Laboratories play significant roles in all the critical processes of detecting rapid infectious disease outbreaks,risk assessments,early warnings,early responses and notifications,and monitoring and surveillance[1,2]....Laboratories play significant roles in all the critical processes of detecting rapid infectious disease outbreaks,risk assessments,early warnings,early responses and notifications,and monitoring and surveillance[1,2].Veterinary Laboratories(VLs)that rapidly identify,respond to and control rapidly spreading and emerging(or re-emerging)infectious and zoonotic diseases is critical to:(1)the financial performance of animal agriculture and international trade;(2)livelihoods of animal related industries;and(3)nutritional status,food security,and the socio-economic well-being of a country[3].展开更多
Propelled by urbanization,rising incomes,and changing diets,food markets have been expanding in Africa and South Asia,creating the vast potential for job and income opportunities along food supply chains and,hence,for...Propelled by urbanization,rising incomes,and changing diets,food markets have been expanding in Africa and South Asia,creating the vast potential for job and income opportunities along food supply chains and,hence,for poverty reduction.The novel coronavirus(COVID-19)that spread to a pandemic in early 2020 provokes enormous setbacks to this expansion.This,however,should provide lessons regarding the importance of resilient and inclusive food systems.Emergency responses to COVID-19 should consider interventions towards that end and leverage the opportunities provided by food markets growth as economies recover from the present economic recession.This paper assesses options of how this could be done by facilitating the better functioning and interconnectedness of the many small and medium-sized enterprises that are proliferating along the"hidden middle"of food value chains in storage,logistics,transportation,and wholesale and retail distribution.It also explores how policies can help smallholder farmers connect to this"hidden middle"in more gainful ways and help them climb out of poverty as well.展开更多
Pesticide is one of the major inputs in modern agriculture and its uses are increasing annually. Pesticides are seen as inherently benign, in the same way that medicines are. Many local languages even use the same wor...Pesticide is one of the major inputs in modern agriculture and its uses are increasing annually. Pesticides are seen as inherently benign, in the same way that medicines are. Many local languages even use the same word for “pesticide” and “medicine</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">. Along with the increasing consumption of pesticides, Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), which are more toxic are still in widespread use in Asia and constitute a substantial challenge to human health and </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">the environment especially in low- and middle-income countries with less</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> resources, training and capacities to deal with them. Reducing the risks posed by HHPs has become a priority in various international chemicals manage</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">ment policies, and many countries have started taking action accordingly</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">. </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The objective of the paper is to establish the national status of the use of </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">HHPs in Asia in line with FAO/WHO criteria for HHPs and encourage deli</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">berate consideration of mitigation options for effective management of</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> HHPs. This report is based on the nationally registered pesticide active ingredients and other related information obtained from Pesticide Registration Authorities of 13 Asian countries and research reports of different national and international journals. There are currently about 3557 pesticide products (active ingredients) registered in 13 Asian countries to control pests on crops and for public health uses, and 214 HHPs among the list of registered pesticides still in use in these Asian countries. An analysis of the list of registered formulated products revealed that 61 different active ingredients are included in these 214 registered HHPs in Asian countries. Considering the global concern of </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">HHPs, there is thus every reason to develop mass awareness raising pro</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">grammes based on knowledge, aptitude and practices and to disseminate</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> them within the community in order to inform about the risks of HHPs and to replace HHPs and mitigate human risk and exposure to HHPs. It is concluded that detailed surveys and studies should be formulated with help of experts from academia and research organizations to construct a baseline data which may be helpful to tone down the HHP situation in the country</span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">.展开更多
