Weeds and field margins: the other side of the coin

The main objective of my poster is to highlight and quantify the crucial role of herbaceous spontaneous species considered as weeds or at the field margin in providing ecosystem services. Ecosystem services potentially provided by these species have been evaluated and then calculated through the following steps: 1. Selection of ecosystem functions: which role can play these species in providing ecosystem services such as erosion control, flooding prevention, supporting pollinators or biocontrol, cultural value, etc. 2. Identification of plant functional traits which might be responsible for ecosystem services provision: plants can provide a wide range of services evaluable through their functional traits. 3. Assigning a numerical value to each functional trait: in this way it is possible to quantify the role of species in providing selected ecosystem functions (1); For instance, for plants with fibrous root architecture will be assigned a higher score then tap root plants since they play a more important role in controlling soil erosion. 4. Calculating a resulting value for each plant species (Functional Diversity Index) taking into consideration all the ecosystem functions that it might provides: more suitable functional traits will result in higher functional diversity traits of each species; 5. Creation of a model that might be applicable to different agroecosystems The resulting model is applied to a plant database which is the result of 25 years of data collection from a long term experiment (MoLTE) including two organic systems and one conventional system. Therefore, by summing up the Functional Diversity Index of each species composing the organic/conventional system, it is possible to compare the value of ecosystem functions provided by the two systems

Influence in time and space of non-crop elements with associated functional traits on biocontrol, within the Montepaldi Long-Term Experiment, Tuscany

Highly intensive practices of agriculture and an irrational usage of pesticides have resulted in environmental sources exploitation and damaging of surrounding habitats. In this scenario, the role of non-crop elements such as weeds and semi-natural habitats is crucial for enhancing natural enemy abundance and therefore supporting biocontrol effect. The aim of the research was to evaluate the correlation between presence of arthropods and plant species composing non-crop elements. Biocontrol was evaluated depending on: (1) distances from field margins, (2) management of the system and (3) period of sampling. An analysis of plant, with associated functional traits, and arthropods (4) was performed to identify which plant species likely support predators. Main findings highlighted an overall similarity between samples collected in different periods and spots. This is likely explained by the relatively small size of the experimental site with resulting strong interactions among all the systems and a strong influence of the surrounding landscape on arthropod biodiversity. However, the biocontrol effect was found to be high even in the farther spots from the margins, in every system and over the whole sampling period. In conclusion, Cirsium arvensis resulted to be the plant species associated with a higher abundance of predators

L’influenza nel tempo e nello spazio di elementi ecologici, con i relativi tratti funzionali, sul controllo biologico presso l’esperimento di lungo termine di Montepaldi, Toscana

Pratiche agronomiche intensive e un uso irrazionale di pesticidi hanno portato ad uno sfruttamento esagerato delle risorse ambientali e al danneggiamento dell’habitat circostante. In questo contesto, il ruolo di elementi ecologici quali infestanti e habitat semi-naturali risulta fondamentale per fornire supporto ai predatori naturali e quindi garantire un efficiente controllo biologico. Lo scopo di questa ricerca è quello di analizzare le relazioni tra la presenza di artropodi e le specie di piante che compongono gli elementi ecologici. Il controllo biologico (CB) è stato valutato a seconda: (1) della distanza dai margini, (2) della gestione del sistema e (3) del periodo di campionamento. Inoltre, (4) è stata effettuata un’analisi per investigare se esiste una correlazione positiva tra la presenza di determinate specie di piante, con i relativi tratti funzionali, e predatori naturali. In questo modo è stato possibile valutare quali specie di piante favoriscono maggiormente i predatori naturali. I principali risultati mostrano una complessiva somiglianza tra campioni raccolti in diversi luoghi e diversi momenti. Questo fenomeno può essere spiegato dalla dimensione relativamente ridotta del sito sperimentale, che comporta una forte interazione tra i diversi sistemi, così come dalla forte influenza del paesaggio circostante sulla biodiversità degli artropodi. Ad ogni modo, questa complessiva somiglianza indica che il CB è risultato elevato anche nei punti più lontani dai margini in ogni periodo di campionamento, risultando costante nello spazio e nel tempo

The effect of conservation tillage methods on biodiversity and weed suppression in the Montepaldi Long-Term Experiment (MoLTE).

