Agroforestry Systems for Soil Health Improvement and Maintenance

This discussion explores the opportunities and challenges in enhancing food production and security in the context of climatic variability in Sub Saharan Africa. The promotion of sustainable use of plant and animal products with emphasis on satisfying basic human needs, improving people’s standard of living, enhancing food security and reducing poverty have taken a center stage in Sub Saharan Africa. However, the efforts in this direction are being impacted negatively by climate change, through animal and crop production which have not been spared due to the natural disasters and environmental challenges which have affected all regions of Sub Saharan Africa indiscriminately. Climate is a particularly important driver of food production systems performance at the agriculture end of the food chain. It can affect the quantities and types of food produced as well as production-related income especially for the poor resource farmers. In order to be able to adequately address food production and security in the context of climate, there is need for the region to carry out thorough climatic vulnerability and adaptation assessments. Supporting research and training of experts to carry out vulnerability and adaptation assessments on crop and livestock production is crucial in order for respective countries to develop climate change adaptation measures to meet the obligation on food production and security. Sub Saharan Africa’s agro-ecological regions are variable and need to develop specific adaptive measures to reduce vulnerability to climate change. Due to the changing climatic conditions which the continent has already witnessed many severe climatic induced vulnerability such as decline in rainfall amounts and intensity, reduced length of rain season and increasing warm and occasionally very hot conditions has affected food production and security. Crop and livestock production systems will need to adapt to higher ambient temperatures, lower nutritional value of feed resources and new diseases and parasites occurrence. It can be seen that the present crop and livestock production systems based on pastoral or rangeland grazing husbandry systems, ecological destruction through climatic variability and overgrazing due to high stocking rates in areas where feed and water has been compromised due to high temperatures caused by climate change does not augur well for future livestock productivity. The understanding of climate change variables and their impacts is the first step in climate change research and prerequisite for defining appropriate adaptive responses by local crop and livestock farmers. Sustainable crop and livestock production supporting rural development should be compatible with the goals of curbing the effects of climate change. Production priorities should be directed towards promoting local crop and livestock genetic resources by providing comprehensive research support services on the impact of climate change. Both crops and livestock play important roles in farming systems, as they offer opportunities for risk coping, farm diversification and intensification, and provide significant livelihood benefits and food security. The discussion therefore, concludes that the effectiveness of biophysical responses of crop and livestock production systems to specific environmental challenges that are anticipated as a result of climate change, and then the range of adaptive measures that might be taken by local producers to ameliorate their effects will be the prerequisite for defining appropriate societal responses and meet food security targets.

Soil conditioners: introduction - soil conditioners, soil quality, and soil sustainability. Organic soil conditioners: organic mulches, wood products, and composts as soil amendments and conditioners paper sludges as soil conditioners use of manures for soil improvement use of biosolids and effects on soil properties cheese whey as a soil conditioner. Mineral soil conditioners: mined and by-product gypsum as soil amendments and conditioners use of acids and acidulants on alkali soils and water mined and industrial waste products capable of generating gypsum in soil testing soils for lime requirements liming to improve chemical and physical properties of soil. Polymer soil conditioners designing synthetic soil conditioners via post-polymerization reactions: improvement of sandy soils with soil conditioners krilium - the famous soil conditioner of the nineteen fifties some uses of water-soluble polymers in soil comparative effectiveness of polyacrylamide and straw mulch to control erosion and enhance water infiltration use of water-soluble polyacrylamide for control of furrow irrigation-induced soil erosion some living plants and some additional products useful as soil conditioners and in various technologies. Examples uses of soil conditioners: uses of soil conditioners in landscape soil preparation soil conditioners for sports turf areas use of soil conditioners to enhance and speed bioremediation of contaminated soil.

