Local aspects of agrobiodiversity in the context of sustainable development

The article explains what an innovative activity in the economy involves and unfolds how the main concepts of theory of innovation are applied into the agricultural sector. It is pointed out that agrarian innovation is the final stage of fostering novelties in the agricultural sector (plant varieties, livestock breeds, cultivation technologies, etc), which has resulted in economic, social, ecological benefits and expanded reproduction. The study reveals that applying the main concepts of theory of innovation into agriculture has its specific features, namely: integrating innovative technologies into processes occurring in the nature; producing living organisms, which can be objectives and targets of innovation. The author identifies the factors hindering the introduction of innovations in the agricultural sector. It has been found that the lack of financial support and instability of legislation in the country are the root causes. A lack of necessary information and new ideas are yet other prime obstacles which prevent innovation processes in agricultural units. It is demonstrated that an innovative activity in proactive enterprises is a key factor for effective growth and a sustainable increase in agricultural production. It contributes to positive changes in production technology and production structure, a significant shift in motivation. The results indicate that some innovative products such as new varieties and hybrids of agricultural plants, new livestock and poultry breeds, machines and mechanisms, tools and equipment, modern means of production, etc. are of high demand on the market of innovative products. It is claimed that agricultural studies play an important role in meeting the demand since they accelerate the growth of this field by generating and introducing innovations. The author suggests the following steps for strengthening innovation policies in agricultural units: bringing in new competitive technologies in crop and livestock production; introducing high-yielding breeds and crop varieties / hybrids resistant to diseases and climate change effects; applying bio-technologies which increase production of new healthy products; improving means and methods of land cultivation; cleaning and storing raw materials; using energy-efficient technologies and ecological innovations, that make it possible to increase yields and productivity, minimize losses and sustain the environment.

How different is the forest on post-coal mine heap regarded as novel ecosystem?

Although benthic fauna in the Pechora Sea (SE Barents Sea) is generally well-studied, information on the bottom communities in the shallows near islands and the mainland is still sparse. Shallow marine areas in the Pechora Sea serve as important feeding grounds for numerous benthophagous fish, waterfowl and marine mammals, including the Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus). To study the patterns of macrozoobenthic distribution in the shallows and evaluate the ecological state of the zoobenthic populations close to walrus haul-outs, sampling was performed in 2014 and 2016 around an archipelago in the Pechora Sea. In 2014, the average biomass, the Shannon's Diversity Index and the predominance of filter feeders in benthic communities were, in general, similar to the respective characteristics in neighboring deeper areas studied in the 1990s. In 2016, significant differences in species number and in biomass were recorded compared to 2014. An increase was observed in Atlantic boreo-Arctic species. Analysis of the trophic structure showed a slight decrease in the proportion of filter feeders and a significant increase in the proportion of subsurface deposit feeders. However, the Shannon's Diversity and Ecological Stress Indices indicated that the macrozoobenthos in the study area was in a state of equilibrium. Changes in the zoobenthos may result from several factors, such as an increase in water temperature, sediment re-deposition under wind-induced waves and the plowing of bottom sediments by walruses during their foraging.

The present study aimed to assess mosquito species diversity, distribution, and ecological preferences in the Covè, Ouinhi, and Zangnanado communes, Southern Benin. Such information is critical to understand mosquito bio-ecology and to focus control efforts in high-risk areas for vector-borne diseases. Mosquito collections occurred quarterly in 60 clusters between June 2020 and April 2021, using human landing catches. In addition to the seasonal mosquito abundance, Shannon's diversity, Simpson, and Pielou's equitability indices were also evaluated to assess mosquito diversity. Ecological niche models were developed with MaxEnt using environmental variables to assess species distribution. Overall, mosquito density was higher in the wet season than in the dry season in all communes. A significantly higher Shannon's diversity index was also observed in the wet season than in the dry seasons in all communes (p < 0.05). Habitat suitability of An. gambiae s.s., An. coluzzii, Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ma. africana was highly influenced by slope, isothermality, site aspect, elevation, and precipitation seasonality in both wet and dry seasons. Overall, depending on the season, the ecological preferences of the four main mosquito species were variable across study communes. This emphasizes the impact of environmental conditions on mosquito species distribution. Moreover, mosquito populations were found to be more diverse in the wet season compared to the dry season.

