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L’emploi des intrants chimiques dans l’agriculture conventionnelle est une pratique observée dans les champs maraîchers de Ouagadougou. Cette situation est sans doute à l’origine de problèmes de santé liés aux mauvaises pratiques des producteurs. La prise de conscience des risques sanitaires a entraîné l’apparition de l’agriculture biologique qui recourt uniquement aux biopesticides et aux biofertilisants pour la production des fruits et légumes. Elle est de plus en plus demandée par certains consommateurs malgré son faible développement. Dans la capitale burkinabè, Ouagadougou, les consommateurs de ces produits biologiques sont issus des classes aisées constitués essentiellement d’expatriés et de burkinabè à niveau de vie élevé ou moyen. Leur préférence pour les produits biologiques se justifie par leur qualité et leur goût, la préservation de la santé de l’homme, des animaux et de l’environnement. Mais la cherté, la situation géographique et la méconnaissance des marchés biologiques constituent un frein à la consommation des produits biologiques par toutes les couches sociales. The use of chemical inputs in conventional agriculture is a practice observed in the vegetables plots of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. This situation is at the root of health problems. Awareness of health risks has led to the emergence of organic agriculture, which uses only biopesticides and biofertilizers for the production of fruits and vegetables. It is increasingly requested by consumers despite its weak development. In Ouagadougou, consumers of organic products come from the upper classes constituted by expatriates and middle class Burkinabe. Their preference for organic products is justified by their quality and taste, the preservation of human and animal health and the environment. However, the high cost, the geographical situation and the ignorance of organic markets are obstacles for the consumption of organic products by all social classes.

This study was carried out to evaluate the biodiversity parameters at upper taxon level of epigean species in mandarin agro-ecosystems with different applications between 2019 and 2022. Field studies were carried on the land of Çukurova University, Faculty of Agriculture Revolving Fund, on a 50-decare Mayer lemon variety orchard. For this purpose four parcels were chosen: (i) Chemical (herbicide was applied periodically for weed control and weed growth was not allowed), (ii) Weed cutting (in-row mulching and inter-row weed cutting applications are made), (iii) Vetch (in-row mulching and inter-rows covering plant with vetch (Vicia sativa L. (Fabaceae: Leguminosae)), and (iv) Control (where conventional agriculture is applied). Pitfall trap sampling method was used to measure the biodiversity parameters at the upper taxon level of the epigean (epigeal) species. Atrhropoda, Chordata, Mollusca (3 phylum) and Amphibia, Arachnida, Insecta, Gastropoda, Malacostraca and Reptilia (6 classes) were sampled over 3 years in the study. When the data were evaluated together with all the study years it was seen that the highest Shannon-Wiener diversity value was calculated in the vetch plot as 1.9981. The dominance value increasing or decreasing inversely with the diversity was calculated highest in the control (0.2746), weed cutting (0.2290), chemical (0.2172), and vetch (0.1686) plots, respectively. It was determined that the habitat with the lowest dominance was the vetch parcel.According to percent similarity the most similar parcel was found weed cutting and control parcels to each other and this similarity rate was calculated as 83,879 %. Vetch parcel was found 71,688 % similar to the group formed by control and weed cutting parcels. Besides chemical parcel was found %52.04 similar to the group formed by the rest of the study areas. Although vetch and chemical parcels were within the same garden boundaries, they were found to be only 58.012 % similar to each other.According to the results of this study; it can be said that the biodiversity in the agro-ecosystems where cover crops are applied, may have a higher biodiversity value than diversity of conventional agriculture lands. In addition, when these two different application methods are compared in terms of similarity, the rate of dissimilarity may increase due to the difference in epigean species living those agro-ecosystems., Bu çalışma, 2019-2022 yılları arasında farklı uygulamaların yapıldığı mandarin agro-ekosistemlerinde epigean türlerinin biyoçeşitlilik parametrelerinin üst takson seviyesinde değerlendirilmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır. Çalışma alanı olarak Çukurova Üniversitesi, Ziraat Fakültesi Döner Sermaye İşletmesi sınırları içerisinde bulunan 50 dekarlık Mayer limon bahçesi seçilmiştir. Bu amaca ulaşmak için bahçede dört parsel belirlenmiştir. Bunlar; (i) Kimyasal (yabancı ot kontrolü için periyodik olarak herbisit uygulanmış ve yabancı ot büyümesine izin verilmemiştir), (ii) Yabancı ot kesimi (sıra içi malçlama ve sıra arası yabancıot kesim uygulamaları yapılmıştır), (iii) Fiğ (sıra içi malçlama ve fiğ bitkisi (Vicia sativa L. (Fabaceae: Leguminosae) ekimi) ve (iv) Kontrol (geleneksel tarımın uygulaması) parselleri olarak belirlenmiştir. Örtücü bitkinin etkinliğini belirlemek amacı ile çukur tuzak örnekleme yöntemi epigean türlerin üst takson seviyesinde değerlendirilmesi amacı için kullanılmıştır. Çalışma süresince Atrhropoda, Chordata, Mollusca Şubelerine bağlı Amphibia, Arachnida, Insecta, Gastropoda, Malacostraca ve Reptilia sınıfa ait epigean türler örneklenmiştir. Veriler tüm çalışma yılları ile birlikte değerlendirildiğinde en yüksek Shannon-Wiener çeşitlilik değerinin 1.9981 olarak fiğ parselinde hesaplandığı görülmüştür. Çeşitlilik ile ters orantılı olarak artan veya azalan dominantlık değeri en yüksek sırasıyla kontrol (0,2746), yabancı ot biçme (0,2290), kimyasal (0,2172) ve fiğ (0,1686) parsellerinde hesaplanmıştır. Dominantlığın en düşük olduğu habitatın fiğ parseli olduğu belirlenmiştir. Yüzde benzerliğe göre birbirine en çok benzeyen parsellerin yabancı ot biçme ve kontrol parselleri olduğu ve bu benzerlik oranının % 83.879 olarak hesaplandığı görülmüştür. Fiğ parseli, kontrol ve yabancı ot kesme parsellerinin oluşturduğu gruba % 71.688 oranında benzer bulunmuştur. Ayrıca kimyasal parsel, çalışma alanlarının geri kalanının oluşturduğu gruba %52.04 oranında benzer olarak hesaplanmıştır. Fiğ ve kimyasal uygulanan parseller aynı bahçe sınırları içinde olmasına rağmen sadece % 58.012 oranında birbirine benzer bulunmuşlardır. Bu çalışmanın sonuçlarına göre; örtücü bitkilerinin uygulandığı agro-ekosistemlerdeki biyolojik çeşitliliğin, konvansiyonel tarım uygulamasının olduğu agro-ekosistemlere göre daha yüksek bir biyolojik çeşitlilik değerine sahip olduğu ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Ayrıca bu iki farklı uygulama yöntemi benzerlik açısından karşılaştırıldığında, o agro-ekosistemlerde yaşayan epigean türlerinin farklılığından dolayı benzemezlik oranlarının artabileceği söylenebilir.

