Eco-friendly alternatives to plastic mulch films prove effective in tomato production
In 1999, more than 30 million acres of agricultural land worldwide were covered with plastic mulch, and those numbers have been increasing significantly since then. With the recent trend toward "going green", researchers are seeking environmentally friendlier alternatives to conventional plastic mulch.
Plastic mulch can provide earlier crop maturity, higher yields, increased quality, improved disease and insect resistance, and more efficient water and fertiliser use, but carries a high cost financially and environmentally when it comes to removing the estimated one million tons of mulch film used internationally each year.
Mathieu Ngouajio, of the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University, led a study comparing black and white biodegradable mulch films in two thicknesses to traditional plastic mulch in the production of tomato. The results of the study were published in the American Society for Horticultural Science journal HortTechnology.
The lowest soil temperatures were identified with the white films, which is also associated with the white film's higher rate of degradation. Breakdown of white mulch occurred early and exposed the bed for weed growth, creating competition for nutrients between weeds and tomato. As the weeds grew, they tore the mulch, leading to further degradation. Furthermore, the weeds hosted a large insect population that reduced the quality of the tomato.
"The [conventional] LDPE mulch provided 100 per cent weed control in both years, which confirms why this is the preferred mulch used by most vegetable growers," Ngouajio remarked. Weed control levels for both thicknesses of the black biodegradable mulch were more than 90 per cent. Black biodegradable mulch performed well in the field, producing tomato crops similar to conventional mulch during both years of the study.
The study authors explain that there are three factors to be resolved before black biodegradable mulch can be seen as a viable replacement for conventional methods. First, more research is needed to produce mulch that can fully break down in the field. Second, biodegradable mulch must be able to withstand the stresses of being applied to fields by machine. Last, the price of biodegradable mulch needs to be economically acceptable compared to conventional mulch after factoring in the savings for removal and disposal.
Showing posts with label Biotechnology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biotechnology. Show all posts
Shredding Corn Silage Could Produce More Ethanol at Less Cost
A Purdue University researcher has found a way to get more bang for fewer bucks when it comes to processing cellulosic material to make ethanol.
By shredding corn stover instead of chopping, as is commonly done, about 40 per cent less energy is needed to gain access to more of the material stored in the plant. Dennis Buckmaster, an associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, said that by shredding corn stover there is better access to cellulose, which is the main part of plant cell walls necessary to make ethanol.
"You can't just use a big chunk of cellulosic material. You need small particles," Buckmaster said. "What we want is access to what's in there."
Using a technique employed in food processing and other industries to measure cell damage, Buckmaster put chopped and shredded corn stalks in water and compared the amount of leachates in each solution. A leachate is any plant substance that is dissolved out of a plant or soil when it is placed in water.
According to Buckmaster's results, shredded corn stalks produced about 11 per cent more leachates than chopped and five per cent more than stalks that had been chopped and put through a roller. Buckmaster said those differences are all the more impressive when considering the energy savings tied to shredding, giving ethanol makers potentially more cellulose for less cost.
Buckmaster said that shredding corn stalks increases the surface area of the plant material. And because stalks can be shredded along the grain of the plants, like splitting a log with an axe, it takes less energy. The current chopping method, he said, is like putting the log on its side and trying to chop it with the same axe.
"It takes much less force to shear the plant material in the direction of the fibres," Buckmaster said.
Plants can be chopped again after storage to increase surface area, but that would raise energy costs beyond what is already spent at harvest, he said.
Shredding corn stalks produced pieces of different sizes, but even the largest pieces of shredded material produced about as many leachates as the smallest shredded pieces. When comparing the chopped materials, the largest pieces produced fewer leachates than the smallest pieces.
"The shredded material, even with the long particles, gives you more access to plant nutrients," Buckmaster said. "You can use chopping to reduce the size of particles, but that takes more energy and is not as efficient as shredding at harvest."
Buckmaster's study was published in the last 2008 edition of Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. His research was funded through the US Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.
Buckmaster said the next step in his research is to compare shredded and chopped cellulosic material to see which produces more ethanol. He also is working to design machinery that can be used by farmers to shred plant materials during harvest instead of using current chopping mechanisms.
By shredding corn stover instead of chopping, as is commonly done, about 40 per cent less energy is needed to gain access to more of the material stored in the plant. Dennis Buckmaster, an associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, said that by shredding corn stover there is better access to cellulose, which is the main part of plant cell walls necessary to make ethanol.
"You can't just use a big chunk of cellulosic material. You need small particles," Buckmaster said. "What we want is access to what's in there."
Using a technique employed in food processing and other industries to measure cell damage, Buckmaster put chopped and shredded corn stalks in water and compared the amount of leachates in each solution. A leachate is any plant substance that is dissolved out of a plant or soil when it is placed in water.
According to Buckmaster's results, shredded corn stalks produced about 11 per cent more leachates than chopped and five per cent more than stalks that had been chopped and put through a roller. Buckmaster said those differences are all the more impressive when considering the energy savings tied to shredding, giving ethanol makers potentially more cellulose for less cost.
Buckmaster said that shredding corn stalks increases the surface area of the plant material. And because stalks can be shredded along the grain of the plants, like splitting a log with an axe, it takes less energy. The current chopping method, he said, is like putting the log on its side and trying to chop it with the same axe.
"It takes much less force to shear the plant material in the direction of the fibres," Buckmaster said.
Plants can be chopped again after storage to increase surface area, but that would raise energy costs beyond what is already spent at harvest, he said.
Shredding corn stalks produced pieces of different sizes, but even the largest pieces of shredded material produced about as many leachates as the smallest shredded pieces. When comparing the chopped materials, the largest pieces produced fewer leachates than the smallest pieces.
"The shredded material, even with the long particles, gives you more access to plant nutrients," Buckmaster said. "You can use chopping to reduce the size of particles, but that takes more energy and is not as efficient as shredding at harvest."
Buckmaster's study was published in the last 2008 edition of Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. His research was funded through the US Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.
Buckmaster said the next step in his research is to compare shredded and chopped cellulosic material to see which produces more ethanol. He also is working to design machinery that can be used by farmers to shred plant materials during harvest instead of using current chopping mechanisms.
Food Security, Health & Environment at Risk as Pest Outbreak Looms in West Africa
The spectre of a food crisis and an environmental emergency is looming in West Africa as tens of millions of caterpillars advance through villages in northern Liberia, destroying crops and sending terrified villagers fleeing from their homes.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has announced that many wells and waterways in several northern Liberia villages are now unfit for human consumption because of the huge volume of faeces dropped by the caterpillars.
The plague is Liberia's worst in 30 years and the situation has been described as a national emergency.
The FAO has warned that unless the invasion is quickly contained, it is likely to escalate into a regional crisis involving neighbouring Guinea, Sierra Leone and Cöte d'Ivoire. Hordes of the caterpillars are said to be already advancing across the border with Guinea.
The caterpillars are suspected to be African armyworms (Spodoptera exempta). According to UNEP experts, African armyworms were responsible for destroying over 30,000 hectares of maize around the Mount Kenya region in 2008. The last African armyworm outbreak in West Africa occurred in Ghana in 2006.
The caterpillar outbreak is a threat to health and environmental sustainability, both of which are among the eight UN Millennium Development Goals.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has announced that many wells and waterways in several northern Liberia villages are now unfit for human consumption because of the huge volume of faeces dropped by the caterpillars.
The plague is Liberia's worst in 30 years and the situation has been described as a national emergency.
The FAO has warned that unless the invasion is quickly contained, it is likely to escalate into a regional crisis involving neighbouring Guinea, Sierra Leone and Cöte d'Ivoire. Hordes of the caterpillars are said to be already advancing across the border with Guinea.
The caterpillars are suspected to be African armyworms (Spodoptera exempta). According to UNEP experts, African armyworms were responsible for destroying over 30,000 hectares of maize around the Mount Kenya region in 2008. The last African armyworm outbreak in West Africa occurred in Ghana in 2006.
The caterpillar outbreak is a threat to health and environmental sustainability, both of which are among the eight UN Millennium Development Goals.
Nonchemical weed control
Researchers in Egypt prove organic plant waste proves effective weed control for citrus trees
Interest in organic crop production is increasing around the world. Organics are healthy for consumers while adding environmental benefits and decreasing the amount of synthetic herbicides in foods, soil, and water. While organics gain popularity with consumers, organic farmers are faced with new production challenges, especially managing and reducing invasive weeds.
Synthetic mulches, manufactured from petroleum-based materials, have been used extensively for weed control. The downside: synthetic mulches cause increased runoff compared with "natural" mulches, disposal and landfill concerns, and are highly restricted in "certified organic" production. Interest in non-chemical weed control methods has increased in recent years with the spread of organic farming and environmental concerns over the adverse effects of herbicides. Economically and environmentally sustainable weed control alternatives, such as non-synthetic or natural mulch, can provide many benefits for growers. Natural mulches have been proven effective in weed suppression, moisture conservation, and improved water infiltration.
Egyptian citrus fruits, especially those grown organically, are exported to many countries. "Mandarins" include a diverse group of citrus fruits that are characterized by bright peel and pulp color, excellent flavor, easy-to-peel rind, and segments that separate easily. Mandarins are grown in sandy soil, presenting special challenges to growers. Weeds compete with citrus for nutrients and water, harbor pests and host pathogens, and impact the efficiency of orchard operations. Not surprisingly, use of chemicals for controlling weeds in citrus crops can affect physical and chemical properties and quality of fruits.
Researchers from the Botany Department at the National Research Center in Giza, Egypt recently published the results of a two-year study of 15-year-old mandarin trees. The study compared the effects of rice straw mulch, cattail mulch, black plastic mulch, hand-hoeing, cultivation, glyphosate, and unweeded control treatments on weed control, fruit yield, and fruit quality.
"The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of plant mulches with different depths compared with synthetic mulch, hand-hoeing, cultivation, and glyphosate on weed control efficacy and quantity and quality of mandarin fruits", remarked Dr. H.F. Abouziena, the project's lead researcher. Abouziena added, "In Egypt, rice straw is considered one of the most important plant waste problems, and cattail weed is a problem in all water canals. Waste materials such as rice straw, weeds, aquatic weeds, bark, and composted municipal green waste can provide effective weed control."
The research team also found that the greatest control (94 per cent to 100 per cent) of weeds occurred with the plastic mulch and three mulch layers of rice straw or cattail. Covering soil with two layers of cattail or rice straw mulch resulted in an 85% to 98% control of weeds. Plastic mulches, cattail mulch in two or three layers, and rice straw in two-layer treatments significantly increased the fruit yield without significant differences among these superior treatments. Soil mulching with three layers of rice straw, cultivation, glyphosate, and plastic mulch treatments caused a significant reduction in weed density and weed biomass, but gave lower yield than superior treatments. Total acidity and vitamin C were significantly lower in the unweeded control than most weeded treatments.
"These results demonstrate that two layers of cattail or rice straw mulch could be used effectively for controlling weeds in citrus groves. Their effectiveness in controlling weeds may increase their use in agriculture systems with a concomitant decrease in the need for synthetic herbicides. Further studies are needed to evaluate their side effects on beneficial organisms, diseases, and insects", observed Abouziena. The report included an important caveat for producers; because of a higher depth of natural mulches required to suppress weeds, transport costs can be high and prohibit their use, unless the material is produced on the farm.
Interest in organic crop production is increasing around the world. Organics are healthy for consumers while adding environmental benefits and decreasing the amount of synthetic herbicides in foods, soil, and water. While organics gain popularity with consumers, organic farmers are faced with new production challenges, especially managing and reducing invasive weeds.
Synthetic mulches, manufactured from petroleum-based materials, have been used extensively for weed control. The downside: synthetic mulches cause increased runoff compared with "natural" mulches, disposal and landfill concerns, and are highly restricted in "certified organic" production. Interest in non-chemical weed control methods has increased in recent years with the spread of organic farming and environmental concerns over the adverse effects of herbicides. Economically and environmentally sustainable weed control alternatives, such as non-synthetic or natural mulch, can provide many benefits for growers. Natural mulches have been proven effective in weed suppression, moisture conservation, and improved water infiltration.
