Search results for "Agronomy"
showing 10 items of 2540 documents
Farming intensity indirectly reduces crop yield through negative effects on agrobiodiversity and key ecological functions
2022
International audience; Farming intensity and landscape heterogeneity influence agrobiodiversity and associated ecological functions. The relative contributions of these agroecosystem components to agricultural production remain unclear because of inter-relations and weather-dependant variations. Using a structural equation modelling approach, we estimated direct and indirect contributions of farming intensity (soil management, pesticide use and fertilisation) and landscape heterogeneity (of semi-natural covers and crop mosaic) to cereal crop production, in 54 fields (mostly wheat), in two years (24 and 30 fields). Indirect effects were evaluated through agrobiodiversity (carabid and plant …
Pathways for the amplification of agroecology in African sustainable urban agriculture
2020
A growing awareness that highly intensified agricultural systems have made a substantial worldwide contribution to the worsening of the resilience capacity of natural ecosystems has, over the last twenty years, brought general attention to agroecological management models. This aspect is even more evident in industrial agriculture, which is based on the use of multiple chemical products derived from non-natural synthesis. In more developed countries, a new idea of ecology linked to agricultural production has been increasingly developed and, for this reason, there has been a greater diffusion of differentiated agricultural models taking into consideration the environmental impact of product…
Applicability of hybrid aspen (Populus tremula L. × P. tremuloides Michx.) bark extract as a precursor of rigid carbon foam and activated carbon
2023
Hybrid aspens have long attracted scientific interest, but the research on their use as feedstocks for chemical applications are still very limited. The bark biomass of the poplar species contains many valuable extractives that can be utilized as value-added products. This paper examines the applicability of hybrid aspen (Populus tremula L. × P. tremuloides Michx.) bark extract as a precursor of rigid carbon foam and activated carbon. To explore this, the study considers 1) the basic chemical composition of the bark in terms of added value potential, 2) the basic chemical composition of the bark extract and the effect of its pretreatment on the extract composition, 3) the production of rigi…
From Analysis to Formulation of Strategies for Farm Advisory Services (Case Study: Valencia – Spain). an Application through Swot and Qspm Matrix
2019
Abstract European agriculture should meet new increasing internal and contextual challenges. For example, the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2003 introduced the cross-compliance, among other novelties, as compulsory for farmers. To better meet this and other requirements, Member States had to set up the so-called Farm Advisory System, operational across the European Union in 2007. From a sample of actors involved in the provision of farm advisory services in the region of Valencia (Spain), the present study aimed to identify the most appropriate strategies to implement such services. SWOT method has been applied to examine the internal and external environment. Based on this di…
Effects of NAA and Ecklonia maxima Extracts on Lettuce and Tomato Transplant Production
2022
Ecklonia maxima and the commercial biostimulants produced from it contain various plant growth regulators that are responsible for the growth stimulation recorded in many crops. Auxins are one of the major plant growth regulators contained in E. maxima extracts. The aim of this research was to evaluate the growth-promoting effect of a seaweed extract from E. maxima on lettuce and tomato transplant production under nursery conditions, and to compare the effect of this extract with an equal concentration of synthetic auxin. Two doses of natural or synthetic exogenous auxins (50 or 100 μg L−1) were supplied to the substrate through the irrigation water with an ebb and flow system, 4, …
From soil to soil-less in horticulture: quality and typicity
2013
In this review, the technique of soil-less cultivation of horticultural crops is analysed, the main differences between this and traditional cultivation techniques are described, and the advantages and disadvantages of each method in relation to the others are identified. Soilless cultivation has revolutionised various sectors of vegetable and floriculture production, and recent years have also seen interest being shown by Italian fruit crop producers, particularly those involved in table grape viticulture. The various issues related to the use of this technique are described in relation to the needs of the substrate, water management, and mineral nutrition of the different species, and to …
Regional Farmers’ Perception and Societal Issues in Vineyards Affected by High Erosion Rates
2021
We explore the current situation in a viticultural region in Eastern Spain from a holistic and multifaceted research approach, which allowed us to understand the biophysical conditions, economic cost, social impact, and perception of the farmers’ community to the use of catch crops. A survey of the perception of the farmers, and an assessment of the biophysical impact of catch crops (CC) and tillage (C = Control plot) on soil organic matter, bulk density, infiltration capacity (single ring infiltrometer), and runoff generation and soil erosion (rainfall simulation experiments) was carried out. Two representative fields as study sites were selected in Les Alcusses valley, within Els Alforins…
Alternative analysis of transient infiltration experiment to estimate soil water repellency
2019
The repellency index (RI) defined as the adjusted ratio between soil‐ethanol, Se, and soil‐water, Sw, sorptivities estimated from minidisk infiltrometer experiments has been used instead of the widely used water drop penetration time and molarity of ethanol drop tests to assess soil water repellency. However, sorptivity calculated by the usual early‐time infiltration equation may be overestimated as the effects of gravity and lateral capillary are neglected. With the aim to establish the best applicative procedure to assess RI, different approaches to estimate Se and Sw were compared that make use of both the early‐time infiltration equation (namely, the 1 min, S1, and the short‐time linear…
Application of a Split-Window Algorithm to Estimate Land Surface Temperature from NOAA-AVHRR Data
2006
Estimaciones de temperatura de la superficie terrestre, en días parciales a completamente despejados, fueron realizadas a partir de los datos proporcionados por el sensor Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), a bordo de la serie de satélites de la National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) por aplicación de un algoritmo basado en el método de Split-Window. El algoritmo utilizado supone correcciones por emisividad y contenido de vapor de agua atmosférico, y fue validado con mediciones de temperatura de la superficie terrestre realizadas en terreno. Para esto, un data logger LI-1000 se instaló en la Estación Agrometeorológica dependiente del Instituto de Investigacione…
The “genetic erosion” of the soil ecosystem
2013
Abstract This paper takes into consideration the influence of human activities on the loss of pedodiversity in a Mediterranean area due to large scale farming. In particular it examines the quantitative and qualitative soil changes in a period of 53 years (from 1955 to 2008) evaluating the loss of soil diversity at soil subgroups level of the USDA Soil Taxonomy system. The following indices were used: richness; Shannon’s diversity index; Simpson diversity index; Shannon’s evenness index; Simpson’s evenness index. In this case study, considering what we observed in time, the human intervention in soil transformation could increase the diversity in the landscape in an initial phase, but forwa…