Wild herbaceous vegetation in agroforestry systems: an asset that should not be overlooked

Thanks to agroforestry, trees and hedgerows are back in numbers in agricultural landscapes, where they provide many services. Agroforestry also gives pride of place to wild herbaceous vegetation, often perceived as a constraint or neglected by humans. Omnipresent when the soil is not tilled, herbaceous vegetation grows spontaneously at the foot of trees. From alley-cropping agroforestry to bocage landscapes, these 'little' plants are proving to be a major asset for the agroecological transition. Through the presentation of key results, this article explains how to take advantage of the wild herbaceous vegetation in agroforestry systems, in order to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable agricultural productio

Identification of agroforestry systems and practices to model

This report is an output from work-package 6 which contributes to the third objective. Work-package 6 focuses on the field- and farm-scale evaluation of innovation research that have arisen from about 40 agroforestry stakeholder groups created across Europe. Some research, for example tree protection options, are best determined by technical evaluations in the field. However some research questions require a modelling approach to predict, for example, the financial and economic impact of a new practice over a number of years. This report seeks to identify those agroforestry systems and practices which could be usefully assessed using biophysical agroforestry models such as Yield-SAFE (van der Werf et al., 2007) and Hi-sAFe (Talbot, 2011), or bio-economic models such as Farm-SAFE (Graves et al., 2011)

FOCUS PROJET #1: NutriNet-Santé

National audienceFOCUS PROJET #1 NutriNet-Santé: une étude de cohorte lancée en 2009 pour étudier les relations nutrition-santé et dont dérive un très grand nombre de projets aux objectifs plus spécifiques

FOCUS PROJET #4: EcoVitiSol

National audienceFOCUS PROJET #4: EcoVitiSol. Étudier l’effet des modes de production sur la qualité microbiologique des sols viticoles (2019-2021). Notre objectif dans le projet n’est pas de cliver le monde viticole, mais d’apporter des résultats scientifiques objectifs sur l’impact de ces modes de production sur le sol, tout en impliquant les viticulteurs

La végétation herbacée sauvage des systèmes agroforestiers : un atout qu’il ne faut pas négliger

International audienceThanks to agroforestry, trees and hedgerows are back in numbers in agricultural landscapes, where they provide many services. Agroforestry also gives pride of place to wild herbaceous vegetation, often perceived as a constraint or neglected by humans. Omnipresent when the soil is not tilled, herbaceous vegetation grows spontaneously at the foot of trees. From alley-cropping agroforestry to bocage landscapes, these 'little' plants are proving to be a major asset for the agroecological transition. Through the presentation of key results, this article explains how to take advantage of the wild herbaceous vegetation in agroforestry systems, in order to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable agricultural productionOmniprésente dès lors que le sol n’est pas travaillé, la végétation herbacée pousse spontanément au pied des ligneux. Des paysages bocagers à l’agroforesterie intra-parcellaire, ces « petites » plantes s’avèrent être un atout de taille pour la transition agroécologique. À travers la présentation de résultats marquants, cet article explique comment profiter de la végétation herbacée sauvage des systèmes agroforestiers, en vue de conserver la biodiversité et de favoriser une production agricole durable

La végétation herbacée sauvage des systèmes agroforestiers : un atout qu'il ne faut pas négliger

International audienceCet article est publié sous la licence Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0). La citation comme l'utilisation de tout ou partie du contenu de cet article doit obligatoirement mentionner les auteurs, l'année de publication, le titre, le nom de la revue, le volume, les pages et le DOI

Is tryptophan catabolism increased under indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase activity during chronic lung inflammation in pigs?

In a preliminary study we observed that piglets suffering from chronic lung inflammation induced by an intravenous injection of complete Freund adjuvant showed a marked decrease in plasma tryptophan (Trp) concentration suggesting increased Trp utilisation. During the inflammatory process, a cytokine-induced enzyme called indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) has been shown to catabolise Trp into kynurenine (Kyn). Yet, during inflammation, increased Trp catabolism may decrease Trp availability for other functions such as growth. This metabolic pathway has never been studied in pigs. So, the objectives of this study were to measure IDO activity in pigs and to determine if the decrease in plasma Trp concentrations previously observed in piglets suffering from chronic lung inflammation could be explained by the induction of IDO activity. In order to do so, we compared IDO activity measured in the tracheo-bronchial lymph nodes and in the lungs of 7 piglets, injected with complete Freund adjuvant (CFA), to 7 pair-fed littermate healthy controls. Blood samples were taken at 0, 2, 5, 7 and 10 days following CFA injection in order to measure plasma Trp, Kyn and haptoglobin concentrations. Indoleamine 2,3-dioygenase activity in the tracheo-bronchial lymph nodes (P < 0.05), in the lungs (P < 0.07) and plasma haptoglobin (P < 0.01) were higher in pigs with lung inflammation than in the controls. Plasma Trp and Kyn were not significantly affected by CFA injection. Our data showed that IDO is activated under chronic lung inflammation in pigs. The impact of IDO activation on plasma Trp concentration and its availability is discussed according to the amount of Trp provided by the diet

Distribution of overwintering invertebrates in temperate agroforestry systems: Implications for biodiversity conservation and biological control of crop pests

The dramatic decline of invertebrates at a global scale is mainly driven by habitat loss, agricultural intensification and urbanization. Alley cropping agroforestry is a land use practice in which arable crops are grown between tree rows. In such systems, understory vegetation strips (UVS) develop in the tree rows, providing habitats undisturbed by soil tillage. We investigated whether UVS are major overwintering habitats for invertebrates. We focused on carabid communities, which are dominant beneficial invertebrates in crop fields, but suffer from agricultural intensification. We described carabid communities with functional traits related to sensitivity to agricultural disturbances and ecological functions (i.e. pest control). Sampling of invertebrates were carried out from February to June 2018 over seven agroforestry fields in Restinclieres Estate (South France), one of the oldest experimental sites in Europe. The study revealed that 55% of invertebrate taxonomic groups were more abundant in UVS, whereas only 14% were more abundant in crop alleys. Crop pests were overwintering mainly in crop alleys while beneficial invertebrates were more dependent on UVS. Finally, UVS hosted carabids sensitive to agricultural disturbances, characterized by large body length, predominantly granivorous diet and overwintering in adult stage. On the other hand, crop alleys were home to smaller carnivorous species overwintering in both larval and adult stages, which can tolerate high levels of disturbance. Environmental and agricultural policies should consider agroforestry systems, especially understory vegetation strips, as valuable habitats for biodiversity conservation and biological control in agricultural landscapes

Research on agroforestry systems and biodiversity conservation: what can we conclude so far and what should we improve?

International audienceThrough a meta-analysis, Mupepele et al. (BMC Ecol Evol 21:1–193, 2021) assessed the effects of European agroforestry systems on biodiversity, estimated by species richness or species diversity. They showed that the effects of silvoarable and silvopastoral systems depend on the systems they are compared to and the taxa studied. Further, they found that only silvoarable systems increased species richness or diversity, compared to cropland. The authors conclude that agroforestry systems have weak effects on biodiversity and that landscape context or land-use history are probably more important than the practice of agroforestry in itself. However, we draw attention to important shortcomings in this meta-analysis, which downplay the potential of agroforestry for biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes. We hope that the meta-analysis by Mupepele et al. (BMC Ecol Evol 21:1–193, 2021), and our comments, will contribute to improving the quality of research on agroforestry systems and biodiversity conservation