Alternative agri‐food systems under a market agencements approach: The case of multifunctional farming activity in a peri‐urban area

(1) Background: A large body of literature is available on the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of alternative food systems, but not much of it is devoted to the dynamics underlying their design and implementation, more specifically the processes that make an alternative food system successful or not in terms of its sustainability aims. This gap seems to be particularly critical in studies concerning alternative food systems in urban and peri‐urban agriculture (UPA). This paper explores how the design and implementation of multifunctional farming activity in a peri‐urban area surrounding the city of Reggio Emilia in the Emilia‐Romagna region of Italy impact the achievement of its sustainability aims. (2) Methods: The environmental, social, and economic components of this project are explored in light of the sociology of market agencements. This method brings up the motivations of the human entities involved in the project, the role played by nonhuman entities, and the technical devices used for the fulfillment of the project’s aims. (3) Results: The alternative food system under study lacked a robust design phase and a shared definition of the project aims among all the stakeholders involved. This ended in a substantial mismatch between project aims and consumer expectations. (4) Conclusions: When a comprehensive design stage is neglected, the threefold aim concerning sustainability might not be achievable. In particular, the design of alternative food systems must take into account the social environment where it is intended to be put in place, especially in UPA, where consumers often live in suburban neighborhoods wherein the sense of community is not strong, thus preventing them from getting involved in a community‐based project. In such cases, hybridization can play a role in the sustainability of alternative food networks, provided that some trade‐offs occur among the different components of sustainability—some components of sustainability will be fully achieved, while others will not

Efeito da temperatura e do fotoperíodo na duração e na taxa de crescimento de grãos de soja.

bitstream/CNPT-2010/40308/1/p-bp35.pd

Soil carbon fractions in rubber trees, pasture, and secondary forest areas.

This study quantify the total organic carbon content, light fraction organic matter (LFOM), and soil organic matter fractions (from chemical and physical fractionations) in four different cultivation areas: 1 and 2) rubber tree clonal plantations (FX 3864 and IAN 873); 3) a pasture; and 4) a secondary forest. The research was carried out using soil samples from clonal plantations of eight-year-old rubber trees, located in the coastal plain (Tabuleiros Costeiros) of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The difference in the management of the rubber tree clone area promoted improvements in the soil quality, as it increased the carbon contents of the granulometric fractions, LFOM, and humic substances from the IAN 873 clone area. Both rubber tree areas evaluated presented higher mineral-associated organic carbon levels and humic substances than did the pasture area, reinforcing the reforestation potential of areas with degraded pastures through hevea culture

Impact on Prehospital Delay of a Stroke Preparedness Campaign: A SW-RCT (Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial)

Background and Purpose—Public campaigns to increase stroke preparedness have been tested in different contexts, showing contradictory results. We evaluated the effectiveness of a stroke campaign, designed specifically for the Italian population in reducing prehospital delay. Methods—According to an SW-RCT (Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial) design, the campaign was launched in 4 provinces in the northern part of the region Emilia Romagna at 3-month intervals in randomized sequence. The units of analysis were the patients admitted to hospital, with stroke and transient ischemic attack, over a time period of 15 months, beginning 3 months before the intervention was launched in the first province to allow for baseline data collection. The proportion of early arrivals (within 2 hours of symptom onset) was the primary outcome. Thrombolysis rate and some behavioral end points were the secondary outcomes. Data were analyzed using a fixed-effect model, adjusting for cluster and time trends. Results—We enrolled 1622 patients, 912 exposed and 710 nonexposed to the campaign. The proportion of early access was nonsignificantly lower in exposed patients (354 [38.8%] versus 315 [44.4%]; adjusted odds ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.60–1.08; P=0.15). As for secondary end points, an increase was found for stroke recognition, which approximated but did not reach statistical significance (P=0.07). Conclusions—Our campaign was not effective in reducing prehospital delay. Even if some limitations of the intervention, mainly in terms of duration, are taken into account, our study demonstrates that new communication strategies should be tested before large-scale implementation. Clinical Trial Registration—URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01881152

Carbon and nitrogen stocks and humic fractions in Brazilian organosols.

Despite limited geographic expression of Organosols in Brazil, their high carbon storage capacity and natural environmental vulnerability justifies further studies on C and N stocks in these soils and their relationship to the nature of organic matter. Evaluation of physical and chemical properties of organic soils and their ability to store C is important so as to develop sustainable management practices for their preservation. The objectives of the study were to measure the total organic carbon stock (OCst), total nitrogen stock (Nst), and humic fractions in Organosols from different environments and regions of Brazil, and to correlate the data with soil chemical (pH, P, K, Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+, H+Al, CEC, V) and physical properties (soil bulk density, Bd; organic matter density, OMd; total pore space, TPS; minimum residue, MinR; and proportion of mineral matter, MM), and degree of organic matter decomposition (rubbed fiber content; pyrophosphate index, PyI; and von Post index). For that purpose, 18 Organosol profiles, in a total of 49 horizons, were sampled under different land usage and plant coverage conditions. The profiles were located in the following Brazilian states - Alagoas, Bahia, Distrito Federal, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo. The OCst and Nst varied significantly among horizons and profiles. The Organosols exhibited, on average, 203.59 Mg ha-1 OCst and 8.30 Mg ha-1 Nst, and the highest values were found in profiles with pasture usage. The content of the humic fraction (humin, HUM; fulvic acid, FAF; and humic acid, HAF) and C storage varied in the soil horizons and profiles according to the degree of decomposition and other factors of soil formation. The OCst, Nst, OMd and the C stocks in the humic fractions were positively correlated. The values of acidity were lower in the soils with higher contents of mineral material, and low pH values were related to a high C/N ratio. The OCst and Nst were correlated with different soil properties, the most important being the degree of soil organic matter decomposition, which was inversely correlated

Groundwater is a hidden global keystone ecosystem

Groundwater is a vital ecosystem of the global water cycle, hosting unique biodiversity and providing essential services to societies. Despite being the largest unfrozen freshwater resource, in a period of depletion by extraction and pollution, groundwater environments have been repeatedly overlooked in global biodiversity conservation agendas. Disregarding the importance of groundwater as an ecosystem ignores its critical role in preserving surface biomes. To foster timely global conservation of groundwater, we propose elevating the concept of keystone species into the realm of ecosystems, claiming groundwater as a keystone ecosystem that influences the integrity of many dependent ecosystems. Our global analysis shows that over half of land surface areas (52.6%) has a medium‐to‐high interaction with groundwater, reaching up to 74.9% when deserts and high mountains are excluded. We postulate that the intrinsic transboundary features of groundwater are critical for shifting perspectives towards more holistic approaches in aquatic ecology and beyond. Furthermore, we propose eight key themes to develop a science‐policy integrated groundwater conservation agenda. Given ecosystems above and below the ground intersect at many levels, considering groundwater as an essential component of planetary health is pivotal to reduce biodiversity loss and buffer against climate change