Agricultural Systems最新文献

{"title":"Reintegrating livestock onto crop farms: A step towards agroenvironmental sustainability?","authors":"Clémentine Meunier, Julie Ryschawy, Guillaume Martin","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104356","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104356","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>In Europe, the ever-increasing disconnection between crop and livestock production generates major environmental externalities. Opposing this trend, a few pioneering farmers have reintegrated (i.e. intentionally organized the return of) livestock onto crop farms. While often depicted as sustainable, these systems have rarely been researched.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>We aimed at assessing the agroenvironmental impacts of reintegrating livestock on crop farms and related farming-practice changes.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>Using an exploratory approach and innovation-tracking principles, we identified 15 crop farmers who had reintegrated livestock in farming systems that differed in production mode, farm size, crop and livestock species, and the type and duration of reintegration. We interviewed these farmers to characterize how their farming practices changed after reintegrating livestock. We then estimated impacts of their farming-practice changes after reintegrating livestock on nitrogen surplus, direct and indirect energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (including compensation through carbon storage) at the farm level on a yearly basis.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>Reintegrating livestock increased mean (± 1 standard deviation) farm-level nitrogen surplus (+25 ± 38 kg N/ha/year), energy consumption (+4913 ± 10,592 MJ/ha/year) and greenhouse gas emissions (+940 ± 1856 kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq/ha/year), especially when reintegrating poultry (+58 ± 45 kg N/ha/year, +15,186 ± 13,954 MJ/ha/year and + 2707 ± 2474 kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq/ha/year, respectively), as the overall aim was to increase farm economic performance. Interactions between crop and livestock production remained limited. The systems that reintegrated poultry relied on large amounts of feed input and did not decrease the amount of fertilizers purchased once poultry manure became available. Reintegrating sheep was associated with lower environmental impacts, with nearly no change in farm nitrogen surplus (+9 ± 28 kg N/ha/year), decreased energy consumption (−224 ± 203 MJ/ha/year) due to grazing cover crops or between orchard/vineyard rows and nearly no impact on greenhouse gas emissions (+56 ± 198 kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq/ha/year) due to decreased mechanized operations and conversion of cropland into pasture, which mitigated livestock-related emissions.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>This original preliminary provides insights on the potential of reintegrating livestock to promote farm agroenvironmental sustainability when farmers subsequently change practices to increase interactions between crops and livestock (e.g. adjusting fertilization strategies, introducing legume-dense pastures into crop rotations to feed livestock). By providing a range of agroenvironmental impacts reachable through reintegrating livestock and documenting examples of farms having sustainably reintegrated livestock, it supports","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 104356"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143850522","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":"Farmers' pest management strategies in oil palm production in Lake Victoria Islands, Uganda","authors":"Esther Lugwana Nampeera ,&nbsp;Hassan Wasswa Kayondo ,&nbsp;Twaha Musoke Sebikeje ,&nbsp;Gerald Ddumba ,&nbsp;Sarah Mubiru ,&nbsp;Ddamulira Gabriel","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104354","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104354","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Oil palm is grown widely in Lake Victoria islands of Uganda and contributes to farmers livelihoods. Nevertheless, African oil palm weevil APW,<em>Rhynchophorus phoenicis</em> (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a key insect pest of oil palm in tropical Africa, causing serious damage to oil palm plantations. Overdependence on synthetic insecticides to control APW is not effective and unsustainable. A better understanding of effective integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for APW in Uganda is required to reduce use of synthetic insecticides and enhance sustainable production of oil palm. Current farmer APW management practices might be affected by farm characteristics and production practices. This can result in ineffective control options of APW.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>Evaluated farm characteristics and production practices as well as APW infestation, assessed pest management methods for APW control and examined effectiveness of chemical and non-chemical control practices on APW infestation across four oil palm production blocks.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>We used semi-structured guides with eight focus farmer group discussions, fourteen qualitative in–depth interviews with oil palm experts and interviewed 200 oil palm smallholder farmers across four oil palm production blocks.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>Certain farm characteristics and production practices had higher APW infestation compared to others. Chemical and non – chemical practices were used by oil palm smallholder farmers to manage APW, though farmers didn't know period of infestation, active ingredients and some couldn't tell pesticides used. There was significant difference in effectiveness when using non- chemical practices to manage APW. There is need to train farmers on IPM practices in oil palm. Further research should establish successful IPM approaches for APW to reduce pesticide use and enhance oil palm production.