Agrobiodiversity as Necessary Standard for the Design and Management of Sustainable Farming Systems

Agriculture constitutes the major planetary force, which over the course of the past century has been changing forever the connotations of terrestrial ecosystems, due to its dependence on resources and impacts (e.g.: global climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and eutrophication of fresh and coastal waters). The purpose of this work aimed at demonstrating the compelling need to design and manage modern farms in a way that these may conserve, and even foster biodiversity because its restoration offers resilience, longevity, and productivity to 21st century farms. Therefore, special emphasis in this work was given to the management of agricultural soils and agroforestry. These approaches enhance biological diversity, while strengthening the health of plants, animals, and human communities thus, contributing to the health of planet Earth. Agroecology is the science, practice and social movement that effectively, can assist with a conversion of farming systems toward sustainability and a restoration of agrobiodiversity

10. Browsing by White-Tailed Deer on Invasive Oriental Bittersweet Spreading into Restored Grasslands

Non-native oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.) was first detected in southeastern Minnesota in 2010 and has spread from woodlands into adjacent grasslands. Anecdotal evidence suggests that browsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on young oriental bittersweet slows the growth and spread of this plant. This study assessed the population characteristics of density, age structure, growth rate, and branching morphology of oriental bittersweet in small, restored grasslands (mixed native grasses and forbs) in Winona County, Minnesota, and quantified the browsing damage inflicted by white-tailed deer on bittersweet and native red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) at the end of winter. Bittersweet densities averaged 20 plants/m2 in grasslands near infested woodlands. Plants ranged in age from 1 to 7 yr, and growth rates (stem length) in plants greater than or equal to 2 yr old averaged only 9 cm/yr but were highly variable. Spread of bittersweet into grasslands from woodland edges averaged 48 m across all transects, but densities declined with increasing distance from woodlands. Winter browsing damage was present on 100% of all bittersweet and dogwood plants, with terminal buds removed from 70% (2,183 of 3,118) of all bittersweet branches and 99% (391 of 392) of all dogwood branches. Browsing seems to have suppressed fruiting in greater than or equal to 35% of plants greater than or equal to 2 yr old in the grasslands examined. Overwinter browsing by deer heavily damaged terminal buds and greatly reduced the growth rates of oriental bittersweet in restored grasslands in southeastern Minnesota, but not enough to prevent most plants in the population from maturing and producing fruit and seed

05. Bird Communities Within a Prairie/Wetland Complex: Restoration of Former Wastewater Treatment Ponds in Southeastern Minnesota

Our 12-mo study examined the bird communities associated with three habitat types at differing stages of restoration within a prairie/wetland complex in southeastern Minnesota. The 25-ha site previously consisted of three municipal wastewater treatment ponds that were taken off-line in 2002. One pond was retained as a shallow wetland; the others were reconfigured and restored by planting with prairie vegetation (one pond in 2003 and the other pond in 2013) to provide habitat for both wetland and grassland birds. Timed walking surveys of birds in each habitat were made monthly from June 2014 through May 2015. We observed 48 bird species at the study site during the year, with red-winged blackbird, song sparrow, American tree sparrow, dickcissel, and American goldfinch accounting for 83% of total individuals. Bird abundance varied seasonally in all habitats (0–22 birds/min), peaking in April in prairies and in September in the wetland. The wetland held more bird species (39) than either old (22) or new (24) prairies, but prairies had much higher Simpson diversity (0.799–0.809) than the wetland (0.428). Bird communities of old and new prairies were more similar to each other (Bray–Curtis similarity¼0.517) than either was to the wetland community (0.297, 0.301). Bobolink, dickcissel, sedge wren, western meadowlark, and ring-necked pheasant were found in both old and new prairies, but these species were significantly more abundant (2.7 times more individuals) in the old prairie. Management of this site (plantings, control of invasives, prescribed burns) for improved bird diversity is continuing

16. A Comparison of Soil Biodiversity in Restored Prairie Plots and Agricultural Fields at a Biomass Production Farm in Southeastern Minnesota

Communities of soil-dwelling organisms contribute to soil fertility and nutrient cycling, but conventional farming practices can disturb and reduce these communities. In southeastern Minnesota, some farmers are planting simplified prairie vegetation to produce biomass fuels. Our study was designed to assess the species abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates in plantings of mixed grasses only (MG) and mixed grasses with forbs (MGF) that were planted for use as a biomass fuel source on a farm in southeastern Minnesota in 2007. Abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates also were examined in soils of corn (Zea mays L.) fields grown on the same farm, and in soils of an adjacent prairie managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Six soil samples were collected from each of these 4 landscape types in summer 2010. Soil samples were placed in a Berlese apparatus for 24 h to extract soil invertebrates. Soil invertebrates were most abundant in samples from the DNR prairie (n=156). MG samples had the second highest abundance (n=146), MGF soils had lower abundance (n=87), and corn fields had the fewest invertebrates (n=41). The most abundant taxa in prairie soils included white and brown mites, springtails, and earthworms, whereas springtails and symphylans were the most abundant invertebrates in corn plots. Species diversity (Shannon H\u27) of soil communities differed significantly (analysis of variance: F3,20 = 17.177, P \u3c 0.0001) among landscape types. Tukey’s honestly significant difference test was employed to study any difference in diversity among the 4 landscape units and from this analysis we concluded that DNR and MGF did not differ, nor did MG and MGF reconstructed prairie plots. However, all other comparisons differed significantly in their diversity of soil invertebrates, thus substantiating our findings about abundance. This work has valuable implications for developing more sustainable soil management practices that could serve restoration efforts and adjacent agricultural lands

