The accumulation and subsequent release of microbial osmolytes in response to drying and rewetting are thought to be key players in C and N dynamics, yet studies on soils have failed to support this hypothesis. The aim of this experiment was to determine how low-molecular weight compounds, and osmolytes in particular, are affected by drying and rewetting. Water deficits were imposed slowly by withholding water for 21 weeks from large (200 L) mesocosms vegetated with a globally widespread grass Themeda triandra . A broad spectrum of small molecules in extracts was identified and quantified by capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Compared with controls, drought-stressed mesocosms contained >10-fold larger amounts of known microbial osmolytes: ectoine, hydroxyectoine, betaine, proline-betaine, trigonelline, proline, trehalose, arabitol. The pool of osmolytes accounted for 3.6% of CHCl 3 labile TOC in control mesocosms and 17% of CHCl 3 labile TOC in drought-stressed mesocosms. There was no evidence that rewatering led to a large pulse of osmolytes in free solution. Instead osmolytes decreased to control concentrations within 1–3 h of rewatering – probably indicating rapid uptake by microbes and plants. Results of this study suggest that osmolytes can account for a substantial fraction of microbial C, and are at least one of the ways that soil microbes cope with water deficits.

Response of osmolytes in soil to drying and rewetting

Different governments and international organizations have shown interest in agroecology as a promising pathway for transition to sustainable agriculture. However, the kinds of innovation needed for agro-ecological transition are subject to intense debate. The scale of this debate is itself an indicator of the complicated relation between innovation and sustainability in the agro-food arena and beyond. This review paper analyses the potential of agro-ecology in agricultural sustainability transitions. It also explores whether agro-ecological transition is a sustainable innovation (cf. ecological, green, open, social, responsible). Furthermore, the paper investigates the potential contribution of agro-ecological transition to sustainability, using the 3-D (Direction, Distribution and Diversity) model of the STEPS centre. Agroecology is one of the few approaches that can harmoniously combine innovation and sustainability in agriculture while promoting genuine transition to agro-food sustainability since it embraces all dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic, social/cultural/ethical). Nevertheless, it can be taken for granted neither that all traditional practices can be classified as ‘agro-ecological’ nor that all farmer-led innovations can be included in the agro-ecological repertoire. Moreover, the relationship between the three aspirations of agroecology (science, movement and practice) needs further elaboration in order to maximise potential for agriculture transition.

/pdf/innovation-sustainability-nexus-in-agriculture-transition-wmn2dz4bnt.pdf

Innovation-Sustainability Nexus in Agriculture Transition: Case of Agroecology

Global climate change poses a significant threat to natural communities around the world, with many plant species showing signs of climate stress. Grassland ecosystems are not an exception, with climate change compounding contemporary pressures such as habitat loss and fragmentation. In this study, we assess the climate resilience of Themeda triandra, a foundational species and the most widespread plant in Australia, by assessing the relative contributions of spatial, environmental and ploidy factors to contemporary genomic variation. Reduced-representation genome sequencing on 472 samples from 52 locations was used to test how the distribution of genomic variation, including ploidy polymorphism, supports adaptation to hotter and drier climates. We explicitly quantified isolation by distance (IBD) and isolation by environment (IBE) and predicted genomic vulnerability of populations to future climates based on expected deviation from current genomic composition. We found that a majority (54%) of genomic variation could be attributed to IBD, while an additional 22% (27% when including ploidy information) could be explained by two temperature and two precipitation climate variables demonstrating IBE. Ploidy polymorphisms were common within populations (31/52 populations), indicating that ploidy mixing is characteristic of T. triandra populations. Genomic vulnerabilities were found to be heterogeneously distributed throughout the landscape, and our analysis suggested that ploidy polymorphism, along with other factors linked to polyploidy, reduced vulnerability to future climates by 60% (0.25-0.10). Our data suggests that polyploidy may facilitate adaptation to hotter climates and highlight the importance of incorporating ploidy in adaptive management strategies to promote the resilience of this and other foundation species.

/pdf/spatial-climate-and-ploidy-factors-drive-genomic-diversity-23y3r0cnj7.pdf

Spatial, climate and ploidy factors drive genomic diversity and resilience in the widespread grass Themeda triandra.

Natural desalting in saline land with shallow groundwater and high evaporation is proceeding slowly. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the efficiency of straw mulching on desalinizati...