Egyptian citrus fruits, especially those grown organically, are exported to many countries. "Mandarins" include a diverse group of citrus fruits that are characterized by bright peel and pulp color, excellent flavor, easy-to-peel rind, and segments that separate easily. Mandarins are grown in sandy soil, presenting special challenges to growers. Weeds compete with citrus for nutrients and water, harbor pests and host pathogens, and impact the efficiency of orchard operations. Not surprisingly, use of chemicals for controlling weeds in citrus crops can affect physical and chemical properties and quality of fruits.
Researchers from the Botany Department at the National Research Center in Giza, Egypt recently published the results of a two-year study of 15-year-old mandarin trees. The study compared the effects of rice straw mulch, cattail mulch, black plastic mulch, hand-hoeing, cultivation, glyphosate, and unweeded control treatments on weed control, fruit yield, and fruit quality.
"The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of plant mulches with different depths compared with synthetic mulch, hand-hoeing, cultivation, and glyphosate on weed control efficacy and quantity and quality of mandarin fruits", remarked Dr. H.F. Abouziena, the project's lead researcher. Abouziena added, "In Egypt, rice straw is considered one of the most important plant waste problems, and cattail weed is a problem in all water canals. Waste materials such as rice straw, weeds, aquatic weeds, bark, and composted municipal green waste can provide effective weed control."
The research team also found that the greatest control (94 per cent to 100 per cent) of weeds occurred with the plastic mulch and three mulch layers of rice straw or cattail. Covering soil with two layers of cattail or rice straw mulch resulted in an 85% to 98% control of weeds. Plastic mulches, cattail mulch in two or three layers, and rice straw in two-layer treatments significantly increased the fruit yield without significant differences among these superior treatments. Soil mulching with three layers of rice straw, cultivation, glyphosate, and plastic mulch treatments caused a significant reduction in weed density and weed biomass, but gave lower yield than superior treatments. Total acidity and vitamin C were significantly lower in the unweeded control than most weeded treatments.
"These results demonstrate that two layers of cattail or rice straw mulch could be used effectively for controlling weeds in citrus groves. Their effectiveness in controlling weeds may increase their use in agriculture systems with a concomitant decrease in the need for synthetic herbicides. Further studies are needed to evaluate their side effects on beneficial organisms, diseases, and insects", observed Abouziena. The report included an important caveat for producers; because of a higher depth of natural mulches required to suppress weeds, transport costs can be high and prohibit their use, unless the material is produced on the farm.
Sexual Abnormalities in Toads – A Warning Bell
A recent study by the scientists at the University of Florida has found that uncontrolled agricultural practices could lead to abnormalities in amphibians. A study, with wide ranging implications for a debate over the threat caused by agricultural chemicals, scientists has found that toads in suburban areas are less likely to suffer from reproductive system abnormalities than toads near farms – where some had both testes and ovaries.
“As you increase agriculture, you have an increasing number of abnormalities,” observes Lou Guillette, a distinguished professor of zoology and one of the several University of Florida authors of a paper on the research. The research is headed by Krista McCoy who did the work as part of her dissertation.
Agricultural chemicals are considered to be one likely cause for the worldwide decline of amphibians. A number of studies have reflected upon a link between herbicides used in farming practices and the sexual abnormalities an frogs and tadpoles. Other causes may include pathogenic infections and habitat loss.
Varied research on frogs collected from agricultural areas and other natural areas has been already done. The exploration by the scientists at University of Florida is the first peer-reviewed study to compare abnormalities in wild toads, and a variety of toads from heavily farmed areas to partially farmed and completely suburban areas. This is done to spotlight the difference between the impacts of agriculture in opposition to development.
“Our study is the first to explicitly ask, of these two areas of human disturbance, do we see a greater proportion of abnormal animals in one versus another?” Guillette said.
The results of the study implicate agriculture and McCoy feels that future generations should narrow their focus to agricultural chemicals. “Because we know what chemicals are used at these agricultural sites, we can begin to pin down the chemical cause of these abnormalities by conducting controlled experiments with each chemical alone and in combination,” she said.
The specimens for the study, giant toads known scientifically as Bufo marinus, was collected from five sites, each site was 2.1 square miles, from Lake Worth to Belle Glade and down to Homestead in South Florida; a piece of land devoted to sugar cane or vegetable farms; and slowly the farmland declining in three other sites, with the last being entirely suburban. The researchers collected at least 20 toads from each site in 2005 and 2006.
The results of the study were quite shocking. It revealed a pattern. Toads with high sexual abnormalities or so called “intersex” toads, with both female and male internal reproductive organs were found in those that living in agricultural lands.
While the forelimbs of normal male toads are thicker and stronger than those of their female counterparts, more of the intersex frogs found in agricultural fields had thin, weak forearms. They also had fewer “nuptial pads,” areas of scrappy skin on their feet used to grip females during copulation. The more agricultural the sites became, the more feminised the males’ reproductive organs were. Many had both ovaries and testes.
In cases where the sex was definite, the appearance of the male toad was the most affected. Normal male toads are brown, while females are stippled with brown stripes. However, males from agricultural areas were stippled, looking like females. Both the impacted males and the intersex frogs had less of the male hormone testosterone than normal males, suggesting a diminished reproductive capability.
Guillette and McCoy feel that the results of the study may have important implications not only for other wild species, but also for common man.
“What we are finding in Bufo marinus might also occur in other animals, including other amphibian species and humans,” McCoy said. “In fact, reproductive abnormalities are increasing in humans and these increases could partially be due to exposure to pesticides.”
Source: University of Florida
“As you increase agriculture, you have an increasing number of abnormalities,” observes Lou Guillette, a distinguished professor of zoology and one of the several University of Florida authors of a paper on the research. The research is headed by Krista McCoy who did the work as part of her dissertation.
Agricultural chemicals are considered to be one likely cause for the worldwide decline of amphibians. A number of studies have reflected upon a link between herbicides used in farming practices and the sexual abnormalities an frogs and tadpoles. Other causes may include pathogenic infections and habitat loss.
Varied research on frogs collected from agricultural areas and other natural areas has been already done. The exploration by the scientists at University of Florida is the first peer-reviewed study to compare abnormalities in wild toads, and a variety of toads from heavily farmed areas to partially farmed and completely suburban areas. This is done to spotlight the difference between the impacts of agriculture in opposition to development.
“Our study is the first to explicitly ask, of these two areas of human disturbance, do we see a greater proportion of abnormal animals in one versus another?” Guillette said.
The results of the study implicate agriculture and McCoy feels that future generations should narrow their focus to agricultural chemicals. “Because we know what chemicals are used at these agricultural sites, we can begin to pin down the chemical cause of these abnormalities by conducting controlled experiments with each chemical alone and in combination,” she said.
The specimens for the study, giant toads known scientifically as Bufo marinus, was collected from five sites, each site was 2.1 square miles, from Lake Worth to Belle Glade and down to Homestead in South Florida; a piece of land devoted to sugar cane or vegetable farms; and slowly the farmland declining in three other sites, with the last being entirely suburban. The researchers collected at least 20 toads from each site in 2005 and 2006.
The results of the study were quite shocking. It revealed a pattern. Toads with high sexual abnormalities or so called “intersex” toads, with both female and male internal reproductive organs were found in those that living in agricultural lands.
While the forelimbs of normal male toads are thicker and stronger than those of their female counterparts, more of the intersex frogs found in agricultural fields had thin, weak forearms. They also had fewer “nuptial pads,” areas of scrappy skin on their feet used to grip females during copulation. The more agricultural the sites became, the more feminised the males’ reproductive organs were. Many had both ovaries and testes.
In cases where the sex was definite, the appearance of the male toad was the most affected. Normal male toads are brown, while females are stippled with brown stripes. However, males from agricultural areas were stippled, looking like females. Both the impacted males and the intersex frogs had less of the male hormone testosterone than normal males, suggesting a diminished reproductive capability.
Guillette and McCoy feel that the results of the study may have important implications not only for other wild species, but also for common man.
“What we are finding in Bufo marinus might also occur in other animals, including other amphibian species and humans,” McCoy said. “In fact, reproductive abnormalities are increasing in humans and these increases could partially be due to exposure to pesticides.”
Source: University of Florida
Scientists Identify Bacteria That Increase Plant Growth
Findings have implications for increasing biomass for the production of biofuels
Through work originally designed to remove contaminants from soil, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and their Belgium colleagues at Hasselt University have identified plant-associated microbes that can improve plant growth on marginal land. The findings, published in the February 1, 2009 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, may help scientists design strategies for sustainable biofuel production that do not use food crops or agricultural land.
“Biofuels are receiving increased attention as one strategy for addressing the dwindling supplies, high costs, and environmental consequences of fossil fuels,” said Brookhaven biologist and lead author Daniel (Niels) van der Lelie, who leads the Lab’s biofuels research program. “But competition with agricultural resources is an important socioeconomic concern.”
Ethanol produced by fermenting corn, for example, diverts an important food source — and the land it’s grown on — for fuel production. A better approach would be to use non-food plants, ideally ones grown on non-agricultural land, for biofuel production.
Van der Lelie’s team has experience with plants growing on extremely marginal soil — soil contaminated with heavy metals and other industrial chemicals. In prior research, his group has incorporated the molecular “machinery” used by bacteria that degrade such contaminants into microbes that normally colonise poplar trees, and used the trees to clean up the soil. An added benefit, the scientists observed, was that the microbe-supplemented trees grew faster — even when no contaminants were present.
“This work led to our current search for bacteria and the metabolic pathways within them that increase biomass and carbon sequestration in poplar trees growing on marginal soils, with the goal of further improving poplar for biofuel production on non-agricultural lands,” said co-author Safiyh Taghavi. In the current study, the scientists isolated bacteria normally resident in poplar and willow roots, which are known as endophytic bacteria, and tested selected strains’ abilities to increase poplar growth in a controlled greenhouse environment. They also sequenced the genes from four selected bacterial species and screened them for the production of plant-growth promoting enzymes, hormones, and other metabolic factors that might help explain how the bacteria improve plant growth.
“Understanding such microbial-plant interactions may yield ways to further increase biomass,” van der Lelie said.
The plants were first washed and surface-sterilised to eliminate the presence of soil bacteria so the scientists could study only the bacteria that lived within the plant tissues – true endophytic bacteria. The plant material was then ground up so the bacterial species could be isolated. Individual strains were then supplemented with a gene for a protein that “glows” under ultraviolet light, and inoculated into the roots of fresh poplar cuttings that had been developing new roots in water. The presence of the endophytic bacteria was confirmed by searching for the glowing protein. Some bacterial species were also tested for their ability to increase the production of roots in the poplar cuttings by being introduced during the rooting process rather than afterward.
The results
The scientists identified 78 bacterial endophytes from poplar and willow. Some species had beneficial effects on plant growth, others had no effect, and some resulted in decreased growth. In particular, poplar cuttings inoculated with Enterobacter sp. 638 and Burkholderia cepacia BU72 repeatedly showed the highest increase in biomass production — up to 50 percent — as compared with non-inoculated control plants. Though no other endophyte species showed such dramatic effects, some were effective in promoting growth in particular cultivars of poplar.
In the studies specifically looking at root formation, non-inoculated plants formed roots very slowly. In contrast, plant cuttings that were allowed to root in the presence of selected endophytes grew roots and shoots more quickly.
The analysis of genes and metabolically important gene products from endophytes resulted in the identification of many possible mechanisms that could help these microbes thrive within a plant environment, and potentially affect the growth and development of their plant host. These include the production of plant-growth-promoting hormones by the endophytic bacteria that stimulate the growth of poplar on marginal soils.
The scientists plan to conduct additional studies to further elucidate these mechanisms. “These mechanisms are of prime importance for the use of plants as feedstocks for biofuels and for carbon sequestration through biomass production,” van der Lelie said.
This study was funded by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research within DOE’s Office of Science, by Brookhaven’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development Fund, and by the Flanders Science Foundation and the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders, both in Belgium.
Through work originally designed to remove contaminants from soil, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and their Belgium colleagues at Hasselt University have identified plant-associated microbes that can improve plant growth on marginal land. The findings, published in the February 1, 2009 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, may help scientists design strategies for sustainable biofuel production that do not use food crops or agricultural land.
“Biofuels are receiving increased attention as one strategy for addressing the dwindling supplies, high costs, and environmental consequences of fossil fuels,” said Brookhaven biologist and lead author Daniel (Niels) van der Lelie, who leads the Lab’s biofuels research program. “But competition with agricultural resources is an important socioeconomic concern.”