Forests,trees,and agroforestry(FTA)are ecosystem hotspots.They exemplify the contributions of biodiversity to sustainable and resilient landscapes,green circular economy and to sustainable agriculture and food systems...Forests,trees,and agroforestry(FTA)are ecosystem hotspots.They exemplify the contributions of biodiversity to sustainable and resilient landscapes,green circular economy and to sustainable agriculture and food systems for healthy diets.However,most research on these topics have been performed separately and lack comparison.The International FTA-Kunming Conference'Forests,trees and agroforestry for diverse sustainable landscapes'22nd–24th June 2021,focused on these contributions,brought together scientists NGOs,and policy makers to further the understanding of tree diversity;provided a communication platform for scientists to share their research results;evaluated the role of tree diversity in agroecology and circular agriculture;assessed benefits of landscape restoration;and explored applied research in mountain ecosystems and food security.The goals were to gather evidence that ground the design of solutions that can contribute to the implementation of the post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and towards the UN Food Systems Summit,and the overall implementation of the SDGs.This paper summarizes the outcomes of the international FTA Conference in Kunming 2021 and points out the highlights of research involved in six major themes.展开更多
[目的/意义]开放科学运动的兴起极大地促进了学术传播以及科研成果利用。开放共享作为推进开放科学运动的重要手段,也是推动全球农业科技发展的必要措施。通过梳理开放环境下联合国粮农组织(Food and Agriculture Organization of the U...[目的/意义]开放科学运动的兴起极大地促进了学术传播以及科研成果利用。开放共享作为推进开放科学运动的重要手段,也是推动全球农业科技发展的必要措施。通过梳理开放环境下联合国粮农组织(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,FAO)面向全球农业科技信息资源的开放共享实践,有助于为推动中国实现农业科技信息资源的开放共享、促进科研成果的转化及利用提供借鉴。[方法/过程]从率先构建并积极践行农业信息管理标准AIMS、持续维护与多渠道开放共享多语种叙词表AGROVOC,以及精心建设与运营国际农业科技信息检索系统AGRIS等多维度,梳理FAO为推进国际农业科技信息资源开放共享的实践进展。[结果/结论]基于FAO为推动国际农业科技信息资源开放共享得出的实践经验,从构建规范化管理体系、提高资源开放共享能力以及促进国际合作等方面对中国农业科技信息资源开放共享的建设工作提出展望。展开更多
The study reflects on previous World Bank and FAO reports that made the general recommendation to set both research and extension investment targets in developing countries at 1% of agricultural gross domestic product...The study reflects on previous World Bank and FAO reports that made the general recommendation to set both research and extension investment targets in developing countries at 1% of agricultural gross domestic product (AgGDP). In order to define proxies for country-specific extension investment targets, authors developed an extension investment model (EIM) based on socio-economic macro-indicators (poverty, undernourishment, access to information and population density) and a method to define estimates for cost increases related to climate change. These parameters helped estimating the demand for agricultural extension and investments required for it. Results showed that about half of the 94 developing and emerging countries should spend more than 1% of their respective share of GDP derived from agriculture and about a quarter of the countries, mostly in Africa and South East Asia, need to spend more than 2% of their AgGDP. The paper reveals significant differences in average investment requirements in different regions and shows the additional extension costs related to climate change and other areas that currently lack investment.展开更多
Nitrification inhibitors can effectively decrease nitrification rates and nitrous oxide(N_(2)O)emission while increasing crop yield under certain conditions.However,there is no information available on the effects of ...Nitrification inhibitors can effectively decrease nitrification rates and nitrous oxide(N_(2)O)emission while increasing crop yield under certain conditions.However,there is no information available on the effects of nitrification inhibitors and tillage practices on N_(2)O emissions from maize cropping in Iran.To study how tillage practices and nitrapyrin(a nitrification inhibitor)affect N_(2)O emission,a split factorial experiment using a completely randomized block design with three replications was carried out in Northeast Iran,which has a cold semiarid climate.Two main plots were created with conventional tillage and minimum tillage levels,and two nitrogen(N)fertilizer(urea)management systems(with and without nitrapyrin application)were created as subplots.Tillage level did not have any significant effect on soil ammonium(NH_(4)^(+))and nitrate(NO_(3)^(-))concentrations,cumulative amount and yield-scaled N_(2)O emission,and aboveground biomass of maize,whereas nitrapyrin application showed significant effect.Nitrapyrin application significantly reduced the cumulative amount of N_(2)O emission by 41%and 32%in conventional tillage and minimum tillage practices,respectively.A reduction in soil NO_(3)^(-)concentration by nitrapyrin was also observed.The average yield-scaled N_(2)O emission was 13.6 g N_(2)O-N kg^(-1)N uptake in both tillage systems without nitrapyrin application and was significantly reduced to 7.9 and 8.2 g N_(2)O-N kg^(-1)N uptake upon the application of nitrapyrin in minimum tillage and conventional tillage practices,respectively.Additionally,nitrapyrin application increased maize biomass yield by 4%and 13%in the minimum tillage and conventional tillage systems,respectively.Our results indicate that nitrapyrin has a potential role in reducing N_(2)O emission from agricultural systems where urea fertilizers are broadcasted,which is common in Iran due to the practice of traditional farming.展开更多
