"Nōgyō hisonyashinaigusa" by Yoshitake Tokuyama, 1826 - Reprinting by Original Text

Rapid changes in land use, food systems, and livelihoods require social–ecological systems that keep multiple options open and prepare for future unpredictability. Sustainagility refers to the properties and assets of a system that sustain the ability (agility) of agents to adapt and meet their needs in new ways. In contrast, sustainability tends to invoke persistence along current trajectories, and the resilience to return to current baselines. With three examples, the use and conservation of agrobiodiversity is explored along temporal, spatial, and human institutional scales for its role in sustainagility: first, farmers’ seed systems; second, complex pollination systems; and third, wildlife conservation in agricultural areas with high poverty. Incentives are necessary if agrobiodiversity is to provide benefits to future generation

Double CEBPA mutations, but not single CEBPA mutations, define a subgroup of acute myeloid leukemia with a distinctive gene expression profile that is uniquely associated with a favorable outcome

Mutations in CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (CEBPA) are seen in 5% to 14% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and have been associated with a favorable clinical outcome. Most AMLs with CEBPA mutations simultaneously carry 2 mutations (CEBPAdouble-mut), usually biallelic, whereas single heterozygous mutations (CEBPAsingle-mut) are less frequently seen. Using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography and nucleotide sequencing, we identified among a cohort of 598 newly diagnosed AMLs a subset of 41 CEBPA mutant cases (28 CEBPAdouble-mut and 13 CEBPA single-mut cases) CEBPAdouble-mut associated with a unique gene expression profile as well as favorable overall and event-free survival, retained in multi-variable analysis that included cytoge-netic risk, FZT3-ITD and NPM1 mutation, white blood cell count, and age. In contrast, CEBPA single-mut AMLs did not express a discriminating signature and could not be distinguished from wild-type cases as regards clinical outcome. These results demonstrate significant underlying heterogeneity within CEBPA mutation-positive AML with prognostic relevance

Oil Palm Research in Context: Identifying the Need for Biodiversity Assessment

Oil palm cultivation is frequently cited as a major threat to tropical biodiversity as it is centered on some of the world's most biodiverse regions. In this report, Web of Science was used to find papers on oil palm published since 1970, which were assigned to different subject categories to visualize their research focus. Recent years have seen a broadening in the scope of research, with a slight growth in publications on the environment and a dramatic increase in those on biofuel. Despite this, less than 1% of publications are related to biodiversity and species conservation. In the context of global vegetable oil markets, palm oil and soyabean account for over 60% of production but are the subject of less than 10% of research. Much more work must be done to establish the impacts of habitat conversion to oil palm plantation on biodiversity. Results from such studies are crucial for informing conservation strategies and ensuring sustainable management of plantations

Managing Oil Palm Plantations More Sustainably: Large-Scale Experiments Within the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) Programme

Conversion of tropical forest to agriculture results in reduced habitat heterogeneity, and associated declines in biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Management strategies to increase biodiversity in agricultural landscapes have therefore often focused on increasing habitat complexity; however, the large-scale, long-term ecological experiments that are needed to test the effects of these strategies are rare in tropical systems. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)—one of the most widespread and important tropical crops—offers substantial potential for developing wildlife-friendly management strategies because of its long rotation cycles and tree-like structure. Although there is awareness of the need to increase sustainability, practical options for how best to manage oil palm plantations, for benefits to both the environment and crop productivity, have received little research attention. In this paper we introduce the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) Programme: a long-term research collaboration between academia and industry in Sumatra, Indonesia. The BEFTA Programme aims to better understand the oil palm agroecosystem and test sustainability strategies. We hypothesise that adjustments to oil palm management could increase structural complexity, stabilise microclimate, and reduce reliance on chemical inputs, thereby helping to improve levels of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. The Programme has established four major components: (1) assessing variability within the plantation under business-as-usual conditions; (2) the BEFTA Understory Vegetation Project, which tests the effects of varying herbicide regimes; (3) the Riparian Ecosystem Restoration in Tropical Agriculture (RERTA) Project, which tests strategies for restoring riparian habitat; and (4) support for additional collaborative projects within the Programme landscape. Across all projects, we are measuring environmental conditions, biodiversity, and ecosystem functions. We also measure oil palm yield and production costs, in order to assess whether suggested sustainability strategies are feasible from an agronomic perspective. Early results show that oil palm plantation habitat is more variable than might be expected from a monoculture crop, and that everyday vegetation management decisions have significant impacts on habitat structure. The BEFTA Programme highlights the value of large-scale collaborative projects for understanding tropical agricultural systems, and offers a highly valuable experimental set-up for improving our understanding of practices to manage oil palm more sustainably

Citizen science: a new approach to advance ecology, education, and conservation

Citizen science has a long history in the ecological sciences and has made substantial contributions to science, education, and society. Developments in information technology during the last few decades have created new opportunities for citizen science to engage ever larger audiences of volunteers to help address some of ecology’s most pressing issues, such as global environmental change. Using online tools, volunteers can find projects that match their interests and learn the skills and protocols required to develop questions, collect data, submit data, and help process and analyze data online. Citizen science has become increasingly important for its ability to engage large numbers of volunteers to generate observations at scales or resolutions unattainable by individual researchers. As a coupled natural and human approach, citizen science can also help researchers access local knowledge and implement conservation projects that might be impossible otherwise. In Japan, however, the value of citizen science to science and society is still underappreciated. Here we present case studies of citizen science in Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and describe how citizen science is used to tackle key questions in ecology and conservation, including spatial and macro-ecology, management of threatened and invasive species, and monitoring of biodiversity. We also discuss the importance of data quality, volunteer recruitment, program evaluation, and the integration of science and human systems in citizen science projects. Finally, we outline some of the primary challenges facing citizen science and its future.Dr. Janis L. Dickinson was the keynote speaker at the international symposium at the 61th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan. We appreciate the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan for providing grant to Hiromi Kobori (25282044). Tatsuya Amano is financially supported by the European Commission’s Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship Programme (PIIF-GA-2011- 303221). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the funding agencies or the Department of the Interior or the US Government.This is the final version of the article. It was first available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11284-015-1314-

