Agriculture production in developing countries must be increased to meet food demand for a growing population. This issue may be solved by sustainable land management such as organic fertilization, lower soil disturbance, incorporation of residues, terracing, water conservation and agroforestry. From the review of 160 studies Branca et al. deduce positive effects of sustainable management, such as higher crop yield and soil carbon sequestration.
The growing world demand for food is a major challenge for humankind. Increasing food production will be more and more difficult due to fewer arable land, less water availability, pollution, warmer climate, and land competition of food production with biofuel production and cities. As a result there is a strong on-going debate on the best strategy to keep pace with global population growth and increasing food demand. One strategy favors the use of genetically modified crops, while another focuses on agricultural diversity. The review by Jacobsen et al. places genetically modified crops far down the list of potential solutions and recommend funding in other research areas of plant science.
Europe envision organic farming as a solution for sustainable agriculture. However the organic farming area has increased only from 1.8% in 1998 to 4.7 % in 2009 in European Union, still far from initial objectives. Worse, recent observations show cases of farmer withdrawal from organic farming. Madelrieux and Alavoine-Mornas studied organic farming withdrawal of 18 former organic farmers. Results show that withdrawal depends on the circumstances causing farmers to leave organic farming and what farmers learned by experience.
Greenhouse plant nurseries commonly use vermiculite and peat moss for potting plants, thus threatening natural resources of vermiculite and peat moss. They can be replaced by biochar, which is a cheap product of organic wastes. However fresh biochar emits ethylene, a gas that has adverse effects on plant at high levels because ethylene is a plant hormone. Fulton et al. found a simple solution to get rid of ethylene emission.
Climate change is mainly due to the increase of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Industrial agriculture is partly responsible of atmospheric CO2 increase because industrial agriculture burns rapidly soil carbon, the ‘fridge’ that contains also nutrients for plants and other living organisms. Misuse of common resources has been well defined in the concept of The Tragedy of the Commons. The review article by Stavi and Lal emphasizes the relevance of this concept for agriculture. The article focuses on field crop production and livestock husbandry. Sustainable agriculture practices that sequester soil carbon are described.
Livestock farming is very popular but causes regularly issues of food security and pollution. The long-term viability of livestock farming is critical for animal health, farm income, animal welfare and the environment. Therefore methods to assess the sustainability of livestock farming are needed. In a review by Lebacq et al. three different methods are analysed: the method-based approach, objective-driven approach and data-driven approach.
Soil compaction is a major problem for farmers and soil scientists. Indeed soil compaction decreases the yield of most agronomic crops worldwide. The alteration of soil structure by compaction limits water filtration and air access, reduces root penetration and inhibits soil living organisms. Nawaz et al. review advances in understanding, quantification and prediction of the effects of soil compaction. Sustainable remedies are also given.
Version anglaise / English version
Ce site rassemble des billets rédigés à partir des travaux de recherche de la revue scientifique “Agronomy for Sustainable Development” c’est à dire en français l’agronomie pour le développement durable.
Les thèmes abordés sont les suivants : agroécologie, agriculture biologique, agriculture durable, agriculture urbaine, qualité des aliments et risque alimentaire, changement climatique, énergies renouvelables, biopesticides, impact des organismes génétiquement modifiés, lutte écologique contre les prédateurs, polluants, écotoxicologie, qualité de l’eau et de l’air, gestion écologique des sols, nouveaux systèmes agricoles, préservation des ressources naturelles, biogéochimie, aide à la décision, sociologie et économie des changements agricoles, animaux et environnement.
Climate change and pollution are increasing drought, salinity and heavy metal contamination in food crops, and, in turn, decrease yield and threaten food safety. Salinity is caused by an excess of NaCl in soils. Salinity is a major abiotic stress for plants over 800 million hectares of land worldwide. Lokhande et al. show that shoreline purslane (Sesuvium portulacastrum) can be used for sand-dune fixation, desalination and phytoremediation in coastal regions.
Life on earth is impossible without plants and other photosynthetic organisms. Plants are the most important living organisms for the ecosystem because plant harvest sun energy and, in turn, all other living organisms feed on plant directly or indirectly. Plants are used for food, fiber and most recently for fuel. Pollinisators such are bees are necessary for the reproduction and survival of many plant species, including plants for food. However, industrial agriculture and the use of pesticides have strongly declined bees and other insect pollinators. This bee decline has already decreased global food production. A review article by Nicholls and Altieri discusses in detail the problems of pollinators and how to solve this problem with novel farming practices.