THE MONK PARAKEET AND NEW JERSEY AGRICULTURE

Parrots and parakeets have been brought into the United States for as long as our sailors have sailed to the distant tropics. In more recent years, the keeping of exotic pets increased to almost fad proportions. The pet shops and importers have kept the United States supplied with a vast array of these species. Among them is the Monk Parakeet. Large numbers of Monk Parakeets have been imported to satisfy the demand for parrot-like birds. The largest percentage of these birds went to pet stores and ultimately ended up in homes as pets. Unfortunately, some of these birds were released or escaped into the wild. New Jersey, in the winter of 1969-70 had its first report of wild Monk Parakeets in Middlebush. Two birds were identified as Monk Parakeets. Since then that particular flock has grown to eight or more parakeets. Although this is a small increase in three years it should be noted that the season in their native South America is the reverse of our own. It would seem that the mating season would need to be changed to coincide with the Northern Hemisphere for the young to survive. The climate in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Brazil is very similar to that of New York and New Jersey. The South American habitat is 20° - 48° South latitude, whereas New Jersey is 30° - 40° North latitude. In this three year period New Jersey has gone from one loca- tion to over 35 locations with 13 nests. In general, the parakeets are located in single or small flocks. Most sightings are in the more populated areas of the State. This is a belt 25 miles wide going from New York City southwest to Delaware. There do seem to be more birds directly across from New York City and Delaware than anywhere else along this belt

Synergism between production and soil health through crop diversification, organic amendments and crop protection in wheat-based systems

One of the critical challenges in agriculture is enhancing yield without compromising its foundation, a healthy environment and, particularly, soils. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify management practices that simultaneously support soil health and production and help achieve environmentally sound production systems.To investigate how management influences production and soil health under realistic agronomic conditions, we conducted an on-farm study involving 60 wheat fields managed conventionally, under no-till or organically. We assessed 68 variables defining management, production and soil health properties. We examined how management systems and individual practices describing crop diversification, fertiliser inputs, agrochemical use and soil disturbance influenced production-quantity and quality-and soil health focusing on aspects ranging from soil organic matter over soil structure to microbial abundance and diversity.Our on-farm comparison showed marked differences between soil health and production in the current system: organic management resulted in the best overall soil health (+47%) but the most significant yield gap (-34%) compared to conventional management. No-till systems were generally intermediate, exhibiting a smaller yield gap (-17%) and only a marginally improved level of soil health (+5%) compared to conventional management. Yet, the overlap between management systems in production and soil health properties was considerably large.Our results further highlight the importance of soil health for productivity by revealing positive associations between crop yield and soil health properties, particularly under conventional management, whereas factors such as weed pressure were more dominant in organic systems.None of the three systems showed advantages in supporting production-soil health-based multifunctionality. In contrast, a cross-system analysis suggests that multifunctional agroecosystems could be achieved through a combination of crop diversification and organic amendments with effective crop protection.Synthesis and applications: Our on-farm study implies that current trade-offs in managing production and soil health could be overcome through more balanced systems incorporating conventional and alternative approaches. Such multifunctionality supporting systems could unlock synergies between vital ecosystem services and help achieve productive yet environmentally sound agriculture supported by healthy soils

Synergism between production and soil health through crop diversification, organic amendments and crop protection in wheat‐based systems

One of the critical challenges in agriculture is enhancing yield without compromising its foundation, a healthy environment and, particularly, soils. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify management practices that simultaneously support soil health and production and help achieve environmentally sound production systems. To investigate how management influences production and soil health under realistic agronomic conditions, we conducted an on‐farm study involving 60 wheat fields managed conventionally, under no‐till or organically. We assessed 68 variables defining management, production and soil health properties. We examined how management systems and individual practices describing crop diversification, fertiliser inputs, agrochemical use and soil disturbance influenced production—quantity and quality—and soil health focusing on aspects ranging from soil organic matter over soil structure to microbial abundance and diversity. Our on‐farm comparison showed marked differences between soil health and production in the current system: organic management resulted in the best overall soil health (+47%) but the most significant yield gap (−34%) compared to conventional management. No‐till systems were generally intermediate, exhibiting a smaller yield gap (−17%) and only a marginally improved level of soil health (+5%) compared to conventional management. Yet, the overlap between management systems in production and soil health properties was considerably large. Our results further highlight the importance of soil health for productivity by revealing positive associations between crop yield and soil health properties, particularly under conventional management, whereas factors such as weed pressure were more dominant in organic systems. None of the three systems showed advantages in supporting production‐soil health‐based multifunctionality. In contrast, a cross‐system analysis suggests that multifunctional agroecosystems could be achieved through a combination of crop diversification and organic amendments with effective crop protection. Synthesis and applications: Our on‐farm study implies that current trade‐offs in managing production and soil health could be overcome through more balanced systems incorporating conventional and alternative approaches. Such multifunctionality supporting systems could unlock synergies between vital ecosystem services and help achieve productive yet environmentally sound agriculture supported by healthy soils

Synergism between production and soil health through crop diversification, organic amendments and crop protection in wheat‐based systems

1. One of the critical challenges in agriculture is enhancing yield without compromising its foundation, a healthy environment and, particularly, soils. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify management practices that simultaneously support soil health and production and help achieve environmentally sound production systems. 2. To investigate how management influences production and soil health under realistic agronomic conditions, we conducted an on-farm study involving 60 wheat fields managed conventionally, under no-till or organically. We assessed 68 variables defining management, production and soil health properties. We examined how management systems and individual practices describing crop diversification, fertiliser inputs, agrochemical use and soil disturbance influenced production—quantity and quality—and soil health focusing on aspects ranging from soil organic matter over soil structure to microbial abundance and diversity. 3. Our on-farm comparison showed marked differences between soil health and production in the current system: organic management resulted in the best overall soil health (+47%) but the most significant yield gap (−34%) compared to conventional management. No-till systems were generally intermediate, exhibiting a smaller yield gap (−17%) and only a marginally improved level of soil health (+5%) compared to conventional management. Yet, the overlap between management systems in production and soil health properties was considerably large. 4. Our results further highlight the importance of soil health for productivity by revealing positive associations between crop yield and soil health properties, particularly under conventional management, whereas factors such as weed pressure were more dominant in organic systems. 5. None of the three systems showed advantages in supporting production soil health-based multifunctionality. In contrast, a cross-system analysis suggests that multifunctional agroecosystems could be achieved through a combination of crop diversification and organic amendments with effective crop protection. 6. Synthesis and applications: Our on-farm study implies that current trade-offs in managing production and soil health could be overcome through more balanced systems incorporating conventional and alternative approaches. Such multifunctionality supporting systems could unlock synergies between vital ecosystem services and help achieve productive yet environmentally sound agriculture supported by healthy soils