7 research outputs found
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Insect pollination as an agronomic input: strategies for oilseed rape production
1.Ecological intensification involves the incorporation of biodiversity based ecosystem service management into farming systems in order to make crop production more sustainable and reduce reliance on anthropogenic inputs, including fertiliser and insecticides.
2.The benefits of effectively managing ecosystem services such as pollination and pest regulation for improved yields have been demonstrated in a number of studies, however recent evidence indicates that these benefits interact with conventional agronomic inputs such as fertiliser and irrigation. Despite the important contribution of biodiversityâbased ecosystem services to crop production their management is rarely considered in combination with more conventional agronomic inputs.
3.This study combines a number of complementary approaches to evaluate the impact of insect pollination on yield parameters of Brassica napus and how this interacts with a key agronomic input, fertiliser. We incorporate data from a flight cage trial and multiple field studies to quantify the relationships between yield parameters to determine whether insufficient insect pollination may limit crop yield.
4.We demonstrate that, by producing larger seeds and more pods, B. napus has the capacity to modulate investment across yield parameters and buffer subâoptimal inputs of fertiliser or pollination. However, only when fertiliser is not limiting can the crop benefit from insect pollination, with yield increases due to insect pollination only seen under high fertiliser application.
5.A nonâlinear relationship between seed set per pod and yield per plant was found, with increases in seed set between 15 and 25 seeds per pod resulting in a consistent increase in crop yield. The capacity for the crop to compensate for lower seed set due to subâoptimal pollination is therefore limited.
6.Synthesis and applications. Oilseed rape has the capacity to compensate for subâoptimal agronomic or ecosystem service inputs although this has limitations. Insect pollination can increase seed set and so there are production benefits to be gained through effective management of wild pollinators or by utilising managed species. Our study demonstrates however that increased insect pollination cannot simply replace other inputs, and if resources such as fertiliser are limiting, then yield potential cannot be reached. We highlight the need to consider insect pollination as an agronomic input to be effectively managed in agricultural systems
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A critical review of Pongamia pinnata multiple applications: from land remediation and carbon sequestration to socioeconomic benefits
Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre (Pongamia) is a tree native to Southeast Asia. Recently, interest in Pongamia focused on its potential as a biofuel source as its seeds contain around 40% oil. However, Pongamia has multiple applications beyond biofuel production. It is a legume, can form symbiotic associations with mycorrhizal fungi, has been shown to be tolerant to drought, salinity, and heavy metals in soil, and has potential to mitigate climate change. Additionally, Pongamia oil has medicinal properties, can be used as biopesticide, insect repellent, to produce soap, and as a source of edible grade vegetable oil. The seed cake can be used as a source of bioenergy, food and feed protein, and organic fertiliser, and the flowers are a good source of pollen and nectar. Pongamia can also bring socio-economic benefits as its ability to restore degraded and contaminated land provides opportunities for local communities through novel valorisation pathways. These multiple applications have potential to form part of a circular bioeconomy in line with sustainable development goals. Although research on the multiple applications of Pongamia has grown considerably, knowledge gaps remain and these need to be addressed so that the full potential of Pongamia can be achieved. Further understanding of the mechanisms underlying its resilience to abiotic stresses, phytoremediation potential and biotic interactions should be a priority, and co-ordinated breeding efforts will be key. Here, we critically review the available literature on Pongamia and highlight gaps in knowledge in which future research should focus on to ensure that the full potential of this versatile tree can be achieved. We conclude that Pongamia can potentially form part of a circular bioeconomy and that harnessing the multiple applications of Pongamia in a holistic manner, with collaboration among key stakeholders, is crucial for the successful application of its benefits far beyond biofuel production
ECMO for COVID-19 patients in Europe and Israel
Since March 15th, 2020, 177 centres from Europe and Israel have joined the study, routinely reporting on the ECMO support they provide to COVID-19 patients. The mean annual number of cases treated with ECMO in the participating centres before the pandemic (2019) was 55. The number of COVID-19 patients has increased rapidly each week reaching 1531 treated patients as of September 14th. The greatest number of cases has been reported from France (n = 385), UK (n = 193), Germany (n = 176), Spain (n = 166), and Italy (n = 136) .The mean age of treated patients was 52.6 years (range 16â80), 79% were male. The ECMO configuration used was VV in 91% of cases, VA in 5% and other in 4%. The mean PaO2 before ECMO implantation was 65 mmHg. The mean duration of ECMO support thus far has been 18 days and the mean ICU length of stay of these patients was 33 days. As of the 14th September, overall 841 patients have been weaned from ECMO
support, 601 died during ECMO support, 71 died after withdrawal of ECMO, 79 are still receiving ECMO support and for 10 patients status n.a. . Our preliminary data suggest that patients placed
on ECMO with severe refractory respiratory or cardiac failure secondary to COVID-19 have a reasonable (55%) chance of survival. Further extensive data analysis is expected to provide invaluable information on the demographics, severity of illness, indications and different ECMO management strategies in these patients
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Wild insect diversity increases inter-annual stability in global crop pollinator communities.
