Sustainable Management of Agro-Biodiversity for Agricultural Production and Climate Mitigation

Dear Colleagues,

Despite warnings from experts and governments, we are still witnessing mass extinction events in agroecosystems. The overexploitation of existing natural resources (soil, water, and air) is jeopardizing the whole system; as a result, there is a downturn of agro-biodiversity leading to unproductive lands, groundwater pollution, and air pollution. It is also contributing to climate change and global warming issues (floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones, etc.). Present agricultural lands have reached a stage where most soils are infertile (i.e., they produce nothing in the absence of inputs). Ever-growing population and food demand place a huge burden on soils to produce more food. The non-judicious management of nutrient fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, weedicides, and other chemicals is affecting the overall floral and faunal diversity in agroecosystems on a long-term scale. Jeopardizing the environment affects the agriculture sector at greater levels by destroying the natural capital and economy.

Biodiversity is a regulator of agroecosystem functions that largely satisfies the diverse needs of farmers and society. Thus, reducing biodiversity loss and improving the essential ecosystem services provided by biodiversity are key to sustainable agricultural production. This can be achieved through feasible and impactful farming practices which follow ecosystem-based approaches or natural-based solutions. The management and conservation of biodiversity include the consideration of life both above-ground (crops, trees, insects, birds) and below-ground (soil organisms). Participatory approaches such as agronomic practices (crop selection, geometry, and rotation), crop improvement (breeding, genetic resources), soil management (amendments, fertilizers), pest management (insecticides, pesticides), etc. can increase the interactions of species within agroecosystems if our conservation efforts are well organized. Additionally, pest attacks on crops may increase under changing climate. Therefore, framing suitable policies of biodiversity conservation under climate crisis to improve agrobiodiversity hotspots will ensure food and livelihood security.

This Special Issue welcomes contributions from researchers around the world working on sustainable crop production in consideration of environmental (soil, water, and air) issues, including soil restoration, climate mitigation techniques, use of climate-resistant crop varieties, pest management, healthy crop production through balanced nutrient management, high-carbon biomass crops, management of soil nutrients and their interactions with crops and environment, and the techniques involved in pollution control.

Dr. Rahul Datta
Dr. Deepranjan Sarkar
Dr. Sachidanand Singh
Guest Editors

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