Using technology to improve the management of development impacts on biodiversity

Funder: The research was funded through a long‐term collaboration between Conservational International and Chevron.Abstract: The mitigation hierarchy (MH) is a prominent tool to help businesses achieve no net loss or net gain outcomes for biodiversity. Technological innovations offer benefits for business biodiversity management, yet the range and continued evolution of technologies creates a complex landscape that can be difficult to navigate. Using literature review, online surveys, and semi‐structured interviews, we assess technologies that can improve application of the MH. We identify six categories (mobile survey, fixed survey, remote sensing, blockchain, data analysis, and enabling technologies) with high feasibility and/or relevance to (i) aid direct implementation of mitigation measures and (ii) enhance biodiversity surveys and monitoring, which feed into the design of interventions including avoidance and minimization measures. At the interface between development and biodiversity impacts, opportunities lie in businesses investing in technologies, capitalizing on synergies between technology groups, collaborating with conservation organizations to enhance institutional capacity, and developing practical solutions suited for widespread use

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF LONG SUPPLY CHAIN COMPETITION: SELECTED CASES IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN AEROSPACE SECTOR

ABSTRACT This article investigates how supply chains, especially long supply chains, compete in the South African aerospace industry. A multiple case study methodology is employed, involving six selected firms. Semi-structured interviews provide the primary source of data. Multiple case analysis identifies similarities in competitive dimension criteria for supplier-firm and customer-firm units in the supply chain. Results indicate that supplier-firm units compete on the basis of speed, dependability, quality, flexibility, and cost. Customer-firm units compete on the basis of speed, quality, and flexibility. The results also identify focus areas for future research into how long supply chains compete in the South African aerospace industry. OPSOMMING Hierdie artikel ondersoek hoe voorsieningskettings, veral uitgerekte kettings, meeding in die Suid-Afrikaanse lugvaartindustrie. 'n Meervoudige gevallestudie-metodologie is gevolg waartydens ses ondernemings bestudeer is. Semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude was die primêre bron van data. Meervoudige gevalle-analise identifiseer ooreenkomste in die mededingingskriteria vir leweransiers-en kliëntefirmas. Die resultate toon dat leweransiers kompeteer op spoed, betroubaarheid, kwaliteit, aanpasbaarheid en koste. Kliëntefirmas ding mee op grond van spoed, kwaliteit en aanpasbaarheid. Die resultate identifiseer fokusareas vir verdere navorsing op hierdie terrein

Biodiversity: oil-palm replanting raises ecology issues

More than one-third of the area on which oil palm is grown in Malaysia, some 1.4 million hectares (http://faostat.fao.org), has already passed peak yields and is due to be replanted. Replanting, which represents a new phase for the industry, must be carefully thought through and implemented to avoid repeating the disastrous effects of the initial clearance of primary forest on biodiversity and the environment.The productive life of an oil-palm crop is 25–30 years and, because the boom in oil-palm cultivation began in the mid-1980s, large areas of ageing oil palm in southeast Asia now need replacing. However, the long-term nature of the crop has allowed biological complexity to build up around it over time.There is therefore a risk that the replanting phase — just like the initial clearance for planting — will disrupt natural habitats by indiscriminate removal of vegetation and heavy disturbance of soil and hydrological systems.We suggest that large-scale replanting operations should be carried out carefully with a view to minimizing such adverse effects on the environment

Biodiversity technologies: tools as change agents

A meeting on Biodiversity Technologies was held by the Biodiversity Institute, Oxford on the 27–28 of September 2012 at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford. The symposium brought together 36 speakers from North America, Australia and across Europe, presenting the latest research on emerging technologies in biodiversity science and conservation. Here we present a perspective on the general trends emerging from the symposium. <br/

Effects of soil management practices on soil fauna feeding activity in an Indonesian oil palm plantation

Optimizing the use of available soil management practices in oil palm plantations is crucial to enhance long-term soil fertility and productivity. However, this needs a thorough understanding of the functional responses of soil biota to these management practices. To address this knowledge gap, we used the bait lamina method to investigate the effects of different soil management practices on soil fauna feeding activity, and whether feeding activity was associated with management-mediated changes in soil chemical properties, in a 15-year-old oil palm plantation. We examined the four management zones: (1) empty fruit bunch (EFB) application along the sides of harvesting paths; (2) chemical fertilization within palm circles; (3) understory vegetation with pruned fronds in inter-row areas; (4) no input in the cleared part of the harvesting paths. Our results showed significantly higher soil fauna feeding activity under the EFB application compared to other management practices, and this was associated with improved soil chemical properties and soil moisture conditions. Principal component analysis on soil properties indicated that 71.2% of variance was explained by the first two principal components (PCs). Soil pH, base saturation and soil moisture contributed positively to PC1, while exchangeable aluminum and hydrogen contributed negatively to PC1. The results demonstrate that different soil management practices at the tree-scale have the ability to create spatial complexity in soil fauna feeding activity and soil chemical properties. This suggests that the practice of EFB application plays an important role in enhancing soil ecosystem functioning in oil palm plantations, which may ultimately contribute to sustainable palm oil production