While an increasing number of studies indicate that range, diversity and abundance of many wild pollinators has declined, the global area of pollinator-dependent crops has significantly increased over the last few decades. Crop pollination studies to date, have mainly focused on either identifying different guilds pollinating various crops, or on factors driving spatial changes and turnover observed in these communities. The mechanisms driving temporal stability for ecosystem functioning and services, however, remain poorly understood. Our study quantifies temporal variability observed in crop pollinators in 21 different crops across multiple years at a global scale. Using data from 43 studies from six continents, we show that (i) higher pollinator diversity confers greater inter-annual stability in pollinator communities, (ii) temporal variation observed in pollinator abundance is primarily driven by the three most dominant species, and (iii) crops in tropical regions demonstrate higher inter-annual variability in pollinator species richness than crops in temperate regions. We highlight the importance of recognising wild pollinator diversity in agricultural landscapes to stabilize pollinator persistence across years to protect both biodiversity and crop pollination services. Short-term agricultural management practices aimed at dominant species for stabilising pollination services need to be considered alongside longer-term conservation goals focussed on maintaining and facilitating biodiversity to confer ecological stability
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Novel crop rotations to enhance the provision of multiple ecosystem services underpinning arable production
Given the challenges posed to agriculture by future climatic changes, the need to increase
production due to a growing population and at the same time, reduce environmental impacts
and preserve biodiversity, it is vital that more sustainable and resilient food production systems
are in place. Ecological intensification is an approach proposed to partially replace external inputs
(i.e. synthetic fertiliser and pesticides) with the provision of biodiversity derived ecosystem
services, to either maintain or increase food production. One promising management practice is
crop diversification, both temporally and spatially, which has the potential to improve the
provision of multiple ecosystem services underpinning agricultural production and to confer
resilience to food production systems.
Studies conducted over three years, compared the ability of three 4-year crop rotations, along a
diversity gradient (simple, moderate and diverse), to enhance the provision of multiple
ecosystem services and increase resilience. The ability of each rotation to increase soil ecosystem
services (soil fertility), pollination service, resilience under abiotic stresses and provide food
resources for pollinators was assessed. Experiments were conducted at the University of
Readingâs Crop Research Unit, Sonning, Berkshire, UK in a free draining sandy/silty loam
overlaying coarse red-brown sand of the Sonning series. Berkshire has a temperate climate with
annual mean temperatures ranging between 6.7 °C and 14.5°C.
More diverse crop rotations resulted in higher nutrient cycling and consequently higher nutrient
availability (mineral nitrogen) to the crops. However, this presented a trade-off with soil carbon
storage in the short term. Increased crop diversity resulted in higher yield stability with reduced
external inputs, under varying climatic conditions, with yield increases of 1 t/ha on average, and
improved system resilience, but it did not increase the provision of soil fertility and pest
regulation under abiotic stresses (heat and drought). Increased diversity and insect pollination
had a positive impact on oilseed rape yield components and higher diversity also led to a more
stable provision of nectar resources throughout the pollinator flight season, attracting more
bumblebees than less diverse rotations. The results presented here suggest that crop
diversification is likely to be an important tool in the ecological intensification of agriculture.
However, it will need to be combined with other strategies, both at local (e.g. reduced tillage
practices and flower strips) and at a landscape (e.g. diversification of flowering crops) level, if
ecological intensification is to be implemented broadly and successfully. Results also highlight the
urgent need for future long-term research on the potential benefits of crop diversification
Yield parameter relationships of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) under the influence of fertiliser and insect pollination
This dataset is made up of data from three studies. The first involves a flight cage trial where oilseed rape plants were grown under four fertiliser treatments and then exposed to insect pollination or not. A number of yield parameters were then collected from each plant. The second study involved a field study across three oilseed rape fields with insect pollinator exclusion cages placed over areas of the crop. Yield parameters were then collected from plants under these exclusion cages as well as open controls. The final dataset includes field data collected from a number of oilseed rape study plots where plant yield, seeds per pod, pod number and thousand grain weight has been established from a number of individual plants across these plots
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Crop rotations in a climate change scenario: short-term effects of crop diversity on resilience and ecosystem service provision under drought
Given the challenges posed to agriculture by future climatic changes, and the need to reduce environmental
impacts, a key challenge is to develop resilient food production systems. Ecological intensification is an approach
proposed to partially replace external inputs with the provision of biodiversity-derived ecosystems services to
either maintain or increase food production. One promising practice is crop diversification, which has the potential
to improve the provision of multiple ecosystem services underpinning agricultural production, and to
confer resilience to abiotic stresses. This study measured a variety of ecosystem services (yield quantity and
quality, soil services, pest regulation), and resistance indicators (canopy temperature and senescence rates)
under stressed and controled conditions, at three levels of crop rotational diversity in the third year of the
rotations. We found that increased crop diversity can maintain yields with reduced external inputs, under
varying climatic conditions, with yield increases of 1 t/ha on average, and that diversifying crop rotations can
improve stress resistance resulting in more resilient systems. Higher crop diversity resulted in no trade-offs
between our measured ecosystem services and increased synergistic effects between stress resistance and crop
production and stress resistance and pest regulation. However, farmers will need to use a combination of
management approaches, alongside diversifying crop rotations, to maximise the potential of ecological intensification