生态农业和有机农业的创新

现代农业系统在明显提高产量、保证粮食安全的同时,也对人类健康和地球的可持续性产生了影响。在持续不断的严重环境破坏和自然资源毁坏的背景下,建立可持续的农业生产方式至关重要。生态农业和有机农业是减少生态可持续性和生产力及社会可持续之间权衡关系的重要方法。这两种农业方法都属生态集约化范畴,均具有减少环境污染的巨大潜力;然而,生态农业和有机农业常导致产量降低。虽然产量降低带来的损失可以通过改变人们的饮食习惯来弥补(如减少食物浪费、减少食用精饲料喂养的肉类),但是,由于全球的发展趋势与之相反,因此本文探讨了通过科学研究寻求新的解决方案前景来提高低投入农业系统作物产量的可能性。为权衡生产力与可持续发展的关系,使生态农业和有机农业有助于粮食安全,我们对未来研究提出5点建议:1)农场和田地的景观设计与复合种植模式、2)数字化技术的应用、3)以农田低投入为目标的作物育种、4)农业废弃物的高质量循环利用和5)非化学作物保护。

Novel soil quality indicators for the evaluation of agricultural management practices:a biological perspective

Developments in soil biology and in methodsto characterize soil organic carbon can potentially delivernovel soil quality indicators that can help identifymanagement practices able to sustain soil productivityand environmental resilience. This work aimed atsynthesizing results regarding the suitability of a range ofsoil biological and biochemical properties as novel soilquality indicators for agricultural management. The soilproperties, selected through a published literature review,comprised different labile organic carbon fractions [hydrophilicdissolved organic carbon, dissolved organic carbon,permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), hot waterextractable carbon and particulate organic matter carbon],soil disease suppressiveness measured using a Pythium-Lepidium bioassay, nematode communities characterizedby amplicon sequencing and qPCR, and microbialcommunity level physiological profiling measured withMicroResp™. Prior studies tested the sensitivity of each ofthe novel indicators to tillage and organic matter additionin ten European long-term field experiments (LTEs) andassessed their relationships with pre-existing soil qualityindicators of soil functioning. Here, the results of theseprevious studies are brought together and interpretedrelative to each other and to the broader body of literatureon soil quality assessment. Reduced tillage increasedcarbon availability, disease suppressiveness, nematoderichness and diversity, the stability and maturity of thefood web, and microbial activity and functional diversity.Organic matter addition played a weaker role in enhancingsoil quality, possibly due to the range of composition of theorganic matter inputs used in the LTEs. POXC was theindicator that discriminated best between soil managementpractices, followed by nematode indices based on functionalcharacteristics. Structural equation modeling showsthat POXC has a central role in nutrient retention/supply,carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, erosion control and disease regulation/suppression. The novelindicators proposed here have great potential to improveexisting soil quality assessment schemes. Their feasibilityof application is discussed and needs for future research are outlined.

Anti-microtubule activity of the traditional Chinese medicine herb Northern Ban Lan(Isatis tinctoria)leads to glucobrassicin

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)belongs to the most elaborate and extensive systems of plant-based healing.The herb Northern Ban Lan(Isatis tinctoria)is famous for its antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity.Although numerous components isolated from I.tinctoria have been characterized so far,their modes of action have remained unclear.Here,we show that extracts from I.tinctoria exert antimicrotubular activity.Using time-lapse microscopy in living tobacco BY-2(Nicotiana tabacum L.cvBrightYellow2)cellsexpressing greenfluorescentprotein-tubulin,weuse activity-guided fractionation to screen out the biologically active compounds of I.tinctoria.Among 54 fractions obtained from either leaves or roots of I.tinctoria by methanol(MeOH/H_(2)O 8:2),or ethyl acetate extraction,one specific methanolic root fraction was selected,because it efficiently and rapidly eliminated microtubules.By combination of further purification with ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography and high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry most of the bioactivity could be assigned to the glucosinolate compound glucobrassicin.Glucobrassicin can also affect microtubules and induce apoptosis in HeLa cells.In the light of these findings,the antiviral activity of Northern Ban Lan is discussed in the context of microtubules being hijacked by many viral pathogens for cell-to-cell spread.

TRANSLATING THE MULTI-ACTOR APPROACH TO RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE USING A WORKSHOP APPROACH FOCUSING ON SPECIES MIXTURES

The EIP-Agri multiactor approach was exemplified during a 3-day workshop with 63 project participants from the EU H2020 funded project“Redesigning European cropping systems based on species MIXtures”.The objective was to share firsthand experience of participatory research among researchers who were mostly not familiar with this approach.Workshop participants were divided into smaller multidisciplinary groups and given the opportunity to interact with representatives from eight actor positions in the value chain of the agrifood cooperative Terrena located in Western France.The four stages of the workshop were:(1)key actor interviews,(2)sharing proposed solutions for overcoming barriers,and(3)developing possible interdisciplinary concepts.Expressions of frustration were recorded serving both as a motivation for group members to become more aware of the scientific concerns and practices of their colleagues,as well as a recognition that some researchers have better skills integrating qualitative approaches than others.Nevertheless,the workshop format was an effective way to gain a common understanding of the pertinent issues that need to be addressed to meet overall multiactorapproach objectives.Working with the actor networks was identified and emphasized as a means to overcome existing barriers between academia and practice in order to coproduce a shared vision of the benefits of species mixture benefits.

ENABLING CROP DIVERSIFICATION TO SUPPORT TRANSITIONS TOWARD MORE SUSTAINABLE EUROPEAN AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS

European cropping systems are often characterized by short rotations or even monocropping,leading to environmental issues such as soil degradation,water eutrophication,and air pollution including greenhouse gas emissions,that contribute to climate change and biodiversity loss.The use of diversification practices(i.e.,intercropping,multiple cropping including cover cropping and rotation extension),may help enhance agrobiodiversity and deliver ecosystem services while developing new value chains.Despite its benefits,crop diversification is hindered by various technical,organizational,and institutional barriers along value chains(input industries,farms,trading and processing industries,retailers,and consumers)and within sociotechnical systems(policy,research,education,regulation and advisory).Six EU-funded research projects have joined forces to boost crop diversification by creating the European Crop Diversification Cluster(CDC).This Cluster aggregates research,innovation,commercial and citizen-focused partnerships to identify and remove barriers across the agrifood system and thus enables the uptake of diversification measures by all European value-chain stakeholders.The CDC will produce a typology of barriers,develop tools to accompany actors in their transition,harmonize the use of multicriteria assessment indicators,prepare policy recommendations and pave the way for a long-term network on crop diversification.