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Sustainable Agricultural Land Management: Co-benefits and Challenges in 21st Century

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2022) | Viewed by 29115

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Special Issue Editors

Assoc. Prof. Chris Short

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Guest Editor

Countryside & Community Research Institute, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham GL50 4AZ, UK
Interests: trans-disciplinary research in the land-based sector; role of regenerative agriculture in sustainable food supplies and reversing biodiversity decline, reducing meteorological risk and adapting to climate change; development and implementation of innovative rural development and agri-environment policy; nature of partnerships and knowledge exchange in landscape scale initiatives, shared resources, collective action and managing shared resources around the globe

Prof. Dr. John Hammond

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School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Agriculture Building, Earley Gate, Whiteknights Road, Reading RG6 6EU, UK
Interests: sustainable production systems and the impact of environmental stresses on crop production; special focus on fertiliser use and efficiency in cropping systems; soil–crop interactions, including the role of soil organic matter and soil bacteria in improving the availability of soil nutrients to crops; multiple benefits of cropping and management options for sustaining yields and enhancing environmental sustainability

Dr. Lindsay Todman

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Guest Editor

School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Agriculture Building, Earley Gate, Whiteknights Road, Reading RG6 6EU, UK
Interests: sustainable and resilient agricultural systems; use of modelling and data combination to improve holistic understanding of agricultural production and its environmental impacts; understanding trade-offs between different objectives in agricultural systems and how they can be reconciled to improve the sustainability and resilience of the sector; landscape-scale approaches to improve the sustainability of agricultural systems and mechanisms to stimulate, support and maintain such approaches

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agriculture is a dominant land use in most countries, requiring and impacting on multiple natural resources (soil, biodiversity, water, etc.). New research and experimentation continues to reveal the level of integration and interconnections between agricultural management and the surrounding environment including effects on other land uses such as forestry, energy and urban development. A range of frameworks are being developed to include this new knowledge of interactions to assess agricultural sustainability more holistically. Yet it is clear that this is challenging due to the complexity of interconnections. The context and spatial scale of different agricultural systems also leads to contrasts that make a universal definition of sustainable agriculture challenging. Still, robust and consistent approaches would allow comparisons between systems and open up opportunities to improve sustainability at a larger scale. This special issue focuses on defining sustainable agricultural land management (SALM) in terms of its impact on multiple natural resources, taking account of context and spatial scale. The issue will identify best practice examples of SALM ready for upscaling; present new frameworks, methods and principles to evaluate SALM; and highlight key knowledge gaps and future research agendas.

Assoc. Prof. Chris Short
Prof. Dr. John Hammond
Dr. Lindsay Todman
Guest Editors

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Keywords

sustainable
agriculture
production
climate change
land management
landscape

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 5166 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Biochar Application and Mineral Fertilization on Biomass Production and Structural Carbohydrate Content in Forage Plant Mixture

by Wojciech Stopa, Barbara Wróbel, Anna Paszkiewicz-Jasińska and Maria Strzelczyk

Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14333; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914333 - 28 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2011

Abstract

Biochar, a fine-grained porous material, exhibits properties that improve soil quality on agricultural land. Biochar, in combination with mineral fertilizers in perennial mixed crops, has so far not been studied for its effect on biomass production and feed value. The study, conducted in 2021 and 2022, aims to investigate the impact of different biochar application rates (alone and in combination with high and low NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) fertilizer dosages) on the yield and structural carbohydrate content in grass–legume mixtures. Thus, a two-factorial pot study consisting of 36 pots was established in 2021. The study was set up in a randomized block design with nine fertilization treatments in four replicates. The factors studied were the rate of biochar (0, 5, and 10 Mg ha⁻¹) and the rate of NPK mineral fertilizer application (0, 105, and 185 kg ha⁻¹). First, biochar was applied and then the grass–legume mixture was sown, consisting of Lolium perenne L., Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Dectylis glomerata L., Lolium multiflorum Lam., Phleum pratense L., Festuca rubra L., Festuca ovina L., Poa pratensis L., Trifolium repens L., and Medicago sativa L. In both years of the study, during the growing season, plant biomass was harvested three times to assess biomass production and structural carbohydrate content. In the collected samples, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL) were examined, and, based on these, dry matter digestibility (DDM), dry matter intake (DMI), and relative feed value (RFV) were calculated. Compared to the control, the biochar addition increased the biomass production by 6.7–14.4% in the first year and by 49–59% in the second year after application. The addition of biochar in combination with NPK fertilization caused an increase in biomass production—22–45% in the first year and 71–136% in the second year after application. The structural carbohydrate content in the mixture depended neither on the biochar dose nor on fertilization. On the other hand, the most significant differences for the studied parameters were observed due to different harvest dates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Land Management: Co-benefits and Challenges in 21st Century)

