•Greenhouse gas emissions from piggeries correspond to 4.87kg CO2equiv. per kg carcass.•CO2 emissions from the pigs and the manure contribute to 81% of total emissions.•Bedded systems are associated ...to higher N2O emissions compared to slatted systems.•Dietary fibre increases the CH4 production from the digestive tract and the manure.•Frequent removal of manure is efficient in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The environmental impacts of livestock production are attracting increasing attention, especially the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Currently, pork is the most widely consumed meat product in the world, and its production is expected to grow in the next few decades. This paper deals with the production of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) by animals and by manure from pig buildings, with a focus on the influence of rearing techniques and nutrition. GHG emissions in piggeries originate from animals through CO2 exhalation and CH4 enteric fermentation, and from manure through the release of CO2, CH4 and N2O. The level of the CO2 exhalation (E-CO2, pig) depends on the physiological stage, the body weight (BW), the production level and the feed intake of the animals concerned. Enteric CH4 (E-CH4, pig) is principally related to dietary fibre intake and the fermentative capacity of the pig’s hindgut. Based on a review of the literature, the following equations are proposed in order to estimate E-CO2, pig (in kg day−1) and E-CH4,pig (in g day−1) for fattening pigs: E-CO2, pig=0.136×BW0.573; E-CH4,pig=0.012×dRes; with BW (in kg) and dRes for digestible residues (in g day−1). Numerous pathways are responsible for GHG production in manure. In addition, the microbial, physical and chemical properties of manure interact and modulate the level of emissions. Influencing factors for removal systems for both liquid and solid fractions of manure have been investigated. A large range of parameters showing an impact on the level of GHG production from pig houses has been reported. However, few of these can be considered unquestionably as GHG mitigation techniques because some strategies have shown contradictory effects depending on the gas, the circumstances and the study. Nevertheless, frequent manure removal seems to be an efficient means to reduce concurrently CO2-, CH4- and N2O-emissions from pig buildings for both slatted and bedded floor systems. Manure removal operations may be associated with specific storage conditions and efficient treatment in order to further reduce emissions. Several feeding strategies have been tested to decrease GHG emissions but they seem to be ineffective in reducing emissions both significantly and durably. In general, good management practices that enhance zootechnical performance will have beneficial consequences on GHG emission intensity. Taking into account the results described in the literature regarding CO2-, CH4- and N2O-production from animals and manure in pig houses, we estimate total GHG emissions to 448.3kg CO2equiv. per slaughter pig produced or 4.87kg CO2equiv. per kg carcass. The fattening period accounts for more than 70% of total emissions, while the gestation, lactation and weaning periods each contribute to about 10% of total emissions. Emissions of CO2, CH4 and N2O contribute to 81, 17 and 2% of total emissions from pig buildings, representing 3.87, 0.83 and 0.11kg CO2equiv. per kg carcass, respectively.
Dogs, Past and Present: An Interdisciplinary Perspective contributions from scholars from a variety of disciplines to provide a comprehensive assessment of the importance of dogs through history. ...Over the last decades, countless studies have examined the lives of dogs and their current place in our societies as well as their crucial part in human life and history. Data and hypotheses have progressively increased, sometimes controversially, in each field of investigation. The domestication of dogs and its success during prehistory is a fascinating theme that scholars of various disciplines are involved with. However, there has not been a real exchange between those approaches and it is extremely complex to reach a complete view of the thousands of texts which are published every year. By contrast, this volume is entirely dedicated to dogs and it is focused on the necessity of an ‘interdisciplinary perspective’ to fully understand the fundamental role that dogs have played in our past. When, where, how and why were dogs domesticated? What is their story? What was their role in the history of humankind? What is their role in traditional and non-traditional societies today? The book originated from the conference ‘Dogs, Past and Present – an Interdisciplinary Perspective’ held at CNR (National Scientific Council) and at Sapienza University in Rome (14–17 November 2018), promoted by the Italian Association for Ethnoarchaeology and organised by the editors.
Plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Because agriculture's productivity is based on this process, a combination of technologies to reduce emissions and enhance ...soil carbon storage can allow this sector to achieve net negative emissions while maintaining high productivity. Unfortunately, current row-crop agricultural practice generates about 5% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and European Union. To reduce these emissions, significant effort has been focused on changing farm management practices to maximize soil carbon. In contrast, the potential to reduce emissions has largely been neglected. Through a combination of innovations in digital agriculture, crop and microbial genetics, and electrification, we estimate that a 71% (1,744 kg CO
e/ha) reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from row crop agriculture is possible within the next 15 y. Importantly, emission reduction can lower the barrier to broad adoption by proceeding through multiple stages with meaningful improvements that gradually facilitate the transition to net negative practices. Emerging voluntary and regulatory ecosystems services markets will incentivize progress along this transition pathway and guide public and private investments toward technology development. In the difficult quest for net negative emissions, all tools, including emission reduction and soil carbon storage, must be developed to allow agriculture to maintain its critical societal function of provisioning society while, at the same time, generating environmental benefits.
Research on closed plant production systems, such as artificially illuminated and highly insulated plant factories, has offered perspectives for urban food production but more insight is needed into ...their resource use efficiency. This paper assesses the potential of this ‘novel’ system for production in harsh climates with either low or high temperatures and solar radiation levels.
The performance of plant factories is compared with cultivation in traditional greenhouses by analysing the use of resources in the production of lettuce. We applied advanced climate models for greenhouses and buildings, coupled with a lettuce model that relates growth to microclimate. This analysis was performed for three different climate zones and latitudes (24–68°N).
In terms of energy efficiency, plant factories (1411MJkg−1 dry weight) outperform even the most efficient greenhouse (Sweden with artificial illumination; 1699MJkg−1 dry weight). Additionally, plant factories achieve higher productivity for all other resources (water, CO2 and land area). With respect to purchased energy, however, greenhouses excel as they use freely available solar energy for photosynthesis. The production of 1kg dry weight of lettuce requires an input of 247kWhe in a plant factory, compared to 70, 111, 182 and 211kWhe in greenhouses in respectively the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates and Sweden (with and without additional artificial illumination).
The local scarcity of resources determines the suitability of production systems. Our quantitative analysis provides insight into the effect of external climate on resource productivity in plant factories and greenhouses. By elucidating the impact of the absence of solar energy, this provides a starting point for determining the economic viability of plant factories.
•Energy, water, CO2, and land are the parameters used to compare plant factories to greenhouses for resource use efficiency.•Plant factories use all four resources more efficiently than greenhouses in the three case studies evaluated.•Lettuce production in the plant factories requires 14%, 33%, 142% and 251% more purchased energy than in the greenhouses.•The production of lettuce in the plant factories instead of the greenhouses could reduce water use by 28%, 92%, 93% and 95%.•The advancement in LED efficiency is paramount, but presumably not sufficient to ensure the feasibility of plant factories.
•Overview of viable smart sensors that are used in field cultivation processes, greenhouse automation and hydroponics farming.•Digital systems that can help to secure controlled environment ...agriculture.•Novel data driven tools and their application benefits in monitoring soil and plant physicochemical parameters.•Automation in agro irrigation control systems and data acquisition process in agriculture.