Ethanol produced by fermenting corn, for example, diverts an important food source — and the land it’s grown on — for fuel production. A better approach would be to use non-food plants, ideally ones grown on non-agricultural land, for biofuel production.
Van der Lelie’s team has experience with plants growing on extremely marginal soil — soil contaminated with heavy metals and other industrial chemicals. In prior research, his group has incorporated the molecular “machinery” used by bacteria that degrade such contaminants into microbes that normally colonise poplar trees, and used the trees to clean up the soil. An added benefit, the scientists observed, was that the microbe-supplemented trees grew faster — even when no contaminants were present.
“This work led to our current search for bacteria and the metabolic pathways within them that increase biomass and carbon sequestration in poplar trees growing on marginal soils, with the goal of further improving poplar for biofuel production on non-agricultural lands,” said co-author Safiyh Taghavi. In the current study, the scientists isolated bacteria normally resident in poplar and willow roots, which are known as endophytic bacteria, and tested selected strains’ abilities to increase poplar growth in a controlled greenhouse environment. They also sequenced the genes from four selected bacterial species and screened them for the production of plant-growth promoting enzymes, hormones, and other metabolic factors that might help explain how the bacteria improve plant growth.
“Understanding such microbial-plant interactions may yield ways to further increase biomass,” van der Lelie said.
The plants were first washed and surface-sterilised to eliminate the presence of soil bacteria so the scientists could study only the bacteria that lived within the plant tissues – true endophytic bacteria. The plant material was then ground up so the bacterial species could be isolated. Individual strains were then supplemented with a gene for a protein that “glows” under ultraviolet light, and inoculated into the roots of fresh poplar cuttings that had been developing new roots in water. The presence of the endophytic bacteria was confirmed by searching for the glowing protein. Some bacterial species were also tested for their ability to increase the production of roots in the poplar cuttings by being introduced during the rooting process rather than afterward.
The results
The scientists identified 78 bacterial endophytes from poplar and willow. Some species had beneficial effects on plant growth, others had no effect, and some resulted in decreased growth. In particular, poplar cuttings inoculated with Enterobacter sp. 638 and Burkholderia cepacia BU72 repeatedly showed the highest increase in biomass production — up to 50 percent — as compared with non-inoculated control plants. Though no other endophyte species showed such dramatic effects, some were effective in promoting growth in particular cultivars of poplar.
In the studies specifically looking at root formation, non-inoculated plants formed roots very slowly. In contrast, plant cuttings that were allowed to root in the presence of selected endophytes grew roots and shoots more quickly.
The analysis of genes and metabolically important gene products from endophytes resulted in the identification of many possible mechanisms that could help these microbes thrive within a plant environment, and potentially affect the growth and development of their plant host. These include the production of plant-growth-promoting hormones by the endophytic bacteria that stimulate the growth of poplar on marginal soils.
The scientists plan to conduct additional studies to further elucidate these mechanisms. “These mechanisms are of prime importance for the use of plants as feedstocks for biofuels and for carbon sequestration through biomass production,” van der Lelie said.
This study was funded by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research within DOE’s Office of Science, by Brookhaven’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development Fund, and by the Flanders Science Foundation and the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders, both in Belgium.
Biofuel Carbon Footprint
Publications ranging from the journal Science to Time magazine have blasted biofuels for significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, calling into question the environmental benefits of making fuel from plant material. But a new analysis by Michigan State University scientists says these dire predictions are based on a set of assumptions that may not be correct.
"Greenhouse gas release from changes in land use – growing crops that could be used for biofuels on previously unfarmed land – has been identified as a negative contributor to the environmental profile of biofuels," said Bruce Dale, MSU University Distinguished Professor of chemical engineering and materials science. "Other analyses have estimated that it would take from 100 to 1,000 years before biofuels could overcome this 'carbon debt' and start providing greenhouse gas benefits."
But as Dale and his co-authors point out in their research, published in the January online edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology, earlier analyses didn't consider a number of variables that might influence the greenhouse gas emissions associated with biofuels.
"Our analysis shows that crop management is a key factor in estimating greenhouse gas emissions associated with land use change associated with biofuels," Dale said. "Sustainable management practices, such as no-till farming and planting cover crops, can reduce the time it takes for biofuels to overcome the carbon debt to three years for grassland conversion and 14 years for temperate zone forest conversion."
The discrepancies between the time it will take biofuels to offer environmental benefits is due to the models used for each analysis, Dale explained.
"There are no real data on what actually happens as demand increases for land for biofuel production in one part of the world potentially leads to land clearing, because it is impossible to track these relationships in the real world," Dale said. "All the estimates are based on economic relationships and theoretical models with various data and assumptions. It's really one set of assumptions versus another set. The other scientists believe their assumptions are more reasonable, and we believe ours are more reasonable.
"How land is managed after it's converted to cropland is very important," Dale continued. "The authors of the Science paper assumed the worst-case scenario – plow tillage – which we don't think is accurate. The actual use of sustainable management practices – no till, reduced till and other approaches – is more than 50 percent and increasing."
Other paper authors are Seungdo Kim, MSU visiting associate professor of chemical engineering and materials science, and his son, Hyungtae Kim, a student at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.
Dale and Seungdo Kim also are members of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, a partnership between Michigan State and the University of Wisconsin-Madison funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct basic research aimed at solving some of the most complex problems in converting natural materials to energy.
"Greenhouse gas release from changes in land use – growing crops that could be used for biofuels on previously unfarmed land – has been identified as a negative contributor to the environmental profile of biofuels," said Bruce Dale, MSU University Distinguished Professor of chemical engineering and materials science. "Other analyses have estimated that it would take from 100 to 1,000 years before biofuels could overcome this 'carbon debt' and start providing greenhouse gas benefits."
But as Dale and his co-authors point out in their research, published in the January online edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology, earlier analyses didn't consider a number of variables that might influence the greenhouse gas emissions associated with biofuels.
"Our analysis shows that crop management is a key factor in estimating greenhouse gas emissions associated with land use change associated with biofuels," Dale said. "Sustainable management practices, such as no-till farming and planting cover crops, can reduce the time it takes for biofuels to overcome the carbon debt to three years for grassland conversion and 14 years for temperate zone forest conversion."
The discrepancies between the time it will take biofuels to offer environmental benefits is due to the models used for each analysis, Dale explained.
"There are no real data on what actually happens as demand increases for land for biofuel production in one part of the world potentially leads to land clearing, because it is impossible to track these relationships in the real world," Dale said. "All the estimates are based on economic relationships and theoretical models with various data and assumptions. It's really one set of assumptions versus another set. The other scientists believe their assumptions are more reasonable, and we believe ours are more reasonable.
"How land is managed after it's converted to cropland is very important," Dale continued. "The authors of the Science paper assumed the worst-case scenario – plow tillage – which we don't think is accurate. The actual use of sustainable management practices – no till, reduced till and other approaches – is more than 50 percent and increasing."
Other paper authors are Seungdo Kim, MSU visiting associate professor of chemical engineering and materials science, and his son, Hyungtae Kim, a student at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.
Dale and Seungdo Kim also are members of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, a partnership between Michigan State and the University of Wisconsin-Madison funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct basic research aimed at solving some of the most complex problems in converting natural materials to energy.
Organic Plant Waste Proves Effective Weed Control for Citrus Trees
Nonchemical weed control methods tested on organic mandarin trees
Interest in organic crop production is increasing around the world. Organics are healthy for consumers while adding environmental benefits and decreasing the amount of synthetic herbicides in foods, soil, and water. While organics gain popularity with consumers, organic farmers are faced with new production challenges, especially managing and reducing invasive weeds.
Synthetic mulches, manufactured from petroleum-based materials, have been used extensively for weed control. The downside: synthetic mulches cause increased runoff compared with "natural" mulches, disposal and landfill concerns, and are highly restricted in "certified organic" production.
Interest in non-chemical weed control methods has increased in recent years with the spread of organic farming and environmental concerns over the adverse effects of herbicides. Economically and environmentally sustainable weed control alternatives, such as non-synthetic or natural mulch, can provide many benefits for growers. Natural mulches have been proven effective in weed suppression, moisture conservation, and improved water infiltration.
Egyptian citrus fruits, especially those grown organically, are exported to many countries. "Mandarins" include a diverse group of citrus fruits that are characterised by bright peel and pulp colour, excellent flavour, easy-to-peel rind, and segments that separate easily. Mandarins are grown in sandy soil, presenting special challenges to growers. Weeds compete with citrus for nutrients and water. Not surprisingly, use of chemicals for controlling weeds in citrus crops can affect physical and chemical properties and quality of fruits.
Researchers from the Botany Department at the National Research Centre in Giza, Egypt recently published the results of a two-year study of 15-year-old mandarin trees. The study compared the effects of rice straw mulch, cattail mulch, black plastic mulch, hand-hoeing, cultivation, glyphosate, and unweeded control treatments on weed control, fruit yield, and fruit quality.
"The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of plant mulches with different depths compared with synthetic mulch, hand-hoeing, cultivation, and glyphosate on weed control efficacy and quantity and quality of mandarin fruits", remarked Dr H.F. Abouziena, the project's lead researcher. He added, "In Egypt, rice straw is considered one of the most important plant waste problems, and cattail weed is a problem in all water canals. Waste materials such as rice straw, weeds, aquatic weeds, bark, and composted municipal green waste can provide effective weed control."
The research team also found that the greatest control (94 per cent to 100 per cent) of weeds occurred with the plastic mulch and three mulch layers of rice straw or cattail. Covering soil with two layers of cattail or rice straw mulch resulted in an 85 per cent to 98 per cent control of weeds. Plastic mulches, cattail mulch in two or three layers, and rice straw in two-layer treatments significantly increased the fruit yield without significant differences among these superior treatments. Soil mulching with three layers of rice straw, cultivation, glyphosate, and plastic mulch treatments caused a significant reduction in weed density and weed biomass, but gave lower yield than superior treatments. Total acidity and vitamin C were significantly lower in the unweeded control than most weeded treatments.
"These results demonstrate that two layers of cattail or rice straw mulch could be used effectively for controlling weeds in citrus groves. Their effectiveness in controlling weeds may increase their use in agriculture systems with a concomitant decrease in the need for synthetic herbicides. Further studies are needed to evaluate their side effects on beneficial organisms, diseases, and insects", observed Abouziena.
Interest in organic crop production is increasing around the world. Organics are healthy for consumers while adding environmental benefits and decreasing the amount of synthetic herbicides in foods, soil, and water. While organics gain popularity with consumers, organic farmers are faced with new production challenges, especially managing and reducing invasive weeds.
Synthetic mulches, manufactured from petroleum-based materials, have been used extensively for weed control. The downside: synthetic mulches cause increased runoff compared with "natural" mulches, disposal and landfill concerns, and are highly restricted in "certified organic" production.
Interest in non-chemical weed control methods has increased in recent years with the spread of organic farming and environmental concerns over the adverse effects of herbicides. Economically and environmentally sustainable weed control alternatives, such as non-synthetic or natural mulch, can provide many benefits for growers. Natural mulches have been proven effective in weed suppression, moisture conservation, and improved water infiltration.
Egyptian citrus fruits, especially those grown organically, are exported to many countries. "Mandarins" include a diverse group of citrus fruits that are characterised by bright peel and pulp colour, excellent flavour, easy-to-peel rind, and segments that separate easily. Mandarins are grown in sandy soil, presenting special challenges to growers. Weeds compete with citrus for nutrients and water. Not surprisingly, use of chemicals for controlling weeds in citrus crops can affect physical and chemical properties and quality of fruits.
Researchers from the Botany Department at the National Research Centre in Giza, Egypt recently published the results of a two-year study of 15-year-old mandarin trees. The study compared the effects of rice straw mulch, cattail mulch, black plastic mulch, hand-hoeing, cultivation, glyphosate, and unweeded control treatments on weed control, fruit yield, and fruit quality.
"The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of plant mulches with different depths compared with synthetic mulch, hand-hoeing, cultivation, and glyphosate on weed control efficacy and quantity and quality of mandarin fruits", remarked Dr H.F. Abouziena, the project's lead researcher. He added, "In Egypt, rice straw is considered one of the most important plant waste problems, and cattail weed is a problem in all water canals. Waste materials such as rice straw, weeds, aquatic weeds, bark, and composted municipal green waste can provide effective weed control."