Editorial notes This discussion is edited from a dialogue session of the third Global Soil Week 2015(globalsoilweek.org).The Global Soil Week is a collective process and a multi-stakeholder knowledge platform to raise...Editorial notes This discussion is edited from a dialogue session of the third Global Soil Week 2015(globalsoilweek.org).The Global Soil Week is a collective process and a multi-stakeholder knowledge platform to raise awareness and foster exchange on sustainable soil management and responsible land governance worldwide.It brings together different knowledge communities such as high-level policy-makers,scientists,NGOs,CSOs,farmers,artists,international organizations,and the private sector.展开更多
The spatial distribution of surface and subsurface soil attributes is an important input to environmental modeling.Soil attributes represent an important input to the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT),which influen...The spatial distribution of surface and subsurface soil attributes is an important input to environmental modeling.Soil attributes represent an important input to the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT),which influence the accuracy of the modeling outputs.An ArcGIS-based tool was developed to predict soil attributes and provide inputs to SWAT.The essential inputs are digital elevation model and field observations.Legacy soil data/maps can be used to derive observations when recent field surveys are not available.Additional layers,such as satellite images and auxiliary data,improve the prediction accuracy.The model contains a series of steps(menus)to facilitate iterative analysis.The steps are summarized in deriving many terrain attributes to characterize each pixel based on local attributes as well as the characteristics of the contributing area.The model then subdivides the entire watershed into smaller facets(subdivisions of subwatersheds)and classifies these into groups.A linear regression model to predict soil attributes from terrain attributes and auxiliary data are established for each class and implemented to predict soil attributes for each pixel within the class and then merged for the entire watershed or study area.SLEEP(Soil-Landscape Estimation and Evaluation Program)utilizes Pedo-transfer functions to provide the spatial distribution of the necessary unmapped soil data needed for SWAT prediction.An application of the tool demonstrated acceptable accuracy and better spatial distribution of soil attributes compared with two spatial interpolation techniques.The analysis indicated low sensitivity of SWAT prediction to the number of field observations when SLEEP is used to provide the soil layer.This demonstrates the potential of SLEEP to support SWAT modeling where soil data is scarce.展开更多
Forecasting environmental parameters in the distant future requires complex modelling and large computational resources.Due to the sensitivity and complexity of forecast models,long-term parameter forecasts(e.g.up to ...Forecasting environmental parameters in the distant future requires complex modelling and large computational resources.Due to the sensitivity and complexity of forecast models,long-term parameter forecasts(e.g.up to 2100)are uncommon and only produced by a few organisations,in heterogeneous formats and based on different assumptions of greenhouse gases emissions.However,data mining techniques can be used to coerce the data to a uniform time and spatial representation,which facilitates their use in many applications.In this paper,streams of big data coming from AquaMaps and NASA collections of 126 long-term forecasts of nine types of environmental parameters are processed through a cloud computing platform in order to(i)standardise and harmonise the data representations,(ii)produce intermediate scenarios and new informative parameters,and(iii)align all sets on a common time and spatial resolution.Time series crosscorrelation applied to these aligned datasets reveals patterns of climate change and similarities between parameter trends in 10 marine areas.Our results highlight that(i)the Mediterranean Sea may have a standalone‘response’to climate change with respect to other areas,(ii)the Poles are most representative of global forecasted change,and(iii)the trends are generally alarming for most oceans.展开更多
