PROFILE: Tourism Contribution to Agro-Ecosystems Conservation: The Case of Lesbos Island, Greece

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of tourism activities on olive tree cultivation and the human population of the island of Lesbos. The presence or absence of tourism is related with the maintenance or abandonment of olive tree cultivation and population changes for each community. A spatial segregation of the island is evident, related to tourist development, olive tree cultivation, and population change. The results of the study demonstrate that in communities where tourism plays an important role olive tree cultivation is preserved and the population is stable. The preservation of the agro-ecosystem is assured while the olive groves remain productive. Simultaneously, the landscape, which provides specific attractions for tourism, is not altered.     

Carbon flow analysis of China's agro-ecosystem from 1980 to 2013: A perspective from substance flow analysis

Research on carbon cycling has attracted attention from both scientists and policy-makers. Based on material flow analysis, this study systematically budgets the carbon inputs, outputs and balance from 1980 to 2013 for China''s agro-ecosystem and its sub-systems, including agricultural land use, livestock breeding and rural life. The results show that from 1980 to 2013, both the carbon input and output were growing gradually, with the carbon input doubling from 1.6 Pg C/year in 1980 to 3.4 Pg C/year in 2013, while carbon output grew from 2.2 Pg C/year in 1980 to 3.8 Pg C/year in 2013. From 1980 to 2013, the crop production system in China has remained a carbon source, and the agricultural land uses were also almost all carbon sources instead of carbon sinks. As soil carbon stock plays a very important role in deciding the function of China''s agro-ecosystem as a carbon sink or source, practices that can promote carbon storage and sequestration will be an essential component of low carbon agriculture development in China.     

The effect of glyphosate on the growth and competitive effect of perennial grass species in semi-natural grasslands

Biodiversity within European semi-natural biotopes in agro-ecosystem is declining, and herbicide drift from neighbouring fields is considered as an important factor for the decline. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the growth and competitive interactions in a model system of two perennial grass species, Festuca ovina and Agrostis capillaris, are affected by sub-lethal doses of glyphosate in field margins. In a glasshouse experiment with ample nitrogen, the interspecific competitive interactions were found to be significantly affected by glyphosate; the competitive effect of F. ovina on A. capillaris increased and the competitive effect of A. capillaris on F. ovina decreased with increasing doses of glyphosate. Furthermore, the importance of interspecific competition increased with the glyphosate dose. The results of the study of competitive interactions are in agreement with the observed plant community dynamics at the field site where F. ovina was found to be more dominant in plots treated with a relatively high dose of glyphosate. Importantly, the effects of glyphosate on the plant community dynamics critically depended on the effect of glyphosate on the plant competitive interactions. The study concludes that the current practice in the environmental risk assessment of non-target effects of herbicides, where single species are tested in the greenhouse, may be inadequate for assessing the effect of herbicides in semi-natural plant communities. The presented methods can be used for assessing the importance of competitive interactions for the sensitivity of non-target plants to herbicides in risk assessment.     

Development and test of a crop growth model for application within a Global Change decision support system

When examining potential impacts of Global Change on water resources on the regional scale, spatial and temporal changes in crop water and nitrogen demand are of fundamental significance. State-of-the-art crop growth models are powerful tools to assess the response of crops to altered environmental conditions and cultivation practices. In this paper, the process-based, object-oriented and generic DANUBIA crop growth model is presented. To evaluate the performance of the model, a validation analysis is carried out by comparing modelled data with various field measurements of sugar beet, spring barley, maize, winter wheat and potato crops. Model performance statistics show that crop growth is efficiently simulated. The closest agreement between measured and modelled biomass and leaf area index is achieved for sugar beet and winter wheat. Additionally, the response of the model to changed nitrogen availability caused by cultivation practices is analysed and reveals good results. The results suggest that the model is a suitable tool for numerically assessing the consequences of Global Change on biomass production, water and nitrogen demand, taking into account the complex interplay of water, carbon and nitrogen fluxes in agro-ecosystems.     

Structure and diversity of small mammal communities in agriculture landscape

Small mammal communities were snaptrapped for six years in agricultural landscapes to establish their relationship to various crop habitats in southern Moravia, Czech Republic. The presence of 14 small mammals was documented; 77% of the community found in crops consisted of three rodents, namely Microtus arvalis, Apodemus microps and A. sylvaticus, whereas in woody habitats, 89% of the community was represented by Clethrionomys glareolus, Apodemus flavicollis and A. sylvaticus. In permanent habitats (windbreaks, small woods and fallow land), the community was more abundant and diversified. Among the crop fields, the lowest abundance was found in cereal fields whereas the lowest diversity was observed in alfalfa. Soil-cultivating practices affected abundances especially in sugar beat and maize. Seasonal variation in numbers was lowest in forest and fallow land. Species richness decreased from spring and summer to autumn and winter in annual crops (cereal, maize, sugar beet and other crops), increased in alfalfa and fallow land, and remained relatively stable in windbreaks and forests. Based on similarity indices, two groups of small mammal communities were identified: one for field crops and another for permanent habitats. The fallow land assemblages in spring and summer were more similar to field crop species assemblages and in autumn and winter to permanent habitats one. Trophic requirements of small mammals and the food supply available in the various habitats are discussed.