Agricultural Systems最新文献

{"title":"Global warming creates the adaptation tipping points of livestock exposure to cold and heat stress on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau","authors":"Ning Zhan ,&nbsp;Weihang Liu ,&nbsp;Tao Ye ,&nbsp;Yiqing Liu ,&nbsp;Zitong Li ,&nbsp;Heng Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104190","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104190","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Global warming has created tipping points across various ecosystems, but few studies have focused on the livestock systems. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) has been warming at a rate two to three times greater than the global average, potentially leading to a transition from historically prevalent livestock cold stress to heat stress.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>This study aims to estimate the cold and heat stress exposure of livestock systems on the QTP under climate change, and identify the adaptation tipping points and disproportionate changes of livestock predominant cold-to-heat stress exposure.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>Livestock cold and heat stress were evaluated based on seasonal distribution and specific thresholds. The Moving-<em>t-</em>test and non-linear analyses were used to identify adaptation tipping points and examine disproportionate changes between the increase in heat stress and the decrease in cold stress.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>The adaptation tipping points of cold-to-heat stress transition for cattle have already arrived, while that for sheep would also come within this century if warming is not limited to 2 °C. As climate warming becomes more severe, the increased heat stress exposure is greater than decreased cold stress exposure, and the positive disproportionality is increasing with the rise of temperature.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>This study not only sheds light on the underexplored realm of tipping points within the livestock systems but also offers crucial insights into livestock adapting to the changing dynamics of cold and heat stress on the QTP in the context of global warming.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"223 ","pages":"Article 104190"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142699259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing capacities for sustainability transition policy design: Lessons from French pesticide reduction plans","authors":"Viviane Trèves,&nbsp;Mourad Hannachi,&nbsp;Jean-Marc Meynard","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104175","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104175","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Reducing pesticide use has become an important policy objective in several countries, yet many have failed to reach their goals. Policies need to be more systemic to address lock-ins hindering pesticide reduction. To do so, policymakers must improve policymaking processes, while ensuring active stakeholder participation. This requires specific policy capacities, which have not yet been characterized.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>This article aims to identify policy capacities needed to improve the collective elaboration of pesticide reduction policies and integrate a systemic approach.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>We studied the collective elaboration of the French pesticide reduction plans. We built a narration of the policy process organized by policymakers, based on semi-structured interviews and an analysis of grey literature. We then reflected on which policy capacities policymakers needed to better manage the policy design process, using the “management situation” concept.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>Our results show that to better design pesticide reduction policies, policymakers lacked four types of interdependent “policy capacities”: capacities to support collective sensemaking about lock-ins, to co-design interdependent and multi-level instruments, to co-design suitable implementation structures and to ensure learning. These results highlight an issue of dynamic capabilities in public organizations.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>Our results provide concrete proposals to improve design processes for pesticide reduction policies aiming at systemic transformations: there is a need to develop new methods, tools, analytical resources and training programs for policymakers, to support the development of the policy capacities identified. These results also suggest avenues for future action-research between public management, systemic agronomy, sustainability and design sciences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"223 ","pages":"Article 104175"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142699256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Main characteristics of French farms adopting cereal–legume intercropping: A quantitative exploration at the national and local levels","authors":"Elodie Yan,&nbsp;Philippe Martin,&nbsp;Marco Carozzi","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104196","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104196","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Cereal–legume intercropping is a diversification practice that offers many advantages, especially in low-input systems. However, its adoption remains low on European farms, as technical and economic barriers hinder its development. In recent years, an increase in the proportion of arable land cultivated with cereal–legume intercrops has been observed in France. Three areas in particular – in Western, Eastern and Southern France – seem to be particularly dynamic.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>This study aimed (i) to identify the main farm characteristics associated with the presence of cereal–legume intercrops at the national level in France and (ii) to highlight more specific characteristics that could explain the particular dynamics observed in each focus region.