The relationships among landscape characteristics and plant diversity in tropical forests may be used to predict biodiversity. To identify and characterize them, the number of species, as well as Shannon and Simpson diversity indices were calculated from 157 sampling quadrats (17,941 individuals sampled) while the vegetation classes were obtained from multi-spectral satellite image classification in four landscapes located in the southeast of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The mean number of species of trees, shrubs and vines as well as the mean value of the total number of species and the other two diversity indices were calculated for four vegetation classes in every one of the four landscapes. In addition, the relationships between landscape patterns metrics of patch types and diversity indices were explored. The multiple statistical analyses revealed significant predictor variables for the three diversity indices. Moreover, the shape, similarity and edge contrast metrics of patch types might serve as useful indicators for the number of species and the other two diversity variables at the landscape scale. Although the association between the three diversity indices and patch types metrics showed similar behavior, some differences were appreciated. The Shannon diversity index, with its greater sensitivity to rare species, should be considered as having a greater importance in interpretation analysis than Simpson index.

Since the beginning of farming, and even before, humans have been actively modifying our environment in order to harvest biomass. With the ‘Great Acceleration’ of the industrial age, the global system of biomass harvest for food production has become a major driver of Earth system processes, and caused multi-dimensional sustainability issues which must be addressed in order to meet continued increases in demand for food and other biomass. In addition, bioenergy generation, with the subsequent storage of some or all of the carbon content of the feedstock (known as bioenergy with carbon storage or BECS), is now seen as an important tool for rebalancing the carbon cycle. This thesis has used a biomass flows modelling approach to examine possible trajectories for the socio-ecological metabolism of humanity, with a focus on fluxes of carbon contained in biomass. This approach connects social and economic drivers of biomass harvest with physical Earth systems processes such as the global carbon cycle. Meeting growing food demand in the years 2000-2050 is likely to be a significant challenge in its own right, necessitating the harvest of over 30% of terrestrial biomass. This can only be done without significant damage to natural ecosystems if large increases in efficiency and intensity of food production are achieved, or diets are altered. The production of livestock products is shown to be a major cause of inefficiency in biomass harvest, and changes to livestock demand or production are particularly powerful in ensuring a less damaging relationship with Earth system processes. If increases in efficiency are achieved, it may be possible to grow dedicated bioenergy crops, which, combined with the biomass available in waste and residue streams can be used to generate significant carbon dioxide removal (CDR) fluxes via BECS. Following this strategy it is possible to have a non-trivial effect on atmospheric CO2 concentration by 2050. Increasing the intensity of biomass harvest, particularly when low intensity pasture is replaced with intense bioenergy cropping, also has significant implications for ecological energy flows, and the potential trade-off between protecting biodiversity and growing bioenergy crops to mitigate climate change is also discussed. This body of work presents several interesting areas of potential conflict in different drivers of biomass harvest, and suggestions are made for ways in which to develop the approach in order to explore them.