The research team also found that the greatest control (94 per cent to 100 per cent) of weeds occurred with the plastic mulch and three mulch layers of rice straw or cattail. Covering soil with two layers of cattail or rice straw mulch resulted in an 85 per cent to 98 per cent control of weeds. Plastic mulches, cattail mulch in two or three layers, and rice straw in two-layer treatments significantly increased the fruit yield without significant differences among these superior treatments. Soil mulching with three layers of rice straw, cultivation, glyphosate, and plastic mulch treatments caused a significant reduction in weed density and weed biomass, but gave lower yield than superior treatments. Total acidity and vitamin C were significantly lower in the unweeded control than most weeded treatments.
"These results demonstrate that two layers of cattail or rice straw mulch could be used effectively for controlling weeds in citrus groves. Their effectiveness in controlling weeds may increase their use in agriculture systems with a concomitant decrease in the need for synthetic herbicides. Further studies are needed to evaluate their side effects on beneficial organisms, diseases, and insects", observed Abouziena.
U-Pick Pumpkin Farms Recycle Urban Leaves
Pumpkin size, quality improved using municipal leaf mulch
Americans love pumpkins. The growing popularity of rural fall festivals, grade school farm tours, and "u-pick" pumpkin farms has resulted in an increase in consumer demand for pumpkins throughout the country. A critical challenge for pumpkin farmers promoting entertainment agriculture, or "agritourism", is maintaining fields that are weed-free, attractive, and safe for consumers. To keep up with the increasing popularity of pick-your-own pumpkin operations, farmers are constantly seeking ways to produce marketable pumpkins while maintaining u-pick fields that are enticing for consumers, even during inclement autumn weather.
Using leaf mulch collected from urban areas may help improve quality and field conditions of u-pick pumpkin operations while providing a cost-effective method to recycle leaves. During 2005 and 2006, researchers Christian Wyenandt, Joseph R. Heckman, and Nancy Maxwell from the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, conducted experiments comparing different production systems on pumpkin yield and fruit quality. According the researchers, "the studies revealed that applying municipal leaves to the soil surface exhibited a marked advantage over bare soil in producing clean pumpkin fruit. In both years, the per cent of clean fruit at harvest was higher in both leaf mulch production systems compared with bare soil."
Cities and towns seeking a cost-effective method to dispose of collected leaves can also benefit from the study. In New Jersey alone, five million cubic yards of leaves are collected each year by local municipalities for composting or use on farms. State regulations prohibit disposing of leaves in landfills or locally burning leaves. A 1994 study of New Jersey municipalities and farm operators indicated that on-farm mulching had the potential to reduce the cost of municipal leaf management while providing organic matter to the soil and monetary incentives to the farmers through fees (averaging USD 3.00 per yard) paid by municipalities.
The scientists noted the benefits of the research to both farmers and taxpayers, stating; "Small farm operators near urban areas can apply autumn leaves collected from municipal shade trees to help maintain attractive fields, maintain suitable soil conditions for consumers, improve the cleanliness of u-pick pumpkins, and improve overall soil health with the addition of organic matter to the soil." And municipalities seeking environmentally safe and cost-effective methods of leaf disposal can work with u-pick pumpkin operators to create solutions that work for producers, local governments, and consumers.
Americans love pumpkins. The growing popularity of rural fall festivals, grade school farm tours, and "u-pick" pumpkin farms has resulted in an increase in consumer demand for pumpkins throughout the country. A critical challenge for pumpkin farmers promoting entertainment agriculture, or "agritourism", is maintaining fields that are weed-free, attractive, and safe for consumers. To keep up with the increasing popularity of pick-your-own pumpkin operations, farmers are constantly seeking ways to produce marketable pumpkins while maintaining u-pick fields that are enticing for consumers, even during inclement autumn weather.
Using leaf mulch collected from urban areas may help improve quality and field conditions of u-pick pumpkin operations while providing a cost-effective method to recycle leaves. During 2005 and 2006, researchers Christian Wyenandt, Joseph R. Heckman, and Nancy Maxwell from the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, conducted experiments comparing different production systems on pumpkin yield and fruit quality. According the researchers, "the studies revealed that applying municipal leaves to the soil surface exhibited a marked advantage over bare soil in producing clean pumpkin fruit. In both years, the per cent of clean fruit at harvest was higher in both leaf mulch production systems compared with bare soil."
Cities and towns seeking a cost-effective method to dispose of collected leaves can also benefit from the study. In New Jersey alone, five million cubic yards of leaves are collected each year by local municipalities for composting or use on farms. State regulations prohibit disposing of leaves in landfills or locally burning leaves. A 1994 study of New Jersey municipalities and farm operators indicated that on-farm mulching had the potential to reduce the cost of municipal leaf management while providing organic matter to the soil and monetary incentives to the farmers through fees (averaging USD 3.00 per yard) paid by municipalities.
The scientists noted the benefits of the research to both farmers and taxpayers, stating; "Small farm operators near urban areas can apply autumn leaves collected from municipal shade trees to help maintain attractive fields, maintain suitable soil conditions for consumers, improve the cleanliness of u-pick pumpkins, and improve overall soil health with the addition of organic matter to the soil." And municipalities seeking environmentally safe and cost-effective methods of leaf disposal can work with u-pick pumpkin operators to create solutions that work for producers, local governments, and consumers.
Industrialisation of China Increases Fragility of Global Food Supply
Global grain markets are facing breaking point according to new research by the University of Leeds into the agricultural stability of China.
Experts predict that if China's recent urbanisation trends continue, and the country imports just five per cent more of its grain, the entire world's grain export would be swallowed whole. The knock-on effect on the food supply - and on prices - to developing nations could be huge.
Sustainability researchers have conducted a major study into the vulnerability of Chinese crop land to drought over the past 40 years, which has highlighted the growing fragility of global grain supply. Increased urban development in previously rich farming areas is a likely cause.
"China is a country undergoing a massive transformation, which is having a profound effect on land use," says Dr Elisabeth Simelton, research fellow at the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of Leeds, and lead author of the study. "Growing grain is a fundamentally low profit exercise, and is increasingly being carried out on low quality land with high vulnerability to drought."
The study looked at China's three main grain crops; rice, wheat and corn, to assess how socio-economic factors affect their vulnerability to drought. Researchers compared farming areas with a resilient crop yield with areas that have suffered large crop losses with only minor droughts.
They found that traditionally wealthy coastal areas are just as susceptible to drought as areas with poor topography in the east of the country.
"Quality land is increasingly being used for high profit crops, such as vegetables and flowers. The impact of this on local and global economies is an issue that the newly created Centre for Climate Change, Economics and Policy (CCCEP) will address," explains Dr Simelton.
CCCEP is a partnership between the University of Leeds and the London School of Economics. Its main objectives include developing better climate change models and understanding how developing countries can adapt to climate change.
At the moment the Chinese government claims that China is 95 per cent self sufficient in terms of grain supply. If China were to start importing just five per cent of its grain (to make up a shortfall produced by low yields or change of land use to more profitable crops) the demand would hover up the entire world's grain export.
The pressure on grain availability for international grain markets could, in turn, have a huge knock-on effect. Poorer countries are particularly vulnerable, as demonstrated by the 2007-2008 food crises.
Published in the journal Environmental Science and Policy, the study used provincial statistics of harvests and rainfall together with qualitative case studies to establish the differences between land that is sensitive to drought and land that is not.
"One aim of this research is better understanding of the socio-economic responses to difficult conditions so that we can improve models of climate change" says Dr Simelton.
"These trends of urbanisation are also happening in India, with the population predicted to keep on rising until at least 2050. Ultimately the limiting factor for grain production is land, and the quality of that land."
Experts predict that if China's recent urbanisation trends continue, and the country imports just five per cent more of its grain, the entire world's grain export would be swallowed whole. The knock-on effect on the food supply - and on prices - to developing nations could be huge.
Sustainability researchers have conducted a major study into the vulnerability of Chinese crop land to drought over the past 40 years, which has highlighted the growing fragility of global grain supply. Increased urban development in previously rich farming areas is a likely cause.
"China is a country undergoing a massive transformation, which is having a profound effect on land use," says Dr Elisabeth Simelton, research fellow at the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of Leeds, and lead author of the study. "Growing grain is a fundamentally low profit exercise, and is increasingly being carried out on low quality land with high vulnerability to drought."
The study looked at China's three main grain crops; rice, wheat and corn, to assess how socio-economic factors affect their vulnerability to drought. Researchers compared farming areas with a resilient crop yield with areas that have suffered large crop losses with only minor droughts.
They found that traditionally wealthy coastal areas are just as susceptible to drought as areas with poor topography in the east of the country.
"Quality land is increasingly being used for high profit crops, such as vegetables and flowers. The impact of this on local and global economies is an issue that the newly created Centre for Climate Change, Economics and Policy (CCCEP) will address," explains Dr Simelton.
CCCEP is a partnership between the University of Leeds and the London School of Economics. Its main objectives include developing better climate change models and understanding how developing countries can adapt to climate change.
At the moment the Chinese government claims that China is 95 per cent self sufficient in terms of grain supply. If China were to start importing just five per cent of its grain (to make up a shortfall produced by low yields or change of land use to more profitable crops) the demand would hover up the entire world's grain export.
The pressure on grain availability for international grain markets could, in turn, have a huge knock-on effect. Poorer countries are particularly vulnerable, as demonstrated by the 2007-2008 food crises.
Published in the journal Environmental Science and Policy, the study used provincial statistics of harvests and rainfall together with qualitative case studies to establish the differences between land that is sensitive to drought and land that is not.
"One aim of this research is better understanding of the socio-economic responses to difficult conditions so that we can improve models of climate change" says Dr Simelton.
"These trends of urbanisation are also happening in India, with the population predicted to keep on rising until at least 2050. Ultimately the limiting factor for grain production is land, and the quality of that land."
UV Lamps Eliminate Toxic Pesticides
Swiss Company develops PhytO3-machines with UV lamps, to eliminate toxic pesticides from the food chain. The technology is environment-friendly and leaves no biological or chemical residues on the plant surfaces and in the environment.
UV lamps from Heraeus Noblelight are used to treat water, air and work surfaces. Often, these specialist light sources find application in the treatment of drinking water or in the disinfection of packaging materials in the foodstuffs industry.
The destruction of micro-organisms with UV light is now also taking place in the agricultural sector. The Swiss company SwissFood Tech Management AG, following its field tests carried out in 2006, is now using UV lamps from Heraeus Noblelight in its PhytO3 machine, which uses the combination of ozonised water and UV light for the treatment of agricultural fields in order to replace the use of pesticides and insecticides.
The patented PhytO3 process replaces the use of pesticides by using the combination of ozonised water and UV light. Extensive field research has validated the effectiveness of this process.
In operation, a structure suspended at the end of a tractor is equipped with Heraeus lamps. Ozone is generated by silent electrical discharge in a separate unit, which is mounted on the forks at the front of the tractor, and is dissolved in water. The PhytO3 method combines two effects: the plants are sprayed with ozonised water and irradiated with UVC light. Biological pests often live on plant surfaces. Small animals, such as beetles, are simply sprayed with water on the ground but are not destroyed.
Micro-organisms such as viruses, bacteria and moulds on the plants are targeted and destroyed in a controlled manner by UVC radiation at a wavelength of 254nm. The energy rich UVC radiation neutralises micro-organisms, as it damages the genetic make-up. In addition, the UV radiation activates the ozone enriching the water on the plant surface and generates excited oxygen. This destroys the cell walls of the micro-organisms.
By the removal of the pests, the risk of plant damage or damage to the field is significantly reduced. This pesticide technique, employing UV lamps, is environmentally-friendly and there is no need for chemicals. There are no biological or chemical residuals on the plant surfaces, in the soil or in the environment. The ozone will usually decay within a maximum of 15 minutes, i.e, some time after the spraying takes place the ozone concentration falls to zero.
The UV amalgam lamps used in the PhytO3 method generate UV radiation at a wavelength of 254 Nanometers.
Longlife Amalgam lamps, as the name implies, are high power, low pressure lamps with extremely long operating lives. They can achieve up to ten times the UV power density of classical mercury low pressure lamps and are insensitive to temperature fluctuations. Heraeus Amalgam lamps are fitted with a unique coating, which prevents the transmission loses of quartz glass associated with conventional UV lamps. The result is a virtually constant disinfection sanction throughout the lamp’s life.