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15 pages, 1626 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nutrient Management of Shallot Farming in Sandy Loam Soil in Tegalrejo, Gunungkidul, Indonesia

by Sutardi, Kristamtini, Heni Purwaningsih, Setyorini Widyayanti, Forita Dyah Arianti, Miranti Dian Pertiwi, Joko Triastono, Raden Heru Praptana, Afrizal Malik, Intan Gilang Cempaka, Yusuf, Muhammad Prama Yufdy, Markus Anda and Anicetus Wihardjaka

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 11862; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141911862 - 21 Sep 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3714

Abstract

The serious problems of sandy soils for crop development are low water-holding capacity, nutrient retention, and low content of all nutrients. The objective of the study was to increase the nutrient content of sandy soil and evaluate nutrient types that mostly affect the high shallot yield with reasonable economic values. The field experiment was conducted on the upland sandy loam soil. Six treatments consisting of complete nutrients, N-, P-, K-, Mg- and S-omission tests were arranged in a randomly completed block design with four replicates. The observed parameters included soil physicochemical properties, tissue nutrient content, growth, yield, and input-output of shallot cultivation. The results showed that N, P, K, Mg and S application successfully increased shallot bulb, achieving 11.43 t ha⁻¹ on sandy soil. The order of shallot tissue content was K > N > P~Mg > S, where the S, P, N, and Mg are limiting factors, as revealed by significantly lower relative yield (varying from 79 to 88%). The highest weight loss during storage occurred for S-omission treatment (40 to 60%), indicating insufficient S tissue is the most responsible for the quality of shallot. The complete nutrient treatment gave the highest income (7446.09 USD ha⁻¹) with a revenue cost ratio of 2.41 compared to other treatments. The tolerance limit for price reductions that do not cause losses was 58.59%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Land Management: Co-benefits and Challenges in 21st Century)

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21 pages, 5329 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Studying the Physiological Reactions of C₄ Grasses in Order to Select Them for Cultivation on Marginal Lands

by Aleksandra Steinhoff-Wrześniewska, Piotr Dąbrowski, Anna Paszkiewicz-Jasińska, Barbara Wróbel, Maria Strzelczyk, Marek Helis and Mohamed Hazem Kalaji

Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4512; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084512 - 10 Apr 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2226

Abstract

One of the problems of sustainable agricultural land management (SALM) is the competition between food production and biomass production. For this reason, marginal lands with unfavorable agrotechnical conditions have been proposed for non-food crops in recent years. To this end, a better understanding of the impact of environmental factors on crop development and yield is needed. The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of soil water availability on selected morphological, physiological and growth characteristics of four C₄ grass species (Miscanthus × giganteus, Miscanthus sacchariflorus, Miscanthus sinensis and Spartina pectinate) growing under different water and fertilizer conditions. A pot experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions with four grass species, three different water rates (100, 85 and 70%) and three fertilizer rates (270, 180 and 90 kg NPK ha⁻¹). The study showed that water stress, regardless of plant species, increased the chlorophyll content index without affecting the photosynthetic efficiency of the plants. Water stress significantly decreased plant fresh and dry mass, shoot number and length, and shoot/leaf ratio. The response to water deficit depended on the plant species. Miscanthus sinensis was the most sensitive to water deficit and Spartina pectinate the most tolerant (reduction in dry mass of 41.5% and 18%, respectively). Water stress (85% and 70%) reduced the number and the length of shoots without affecting the average diameter of shoots of the tested grasses, resulting in a significant reduction in biomass production of plants grown under optimal conditions with mineral NPK fertilization (180 kg NPK ha⁻¹). Miscanthus sacchariflorus showed the highest dry matter under the worst growing conditions (70% and 90 NPK) and therefore could be recommended for cultivation on marginal lands with unfavorable agrotechnical conditions. It should be emphasized that the high yield of this species was not due to the photosynthetic efficiency, but better growth stem parameters (length and number). It appears that, for long-term agricultural land management, it is preferable to determine fertilizer rates for each crop species based on soil water availability. It should also be emphasized that increasing the yield of potential lignocellulosic crops for energy purposes while reducing environmental impact appears to be one of the viable answers to the difficulties of conventional energy production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Land Management: Co-benefits and Challenges in 21st Century)