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>We analysed data from the 2020 French Agricultural Census for 43,968 farms representative of the French arable crop, livestock, and mixed crop–livestock farming systems. Through a literature review, we identified key factors linked to the presence of cereal–legume intercrops and related them to 42 variables in the census. At the national level, the most important of these variables were identified and interpreted using a balanced random forest and a classification and regression tree (CART). We tested the CART obtained at the national level in the Western, Eastern, and Southern areas and conducted a random forest analysis for each area to identify local particularities.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSION</h3><div>At the national level, the presence of cereal–legume intercropping was strongly linked to organic farming and the presence of livestock, especially ruminants. These intercrops were prevalent on farms with high feed autonomy for the cattle and sheep. Additionally, they were commonly observed on farms with grain storage, possibly indicating feed autonomy, on-farm transformation, or marketing outside of agricultural cooperatives. The belonging to a farm machinery cooperative was also strongly associated with cereal–legume intercropping, likely because these cooperatives give farmers access to specific machinery and provide opportunities for knowledge exchange regarding their practices. Similar characteristics were identified at the local level; organic farming was pivotal in the Western and Eastern areas, followed by feed autonomy for cattle. In the Southern area, however, on-farm grain storage capacity was dominant, likely due to longstanding efforts to achieve feed autonomy.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>This exhaustive study on French farms identified key farm characteristics strongly linked to cereal–legume intercrops adoption. This insight is critical for promoting this practice, whether through national public policies or local farming support services. The methodology proposed can be easily reproduced to investigate other farming practices at different spatial scales.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"223 ","pages":"Article 104196"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142699312","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reliability of irrigation water and farm-level productivity: Evidence from semi-arid farming systems in northern Ethiopia","authors":"Menasbo Gebru ,&nbsp;Tewodros Tadesse ,&nbsp;Melaku Berhe","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104193","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104193","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Access to sufficient amount of irrigation water enables farmers to intensify cultivation, leading to increased productivity. The type, application level of irrigation infrastructure, and water use management conditions affect the extent of water supply and farm-level productivity. Despite this, much of the literature on the impact of irrigation water on farm-level productivity considers the dichotomous concept of access to irrigation without accounting for differences in the reliability of access to irrigation water.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>Beyond the dichotomous effect of access to irrigation, this study examined the impact of reliable irrigation water on farm-level productivity in semi-arid agricultural systems.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>Using data from 462 irrigated farm plots from northern Ethiopia, we estimated the impact of reliability of irrigation water on plot-level productivity based on the control function approach to address the potential endogeneity associated with the reliability of irrigation water in the productivity model.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSION</h3><div>Results show that reliability of irrigation water positively and significantly affects farm-level productivity. The implication is that beyond access to irrigation water, reliability in access and use of irrigation water remains crucial to productivity. In this regard, it is vital to work on strengthening the village-level water management systems and enhancing their institutional efficiency to ensure water use reliability and sustain future investments in irrigation systems to enhance plot-level productivity.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>The bulk of the literature is restricted to documentation of knowledge on the dichotomous effect of access to irrigation that could mask the more realistic impact on plot-level productivity. This study extends the literature by modeling not only access to but also reliability of access to unmask the differential impact of access to and reliability of irrigation water on plot-level productivity. It can also provide policy a useful direction in promoting the need to invest, beyond access, on ensuring the reliability of irrigation water for enhancing productivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"223 ","pages":"Article 104193"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142699257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lowering the greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from grassland-based dairy production","authors":"Owen Cashman ,&nbsp;Imelda Casey ,&nbsp;Marion Sorley ,&nbsp;Patrick Forrestal ,&nbsp;David Styles ,&nbsp;David Wall ,&nbsp;William Burchill ,&nbsp;James Humphreys","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104151","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104151","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia emissions from ruminant production systems is critical to mitigating climate change and enrichment and acidification of vulnerable habitats. Quantifying emission reductions from the implementation of best practices (BP) on grassland-based dairy systems is essential to guide farmers and policy towards wider adoption of best practices.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>The aim was to evaluate the extent to which the adoption of BP lowered the GHG and ammonia emissions of grassland-based dairy systems per kg of fat protein corrected milk (FPCM) and per hectare (ha).