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>This study provides crucial insights into sustainable pest management practices, offering a framework for IPM implementation in smallholder oil palm farming systems in tropical Africa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 104354"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143848025","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":"Reducing national water degradation: Development and application of a manureshed-identification framework","authors":"Md Hamidul Haque ,&nbsp;Abolfazl Hojjat Ansari ,&nbsp;Tamie L. Veith ,&nbsp;Michael J. White ,&nbsp;Christine Costello ,&nbsp;Sheri Spiegal ,&nbsp;Peter J.A. Kleinman ,&nbsp;Jeffrey G. Arnold ,&nbsp;Raj Cibin","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104349","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104349","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>The manureshed concept minimizes nutrient imbalance in livestock-intensive agricultural systems by transporting surplus manure to agricultural fields with nutrient demands. The impacts of manureshed-based manure management across the contiguous United States (CONUS) and its potential to improve soil nutrient dynamics and water quality are not well known.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study developed a framework to evaluate the impacts of manureshed-based manure nutrient management at the CONUS scale.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Across CONUS, county-scale manure imports and exports were balanced by delineating manuresheds according to historic agronomic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) demands and the transportation potentials of the nearest manure types (wet vs. dry). The water quality impacts of manureshed-based nutrient management were assessed for the Oconee River Watershed, in the southeastern United States using the National Agroecosystems Model (NAM) developed from the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT+).</div></div><div><h3>Results and conclusions</h3><div>The analysis identified that nearly 78 % of the wet manure surplus counties (152 counties) required only two neighboring counties to balance excess wet manure P, and about 77 % of dry manure surplus counties (428 counties) required only three neighboring counties to balance excess dry manure P. The P-balanced manureshed-based manure management reduced organic phosphorus (P) by 29 % and organic nitrogen (N) by 5 % in the manure surplus case study watershed (Upper Oconee). When the excess manure was redistributed based on crop P demand, the total nutrient load at the watershed outlet decreased, with a 0.44 % reduction in total nitrogen (TN) and a 3.41 % reduction in total phosphorus (TP). However, the redistribution of excess manure led to a slight increase in nutrient loads in the Lower Oconee, the manure sink watershed.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>The study demonstrates the potential of manureshed-based manure management to reduce nutrient loads. The findings emphasize that with spatially explicit and adaptive management strategies, manureshed-based approaches can successfully balance nutrient flows across regions, leading to better manure nutrient use efficiencies and water quality improvement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 104349"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143838359","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":"Dire need for quantification of environmental impacts associated with breeding climate-resilient crops","authors":"Chunhu Wang ,&nbsp;Matthew Tom Harrison ,&nbsp;De Li Liu ,&nbsp;Rui Yang ,&nbsp;Meixue Zhou ,&nbsp;Yunbo Zhang ,&nbsp;Ke Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104352","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104352","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>As China's breadbasket, the Yangtze River Basin plays a critical role in global food security, yet its agricultural stability is increasingly threatened by the climate emergency.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study aimed to (1) identify the critical climatic variables that drive wheat yield variability across Yangtze River Basin; (2) reveal the key climatic variables that contribute to regional yield gaps, and (3) quantify yield increase and associated environmental costs under current nitrogen application rates and estimate the nitrogen fertiliser required to achieve full yield potential with improved genetic traits.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We combined process-based crop model knowledge, fine-scale municipal wheat yield data (1980–2020) and statistical analytics to benchmark regional yield gaps under historical and future climates and we then analysed 8192 hypothetical genotypes with diverse yet realistic ranges of phenology, growth, radiation use efficiency and yield components to assess their impact on reducing yield gaps and associated environmental costs.</div></div><div><h3>Results and conclusion</h3><div>We found that many arable areas exhibited statistically significant correlations (R² = 0.94) between climate and wheat yield variability. Changes in precipitation explained the largest proportion of yield variance (R² = 0.38), while temperature (R² = 0.31) and solar radiation (R² = 0.29) exerted nearly identical influences on wheat yield fluctuations. Yield gaps were well explained by photothermal quotients, which ranged from 0.55 to 1.14 across the Yangtze River Basin. Due to increased extreme climatic events, simulated rainfed wheat yields decreased by 12 % and 24 % in 2050s under emissions scenarios SSP245 and SSP585, respectively. Adoption of cultivars with optimised traits (higher RUE and larger grain size) could increase grain yield by 61–80 % under current and future climate. However, trait-optimisation for yield revealed clear trade-offs for nitrogen demand (16–36 % increase), N₂O emissions (30–50 % increase), greenhouse gas emission intensity (24–35 % increase) and nitrogen-use efficiency (13–21 % decrease), heralding dire ramifications for breeding programs that optimize traits for productivity benefits alone.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>We advocate that crop breeding programs include sustainability indicators encompassing nitrogen demand, use, and use-efficiency to avoid environmental impacts associated with increasing yields to feed a burgeoning global population.