Visual assessment of the impact of agricultural management practices on soil quality

The intensification of agricultural practices to increase food and feed outputs is apressing challenge causing deterioration of soil quality and soil functions. Such achallenge demands provision of empirical evidence to provide context-sensitive guid-ance on agricultural management practices (AMPs) that may enhance soil quality.The objectives of this study are to identify the most promising AMPs (and their com-binations) applied by farmers with the most positive effects on soil quality and toevaluate the sensitivity of the soil quality indicators to the applied AMPs. The effectof selected AMPs on soil quality was assessed using a visual soil assessment tool ina total of 138 pairs of plots spread across 14 study site areas in Europe and Chinacovering representative pedo-climatic zones. The inventory and scoring of soil qual-ity were conducted together with landowners. Results show that 104 pairs show apositive effect of AMPs on soil quality. Higher effects of the AMPs were observedin lower fertile soils (i.e., Podzols and Calcisols) as opposed to higher fertile soils(i.e., Luvisols and Fluvisols). For the single use applications, the AMPs with positiveeffects were crop rotation; manuring, composting, and no-tillage; followed by organicagriculture and residue maintenance. Cluster analysis showed that the most promis-ing combinations of AMPs with the most positive effects on soil quality are composedof crop rotation, mulching, and min-till. The agreement between scientific skills andempirical knowledge in the field identified by the farmers confirm our findings andensures their applicability

Assessment of promising agricultural management practices

iSQAPER project - Interactive Soil Quality Assessment in Europe and China for Agricultural Productivity and Environmental Resilience - aims to develop an app to advise farmers on selecting the best AgricultureManagement Practice (AMPs) to improve soil quality. For this purpose, a soil quality index has to be developed to account for the changes in soil quality as impacted by the implementation of the AMPs. Some promising AMPs have been suggested over the time to prevent soil degradation. These practices have been randomly adopted by farmers but which practices are most used by farmers and where they are mostly adopted remains unclear. This study is part of the iSQAPER project with the specific aims: 1) map the current distribution of previously selected 18 promising AMPs in several pedo-climatic regions and farming systems located in ten and four study site areas (SSA) along Europe and China, respectively; and 2) identify the soil threats occurring in those areas. In each SSA, farmers using promising AMP'swere identified and questionnaires were used to assess farmer's perception on soil threats significance in the area. 138 plots/farms using 18 promising AMPs, were identified in Europe (112) and China (26).Results show that promising AMPs used in Europe are Crop rotation (15%), Manuring & Composting (15%) and Min-till (14%), whereas in China areManuring & Composting (18%), Residuemaintenance (18%) and Integrated pest and disease management (12%). In Europe, soil erosion is the main threat in agricultural Mediterranean areas while soilborne pests and diseases is more frequent in the SSAs from France and The Netherlands. In China, soil erosion, SOM decline, compaction and poor soil structure are among the most significant. This work provides important information for policy makers and the development of strategies to support and promote agricultural management practices with benefits for soil quality.L. Barão and C. Ferreira were supported by the grants SFRH/BPD/115681/2016 and SFRH/BPD/120093/2016, respectively, from the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e TecnologiaiSQAPER is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme for research & innovation under grant agreement no 635750the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (grant nr:2016YFE011270)the Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant nr:16146KYSB20150001)and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation. Contract: 15.0170-1

Relationship of Weather Types on the Seasonal and Spatial Variability of Rainfall, Runoff, and Sediment Yield in the Western Mediterranean Basin

Rainfall is the key factor to understand soil erosion processes, mechanisms, and rates. Most research was conducted to determine rainfall characteristics and their relationship with soil erosion (erosivity) but there is little information about how atmospheric patterns control soil losses, and this is important to enable sustainable environmental planning and risk prevention. We investigated the temporal and spatial variability of the relationships of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield with atmospheric patterns (weather types, WTs) in the western Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, we analyzed a large database of rainfall events collected between 1985 and 2015 in 46 experimental plots and catchments with the aim to: (i) evaluate seasonal differences in the contribution of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield produced by the WTs; and (ii) to analyze the seasonal efficiency of the different WTs (relation frequency and magnitude) related to rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield. The results indicate two different temporal patterns: the first weather type exhibits (during the cold period: autumn and winter) westerly flows that produce the highest rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield values throughout the territory; the second weather type exhibits easterly flows that predominate during the warm period (spring and summer) and it is located on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. However, the cyclonic situations present high frequency throughout the whole year with a large influence extended around the western Mediterranean basin. Contrary, the anticyclonic situations, despite of its high frequency, do not contribute significantly to the total rainfall, runoff, and sediment (showing the lowest efficiency) because of atmospheric stability that currently characterize this atmospheric pattern. Our approach helps to better understand the relationship of WTs on the seasonal and spatial variability of rainfall, runoff and sediment yield with a regional scale based on the large dataset and number of soil erosion experimental stations

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Model-based spatio-temporal analysis of land desertification risk in Greece

Land desertification is recognized as a major threat to soil resources in arid, semi-arid Mediterranean areas. The use of widely applicable methodologies can facilitate the identification of land desertification risk spatio-temporal trends, which allows transnational comparison and support the development of soil management practices and policies, protecting the valuable soil resources. The aim of this study is to improve and use the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) MEDALUS methodology, in order to provide a qualitative assessment for desertification risk trends in Greece, within the last 45 years. The Management, Vegetation, Soil and Climate quality indices (MQI, VQI, SQI, CQI) and the sub-sequent Environmental Sensitive Areas Index (ESAI) have been modeled for three periods in the entire Greek territory. The four quality indices are divided in two main categories, based on data availability and inherent characteristics, such as the pace of change during the studied period. Particular emphasis is given to the assessment of MQI, by integrating criteria which derived from national policies and the elaboration of national statistical data. The results show about 9% increase of the areas characterized as Critical to land desertification risk, while Fragile, Potentially affected and Non-affected areas decrease by 3.7%, 3.6%, 2.5% respectively. The applied approach for MQI can reveal areas where particular attention to management practices is required and improves the performance of the overall desertification risk index.JRC.D.3-Land Resource