MoLTE is part of the experimental farm of Florence University, which is located in Montepaldi, San Casciano Val di Pesa, Tuscany, Central Italy, and it covers an area of about 15 ha, in a lightly slopped area, 90 m asl. The whole MoLTE experimental site is divided in ten fields of around 1,3 ha each. The MoLTE experiment started in 1992 and is currently still ongoing. The fields are surrounded by semi-natural habitats composed by natural and artificial hedge, flower strip, spontaneous bushes and grass. The experimental site is composed by differently managed systems, designed with the purpose of comparing organic and conventional management. The organic systems operate on a 4-year rotation including Maize/Sunflower – Legume -Wheat/Barley – Legume, while for the conventional one a two-year crop rotation is used in which Maize/ Sunflower follows Wheat/ Barley. The European project FertilCrop, started in 2015, will last for three years. The overall aim of FertilCrop is to develop efficient and sustainable management techniques aimed at increasing crop productivity in organic farming systems. To achieve this, one of the aims of the project is to investigate the mutual interactions of crop plants with weeds and co-cultivated plants. Our experimental design consists in studies different type of primary soil tillage operations to test this mutual interaction in two different crops: barley and sunflower. The study is based on how this tillage can affect the biodiversity quality of the agro-ecosystem in different managed systems, organic and conventional, and to investigate the response of the crop in terms of yield. The species sampling was doing within the field and the semi natural habitat. This communities are sampled using two different methods. Within the field the Raunkiær method are used and the density of the species (number of individuals expressed per unit of area) and biomass per species are assessed. Within the semi natural habitat the transect method are used, with which the presence/absence of the species are evaluated. Using numerical indexes, the biodiversity quality of the agro-ecosystem are evaluated. Furthermore additional information about primary tillage operation and the interaction with weeds could be assessed

Impact of organic and conventional management and tillage operations on soil quality and productivity in the Montepaldi Long-Term Experiment (MoLTE)

The goal of the research was to assess the impact of different management (organic and conventional) and tillage (plowing, chisel plowing, disk harrowing) on soil quality, and to investigate the response of two crops, barley and sunflower respectively, in terms of yield. The indicators used for the soil quality evaluation were: earthworm's abundance, root's density, soil compaction score obtained with spade test, bulk density, soil penetration resistance and chemical analysis. Data were collected from November 2015 to September 2017, then statistical analysis, based on ANOVA test, was performed. Main results show that conventional system is more productive than organic and there is not significant difference between plowing and reduced tillage operations regarding yield; earthworms are more abundant under reduced tillage; root's density is about 20% higher in organic soils but phosphorous decreased by about 40% in 25 years

Controversial topics in agroecology: A European perspective

Seven potential controversial topics in agroecology are presented and discussed from a European perspective comparing the position of Agroecology Europe (AEEU) obtained from an iterative, participatory approach with members and compared with published literature, including views from other parts of the world. The seven controversial topics as follows: i) use of agrochemicals; ii) small-scale and peasant farming versus larger farms; iii) technological innovations in agriculture and precision farming; iv) biotechnology and genetic engineering in agriculture; v) local and short food circuits; vi) social justice; vii) gender perspective. The analysis shows that there are diverse points of view related to geographical area and sociopolitical contexts. However, there are several convergences in the ambition to redesign farming and food systems, as a lever acting on several topics, and in considering agroecology with a holistic, participatory, multiactor approach for the needed transition

Participatory Evaluation of Rice Varieties for Specific Adaptation to Organic Conditions in Italy

Rice is the fourth most important crop in Italy with a growing area under organic management. We conducted a participatory evaluation of 21 rice cultivars (10 old, 10 modern and a mixture) in four organic/biodynamic farms, for two cropping seasons, to assess the extent of varieties × farms and varieties × years within farm interactions and farmers’ preferences. There were significant differences between farms and varieties, as well as large interactions between varieties and farms, particularly in the case of plant height and reactions to Fusarium fujikuroi Nirenberg (bakanae) and Magnaporthe oryzae B Cooke (leaf and neck blast), but also for grain yield. There were also large interactions between varieties and years, which resulted in considerable differences in stability among varieties with one of the old, one modern and the mixture combining high grain yield and stability. Farmers, regardless of gender, were able to visually identify the highest yielding varieties in a consistent way across years, and although accustomed to seeing uniform varieties, they scored the mixture higher than the mean. The results are discussed in the context of a decentralized-participatory breeding program, to serve the target population of heterogenous environments represented by organic and biodynamic farms