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12 pages, 8225 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Climate Change Affects Crop Production Potential in Semi-Arid Regions: A Case Study in Dingxi, Northwest China, in Recent 30 Years

by Qiong Jia, Mengfei Li and Xuecheng Dou

Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3578; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063578 - 18 Mar 2022

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3077

Abstract

Crop production potential (CPP) is profoundly affected by the change in climate factors (e.g., precipitation, temperature, and solar radiation) brought about by climate change, which ultimately affects the quantity and yield of crops. In China, arid and semi-arid regions are mainly located in the western regions and occupy around 59% of the land area. In order to identify the most important climatic factors restricting the increase in CPP and planting systems in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China, the changes in climate factors, CPP, and their correlation and planting systems were analyzed based on a representative semi-arid location, Dingxi, of Gansu province, from 1989 to 2019. The results showed that the temperature and precipitation increased by 0.89 °C and 26.61 mm, respectively, whereas solar radiation decreased by 5–6 d. The standard CPP of five crops (wheat, corn, potato, Chinese herbal medicines, and vegetables) increased by 655.09 kg/ha (1.09-fold), and precipitation played a more important role in improving CPP than other climate factors. Although there were positive correlations between the standard CPP and the five crops’ actual yields, no significant relationships were observed. The total cultivation area of the five crops showed a 215.55 × 10³ ha (1.75-fold) increase with a 8.91-, 2.33-, 8.73- and 3.10-fold increase for corn, potato, Chinese herbal medicines, and vegetables, respectively, plus a 2.58-fold decrease for wheat. The agricultural ecosystem’s adaptability presented an obvious increase, especially from 2013 to 2019, although the agricultural natural environment factor maintained a low level. These findings provide scientific and technological support for the adjustment of planting structure, optimization of agricultural arrangement and development of water-saving agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Land Management: Co-benefits and Challenges in 21st Century)

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24 pages, 4849 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intense Pasture Management in Brazil in an Integrated Crop-Livestock System Simulated by the DayCent Model

by Yane Freitas Silva, Rafael Vasconcelos Valadares, Henrique Boriolo Dias, Santiago Vianna Cuadra, Eleanor E. Campbell, Rubens A. C. Lamparelli, Edemar Moro, Rafael Battisti, Marcelo R. Alves, Paulo S. G. Magalhães and Gleyce K. D. A. Figueiredo

Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3517; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063517 - 17 Mar 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4746

Abstract

Process-based models (PBM) are important tools for understanding the benefits of Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems (ICLS), such as increasing land productivity and improving environmental conditions. PBM can provide insights into the contribution of agricultural production to climate change and help identify potential greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and carbon sequestration options. Rehabilitation of degraded lands is a key strategy for achieving food security goals and can reduce the need for new agricultural land. This study focused on the calibration and validation of the DayCent PBM for a typical ICLS adopted in Brazil from 2018 to 2020. We also present the DayCent parametrization for two forage species (ruzigrass and millet) grown simultaneously, bringing some innovation in the modeling challenges. We used aboveground biomass to calibrate the model, randomly selecting data from 70% of the paddocks in the study area. The calibration obtained a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.69 and a relative RMSE of 37.0%. During the validation, we used other variables (CO₂ flux, grain biomass, and soil water content) measured in the ICLS and performed a double validation for plant growth to evaluate the robustness of the model in terms of generalization. R² validations ranged from 0.61 to 0.73, and relative RMSE from 11.3 to 48.3%. Despite the complexity and diversity of ICLS results show that DayCent can be used to model ICLS, which is an important step for future regional analyses and large-scale evaluations of the impacts of ICLS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Land Management: Co-benefits and Challenges in 21st Century)

