Agriculture - Crop management

Title

The effect of EU derogation strategies on the compliance costs of the nitrate directive

Reference

Science of The Total Environment
Volumes 421–422, 1 April 2012, Pages 94–101

Author(s)

Bart Van der Straeten , Jeroen Buysse, Stephan Nolte, Ludwig Lauwers, Dakerlia Claeys, Guido Van Huylenbroeck

Study type

Peer Review Journal    

Abstract

Within the framework of the nitrate directive, member states have the opportunity to apply for derogation, i.e. increasing fertilisation standards under certain conditions. Several EU regions have utilised this opportunity, but each in a different way, resulting in six very different derogation policies within the EU in 2009. This paper focuses on the differences between the policies applied and makes an assessment with regard to the impact of these differences on the application rate for derogation, the manure surplus and the cost of allocating manure. Based on the MP-MAS model described by Van der Straeten et al. (2010) the different scenarios are applied on a single case area (Flanders) and the economic effects have been simulated. Results show considerable differences between the policy alternatives, leading to the conclusion that member states not only have to focus on whether or not to allow derogation, but also on the actual details of the derogation policy. Granting derogation at parcel level (plot of land), instead of farm level, increases the potential effect of derogation; the level of increase in fertilisation standards under derogation determines the application rate for derogation: a higher increase leads to a higher application rate.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management

Keywords

Nitrate directive; Derogation; Flanders; MP-MAS; Environmental policy

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969712000629
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Bart.VanderStraeten@Ugent.be

Title

Reference

DOI:10.1080/09640568.2011.636568

Author(s)

Anders Branth Pedersen, Helle Ørsted Nielsen, Tove Christensen & Berit Hasler

Study type

Peer Review Journal    

Abstract

Economic modelling generally assumes that businesses are profit maximisers. However, behavioural economics holds that businesses pursue multiple objectives and may even sacrifice some profit. This has implications for the effectiveness of incentive-based environmental policies. Using Danish farmers as a case, this paper examines whether non-economic rationales may trump economic ones in farmer decisions, and, unlike previous research, we quantify how widespread non-economic values are compared to more economic values. Data derive from a survey (1164 responses) of Danish conventional farmers' decision rationales regarding their use of pesticides. Using cluster analysis, we show that some farmers are more economically motivated while other farmers are more focused on optimising yield and pay less attention to expenditures and crop prices. Furthermore, we find that the two groups differ in their response to policy instruments; farmers who focus on yield indicate less responsiveness to economic policy instruments. The results imply that it is important to implement a broad array of policy instruments to match different farmer rationales.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Stakeholder/public engagement
Sustainable consumption and production >> Sustainable production >> Sustainable business and industry

Keywords

pesticides, policy instruments, farmers, motivation

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http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09640568.2011.636568
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apd@dmu.dk

Title

Quantifying the effect of Managed Aquifer Recharge on the microbiological human health risks of irrigating crops with recycled water

Reference

Agricultural Water Management
Volume 99, Issue 1, November 2011, Pages 93–102

Author(s)

Neus Ayuso-Gabella, Declan Page, Costantino Masciopinto, , Avi Aharoni, Miquel Salgot, Thomas Wintgens,

Study type

Peer Review Journal    

Abstract

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is increasingly being used for water recycling via aquifers and recovery for irrigation. Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) was used to assess the human health risks from irrigation using reclaimed water and to evaluate the reduction in risk where MAR is used for irrigation management. Four MAR sites (Shafdan, Israel; Nardò, Italy; Bolivar, Australia; and Sabadell, Spain) that use reclaimed water for crop and/or park irrigation were evaluated, and the risk to human health was quantified in terms of DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years). The results indicated that median risks for all scenarios and pathogens evaluated were acceptable (<10−6 DALYs) with the exception of risks from accidental aerosol ingestion and bacterial pathogens at the Nardò site. MAR was found to be one of the most important treatment barriers in terms of log10 inactivation credits and hence a useful tool for recycled water irrigation management. The Shafdan site relied almost completely on the MAR treatment to reduce the human health risks from irrigation to acceptable levels. For the Nardò site MAR was also an important barrier, where if MAR had not been used as part of the irrigation system the risk would be unacceptable for protozoa and viruses. The Bolivar and Sabadell sites had much larger and more technologically complex recycled water treatment systems and as such MAR was not a critical barrier in managing human health risks.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management
Environment and health >> Health risks >> Water safety
Water >> Water quality >> Water pollution and safety
Water >> Water consumption >> Water reuse

Keywords

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR); Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA); Reclaimed water; Irrigation; Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377411001715
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mnayuso@ub.edu

Title

Using landscape indicators to predict high pest infestations and successful natural pest control at the regional scale

Reference

Landscape and Urban Planning 105 (1-2), 62-73.