An assessment of the challenges and capacity gaps in smallholder access to digital extension and advisory services(EAS)was made by surveying 197 female and 239 male farmers in Kenya and Uganda.Non-digital extension ap...An assessment of the challenges and capacity gaps in smallholder access to digital extension and advisory services(EAS)was made by surveying 197 female and 239 male farmers in Kenya and Uganda.Non-digital extension approaches remain dominant but at least 78%of farmers accessed EAS from electronic sources dominated by radio.This is attributed to the fact that ownership of radios was more widespread than of other digital devices.Challenges that particularly limit the use of digital services included low digital literacy and prohibitive cost of internet and mobile devices.Female and elderly farmers were more likely to report these challenges than their counterparts.Logistic regression model results show that ownership of digital devices,participation in post-production activities,and access to extension were enablers of digital EAS use.Farmers mentioned gaps in obtaining information on crop pest/disease diagnosis and management,fertilizer application,pesticide safety and quality seed.Given the diversity in smallholder technological capabilities and information needs,the recommendations made include integration of digital communication within multimode advisory services that use different but linked communication channels,continued farmer digital innovation capacity enhancement,and participatory design approaches that deliver relevant and actionable information for inclusive scaling of extension activities.展开更多
Plant pests and diseases have significant negative impacts on global food security,world trade and rural livelihoods.Climate change exacerbates these impacts in certain parts of the world.Overreliance on pesticides as...Plant pests and diseases have significant negative impacts on global food security,world trade and rural livelihoods.Climate change exacerbates these impacts in certain parts of the world.Overreliance on pesticides as the primary tool for plant pest management leads to problems such as pesticide resistance and pest resurgence.Environmental and food safety concerns are also associated with overuse of pesticides in crop production.There is clearly a need for a shift in pest management strategies and practices globally.Optimization of structures and functions in crop production agroecosystems through soil conservation practices and cropping diversification can improve pest regulation services provided in the systems.Prioritization of safer alternatives and practices in the IPM pyramid,such as resistant varieties and biopesticides,helps minimize the use of potentially risky agricultural inputs such as synthetic pesticides.Investment is needed to boost the development of innovative green technologies and practices.Production,distribution,use and regulatory capacities need to be strengthened to facilitate largescale adoption of green technologies and practices.Finally,policy,financial and market instruments should be wielded to provide an enabling environment for the transformation to sustainable plant pest and disease management strategies and practices worldwide.展开更多
文摘Laboratories play significant roles in all the critical processes of detecting rapid infectious disease outbreaks,risk assessments,early warnings,early responses and notifications,and monitoring and surveillance[1,2].Veterinary Laboratories(VLs)that rapidly identify,respond to and control rapidly spreading and emerging(or re-emerging)infectious and zoonotic diseases is critical to:(1)the financial performance of animal agriculture and international trade;(2)livelihoods of animal related industries;and(3)nutritional status,food security,and the socio-economic well-being of a country[3].
基金supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research(CGIAR)research program on Policies,Institutions and Markets(PIM)Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations。
文摘Propelled by urbanization,rising incomes,and changing diets,food markets have been expanding in Africa and South Asia,creating the vast potential for job and income opportunities along food supply chains and,hence,for poverty reduction.The novel coronavirus(COVID-19)that spread to a pandemic in early 2020 provokes enormous setbacks to this expansion.This,however,should provide lessons regarding the importance of resilient and inclusive food systems.Emergency responses to COVID-19 should consider interventions towards that end and leverage the opportunities provided by food markets growth as economies recover from the present economic recession.This paper assesses options of how this could be done by facilitating the better functioning and interconnectedness of the many small and medium-sized enterprises that are proliferating along the"hidden middle"of food value chains in storage,logistics,transportation,and wholesale and retail distribution.It also explores how policies can help smallholder farmers connect to this"hidden middle"in more gainful ways and help them climb out of poverty as well.
