-00098-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Soil has supported terrestrial food production for millennia; however, agricultural intensification may affect its resilience. Using a systems-thinking approach, we reviewed the impacts of conventional-agriculture practices on soil resilience and identified alternative practices that could mitigate these effects. We found that many practices only affect soil resilience with their long-term repeated use. Lastly, we ranked the impacts that pose the greatest threats to soil resilience and, consequently, food and feed security.</p>","PeriodicalId":520846,"journal":{"name":"NPJ sustainable agriculture","volume":"3 1","pages":"56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12488477/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145234341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Guiding policies for agricultural nitrous oxide emission reduction with behavioral insights and experimentation.","authors":"Tongzhe Li, Yong Liu, Alfons Weersink, Claudia Wagner-Riddle","doi":"10.1038/s44264-025-00078-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44264-025-00078-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nitrogen fertilizer application causes emissions of nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O), a gas that contributes to global warming. N<sub>2</sub>O emission reduction is possible given technological advances. But climate policy for N<sub>2</sub>O reduction faces challenges caused by complex information, entangled risks with invisible gains, and polarized values. Behavioral factors influence farmers' decision-making, and here we argue context-dependent experimentation is needed to develop N<sub>2</sub>O reduction policies, proposing crop insurance as an example policy.</p>","PeriodicalId":520846,"journal":{"name":"NPJ sustainable agriculture","volume":"3 1","pages":"31"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12137125/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144251938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Conor J C Simpson, Dêêdi E O Sogbohossou, Gregory Reeves, M Eric Schranz, Pallavi Singh, Julian M Hibberd
{"title":"Genetic mapping for agronomic, nutritional, and leaf vein traits in the indigenous crop <i>Gynandropsis gynandra</i>.","authors":"Conor J C Simpson, Dêêdi E O Sogbohossou, Gregory Reeves, M Eric Schranz, Pallavi Singh, Julian M Hibberd","doi":"10.1038/s44264-025-00074-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44264-025-00074-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Gynandropsis gynandra</i> is a nutrient-rich, climate-resilient, C<sub>4</sub> under-utilised crop with potential to enhance food security in low-input farming systems. To support its genetic improvement, we performed linkage mapping using two F<sub>2</sub> populations (213 and 187 individuals) derived from Malaysian and Malawian founder lines. Under controlled greenhouse conditions, populations were phenotyped for agronomic traits (plant height, leaf area, flowering time), nutritional content (carotenoids, tocopherols), and anatomical features linked to C<sub>4</sub> photosynthesis (vein density, bundle sheath size). High-density SNP genotyping enabled construction of linkage maps and identification of 15 QTL. Shared QTL for plant size and flowering time across both populations suggest stable genetic control suitable for marker-assisted selection. Additional QTL for vein density and vitamin content provide insights into the genetic basis of agronomic traits and C<sub>4</sub> physiology. These results offer foundational tools for <i>G. gynandra</i> pre-breeding and reinforce its potential as a model for C<sub>4</sub> photosynthesis research and sustainable agriculture.</p>","PeriodicalId":520846,"journal":{"name":"NPJ sustainable agriculture","volume":"3 1","pages":"33"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12143976/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144251937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Catherine Nakalembe, Hannah R Kerner, Ivan Zvonkov, Michael Humber, Antonio S Galvez, Esther Makabe, Sara Venturini, Inbal Becker-Reshef
{"title":"A framework for EO-based National Agricultural Monitoring (EO-NAM) for the African Context.","authors":"Catherine Nakalembe, Hannah R Kerner, Ivan Zvonkov, Michael Humber, Antonio S Galvez, Esther Makabe, Sara Venturini, Inbal Becker-Reshef","doi":"10.1038/s44264-025-00083-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44264-025-00083-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Effective agriculture monitoring is vital for food security and achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger. Earth-observations (EO) offer unparalleled potential for scalable data, yet many developing nations, particularly in Africa, face challenges due to limited investments in human capacity and technology. We present a phased framework for EO-based agriculture monitoring systems, emphasizing national commitment and leveraging existing structures for long-term sustainability and adopting and adapting future advancements.</p>","PeriodicalId":520846,"journal":{"name":"NPJ sustainable agriculture","volume":"3 1","pages":"45"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12321565/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144796639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Agricultural environmental ethics: an emerging way to understand and solve sustainability challenges.","authors":"Kate A Congreves","doi":"10.1038/s44264-025-00071-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44264-025-00071-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The discipline of agricultural science must integrate with moral philosophy to understand and overcome barriers to sustainability. It is exceptionally rare that these fields are adjoined, but doing so reveals implicit assumptions that have shaped our agricultural system and offer opportunities for solutions. Here, I explore our agricultural system through the lens of moral philosophy and propose regenerative agriculture as an integrative framework for progress towards sustainability.</p>","PeriodicalId":520846,"journal":{"name":"NPJ sustainable agriculture","volume":"3 1","pages":"28"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12098116/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144145285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kang Liang, Xuesong Zhang, Gregory W McCarty, Kaiguang Zhao, Feng Gao
{"title":"From basin to gulf: Conservation tillage improves soil health but exacerbates hypoxia.","authors":"Kang Liang, Xuesong Zhang, Gregory W McCarty, Kaiguang Zhao, Feng Gao","doi":"10.1038/s44264-025-00090-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44264-025-00090-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Agricultural management practices such as conservation tillage is promoted in the U.S. Midwest for improving soil health, mitigating nutrient loss, and reducing hypoxia in the Gulf of America (GOA). However, large-scale evaluations of tillage impact on soil organic carbon (SOC), water quality, and the implications for hypoxia in the Gulf are lacking. By combining a meta-analysis of field experiments with watershed modelling, this study finds that by 2050, no-till (NT) farming could enhance SOC by ~5.4 MgC ha<sup>-</sup> <sup>1</sup>, increase streamflow by 17.3%, and reduce soil erosion by ~4.9%, compared to high-intensity tillage (HT). However, widespread NT adoption could raise nitrogen loss, thus expand summer hypoxia of the GOA to 16,500 km², 21.5% larger than the HT scenario. Despite its soil health benefits, conservation tillage may complicate efforts to reduce hypoxic zones to the targeted 5000 km² by 2035. These tradeoffs underscore the need for balanced approaches in future conservation strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":520846,"journal":{"name":"NPJ sustainable agriculture","volume":"3 1","pages":"47"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12394069/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144987025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}