Leaching effectiveness of desalinization by rainfall combined with wheat straw mulching on heavy saline soil

Genome scan of Kenyan Themeda triandra populations by AFLP markers reveals a complex genetic structure and hints for ongoing environmental selection

Themeda triandra Forssk. is one of the most widespread grasses in the dry to mesic prairie ecosystems of Africa, Asia and Australia. It is of particular interest due to its high value as a forage species for wildlife and livestock, and its potential use in landscaping practices. In this review we have collated information from the many studies that have been devoted to this species since the 1960s to provide information about the species’ distribution, taxonomy, morphology, ploidy and reproduction, and to describe its vegetation and germination and their relationship with the most important ecological aspects of its preferred habitats. Agronomic aspects are considered in detail, with particular focus on the role of T. triandra as a forage species and the relative importance of grazing, fire and rainfall regimes for its management. We also explore how this species can help with the rehabilitation of degraded areas, soil and water conservation, countering exotic species invasion and landscaping in general. We conclude with a brief discussion of the as yet unresolved taxonomic relationship between the African species T. triandra and the Australian species Themeda australis.

A tropical grass resource for pasture improvement and landscape management: Themeda triandra Forssk

In the last few decades, characterized by intense environmental, landscape and socio-economic-financial changes, unexpected issues concerning the primary sector are arising and asks to researchers an urgent and deep reformulation both of the conceptual and technological tools used in the applied research. The concept of innovation is now radically changed, starting from a prevailing formula of linear top-down technology transfer, which has characterized the green revolution of the 1960s, to nowadays approach characterized by the innovation of a complex system, aimed at creating sustainable and shared opportunities through economic and institutional development. Those who now work in public or private bodies oriented to research for innovation are struggling to maintain their specific study area, but within integrated schemes where technical and scientific aspects are in interaction with organizational, institutional and political issues. Innovation can tackle several issues: new products, new technologies, new markets, new procedures (institutions) and new policies. The series of scientific and conceptual tools framed into the Agro-ecology domain seems appropriate to plan development initiatives of which the primary objective is ensuring a sustainable management of all the resources involved in agricultural production processes, while promoting food security and sovereignty, as well as protecting the rural landscape. By studying a target agro-ecosystem it is possible to identify and characterize the relationships between both the internal components and the system structures and functions at different levels of complexity of plot, farm and country, without neglecting the interactions among scientific, technological and socio-economic factors, and ultimately tending towards a science aimed at conflict resolution. Given the challenges that agricultural development is going to face in the next decades, it is indeed essential to support the planning and implementation of sound agro-ecological policies through an appropriate set of advanced tools. Particularly, a key aspect to empower all the stakeholders involved in the research, development, dissemination and application of new methods and technologies is the identification of information and communication systems that farmers and policy makers need in order to cope with fast-changing conditions in a complex system. University and research centers can act as institutional facilitators of dialogue and development policies among different stakeholders, catalyzing participation and promoting participatory problem-solving strategies for agricultural development and cooperation.

/pdf/research-for-the-innovation-of-the-agri-food-system-in-3zlw17pcxa.pdf

Research for the innovation of the agri-food system in international cooperation

In the last few years there is a growing awareness that food - or rather the agri-food cycle - represents a strategic point of view to understand and orient the constituent elements of our development model at the different scales. Despite such primary importance of the agri-food universe, agricultural world is experiencing a period of harsh economic and identity emergency, which requires to rethink some factors to find systemic solutions to reverse the trend of this structural crisis. Along with the many experiences of Local Food Systems (LFS), the Bioregione Research Project has taken on the goal of developing, within the Lombardy territories, approaches and tools to help give shape to local food systems capable to self-sustain in economic terms and to generate positive systemic effects, creating the conditions for a virtuous encounter between the organised demand of quality food and different types of sustainable local production, in order to favour a change in agricultural production and its persistence over time, as a primary condition for the overall improvement of environment and landscape and for the preservation of territorial balances between settlements and open spaces.

The contribution of Bioregione research project to the development of local sustainable agri-food systems

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A tropical grass resource for pasture improvement and landscape management: Themeda triandra Forssk

Research for the innovation of the agri-food system in international cooperation

The contribution of Bioregione research project to the development of local sustainable agri-food systems