Event Abstract Back to Event Exploring diversity and distribution of demersal fish species from the Northern Alboran Sea and Gulf of Vera (Western Mediterranean Sea) Cristina G. Ruiz1*, Domingo L. Samo2, José Luís R. Ruiz1, Cristina Ciércoles3 and Luís G. Simarro4 1 INSTITUTO ESPAÑOL DE OCEANOGRAFÍA, Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga, Spain 2 INSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS DEL MAR (CSIC), Spain 3 Universidad de Málaga, Spain 4 INSTITUTO ESPAÑOL DE OCEANOGRAFÍA, CENTRO OCEANOGRÁFICO DE MÁLAGA, Spain The Alboran Sea is a transition region between the Mediterranean basin and the Atlantic Ocean containing a mix of Mediterranean and Atlantic species. The Strait of Gibraltar, at the west end of the Alboran Sea, connects the Mediterranean with the Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf of Vera also occupies a strategic location in the Western Mediterranean, representing a transition zone between the Alboran Sea and the rest of the basins with a more distinctive Mediterranean character. The Alboran Sea is one of the most productive areas of the Mediterranean, in contrast to the Gulf of Vera that displays a more oligotrophic character. Despite of the interest of the study area the information about the distribution of demersal fishes is scarce. In the present study, the main aim is to analyse diversity and distribution of demersal fish species of circalittoral and bathyal soft bottoms of the Alboran Sea (with a higher Atlantic influence and primary production) and the Gulf of Vera (with a higher Mediterranean influence and lower primary production). Sampling was carried out in the scientific trawl survey MEDITS (International bottom trawl survey in the Mediterranean) between 30 and 800 m depth. All samples were taken from Estepona and Cabo de Palos between 1994-2015 in the Alboran Sea and between 1995-2008 and 2014-2015 in the Gulf of Vera. (Figure 1). A total of 818 samples (687 from Alboran and 131 from Vera) were considered for this study. For each haul, the abundance and weight of individuals per fish species were standardised to 1 hour towing in order to calculate both species abundance (number of individuals per 1 hour towing) (ind•h−1) and biomass (g•h−1). In order to identify fish assemblages, ordination and classification multivariate methods using fish species abundance and biomass per haul matrices were applied. Prior to analyses, all data were logarithmically transformed using log(x + 1) to minimise the weighting of extreme abundance or biomass values of certain species. An analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) was carried out for statistical comparisons of groups of samples according to the different factors considered (depth, Alboran vs. Vera). Species rarefaction curves were used to compare the species richness values of each fish assemblage. In addition, for each group, Shannon-Wiener (H’) and Taxonomic distinctness (Δ*) diversity indices were calculated. For comparisons of the mean values of the considered variables (abundance, biomass and diversity indices) across the identified assemblages and years, we used a non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test. A total of 231 fish species have been identified considering all samples, with 215 spp. collected from Alboran (3 classes, 25 orders and 75 families) and 160 spp.. from Vera (2 classes, 21 orders and 67 families), probably because the number of samples in the latter were lower. The number of occasional species, considering those that were captured only in 1 or 2 samples, were 56 in Alboran and 44 in Vera. The multivariate analyses (nMDS) indicated that depth is the main factor that determines the distribution of species in both areas, with four groups of samples displaying significant differences between them (ANOSIM-Alboran: R=0.85, p=0.001; ANOSIM-Vera: R=0.81, p=0.001). These groups were similar in both areas: Inner continental shelf (30-100 m), Outer continental shelf (101-200 m), Upper continental slope (201-500 m) and Middle continental slope (501-800 m) (Figures 2 and 3). Regarding the faunistic comparison between Alboran and Vera, the most acute differences were found between those samples from the Middle continental slope. These differences were evident for abundance (ANOSIM: R=0.81, p=0.001), biomass (ANOSIM: R=0.78, p=0.001) and species composition (presence-absence data) (ANOSIM: R=0.61, p=0.001). The trends for species rarefaction curves with depth was similar in both areas, with similar curves for the Inner and Outer continental shelf , a decrease of the species number for the Upper slope and finally the lowest number of species for the Middle slope. Likewise, the mean values of abundance, Shannon and Taxonomic indices also showed a similar pattern in both areas. Mean abundances differed significantly between assemblages increasing from the Inner shelf to Outer shelf and decreasing abruptly to the Upper and Lower slope (.minimum values). The Shannon diversity index showed significant differences in Alboran, but not in Vera, with minima in the Outer shelf in both areas. The taxonomic index also displayed significant differences in Alboran and Vera, with low values in the Inner shelf that increased abruptly to the Outer shelf and Upper slope, with a further acute increase in the Middle slope. Unlike for the other indexes, trends for mean the biomass values with depth were different in both areas. In Alboran biomass decreased from the Inner shelf to the Upper slope and increased to the Middle slope. Nevertheless, in Vera the biomass decreased with depth, with significant differences. In two sectors were evident significant differences. Regarding the interannual changes, the differences between years in Alboran were significant respect to species richness, abundance, biomass and Shannon diversity index. No clear increase or decrease trend was detected interannually. Unlike Alboran, in Vera, no significant interannual differences were detected. In conclusion: 1) Four main fish assemblages were detected on the continental shelf and slope in both areas that seem to be strongly linked to the depth gradient. 2) The middle slope showed the higher differences between both areas for abundance, biomass and presence-abundance data. 3) The species rarefaction curves, abundance, Shannon and Taxonomic diversity indices showed similar patterns with depth in both areas. Biomass index showed a different pattern, with maximum values in the Middle slope in Alboran and minimum ones in Vera. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements We wish to thank all the captains, crew and participants in the MEDITS surveys conducted along the Spanish coast. This study was carried out within the framework of the DEMALBORAN project, funded by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and the European Union, through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. Keywords: Alboran Sea, Gulf of Vera, Western Mediterranean, Biodiversity, distribution, demersal fish species Conference: XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies, Porto, Portugal, 5 Sep - 9 Sep, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: 1. ECOLOGY, BIODIVERSITY AND VULNERABLE ECOSYSTEMS Citation: Ruiz CG, Samo DL, Ruiz JR, Ciércoles C and Simarro LG (2016). Exploring diversity and distribution of demersal fish species from the Northern Alboran Sea and Gulf of Vera (Western Mediterranean Sea). Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies. doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.05.00107 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 28 May 2016; Published Online: 03 Sep 2016. * Correspondence: Dr. Cristina G Ruiz, INSTITUTO ESPAÑOL DE OCEANOGRAFÍA, Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga, FUENGIROLA, MÁLAGA, 29640, Spain, cristina.garcia@ma.ieo.es Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Cristina G Ruiz Domingo L Samo José Luís R Ruiz Cristina Ciércoles Luís G Simarro Google Cristina G Ruiz Domingo L Samo José Luís R Ruiz Cristina Ciércoles Luís G Simarro Google Scholar Cristina G Ruiz Domingo L Samo José Luís R Ruiz Cristina Ciércoles Luís G Simarro PubMed Cristina G Ruiz Domingo L Samo José Luís R Ruiz Cristina Ciércoles Luís G Simarro Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Vertical distribution of benthic diatoms in a large reservoir (Alqueva, Southern Portugal) during thermal stratification