Sustainable agricultural solutions are urgently needed as population growth, urbanization and climate change exerting huge pressure on the global food systems. Therefore, hydroponics can be an effective alternate for growing plants without the use of soil, as it has showed good results in terms of on season and off season crop yields by efficient resource utilization. This review discusses how hydroponics can contribute to food security, water scarcity and urbanization and also considering its historical development, technological advancement and comparative benefit against traditional agriculture. Hydroponics, as opposed to traditional agriculture, uses less land, no soil, prevents soil degradation and requires fewer pesticides or herbicides and thus it is suitable for both rural and urban areas. Nonetheless, obstacles like sizable upfront expenses, advanced technical requirements and energy use limit their potential. Hydroponic methods like Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), Deep Water Culture (DWC) and aeroponics utilize automation, Internet of Things (IoT) and LED lightings to provide the favourable growing conditions to plants and also save up to 90 per cent of water along with yield maximization. Present review highlights the hydroponics promise as a means to bolstering future food security as the crops can be grown year-round and is less dependent on environmental conditions compared to traditional agricultural crops. The challenges of advancements in renewable energy integration and scalable systems persist, and thus, holding promise for a sustainable food supply in the future. Therefore, hydroponics can be an effective technique under aqua-agricultural system in term of round the year crop production and less dependency in soil based resources. Sustainable agricultural solutions are urgently needed as population growth, urbanization and climate change exerting huge pressure on the global food systems. Therefore, hydroponics can be an effective alternate for growing plants without the use of soil, as it has showed good results in terms of on season and off season crop yields by efficient resource utilization. This review discusses how hydroponics can contribute to food security, water scarcity and urbanization and also considering its historical development, technological advancement and comparative benefit against traditional agriculture. Hydroponics, as opposed to traditional agriculture, uses less land, no soil, prevents soil degradation and requires fewer pesticides or herbicides and thus it is suitable for both rural and urban areas. Nonetheless, obstacles like sizable upfront expenses, advanced technical requirements and energy use limit their potential. Hydroponic methods like Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), Deep Water Culture (DWC) and aeroponics utilize automation, Internet of Things (IoT) and LED lightings to provide the favourable growing conditions to plants and also save up to 90 per cent of water along with yield maximization. Present review highlights the hydroponics promise as a means to bolstering future food security as the crops can be grown year-round and is less dependent on environmental conditions compared to traditional agricultural crops. The challenges of advancements in renewable energy integration and scalable systems persist, and thus, holding promise for a sustainable food supply in the future. Therefore, hydroponics can be an effective technique under aqua-agricultural system in term of round the year crop production and less dependency in soil based resources.

