Browsing by Subject "Sustainable intensification"

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Climate‐based identification of suitable cropping areas for giant reed and reed canary grass on marginal land in Central and Southern Europe under climate change
(2023) Ferdini, Sofia; von Cossel, Moritz; Wulfmeyer, Volker; Warrach‐Sagi, Kirsten
Giant reed (GR) and reed canary grass (RCG) have emerged as promising perennial industrial crops for providing sustainable bioenergy from marginal land. However, there is great uncertainty among farmers and researchers about where these crops can be grown in the future due to climate change, which complicates a timely transition to a bioeconomy. Therefore, this study quantifies marginal land and suitable cropping areas for GR and RCG in Europe, as well as their overlap. To derive these areas, the present (1991–2020) and future (2071–2100, RCP8.5) growing degree days, growing season length, annual precipitation, and aridity index were analyzed using the E‐OBS observational dataset and EURO‐CORDEX regional climate simulations. The study concludes that while marginal land will decrease by ~18%, GR and RCG will profit from the changing European climate, increasing by ~24% and ~13%, respectively. Looking at regions of overlap between marginal land and the selected crops, a decrease of ~87% and an increase of ~462% is projected for RCG and GR, respectively. This is due to marginal land shifting southward, benefitting the warm‐season grass GR, while RCG prefers cooler climates.
Coping and social cohesion mechanisms in addressing climate change and land degradation in Ghana
(2025) Amankwah, Harry Quaye; Ndah, Hycenth Tim; Schuler, Johannes; Abdulai, Alhassan Lansah; Knierim, Andrea
The West Africa sub-region is faced with major interlinked challenges in ensuring sustainable livelihoods in the context of climate change and land degradation. To ensure sustainable food production and resource use, agriculture needs to be resilient through the application of responsive adaptation and coping strategies. While many studies have explored coping and adaptation strategies employed by farmers, little attention has been paid to the farmers’ indigenous practices and the role of social cohesion mechanisms. Using the sustainable livelihood framework, this study addressed this gap by exploring coping strategies and social cohesion mechanisms used by smallholder farmers in northern Ghana. It made use of a mixed-method approach, including a household survey, focus group discussions, expert interviews, field observations, and key informant interviews. Data was collected from 60 households in 6 communities across 3 districts in the study region. The results showed that social assets such as membership of self-help groups were the most important source of coping, particularly for the most vulnerable households. Such membership enabled farmers to secure micro-loans and receive aid from fellow members during extreme climate events such as floods. Farmers’ tacit knowledge emerged as pivotal in coping with climate change and enhancing soil fertility, encompassing traditional weather forecasting, the making of bio-pesticides, and sustainable land management (SLM) practices such as ridge and bund creation as well as intercropping. Key coping practices reported by the study participants included reduction of food consumption, off-farm jobs, selling livestock, charcoal making and reliance on remittances. The results further revealed that social cohesion mechanisms or collective action play a key role in helping farmers cope and adapt to climate change while improving soil fertility. Social cohesion is mainly reflected in two different structures depending on gender. While diverse challenges of innovation adoption exist, socio-cultural barriers differ by gender. The study recommends the integration of farmers throughout the innovation development process and proposes the need for a concerted effort to strengthen land tenure security policies, ensuring equitable access to farmlands for all genders.
Hidden miners – the roles of cover crops and soil microorganisms in phosphorus cycling through agroecosystems
(2019) Hallama, Moritz; Pekrun, Carola; Lambers, Hans; Kandeler, Ellen
Background Phosphorus (P) is a limiting nutrient in many agroecosystems and costly fertilizer inputs can cause negative environmental impacts. Cover crops constitute a promising management option for sustainable intensification of agriculture. However, their interactions with the soil microbial community, which is a key driver of P cycling, and their effects on the following crop, have not yet been systematically assessed. Scope We conducted a meta-analysis of published field studies on cover crops and P cycling, focusing on plant-microbe interactions. Conclusions We describe several distinct, simultaneous mechanisms of P benefits for the main crop. Decomposition dynamics, governed by P concentration, are critical for the transfer of P from cover crop residues to the main crop. Cover crops may enhance the soil microbial community by providing a legacy of increased mycorrhizal abundance, microbial biomass P, and phosphatase activity. Cover crops are generally most effective in systems low in available P, and may access ‘unavailable’ P pools. However, their effects on P availability are difficult to detect by standard soil P tests, except for increases after the use of Lupinus sp. Agricultural management (i.e. cover crop species selection, tillage, fertilization) can improve cover crop effects. In summary, cover cropping has the potential to tighten nutrient cycling in agricultural systems under different conditions, increasing crop P nutrition and yield.