The PhytO3 Method
PhytO3 consists of a combined treatment of the plants with ozonised water and ultraviolet light. This treatment has the following effects:
Any microbiological contamination is removed effectively
Small animals like beetles are washed to the ground but are not killed
The power of resistance of the plants against certain microbiological pests is increased (an effect known as "Systemic Acquired Resistance")
The efficiency of the method is comparable to that of a pesticide treatment
The spraying frequency is comparable to that of a pesticide treatment
There is no chemical contamination of the soil, although the soil surface is effectively sterilized
There is no residue of ozone on the customers' products.
PhytO3 Advantages
Compared to chemical pesticides, PhytO3 has a number of advantages:
No residues - the products can be consumed without decontamination
Products can be used for baby food
PhytO3 can be used in biological production since it does not contaminate plants or soil
PhytO3 can be used in environments where pests are immune to conventional pesticides without need for genetic engineering
The method allows for a higher efficiency than biological production
Soil does not need to be decontaminated before change of use
Reduced production cost by reducing pesticide use
Reduced risk of sickness or death of labourers because of pesticide poisoning
Compliance to legal regulations concerning use of pesticides.
UV lamps from Heraeus Noblelight are used to treat water, air and work surfaces. Often, these specialist light sources find application in the treatment of drinking water or in the disinfection of packaging materials in the foodstuffs industry.
The destruction of micro-organisms with UV light is now also taking place in the agricultural sector. The Swiss company SwissFood Tech Management AG, following its field tests carried out in 2006, is now using UV lamps from Heraeus Noblelight in its PhytO3 machine, which uses the combination of ozonised water and UV light for the treatment of agricultural fields in order to replace the use of pesticides and insecticides.
The patented PhytO3 process replaces the use of pesticides by using the combination of ozonised water and UV light. Extensive field research has validated the effectiveness of this process.
In operation, a structure suspended at the end of a tractor is equipped with Heraeus lamps. Ozone is generated by silent electrical discharge in a separate unit, which is mounted on the forks at the front of the tractor, and is dissolved in water. The PhytO3 method combines two effects: the plants are sprayed with ozonised water and irradiated with UVC light. Biological pests often live on plant surfaces. Small animals, such as beetles, are simply sprayed with water on the ground but are not destroyed.
Micro-organisms such as viruses, bacteria and moulds on the plants are targeted and destroyed in a controlled manner by UVC radiation at a wavelength of 254nm. The energy rich UVC radiation neutralises micro-organisms, as it damages the genetic make-up. In addition, the UV radiation activates the ozone enriching the water on the plant surface and generates excited oxygen. This destroys the cell walls of the micro-organisms.
By the removal of the pests, the risk of plant damage or damage to the field is significantly reduced. This pesticide technique, employing UV lamps, is environmentally-friendly and there is no need for chemicals. There are no biological or chemical residuals on the plant surfaces, in the soil or in the environment. The ozone will usually decay within a maximum of 15 minutes, i.e, some time after the spraying takes place the ozone concentration falls to zero.
The UV amalgam lamps used in the PhytO3 method generate UV radiation at a wavelength of 254 Nanometers.
Longlife Amalgam lamps, as the name implies, are high power, low pressure lamps with extremely long operating lives. They can achieve up to ten times the UV power density of classical mercury low pressure lamps and are insensitive to temperature fluctuations. Heraeus Amalgam lamps are fitted with a unique coating, which prevents the transmission loses of quartz glass associated with conventional UV lamps. The result is a virtually constant disinfection sanction throughout the lamp’s life.
The PhytO3 Method
PhytO3 consists of a combined treatment of the plants with ozonised water and ultraviolet light. This treatment has the following effects:
Any microbiological contamination is removed effectively
Small animals like beetles are washed to the ground but are not killed
The power of resistance of the plants against certain microbiological pests is increased (an effect known as "Systemic Acquired Resistance")
The efficiency of the method is comparable to that of a pesticide treatment
The spraying frequency is comparable to that of a pesticide treatment
There is no chemical contamination of the soil, although the soil surface is effectively sterilized
There is no residue of ozone on the customers' products.
PhytO3 Advantages
Compared to chemical pesticides, PhytO3 has a number of advantages:
No residues - the products can be consumed without decontamination
Products can be used for baby food
PhytO3 can be used in biological production since it does not contaminate plants or soil
PhytO3 can be used in environments where pests are immune to conventional pesticides without need for genetic engineering
The method allows for a higher efficiency than biological production
Soil does not need to be decontaminated before change of use
Reduced production cost by reducing pesticide use
Reduced risk of sickness or death of labourers because of pesticide poisoning
Compliance to legal regulations concerning use of pesticides.
Agriculture: The Need For Change
The report of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development, a major new report by over 400 scientists, sends out a strong message for change in the approach towards agriculture
The way the world grows its food will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with a growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse. The assessment was considered by 64 governments at an intergovernmental plenary in Johannesburg in April 2008,
The authors' brief was to examine hunger, poverty, the environment and equity together. Professor Robert Watson Director of IAASTD said those on the margins are ill-served by the present system, “The incentives for science to address the issues that matter to the poor are weak... the poorest developing countries are net losers under most trade liberalization scenarios.”
Modern agriculture has brought significant increases in food production. But the benefits have been spread unevenly and have come at an increasingly intolerable price, paid by small-scale farmers, workers, rural communities and the environment.
In the year from March 2007 the price of commodities on which a large portion of the world's population depend: soybeans, corn and wheat rose by 87%, 31% and 130% respectively. A combination of factors are projected to continue to push up prices including; increased demand caused by ongoing world population growth; increasing demand for meat in developing economies like China and India; and the alternative use of maize and soybeans for bio-fuels. With global grain stores today at their lowest level ever the question of how to feed the world has never been more urgent.
It says the willingness of many people to tackle the basics of combining production, social and environmental goals is marred by "contentious political and economic stances". One of the IAASTD co-chairs, Dr Hans Herren, explains, "Specifically, this refers to the many OECD member countries who are deeply opposed to any changes in trade regimes or subsidy systems. Without reforms here many poorer countries will have a very hard time... "
The report has assessed that the way to meet the challenges lies in putting in place institutional, economic and legal frameworks that combine productivity with the protection and conservation of natural resources like soils, water, forests, and biodiversity while meeting production needs.
In many countries, it says, food is taken for granted, and farmers and farm workers are in many cases poorly rewarded for acting as stewards of almost a third of the Earth’s land. Investment directed toward securing the public interest in agricultural science, education and training and extension to farmers has decreased at a time when it is most needed.
The authors have assessed evidence across a wide range of knowledge that is rarely brought together. They conclude we have little time to lose if we are to change course. Continuing with current trends would exhaust our resources and put our children’s future in jeopardy.
Professor Judi Wakhungu, said “We must cooperate now, because no single institution, no single nation, no single region, can tackle this issue alone. The time is now.”
Professor Bob Watson, Director of IAASTD said, “To argue, as we do, that continuing to focus on production alone will undermine our agricultural capital and leave us with an increasingly degraded and divided planet is to reiterate an old message. But it is a message that has not always had resonance in some parts of the world. If those with power are now willing to hear it, then we may hope for more equitable policies that do take the interests of the poor into account.”
Prof. Watson adds, “Agriculture has a footprint on all of the big environmental issues, so as the world considers climate change, biodiversity, land degradation, water quality, etc. they must also consider agriculture which lies at the centre of these issues and poses some uncomfortable challenges that need to be faced. We've got to make sure the footprint of agriculture on climate change is lessened; we have to make sure that we don't degrade our soil, we don't degrade the water, we don't have adverse effects on biodiversity. There are some major challenges, but we believe that by combining local and traditional knowledge with formal knowledge these challenges can be met.”
More than 400 expert authors have assessed evidence across a wide range of knowledge that is rarely brought together. They conclude we have little time to lose if we are to change course. Continuing with current trends in production and distribution would exhaust our resources and put our children’s future in jeopardy. And the increasingly globalised food market and ever-increasing food imports mean that no country can assume itself to be immune to the implications.
Price volatility in staple foods such as rice, maize and wheat, on which a large portion of the world’s population depends, is expected to continue because of uncertainties surrounding increased demand caused by ongoing population growth, the alternative use of maize and soybeans for bio-fuels, and increasing speculation on agricultural commodities.
Gordon Brown, writing about the potential for improving developing country production capacity to help cope with recent food price inflation in his recent letter to the Japanese Prime Minister said, “Rising food prices provide an opportunity as well as a challenge for poor countries - with three out of four poor people in the world living in rural areas and dependent on agriculture. We must help smallholders address problems of limited and insecure landholdings, lack of access to inputs and markets, poor rural infrastructure and inadequate market information.”
The IAASTD report calls for a more holistic view of agriculture, and urges governments, NGOs and the private sector to work together to ensure that the needs of the future are better served by the practices of the present:
“Although considered by many to be a success story, the benefits of productivity increases in world agriculture are unevenly spread. Often the poorest of the poor have gained little or nothing, and 850 million people are still hungry or malnourished with an additional 4 million more joining their ranks annually. We are putting food that appears cheap on our tables but it is food that is not always healthy and that costs us dearly in terms of water, soil and the biological diversity on which all our futures depend.”
The way the world grows its food will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with a growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse. The assessment was considered by 64 governments at an intergovernmental plenary in Johannesburg in April 2008,
The authors' brief was to examine hunger, poverty, the environment and equity together. Professor Robert Watson Director of IAASTD said those on the margins are ill-served by the present system, “The incentives for science to address the issues that matter to the poor are weak... the poorest developing countries are net losers under most trade liberalization scenarios.”
Modern agriculture has brought significant increases in food production. But the benefits have been spread unevenly and have come at an increasingly intolerable price, paid by small-scale farmers, workers, rural communities and the environment.
In the year from March 2007 the price of commodities on which a large portion of the world's population depend: soybeans, corn and wheat rose by 87%, 31% and 130% respectively. A combination of factors are projected to continue to push up prices including; increased demand caused by ongoing world population growth; increasing demand for meat in developing economies like China and India; and the alternative use of maize and soybeans for bio-fuels. With global grain stores today at their lowest level ever the question of how to feed the world has never been more urgent.
It says the willingness of many people to tackle the basics of combining production, social and environmental goals is marred by "contentious political and economic stances". One of the IAASTD co-chairs, Dr Hans Herren, explains, "Specifically, this refers to the many OECD member countries who are deeply opposed to any changes in trade regimes or subsidy systems. Without reforms here many poorer countries will have a very hard time... "
The report has assessed that the way to meet the challenges lies in putting in place institutional, economic and legal frameworks that combine productivity with the protection and conservation of natural resources like soils, water, forests, and biodiversity while meeting production needs.
In many countries, it says, food is taken for granted, and farmers and farm workers are in many cases poorly rewarded for acting as stewards of almost a third of the Earth’s land. Investment directed toward securing the public interest in agricultural science, education and training and extension to farmers has decreased at a time when it is most needed.
The authors have assessed evidence across a wide range of knowledge that is rarely brought together. They conclude we have little time to lose if we are to change course. Continuing with current trends would exhaust our resources and put our children’s future in jeopardy.
Professor Judi Wakhungu, said “We must cooperate now, because no single institution, no single nation, no single region, can tackle this issue alone. The time is now.”
Professor Bob Watson, Director of IAASTD said, “To argue, as we do, that continuing to focus on production alone will undermine our agricultural capital and leave us with an increasingly degraded and divided planet is to reiterate an old message. But it is a message that has not always had resonance in some parts of the world. If those with power are now willing to hear it, then we may hope for more equitable policies that do take the interests of the poor into account.”
Prof. Watson adds, “Agriculture has a footprint on all of the big environmental issues, so as the world considers climate change, biodiversity, land degradation, water quality, etc. they must also consider agriculture which lies at the centre of these issues and poses some uncomfortable challenges that need to be faced. We've got to make sure the footprint of agriculture on climate change is lessened; we have to make sure that we don't degrade our soil, we don't degrade the water, we don't have adverse effects on biodiversity. There are some major challenges, but we believe that by combining local and traditional knowledge with formal knowledge these challenges can be met.”