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 104352"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143834894","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":"Abatement costs of climate-friendly peatland management – Case study results for two German peatland regions under agricultural use","authors":"Christoph Buschmann ,&nbsp;Bernhard Osterburg ,&nbsp;Tjark Martens ,&nbsp;Joachim Schrautzer","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104348","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104348","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>In Germany, peatlands drained for agriculture cause more than 40 Mio. t CO₂ equiv. per year, which accounts for 44 % of all agricultural emissions. Because of their high mitigation potential, they are becoming increasingly important for EU agricultural policy and Germany's national mitigation efforts.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>Our work investigates how farms can adapt when they either extensify their drained grasslands with raised water levels (wet use) or abandon conventional land use under full rewetting. We also calculate income changes and abatement costs of adaptation strategies.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>To simulate successive land use conversions, we applied a linear programming farm-level model. The data are based on interviews with managers of typical farms in two German peatland regions with very different agricultural structures: the first, the Eider-Treene-Sorge lowlands in Schleswig-Holstein, with farms (Ø 150 ha) that are predominantly grassland based, and the second, the Rhin-Havelluch in Brandenburg, with mainly large (Ø 2000 ha) mixed farms. The farms represent a gradient of intensively, moderately and extensively used grassland. In addition, we carried out grassland monitoring to estimate forage quality at different water levels and intensities of grassland use.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>The results show the farm-level effects of increasing land use conversion on the grasslands of the six model farms. This includes the loss of fodder quantity and quality and its consequences, such as a reduction in cattle stock. The main adaptation strategies are intensification of the remaining grassland and increased feeding of arable forage. The associated marginal farm income losses are expressed in shadow price curves that vary greatly. They depend on farm structural variables (farm type, adaptation potential) and are sometimes very steep, especially in semi-intensive farms, i. e. for a large proportion of the grassland, income losses are low (up to 500 €/ha) while the last hectares incur exceptionally high losses (several thousand euros). The corresponding marginal greenhouse gas abatement costs also exhibit a wide range but are mainly below 55 €/t CO₂ equiv. The findings further show that extensive wet use causes higher abatement costs than full rewetting.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>Patterns of the shadow price and abatement cost curves are transferable to comparable farms. Findings indicate adequate compensation rates for different farm types and can be used to limit the impact on the affected farms, e. g. avoidance of high income losses by land consolidation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 104348"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143823358","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":"Development of ReturN, a manure redistribution optimisation tool: Description and application context","authors":"Mara Gabbrielli ,&nbsp;Johannes Wilhelmus Maria Pullens ,&nbsp;Marco Botta ,&nbsp;Nicholas John Hutchings ,&nbsp;Jordi Doltra ,&nbsp;Francesc Domingo-Olivé ,&nbsp;Marco Acutis ,&nbsp;Andrea Fiorini ,&nbsp;Paola Pasta ,&nbsp;Giorgio Ragaglini ,&nbsp;Alessia Perego","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104350","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104350","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;CONTEXT&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Collaborative agreements for manure management would enable intensive and specialized livestock farms to expand the agricultural area available for manure distribution by transporting manure to arable farms, thus increasing nitrogen and carbon recycling, reducing environmental pollution and decreasing farms' dependence on external inputs. The economic and environmental viability of such collaborative arrangements depends on the balance between the manure transport costs and emissions (and thus the distances between farms) and the saving in mineral fertiliser purchase costs and production emissions.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;OBJECTIVE&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The objective of this study is to present a software tool (ReturN) designed to assess the opportunities for moving he nitrogen (N) in manure from locations where the amount exceeds the utilization capacity of the crops to locations with spare utilization capacity. ReturN allows the optimisation of manure fluxes at a local or regional scale, on the basis of a multi-criteria balance that considers both economic and environmental criteria. The tool is applied in three European case studies thus showcasing the tool applicability options.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;METHODS&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The ReturN multi-criteria balance considers manure transport costs and emissions (and thus the distances between source and recipient locations) and the saving in mineral N fertiliser purchase costs and production emissions. The locations among which manure-N fluxes are optimised can be farms or municipalities, based on the aggregation level of the manure data. The tool outputs, linked to each flux of manure from a source to a recipient location, are the amount of transported N, the monetary costs, and the associated fossil carbon dioxide (CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;) emissions. The ReturN tool was applied to the optimisation of manure fluxes in 3 real European case studies, and the sensitivity of its outputs to parameters was assessed using the modified Morris sensitivity analysis method.