Agriculture production is directly dependent on climate change and weather. Possible changes in temperature, precipitation and CO2 concentration are expected to significantly impact crop growth and ultimately we lose our crop productivity and indirectly affect the sustainable food availability issue. The overall impact of climate change on worldwide food production is considered to be low to moderate with successful adaptation and adequate irrigation. Climate change has a serious impact on the availability of various resources on the earth especially water, which sustains life on this planet. The global food security situation and outlook remains delicately imbalanced amid surplus food production and the prevalence of hunger, due to the complex interplay of social, economic, and ecological factors that mediate food security outcomes at various human and institutional scales. Weather aberration poses complex challenges in terms of increased variability and risk for food producers and the energy and water sectors. Changes in the biosphere, biodiversity and natural resources are adversely affecting human health and quality of life. Throughout the 21st century, India is projected to experience warming above global level. India will also begin to experience more seasonal variation in temperature with more warming in the winters than summers. Longevity of heat waves across India has extended in recent years with warmer night temperatures and hotter days, and this trend is expected to continue. Strategic research priorities are outlined for a range of sectors that underpin global food security, including: agriculture, ecosystem services from agriculture, climate change, international trade, water management solutions, the water-energy-food security nexus, service delivery to smallholders and women farmers, and better governance models and regional priority setting. There is a need to look beyond agriculture and invest in affordable and suitable farm technologies if the problem of food insecurity is to be addressed in a sustainable manner. Introduction Globally, agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change. This vulnerability is relatively higher in India in view of the large population depending on agriculture and poor coping capabilities of small and marginal farmers. Impacts of climate change pose a serious threat to food security. “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (World Food Summit, 1996). This definition gives rise to four dimensions of food security: availability of food, accessibility (economically and physically), utilization (the way it is used and assimilated by the human body) and stability of these three dimensions. According to the United Nations, in 2015, there are still 836 million people in the world living in extreme poverty (less than USD1.25/day) (UN, 2015). And according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), at least 70 percent of the very poor live in rural areas, most of them depending partly (or completely) on agriculture for their livelihoods. It is estimated that 500 million smallholder farms in the developing world are supporting almost 2 billion people, and in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa these small farms produce about 80 percent of the food consumed. Climate change threatens to reverse the progress made so far in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. As highlighted by the assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC), climate change augments and intensifies risks to food security for the most vulnerable countries and populations. Few of the major risks induced by climate change, as identified by IPCC have direct consequences for food security (IPCC, 2007). These are mainly to loss of rural livelihoods and income, loss of marine and coastal ecosystems, livelihoods loss of terrestrial and inland water ecosystems and food insecurity (breakdown of food systems). Rural farmers, whose livelihood depends on the use of natural resources, are likely to bear the brunt of adverse impacts. Most of the crop simulation model runs and experiments under elevated temperature and carbon dioxide indicate that by 2030, a 3-7% decline in the yield of principal cereal crops like rice and wheat is likely in India by adoption of current production technologies. Global warming impacts growth, reproduction and yields of food and horticulture crops, increases crop water requirement, causes more soil erosion, increases thermal stress on animals leading to decreased milk yields and change the distribution and breeding season of fisheries. Fast changing climatic conditions, shrinking land, water and other natural resources with rapid growing population around the globe has put many challenges before us (Mukherjee, 2014). Food is going to be second most challenging issue for mankind in time to come. India will also begin to experience more seasonal variation in temperature with more warming in the winters than summers (Christensen et al., 2007). Climate change is posing a great threat to agriculture and food security in India and it's subcontinent. Water is the most critical agricultural input in India, as 55% of the total cultivated areas do not have irrigation facilities. Currently we are able to secure food supplies under these varying conditions. Under the threat of climate variability, our food grain production system becomes quite comfortable and easily accessible for local people. India's food grain production is estimated to rise 2 per cent in 2020-21 crop years to an all-time high of 303.34 million tonnes on better output of rice, wheat, pulse and coarse cereals amid good monsoon rains last year. In the 2019-20 crop year, the country's food grain output (comprising wheat, rice, pulses and coarse cereals) stood at a record 297.5 million tonnes (MT). Releasing the second advance estimates for 2020-21 crop year, the agriculture ministry said foodgrain production is projected at a record 303.34 MT. As per the data, rice production is pegged at record 120.32 MT as against 118.87 MT in the previous year. Wheat production is estimated to rise to a record 109.24 MT in 2020-21 from 107.86 MT in the previous year, while output of coarse cereals is likely to increase to 49.36 MT from 47.75 MT. Pulses output is seen at 24.42 MT, up from 23.03 MT in 2019-20 crop year. In the non-foodgrain category, the production of oilseeds is estimated at 37.31 MT in 2020-21 as against 33.22 MT in the previous year. Sugarcane production is pegged at 397.66 MT from 370.50 MT in the previous year, while cotton output is expected to be higher at 36.54 million bales (170 kg each) from 36.07. This production figure seem to be sufficient for current population, but we need to improve more and more with vertical farming and advance agronomic and crop improvement tools for future burgeoning population figure under the milieu of climate change issue. Our rural mass and tribal people have very limited resources and they sometime complete depend on forest microhabitat. To order to ensure food and nutritional security for growing population, a new strategy needs to be initiated for growing of crops in changing climatic condition. The country has a large pool of underutilized or underexploited fruit or cereals crops which have enormous potential for contributing to food security, nutrition, health, ecosystem sustainability under the changing climatic conditions, since they require little input, as they have inherent capabilities to withstand biotic and abiotic stress. Apart from the impacts on agronomic conditions of crop productions, climate change also affects the economy, food systems and wellbeing of the consumers (Abbade, 2017). Crop nutritional quality become very challenging, as we noticed that, zinc and iron deficiency is a serious global health problem in humans depending on cereal-diet and is largely prevalent in low-income countries like Sub-Saharan Africa, and South and South-east Asia. We report inefficiency of modern-bred cultivars of rice and wheat to sequester those essential nutrients in grains as the reason for such deficiency and prevalence (Debnath et al., 2021). Keeping in mind the crop yield and nutritional quality become very daunting task to our food security issue and this can overcome with the proper and time bound research in cognizance with the environment. Threat and challenges In recent years, climate change has become a debatable issue worldwide. South Asia will be one of the most adversely affected regions in terms of impacts of climate change on agricultural yield, economic activity and trading policies. Addressing climate change is central for global future food security and poverty alleviation. The approach would need to implement strategies linked with developmental plans to enhance its adaptive capacity in terms of climate resilience and mitigation. Over time, there has been a visible shift in the global climate change initiative towards adaptation. Adaptation can complement mitigation as a cost-effective strategy to reduce climate change risks. The impact of climate change is projected to have different effects across societies and countries. Mitigation and adaptation actions can, if appropriately designed, advance sustainable development and equity both within and across countries and between generations. One approach to balancing the attention on adaptation and mitigation strategies is to compare the costs and benefits of both the strategies. The most imminent change is the increase in the atmospheric temperatures due to increase levels of GHGs (Green House Gases) i.e. carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) etc into the atmosphere. The global mean annual temperatures at the end of the 20th