</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>Life cycle assessment was used to calculate emissions from systems of dairy production adopting BP. Data were collected from systems-scale experiments conducted at Solohead Research Farm, Co. Tipperary, Ireland (52°51′N, 08°21′W) between 2011 and 2022. There were three systems that had an average of 27 cows per system and an average annual stocking rate of 2.53 cows ha⁻¹. INT was the control and included average annual fertiliser N input of 265 kg ha⁻¹, applied as calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN 27.5% N) and urea (46 % N) and average annual clover content of grassland dry matter was 110 g kg⁻¹, and slurry was applied by splash plate. BPN included average annual fertiliser N input of 99 kg ha⁻¹ applied as urea or protected urea, clover content was 230 g kg⁻¹ and slurry was applied by trailing shoe. BPO received minimal (&lt;5 kg ha⁻¹) inputs of fertiliser N, clover content was 280 g kg⁻¹ and slurry was applied by trailing shoe. INT encompassed each of 7 experimental years, BPN 7 years and BPO 4 years. All relevant farm activity data was modelled on the basis of a 59 ha farm.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>GHG emissions averaged 1.05, 0.80 and 0.73 kg CO₂e kg FPCM⁻¹ (<em>SEM</em> <em>=</em> <em>0.035, P</em> <em>&lt;</em> <em>0.001</em>) for INT, BPN and BPO respectively. GHG emissions per hectare were 15.0, 11.5 and 10.7 t CO₂e (<em>SEM</em> <em>=</em> <em>0.485, P</em> <em>&lt;</em> <em>0.001</em>). Ammonia emissions were lower from BPN and BPO compared with INT (P &lt; 0.001). Replacing artificial fertiliser N with biologically fixed N (BFN) had the largest impact on GHG mitigation. Low emissions slurry spreading (LESS) in the form of the trailing shoe and replacing artificial fertiliser N with BFN had the greatest impact on ammonia emissions.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>Adopting BP lowered GHG emissions by up to 29 % and ammonia emissions by up to 37 % compared with a conventional intensive system of grassland-based milk production. These results can aid farmers to contribute to emissions reduction targets.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"222 ","pages":"Article 104151"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142653368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vegetation-based Ecological Functions Sustainability Index (VEFSI) for optimizing ecosystem services in orchards","authors":"Ilaria Bruno ,&nbsp;Ilaria Mania ,&nbsp;Matteo Lovera ,&nbsp;Luca Brondino ,&nbsp;Cristiana Peano","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104186","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104186","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>The need to quantify sustainability in agriculture and the ecosystem services it provides is increasingly felt by the sector. Indicators and indices are useful tools for this purpose, but are currently scarce in the specialized fruit-growing sector. In addition, there is a need for a more holistic view of the orchard system, which also considers unproductive spaces, such as the inter-row, where techniques can be implemented to improve adaptation to climate change.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVES</h3><div>To help filling this gap, we developed VEFSI (Vegetation-based Ecological Functions Sustainability Index), a multifunctional index that can be used by technicians, researchers and farmers to establish the quality of grass cover in the orchard's inter-row in order to increase the ecosystem services performed by this.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>A dataset of field observation was collected during the year 2022–2023 in orchards located in South-West Piedmont (Northern Italy). Each record included observations on species richness, total vegetation cover and relative cover of each detected species. VEFSI was designed to include different ecological functions, such as nitrogen fixation, mechanical action performed by fascicled roots, soil cover performed by perennial organs, pollination service of the fruit crop and melliferous species for pollinator attraction. The index was calculated as a sum of scores attributed to single functions on the basis of the relative abundance of plants characterized by the corresponding functional traits.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSION</h3><div>A positive relation has been found among VEFSI, vegetation cover (R² = 0.419; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) and number of species (R² = 0.53; P &lt; 0.001). Within the tested dataset the maximum theoretical value of 125 has not been reached, indicating trade-offs presence among functions. Despite this, the validation showed that VEFSI point out functional weaknesses and strengths of the vegetation covers, coherently with the real field situation. VEFSI proved to be a simple and reliable tool for estimating and evaluating ecological functions performed by orchard grassing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"223 ","pages":"Article 104186"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142699311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Use of models for identification of nitrogen fertilization strategies for filling feeding gaps of cow-calf systems in the Flooding Pampas of Argentina","authors":"Horacio Berger ,&nbsp;Iris Vogeler ,&nbsp;Claudio F. Machado","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104191","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104191","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Nitrogen availability is the primary limitation for the growth of tall fescue, Argentina's most widely cultivated cool-season pasture. Significant yield gaps exist in fescue pastures on commercial farms, where average annual yields are around 5 t/ha, compared to a potential yield of 10 to 15 t/ha. Nitrogen fertilization remains uncommon among cow-calf producers, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of the complex interactions between nitrogen fertilizer management, stocking rate, and grazing management at the whole-farm level. Considering annual and inter-annual variations in pasture growth could enable regional beef producers to make more informed decisions, improving pasture yield potential, utilization, and overall farm profitability.