(correspondence to Ivan Dugan: idugan@agr.hr)Soil erosion in agricultural land is a global problem and recognized as one of the main drivers of sediment, nutrient losses and diffuse pollution. Vineyards intensively managed in Mediterranean karst environments with agrochemicals and tillage are an example. The objective of this work is to study the impacts of the season (spring, summer) and different land management practices (tilled, herbicide, grass-covered) on soil properties, erosion and nutrient losses in a vineyard located in Vrgorac (Croatia). Ten soil sampling points and rainfall simulations were carried out in two seasons in 3 different treatments (10x2x3). Rainfall simulation experiments were carried out with a pressurized rainfall simulator, simulating a rainfall at an intensity of 58 mm h-1, for 30 min, over 0.785 m2 plots. Undisturbed soil samples (0-10 cm) were sampled before rainfall simulations. The results showed that mean weight diameter had significantly greater values on the grass-covered treatment in spring) and summer compared to the tilled and herbicide (2.56 mm, 3.03 mm) treatment, while the tilled and herbicide treatment had significantly lower values of water-stable aggregates in spring and summer compared to the grass-covered treatment. Sediment losses were significantly lower on the grass-covered treatment in spring, while those losses were significantly higher on the tilled and herbicide treatment in the summer period. Those values were significantly higher on the herbicide treatment compared to the tilled and grass-covered treatment. Element losses had significantly higher values on the tilled and herbicide treatment. For instance, K losses were significantly higher on the tilled and herbicide treatment in spring and summer, while those losses were significantly lower on the grass-covered treatment (1090.09 g ha-1, 4829.41 g ha-1). Also, Fe losses were significantly higher on the tilled and herbicide treatment in spring, while that value was significantly lower on the grass treatment. In the summer period, significantly lower values were recorded on the tilled and grass-covered treatment. Significantly lower Cu losses in the spring period were recorded on the grass-covered treatment than the tilled and herbicide, while in the summer period, those values were significantly higher on the herbicide and grass-covered treatment than the tilled treatment. This research indicates that it is necessary to test the seasonal soil conditions and different land management to obtain sustainable and less sustainable practices in a sensitive karstic environment.Keywords: rainfall simulation experiments, geochemistry, soil loss, conventional agriculture, temporal changesAcknowledgementThis work was supported by Croatian Science Foundation through the project "Soil erosion and degradation in Croatia" (UIP-2017-05-7834) (SEDCRO)

The work was carried out to compare the yield and quality of local Karacadag rice variety with the Osmancık-97 in conventional and organic agriculture conditions. In the organic agricultural conditions higher values were obtained compared to conventional conditions. Flowering took 82.6 days, 1000-kernel weight (31.38 g) and non-fractured rice yield were 61.75%. Local Karacadag rice variety under the organic conditions showed significantly higher values compared to Osmancık-97 breeding variety took 87.3 days for flowering, 128.2 days for ripening days. Plant height (84.1 cm), number of tillering in plants (2.82), number of bunches in the m2 (369.3), kernel number of bunch (56.5), bunch length (15.9 cm), biological yield (13440 kg/ha), yield for unit area (4681 kg/ha) and non-fractured rice yield (64.7%) were observed. While there was no difference between the two rice varieties with regards to the kernel weight of bunch. Local Karacadag variety proved its ability to adapt to the ecological conditions of the region. It is suggested that the cultivation of the Karacadag rice cultivar in organic agriculture conditions may be expanded in the region.

Background Animal communities are vulnerable to agricultural practices. Intensive farming considerably reduces overall arthropod diversity, but not necessarily pest abundance. Natural control of herbivores in agroecosystems is accomplished by predators and parasitoids, but in intensified agricultural regimes, the chemical control used to reduce pest abundances also affects pests’ natural enemies. To achieve more sustainable agriculture, there is a need to better understand the susceptibility of predators to conventional management. Methods In order to quantify the arthropod diversity associated with different schemes of agricultural management of maize, we evaluated agricultural fields under two contrasting management regimens in Michoacán, México during the spring–summer cycle of 2011. Arthropod communities were evaluated in plots with conventional high-input versus low-input agriculture in two sites—one rainfed and one with irrigation. The experimental units consisted of twelve 1 ha agricultural plots. To sample arthropods, we used 9 pitfall traps per agricultural plot. Results During the sampling period, we detected a total of 14,315 arthropods belonging to 12 Orders and 253 morphospecies. Arthropod community composition was significantly different between the sites, and in the rain-fed site, we also found differences between management practices. Predators, particularly ants, were more abundant in low-input sites. Herbivory levels were similar in all fields, with an average of 18% of leaf area lost per plant. Conclusions Our results suggest that conventional farming is not reducing herbivore abundances or damage inflicted to plants, but is affecting arthropod predators. We discuss repercussions for sustainable agriculture.

Sustainable agriculture should aim to increase biomass yield and yield stability, while protecting soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content. However, few studies have concurrently explored changes in biomass yield, yield stability and soil C and N content under different cropping systems targeting biorefinery. In this study, 10 different cropping systems were simultaneously investigated from 2012 to 2017 in central Denmark on a loamy sand soil, including (1) two continuous monocultures of annual crops, (2) one optimized crop rotation, (3) five intensively fertilized perennial grasses, and (4) two grass-legume mixtures without nitrogen (N) fertilization. Our results showed that biomass yield and yield stability differed highly across the cropping systems, highlighting crop-specific characteristics. Of the 10 cropping systems, tall fescue significantly increased soil C and N content at 0–20 cm depth, while sustaining high biomass yield and yield stability. There was no clear relationship between biomass yield, yield stability and changes in soil C and N content, challenging some recent findings on the conflicts between increasing biomass yield and protecting soil C and N content. Indeed, the lack of relationships suggest that there is considerable potential to increase biomass yield and yield stability without compromising soil C and N content through selecting proper cropping systems and managements. Altogether, our results underscore how crop-specific documentation of biomass yield, yield stability and changes in soil C and N content on the same experimental platform can advance the understanding of sustainable agriculture for biorefineries, although long-term continuous observations are still required to better clarify the relations between them.