US legislators have recently proposed output-based emissions intensity metrics as an approach to credit greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets from agriculture and other uncapped sectors. This article explains the features and rationale of the output-based offset (OBO) approach, outlines a candidate accounting methodology, discusses the potential advantages and limitations of such an approach relative to the area-based offset (ABO) approach that is standard practice in some settings, and introduces possible policy implications. By incentivizing improvements in agricultural efficiency, the OBO approach strives to achieve the dual goals of food security and climate change mitigation. It expands the toolkit for achieving reductions in agricultural emissions, rewards technological advancement in both emission reductions and yields, and offers promise for addressing the problem of accounting for leakage. But because it is based on improvements in GHG efficiency in agriculture rather than on absolute reductions, emission...

In this study, super efficiency SBM-DEA model was used to estimate the total water use efficiency of agricultural factors in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 2000 to 2013, and on this basis, panel Tobit model was used to test the influence of natural conditions, water conservancy facilities, agricultural production conditions and social and economic conditions on the total water use efficiency of agricultural factors. The results show that although the overall water use efficiency of agriculture in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is higher than the national level, there is still room for improvement. In the future, it should strengthen the protection and cooperation of agricultural water resources and water-saving technologies in the three regions. shared; The ratio of groundwater to water supply structure and the price index of agricultural production materials have a significant positive impact on the water efficiency of all-factory agriculture in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. The reservoir capacity, animal husbandry and fishery account for the proportion of total value of agricultural output the per capita cultivated land area, and the per capita net income of rural households. The quality of rural labor has a significant negative impact on the water efficiency of all-factory agriculture in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

BackgroundAlthough the changed lipid environment of the pilosebaceous unit and the growth of lipophilic Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes) during puberty has long been considered as the trigger of acne vulgaris, the involvement of the interaction between the epidermal barrier integrity and the skin microbiome in this disease has not been fully elucidated.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to analyze the differences in the epidermal barrier and skin microbiota in patients with acne vulgaris and their correlation.MethodsThe skin microbial samples and epidermal barrier data from 74 acne patients and 19 healthy subjects were collected in this cross-sectional study. The microbial diversity was analyzed based on a high-throughput sequencing approach that targets the V3-V4 region of the bacteria 16S ribosomal RNA genes.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, acne patients had significantly increased transepidermal water loss (TEWL), pH levels, sebum, porphyrins, and red areas, and reduced skin microbiome diversity according to the goods coverage diversity index (p = 0.021), Shannon diversity index (p = 0.037), and Simpson diversity index (p = 0.023). Moreover, the diversity gradually decreased with the increase in acne grading. Based on the principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) analysis plot, the skin microbiota of acne patients and healthy controls could be divided into two different sets, which could not be used to separate acne patients with different disease severity. Finally, this study found that both TEWL and sebum were negatively associated with the Shannon and Simpson diversity index. Meanwhile, the taxa Enhydrobacter and Stenotrophomonas were positively associated with TEWL, stratum corneum hydration, respectively.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that acne vulgaris exists in patients with both damaged epithelial barriers and associated microbiota dysbiosis; the findings will help improve the understanding of the disease and may contribute to the development of better treatment options.