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVES</h3><div>I) to identify if N fertilization in autumn can boost pasture growth rates as reliable source of extra feed in autumn and winter, taking into account climate variability, and II) to assess how this affects farm-level productivity and profitability.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>An integrated modelling approach, combining a pasture model with a farm system beef cattle model, was employed. Various N fertilizer options (specifically, 100 kg N/ha applied in either autumn or spring) were allocated to 20 % and 40 % of farm areas, across stocking rates ranging from 0.9 to 1.3 head/ha. Simulations were conducted over the long term (1993–2013), focusing on tall fescue pasture growth. Seasonal pasture growth curves were calculated for each year, with particular attention given to identifying average years as well as those with dry autumns or dry springs.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>In average years, increasing the stocking rate by 44 %, from 0.9 head/ha to 1.3, led to a 34 % increase in live weight production in weaner calves and improved gross margins by 30 %. Applying 100 kg N/ha to 20 % of the cow-calf farm, either in autumn or spring, enabled a stocking rate of 1.1 head/ha (a 22 % increase), sustaining gross margins even during dry seasons. Autumn fertilization produced a substantial residual yield response, with an average increase of +1.43 tons/ha in the following spring, and finally Expanding the fertilized area from 20 % to 40 % of the farm did not provide additional economic benefits.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>This study provides valuable, forward-looking insights into how nitrogen fertilization strategies can improve productivity and profitability of cow-calf farms in the Flooding Pampas, especially under variable seasonal climate conditions. While limitations and areas for future research are acknowledged, the findings may also offer practical guidance for boosting livestock productivity in similar environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"223 ","pages":"Article 104191"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142699310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trade-off of greenhouse gas emissions from double-cropped rice due to straw retention and zero tillage practices","authors":"Shiva Prasad Parida ,&nbsp;Pratap Bhattacharyya ,&nbsp;Soumya Ranjan Padhy ,&nbsp;Sujit Kumar Nayak ,&nbsp;Anubhav Das","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104194","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104194","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Zero tillage and straw retention have been presented large scale to curb the menace of straw burning and sustaining soil health in rice production systems. At the same time, we know rice cultivation particularly double rice cropping system is an anthropogenic source of atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, mainly, Methane (CH₄), Nitrous oxide (N₂O), and Carbon dioxide (CO₂). Thus, it is important to know how straw retention and zero tillage affect the GHGs emissions in the rice-rice system.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>The study, we made an effort to assess the straw retention/incorporation and zero-tillage (ZT) practices on GHGs emissions, yield, and soil labile carbon pools in rice, to identify sustainable practices that reduce GHG emissions, improve soil health, and at the same time addresses the issue of straw burning.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>A two-year field study was conducted with four (04) treatments; (i) Immediate incorporation of rice straw after harvesting of previous crop (IIRS); (ii) Zero-tillage (with straw retention) with glyphosate spray (ZT); (iii) Spreading of rice straw over field (SRS); and (iv) Zero-tillage (with straw retention) without glyphosate application (ZT + SR). The GHGs fluxes were measured during both straw decomposition (before rice transplanting) as well as rice growing periods during both wet and dry seasons of the two consecutive years.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>The average seasonal Methane (CH₄), Nitrous oxide (N₂O), and Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and global warming potential (GWP) were significantly higher in IIRS followed by SRS, ZT, and ZT + SR during straw decomposition as well as rice growing periods. Similarly, the soil labile carbon pools and enzymatic activities were also higher in IIRS as compared to other treatments. Moreover, the increased percentage of SOC from initial to final was higher in IIRS (25.8 %), followed by SRS (23.3 %), ZT (20.7 %), and ZT + SR (17.9 %). However, the crop yield was not significantly influenced by the straw incorporation/retention and tillage practices. So, it is evident there is a trade-off of soil carbon improvement &amp; GHGs emissions in zero tillage (ZT) and straw retention/ incorporation practices. Straw retention/incorporation in soil on one hand increased carbon storage but at the same time also enhanced GHGs emissions. Zero tillage (with straw retention) without glyphosate spray could be recommended for sustainable straw management.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>The study identifies zero-tillage with straw retention without glyphosate spray (ZT + SR) for sustainable straw management, which increases the carbon build-up and decreases the GHGs emissions while addressing the issue of straw burning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"223 ","pages":"Article 104194"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142699309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A pathway for decreasing the water footprint from grazing-based beef production systems in the Tropics","authors":"Mariana Pereira Barsotti ,&nbsp;Roberto Giolo de Almeida ,&nbsp;Manuel Claudio Motta Macedo ,&nbsp;Rodrigo da Costa Gomes ,&nbsp;Julio Cesar Pascale Palhares ,&nbsp;Andre Mazzetto ,&nbsp;Uta Dickhoefer","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104192","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104192","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Water availability shapes agricultural land use patterns, which in turn impacts water supplies. Beef cattle production is one of the most water-intensive food production activities. Therefore, it is fundamental to identify pathways to reduce water consumption and to determine suitable producing-regions to mitigate the current pressures on water resources.