Understanding the impact of biological and environmental stressors on cropping systems is essential to secure the long-term sustainability of agricultural production in the face of unprecedented climatic conditions. This study evaluated the effect of increased soil temperature and reduced moisture across three contrasting cropping systems: a no-till chemically managed system, a tilled organic system, and an organic system that used grazing to reduce tillage intensity. Results showed that while cropping system characteristics represent a major driver in structuring weed communities, the short-term impact of changes in temperature and moisture conditions appear to be more subtle. Weed community responses to temperature and moisture manipulations differed across variables: while biomass, species richness, and Simpson’s diversity estimates were not affected by temperature and moisture conditions, we observed a minor but significant shift in weed community composition. Higher weed biomass was recorded in the grazed/reduced-till organic system compared with the tilled-organic and no-till chemically managed systems. Weed communities in the two organic systems were more diverse than in the no-till conventional system, but an increased abundance in perennial species such as Cirsium arvense and Taraxacum officinale in the grazed/reduced-till organic system could hinder the adoption of integrated crop-livestock production tactics. Species composition of the no-till conventional weed communities showed low species richness and diversity, and was encompassed in the grazed/reduced-till organic communities. The weed communities of the no-till conventional and grazed/reduced-till organic systems were distinct from the tilled organic community, underscoring the effect that tillage has on the assembly of weed communities. Results highlight the importance of understanding the ecological mechanisms structuring weed communities, and integrating multiple tactics to reduce off-farm inputs while managing weeds.

Organic agriculture has the potential to improve the environmental performance of U.S. agriculture, supporting increasing food demand and diversification of food consumption while improving the quality of ecosystems. Organic growers are challenged by a lack of Cooperative Extension agent support as agents have not served organic growers to the same extent as conventional growers nationwide. Rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations theory guided our phenomenological inquiry to explore (a) what agents experienced while supporting organic growers, and (b) how agents experienced providing support to organic growers in north Georgia. According to participants, the essence of the support offered to organic growers was an uneven bridge. Agents were willing to provide growers with the resources to support organic production; however, they lacked theoretical and empirical knowledge regarding organic agricultural production that would enable them to establish stronger relationships with growers. Findings from the study and the uneven bridge metaphor led to an original model to assist Extension agents in better serving the organic agricultural community.

The chances and threats of agriculture on climate change are very ambiguous as it is one of the main anthropogenic activities contributing to climate change and can have a very negative impact on our environment. On the other hand, agriculture can conserve our landscapes, promote biodiversity and function as a carbon sink. This means agriculture is not in general good or bad in terms of climate change. Its judgment depends on the parameters used for its assessment. This thesis analyses the potential of ecological and intensive agricultural practices on the potential to mitigate and adapt climate change effects in the Alicante province in the period 1989-2019. The results are evaluated whether organic agriculture is a sustainable option to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change in the province of Alicante. This investigation offers a more wholistic approach on the topic as it is not a merely quantitative research. The research question on the impact of climate change on the most common types of agricultural practices in the province of Alicante is assessed using quantitative methods first. But the discussion opens this narrow perspective to a broader understanding of sustainability. It is important to look at the different scales to evaluate the sustainability of agriculture. Organic agriculture offers the potential of sustainable and climate-friendly agriculture, but there are also areas that achieve good results with conventional agricultural practices. The strong trend regarding water-intensive fruits is alarming, as water scarcity already exists and can be expected to increase in the future. A struggle of resources is already foreseeable. The processes of soil erosion are also directly related to climate change and are strikingly high in olive cultivation, fruit trees, as well as grape cultivation. These are all important crops of the province and, in this context, of economic, environmental, and social importance. Special attention should be paid to the practice of soil recovery in fallow land. Because this study was also able to clearly show that fallow land poses a great risk to the soil and is not a sustainable practice in most cases. The bottom line is that climate change is a global challenge that must be reflected in local action. Agriculture has a very large share in anthropogenic climate change, but at the same time offers opportunities for adaptation and mitigation. The change from bad already naturalized agricultural practices to new or better ones always costs financial resources, education and persuasion. However, in the context of an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable agriculture, it is the only right way.

In Galicia (NW Spain), kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa) is intensively produced using conventional practices (CONV) that ensure high yields, despite the fact that the excessive use of agrochemical inputs leads to soil organic matter depletion, increased water pollution and biodiversity losses. Although more sustainable practices have been implemented in the area (i.e. integrated, INT and organic farming, ORG), it remains unclear how these practices will affect C dynamics mediated by soil biota. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of agricultural management practices and earthworm additions (macrofauna) on soil C losses (CO2 emissions and dissolved organic carbon (DOC)) in relation to the amount of bioavailable soil carbon (salt extractable organic carbon (SEOC) and microbial carbon indicators (microbial biomass or Cmic and the Cmic/Corg ratio)). The experimental design consisted of a 105-days laboratory incubation of intact soil cores collected in the field (40 from each agroecosystem) and earthworm additions over ambient (2.43 ± 0.05 g/earthworm) to half of the experimental units (+EW), with the remaining half acting as controls. Our results showed that earthworm additions led to significant increases in their abundance in all three management treatments, but with the ORG soils sustaining the greatest population sizes. However, no significant effect on soil C transformations were observed in response to these earthworm increases, and instead, legacy agricultural practices overrode macrofauna control on C turnover. Consequently, more C was lost from the CONV treatments than from the ORG ones (on average, 60% more CO2 and 53% more DOC) as a result of CONV practices promoting microbial-mediated processes and hence, amplifying C mineralization versus C stabilization. Furthermore, C release from the INT soils was intermediate between the other two treatments, which suggests that more sustainable farming practices could help in achieving climate change mitigation. These findings provide clear evidence of how local adaptation (at farm level) towards a more environmentally friendly land management could represent a promising strategy to increase soil C sequestration. Future agricultural approaches would need to incorporate the potential benefits from other agroecosystem services beyond those derived from productivity and market values.

Industrial agriculture results in environmental burdens due to the overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. Fungicides is a class of pesticides whose application contributes (among others) to human toxicity and ecotoxicity. The European Union aims to increase organic agriculture. For this reason, this work aims to analyze climate change, freshwater ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, human toxicity, (terrestrial) acidification, and freshwater eutrophication impacts of fungicides and calculate expected benefits to human health (per European citizen) and ecosystem quality (terrestrial) with life cycle assessment (LCA) during crop production. The Scopus database was searched for LCA studies that considered the application of fungicides to specific crops. The analysis shows how many systemic and contact fungicides were considered by LCA studies and what was the applied dosage. Furthermore, it shows that fungicides highly contribute to freshwater ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, human toxicity, and freshwater eutrophication for fruits and vegetables, but to a low extent compared to all considered environmental impacts in the case of cereals and rapeseed. Expected benefits to human health and ecosystem quality after fungicides elimination are greater for fruits and vegetables, ranging between 0 to 47 min per European citizen in a year and 0 to 90 species per year, respectively.