Producing food sustainably

Staple crops such as wheat, maize, and soybean are essential for global food security, yet they remain highly vulnerable to extreme weather events like heat waves, cold spells, droughts, and excessive rainfall. The interplay between different weather stressors can amplify crop damage significantly. When multiple stressors occur together, their combined impact on yields can be far greater than individual stressors alone. Misunderstanding these complex interactions risks underestimating how climate change could affect agricultural production. In recent decades, global food production has become concentrated in a few key breadbasket regions. Teleconnections such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can synchronize failures across these regions, posing severe threats to the global food supply and creating food security risks for trade-dependent areas. These adverse weather conditions can lead to compounding impacts across time and space. This thesis aims to improve our understanding of these compound weather risks under climate change by investigating various scenarios affecting crop production. First, I explore the combined impacts of hot and dry summer conditions on U.S. soybean production. Chapter 2 reveals that hot and dry extremes during the flowering stage have the largest impact, reducing yields by factors of four and three compared to hot or dry conditions alone. These extremes arise from strong coupling between soil moisture and temperature in spring and summer, as well as evapotranspiration and temperature interactions during summer. In Chapter 3, I highlight the importance of the sequence of weather stressors. For soybean and maize, warm springs generally benefit yields. However, when followed by hot summers, they can worsen heat damage by up to one-third. Under high-emission scenarios, sequential heat extremes are expected to rise, negating or surpassing the benefits of warmer springs. This nonlinear risk underscores the importance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C to protect food security. Beyond local impacts, simultaneous extreme weather in multiple breadbasket regions can disrupt global food trade and security. In Chapter 4, I examine how large-scale oceanic and atmospheric drivers influence synchronized crop failures in North and South America. Persistent La Niña conditions often result in dry springs over the southeastern U.S. and South America. Additionally, La Niña triggers extra-tropical sea surface temperature patterns that create atmospheric circulation favorable for hot and dry summers. These pathways can lead to concurrent crop losses across these regions. While ENSO’s risk to crop production is known, this study highlights the role of extratropical sea surface temperature patterns in improving predictions of high-impact failures. The 2012 global soybean failure exemplified these dynamics. In Chapter 5, I use a storyline approach to quantify the role of anthropogenic warming in this event. One-third of the 2012 production deficit can be attributed to human-induced climate change. If global temperatures rise by another 1°C, the impacts could increase by 50%. This amplification is driven by thermodynamic factors, as the 2012 atmospheric circulation pattern was applied to current and future climate scenarios. Although the frequency of persistent La Niña events remains uncertain, this study shows that climate change has already intensified their impacts on global soybean production. The storyline approach also demonstrates how to attribute impacts to greenhouse gas emissions by considering atmospheric circulation anomalies. In conclusion, this thesis shows that compound weather extremes pose a growing threat to global crop production. Hot and dry conditions, sequential heat extremes, and large-scale teleconnections like ENSO can cause severe, often synchronized, yield losses. Recognizing these interactions and their drivers is essential for accurately predicting future risks and mitigating climate change impacts on food security. Limiting global warming to 1.5°C is critical to reducing these risks and ensuring resilient agricultural systems.