Author(s)

Rusch, A., Valantin-Morison, M., Roger-Estrade, J., Sarthou, J.P.,

Study type

Peer Review Journal    

Abstract

Designing multifunctional landscapes requires accurate indicators to assess the effect of landscape structure on the provision on ecosystem services. Biological pest control relying on natural enemies is an important ecosystem service considered as a sustainable alternative to chemical control. The aim of this study was to measure and compare the accuracy of landscape indicators computed at various spatial scales to predict pollen beetle infestations and successful biological control in northwestern France. The sensitivity, specificity, and probability of correctly ranking fields were estimated for each indicator based on a survey of 42 fields using the receiver operating characteristic procedure. For pest infestation, the proportion of woodland and the proportion of semi-natural habitats were found to be informative indicators with good discriminatory abilities. For biological control, the proportion of woodland, the proportion of semi-natural habitats and the proportion of the previous year's oilseed rape fields with reduced soil tillage were found to be informative indicators with good discriminatory abilities. By using indicator values and optimal thresholds we were able to compute maps of areas at risk for pest infestation and those displaying successful biological control at the regional scale. This study provides tools that could help extension services, landscape planners, and policy makers in optimizing landscape structure according to the provision of a key ecosystem service. The results of this study also provide new grounds for understanding trophic interactions at the regional scale as well as the ambivalent effect of landscape complexity on pest and natural enemy populations.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management
Biodiversity >> Ecosystem services

Keywords

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204611003434
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adrien.rusch@slu.se

Title

The European phosphorus balance

Reference

Resources, Conservation and Recycling
Volume 60, March 2012, Pages 159–172

Author(s)

Christian Ott & Helmut Rechberger

Study type

Peer Review Journal    

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is considered a potentially critical resource because reserves are limited; it is required by all creatures, and it cannot be substituted. In this paper a substance flow analysis of phosphorus for the former 15 member states of the European Community (EU15) is presented. In order to consider the heterogeneity of the database with regard to quantity and quality all data are considered with uncertainty ranges. Error propagation and data reconciliation are performed applying the software STAN. Comparing basic and reconciled data shows that the result is reliable enough to allow the following conclusions: the system of the EU15 is largely dependent on imports of phosphorus. Net per capita consumption in the EU15 is 4.7 kgP/yr of which only 1.2 kgP/yr reach the consumer. The main losses are a net accumulation in agricultural soils (2.9 kgP/yr), followed by losses to landfills (1.4 kgP/yr) and to the hydrosphere (0.55 kgP/yr). Only 0.77 kgP/yr are recycled. Optimizing phosphorus fertilization, collecting and recycling of phosphorus-rich wastes, increasing the connection of households to sewer systems, and implementing tertiary wastewater treatment comprehensively could reduce Europe's import dependence on phosphorus significantly.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management
Sustainable consumption and production >> Sustainable production >> Sustainable business and industry
Sustainable development and policy assessment >> Sustainable economic development >> Trade and environment

Keywords

Data reconciliation; Error propagation; Europe; Phosphorus; Substance flow analysis

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344911002540
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christian.ott@tuwien.ac.at

Title

Future productivity of fallow systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Is the effect of demographic pressure and fallow reduction more significant than climate change?