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>Our objectives were to assess the water footprint of beef cattle in different land use systems and investigate the potential of alternative production strategies to reduce the environmental impacts associated with water resources use.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>The water footprint of beef produced in conventional pasture system (CON), agropastoral (ICL), and agro-silvopastoral (ICLF) systems was analysed from cradle-to-farm gate using a life cycle assessment approach, which included a complementary analysis of the environmental impacts of the rainfall water consumption in the Brazilian Cerrado.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>Increases in the efficiency of the systems (e.g., greater feed conversion efficiency, stocking rates, reduced slaughter age of animals, amongst others) resulted in a lower water footprint and water scarcity footprint in ICL (18,332 L and 1526 L/kg carcass weight), followed by ICLF (31,024 L and 1846 L/kg carcass weight) compared to CON (60,023 L and 2446 L/kg carcass weight). The impact of rainfall water consumption (i.e., green water scarcity) was lowest in ICL (182–328 L_{world equivalents}/kg carcass weight). Although the tree presence in ICLF systems can limit the productivity, it improves the thermal environment as well as the canopy structure and nutritional value of forage on pastures for grazing animals, thereby reducing the water footprint indicators compared to CON systems. The environmental impacts of rainfall water consumed should not be neglected in water footprint studies due to its importance for restoring water cycles, which is particularly complex in diversified land uses, such as ICL and ICLF. In conclusion, ICL and ICLF are viable production strategies for reducing the environmental impacts of water consumption in grazing-based systems.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>The research was carried out in the Brazilian Cerrado, a major region for producing and exporting beef cattle in the world and a biome of strategic importance in the water resources dynamics. The region faces significant water consumption challenges because of the accelerated agricultural development disassociated from long-term planning and monitoring of its water resources use. Therefore, our findings are critical in supporting ecosystem resilience and production of beef by also providing insights into the environmental impacts of water consumption in agropastoral and agro-silvopastoral systems, which have been underrepresented in scientific literature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"222 ","pages":"Article 104192"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142653146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Developing a registration system for farmers' varieties","authors":"Bram De Jonge ,&nbsp;Bhramar Dey ,&nbsp;Bert Visser","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104183","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104183","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Many countries only allow seed of registered varieties to be legally produced and sold in the market. Due to strict requirements regarding the characteristics (e.g., distinctness, uniformity, and stability) and performance (e.g., outperforming high-yielding varieties under standardized growing conditions) for varieties to be released, this implies that many farmers' varieties are confined to the spheres of the informal sector as ‘potential planting materials’: their production, use, exchange, and trade remain unregulated, largely unsupported, and their importance underestimated.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>The present article provides a guided approach on how to develop and implement a registration system suitable for farmers' varieties in full recognition of their inherent properties that often distinguish them from those that are developed in the formal seed sector.</div></div><div><h3>METHOD</h3><div>By following the seed regulatory value chain through which new crop varieties normally reach the market, this article analyses approaches to solve key questions that need to be addressed when adapting that regulatory chain to facilitate the registration and release of farmers' varieties. These questions range from what constitutes a farmers' variety to which rights a registrant may receive over the registered variety vis-à-vis other stakeholders. Answers are provided based on country cases, a literature review, and the learnings and inputs received during several stakeholder workshops and meetings organized in the context of seed system development programmes.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>Based on a discussion of the major principles and elements of current variety registration systems developed for the formal seed sector, our analysis leads to a plausible approach through which a farmers' variety registration system could be implemented. In that context, this study provides guidance on who qualifies to register a farmers' variety, how to agree on more flexible criteria for distinctness, uniformity, and stability, and elaborates key principles that can inform solutions for the division and distribution of rights, and access and benefit-sharing.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>Several national governments have indicated their interest in implementing a farmers' variety registration system. However, the practicalities on the ground and the principles that could guide implementation have not been elaborated or well-defined in the literature. This article aims to fill that gap. Through the registration and diffusion of farmers' varieties, governments will contribute to an increase of on-farm agro-biodiversity that can enhance farmers' resilience and livelihoods, while contributing to the implementation of Farmers' Rights as defined in the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"222 ","pages":"Article 104183"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142653149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}