Unprecedented climate change, socio-economic shocks, and political conflict exacerbate food insecurity. Worsened conditions and increased vulnerability now give prominence to improving farm resilience to withstand shocks. This article aims to analyse the effect of farm resilience on food security outcomes in Tajikistan. Using panel data collected in 12 districts in the Khatlon Province of Tajikistan from 2015 to 2023, the study has the following. (a) measure farm resilience determinants (pillars) through adaptive capacity, transformation capacity, and robustness; (b) estimate the relationship between resilience pillars and food security outcomes; (c) cluster farm households based on the level of resilience pillars; and (d) estimate the effect of farm resilience on food security outcomes. The study first measures farm resilience pillars using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Next, Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) is used to classify farm households into three resilience categories: “Low Resilience”, “Medium Resilience”, and “High Resilience”. The estimation strategy involves making causal claims using LPA and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) techniques. Our results suggest a positive relationship between farm resilience and food security outcomes. Our findings also confirm that “High Resilience” and “Medium Resilience” profiles experience better dietary diversity, higher fruit and vegetable consumption, or decreased household hunger, compared to the “Low Resilience” profile. Such a positive relationship underlines the importance of strengthening farm resilience. Further development agendas for Tajikistan should consider resilience thinking, especially in shock-prone zones. Objectives: (a) measure farm resilience determinants (pillars) through adaptive capacity, transformation capacity, and robustness; (b) estimate the relationship between resilience pillars and food security outcomes; (c) cluster farm households based on the level of resilience pillars; and (d) estimate the effect of farm resilience on food security outcomes. The study first measures farm resilience pillars using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Next, Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) is used to classify farm households into three resilience categories: “Low Resilience”, “Medium Resilience”, and “High Resilience”. The estimation strategy involves making causal claims using LPA and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) techniques. Our results suggest a positive relationship between farm resilience and food security outcomes. Our findings also confirm that “High Resilience” and “Medium Resilience” profiles experience better dietary diversity, higher fruit and vegetable consumption, or decreased household hunger, compared to the “Low Resilience” profile. Such a positive relationship underlines the importance of strengthening farm resilience. Further development agendas for Tajikistan should consider resilience thinking, especially in shock-prone zones.

