Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2022
Abstract
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Authors
Bart Immerzeel Jan Vermaat Dennis Collentine Artti Juutinen Brian Kronvang Eva Skarbøvik Mette CarstensenAbstract
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Authors
Trond MæhlumAbstract
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Authors
Johannes DeelstraAbstract
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Abstract
This chapter presents an overview of the current climate crisis, major sources of GHG emissions, and impacts from the agriculture sector contributing to global warming. Further, the chapter discusses the challenges in reducing GHG emissions from the agriculture sector. Major changes in the agriculture sector would be required if the impact due to climate change is to be limited to 1.5°C target. According to the authors, overcoming the challenges to reduce GHG emissions in the agriculture sector will require specific technological, investment, and policy solutions suitable for different agro-ecological and socio-economic settings. These solutions must be designed and implemented at different scales, both for developed and developing countries, for large- and small-scale farms, and should be sustainable, environmentally, socially, and economically. The chapter discusses the major challenges of the current farming systems, followed by a review of design approaches and pathways for a transition towards sustainable CNRFS. Towards the end, the chapter provides a brief outline of the book and justification.
Authors
Daniel Kpienbaareh R. Bezner Kerr Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong Daniel Amoak Katja Poveda Sekhar Udaya Nagothu Cassandra Vogel Aaron Iverson Mehreteab Tesfai Isaac Luginaah Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter Jinfei Wang Georg Küstner Stephanie Enloe Vera Mayer Laifolo Dakishoni Esther Lupafya Lizzie Shumba Timothy Chunga Penjani Kanyimbo Petros Munthali Tinkani Gondwe Innocent Mhoni Mwapi Mkandawire Tapiwa Mkandawire Pressings Moyo Yolice TemboAbstract
How can agroecological research methods effectively engage smallholder farmers, who provide over half of the world’s food supply, and whose farm management activities have significant impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services? This question is highly relevant in Malawi where the research took place, but in other low-income countries in Africa with mostly agrarian populations, in which multi-scalar processes drive high food insecurity, alongside declining biodiversity, worsening land degradation and climate change. We analyse an innovative transdisciplinary agroecological approach that attempts to bridge the science-practice-policy gap by examining the potential of agro-ecological measures to enhance functional biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study involves a longitudinal, case-control and participatory research design in a region where thousands of farmers have experimented with agroecological practices, e.g., legume intercropping, composting, and botanical sprays. Innovative transdisciplinary agroecological research activities involved farmer participatory research, ecological monitoring and field experiments, social science methods (both qualitative and quantitative), participatory methodologies (public participatory Geographic Information Systems - PPGIS and scenario planning and testing) and stakeholder engagement to foster science-policy linkages. We discuss the theoretical and methodological implications of this novel transdisciplinary and participatory approach about pluralism, decolonial and translational ecological research to foster sustainability and climate resilience of tropical farming systems.
Editors
Sekhar Udaya NagothuAbstract
This book presents evidence-based research on climate-neutral and resilient farming systems and further provides innovative and practical solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the impact of climate change.Intensive farming systems are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, thereby contributing to global warming and the acceleration of climate change. As paddy rice farming is one of the largest contributors, and environmentally damaging farming systems, it will be a particular focus of this book. The mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions needs to be urgently addressed to achieve the 2°C target adopted by COP21 and the 2015 Paris Agreement, but this is not possible if local and national level innovations are not accompanied by international level cooperation, mutual learning and sharing of knowledge and technologies. This book, therefore, brings together international collaborative research experiences on climate-neutral and resilient farming systems compiled by leading scientists and experts from Europe, Asia and Africa. The chapters present evidence-based research and innovative solutions that can be applied or upscaled in different farming systems and regions across the world. Chapters also present models and technologies that can be used for practical implementation at the systemic level and advance the state of the art knowledge on carbon-neutral farming. Combining theory and practice, this interdisciplinary book provides guidance which can inform and increase cooperation between researchers from various countries on climate-neutral and resilient farming systems. Most importantly, the volume provides recommendations which can be put into practice by those working in the agricultural industry, especially in developing countries, where they are attempting to promote climate-neutral and resilient farming systems. The book will be of great interest to students and academics of sustainable agriculture, food security, climate mitigation and sustainable development, in addition to policymakers and practitioners working in these areas.
Authors
Pierre-Adrien Rivier Dorina Jamniczky Attila Nemes Andras Mako Gyöngyi Barna Nikolett Uzinger Márk Rékási Csilla FarkasAbstract
Despite the increasing interest in applying composts as soil amendments worldwide, there is a lack of knowledge on short-term effects of compost amendments on soil structural and hydraulic properties. Our goal was to study the effect of compost and vermicompost-based soil amendments on soil structure, soil water retention characteristics, aggregate stability and plant water use efficiency compared to that of mineral fertilizers and food-waste digestate and examine if these effects are evident within a short time after application. We set up a pot experiment with spring wheat using a sandy and a loamy soil receiving either mineral fertilizer (MF); dewatered digestate from anaerobic digestion of food waste (DG), vermicomposted digestate (VC_DG); sewage sludge-based compost (C_SS) and sewage sludge-based vermicompost (VC_SS). We then monitored and calculated the soil water balance components (irrigation, outflow, evaporation, transpiration, and soil water content). At harvest, we measured shoot biomass, soil texture, bulk density, water retention characteristics and aggregate stability. The irrigation use efficiency (IE) and the plant water use efficiency (WUE) were calculated for each treatment by dividing the transpiration and the dry shoot biomass with the amount of water used for irrigation, respectively. For the sandy soil, we used X-Ray computed tomography to visualise the pore system after applying organic amendments and to derive metrics of the pore-network such as its fractal dimension, imaged macroporosity and critical pore diameter. X-Ray tomography indicated that composting and vermicomposting resulted in more complex and diverse porous system and increased soil macroporosity. The increased fractal dimensions also indicated that compost and vermicompost can contribute to structure formation and stabilization within a short time after their application. Despite the small application rate and short incubation time, the application of organic amendments to the two different soil types resulted in improved soil water holding capacity and water use efficiency. Composting and vermicomposting appeared to have the best effect at reducing the irrigation demand and evaporation losses and increasing the water use efficiency of the plant, likely through their effect on soil structure and the pore-size distribution.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Mehreteab Tesfai Alamu Oladeji Emmanuel Joyce Bakuwa Njoloma Sekhar Udaya Nagothu Joel NgumayoAbstract
Chapter 8 provides a comprehensive review of literature pertaining to agroecological (AE) farming approaches/practices and knowledge driven from stakeholders’ and scientific studies. The review identifies the major drivers, barriers, gaps, and opportunities of AE practices in the context of African farming systems. The chapter presents the best combinations of AE practices as alternative approaches to the current unsustainable farming practices. Experiences from Zambia and other countries where selected AE practices are being implemented by farmers with the support of diverse stakeholders are shared in the chapter. Further, key ecological, social, and economic indicators developed in the countries are also discussed. The chapter analyses how the AE practices contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions and at the same time address the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), e.g., SDG 2 (food and nutrition security), SDG 12 (sustainable food production and consumption), SDG 13 (climate action), and SDG 15 (life on land).