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Agroecology is the study of the ecology of terrestrial agricultural systems. It includes both the effects of agricultural practices such as pesticide use on non-domesticated species, and the effect of the ecological environment on crop and livestock yields.
Land suitable for profitable diversification of agricultural systems is mainly located in Europe and North America because of well-developed infrastructure, according to a maximum entropy modelling approach driven by socio-economic variables.
Results from 316 Bombus terrestris colonies at 106 agricultural sites across eight European countries find pesticides in bumble bee pollen to be associated with reduced colony performance, especially in areas of intensive agriculture.
Satellite-derived leaf area and survey-based agricultural data indicate that dry season irrigation contributes to India’s greening, however land surface models struggle to accurately reproduce the greening trend and its drivers.
Rice paddies are a source of the potent greenhouse gas methane. The authors demonstrate that a rice variety containing naturally lost function in the gene GS3 has reduced allocation of photosynthates to roots, which results in a reduction of methane emissions during growth.
Model simulations show regional disparities in the responses of national crop productions to a suite of solar geoengineering scenarios that reflect sunlight to cool Earth.
Nutrient recycling is key for the circularity and sustainability of food systems. Understanding the movement of phosphorus through trade enables better geospatial planning and highlights opportunities for more effective global phosphorus governance.
Aluminium (Al) toxicity along with phosphorus (P) deficiency in acidic soils hampers crop growth; however, the role of soil microbiota in conferring Al resistance remains poorly understood. A synthetic community of Al-resistant bacteria was shown to increase rice yield by 26.36% in acidic fields, offering a promising solution for sustainable agriculture.
A new high-resolution map of cocoa plantations in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana allows for large-scale accurate studies of the impact of cocoa cultivation on the landscape and better understanding of priority areas where improvements of cultivation practices are needed.
Expansive farmlands in Europe and elsewhere are either already abandoned or projected to become abandoned. Afforestation on these abandoned farmlands is highly popular, but it only addresses the climate crisis, not the biodiversity emergency. An alternative to afforestation is rewilding, which would contribute to combating both the biodiversity and climate crises while also facilitating socio-ecological sustainability by increasing ecosystem resilience.
Annual grains, domesticated from wild species, have dominated agriculture since the Neolithic. A new study reports how turning to high-yield perennial rice crops could maintain key ecosystem functions while supporting livelihoods.