Кормопроизводство имеет важнейшее значение в сельском хозяйстве, рациональном природопользовании и экологии. Основы системы продовольственной и экологической безопасности России лежат в сельском хозяйстве, рациональном природопользовании и сбалансированном развитии отечественного растениеводства, животноводства, земледелия, оптимизации структуры посевных площадей, севооборотов и агроландшафтов. Продовольственная и экологическая безопасность страны тесно взаимосвязаны. Основную часть продуктов питания (98–99 %, в т. ч. 87 % белков) люди получают, используя агроландшафты (сельскохозяйственные земли, почвы) для земледелия, растениеводства и животноводства. Сельское хозяйство даёт человеку пищу, но вместе с тем разрушает землю, саму основу сельскохозяйственного производства и основу нашей среды обитания. В современных условиях развития АПК при острой нехватке средств и материальных ресурсов решение проблемы обеспечения продовольственной и экологической безопасности должно базироваться на максимальном использовании природно-климатических ресурсов, биологических и экологических факторов. Кормопроизводство, самая масштабная, многофункциональная, связующая отрасль сельского хозяйства, во многом определяет состояние животноводства и оказывает существенное влияние на дальнейшее развитие всей отрасли растениеводства, земледелия, рациональное природопользование, повышение устойчивости агроэкосистем и агроландшафтов к воздействию климата и негативных процессов, сохранение ценных сельскохозяйственных угодий и воспроизводство плодородия почв, улучшение экологического состояния территорий и охраны окружающей среды. Кормопроизводство объединяет, связывает в единую систему все отрасли сельского хозяйства и предоставляет огромные преимущества для их развития. Животноводству оно даёт корма, растениеводству — продуктивность всех культур, земледелию — плодородие почв, сельскохозяйственным землям — продуктивность и устойчивость. Оно также обеспечивает эффективное управление сельскохозяйственными землями и рациональное природопользование, поддерживает в сельском хозяйстве необходимый баланс отраслей. Fodder production is very important for agriculture, environmental management and ecology. The bases of Russian food and ecological security are agriculture, environmental management, balanced development of crop production, animal husbandry, arable farming and optimization of field structure, crop rotation and agrolandscape. Food and ecological securities are closely connected. The main part of food products (98–99 %, including 87 % of protein) people have got by using agrolandscapes (farm lands, soils) for arable farming, crop production and animal husbandry. Agriculture supplies people with food, yet at the same time destroys lands – the basis of agricultural production and environment. Under current conditions of agroindustrial complex development and strong deficit of money and resources improving food and ecological security has to be based on maximum usage of natural and climatic resources as well as biological and ecological factors. Forage production is the largest multi-functional branch of agriculture. It affects all the agricultural spheres, integrating them beneficially into a single system. Due to forage production animal husbandry has got feeds, crop production – crop productivity, arable farming – soil fertility, farm lands – productivity and resistance. It also provides effective management of farm lands and environment, maintaining the required balance between all the branches.

There is no doubt that advanced technologies play a very important and crucial role in driving the agricultural sustainable practices in order to satisfy the increasing demand for food production as well as to minimize environmental impacts. This review article aims to provide comprehensive points of view regarding a current state as well as the future advances in smart farming techniques for developing an agricultural sustainability. The digital sensors are considered as key techniques for agricultural transformation which provide an accurate managing and monitoring the various agricultural activities such as crop production, soil moisture, micro climate data, and others. Valuable detailed data are acquired by these sensors to be delivered to the farmers in order to make suitable decisions, ensuring the sustainable and efficient utilization of the agricultural resources. Moreover, managing irrigation using the advanced technologies is benefited wireless monitoring remotely and controlling systems. These technologies and advanced tools help the farmers to reduce water consumption and increase their benefits as well as promotes sustainable management practices of the water resources. Additionally, the drones such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be attached with several kinds of sensors or cameras for capturing detailed information of crop health, soil status, required fertilizers, irrigation, and pesticides. Besides these benefits of drones, they provide a function of an early detection of agricultural problems which allow the decision makers for taking suitable actions. Furthermore, the biotechnology advances such as CRISPR gene editing, and transgenic animals’ developing are very beneficial for enhancing the crop yield, disease resistance, and nutrients availability, and agricultural sustainability. The precision agriculture (PA) integration with geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) provides site-specific management and its decisions in order to optimize the inputs utilization, waste reduce, and sustainable practices promotion. Also, advanced technologies’ application (i.e. artificial intelligence ‘AI’, machine learning ‘ML’, and the Internet of Things ‘IoT’) has been found to be a promising for achieving an agricultural sustainability. Therefore, by using these powerful technologies, the farmers can enhance an agricultural production, decrease an environmental effect and achieve the food security.