文摘Pesticide is one of the major inputs in modern agriculture and its uses are increasing annually. Pesticides are seen as inherently benign, in the same way that medicines are. Many local languages even use the same word for “pesticide” and “medicine</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">. Along with the increasing consumption of pesticides, Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), which are more toxic are still in widespread use in Asia and constitute a substantial challenge to human health and </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">the environment especially in low- and middle-income countries with less</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> resources, training and capacities to deal with them. Reducing the risks posed by HHPs has become a priority in various international chemicals manage</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">ment policies, and many countries have started taking action accordingly</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">. </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The objective of the paper is to establish the national status of the use of </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">HHPs in Asia in line with FAO/WHO criteria for HHPs and encourage deli</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">berate consideration of mitigation options for effective management of</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> HHPs. This report is based on the nationally registered pesticide active ingredients and other related information obtained from Pesticide Registration Authorities of 13 Asian countries and research reports of different national and international journals. There are currently about 3557 pesticide products (active ingredients) registered in 13 Asian countries to control pests on crops and for public health uses, and 214 HHPs among the list of registered pesticides still in use in these Asian countries. An analysis of the list of registered formulated products revealed that 61 different active ingredients are included in these 214 registered HHPs in Asian countries. Considering the global concern of </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">HHPs, there is thus every reason to develop mass awareness raising pro</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">grammes based on knowledge, aptitude and practices and to disseminate</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> them within the community in order to inform about the risks of HHPs and to replace HHPs and mitigate human risk and exposure to HHPs. It is concluded that detailed surveys and studies should be formulated with help of experts from academia and research organizations to construct a baseline data which may be helpful to tone down the HHP situation in the country</span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">.
文摘Forests,trees,and agroforestry(FTA)are ecosystem hotspots.They exemplify the contributions of biodiversity to sustainable and resilient landscapes,green circular economy and to sustainable agriculture and food systems for healthy diets.However,most research on these topics have been performed separately and lack comparison.The International FTA-Kunming Conference'Forests,trees and agroforestry for diverse sustainable landscapes'22nd–24th June 2021,focused on these contributions,brought together scientists NGOs,and policy makers to further the understanding of tree diversity;provided a communication platform for scientists to share their research results;evaluated the role of tree diversity in agroecology and circular agriculture;assessed benefits of landscape restoration;and explored applied research in mountain ecosystems and food security.The goals were to gather evidence that ground the design of solutions that can contribute to the implementation of the post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and towards the UN Food Systems Summit,and the overall implementation of the SDGs.This paper summarizes the outcomes of the international FTA Conference in Kunming 2021 and points out the highlights of research involved in six major themes.
文摘[目的/意义]开放科学运动的兴起极大地促进了学术传播以及科研成果利用。开放共享作为推进开放科学运动的重要手段,也是推动全球农业科技发展的必要措施。通过梳理开放环境下联合国粮农组织(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,FAO)面向全球农业科技信息资源的开放共享实践,有助于为推动中国实现农业科技信息资源的开放共享、促进科研成果的转化及利用提供借鉴。[方法/过程]从率先构建并积极践行农业信息管理标准AIMS、持续维护与多渠道开放共享多语种叙词表AGROVOC,以及精心建设与运营国际农业科技信息检索系统AGRIS等多维度,梳理FAO为推进国际农业科技信息资源开放共享的实践进展。[结果/结论]基于FAO为推动国际农业科技信息资源开放共享得出的实践经验,从构建规范化管理体系、提高资源开放共享能力以及促进国际合作等方面对中国农业科技信息资源开放共享的建设工作提出展望。
文摘The study reflects on previous World Bank and FAO reports that made the general recommendation to set both research and extension investment targets in developing countries at 1% of agricultural gross domestic product (AgGDP). In order to define proxies for country-specific extension investment targets, authors developed an extension investment model (EIM) based on socio-economic macro-indicators (poverty, undernourishment, access to information and population density) and a method to define estimates for cost increases related to climate change. These parameters helped estimating the demand for agricultural extension and investments required for it. Results showed that about half of the 94 developing and emerging countries should spend more than 1% of their respective share of GDP derived from agriculture and about a quarter of the countries, mostly in Africa and South East Asia, need to spend more than 2% of their AgGDP. The paper reveals significant differences in average investment requirements in different regions and shows the additional extension costs related to climate change and other areas that currently lack investment.