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The application of the ReturN tool successfully optimised manure-N redistribution under varying conditions of deficits and surpluses and for different geographical areas shapes. The reduction in costs associated with the purchase of mineral N fertilisers and the decrease in fossil CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; emissions (due to the transportation of manure and the production of mineral N fertilisers) achieved through the optimisation of manure-N fluxes were found to be primarily dependent on the initial manure surplus condition and secondly on mineral N fertiliser price and manure characteristics (density and N concentration).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;SIGNIFICANCE&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The flexibility of the ReturN tool's settings, along with its limited input requirements, ensures its suitability for direct application by end users in practical contexts thus enabling both the economic and environmental assessment of the cost-effe","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 104350"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143820415","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":"Addressing key issues and knowledge gaps in resilience science for agriculture","authors":"Shana M. Sundstrom ,&nbsp;Tala Awada ,&nbsp;Elena M. Bennett ,&nbsp;Brandon Bestelmeyer ,&nbsp;Jennifer Hodbod ,&nbsp;Anna Pacheco ,&nbsp;Sheri Spiegal ,&nbsp;Craig R. Allen","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104335","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104335","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Industrialized approaches to agriculture have prioritized stability, efficiency and productivity, which has masked underlying vulnerabilities in our capacity to produce and access food, fiber and fuel, and to maintain farming livelihoods. Resilience science seeks to understand how complex adaptive systems (CAS) such as agroecosystems can buffer disturbances and adapt to stay organized around the same processes and functions, or transform as needed when in an undesirable condition. However, the application of resilience science to agroecosystems has been uneven with more emphasis on recovery, which represents a limited perspective of resilience, rather than on concepts critical to understanding the broader range of possible dynamics in agricultural CAS.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>The concepts of heterogeneity, scale, thresholds, regime shifts, and panarchy are at the heart of resilience science and central to understanding agroecosystems as CAS.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We conducted a review of published research to assess how these concepts have been used in resilience-based agricultural research to identify potential knowledge gaps and unresolved scientific questions relevant for understanding resilience of agricultural systems as complex adaptive systems.</div></div><div><h3>Results and conclusions</h3><div>We discuss how resilience science understands and utilizes each concept, and then describe its current application in the agricultural literature. The discussion presents critical unanswered questions centered on the relationship between scales and regime shifts, the tension between stability and resilience, heterogeneity at scales larger than a farm, and critical and non-critical thresholds.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>We aim to inform future research directions in the application of resilience to agricultural systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 104335"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143820416","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":"Impact of climate change on the nitrogen budget of a dairy farm in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada","authors":"Sarah J. Pogue ,&nbsp;Marcos R.C. Cordeiro ,&nbsp;Alan Rotz ,&nbsp;Carson Li ,&nbsp;Roland Kröbel ,&nbsp;Karen A. Beauchemin ,&nbsp;Derek Hunt ,&nbsp;Shabtai Bittman","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104333","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104333","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>The dairy sector contributed $19.9 (CAD) billion to Canada's GDP in 2015, but the industry has come under increasing public scrutiny regarding its environmental and economic sustainability, particularly under climate change. The Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada, a high-intensity dairy producing region, is projected to experience higher winter, spring and summer temperatures and increased precipitation, particularly in fall, with implications for nitrogen (N) cycling within agroecosystems, crop and livestock production.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>This study aimed to explore N flows in a Canadian dairy farm using a whole-farm partially process-based modelling approach to investigate the impacts of different climate and cropping scenarios on farm N inputs and outputs.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>This study used farm data and the Integrated Farm System Model (IFSM) to assess: 1) N flows in an intensive, high-producing dairy farm in the Lower Fraser Valley with and without a winter double crop; and 2) farm production and N losses under two future climate scenarios based on medium (RCP4.5) and high (RCP8.5) emission scenarios in the near future (NF, 2020–2045) and distant future (DF, 2050–2075).</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>Across all scenarios, the N use efficiency of the farm (N exported in meat, milk and feed / N inputs) was between 31.4 % and 34.3 % (slightly higher with winter wheat (<em>Triticum aestivum</em> L.)), indicating that about two-thirds of N imported as feed and fertilizer was lost to the environment or accumulated in the soil. In the NF and DF scenarios (without double crop), the largest increases related to manure NH₃-N losses, which rose by 8.1 % (NF) and 19.4 % (DF) from housing; 15.7 % (NF) and 44.0 % (DF) from storage; and 3 % (NF) and 18.5 % (DF) following land application. Projected temperature increases also raised emissions from synthetic fertilizer. Other gaseous N emissions generally declined in the future, probably due to increased NH₃-N losses, whereas leaching N losses increased slightly (0.5–1.6 %), probably due to higher projected summer and fall precipitation. The winter wheat double crop scenarios generally led to lower N losses via gaseous pathways and leaching/runoff compared with the baseline scenarios, attributable to more N capture by winter wheat.