The Influence of Plant Diversity on Soil Physical Properties in Grasslands.

The scale of biodiversity loss facing our planet has prompted many scientists to explore the potential consequences for ecosystems, and the goods and services that they provide. A favoured approach for investigating such impacts of species loss is to experimentally address the result of a reduction in species numbers on multiple ecosystem functions. Such studies of biodiversity-ecosystem function (BEF) relationships have generated a wealth of knowledge on the consequences of diversity loss for a range of ecosystem processes, such as primary productivity, nutrient cycling and the stability of communities under environmental change. However, virtually nothing is known about the response of soil physical properties to plant biodiversity change, which represents a serious gap in our knowledge given the key role soil physical structure has in providing an essential medium for plant growth; microbial activity; carbon storage; nutrient cycling; water retention; and gas flow. The potential negative effects of species loss on the degradation of soil physical properties could have adverse consequences for a host of ecosystem functions, and thus conservation of both biodiversity and soil physical integrity has potential to work hand in hand to regulate services essential to our survival. The overarching goal of this thesis is to address this gap in our understanding, by investigating the impact of shifts in plant biodiversity on a range of soil physical properties. Grassland plant communities influence soil erosion factors through their rooting properties. Plant roots can act to stabilise the soil, create hydrological pathways and release organic exudates to benefit soil aggregation. Different grassland species exhibit contrasting root traits. For example, some species produce vast expanses of fine roots, enmeshing the soil and supporting binding mechanisms, whilst other species invest in fewer, yet thicker, roots, which create anchorage and aid water flow. Grassland communities that encapsulate a large variety of plant species will exhibit a wider array of root traits, and therefore have potential for multiple beneficial effects on soil stability. Here, a pot experiment, experimental plot sampling, and a field survey, were employed, alongside an extensive review, to investigate the influence of plant diversity, and grassland community dynamics, on soil physical properties. Plant species richness was found to have strong effects over soil aggregate stability. Plant functional group and species identity also impacted on soil strength and hydraulic regimes, often with legumes and grasses displaying contrasting behaviour. The impact of changes in rooting structure, and their associated inputs to the soil, was significant in all of these relationships. This represents the first time such a relationship have been revealed at a range of scales, and provide valuable insight into a new direction for biodiversity-ecosystem function studies

Economic Impact of Soil Salinization and the Potential for Saline Agriculture

Salinization is a significant constraint to agricultural production globally. Furthermore, projected changes associated with climate change are likely to exacerbate the risks associated with salinization which has implications for global food security. Despite the significance of soil salinization, there is sparse information on its impact to agriculture (and economies) in Europe and globally. This is partly because of the unavailability of reliable data on the extent and severity of salinization which limits biophysical modelling of impacts of salinization as a pre-requisite to any assessment of the concomitant economic impacts. This chapter provides a framework for economic risk assessment in regions where salinity poses a significant threat to agricultural production and to local or national economies, drawing on case studies from the North Sea Region of Europe. The analysis shows that there is a significant economic impact of salinization, with wide variation in the magnitude within and between North Sea Region countries. Further, we find that the magnitude of the impact of salinization critically depends on the type of salinization process, the degree and severity of salinity, the types (and value) of crops grown, farm level decisions such as the use of salt tolerant crops and other adaptation mechanisms as well as external shocks such as sea level rise due to climate change. The results of the study should provide a baseline for determining the economic costs of salinization and should inform the assessment of adaptation measures and the potential for saline agriculture

Use of electrical resistivity tomography to reveal the shallow freshwater–saline interface in The Fens coastal groundwater, eastern England (UK)