Conservation Efforts and Natural History of a Prairie Habitat at Jennings Environmental Education Center, Pennsylvania

The habitat consideted in this study is a 19.8-acre (8.0-hectare) prairie relict, which is part of the 296-acre (120-hectare) park (Jennings Environmental Education Center), and it is located in northwest Pennsylvania (Butler County). This prairie remnant is one of the easternmost existing relicts of the once widespread post-glacial prairies. The focus of this paper is to present an overview of the natural history of the Jennings Prairie with emphasis on preservation practices that have occurred since its discovery, in 1905, and management approaches aimed at the conservation of this habitat. The maintenance of its 225 native plant species requires human intervention in order to avoid its succession into a forest ecosystem, which is typical for this bioregion. Pedologic data are presented briefly as a frame; work used to justify decision-making in common land management practices. The conservation of the Jennings Prairie (the only one remaining of a few prairies dislocated through the landscape of western Pennsylvania) remains a unique habitat unit to demonstrate ecosystem diversity in the region

Enhancing the contribution of higher education institutions to sustainable development research: A focus on post‐2015 SDGs

Sustainable development (SD) research is vital in providing a basis for progress in this rapidly growing field of inquiry. In this context, higher education institutions (HEIs) and leading top researchers belonging to them are playing a key role. Despite this being widely acknowledged by the academy, it is largely unclear how individual HEIs, and their researchers contribute to sustainability research efforts. Based on the need to unveil this landscape, our article reports on a study that identified the leading HEIs and researchers involved in sustainability research and how they contribute to moving the field forward. A bibliometric assessment of the literature (performance analysis) was conducted to identify the number of publications of leading authors and institutions. The results reveal some interesting trends. First, the co‐occurrence analysis technique revealed what the top 10 authors in SD are exploring. Also, the study identifies diverse thematic clusters, covering areas like technology, sustainability assessment, integrative education, and corporate practices. The paper advances SD theory by illustrating how these themes interconnect and complement each other. The article concludes with suggestions of how universities may engage further in sustainability research. The theoretical and practical implications of the research, as well as its limitations, are also addressed

Living labs in the context of the UN sustainable development goals: state of the art

This paper reports on a comprehensive study, which has investigated the approaches, methods and tools being deployed in implementing living labs among higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world. Two methods were employed. First, a bibliometric analysis of the current emphasis given to living labs in a sustainable development context and in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Second, an empirical study aimed at identifying the use levels of living labs at HEIs. This was accomplished through an analysis of selected case studies that showcased successful approaches to SDGs implementation with living labs, and resulted in a framework for action. There are three main findings from these analyses. The first is that the multidisciplinary character of living labs in the context of sustainable development needs to be considered, to maximize their impacts. Second, most of the studied living labs focus on SDGs 4 and 11, which deal with providing quality education and ensuring the sustainable development of cities and communities. Third, the challenges encountered in the implementation of living labs refer to (1) the complexities in institutional administration, (2) the tensions between different groups of interest that need to be addressed by enhanced communication, and (3) the necessity to pay attention to the demand of using sustainability and innovation as a strategy in the operations of living labs. The paper draws from the experiences and lessons learned and suggests specific measures, which will improve the use of living labs as more systemic tools towards the implementation of the SDGs

Peer substance use overestimation among French university students: a cross-sectional survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Normative misperceptions have been widely documented for alcohol use among U.S. college students. There is less research on other substances or European cultural contexts. This study explores which factors are associated with alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use misperceptions among French college students, focusing on substance use.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>12 classes of second-year college students (n = 731) in sociology, medicine, nursing or foreign language estimated the proportion of tobacco, cannabis, alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking among their peers and reported their own use.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Peer substance use overestimation frequency was 84% for tobacco, 55% for cannabis, 37% for alcohol and 56% for heavy episodic drinking. Cannabis users (p = 0.006), alcohol (p = 0.003) and heavy episodic drinkers (p = 0.002), are more likely to overestimate the prevalence of use of these consumptions. Tobacco users are less likely to overestimate peer prevalence of smoking (p = 0.044). Women are more likely to overestimate tobacco (p < 0.001) and heavy episodic drinking (p = 0.007) prevalence. Students having already completed another substance use questionnaire were more likely to overestimate alcohol use prevalence (p = 0.012). Students exposed to cannabis prevention campaigns were more likely to overestimate cannabis (p = 0.018) and tobacco use (p = 0.022) prevalence. Other identified factors are class-level use prevalences and academic discipline.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Local interventions that focus on creating realistic perceptions of substance use prevalence could be considered for cannabis and alcohol prevention in French campuses.</p

Governance in the implementation of the UN sustainable development goals in higher education : global trends

Governance is a key component for implementing sustainable development (SD) initiatives in university teaching, research, and projects. This line of thinking also applies to implementing the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs). Despite the role of governance in guiding processes related to the SDGs, few studies have examined these relations in an integrative manner in higher education. To bridge this knowledge gap, this study assesses the connections between governance and implementing the SDGs at higher education institutions (HEIs). Specifically, it relies on two main methods. The first is a bibliometric analysis, where the literature on the topic has been analyzed. The second method uses case studies from a sample of universities. The combined dual approach has identified the extent to which governance issues influence how these organizations perceive and handle the SDGs. The study provides valuable recommendations that may assist HEIs in implementing the SDGs with a due emphasis on governance.peer-reviewe