Reference

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
Volume 151, Issue 8, 15 August 2011, Pages 1120-1130

Author(s)

Thomas Gaiser, Michael Judex, Attanda Mouinou Igué, Heiko Paeth, Claudia Hiepe

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

In this century climate change is assumed to be the major driver for changes in agricultural systems and crop productivity at the global scale. However, due to spatial differences in cropping systems and in the magnitude of climatic change regional variations of climate change impact are expected. Furthermore, the recent climate projections are highly uncertain for large parts of West Africa. In particular with respect to annual precipitation and variability the projections vary between trends with decreasing precipitation and trends with slightly increasing precipitation within the next decades. On the other hand, the extensive fallow systems in this region suffer from increasing population pressure, which compromises soil fertility restoration. In the Republic of Benin, the demographic projections for the first half of this century indicate a continuous growth of the population with a narrow interval of confidence. Thus, in the absence of an adequate soil fertility management with judicious use of mineral fertilizers, the soil degradation process with decreasing crop yields is expected to continue. The objective of this paper was, therefore, to quantify the regional effect of future population growth on crop yields in West Africa and to compare it with the potential effects of climate change scenarios. Three land use scenarios (L1, L2 and L3) for the Upper Ouémé catchment where derived from different demographic projections combined with assumptions regarding future road networks and legal frameworks for forest protection using the CLUE-S modeling approach. The fallow-cropland ratio decreased in the three scenarios from 0.87 in the year 2000 to 0.66, 0.48 and 0.68 for L1, L2 and L3, respectively in 2050. Based on the projected ratio of fallow and cropland, trends of maize yield for the three land use scenarios were calculated using the EPIC (Environmental Policy Integrated Climate) model coupled with a spatial database. Maize yields followed the decreasing trend of the fallow-cropland ratio and estimated yield reductions amounted to up to 24% in the period 2021–2050. This trend was compared with the impact of the SRES climate scenarios A1B and B1 based on the output of the GCM ECHAM5 downscaled with the REMO model and the A1B scenario output of the GCM HADC3Q0 downscaled with the RCMs SMHIRCA and HADRM3P. The yield reductions due to the projected climate change in the three models accounted for a yield decrease of up to 18% (REMO A1B scenario) in the same period. Taking into account the smaller uncertainties in the scenario assumptions and in the model output of the land use scenarios, it is concluded that, in low input fallow systems in West Africa, land use effects will be at least as important as climate effects within the next decades.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management
Climate change and energy >> Climate change adaptation >> Agricultural adaptation        
Sustainable development and policy assessment >> Sustainable economic development >> Sustainable development in developing countries

Keywords

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192311001122
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tgaiser@uni-bonn.de

Title

Global growth and stability of agricultural yield decrease with pollinator dependence

Reference

PNAS April 5, 2011 vol. 108 no. 14 5909-5914

Author(s)

Lucas A. Garibaldi , Marcelo A. Aizen, Alexandra M. Klein, Saul A. Cunningham, and Lawrence D. Harder

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

Human welfare depends on the amount and stability of agricultural production, as determined by crop yield and cultivated area. Yield increases asymptotically with the resources provided by farmers’ inputs and environmentally sensitive ecosystem services. Declining yield growth with increased inputs prompts conversion of more land to cultivation, but at the risk of eroding ecosystem services. To explore the interdependence of agricultural production and its stability on ecosystem services, we present and test a general graphical model, based on Jensen's inequality, of yield–resource relations and consider implications for land conversion. For the case of animal pollination as a resource influencing crop yield, this model predicts that incomplete and variable pollen delivery reduces yield mean and stability (inverse of variability) more for crops with greater dependence on pollinators. Data collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations during 1961-2008 support these predictions. Specifically, crops with greater pollinator dependence had lower mean and stability in relative yield and yield growth, despite global yield increases for most crops. Lower yield growth was compensated by increased land cultivation to enhance production of pollinator-dependent crops. Area stability also decreased with pollinator dependence, as it correlated positively with yield stability among crops. These results reveal that pollen limitation hinders yield growth of pollinator-dependent crops, decreasing temporal stability of global agricultural production, while promoting compensatory land conversion to agriculture. Although we examined crop pollination, our model applies to other ecosystem services for which the benefits to human welfare decelerate as the maximum is approached.

Policy theme(s)

Biodiversity >> Ecosystem services
Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management
Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Food security

Keywords

Dimishing returns, environmental degradation, global pollination crisis, food security, land use change

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Selected for Science for Environment Policy Thematic Issue

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N/A

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garibald@agro.uba.ar

Title

Crop Wild Relatives—Undervalued, Underutilized and under Threat?