Highlights • The agricultural origin of carrots could be predicted. • Using yearly harvested samples allowed 100% correct classification of unknowns. • Metabolomic fingerprinting showed potential for organic food authentication., Increasing demand for organic products and their premium prices make them an attractive target for fraudulent malpractices. In this study, a large-scale comparative metabolomics approach was applied to investigate the effect of the agronomic production system on the metabolite composition of carrots and to build statistical models for prediction purposes. Orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was applied successfully to predict the origin of the agricultural system of the harvested carrots on the basis of features determined by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. When the training set used to build the OPLS-DA models contained samples representative of each harvest year, the models were able to classify unknown samples correctly (100% correct classification). If a harvest year was left out of the training sets and used for predictions, the correct classification rates achieved ranged from 76% to 100%. The results therefore highlight the potential of metabolomic fingerprinting for organic food authentication purposes.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar e analisar comparativamente o custo entre o manejo fitossanitário orgânico e o convencional da cultura do tomateiro em estufa no norte do Paraná, bem como seus impactos na rentabilidade da atividade. Foram analisados cinco cultivos orgânicos de tomate e um convencional em áreas de quatro municípios distintos, avaliando-se: Renda Bruta Total (RT); Custo Operacional Total (COT); Produtividade (quilograma por planta e Caixas/1000m²); Relação Benefício Custo (B/C); Custo de Controle Fitossanitário Total (CFT); Custo do Controle de Pragas (CCP); Custo do Controle de Doenças (CCD); Impacto do Custo do Controle Fitossanitário na Rentabilidade da Atividade (ICRA) e Impacto do Custo de Controle Fitossanitário no Custo Total da Atividade (ICTA). Verificou-se que dois cultivos orgânicos tiveram o menor custo de manejo de pragas e de manejo fitossanitário total por caixa produzida entre todas as áreas analisadas. Na área orgânica P1 os impactos do custo do manejo fitossanitário total na rentabilidade do cultivo e no custo total da atividade foram os menores entre todas as áreas estudadas. No entanto, a área convencional teve a maior rentabilidade entre os cultivos., The present work aimed to characterize and comparatively analyze the cost between the organic phytosanitary management and the conventional one of the tomato culture in greenhouse in the north of Paraná, as well as its harmful impacts in the activity of activity. Five organic tomato crops and one conventional one were analyzed in areas of four different municipalities, available: Total Gross Income (TGI); Total Operating Cost (TOC); Productivity (kilogram per plant and Boxes / 1000m²); Cost Benefit Ratio (C/B); Total Phytosanitary Control Cost (TPCC); Cost of Pest Control (CPC); Cost of Disease Control (CDC); Impact of the Cost of Phytosanitary Control on the Activity (ICPCA) and Impact of the Cost of Phytosanitary Control on the Total Cost of the Activity (ICPCTA). It was found that two organic crops had the lowest cost of pest management and total phytosanitary management per selected box among all areas analyzed. In the organic area P1, the impacts on the cost of total phytosanitary management on the profitability of the crop and on the total cost of the activity were the smallest among all areas studied. However, a conventional area had a higher profitability among crops., Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales

This article contributes to the pertinent literature by providing a gender perspective to organic-conventional technical efficiency comparative studies and to the debate on technical efficiency of organic and conventional agriculture. Data from 280 organic and 378 conventional cocoa farm from Suhum area in Ghana; segregated into 101 females and 557 males, were analysed. Using separate frontiers, females were found to be more technically efficient than males irrespective of technology; conventional or organic, although males tended to be more productive. Increased access to productive inputs to females is necessary to increase their participation in organic cocoa production and further enhance efficiency.

Soil fungi are key component of soil biota having an important role in many ecological processes. As pathogens, decomposers and plant mutualists they can affect plant and soil health in agro-ecosystems significantly. The impact of crop management practices on soil fungal communities is diverse and still poorly studied. The lack of knowledge is mainly related to their hidden life mode, high phenotypic diversity, the great heterogeneity of soil microhabitats, difficulty for culturing and species identification. Collecting data with high accuracy to detect effects relevant to ecosystem management is an ongoing challenge for soil ecological studies and biomonitoring. However, the combination of DNA-based identification methods and Next Generation Sequencing technology was recognized as a powerful tool to evaluate biodiversity in environmental samples, especially soil biodiversity. In the frame of the National Research Program "Healthy Foods for a Strong Bio-Economy and Quality of Life", soil microbiome diversity (fungi, prokaryotes and archaea) will be used as indicator for assessing soil and plant health, and ecosystem services in several agricultural ecosystems. Four crop types (apple, lavender, rose and pea) located in southern Bulgaria, and managed by conventional and organic farming have been selected. Two general objectives related to soil biodiversity study were envisaged: to examine the impact of cropping systems on microbiome structural and functional diversity, and to propose management measures and agronomic practices improving soil and plant health. to examine the impact of cropping systems on microbiome structural and functional diversity, and to propose management measures and agronomic practices improving soil and plant health. Here we present some preliminary results on soil fungal communities evaluated by using amplicon DNA sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) rDNA region. Multiple core soil samples were collected from 18 sampling plots in June 2019. Fungal diversity and community structure were evaluated at different taxonomic levels. The most common and abundant taxa at all sites were Fusarium Link 1809, Solicoccozyma X.Z.Liu, F.Y.Bai, M.Groenew. & Boekhout 2015, Cladosporium Link 1816, Alternaria Nees ex Wallroth 1816, and Mortierella E.Coemans 1863. The multivariate statistics (PCA) comparing the overall microbial composition revealed loose clusters linked to crops and localities. The study provides a new comprehensive overview of soil fungal communities (composition and diversity) from Bulgarian agro-ecosystems using high-throughput DNA sequencing.