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26 pages, 9542 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Old Wine in New Bottles: Exploiting Data from the EU’s Farm Accountancy Data Network for Pan-EU Sustainability Assessments of Agricultural Production Systems

by Keith B. Matthews, Ansel Renner, Kirsty L. Blackstock, Kerry A. Waylen, Dave G. Miller, Doug H. Wardell-Johnson, Alba Juarez-Bourke, Juan Cadillo-Benalcazar, Joep F. Schyns and Mario Giampietro

Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10080; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810080 - 9 Sep 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4972

Abstract

The paper presents insights from carrying out a pan-EU sustainability assessment using Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data (the old wine) with societal metabolism accounting (SMA) processes (the new bottles). The SMA was deployed as part of a transdisciplinary study with EU policy stakeholders of how EU policy may need to change to deliver sustainability commitments, particularly to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The paper outlines the concepts underlying SMA and its specific implementation using the FADN data. A key focus was on the interactions between crop and livestock systems and how this determines imported feedstuffs requirements, with environmental and other footprints beyond the EU. Examples of agricultural production systems performance are presented in terms of financial/efficiency, resource use (particularly the water footprint) and quantifies potential pressures on the environment. Benefits and limitations of the FADN dataset and the SMA outputs are discussed, highlighting the challenges of linking quantified pressures with environmental impacts. The paper concludes that the complexity of agriculture’s interactions with economy and society means there is great need for conceptual frameworks, such as SMA, that can take multiple, non-equivalent, perspectives and that can be deployed with policy stakeholders despite generating uncomfortable knowledge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Land Management: Co-benefits and Challenges in 21st Century)

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22 pages, 63459 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prioritization of Watershed Using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System

by Devendra Kumar, Arvind Dhaloiya, Ajeet Singh Nain, Mahendra Paal Sharma and Amandeep Singh

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9456; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169456 - 23 Aug 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5768

Abstract

Soil erosion is becoming a major concern at the watershed scale for the environment, natural resources, and sustainable resource management. Therefore, the estimation of soil loss through this phenomenon and the identification of critical soil erosion-prone areas are considered to be key tasks in the soil conservation programme for the design and implementation of best management practices for specific regions or areas. In the present study, revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) modelling is combined with remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS) techniques and used to predict soil erosion and the prioritization of watersheds in Nainital district Uttarakhand, India. For the estimation of soil loss, different factors, namely, rainfall-runoff erosivity (R) factor, soil erodability (K) factor, slope length steepness (LS) factor, cover management (C) factor, and the erosion control practices (P) factor were computed. The data on various other aspects such as land use/land cover (LU/LC), the digital elevation model (DEM), slope, contours, drainage network, soil texture, organic matter, and rainfall were integrated to prepare a database for the RUSLE equation by employing ENVI & QGIS software. The results showed that a major portion (70.26%) of Nainital district is covered with forest, followed by area under fallow and agricultural land. Annual average soil loss ranged between 20 to 80 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the study area. Out of 50 watersheds in the study area, 7 watersheds were given top priority for conserving natural resources, while 11 watersheds, mostly in the east-central part of Nainital, were kept under the next priority category. Only 4 watersheds of the total were given lowest priority. Moreover, it was concluded that major portions of Nainital district were in a severely prone category of soil erosion, and therefore required immediate action plans to check soil erosion and evade the possibility of landslides. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Land Management: Co-benefits and Challenges in 21st Century)

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