Deep mixing technology is used to improve the engineering properties of soil. In this review, previous studies on the properties and problems of weak soils were collected and explained, focusing on silty soils found globally and locally. The study also includes a discussion of physical and chemical improvement methods, specifically (cement columns). The advantages of deep mixing technology are also covered from an engineering and economic point of view, as well as its relationship to the environmental impact, as it is one of the sustainable development techniques due to its use of environmentally friendly materials. In addition, one of the objectives of this research is to study the methods of adding cement, whether in the form of powder (dry method) or mortar (wet method). A comparison was made between them to clarify the advantages and disadvantages. It was found that what distinguishes the use of the dry method from the wet method is that the former is more common. The method's effectiveness depends on the soil's moisture content, so the technique is ineffective in soils with less than 30% water content. As cement hydration produces a cementitious gel (CSH) that binds soil particles together, leading to early strength gain, pozzolanic reactions cause increased shear strength and decreased soil compressibility. Finally, some recommendations are included in this article to understand the behavior of cement columns in improving soil and avoiding problems

Food security is a concern in many parts of the tropics, but it is an acute problem in a band of countries bordering the Sahara desert on the south-Sub-Saharan Africa. Crop productivity and production, stability, and resilience to adverse events seem to be diminishing with time. Low productivity is related to both adverse soil conditions and insufficient rainfall amounts and distribution. Portions of the region receive substantial amounts of rainfall, yet much is lost during intense storms. A rainfall capturing technology “Aménagement en courbes de niveau” (ACN), a variant of closely spaced, narrow-base terraces, has been developed in Mali and has proven beneficial in several West African countries. A field where ACN had been installed was instrumented to quantify the effects of ACN on soil/water availability. Capacitance probes were installed to 160 cm so that soil moisture measurements could easily be taken two to three times a week during 2 years—2003 and 2004. Soil moisture profiles indicated that substantially more water was retained in soils where the ACN technology was installed than where it was not present. The ACN technology led to increased soil moisture during the first month of rains. However, the differences in soil moisture were greatest at the end of the rainy season when soil moisture of the subsoil was much greater where the ACN technology had been implemented. Moisture contents were greater in the soil profile 80–160 cm with values ranging 0.18–.21 cm3 cm−3 compared to 0.15 in the No-ACN plots.

<p>The Pisha sandstone area which distributed in Ordos of Inner Mongolia was the main source area of Yellow River sediment, The area has a characteristic of serious composite erosion and fragile ecological environment, So, which identifying the critical force occurrence conditions of compound erosion is an important prerequisite to prevent and control the multiple composite erosion. Using the method such as field observation, simulation experiments and literature review, this study preliminarily summarizes the dynamic critical conditions and key influencing factors of water erosion, wind erosion and freeze-thaw erosion.(1)Water erosion is affected by rainfall, rainfall intensity and soil moisture status, Rainfall and rainfall intensity are the two critical factors under the certain soil moisture status. the one critical conditions of water erosion was P > 34mm under the soil moisture of θ<sub>v</sub>≈10%, and the other critical conditions was rainfall intensity I > 1.2mm/min (soil moisture θ<sub>v</sub>＞36%) or rainfall intensity I > 3.1mm/min（soil moisture θ<sub>v</sub>＜4%). (2)The wind erosion is affected by the surface covering particles and soil moisture. When the wind speed reaches more than 5 m/s, the soil particles of diameter d < 0.5 mm will be blown up. So the wind erosion is easier happens on exposed surface and slipped particles. Increasing the surface covering and water content can reduce wind erosion; (3)Freeze-thaw mainly occurs from November to March of each year, which destroys soil structure mainly through soil mass melting and particle fall down. The alternation times and moisture content of freeze-thaw are the key factors that affect freeze-thaw erosion. When the soil moisture is more than 10% and the freeze-thaw alternation is more than 10 times, the freezing and cracking damage is obvious. Therefore, the phenomenon of sliding and peeling off the exposed steep slope is common in Pisha sandstone area. (4)Multi dynamic composite erosion distributed by seasonal in the year, Wind and freeze-thaw composite erosion happened in the transition of autumn to winter and winter to spring, Water erosion mainly occurred in summer, and accompanied by wind erosion, Meanwhile, wind and freeze-thaw erosion products were all carried away by runoff. The results can provide theoretical basis for the measures selection of composite erosion control.</p><p>Key words: Pisha sandstone area, composite erosion, water erosion critical, wind erosion critical, freeze-thaw erosion critical, influencing factors</p>