The Fens is a region that contributes 11% of the agri-food economy from just 4% of the agricultural land covering England (UK). This region is vulnerable to soil salinisation from sea-level rise with estimated 100-year flood events projected to be observed up to every 2 years by 2100. Seawater intrusion and upwelling of saline groundwater can provide an additional pathway; however, the area’s groundwater has not been assessed and the risk is unknown. This study used data from the British Geological Survey’s stratigraphic core archive to produce the first stratigraphic map of the loosely consolidated Holocene deposits in the South Holland–Holbeach Marsh region. There is a sandy unconfined aquifer towards the coast, a semiconfined central region with a silty cap and a clay confining cap in the north region. Electrical resistivity tomography data indicate water level depths of 0.58 ± 0.37 m above mean sea level (msl) in February 2021 and 0.01 ± 0.72 m msl in August 2021. The saline–freshwater boundary was at 1.70 ± 0.82 m msl in February 2021, deepening to 2.00 ± 1.02 m msl in August 2021, but the only evidence of seasonal fluctuation was within 10 km of the coast. A potential, but unverified, freshwater lens up to 3.25 m thick may exist beneath the surface. These results suggest that freshwater–saline interface fluctuations may primarily be driven by surface hydrology and would be vulnerable to climate-change-induced future variations in factors that affect surface water

Soil Compaction Mapping Through Robot Exploration: A Study into Kriging Parameters

Soil condition mapping is a manual, laborious and costly process which requires soil measurements to be taken at fixed, pre-defined locations, limiting the quality of the resulting information maps. For these reasons, we propose the use of an outdoor mobile robot equipped with an actuated soil probe for automatic mapping of soil condition, allowing for both, more efficient data collection and better soil models. The robot is building soil models on-line using standard geo-statistical methods such as kriging, and is using the quality of the model to drive the exploration. In this work, we take a closer look at the kriging process itself and how its parameters affect the exploration outcome. For this purpose, we employ soil compaction datasets collected from two real fields of varying characteristics and analyse how the parameters vary between fields and how they change during the exploration process. We particularly focus on the stability of the kriging parameters, their evolution over the exploration process and influence on the resulting soil maps

3D Soil Compaction Mapping through Kriging-based Exploration with a Mobile Robot

This paper presents an automated method for creating spatial maps of soil condition with an outdoor mobile robot. Effective soil mapping on farms can enhance yields, reduce inputs and help protect the environment. Traditionally, data are collected manually at an arbitrary set of locations, then soil maps are constructed offline using kriging, a form of Gaussian process regression. This process is laborious and costly, limiting the quality and resolution of the resulting information. Instead, we propose to use an outdoor mobile robot for automatic collection of soil condition data, building soil maps online and also adapting the robot's exploration strategy on-the-fly based on the current quality of the map. We show how using kriging variance as a reward function for robotic exploration allows for both more efficient data collection and better soil models. This work presents the theoretical foundations for our proposal and an experimental comparison of exploration strategies using soil compaction data from a field generated with a mobile robot

The impact of coastal flooding on agriculture: a case study of Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

Under future climate predictions the incidence of coastal flooding is set to rise. Many coastal regions at risk, such as those surrounding the North Sea, comprise large areas of low-lying and productive agricultural land. Flood risk assessments typically emphasise the economic consequences of coastal flooding on urban areas and national infrastructure. Impacts on agricultural land have seen less attention, and considerations tend to omit the long term effects of soil salinity. The aim of this study is to develop a universal framework to evaluate the economic impact of coastal flooding to agriculture. We incorporated existing flood models, satellite acquired crop data, soil salinity and crop sensitivity to give a novel and detailed assessment of salt damage to agricultural productivity over time. We focussed our case study on low-lying, highly productive agricultural land with a history of flooding in Lincolnshire, UK. The potential impact of agricultural flood damage varied across our study region.Assuming typical cropping does not change post-flood, financial losses range from £1,366/ha to £5,526/ha per inundation; these losses would be reduced by between 35% up to 85% in the likely event that an alternative, more salt-tolerant, cropping, regime is implemented post-flood. These losses are substantially higher than loses calculated on the same areas using established flood risk assessment framework conventionally used for freshwater flood assessments, with differences attributed to our longer term salt damage projections impacting over several years. This suggests flood protection policy needs to consider local and long terms impacts of flooding on agricultural land

Meta-analysis of global soil data identifies robust indicators for short-term changes in soil organic carbon stock following land use change