基金funded by the International Atomic Energy Agency,Vienna,through the coordinated research project Minimizing Farming Impacts on Climate Change by Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Capture and Storage in AgroEcosystems(No.18595)of Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Section,Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture,Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications,Vienna,Austria。
文摘Nitrification inhibitors can effectively decrease nitrification rates and nitrous oxide(N_(2)O)emission while increasing crop yield under certain conditions.However,there is no information available on the effects of nitrification inhibitors and tillage practices on N_(2)O emissions from maize cropping in Iran.To study how tillage practices and nitrapyrin(a nitrification inhibitor)affect N_(2)O emission,a split factorial experiment using a completely randomized block design with three replications was carried out in Northeast Iran,which has a cold semiarid climate.Two main plots were created with conventional tillage and minimum tillage levels,and two nitrogen(N)fertilizer(urea)management systems(with and without nitrapyrin application)were created as subplots.Tillage level did not have any significant effect on soil ammonium(NH_(4)^(+))and nitrate(NO_(3)^(-))concentrations,cumulative amount and yield-scaled N_(2)O emission,and aboveground biomass of maize,whereas nitrapyrin application showed significant effect.Nitrapyrin application significantly reduced the cumulative amount of N_(2)O emission by 41%and 32%in conventional tillage and minimum tillage practices,respectively.A reduction in soil NO_(3)^(-)concentration by nitrapyrin was also observed.The average yield-scaled N_(2)O emission was 13.6 g N_(2)O-N kg^(-1)N uptake in both tillage systems without nitrapyrin application and was significantly reduced to 7.9 and 8.2 g N_(2)O-N kg^(-1)N uptake upon the application of nitrapyrin in minimum tillage and conventional tillage practices,respectively.Additionally,nitrapyrin application increased maize biomass yield by 4%and 13%in the minimum tillage and conventional tillage systems,respectively.Our results indicate that nitrapyrin has a potential role in reducing N_(2)O emission from agricultural systems where urea fertilizers are broadcasted,which is common in Iran due to the practice of traditional farming.
文摘Editorial notes This discussion is edited from a dialogue session of the third Global Soil Week 2015(globalsoilweek.org).The Global Soil Week is a collective process and a multi-stakeholder knowledge platform to raise awareness and foster exchange on sustainable soil management and responsible land governance worldwide.It brings together different knowledge communities such as high-level policy-makers,scientists,NGOs,CSOs,farmers,artists,international organizations,and the private sector.
基金This model is a result of collaborative efforts between the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas(ICARDA)and Texas A&M UniversityThe authors would like to acknowledge the financial support by the CGIAR Research Program on Water,Land and Ecosystems(WLE),USAID-linkages program,Middle East Water and Livelihood Initiative-WLI,and the Coca-Cola Foundation.