The sustainability and resilience of agrifood systems are key concepts to ensure environmental standards in agriculture and food security. Recently, global food security has been seriously affected by the pandemics, geopolitical issues, and conflicts, and climate change factors have become a significant concern for scientists along with farmers, consumers, and citizens. To face these challenges, a systemic resilience in sustainable agriculture is pivotal. The research papers published in the special section of Agronomy Journal, “Agricultural and biological sciences: Plant, soil, animal and environment”, consider the role of sustainability in building greater resilience to current pivotal and diverse problems encountered in agricultural systems. This special section is a collection of coherent research studies that used a multidisciplinary approach. A total of 52 papers were submitted, of which 12 were accepted for publication following a double‐blind reviewing process. The purposes of the present paper were to identify the role of sustainability in the resilience of agricultural systems and to discuss the main results of these published articles. Results suggested that specific issues relevant to forests, crops, horticulture systems, and animal production could be improved and made more resilient by applying modern agricultural tools, efficient use of natural resources, and smart device technology. A sustainable intensification in a changing environment will require resilience at many levels. Key strategies identified included (i) improvement of resource efficiency; (ii) adoption of techniques that generate landscape‐scale resilience; and (iii) use of a combination of different evaluation and planning strategies to advance the knowledge of crop and livestock interactions.

Crop production response to soil moisture and groundwater depletion in the Nile Basin based on multi-source data

مهمترین هدف برنامه‌ریزی و مدیریت آبیاری افزایش بهره‌وری و راندمان مصرف آب و در عین حال دارا بودن یک سامانه پایدار تولید است. به منظور بررسی تاثیر انواع خاک‌پوش بر کارایی مصرف آب، شاخص‌های رشدو عملکرد ذرت، پژوهشی به صورت طرح بلوک‌های کامل تصادفی با 6 تیمار و 3 تکرار در سال زراعی 93-94 در مزرعه پژوهشی دانشگاه شهرکرد انجام شد. تیمارها شامل شاهد (بدون پوشش)، پوشش پلاستیک شفاف، پلاستیک سیاه، گونی نخی کناف، گونی سفید و آبی بود. در طول فصل کشت، رطوبت خاک تا عمق توسعه موثر ریشه اندازه‌گیری و آبیاری‌ها بر اساس کمبود رطوبت خاک با تأمین نیاز آبی کامل تعیین و اعمال گردید. در طول فصل رشد نمونه‌برداری برای تعیین میزان ماده خشک برگ، ساقه و میزان آماس نسبی برگ انجام گرفت و در پایان فصل رشد نیز میزان حجم آب مصرفی، میزان دانه تولیدی، اندازه‏گیری و ثبت گردید. نتایج نشان دادکه خاک-پوش‌ها در تمام مراحل اندازه‏گیری تأثیر افزاینده بر محتوای نسبی آب برگ داشته‌اند که این می‌تواند ناشی از تأثیر آن‌ها بر حفظ رطوبت خاک باشد. خاک‌پوش پلاستیک شفاف بیشترین تأثیر را بر شاخص برداشت با مقدار 97/53 درصد داشت که این مقدار متناظر افزایش 32 درصد نسبت به تیمار شاهد بود. بیشترین و کمترین میزان کارایی مصرف آب به ترتیب مربوط به تیمار گونی‌سفید و شاهد با مقادیر 7/2 و 4/1 کیلوگرم وزن خشک دانه بر مترمکعب بدست آمدکه این معادل افزایش 93 درصد میزان کارایی مصرف آب می‌باشد. بنابراین خاک‌پوش گونی‌های سفید وآبی بیشترین تأثیر را بر حفظ رطوبت خاک و عملکرد محصول دارا بودند.