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In the European Union, the setting of Operational Groups (OG) is supported by the European Innovation Partnership to tackle specific problems and favor innovation in agriculture. They constitute an important aspect of the current Common Agricultural Policy. Increasing or maintaining soil organic carbon (SOC) content under arable farming has been acknowledged as a primary target of European agricul
The extreme weather in terms of drought and heat, which prevailed in Northern Europe during the growing season 2018, had serious consequences for agriculture and farmers in Sweden. Many questions regarding farm production came to a head as drought struck directly against farmers land, economy and wellbeing. This paper argues that it is essential to deeper investigate farmer’s and other land user’s
Ensuring engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by younger generations is critical to the kind of transformational change necessary to achieve the goals, both now and after 2030. In encouraging stronger engagement, an understanding of the socio-ecological values held by children towards ecosystems is critical information in constructing effective, science-based policy for educati
As glaciers retreat, their forelands represent “natural laboratories” for the study of primary succession. This review describes how certain arthropods conquer pristine ground and develop food webs before the establishment of vascular plants. Based on soil samples, pitfall traps, fallout and sticky traps, gut content studies, and some unpublished data, we compare early arthropod succession on glac
With the increased occurrence of climate extremes, there is an urgent need to better understand how management strategies affect the capacity of the soil microbial community to maintain its ecosystem functions (e.g. nutrient cycling). To address this issue, intact monoliths were extracted from conventional and ecological managed grasslands in three countries across Europe and exposed under common
The mechanisms by which lime and/or phosphate addition impacts the preservation of soil organic matter (OM) are poorly understood. We explored the changes in quantity and chemistry of water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) in the bulk soil and its heavy density fraction (>1.6 g/cm3) of an unmanaged C-rich volcanic soil caused by lime and/or phosphate application. The addition of lime or phosphate
Osmoderma eremita is a species of beetle that inhabits hollows in ancient trees, which is a habitat that has decreased significantly during the last century. In southeastern Sweden, we studied the metapopulation dynamics of this beetle over a 25 year period, using capture-mark-recapture. The metapopulation size had been rather stable over time, but in most of the individual trees there had been a
Drought and agricultural management influence soil microorganisms with unknown consequences for the functioning of agroecosystems. We simulated drought periods in organic (biodynamic) and conventional wheat fields and monitored effects on soil water content, microorganisms and crops. Above the wilting point, water content and microbial respiration were higher under biodynamic than conventional far
Tomato roots can be colonized by both mycorrhizal fungi and the endophytic fungus Serendipita indica. This study was aimed at assessment of the impact of single or dual inoculation with R. irregularis and S. indica on tomato growth under saline conditions. We used signature compounds to estimate the abundance of each of these two fungi (fatty acid 16:1ω5 for R. irregularis and ergosterol for S. in
Non-technical summary Agriculture provides many benefits to people, such as producing food and creating jobs in rural areas, but it can also have negative impacts on the environment. We analysed existing monitoring indicators for the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to evaluate whether the CAP is effectively achieving multiple social and environmental goals. We found that the curr
Decentralized anaerobic digestion (AD) of manure and organic residues is a possible strategy to improve carbon and nutrient cycling within agricultural regions, meanwhile generating renewable energy. To date, there has been limited adoption of decentralized AD technology in industrialized countries owing to low profitability for plant operators. There remains a need to demonstrate the wider sustai
In their comment piece, van Basshuysen and Brandstedt raise three main issues: first, whether population at the global scale, or individual family planning decisions, are relevant for climate change mitigation; second, they offer useful critiques of the methodologies to attribute greenhouse gas emissions for the choice to have a child; and third, they question the appropriate ethical responsibilit
Both research and policy recognize land systems as fundamental to human life and activities. However, these two perspectives approach land from different ends and it can be difficult to see how studied variables contribute to broader policy goals. In this paper, we argue that there is a need to better select variables to study land systems as social-ecological systems, and to align research more w
Soils harbour some of the most diverse microbiomes on Earth and are essential for both nutrient cycling and carbon storage. To understand soil functioning, it is necessary to model the global distribution patterns and functional gene repertoires of soil microorganisms, as well as the biotic and environmental associations between the diversity and structure of both bacterial and fungal soil communi
In their comment piece, Laycock and Lam (Environ. Res. Lett. 13 068001) focused on the importance for reducing emissions of actions beyond individual choices and overconsumption, and raise the issue of family planning as a human right. Here we respond that both individual and collective actions, in private and professional life, are important to reducing emissions to near zero in the next few deca
Pollination success is important for crop yield, but may be cultivar dependent. Less is known about which floral traits influence pollination success. Floral traits, e.g. traits related to attraction and reward, can also contribute to gene flow via pollen, the latter being of particular importance in oilseed rape (Brassica napus) where gene flow occurs between plants of crop, volunteer and feral o
Crop harvesting and residue removal from croplands often result in imbalanced biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients in croplands, putting forward an austere challenge to sustainable agricultural production. As a beneficial element, silicon (Si) has multiple eco-physiological functions, which could help crops to acclimatize their unfavorable habitats. Although many studies have reported tha