More than 400 expert authors have assessed evidence across a wide range of knowledge that is rarely brought together. They conclude we have little time to lose if we are to change course. Continuing with current trends in production and distribution would exhaust our resources and put our children’s future in jeopardy. And the increasingly globalised food market and ever-increasing food imports mean that no country can assume itself to be immune to the implications.
Price volatility in staple foods such as rice, maize and wheat, on which a large portion of the world’s population depends, is expected to continue because of uncertainties surrounding increased demand caused by ongoing population growth, the alternative use of maize and soybeans for bio-fuels, and increasing speculation on agricultural commodities.
Gordon Brown, writing about the potential for improving developing country production capacity to help cope with recent food price inflation in his recent letter to the Japanese Prime Minister said, “Rising food prices provide an opportunity as well as a challenge for poor countries - with three out of four poor people in the world living in rural areas and dependent on agriculture. We must help smallholders address problems of limited and insecure landholdings, lack of access to inputs and markets, poor rural infrastructure and inadequate market information.”
The IAASTD report calls for a more holistic view of agriculture, and urges governments, NGOs and the private sector to work together to ensure that the needs of the future are better served by the practices of the present:
“Although considered by many to be a success story, the benefits of productivity increases in world agriculture are unevenly spread. Often the poorest of the poor have gained little or nothing, and 850 million people are still hungry or malnourished with an additional 4 million more joining their ranks annually. We are putting food that appears cheap on our tables but it is food that is not always healthy and that costs us dearly in terms of water, soil and the biological diversity on which all our futures depend.”
Cocoa Genome To Be Sequenced
USDA-ARS, Mars and IBM launch joint project to sequence and study the cocoa genome. Project stands to benefit more than 6.5 million farmers worldwide and sustain world’s chocolate supply
The United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Mars Incorporated, and IBM are combining their scientific resources to sequence and analyse the entire cocoa genome. Sequencing the cocoa genome is a significant scientific step that may allow more directed breeding of cocoa plants and perhaps even enhance the quality of cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate.
The collaboration may enable farmers to plant better quality cocoa and, more importantly, help create healthier, stronger cocoa crops with higher yields, pest and disease resistance, and increased water and nutrient use efficiency. These crops may help protect an important social, economic and environmental driver in Africa, where 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa is produced. Additionally, the research results will be freely available to anyone through the Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture (PIPRA), which supports agricultural innovation for both humanitarian and small-scale commercial purposes.
Judy St. John, USDA-ARS Deputy Administrator for Crop Production and Protection, said, “Sequencing the genomes of agriculture crops is a critical step if we want to better understand and improve a crop.”
Genome sequencing may help eliminate much of the guess-work of traditional breeding. If the sequencing is completed, it is hoped that scientists and farmers will be able to better identify the specific genetic traits that allow cocoa plants to produce higher yields and resist drought or pests. Then, cocoa breeders may be able to grow plants with these desirable traits to produce unique, new lines of cocoa plants using conventional breeding techniques.
“As the global leader in cocoa science, Mars saw the potential this research holds to help accelerate what farmers have been doing since the beginning of time with traditional breeding, ultimately improving cocoa trees, yielding higher quality cocoa and increasing income for farmers,” said Howard-Yana Shapiro, Ph.D., global director of plant science for Mars Incorporated.
The group anticipates that it will take approximately five years to complete the entire sequencing, assembly, annotation and study of the cocoa genome. Scientists from USDA-ARS and Mars will conduct various aspects of the project at the USDA-ARS facility in Miami. Researchers at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, will use their computational biology technology and expertise to develop a detailed genetic map and assemble and study the cocoa genome.
“This collaboration is an opportunity for us to apply our computational biology and supercomputing expertise to help improve an economically important agricultural crop,” said Dr. Mark Dean, IBM Fellow and vice president, Technical Strategy and Global Operations, IBM Research. “IBM Research is interested in enhancing and supporting growth and development in Africa, where 70 per cent of the world's cocoa is produced. We look forward to helping the agricultural community in Africa, and in other emerging markets.”
Cocoa has been the subject of little agricultural research compared to other major crops such as corn, wheat and rice. And while cocoa is not grown in the U.S., for every dollar of cocoa imported, between one and two dollars of domestic agricultural products are used in the manufacture of chocolate products.
“We are delighted to work with Mars, USDA and IBM to allow free access to the cocoa genome sequence information in real time, while ensuring that the gene sequences will not be patented,” noted Alan Bennett, executive director of the Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture. “Once its genome is sequenced, it has the potential to provide positive social, economic and environmental impact for the more than 6.5 million small family cocoa farmers around the world.”
Mars and USDA-ARS have worked together during the past 10 years on research projects related to improving traditional methods of cocoa breeding and reducing the threat of pest and disease to the crop around the world. Mars and IBM also worked together on projects in the past, but this is the first project in which all three experts are working to yield benefits for the crop, the farmer and the consumer for many years to come. Mars Incorporated, one of the world’s largest chocolate companies, is financially backing and coordinating this project.
The United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Mars Incorporated, and IBM are combining their scientific resources to sequence and analyse the entire cocoa genome. Sequencing the cocoa genome is a significant scientific step that may allow more directed breeding of cocoa plants and perhaps even enhance the quality of cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate.
The collaboration may enable farmers to plant better quality cocoa and, more importantly, help create healthier, stronger cocoa crops with higher yields, pest and disease resistance, and increased water and nutrient use efficiency. These crops may help protect an important social, economic and environmental driver in Africa, where 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa is produced. Additionally, the research results will be freely available to anyone through the Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture (PIPRA), which supports agricultural innovation for both humanitarian and small-scale commercial purposes.
Judy St. John, USDA-ARS Deputy Administrator for Crop Production and Protection, said, “Sequencing the genomes of agriculture crops is a critical step if we want to better understand and improve a crop.”
Genome sequencing may help eliminate much of the guess-work of traditional breeding. If the sequencing is completed, it is hoped that scientists and farmers will be able to better identify the specific genetic traits that allow cocoa plants to produce higher yields and resist drought or pests. Then, cocoa breeders may be able to grow plants with these desirable traits to produce unique, new lines of cocoa plants using conventional breeding techniques.
“As the global leader in cocoa science, Mars saw the potential this research holds to help accelerate what farmers have been doing since the beginning of time with traditional breeding, ultimately improving cocoa trees, yielding higher quality cocoa and increasing income for farmers,” said Howard-Yana Shapiro, Ph.D., global director of plant science for Mars Incorporated.
The group anticipates that it will take approximately five years to complete the entire sequencing, assembly, annotation and study of the cocoa genome. Scientists from USDA-ARS and Mars will conduct various aspects of the project at the USDA-ARS facility in Miami. Researchers at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, will use their computational biology technology and expertise to develop a detailed genetic map and assemble and study the cocoa genome.
“This collaboration is an opportunity for us to apply our computational biology and supercomputing expertise to help improve an economically important agricultural crop,” said Dr. Mark Dean, IBM Fellow and vice president, Technical Strategy and Global Operations, IBM Research. “IBM Research is interested in enhancing and supporting growth and development in Africa, where 70 per cent of the world's cocoa is produced. We look forward to helping the agricultural community in Africa, and in other emerging markets.”
Cocoa has been the subject of little agricultural research compared to other major crops such as corn, wheat and rice. And while cocoa is not grown in the U.S., for every dollar of cocoa imported, between one and two dollars of domestic agricultural products are used in the manufacture of chocolate products.
“We are delighted to work with Mars, USDA and IBM to allow free access to the cocoa genome sequence information in real time, while ensuring that the gene sequences will not be patented,” noted Alan Bennett, executive director of the Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture. “Once its genome is sequenced, it has the potential to provide positive social, economic and environmental impact for the more than 6.5 million small family cocoa farmers around the world.”
Mars and USDA-ARS have worked together during the past 10 years on research projects related to improving traditional methods of cocoa breeding and reducing the threat of pest and disease to the crop around the world. Mars and IBM also worked together on projects in the past, but this is the first project in which all three experts are working to yield benefits for the crop, the farmer and the consumer for many years to come. Mars Incorporated, one of the world’s largest chocolate companies, is financially backing and coordinating this project.
Rolex Awards: Shafqat Hussain
Protect snow leopards with an innovative scheme combining livestock insurance and ecotourism
Shafqat Hussain – Pakistan
BIRTH
19 April, 1969; Lahore, Pakistan
PROFESSION/JOB
Economist by training, now an anthropologist and environmentalist
PROJECT LOCATION
Northern Pakistan
SUMMARY
The snow leopard is an elusive, endangered feline – but it is also a powerful predator. Stalking livestock at high altitudes, it is the main foe of herders protecting their flocks. However, by combining ecotourism and insurance for livestock, economist-turned-conservationist Shafqat Hussain has made it possible to insure domestic herds, thus pacifying local herdsmen. Convinced that man and beast can share the same territory, he is now extending his scheme.
Insurance Man for the Himalayas
From time immemorial, shepherds in the Himalayan mountains of Baltistan, in northern Pakistan, have reviled the snow leopard as much as their Western counterparts once hated wolves. About half of the Balti economy comes from animal husbandry, particularly domesticated goats that are preyed upon by the snow leopard, largely because its traditional wild prey – the ibex and markhor – are disappearing. So local herders do not hesitate to kill the snow leopard, which is also at risk from the illegal trade in its highly-prized pelt.
In an impressive example of lateral thinking, Shafqat Hussain, who originally trained as an economist, created Project Snow Leopard (PSL) in 1998 to deal with the threat to the snow leopard in Baltistan. This non-profit conservation programme combines ecotourism and low-cost insurance, protecting herders against attacks by the leopards on their livestock. The plan is helping local people realize that one cat alive in the surrounding bush is worth more to them than several killed for the fur trade.
Hussain, who describes the snow leopard as “a marvel of nature’s perfection”, explains that, sitting at the top of the food chain, this animal plays a key role in maintaining the mountain ecosystem. Dr Ma Ming, of the Snow Leopard Trust in Xinjiang, China, calls it an “umbrella species”: protecting it ensures its habitat and many other local species are also preserved.
Wonderfully adapted for the extreme weather and rocky terrain, the snow leopard roams wild at altitudes up to 5,500 metres in the Himalayan peaks. Furry feet help it stay on top of the snow by acting as natural snowshoes. This rare creature hunts alone for wild and domesticated goats and other prey, which it pounces upon from up to 15 metres away. With a total population estimated at between 4,000 and 7,000 scattered across the Himalayas, including fewer than 150 in Baltistan, the snow leopard is listed as “endangered” on the IUCN (the World Conservation Union) Red List of Threatened Animals. This elusive relative of the tiger and more familiar African leopard is one of the least photographed, but most photogenic of big cats, with its metre-long tail and handsome dappled coat.
The insurance scheme set up by Hussain compensates villagers for every goat killed by the predators, which effectively deters the villagers from killing the offending cat or any other suspect. The annual premium paid is one per cent of the value of one goat, with each herder paying according to the number of goats he owns. This covers about half of all claims. The other half comes from Full Moon Night Trekking, the ecotourism agency Hussain founded, which advertises the snow leopard as its chief attraction. “People who find pleasure in the idea of the snow leopard surviving in the wild should be willing to pay for this pleasure, and this payment helps offset the losses to farmers for having the cat around,” he says. To succeed, both complementary programmes must be profitable, another reason for locals to protect the animal at the heart of the project. A key aspect of the scheme’s success is the fact that local people participate at every level. Village committees collect premiums, pay claims and act as the scheme’s financial watchdog. Villagers control the income from Full Moon, using surplus profits for community projects, like making wells for drinking water. Full Moon also employs two villagers as guides.
Until recently Project Snow Leopard covered a relatively small area of 170 square kilometres embracing the environs of the village of Skoyo, which has 260 inhabitants, and other nearby settlements. With support from his Rolex Award, Hussain is now extending his project to more Balti villages near Skoyo and K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. He also hopes to attract more ecotourists, many of whom are staying away because of the 2005 earthquake and bad publicity about Pakistan in the wake of 9/11. Hussain points out that Baltistan is very much associated with adventure tourism, but he wants it to be known for ecotourism. “Things can change and other trekking companies now mention wildlife in their brochures because Full Moon started to do it,” he says. “In Nepal [also home to snow leopards], they have about 200,000 visitors per year; here in Baltistan, we only have about 5,000.” The added funding will also allow him to build better fences to protect livestock and to update the counting of leopards, mainly by automatic unmanned cameras dotted across the mountain landscape.