Reference

BioScience 61(7):559-565. 2011
doi: 10.1525/bio.2011.61.7.10

Author(s)

Brian V. Ford-Lloyd, Markus Schmidt, Susan J. Armstrong, Oz Barazani, Jan Engels, Rivka Hadas, Karl Hammer, Shelagh P. Kell, Dingming Kang, Korous Khoshbakht, Yinghui Li, Chunlin Long, Bao-Rong Lu, Keping Ma, Viet Tung Nguyen, Lijuan Qiu, Song Ge, Wei Wei, Zongwen Zhang and Nigel Maxted

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

The world's wealth of plant genetic resources has much value for world food security, but these resources are under considerable threat. Crop improvement, particularly under climate change, depends on the genetic diversity of our plant genetic resources, which are arguably inadequately conserved and poorly used. There is wide recognition that the Convention on Biological Diversity's 2010 targets to reduce the loss of biodiversity have not been met. Biodiversity is at risk from multiple threats, including climate change, and the genetic diversity contained within plant genetic resources, particularly of species that are wild relatives of our crops, faces similar threats but is essential to our ability to respond to the new stresses in the agricultural environment resulting from climate change. It is important to consider the genetic value of these crop wild relatives, how they may be conserved, and what new technologies can be implemented to enhance their use.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management 
Climate change and energy >> Climate change adaptation >> Biodiversity impacts

Keywords

Genetic resources, crop wild relatives, conservation, climate change

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N/A

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http://www.jstor.org/pss/10.1525/bio.2011.61.7.10

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b.ford-lloyd@bham.ac.uk

Title

Benefits and risks of exotic biological control agents

Reference

Volume 56, Number 4, 681-698, DOI: 10.1007/s10526-011-9372-8

Author(s)

Patrick De Clercq, Peter G. Mason and Dirk Babendreier

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

The use of exotic (=alien) arthropods in classical and augmentative biological control programs has yielded huge economic and ecological benefits. Exotic species of arthropods have contributed to the suppression of key pests in agriculture and forestry or have aided in restoring natural systems affected by adventive species. However, adverse non-target effects of exotic biological control agents have been observed in a number of projects. Non-target effects range from very small effects, e.g. 2% parasitization on a non-target insect on a local level, to massive effects on a large scale. Until now, no consensus on how to judge the magnitude of non-target effects and whether these effects can be tolerated or are unacceptable has emerged. In this paper, we briefly review both the benefits of biological control as well as the associated risks including to human and animal health, plant health and particularly the environment. We also make an attempt at identifying the major challenges for assessing risks and for balancing benefits and risks. There is general agreement that sound risk assessment procedures should precede the release of exotic invertebrate biological control agents and a recent shift-especially for arthropod biological control-from introductions done without meaningful risk assessment studies to projects conducting thorough host range testing can be observed. However, overly stringent regulations that would preclude promising agents from being developed must be avoided.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management
Biodiversity >> Threats to biodiversity >> Invasive species

Keywords

Augmentative biological control ;Augmentation;Classical biological control;Exotic species;Non-target effects;Risk assessment;Risk-benefit analysis

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N/A

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http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2338.1997.tb00611.x/abstract
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Joop.vanLenteren@medew.ento.wau.nl

Title

Environmental Impacts of Water Use in Global Crop Production: Hotspots and Trade-Offs with Land Use

Reference

Environ. Sci. Technol., 2011, 45 (13), pp 5761–5768
DOI: 10.1021/es1041755

Author(s)

Stephan Pfister, Peter Bayer, Annette Koehler, and Stefanie Hellweg

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

Global crop production is causing pressure on water and land resources in many places. In addition to local resource management, the related environmental impacts of commodities traded along international supply chains need to be considered and managed accordingly. For this purpose, we calculate the specific water consumption and land use for the production of 160 crops and crop groups, covering most harvested mass on global cropland. We quantify indicators for land and water scarcity with high geospatial resolution. This facilitates spatially explicit crop-specific resource management and regionalized life cycle assessment of processed products. The vast cultivation of irrigated wheat, rice, cotton, maize, and sugar cane, which are major sources of food, bioenergy, and fiber, drives worldwide water scarcity. According to globally averaged production, substituting biofuel for crude oil would have a lower impact on water resources than substituting cotton for polyester. For some crops, water scarcity impacts are inversely related to land resource stress, illustrating that water consumption is often at odds with land use. On global average, maize performs better than rice and wheat in the combined land/water assessment. High spatial variability of water and land use related impacts underlines the importance of appropriate site selection for agricultural activities.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management
Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Land use change
Land use >> Land use change
Water >> Water consumption >> Water scarcity