Smart sensors are useful in professional farming approach by which one can use the digital technology to monitor, visualize, generate digital data, to control the application of resources, to improve quality and productivity of agriculture produce. Novel sensors add value in soil-less farming through automation and IoT (Internet of Things) based operation management digital tools. Data-driven technologies by using smart sensors can find a solution to many glitches in agriculture practices and it could improve new efficiencies. The principles of smart sensors as well as the most viable sensors that are used for monitoring soil and plant physicochemical parameters in field cultivation processes, greenhouse and indoor hydroponics are being discussed. Digital technologies in precision farming, automation in agro machinery, Precision Livestock Farming (PLF), TV White Spaces (TVWS) remote connectivity, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) based imagery, application of IoTs can help farming communities to use resources accurately based on real-time farm data acquired and improve crop yield without any wastage. Smart sensors helps the entire food value chain, the precision to productivity quest of growers and could enable new business models. This article provides a wide understanding of novel smart sensors, wireless sensor network architectures, and applications of these sensors to inculcate sustainable farming practices, value chain traceability and create secured income.
A powerful movement is happening in farming today-farmers are reconnecting with their roots to fight climate change. For one woman, that's meant learning her tribe's history to help bring back the ...buffalo. For another, it's meant preserving forest purchased by her great-great-uncle, among the first wave of African Americans to buy land. Others are rejecting monoculture to grow corn, beans, and squash the way farmers in Mexico have done for centuries. Still others are rotating crops for the native cuisines of those who fled the "American wars" in Southeast Asia. In Healing Grounds, Liz Carlisle tells the stories of Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and Asian American farmers who are reviving their ancestors' methods of growing food-techniques long suppressed by the industrial food system. These farmers are restoring native prairies, nurturing beneficial fungi, and enriching soil health. While feeding their communities and revitalizing cultural ties to land, they are steadily stitching ecosystems back together and repairing the natural carbon cycle. This, Carlisle shows, is the true regenerative agriculture - not merely a set of technical tricks for storing CO2 in the ground, but a holistic approach that values diversity in both plants and people. Cultivating this kind of regenerative farming will require reckoning with our nation's agricultural history-a history marked by discrimination and displacement. And it will ultimately require dismantling power structures that have blocked many farmers of color from owning land or building wealth. The task is great, but so is its promise. By coming together to restore these farmlands, we can not only heal our planet, we can heal our communities and ourselves.
•Smallholders’ farmers are vulnerable to the impacts of climate extreme events.•Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) practices can help reduce or avoid these impacts.•Adoption of these practices by ...smallholders is conditioned by key barriers and trade-offs.•Existing experiences in promoting agroecology and agroforestry provide key lessons to promote adoption.
Despite the growing interest in Ecosystem-based Adaptation, there has been little discussion of how this approach could be used to help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change, while ensuring the continued provision of ecosystem services on which farming depends. Here we provide a framework for identifying which agricultural practices could be considered ‘Ecosystem-based Adaptation’ practices, and highlight the opportunities and constraints for using these practices to help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change. We argue that these practices are (a) based on the conservation, restoration or management of biodiversity, ecosystem processes or services, and (b) improve the ability of crops and livestock to maintain crop yields under climate change and/or by buffering biophysical impacts of extreme weather events or increased temperatures. To be appropriate for smallholder farmers, these practices must also help increase their food security, increase or diversify their sources of income generation, take advantage of local or traditional knowledge, be based on local inputs, and have low implementation and labor costs. To illustrate the application of this definition, we provide some examples from smallholders’ coffee management practices in Mesoamerica. We also highlight three key obstacles that currently constrain the use of Ecosystem-based Adaptation practices (i) the need for greater understanding of their effectiveness and the factors that drive their adoption, (ii) the development supportive and integrated agriculture and climate change policies that specifically promote them as part of a broader agricultural adaptation program; and (iii) the establishment and maintaining strong and innovative extension programs for smallholder farmers. Our framework is an important starting point for identifying which Ecosystem-based Adaptation practices are appropriate for smallholder farmers and merit attention in international and national adaptation efforts.