Today, the demand for soybean for feed industry and food production in Germany is met by imports from South and North America. Soybean cultivation in Germany, although challenging, will be of interest in the future due to an increasing demand for non-genetically modified (NGM) soybeans. To meet this rising demand for NGM soybeans and to increase resource use efficiency there is a need to reduce soybean harvest losses arising from harvesting with combine harvester. The height of the first pod can be a major factor affecting harvest losses, especially when it is not possible to maintain a sufficiently low cutting height. From 2011 to 2013, six soybean varieties were cultivated using two cropping systems (conventional ‘CON’ and organic ‘ORG’) at the Osnabru ̈ck University of Applied Sciences in a randomized block design with four replications to investigate the effect of first pod height and plant length on harvest losses and the effect of the cropping system on these parameters. Before harvesting with an experimental harvester, 1.5 m2 per plot were harvested manually as a reference. First pod height, number of pods per plant and plant length were determined on 10 plants per plot. Over the three years of the study, the first pod height (10.4 cm) and plant length (81.4 cm) were on average higher under conventional conditions compared to organic cultivation (7.3 cm; 60.9 cm). On average, lower harvest losses (25.6% vs. 39.2%) and higher grain yields (20.8 dt ha−1 vs. 16.9 dt ha−1) were also observed under conventional cultivation. Varieties differed significantly in grain yield, first pod height and plant length. A high first pod height was related to a longer plant length and lower harvest losses at both sites. However, a high first pod height and a high plant length did not lead to higher grain yields on any of the plots. These results indicate that harvest efficiency can be improved by choosing varieties with long plant lengths if it is not possible to maintain a low cutting height when harvesting with a combine harvester.

Depending on the type and intensity of use of agroecosystems, they provide important goods and ecosystem services (ES) to human. This study assesses supporting, regulating, provisioning and cultural services in 48 Iranian soybean fields under conventional and conservation cropping systems. We hypothesize that the present agricultural soybean land use in Gorgan County is the reason for a reduced performance of ES. We updated the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) framework for mapping of ES and included new indicators like insect biodiversity, biodiversity indexes according to Shannon-Wiener, Simpson, Inverse Simpson and Margalef, soil microbial respiration, and quantification of soil conservation by using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). To quantify carbon sequestration and microbial respiration, soil samples were taken at depths of 0–30 cm before cultivation start in late May 2017 and after soybean harvest in early October 2017. Oxygen production was estimated based on net primary production. Various types of supporting services were evaluated in two general groups, including insect communities and plant biodiversity. The results show that conservation cropping systems in general provide better performing ES than conventional cropping systems. Soil microbial respiration was significantly higher in conservation fields. The average oxygen production on conventional fields was 79.9 ton per ha, compared to 59.9 ton per ha in conservation fields. The biodiversity assessment showed that species richness and all diversity indexes in conservation fields were higher than conventional agroecosystems. From a soil conservation point of view, the rates of soil erosion according to USLE were estimated at an average of 996.64 and 417.63 kg per ha under conventional and conservation fields, respectively. In a spatial distinction, the eastern part of the county exposes the highest soil erosion. Regulating services for carbon sequestration were high in the southern region and on fields close to forest ecosystems. Provisioning services of soybean yield, oil and protein contents were highest in the western and central parts and lowest in the northern part of the study area. As the first report of ecosystem services mapping in conservation and conventional cropping systems in Iran, we confirm that conservation cropping systems in general provide better performing ES than conventional cropping systems.

The effect of duration of conservation agriculture adoption on soil carbon dynamics and system sustainability was evaluated on farms of 30 villages in the Nilokheri block of Karnal district, Haryana, India. Sustainability was evaluated, in which a number of soil physical, chemical, and biological parameters were measured and a Sustainability Index (SI) was applied. Soil samples were collected from existing conservation agriculture (CA) and conventional tillage (CT) farms. Villages under CA practices were subdivided as CA3, CA6, and CA9 based on the number of years of CA practice adoption. Results showed that bulk density (BD) of 0-15 cm soil depth was 7% greater in CA3 plots, whereas in CA6 and CA9 plots BD values were only 2% and 3% higher than CT. Soil organic carbon (SOC) in 0-15 cm soil depth was found to be greater by 16.32% in CA3 than CT plots, whereas SOC was higher by 38.77% and 61.22% in CA6 and CA9. In CA, for the 0–15 and 15-30 cm soil depths, labile pools were 36% and 22% greater than CT, respectively. For both the soil depths in CA, the recalcitrant pool was 12% and 9% more than CT, respectively. Microbial biomass carbon (MBC) values of the 0-15 cm soil depth were increased over CT by 18.57%, 47.08%, and 71.5% for CA3, CA6, and CA9 respectively. In CA plots, the SI of 0-15 cm soil depth ranged between cumulative ratings (CR) of 18–21, which indicates that CA practice is “sustainable” for both soil depths. For CT, CR ranged from 25 to 30 for both soil depths resulting in a SI of “sustainability with high input”. Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) scores showed that SOC had the maximum weight (0.96) towards sustainability, giving it a rank of 1. Effective rooting depth (ERD), BD, texture, and wilting point (WP) ranked 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively, indicating their corresponding weight of contribution towards the SI. Farmers in the Karnal district should be encouraged to adopt CA practices as they can increase SOC and move the systems from “sustainable with high input” to “sustainable”., Aggregation; Conventional agriculture; Glomalin content; Microbial biomass carbon; Soil organic carbon; TOPSIS; Agricultural soil science; Agronomy; Soil health; Soil quality; Environmental assessment.

The detrital food web plays an important role in the functioning of agro-ecosystems due to their positive effect on organic matter transformations and nutrient supply to the growing crops, however, the activities of the organisms involved are strongly influenced by agricultural practices. In NW Spain, commercial Hayward kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa) is intensively produced using conventional techniques (CONV), however, more sustainable methods, such as integrated (INT) and organic (ORG), have been increasingly adopted to decrease the negative impacts on the environment. We investigated the effects of these agricultural managements on earthworm abundance and functional diversity as well as microbial biomass and enzyme activity and evaluated the potential implications for nutrient retention and runoff in kiwifruit orchards. Our results showed that the CONV soils significantly contained fewer earthworms (ca. 80% less individuals than the INT and ORG systems), with their communities being mainly dominated by small epigeics, but a higher microbial biomass (0.53 ± 0.06 mg C g-1 dw soil compared to 37% more CO2, and five times more DIN) than from the less intensively managed soils. In contrast, the INT and ORG systems sustained a more complex and functionally diverse soil food web that lead to higher soil C and N retention. Therefore, agriculture management (i.e., intensive vs. less intensive) and its effects on the structure of the below-ground communities (i.e., microorganisms plus surface detritivores vs. deep burrowers plus geophagous forms) determine the nutrient sink/source function of these agro-ecosystems. These findings highlight the importance of including the contribution of soil biota to soil processes when optimizing fertilization loads and mitigating environmental impacts of agricultural practices. Xunta de Galicia | Ref. 10 PXIB 310 142 PR Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte | Ref. AP2009-2037