Hussain’s broader vision is to demonstrate that human villagers and feline predators can live side by side. By involving local people, he is gradually convincing the villagers that man and beast can profitably coexist. He sees it as “sadly ironic” that in many places there is more concern for endangered biodiversity than for humans. “No matter how charismatic an animal is, its survival should not come at the cost of poor human farmers,” Hussain says. But he adds that he is “only one of many who are trying to make a difference for snow leopards and herders”, pointing out that his project would not survive without local colleagues who run the scheme when he is in London and at Yale University writing his Ph.D. thesis on the relationship between human societies and the natural environment in the mountains of northern Pakistan.
His innovative idea of enlisting local support and willingness to challenge widely accepted ideas have won him many admirers, including Rodney Jackson, the renowned snow leopard authority who won a Rolex Award in 1981 for his work to save them. “Hussain’s work is groundbreaking, especially since he brings the social and ecological sciences together,” Jackson says. “My impression is that Hussain’s original programme is more effective [than similar ones inspired by his scheme], thoroughly designed and appropriately implemented.”
An Interview With Shafqat Hussain:
Why is the snow leopard’s survival important in Pakistan?
As the top predator in the world’s highest mountains, the snow leopard is a marvel of natural perfection. Sitting atop the food chain, it plays a key role in maintaining the mountain ecosystem.
How will the recognition and funding from Rolex help your project?
First of all, the funds will help us expand the project into other areas where there is conflict between snow leopards and humans. Secondly, the Award will give our project legitimacy and credibility that will help us attract more money and tourists.
How have various government agencies reacted to your programmes?
Governments at all levels have appreciated our project, mainly because it addresses an issue that they should address, but can’t because of lack of funds. For example, the national government is encouraging other tour operating companies to follow our lead.
What about snow leopards in Tibet, India, China and other adjoining areas?
I am only one of many who are trying to make a difference. There are other very talented and dedicated people who are doing a wonderful job for the cat in their countries. We are constantly learning from one another. For example, insurance schemes along similar patterns to ours have started in India and Nepal.
How many of these animals do you think are left now?
I have no personal estimate, and there are no definitive data, but I guess there are between 300 and 400 in Pakistan, and some 4,000 to 7,000 around the world – that’s what the International Snow Leopard Trust reports.
Shafqat Hussain – Pakistan
BIRTH
19 April, 1969; Lahore, Pakistan
PROFESSION/JOB
Economist by training, now an anthropologist and environmentalist
PROJECT LOCATION
Northern Pakistan
SUMMARY
The snow leopard is an elusive, endangered feline – but it is also a powerful predator. Stalking livestock at high altitudes, it is the main foe of herders protecting their flocks. However, by combining ecotourism and insurance for livestock, economist-turned-conservationist Shafqat Hussain has made it possible to insure domestic herds, thus pacifying local herdsmen. Convinced that man and beast can share the same territory, he is now extending his scheme.
Insurance Man for the Himalayas
From time immemorial, shepherds in the Himalayan mountains of Baltistan, in northern Pakistan, have reviled the snow leopard as much as their Western counterparts once hated wolves. About half of the Balti economy comes from animal husbandry, particularly domesticated goats that are preyed upon by the snow leopard, largely because its traditional wild prey – the ibex and markhor – are disappearing. So local herders do not hesitate to kill the snow leopard, which is also at risk from the illegal trade in its highly-prized pelt.
In an impressive example of lateral thinking, Shafqat Hussain, who originally trained as an economist, created Project Snow Leopard (PSL) in 1998 to deal with the threat to the snow leopard in Baltistan. This non-profit conservation programme combines ecotourism and low-cost insurance, protecting herders against attacks by the leopards on their livestock. The plan is helping local people realize that one cat alive in the surrounding bush is worth more to them than several killed for the fur trade.
Hussain, who describes the snow leopard as “a marvel of nature’s perfection”, explains that, sitting at the top of the food chain, this animal plays a key role in maintaining the mountain ecosystem. Dr Ma Ming, of the Snow Leopard Trust in Xinjiang, China, calls it an “umbrella species”: protecting it ensures its habitat and many other local species are also preserved.
Wonderfully adapted for the extreme weather and rocky terrain, the snow leopard roams wild at altitudes up to 5,500 metres in the Himalayan peaks. Furry feet help it stay on top of the snow by acting as natural snowshoes. This rare creature hunts alone for wild and domesticated goats and other prey, which it pounces upon from up to 15 metres away. With a total population estimated at between 4,000 and 7,000 scattered across the Himalayas, including fewer than 150 in Baltistan, the snow leopard is listed as “endangered” on the IUCN (the World Conservation Union) Red List of Threatened Animals. This elusive relative of the tiger and more familiar African leopard is one of the least photographed, but most photogenic of big cats, with its metre-long tail and handsome dappled coat.
The insurance scheme set up by Hussain compensates villagers for every goat killed by the predators, which effectively deters the villagers from killing the offending cat or any other suspect. The annual premium paid is one per cent of the value of one goat, with each herder paying according to the number of goats he owns. This covers about half of all claims. The other half comes from Full Moon Night Trekking, the ecotourism agency Hussain founded, which advertises the snow leopard as its chief attraction. “People who find pleasure in the idea of the snow leopard surviving in the wild should be willing to pay for this pleasure, and this payment helps offset the losses to farmers for having the cat around,” he says. To succeed, both complementary programmes must be profitable, another reason for locals to protect the animal at the heart of the project. A key aspect of the scheme’s success is the fact that local people participate at every level. Village committees collect premiums, pay claims and act as the scheme’s financial watchdog. Villagers control the income from Full Moon, using surplus profits for community projects, like making wells for drinking water. Full Moon also employs two villagers as guides.
Until recently Project Snow Leopard covered a relatively small area of 170 square kilometres embracing the environs of the village of Skoyo, which has 260 inhabitants, and other nearby settlements. With support from his Rolex Award, Hussain is now extending his project to more Balti villages near Skoyo and K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. He also hopes to attract more ecotourists, many of whom are staying away because of the 2005 earthquake and bad publicity about Pakistan in the wake of 9/11. Hussain points out that Baltistan is very much associated with adventure tourism, but he wants it to be known for ecotourism. “Things can change and other trekking companies now mention wildlife in their brochures because Full Moon started to do it,” he says. “In Nepal [also home to snow leopards], they have about 200,000 visitors per year; here in Baltistan, we only have about 5,000.” The added funding will also allow him to build better fences to protect livestock and to update the counting of leopards, mainly by automatic unmanned cameras dotted across the mountain landscape.
Hussain’s broader vision is to demonstrate that human villagers and feline predators can live side by side. By involving local people, he is gradually convincing the villagers that man and beast can profitably coexist. He sees it as “sadly ironic” that in many places there is more concern for endangered biodiversity than for humans. “No matter how charismatic an animal is, its survival should not come at the cost of poor human farmers,” Hussain says. But he adds that he is “only one of many who are trying to make a difference for snow leopards and herders”, pointing out that his project would not survive without local colleagues who run the scheme when he is in London and at Yale University writing his Ph.D. thesis on the relationship between human societies and the natural environment in the mountains of northern Pakistan.
His innovative idea of enlisting local support and willingness to challenge widely accepted ideas have won him many admirers, including Rodney Jackson, the renowned snow leopard authority who won a Rolex Award in 1981 for his work to save them. “Hussain’s work is groundbreaking, especially since he brings the social and ecological sciences together,” Jackson says. “My impression is that Hussain’s original programme is more effective [than similar ones inspired by his scheme], thoroughly designed and appropriately implemented.”
An Interview With Shafqat Hussain:
Why is the snow leopard’s survival important in Pakistan?
As the top predator in the world’s highest mountains, the snow leopard is a marvel of natural perfection. Sitting atop the food chain, it plays a key role in maintaining the mountain ecosystem.
How will the recognition and funding from Rolex help your project?
First of all, the funds will help us expand the project into other areas where there is conflict between snow leopards and humans. Secondly, the Award will give our project legitimacy and credibility that will help us attract more money and tourists.
How have various government agencies reacted to your programmes?
Governments at all levels have appreciated our project, mainly because it addresses an issue that they should address, but can’t because of lack of funds. For example, the national government is encouraging other tour operating companies to follow our lead.
What about snow leopards in Tibet, India, China and other adjoining areas?
I am only one of many who are trying to make a difference. There are other very talented and dedicated people who are doing a wonderful job for the cat in their countries. We are constantly learning from one another. For example, insurance schemes along similar patterns to ours have started in India and Nepal.
How many of these animals do you think are left now?
I have no personal estimate, and there are no definitive data, but I guess there are between 300 and 400 in Pakistan, and some 4,000 to 7,000 around the world – that’s what the International Snow Leopard Trust reports.
Shade Grown Coffee
Here's one more reason to say "shade grown, please" when you order your morning cup of coffee. Shade coffee farms, which grow coffee under a canopy of multiple tree species, not only harbour native birds, bats and other beneficial creatures, but also maintain genetic diversity of native tree species and can act as focal points for tropical forest regeneration. The finding comes from a study published by University of Michigan researchers Shalene Jha and Christopher Dick in the journal Current Biology.
Jha, a graduate student whose main interest is insects, initially wanted to find out whether shade coffee farms nurture native pollinators such as stingless bees. When she began her fieldwork in Chiapas, Mexico, she focused on a particular tree, Miconia affinis, which is pollinated by an unusual method known as buzz pollination. In order to release pollen from its flowers, bees grab hold and vibrate their flight muscles, shaking the pollen free. Non-native species such as Africanised honeybees don't perform buzz pollination, but native bees do, said Jha, "so I thought Miconia, which requires buzz pollination and is common both in forests and on coffee farms, could be a bio-indicator of how well native bees are pollinating native plants."
As she spent time in the field, however, Jha realised that the story of how Miconia trees spread into coffee farms and how their dispersal affects the tree population's genetic diversity begged to be addressed before she proceeded with the pollen studies. With guidance from Dick, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who studies genetic diversity patterns in tropical tree species, Jha collected and analysed DNA samples from Miconia trees growing in a network of coffee farms and forest fragments.
Typical of many coffee farms in the area, the three farms in the study were clear-cut and burned in the late 1930s and immediately replanted with coffee bushes and canopy tree species, including nitrogen-fixing legumes and fruit trees. Since then, farmers have allowed understory trees such as Miconia to invade because they help prevent soil erosion. The trees spread into the farms when birds and bats carry their seeds from "mother trees."
By performing a genetic analysis, Jha and Dick were able to determine whether trees growing near one another were all siblings from the same mother tree or a genetically diverse assortment from multiple mothers.
"We found that clustered trees in the forest were highly related to one another, suggesting that the seeds are not moving far from the mother trees," said Jha. "In the coffee farms, however, even in close clusters, the trees were very distinct from one another genetically, indicating that the seeds came from multiple mothers." The difference likely occurs because small, forest-dwelling birds like the chestnut-sided warbler are the main seed carriers in forested areas, while large, ubiquitous birds like the clay-coloured thrush spread seeds throughout coffee farms.
A concern in agricultural areas is that increasingly fragmented landscapes isolate native plant populations, eventually leading to lower genetic diversity. But this study shows that shade coffee farms, by being hospitable to birds, support widespread dispersal of native trees, in effect connecting patches of surrounding forest.
In addition, shade coffee farms may serve as reservoirs for future forest regeneration, as the farms typically fall out of production in less than a century. Given that potential – as well as their roles in connecting habitat patches, preserving genetic diversity and sheltering native wildlife – it is important to encourage this traditional style of agriculture, Jha said. In spite of the trendiness of shade coffee, the enormous demand for java is pressuring some farmers into converting their traditional farms to intensive, industrialised plantations. "A lot of the rustic coffee farms are turning into sun-intensive operations, where farmers cut down the overstory and try to level out the fields so it's easier to get machines in," said Jha. "It's more essential than ever to pay attention to the ecological benefits shade coffee farms provide."