Air quality-related health damages of food Domingo, Nina G G; Balasubramanian, Srinidhi; Thakrar, Sumil K ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
05/2021, Letnik:
118, Številka:
20
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Agriculture is a major contributor to air pollution, the largest environmental risk factor for mortality in the United States and worldwide. It is largely unknown, however, how individual foods or ...entire diets affect human health via poor air quality. We show how food production negatively impacts human health by increasing atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM
), and we identify ways to reduce these negative impacts of agriculture. We quantify the air quality-related health damages attributable to 95 agricultural commodities and 67 final food products, which encompass >99% of agricultural production in the United States. Agricultural production in the United States results in 17,900 annual air quality-related deaths, 15,900 of which are from food production. Of those, 80% are attributable to animal-based foods, both directly from animal production and indirectly from growing animal feed. On-farm interventions can reduce PM
-related mortality by 50%, including improved livestock waste management and fertilizer application practices that reduce emissions of ammonia, a secondary PM
precursor, and improved crop and animal production practices that reduce primary PM
emissions from tillage, field burning, livestock dust, and machinery. Dietary shifts toward more plant-based foods that maintain protein intake and other nutritional needs could reduce agricultural air quality-related mortality by 68 to 83%. In sum, improved livestock and fertilization practices, and dietary shifts could greatly decrease the health impacts of agriculture caused by its contribution to reduced air quality.
•A 12-class image dataset consisting of 9370 bounding boxes was created for common weeds in cotton.•An extensive benchmark of 18 YOLO object detection models was established for weed detection.•The ...effect of data augmentation on weed detection was assessed.•The dataset and software programs for model benchmarking are publicly accessible.
Weeds are among the major threats to cotton production. Overreliance on herbicides for weed control has accelerated the evolution of herbicide-resistance in weeds and caused increasing concerns about environments, food safety and human health. Machine vision systems for automated/robotic weeding have received growing interest towards the realization of integrated, sustainable weed management. However, in the presence of unstructured field environments and significant biological variability of weeds, it remains a serious challenge to develop reliable weed identification and detection systems. A promising solution to address this challenge are the development of arge-scale, annotated image datasets of weeds specific to cropping systems and data-driven AI (artificial intelligence) models for weed detection. Among various deep learning architectures, a diversity of YOLO (You Only Look Once) detectors is well-suited for real-time application and has enjoyed great popularity for generic object detection. This study presents a new dataset (CottoWeedDet12) of weeds important to cotton production in the southern United States (U.S.); it consists of 5648 images of 12 weed classes with a total of 9370 bounding box annotations, collected under natural light conditions and at varied weed growth stages in cotton fields. A novel, comprehensive benchmark of 25 state-of-the-art YOLO object detectors of seven versions including YOLOv3, YOLOv4, Scaled-YOLOv4, YOLOR and YOLOv5, YOLOv6 and YOLOv7, has been established for weed detection on the dataset. Evaluated through the Monte-Caro cross validation with 5 replications, the detection accuracy in terms of mAP@0.5 ranged from 88.14 % by YOLOv3-tiny to 95.22 % by YOLOv4, and the accuracy in terms of mAP@0.5:0.95 ranged from 68.18 % by YOLOv3-tiny to 89.72 % by Scaled-YOLOv4. All the YOLO models especially YOLOv5n and YOLOv5s have shown great potential for real-time weed detection, and data augmentation could increase weed detection accuracy. Both the weed detection dataset22https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7535814 and software program codes for model benchmarking in this study are publicly available33https://github.com/DongChen06/DCW, which will be to be valuable resources for promoting future research on big data and AI-empowered weed detection and control for cotton and potentially other crops.
Agricultural Investment and Productivity provides a deep and systematic look at the opportunities for and constraints to investments in sustainable agriculture in East Africa, offering important ...insights into what works and how to analyze agricultural investments in one of the poorest regions of the world. The book critically examines the reasons behind East Africa's stagnant agricultural productivity over the past forty-five years, using the primary lens of investments in fertilizers, seeds, and sustainable land management technologies, These investments have a tremendous impact on production volume, ultimately affecting the income of millions of families throughout the region.
PDF