Benefits of organic farming on soil fauna have been widely observed and this has led to consider organic farming as a potential approach to reduce the environmental impact of conventional agriculture. However, there is still little evidence from field conditions about direct benefits of organic agriculture on soil ecosystem functioning. Hence, the aims of this study were to compare the effect of organic farming versus conventional farming on litter decomposition and to study how this process is affected by soil meso- and macrofauna abundances. Systems studied were: (1) organic farming with conventional tillage (ORG), (2) conventional farming with conventional tillage (CT), (3) conventional farming under no-tillage (NT), and (4) natural grassland as control system (GR). Decomposition was determined under field conditions by measuring weight loss in litterbags. Soil meso- and macrofauna contribution on decomposition was evaluated both by different mesh sizes and by assessing their abundances in the soil. Litter decomposition was always significantly higher after 9 and 12 months in ORG than in CT and NT (from 2 to 5 times in average), regardless decomposer community composition and litter type. Besides, mesofauna, macrofauna and earthworm abundances were significantly higher in ORG than in NT and CT (from 1.6 to 3.8, 1.7 to 2.3 and 16 to 25 times in average, respectively for each group). These results are especially relevant firstly because the positive effect of ORG in a key soil process has been proved under field conditions, being the first direct evidence that organic farming enhances the decomposition process. And secondly because the extensive organic system analyzed here did not include several practices which have been recognized as particularly positive for soil biota (e.g. manure use, low tillage intensity and high crop diversity). So, this research suggests that even when those practices are not applied, the non-use of agrochemicals is enough to produce positive changes in soil fauna and so in decomposition dynamics. Therefore, the adoption of organic system in an extensive way can also be suggested to farmers in order to improve ecosystem functioning and consequently to achieve better soil conditions for crop production. Fil: Domínguez, Anahí. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Geología; Argentina Fil: Bedano, José Camilo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Geología; Argentina Fil: Becker, Analia Rosa. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Geología; Argentina Fil: Arolfo, Romina Vanesa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Geología; Argentina

In this paper, exposure to Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) related to bovine meat consumption is assessed based on multiples sources of data, namely data collected within the national research project "SoMeat" that objectively assesses the potential risks and benefits of organic and conventional food production systems in terms of contaminants respective contents. The work focuses on dioxin like PCBs in bovine meat in France. A modular Bayesian approach is proposed including measures after production, effect of cooking, levels and frequency of consumption and effect of digestion. In each module, a model is built and prior information can be integrated through previously acquired data commonly used in food risk assessment or vague priors. The output of the global model is the exposure including both production modes (organic and conventional) for three different cooking intensities (rare, medium, and well-done), before digestion and after digestion. The main results show that organic meat is more contaminated than conventional meat in mean after production stage and after cooking although cooking reduces the contamination level. This work is a first step of refined risk assessment integrating different steps such as cooking and digestion in the context of chemical risk assessment similarly to current microbiological risk assessments.

The global demand for cacao has recently increased. To meet this demand, the cultivated area has been expanded in tropical forest areas and production has intensified by replacing traditional agroforestry systems with monocultures. This has led to a loss of biodiversity in cacao-growing areas. More sustainable production systems such as agroforestry and organic managed systems are expected to yield less cacao, but by-crops and premium prices, respectively, might economically compensate for the lower yields. Here, we compared the productivity and the return on labor, that is the return per working day, of four different cacao production systems: agroforestry and monocultures under organic and conventional management. Cacao and by-crop yields, costs, revenues, and labor were registered during the first 5 years after establishment. Results show that cacao yields were, on average, 41% higher in monocultures, but the revenues derived from agroforestry by-crops economically overcompensated for this difference. Indeed, the return on labor across the years was roughly twice as high in the agroforestry systems compared to the monocultures. We found similar cacao yields and return on labor in conventional and organically managed agroforestry systems. However, in the monocultures, cacao yields were 48% lower under organic compared with conventional farming, but the return on labor was similar, mainly due to the higher costs associated to the conventional management. Overall, our findings show that cacao agroforestry systems have higher return on labor.

Agricultural intensification at field and landscape scales has lead to adramatic decline of weed diversity in cereal crops during the last few decadesacross Europe. Intensification at the field scale is related to the increasing ofexternal inputs (e.g. fertilizers and pesticides). At the landscape scale,agricultural intensification is associated to a decrease in landscape complexity,because of the increasing proportion of arable land at the expense of natural orsemi-natural habitats. Research on the response of weed diversity toagricultural intensification has been mostly focused on taxonomy (e.g. numberof species). However, intensification may also impact the functional diversity ofweed communities. Functional traits (e.g. life form, seed mass, pollination type)are key components of diversity that, to date, have received little attention. Inthis context, the general goal of the present thesis was to study the impact ofagriculture intensification at field and at landscape scale on the taxonomicdiversity, functional diversity and the distribution of functional traits of weedcommunities in cereal crops systems under conventional management. Theoverall structure of this thesis is composed of six chapters; the first, fifth andsixth correspond to the general introduction, general discussion and generalconclusions respectively, while chapters II, III and IV correspond to threeresearching studies. Chapter II is focused on the plant communities inhabitingfield margins and attemps to assess the effect of margin width and landscapecomplexity on plant diversity. Chapter III aims to compare the effects ofintensification on weed diversity inside crop fields in climatically andfloristically contrasting countries, UK and Spain. Finally, chapter IV is devoted..., La intensificación agrícola es un proceso que ocurre a escala de campo yde paisaje que constituye una de las causas principales de la drásticadisminución de la diversidad de especies arvenses observada en los cultivoscerealistas europeos a lo largo de las últimas décadas. A nivel de campo, laintensificación está relacionada con el creciente uso de agroquímicos (porejemplo, fertilizantes y pesticidas). A escala de paisaje, la intensificaciónagrícola ha determinado una disminución de la complejidad del paisaje, debidoal aumento de la proporción de tierras de cultivo a expensas de los hábitatsnaturales o seminaturales. La mayoría de los estudios acerca del efecto de laintensificación agrícola sobre la diversidad de especies arvenses se ha centradoen un enfoque taxonómico (por ejemplo el número de especies). Sin embargo, laintensificación también puede afectar la diversidad funcional y/o los rasgosfuncionales (por ejemplo, las formas de vida, el peso de semillas, el tipo depolinización) de las comunidades arvenses; los cuales son componentes clavede la diversidad y que, hasta la fecha, han sido poco estudiados. En estecontexto, el objetivo de la presente tesis fue analizar el impacto de laintensificación agrícola a nivel de campo y de paisaje sobre la diversidadtaxonómica, la diversidad funcional y la distribución de los rasgos funcionalesde las especies de plantas asociadas a los cultivos cerealistas de secano bajomanejo convencional. La estructura general de esta tesis comprende seiscapítulos; el primero, quinto y sexto corresponden a la introducción general, ladiscusión general y las conclusiones generales, respectivamente, mientras quelos capítulos II, III y IV corresponden a tres trabajos de investigación. El trabajo...