Keywords

N/A

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N/A

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http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es1041755
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pfister@ifu.baug.ethz.ch

Title

The role of regulatory mechanisms for control of plant diseases and food security-case studies from potato production in Britain

Reference

Food Security
Volume 2, Number 3, 233-245, DOI: 10.1007/s12571-010-0073-4

Author(s)

Katharina Dehnen-Schmutz, Alan MacLeod, Peter Reed, Peter R. Mills

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

Being aware of the potentially devastating impacts of plant diseases on food security, governments have designed and employ plant health legislation to prevent or inhibit the worst impacts. The development of such policies in Britain, and latterly in Europe, can be closely linked to disease events that have occurred in the potato sector. We analyse early and current examples of policies governing potato diseases in Britain to identify the decision processes leading to the implementation of such phytosanitary policies and how they have evolved over time and in response to different disease threats. Reasons for developing and implementing phytosanitary policies include the desire to prevent pathogens being introduced (entering and establishing in a new area), the protection of export markets, and the lack of effective control measures. Circumstances in which regulatory policies would not be appropriate could include situations where a disease is already widely distributed, unacceptable costs, lack of exclusion measures, or difficulties of disease diagnosis. We conclude that in general, government policies have worked well in protecting British potato growing over the last one hundred years, despite of the failures of some of the policies discussed here. They have also contributed much to the development of plant health policies for other crops. Voluntary grower initiatives are a new mechanism complementing existing formal policies with an additional level of security that allows individual growers to take on additional responsibility rather than relying entirely on government legislation.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture>> Agricultural management>> Crop protection
Agriculture>> Agricultural management>> Food security

Keywords

Quarantine; Potato disease; Plant health; Policy development; Regulation

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N/A

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Selected for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

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http://www.springerlink.com/content/xl6925972524r022/
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K.Dehnen-Schmutz@warwick.ac.uk

Title

Status of feral oilseed rape in Europe: its minor role as a GM impurity and its potential as a reservoir of transgene persistence

Reference

Environmental Science and Pollution Research
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-010-0376-1

Author(s)

Geoffrey R. Squire, Broder Breckling, Antje Dietz Pfeilstetter, Rikke B. Jorgensen, Jane Lecomte, Sandrine Pivard, Hauke Reuter and Mark W. Young

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

Purpose : Feral oilseed rape has become widespread in Europe on waysides and waste ground. Its potential as a source of GM impurity in oilseed rape harvests is quantified, for the first time, by a consistent analysis applied over a wide range of study areas in Europe.
Methods : The maximum contribution of feral oilseed rape to impurities in harvested crops was estimated by combining data on feral abundance and crop yield from five established, demographic studies in agricultural habitats in Denmark, Germany (2), France and the UK, constituting over 1,500 ha of land and 16 site-years of observations. Persistence of feral populations over time was compared by visual and molecular methods.
Results:  Ferals had become established in all regions, forming populations 0.2 to 15 km-2. The seed they produced was always <0.0001% of the seed on crops of oilseed rape in each region. The contribution of ferals to impurity in crops through accidental harvest of seed and through cross-pollination would be an even smaller percentage. Feral oilseed rape nevertheless showed a widespread capacity to persist in all regions and retain traits from varieties no longer grown.
Conclusions : Feral oilseed rape is not a relevant source of macroscopic impurity at its present density in the landscape but provides opportunity for genetic recombination, stacking of transgenes and the evolution of genotypes that under strong selection pressure could increase and re-occupy fields to constitute an economic weed burden and impurity in future crops.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management
Biotechnology >> GMOs

Keywords

Feral, Oilseed rape, Genetically modified, GM coexistence, Transgene persistence, Cross pollination

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Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

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N/A

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http://www.springerlink.com/content/w47846k116l103h8/fulltext.pdf
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geoff.squire@scri.ac.uk

Title

Comparative environmental impacts of glyphosate and conventional herbicides when used with glyphosate-tolerant and non-tolerant crops