The Effect of Land Management Practices on Soil Quality Indicators in Crete

The effects of four main practices tillage versus no-tillage, and intensive grazing versus extensive grazing, applied in characteristic agricultural and grazing lands of Crete Island were evaluated in situ using nine soil quality indicators. The following nine representative indicators of soil quality were evaluated using the rapid visual assessment methodology adopted at European level in the context of the EU research project iSQAPER: susceptibility to water and wind erosion, surface ponding (under cropping), formation of tillage pan, soil color, soil porosity, soil structure, susceptibility to slaking, infiltration rate, and biodiversity status. These indicators were measured in 48 agricultural field-plots to adequately represent the four above-mentioned practices and the different types of geomorphological patterns existing in the area. Additionally, 38 agricultural fields were sampled in the topsoil to assess cultivation practices (tillage, no-tillage) on soil organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable potassium, available phosphorous, and soil aggregate stability. Based on the indicators rating methodology, the appropriate statistical tests were applied and the soils under different managements were characterized in terms of their potential quality and their general agricultural value. The obtained data showed that in agricultural areas, significant differences were detected between tillage and no-tillage management practices for the indicators of soil structure and consistency and infiltration rate. In grazing land, significant differences were found for the soil quality indicators of susceptibility to erosion and infiltration rate for the corresponding practices of intensive and extensive grazing. Organic carbon content, exchangeable potassium content and aggregate stability were greatly affected in tillage versus no-tillage management practices

Magnesium loss in magnesium deficient subjects with and without physical exercise during prolonged hypokinesia

Objective: To show the effect of hypokinesia (HK; diminished movement) on magnesium (Mg2+) loss in Mg2+ deficient subjects and the effect of physical exercise and on Mg2+ deficiency with and without physical exercise: Mg2+ balance, serum Mg2+ concentration and Mg2+ loss were measured. Methods: Studies were conducted on 30 healthy male volunteers during a pre-experimental period of 30 days and an experimental period of 364 days. They were divided equally into three-groups: unrestricted active control subjects (UACS), continuous hypokinetic subjects (CHKS) and periodic hypokinetic subjects (PHKS). The UACS group ran average distances of 9.3 ± 1.2 km.day-l; the CHKS group walked average distances of 0.9 ± 0.2 km.day-l; and the PHKS group walked and ran average distances of 0.9 ± 0.2 km and 9.3 ± 1.2 km.day-l for 5-and 2-days per week, respectively. Results: Mg2+ deficiency, serum Mg2+ level, fecal and urine Mg2+ loss increased (P < 0.05), in the PHKS and CHKS groups compared with their pre-experimental values and the values in the UACS group. However, serum Mg2+ concentration, urine and fecal Mg2+ loss and Mg2+ deficiency increased more (P < 0.05) in the PHKS group than in the CHKS group. Conclusions: Mg2+ deficiency is more evident with than without physical exercise and Mg2+ loss is exacerbated more with higher than lower Mg2+ deficiency. This indicates that Mg2+ deficiency with and without physical exercise and Mg2+ loss with higher and lower Mg2+ deficiency is due to inability of the body to use Mg2+ and more so when physically healthy subjects are submitted to prolonged periodic than continuous hypokinesia

Content-Based Recommender Systems Taxonomy

In the era of internet access, recommender systems try to alleviate the difficulty consumers face while trying to find items (e.g. services, products, or information) that better match their needs. To do so, a recommender system selects and proposes (possibly unknown) items that may be of interest to some candidate consumer, by predicting her/his preference for this item. Given the diversity of needs between consumers and the enormous variety of items to be recommended, a large set of approaches have been proposed by the research community. This paper provides a review of the approaches proposed in the entire research area of content-based recommender systems, and not only in one part of it. To facilitate understanding, we provide a categorization of each approach based on the tools and techniques employed, which results to the main contribution of this paper, a content-based recommender systems taxonomy. This way, the reader acquires a quick and complete understanding of this research area. Finally, we provide a comparison of content-based recommender systems according to their ability to efficiently handle well-known drawbacks

Exploring Long-Term Impact of Grazing Management on Land Degradation in the Socio-Ecological System of Asteroussia Mountains, Greece

The socio-ecological system dominated by pastureland in the Asteroussia Mountains (Crete, Greece) was analyzed over a long time interval (1945–2010) to identify the most relevant system’s characteristics and changes. Vegetation cover and land-uses have been quantified by analyzing aerial photographs exploring the whole study period. Soil characteristics have been assessed by carrying out an extensive field survey for the last reference year (2010) and by estimating the average soil loss for the past period using the PESERA soil erosion model validated by field measurements. Based on environmental, social and economic attributes, three major periods characterizing the socio-ecological system of Asteroussia Mountains have been distinguished. During the first and second period, the land was satisfactorily managed with moderate–low soil erosion rates despite the adverse (prevailing) soil, topographic and climate conditions for vegetation growth. The third time interval featured a rapid growth in the livestock density causing increased soil erosion rates, loss in plant productivity, and a generalized over-exploitation of natural resources. As a consequence, the desertification process has significantly increased in the last period. The analysis of the long-term evolution of socio-ecological system provided evidence to understand the main drivers of land degradation and to recommend mitigation policies specifically addressing Mediterranean pastureland