Micronutrient deficiencies in the diet of many people are common and wheat is a staple food crop, providing a carbohydrate and micronutrient source to a large percentage of the world’s population. We conducted a field study to compare five Canadian red spring wheat cultivars (released over the last century) grown under organic and conventional management systems for yield, grain micronutrient concentration, and soil phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profile. The organic system had higher grain Zn, Fe, Mg and K levels, but lower Se and Cu levels. There was no trend in the results to suggest that modern western Canadian hard red spring cultivars have lower grain micronutrient content than historical cultivars. Wheat cultivar choice is important for maximizing grain nutrient levels, which was influenced by management system. It is evident that the emphasis on elevated grain quality in the western Canadian hard red spring class has resulted in the retention of micronutrient quality characters. Three fungal PLFAs were indicators for the organic system, and all three of these indicators were positively correlated with grain Cu concentration. In the organic system, percent arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were negatively correlated with grain Zn and Fe concentrations, and positively correlated with grain Mn, Cu, K concentrations and grain yield. The organic system had higher levels of fungi in the soil, including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Organic management practices appear to result in elevated levels of grain micronutrient concentration. The hard red spring breeding effort in and for the black soil zone of the northern Great Plains also appears to have led to no diminishment of grain micronutrient concentration. It is evident that both the agronomic system and breeding strategies in this region can be exploited for future increases in grain micronutrient concentration.

In the past decade there has been increased scientific interest in organic farming, especially in comparison with conventional agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of these two agricultural systems on the soil organic matter (SOM) quality evaluated according to a new methodological approach. In particular, a sequential solvent extraction and a linear gradient elution reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) were used to evaluate SOM hydrophobic/hydrophilic character. The selected areas for soil analysis were two adjacent fields located in Central Italy and cultivated for 8 years following organic and conventional management, respectively. This area was a cultivated arable land since last century. Soil was a Vertic Xerochrepts with sandy clay loam texture (USDA) and pH 7.6. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) was on the average 42 mequiv. 100 g(-1). Each soil sample has been subjected to three cycles of extraction with organic solvents (n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate) using Soxhlet apparatus. The relative amounts of SOM extracted from conventional and organic soil by the most hydrophobic solvent ( n-hexane) were 45.4 and 28.9%, respectively; while dichloromethane was able to extract from the two soils 51.5 and 26.7% of SOM. The components of extracts have been separated by RP-HPLC using a linear acetonitrile gradient in water to elute organic compounds. The PCA analysis of RP-HPLC chromatographic profile has well discriminated the organic matter quality of soils under different managements on the basis of organic compounds polarity, evaluated by RP-HPLC. In organically managed soil, ethyl acetate extracts SOM components that span a wider range of hydrophobicity than the compounds extracted by this solvent from conventional managed soil, indicating that the organically managed soil had a more heterogeneous organic compounds, which could be originated from the continuous input of fresh plant residues. The wide variety of organic substances extracted with different solvents from this soil can also be due to the amphiphillic character of humic material. RP-HPLC technique may represent a powerful tool for a thorough analysis of SOM hydrophobic character, which is known to have substantial bearing on the formation of stable aggregates and the whole soil structural stability. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Demand for organically produced food products is increasing rapidly in North America, driven by a perception that organic agriculture results in fewer negative environmental impacts and yields greater benefits for human health than conventional systems. Despite the increasing interest in organic grain production on the Canadian Prairies, a number of challenges remain to be addressed to ensure its long-term sustainability. In this review, we summarize Western Canadian research into organic crop production and evaluate its agronomic, environmental, and economic sustainability.

This paper describes and applies EDEN-E, an operational method for the environmental evaluation of dairy farms based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) conceptual framework. EDEN-E requires a modest amount of data readily available on-farm, and thus can be used to assess a large number of farms at a reasonable cost. EDEN-E estimates farm resource use and pollutant emissions mostly at the farm scale, based on-farm-gate balances, amongst others. Resource use and emissions are interpreted in terms of potential impacts: eutrophication, acidification, climate change, terrestrial toxicity, non-renewable energy use and land occupation. The method distinguishes for each total impact a direct component (impacts on the farm site) and an indirect component (impacts associated with production and supply of inputs used). A group of 47 dairy farms (41 conventional and six organic) was evaluated. Expressed per 1000 kg of fat-and-protein-corrected milk, total land occupation was significantly larger for organic than for conventional farms, while total impacts for eutrophication, acidification, climate change, terrestrial toxicity, and non-renewable energy use were not significantly different for the two production modes. When expressed per ha of land occupied all total impacts were significantly larger for conventional than organic farms. This study largely confirms previously published findings concerning the effect of production mode on impacts of dairy farms. However, it strikingly reveals that, for the set of farms examined, the contribution of production mode to overall inter-farm variability of impacts was minor relative to inter-farm variability within each of the two production modes examined. The mapping of impact variability through EDEN-E opens promising perspectives to move towards sustainable farming systems by identifying the structural and management characteristics of the farms presenting the lowest impacts. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

“Según la Organización de las Naciones Unidas ONU, Uno de cada cuatro niños menores de cinco años en el mundo padece retraso del crecimiento. Esto significa que 165 millones de niños están tan malnutridos que nunca alcanzarán todo su potencial físico y cognitivo. Aproximadamente 2 000 millones de personas en el mundo carecen de las vitaminas y minerales esenciales para gozar de buena salud. Unos 1 400 millones de personas tienen sobrepeso. De estas, alrededor de un tercio son obesas y corren el riesgo de sufrir cardiopatías coronarias, diabetes u otros problemas de salud”. "According to the United Nations, one in four children under the age of five in the world is stunted. This means that 165 million children are so malnourished that they will never reach their full physical and cognitive potential. Approximately 2 billion people in the world lack the vitamins and minerals essential for good health. Some 1.4 billion people are overweight. Of these, about one-third are obese and at risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes or other health problems." http://unidadinvestigacion.usta.edu.co Pregrado

The aim of this study is to demonstrate the matter of sustainable agriculture as an alternative to the conventional agricultural model, based on the Green Revolution. As well as, the way the alternative agriculture may provide a solution to a future challenge - the nourishment security. Keywords: Conventional Agriculture; Green Revolution; Alternative Agriculture; Alimentary Security. Este estudo procura demonstrar a questão da agricultura sustentável como uma alternativa ao modelo agrícola convencional baseado na Revolução Verde e, também, como a agricultura alternativa pode proporcionar uma solução para um dos impasses do futuro - a segurança alimentar. Palavras Chaves: Agricultura Convencional; Revolução Verde; Agricultura Alternativa; Segurança Alimentar.