The restoration of degraded lands and minimizing the degradation of productive lands are at the forefront of many environmental land management schemes around the world. A key indicator of soil productivity is soil organic carbon (SOC), which influences the provision of most soil ecosystem services. A major challenge in direct measurement of changes in SOC stock is that it is difficult to detect within a short timeframe relevant to land managers. In this study, we sought to identify suitable early indicators of changes in SOC stock and their drivers. A meta-analytical approach was used to synthesize global data on the impacts of arable land conversion to other uses on total SOC stock, 12 different SOC fractions and three soil structural properties. The conversion of arable lands to forests and grasslands accounted for 91% of the available land use change datasets used for the meta-analysis and were mostly from Asia and Europe. Land use change from arable lands led to 50% (32-68%) mean increase in both labile (microbial biomass C and particulate organic C – POC) and passive (microaggregate, 53-250 µm diameter; and small macroaggregate, 250-2000 µm diameter) SOC fractions as well as soil structural stability. There was also 37% (24-50%) mean increase in total SOC stock in the experimental fields where the various SOC fractions were measured. Only the POC and the organic carbon stored in small macroaggregates had strong correlation with total SOC: our findings reveal these two SOC fractions were predominantly controlled by biomass input to the soil rather than climatic factors and are thus suitable candidate indicators of short-term changes in total SOC stock. Further field studies are recommended to validate the predictive power of the equations we developed in this study and the use of the SOC metrics under different land use change scenarios

Robotics and autonomous systems for net-zero agriculture

Purpose of ReviewThe paper discusses how robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) are being deployed to decarbonise agricultural production. The climate emergency cannot be ameliorated without dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emis-sions across the agri-food sector. This review outlines the transformational role for robotics in the agri-food system and considers where research and focus might be prioritised.Recent FindingsAgri-robotic systems provide multiple emerging opportunities that facilitate the transition towards net zero agriculture. Five focus themes were identified where robotics could impact sustainable food production systems to (1) increase nitrogen use efficiency, (2) accelerate plant breeding, (3) deliver regenerative agriculture, (4) electrify robotic vehicles, (5) reduce food waste.SummaryRAS technologies create opportunities to (i) optimise the use of inputs such as fertiliser, seeds, and fuel/energy; (ii) reduce the environmental impact on soil and other natural resources; (iii) improve the efficiency and precision of agri-cultural processes and equipment; (iv) enhance farmers’ decisions to improve crop care and reduce farm waste. Further and scaled research and technology development are needed to exploit these opportunities

Air and surface sampling for monkeypox virus in a UK hospital: an observational study

Background An outbreak of monkeypox virus infections in non-endemic countries was recognised on May 12, 2022. As of September 29, more than 67 000 infections have been reported globally, with more than 3400 confirmed cases in the UK by September 26. Monkeypox virus is believed to be predominantly transmitted through direct contact with lesions or infected body fluids, with possible involvement of fomites and large respiratory droplets. A case of monkeypox in a health-care worker in the UK in 2018 was suspected to be due to virus exposure while changing bedding. We aimed to measure the extent of environmental contamination in the isolation rooms of patients with symptomatic monkeypox. Methods We investigated environmental contamination with monkeypox virus from infected patients admitted to isolation rooms at the Royal Free Hospital (London, UK) between May 24 and June 17, 2022. Surface swabs of high-touch areas in five isolation rooms, of the personal protective equipment (PPE) of health-care workers in doffing areas in three rooms, and from air samples collected before and during bedding changes in five rooms were analysed using quantitative PCR to assess monkeypox virus contamination levels. Virus isolation was performed to confirm presence of infectious virus in selected positive samples. Findings We identified widespread surface contamination (56 [93%] of 60 samples were positive) in occupied patient rooms (monkeypox DNA cycle threshold [Ct] values 24·7–37·4), on health-care worker PPE after use (Ct 26·1–35·6), and in PPE doffing areas (Ct 26·3–36·8). Of 20 air samples taken, five (25%) were positive. Three (75%) of four air samples collected before and during a bedding change in one patient's room were positive (Ct 32·7–36·2). Replication-competent virus was identified in two (50%) of four samples selected for viral isolation, including from air samples collected during bedding change. Interpretation These data show contamination in isolation facilities and potential for suspension of monkeypox virus into the air during specific activities. PPE contamination was observed after clinical contact and changing of bedding. Contamination of hard surfaces in doffing areas supports the importance of cleaning protocols, PPE use, and doffing procedures. Fundin