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>The apparent loss to surrounding water and air of at least two-thirds of the N imported to the farm highlights the urgent need for the implementation of a range of management strategies that can reduce overall N imports to the system and reduce losses of N inputs via volatilization, runoff and leaching.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 104333"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143806940","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":"Multivariate assessment of digital agriculture and irrigation potential: Application to India","authors":"Satyajit Dwivedi,&nbsp;Mazhuvanchery Avarachen Sherly","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104328","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104328","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>According to a Grand View research report, the global precision farming market, valued at USD 6.96 billion in 2022, is projected to grow at an annual growth rate of 12.8 % through 2030. Digital agriculture and irrigation technologies offer substantial potential to increase agricultural productivity and enhance food security by optimizing water use, potentially saving up to 300 billion m³ of water annually and generating economic benefits of approximately USD 11 trillion. However, the absence of cohesive national or regional strategies to highlight specific regional potentials and prioritize investments risks inefficient resource allocation and reduced returns.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>This study introduces two composite indicators, the Digital Agriculture Potential Index (DAPI) and the Digital Irrigation Potential Index (DIPI), designed to assess regional readiness and potential for adopting digital agriculture and irrigation technologies. The objective is to support national strategies for the effective deployment of digital solutions in agriculture.</div></div><div><h3>METHOD</h3><div>DAPI assesses digital readiness and agricultural intensity, while DIPI incorporates an additional measure of agricultural water stress. These indices were constructed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to enable structured and objective evaluations of regional capacities.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>A comparative analysis across Indian states revealed significant regional variations. States with advanced IT policies, such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala, demonstrated high digital readiness and strong potential to adopt digital agriculture solutions. In contrast, states in the Gangetic plains and hot semi-arid regions, such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh, face challenges due to high agricultural intensity but low digital readiness. Western and northern regions also contend with substantial water stress. These findings underscore the need for targeted improvements in IT policies and investments to bridge digital adoption gaps.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>The development of DAPI and DIPI as part of a cohesive national strategy can guide policymakers in prioritizing investments in digital agriculture and irrigation. By addressing gaps in readiness, these indicators can facilitate optimized water management, bolster agricultural productivity, and contribute to sustainable development throughout India.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 104328"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143815713","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":"Managing herbicide resistance in Southern Great Plains cropping systems","authors":"Chellie H. Maples ,&nbsp;Dayton M. Lambert ,&nbsp;Misha R. Manuchehri","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104336","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104336","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Herbicide-resistant weeds are a growing problem, reducing crop yield and profitability for wheat, sorghum, and soybean producers in the Southern Great Plains. Herbicide-resistant weed pressure is particularly challenging for rainfed, no-till winter wheat systems, which are common in this region.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>The objective of this study is to determine the economic effectiveness of various herbicide resistance management strategies within rainfed winter wheat cropping systems in the Southern Great Plains. The study investigates how these strategies can limit the spread of herbicide-resistant weeds and support profitable crop production.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Three cropping systems were evaluated: continuous wheat-soybean-fallow, wheat-sorghum-fallow, and wheat-fallow rotations. Herbicide management strategies analyzed include combinations of pre-emergent, post-emergent, and glyphosate burndown applications, as well as variations in application frequency. A dynamic, bioeconomic weed population model was employed to evaluate the economic implications of proactive weed management strategies for each cropping system. Additionally, yield loss due to weed pressure was estimated through a crop growth simulation model linked to a weed competition model.</div></div><div><h3>Results and conclusions</h3><div>Results indicated optimal herbicide management strategies delayed the spread of herbicide-resistant genes in weed populations. The proliferation of herbicide-resistant genes took longer in wheat-double crop systems than in a wheat-fallow system. Moreover, the inclusion of summer crops increased revenue through additional crop revenue.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>The findings indicate that adopting wheat-double crop rotations with targeted herbicide strategies can slow the development of herbicide resistance in the Southern Great Plains. This research highlights the importance of diversified crop rotations and careful herbicide management for sustainable and effective long-term weed control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 104336"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143791615","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}