Responding to Future Earth's Biodiversity Goals: Implementing Ecological Services, Agricultural Diversity and Bioresource Sustainability of the Shallow Mountain Slope Ecosystem in Dongshan District

Abstract

Climate change and the resultant extreme weather events have disrupted agricultural ecosystems. In South Taiwan, serious droughts and unpredictable, heavy rainfall have caused slope sliding at lowland areas and led to significant agricultural and economic loss. A team of researchers led by Professor Tzen-Yuh Chiang, that includes Dr Tsai-Wen Hsu and Professor Yu-Chung Chiang, and is based at the University Social Responsibility, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, wants to drive change in farming practices in the Dong Shan district, Taiwan. In work supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan, the team is introducing a combination of natural and microbial farming practices. As such, the researchers have isolated and reformulated microbial fertilisers in the lab and applied them to enforce the health of crop roots. They have found that many insects and birds are now back on the farm, acting as biological control, which removes the need for pesticides. The overall goal of the project is to rebuild the vegetation and natural ecosystem along the slopes of lowlands. Key to this is stopping slope exploration, along with using microbial farming practices to enforce and ensure the health of crops. The project's success also relies on the use of microbial technology to culture microbes with sterile medium, which can then be used as fertilisers. This important work will help to integrate knowledge and policy about the agricultural environment and the agricultural economy.