In North and South America, the alarming drop in number of the songbirds has been attributed to the increasing growth of modern coffee plantations, which replace their natural habitat. Traditional form of coffee cultivation relied much on shade grown model. Almost all varieties of coffee shrubs are naturally intolerant to direct sunlight. Under a canopy of the shade trees, they enjoy protection from direct sunlight and also the fallen leaves help mulch the soil – helping retain soil moisture. Birds, which prefer making homes in such trees, help in natural pest control through constant sorties in search of a meal. Shade grown coffee is a perfect sustainable model as it uses little or no chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
Saving the Seeds: Next Green Revolution
With food prices skyrocketing and climate change looming, the world needs a green revolution like the one a generation ago. But many valuable seed varieties have been lost – and scientists now are scrambling to protect those that remain before they vanish down the genetic drain.
Yale 360 Environment
By Fred Pearce
Suddenly plant breeding is sexy. In recent months, soaring prices of food, coupled with fears of runaway climate change, have brought calls for a renaissance in agricultural research – to boost crop yields and deliver new varieties that can stand the heat and drought of a greenhouse world.
The world needs a repeat of the advances made during the last green revolution a generation ago, which doubled global food output.
But the truth is that this new revolution is hobbled before it starts. Decades of underinvestment since the last green revolution have left the world’s crops in genetic meltdown. In many cases, the feedstocks for a new push for plant breeding simply aren’t there.
Two things have gone wrong. First, the standardised varieties produced during the last green revolution proved so successful that they have taken over the world’s fields, elbowing out thousands of traditional varieties bred by farmers over the years. Second, many of the backup stocks of those varieties, held in the world’s seed banks, have suffered from government inattention and penny-pinching, resulting in the decimation of collections.
The world’s heritage of seed diversity is the product of thousands of years of experimental plant breeding by millions of farmers across the world. The crops that humanity has painstakingly bred from wild plants are the kernels of our civilization. When the first farmers planted the first crops 10,000 years ago, the planet could support just 5 million people. Today, thanks to seeds, it feeds 7 billion.
Our future harvests continue to depend on this heritage because the genes found in millions of crop varieties contain vital traits that plant breeders need to improve modern varieties, raising yield, protecting them against new diseases, and adapting them to climate change.
Any variety could be vital. Some of the great successes of modern plant breeding have arisen from serendipitous finds. A hedgerow in India yielded a wild rice plant that had resistance to a killer virus. That gene is now bred into rice plants grown across 100,000 square kilometres of Asia. Veteran American researcher Jack Harlan travelled for days on a donkey in eastern Turkey in the 1940s to find a single wheat seed that rescued the U.S. crop from stripe rust disease and is still worth millions of dollars a year to farmers.
Far from making them redundant, new technologies such as genetic engineering only increase the potential benefits from such finds.
But this man-made genetic treasure trove is found in only a few places – much of it in ancient geographical heartlands, known as Vavilov centres after the Russian seed collector and plant scientist Nicolai Vavilov, who first identified them in the 1920s and 1930s.
These seed varieties are disappearing even faster than nature’s biodiversity. Many of the varieties lost from fields were assumed to be preserved deep-frozen in a network of 1,400 national and international seed banks, many of them located in the Vavilov centres. They include maize at CIMMYT, the international maize and wheat research centre outside Mexico City; the International Rice Research Institute among the rice paddies of the Philippines; and the International Potato Centre high in the Peruvian Andes.
Once these centres were the well-funded engine rooms of the green revolution. But since the 1980s, agricultural research has been chronically under-funded. Why bother to maintain these banks, many governments asked, when the world is awash with cheap food?
Many of the gene banks have been poorly run. Some irreplaceable seed collections have been destroyed in wars and floods and ransacked by looters and terrorists. Others have been lost through incompetence, or when power supplies broke down and the freezers thawed out.
Take maize. It is the world’s most widely grown crop. But Suketoshi Taba, head of CIMMYT, says around 80 percent of traditional varieties have been lost from fields. And at least half of the varieties supposedly stored for future breeding programs in seed banks are actually unable to germinate. CIMMYT’s store may be safe, but much of the rest is lost.
Meanwhile, across Asia, thousands of varieties of rice have disappeared. One of the worst genetic disasters occurred in one of rice’s most important homelands, Cambodia. Numerous traditional rice varieties were lost during Pol Pot’s “Year Zero” rule in the 1970s, when paddies were turned over to collective farming and seed banks were shut down.
Fields at the International Potato Centre in Peru were ransacked by invading Maoist guerrillas in the 1980s. Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, looters pillaged a key store of wheat, lentil, and chickpea seeds at Abu Ghraib outside Baghdad.
In a budget-cutting move, dozens of cabbage varieties at a Dutch research centre, the Centre for Genetic Resources in Wageningen, were culled. Meanwhile, the Pacific Regional Germplasm Centre in Suva, Fiji, has given up trying to preserve unique collections of local staple foods, such as taro and yams, which were planted in research fields.
Is there hope? Well, much has been lost. Many plants with specific genetic traits that now might be critically needed are no more. Nothing can be done about that. But the curators of the world’s seed banks hope that renewed interest in global food supplies will revive funding for their work and help protect what is left before it disappears down the genetic drain. And they are already constructing a permanent repository for the world’s seeds to preserve what remains.
They call it the “doomsday vault” – a large concrete cavern hewn out of a frozen mountain just 1,000 kilometres from the North Pole at Svalbard, Norway. The future of humanity could one day depend on the contents of this newly excavated vault, which is now being filled with seeds of the millions of crop varieties that have fed humanity for the last 10,000 years.
This scientific Ark of the Covenant, being assembled by the Global Crop Diversity Trust, is a survival kit for the world. It will eventually contain backup copies of the world’s entire surviving collections of banked seed varieties.
At Mexico’s CIMMYT centre recently, I watched as the staff packaged corn samples assembled from around the world, including the bank’s own unparalleled collection, for shipping to Svalbard. Eventually the world’s entire known diversity of maize seeds – perhaps a quarter-million varieties – will be represented in the Arctic.
When first proposed at the turn of the millennium, the notion of a doomsday vault seemed scientifically quixotic. The idea was that, in the event of a global holocaust like an asteroid hit, runaway climate change, a deadly pandemic, or a nuclear conflagration, survivors would be able to track down the contents of the vault – and start civilisation afresh.
But that was when food prices worldwide were at record lows and climate change seemed far less urgent. That’s all changed, and now there are serious questions both about whether the world can feed itself, and whether it can do so at prices that do not provoke riot and revolution in the mega cities of the developing world.
The Arctic collection now looks vital not just for some hypothetical “doomsday,” but to preserve what is left in the world’s dysfunctional seed banks. It turns out we may need those seeds far sooner than we thought.
© Yale 360 Environment
Yale 360 Environment
By Fred Pearce
Suddenly plant breeding is sexy. In recent months, soaring prices of food, coupled with fears of runaway climate change, have brought calls for a renaissance in agricultural research – to boost crop yields and deliver new varieties that can stand the heat and drought of a greenhouse world.
The world needs a repeat of the advances made during the last green revolution a generation ago, which doubled global food output.
But the truth is that this new revolution is hobbled before it starts. Decades of underinvestment since the last green revolution have left the world’s crops in genetic meltdown. In many cases, the feedstocks for a new push for plant breeding simply aren’t there.
Two things have gone wrong. First, the standardised varieties produced during the last green revolution proved so successful that they have taken over the world’s fields, elbowing out thousands of traditional varieties bred by farmers over the years. Second, many of the backup stocks of those varieties, held in the world’s seed banks, have suffered from government inattention and penny-pinching, resulting in the decimation of collections.
The world’s heritage of seed diversity is the product of thousands of years of experimental plant breeding by millions of farmers across the world. The crops that humanity has painstakingly bred from wild plants are the kernels of our civilization. When the first farmers planted the first crops 10,000 years ago, the planet could support just 5 million people. Today, thanks to seeds, it feeds 7 billion.
Our future harvests continue to depend on this heritage because the genes found in millions of crop varieties contain vital traits that plant breeders need to improve modern varieties, raising yield, protecting them against new diseases, and adapting them to climate change.
Any variety could be vital. Some of the great successes of modern plant breeding have arisen from serendipitous finds. A hedgerow in India yielded a wild rice plant that had resistance to a killer virus. That gene is now bred into rice plants grown across 100,000 square kilometres of Asia. Veteran American researcher Jack Harlan travelled for days on a donkey in eastern Turkey in the 1940s to find a single wheat seed that rescued the U.S. crop from stripe rust disease and is still worth millions of dollars a year to farmers.
Far from making them redundant, new technologies such as genetic engineering only increase the potential benefits from such finds.
But this man-made genetic treasure trove is found in only a few places – much of it in ancient geographical heartlands, known as Vavilov centres after the Russian seed collector and plant scientist Nicolai Vavilov, who first identified them in the 1920s and 1930s.
These seed varieties are disappearing even faster than nature’s biodiversity. Many of the varieties lost from fields were assumed to be preserved deep-frozen in a network of 1,400 national and international seed banks, many of them located in the Vavilov centres. They include maize at CIMMYT, the international maize and wheat research centre outside Mexico City; the International Rice Research Institute among the rice paddies of the Philippines; and the International Potato Centre high in the Peruvian Andes.
Once these centres were the well-funded engine rooms of the green revolution. But since the 1980s, agricultural research has been chronically under-funded. Why bother to maintain these banks, many governments asked, when the world is awash with cheap food?
Many of the gene banks have been poorly run. Some irreplaceable seed collections have been destroyed in wars and floods and ransacked by looters and terrorists. Others have been lost through incompetence, or when power supplies broke down and the freezers thawed out.
Take maize. It is the world’s most widely grown crop. But Suketoshi Taba, head of CIMMYT, says around 80 percent of traditional varieties have been lost from fields. And at least half of the varieties supposedly stored for future breeding programs in seed banks are actually unable to germinate. CIMMYT’s store may be safe, but much of the rest is lost.
Meanwhile, across Asia, thousands of varieties of rice have disappeared. One of the worst genetic disasters occurred in one of rice’s most important homelands, Cambodia. Numerous traditional rice varieties were lost during Pol Pot’s “Year Zero” rule in the 1970s, when paddies were turned over to collective farming and seed banks were shut down.
Fields at the International Potato Centre in Peru were ransacked by invading Maoist guerrillas in the 1980s. Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, looters pillaged a key store of wheat, lentil, and chickpea seeds at Abu Ghraib outside Baghdad.
In a budget-cutting move, dozens of cabbage varieties at a Dutch research centre, the Centre for Genetic Resources in Wageningen, were culled. Meanwhile, the Pacific Regional Germplasm Centre in Suva, Fiji, has given up trying to preserve unique collections of local staple foods, such as taro and yams, which were planted in research fields.
Is there hope? Well, much has been lost. Many plants with specific genetic traits that now might be critically needed are no more. Nothing can be done about that. But the curators of the world’s seed banks hope that renewed interest in global food supplies will revive funding for their work and help protect what is left before it disappears down the genetic drain. And they are already constructing a permanent repository for the world’s seeds to preserve what remains.
They call it the “doomsday vault” – a large concrete cavern hewn out of a frozen mountain just 1,000 kilometres from the North Pole at Svalbard, Norway. The future of humanity could one day depend on the contents of this newly excavated vault, which is now being filled with seeds of the millions of crop varieties that have fed humanity for the last 10,000 years.
This scientific Ark of the Covenant, being assembled by the Global Crop Diversity Trust, is a survival kit for the world. It will eventually contain backup copies of the world’s entire surviving collections of banked seed varieties.
At Mexico’s CIMMYT centre recently, I watched as the staff packaged corn samples assembled from around the world, including the bank’s own unparalleled collection, for shipping to Svalbard. Eventually the world’s entire known diversity of maize seeds – perhaps a quarter-million varieties – will be represented in the Arctic.
When first proposed at the turn of the millennium, the notion of a doomsday vault seemed scientifically quixotic. The idea was that, in the event of a global holocaust like an asteroid hit, runaway climate change, a deadly pandemic, or a nuclear conflagration, survivors would be able to track down the contents of the vault – and start civilisation afresh.
But that was when food prices worldwide were at record lows and climate change seemed far less urgent. That’s all changed, and now there are serious questions both about whether the world can feed itself, and whether it can do so at prices that do not provoke riot and revolution in the mega cities of the developing world.
The Arctic collection now looks vital not just for some hypothetical “doomsday,” but to preserve what is left in the world’s dysfunctional seed banks. It turns out we may need those seeds far sooner than we thought.
© Yale 360 Environment
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