Aim: Food security is a multi-dimensional issue and is concerned with aspects such as availability, access and utilisation. It would require major interventions that will transform the current patterns and practices of food production, distribution and consumption. Food security can be attained by increasing the level of agricultural productivity and efficiency and improvements in agricultural efficiency are at the core of the quest for food security. This paper seeks to examine the efficiency in food grains production in India for the period 1960-61 to 2013-14. Design / Research methods: The key idea is to employ the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis and the parametric Stochastic Frontier Analysis to measure the efficiency of food grains production in India. We have estimated an input oriented single output, multi – input DEA models (CRS – DEA and VRS- DEA) of agricultural production to measure the efficiency in food grains production for two time periods 1960-61 to 1989-90 and 1991-92 to 2013-14. The analysis of super efficiency was conducted for both these time periods helped identify the years in which food grains production was most efficient. Conclusions / findings: We find high average efficiency in farming operations for both the frontier methods. However, the range of efficiency obtained varies considerably for the different frontier methods. The period after 1990 has witnessed improved agricultural performance as can be inferred from the frequency distribution of the efficiency scores which indicates that during this period the overall efficiency scores have been higher and there was not a single year in which the efficiency levels have been less than 0.9. The analysis of super efficiency also vindicates the improved performance of the agricultural sector in the post 1990 periods as greater number of years recorded an efficiency score greater than 1 as compared to the previous period. However, the super efficiency scores recorded in the period 1961-1990 were higher than those in the post 1990 years suggesting thereby that there could be a tapering of the positive impact of the Green Revolution. Efficiency estimates obtained by the SFA model are marginally lower than that of the DEA model and the results of the SFA model indicate net sown area, net irrigated area and pesticides to be statistically significant inputs. Originality / value of the article: This study contributes significantly to the literature on efficiency measurement of agricultural production in India by focussing on efficiency measurement of food grains. Most studies focus on farm level data and /or on individual crops.Implications of the research: This results of this study have implications for the issue of food security in India. Its results indicate that a need to expand irrigation facilities and net sown area to improve efficiency in food grain production which is vital for the issue of food security.

This paper provides an overview of land reform in South Africa from 1994 to 2011, with the focus on the land redistribution. The government policies and associated implementation since 1994 have not generated expected social and economic results for a number of reasons. Even where land has been transferred, it appears to have had minimal impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries, largely because of inappropriate project design, a lack of necessary support services and shortages of working capital, leading to widespread underutilization of land. There is no evidence to suggest that land reform has led to improvements in agricultural efficiency, income, employment or economic growth. Therefore, the current approach, based on acquisition of land through the open market, minimal support to new farmers, and bureaucratic imposition of production models loosely based on existing commercial operators, is unlikely to transform the rural economy and lift people out of poverty. The paper argues that there are two important missing aspects in the land reform program. First, there is an absence of any viable small-farmer path to development, which could enable the millions of households residing in the communal areas and on commercial farms to expand their own production and accumulate wealth and resources in an incremental manner. Making this happen would require radical restructuring of existing farm units to create family-size farms, more realistic farm planning, appropriate support from a much-reformed state agricultural service, and a much greater role for beneficiaries in the design and implementation of their own projects. Second, what is clearly missing from the governance tradition is the sustained focus on implementation, resource mobilization, and timely policy adjustment. Much more will be required for land reform program to contribute significantly to economic growth and to the redistribution of wealth and opportunities to the majority of the population.

Explotation of seabed resources will be inefficient unless markets are established in seabed property rights. Professor Denman draws an implicit parallel between the Enclosure Movement which produced rapid improvements in agricultural efficiency, and privatising the ocean floor, and offers specific proposals for its implementation.

Managing the plant microbiome for biocontrol fungi: examples from Hypocreales