文摘The spatial distribution of surface and subsurface soil attributes is an important input to environmental modeling.Soil attributes represent an important input to the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT),which influence the accuracy of the modeling outputs.An ArcGIS-based tool was developed to predict soil attributes and provide inputs to SWAT.The essential inputs are digital elevation model and field observations.Legacy soil data/maps can be used to derive observations when recent field surveys are not available.Additional layers,such as satellite images and auxiliary data,improve the prediction accuracy.The model contains a series of steps(menus)to facilitate iterative analysis.The steps are summarized in deriving many terrain attributes to characterize each pixel based on local attributes as well as the characteristics of the contributing area.The model then subdivides the entire watershed into smaller facets(subdivisions of subwatersheds)and classifies these into groups.A linear regression model to predict soil attributes from terrain attributes and auxiliary data are established for each class and implemented to predict soil attributes for each pixel within the class and then merged for the entire watershed or study area.SLEEP(Soil-Landscape Estimation and Evaluation Program)utilizes Pedo-transfer functions to provide the spatial distribution of the necessary unmapped soil data needed for SWAT prediction.An application of the tool demonstrated acceptable accuracy and better spatial distribution of soil attributes compared with two spatial interpolation techniques.The analysis indicated low sensitivity of SWAT prediction to the number of field observations when SLEEP is used to provide the soil layer.This demonstrates the potential of SLEEP to support SWAT modeling where soil data is scarce.
基金This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the BlueBRIDGE project[grant agreement no 675680].
文摘Forecasting environmental parameters in the distant future requires complex modelling and large computational resources.Due to the sensitivity and complexity of forecast models,long-term parameter forecasts(e.g.up to 2100)are uncommon and only produced by a few organisations,in heterogeneous formats and based on different assumptions of greenhouse gases emissions.However,data mining techniques can be used to coerce the data to a uniform time and spatial representation,which facilitates their use in many applications.In this paper,streams of big data coming from AquaMaps and NASA collections of 126 long-term forecasts of nine types of environmental parameters are processed through a cloud computing platform in order to(i)standardise and harmonise the data representations,(ii)produce intermediate scenarios and new informative parameters,and(iii)align all sets on a common time and spatial resolution.Time series crosscorrelation applied to these aligned datasets reveals patterns of climate change and similarities between parameter trends in 10 marine areas.Our results highlight that(i)the Mediterranean Sea may have a standalone‘response’to climate change with respect to other areas,(ii)the Poles are most representative of global forecasted change,and(iii)the trends are generally alarming for most oceans.
基金The study was co-funded by FAO and CABI and the research was led by CABI.
文摘An assessment of the challenges and capacity gaps in smallholder access to digital extension and advisory services(EAS)was made by surveying 197 female and 239 male farmers in Kenya and Uganda.Non-digital extension approaches remain dominant but at least 78%of farmers accessed EAS from electronic sources dominated by radio.This is attributed to the fact that ownership of radios was more widespread than of other digital devices.Challenges that particularly limit the use of digital services included low digital literacy and prohibitive cost of internet and mobile devices.Female and elderly farmers were more likely to report these challenges than their counterparts.Logistic regression model results show that ownership of digital devices,participation in post-production activities,and access to extension were enablers of digital EAS use.Farmers mentioned gaps in obtaining information on crop pest/disease diagnosis and management,fertilizer application,pesticide safety and quality seed.Given the diversity in smallholder technological capabilities and information needs,the recommendations made include integration of digital communication within multimode advisory services that use different but linked communication channels,continued farmer digital innovation capacity enhancement,and participatory design approaches that deliver relevant and actionable information for inclusive scaling of extension activities.
文摘Plant pests and diseases have significant negative impacts on global food security,world trade and rural livelihoods.Climate change exacerbates these impacts in certain parts of the world.Overreliance on pesticides as the primary tool for plant pest management leads to problems such as pesticide resistance and pest resurgence.Environmental and food safety concerns are also associated with overuse of pesticides in crop production.There is clearly a need for a shift in pest management strategies and practices globally.Optimization of structures and functions in crop production agroecosystems through soil conservation practices and cropping diversification can improve pest regulation services provided in the systems.Prioritization of safer alternatives and practices in the IPM pyramid,such as resistant varieties and biopesticides,helps minimize the use of potentially risky agricultural inputs such as synthetic pesticides.Investment is needed to boost the development of innovative green technologies and practices.Production,distribution,use and regulatory capacities need to be strengthened to facilitate largescale adoption of green technologies and practices.Finally,policy,financial and market instruments should be wielded to provide an enabling environment for the transformation to sustainable plant pest and disease management strategies and practices worldwide.