Reference

Environmental Pollution
Volume 158, Issue 10, October 2010, Pages 3172-3178

Author(s)

Laure Mamy, Benoît Gabrielle and Enrique Barriuso

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

The introduction of glyphosate-tolerant (GT)cropsis expected to mitigate the environmental contamination by herbicides because glyphosate is less persistent and toxic than the herbicides used on non-GTcrops. Here, we compared the environmental balances of herbicide applications for bothcroptypes in three French field trials. The dynamic of herbicides and their metabolites in soil, groundwater and air was simulated with PRZM model and compared to field measurements. The associated impacts were aggregated with toxicity potentials calculated with the fate and exposure model USES for several environmental endpoints. The impacts of GT systems were lower than those of non-GT systems, but the accumulation in soils of one glyphosate metabolite (aminomethylphosphonic acid) questions the sustainability of GT systems. The magnitude of the impacts depends on the rates and frequency of glyphosate application being highest for GT maize monoculture and lowest for combination of GT oilseed rape and non-GT sugarbeet crops.
The impacts of herbicide applications on glyphosate-tolerantcropscould be higher than expected due to the accumulation of a metabolite of glyphosate in soils.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management
Biotechnology >> GMOs
Soil >> Threats to soil >> Soil contamination

Keywords

Herbicide, Metabolite, Impact, PRZM, USES

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Selected for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

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N/A

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026974911000271X
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laure.mamy@versailles.inra.fr

Title

Field versus Farm in Warangal: Bt Cotton, Higher Yields, and Larger Questions

Reference

World Development
Volume 39, Issue 3, March 2011, Pages 387-398

Author(s)

Glenn Davis Stone

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

A longitudinal anthropological study of cotton farming in Warangal District of Andhra Pradesh, India, compares a group of villages before and after adoption of Bt cotton. It distinguishes 'field-level' and 'farm-level' impacts. During this five-year period yields rose by 18% overall, with greater increases among poor farmers with the least access to information. Insecticide sprayings dropped by 55%, although predation by non-target pests was rising. However shifting from the field to the historically-situated context of the farm recasts insect attacks as a symptom of larger problems in agricultural decision-making. Bt cotton's opponents have failed to recognize real benefits at the field level, while its backers have failed to recognize systemic problems that Bt cotton may exacerbate.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop management
Biotechnology >> GMOs

Keywords

biotechnology, agriculture, cotton, indigenous knowledge, India

Entry Source:

Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

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N/A

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X10001737
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stone@wustl.edu

Title

Selection of phosphorus solubilizing bacteria with biocontrol potential for growth in phosphorus rich animal bone charcoal

Reference

Applied Soil Ecology
Volume 46, Issue 3, November 2010, Pages 464-469

Author(s)

J. Postma, E.H. Nijhuis and E. Someus

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

Bacteria with the ability to solubilize phosphorus (P) and to improve plant health were selected and tested for growth and survival in P-rich animal bone charcoal (ABC). ABC is suggested to be suitable as a carrier for biocontrol agents, offering them a protected niche as well as delivering phosphate to plants, meanwhile re-using P from waste of the food chain. Ninety-seven bacterial isolates from different soils were tested for their potential to dissolve P from ABC. Of these isolates, 60% showed positive scores; they belonged to the genera Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Burkholderia, Collimonas, Paenibacillus, Pseudomonas, Serratia, and Streptomyces. Twelve isolates from different taxonomic groups were selected for further research on growth ability and survival in ABC, and on their potential to control plant pathogens. The highest concentrations of P were dissolved by Pseudomonas chlororaphis and Bacillus pumilus, followed by Paenibacillus polymyxa, Burkholderia pyrrocinia and three Streptomyces isolates. P. chlororaphis and P. polymyxa showed strongest growth inhibition of plant pathogenic Pythium and Fusarium sp., followed by the Streptomyces spp. isolates.

Policy theme(s)

Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Crop protection
Agriculture >> Agricultural management >> Soil management

Keywords

Biological control, Phosphorus mobilization, Antagonistic bacteria, Animal bone charcoal, Pythium aphanidermatum, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. radicis lycopersici

Entry Source:

Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

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N/A

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929139310001630
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joeke.postma@wur.nl