In this work, wheat from two farming systems, organic and conventional, was analyzed. Organic agriculture is one of the fastest growing sectors in the food industry of Europe and the United States. It is an open question, whether organic or conventional agricultural management influences variables such as metabolism, nutrient supply, seed loading and metabolite composition of wheat. Our aim was to detect if organic or conventional farming systems would affect concentrations of metabolites and substances in developing ears and in corresponding matured grain. Therefore, broadband metabolite profiles together with lipids, A cations, starch and protein concentrations of wheat ears in the last phase of grain development and of matured grain from organic and conventional agriculture of a rigorously controlled field trial with two organic and two conventional systems were examined. It appears that seed metabolism and supply of developing ears differ in organic and conventional agriculture. However, the differences in 62 metabolite concentrations become marginal or disappear in the matured grains, indicating an adjustment of nutrients in the matured grain from organic agriculture. This result suggests a high degree of homeostasis in the final seed set independent of the growing regime.

PhD Doctorate The phenomenon of organic agriculture in the Mid North of South Australia is explored in seven case studies of local organic producers. The research issue asks how these organic producers organise to survive in a marketplace where they remain marginal players. The research is framed around Sonnino and Marsden's (2006) two-dimensional model of alternative agriculture, which structures the case study analysis at two levels: a horizontal dimension concerning farmer agency and grassroots innovations, and a vertical dimension focusing on farmer interaction with regulatory and governance frameworks in organic agriculture. To enrich understanding of farmer practices at the grassroots level, two additions are made to the horizontal dimension: the role that beliefs play in determining agency and innovation in motivating farmers to 'go organic' and 'stay organic' and how alternative beliefs, particularly about nature and localism, influence the construction by organic farmers of 'new platforms of action' (Sonnino and Marsden 2006), essential for survival in the marketplace.

Various organic technologies have been utilized for about 6000 years to make agriculture sustainable while conserving soil, water, energy, and biological resources. Among the benefits of organic technologies are higher soil organic matter and nitrogen, lower fossil energy inputs, yields similar to those of conventional systems, and conservation of soil moisture and water resources (especially advantageous under drought conditions). Conventional agriculture can be made more sustainable and ecologically sound by adopting some traditional organic farming technologies.

Recently, many countries have introduced policies that promote sustainable agricultural practices, such as reducing synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and promoting diversified crop rotation. While such management changes might represent an opportunity for the agricultural sector to mitigate the impacts of climate change through carbon (C) sequestration in soils, there are still uncertainties due to the scarcity of reliable long-term data to prove this assumption. In this study, we applied the DayCent model using empirical data from a farm-scale study and an experimental trial study at Nafferton farm in the UK, to assess the long-term effects of contrasting agricultural systems (conventional vs. organic), grazing regimes (non-grazed vs. grazed), arable systems with ley phases, mineral vs. compost fertility sources and conventional vs. organic crop rotation on soil C stocks (0–0.20 m depth). The simulations showed that grazing and higher ley time proportions can increase soil C stocks for a period of at least 30 years, regardless of the agricultural system used (average increase in rates of 0.25 ± 0.02 Mg ha−1 yr−1). Compost fertiliser promoted soil C accumulation for the same period (average increase in rates of 0.3 Mg ha−1 yr−1), but its magnitude was dependent on the choice of crops in the rotation. However, ley time proportions higher than 40% of the full crop rotation did not improve soil C accumulation further. We conclude that the DayCent model can be used to identify the quantity of and the effective period for which management practices can be used to target mitigation efforts, but the balance between sustainability and productivity aspects warrants further research.

Agricultural researchers widely recognise the importance of sustainable agricultural production systems and the need to develop appropriate methods to measure sustainability at the farm level. Policymakers need accounting and evaluation tools to be able to assess the potential of sustainable production practices and to provide appropriate agro-environmental policy measures. Farmers are in search of sustainable management tools to cope with regulations and enhance efficiency. This study proposes an indicator-based framework to evaluate sustainability of farming systems. Main features of the indicators’ framework are the relevance given to different spatial scales (farm, site and field), production and pedo-climatic factors, and a holistic view of the agro-ecosystem. The framework has been conceived to tackle different purposes ranging from detailed scientific analyses to farm-level management systems and cross-compliance. Agro-environmental indicators can be calculated, simulated with models or directly measured with different levels of detail proportionally to the aims of the evaluation exercise. The framework is organised in a number of environmental and production systems and sub-systems. For each system environmental critical points are identified with corresponding agro-environmental indicators and processing methods. A review of applications of the framework in Tuscany, Italy, since 1991 is presented. Applications range from prototyping farming systems, to integrated farm ecological-economic modelling, comparisons between organic, integrated and conventional farming systems, farm eco-management voluntary audit schemes and cross-compliance. Strengths and weaknesses of the framework are discussed against generic requirements of information systems and operational issues.

Organic agriculture in Uganda is developing at a fast pace and despite this trend Uganda is still unable to produce enough fresh and dry organic fruits mainly pineapple to meet the exporters demand. This current research investigated the strategies of farmers at production level by assessing the pros and cons of fruit growing, organic agriculture and fruit drying in order to understand the underlying causal factor for the low production of organic dry fruits in a major fruit producing district of Uganda.The study was carried out in two separate and distinctive areas; one which only produces and export fresh organic pineapple and the other which exports dried fruits (mainly pineapple and papaya). About 10% of the farmers in the two study areas were surveyed using questionnaires which were further followed by semi-structured interviews and participatory rural appraisals activities with various types of farmers in order to understand the different decisions and strategies of farmers.82% and 74% of farmers in the two study areas grew fruits as it gave better economic returns and for 77% and 90% respectively in the two study areas, the reasons for growing fruit was the ease of selling compared to other crops. All the farmers were relying on coffee husk for growing organic pineapples. However, 50% of the farmers want to grow pineapples (either organic or conventional) but couldn't afford to buy coffee husk. Fruit drying was mainly a strategy to utilize cheap fruits during harvesting seasons for value addition. 71% and 42% of farmers in the two study areas wanted to dry fruits but it was beyond their economic capacity to buy the driers.Decision of the farmers whether to grow fruits or cereals, organic or conventional agriculture and selling the fruits as fresh or dry were dependent mainly on the economic, knowledge and resource availability of each type of practices. It is concluded that the main barrier for an increase in the production of organic dried fruits is at the processing level, and the limited capacity for investments in drying facilities.