Agricultural management affects earthworm and termite diversity across humid to semi-arid tropical zones

Earthworm and termite diversity were studied in 12 long-term agricultural field trials across the sub-humid to semi-arid tropical zones of Eastern and Western Africa. In each trial, treatments with high and low soil organic C were chosen to represent contrasts in long-term soil management effects, including tillage intensity, organic matter and nutrient management and crop rotations. For each trial, a fallow representing a relatively undisturbed reference was also sampled. Earthworm taxonomic richness decreased in the direction fallow > high-C soil > low-C soil and earthworm abundance was higher in fallow than under continuous crop production. Termite abundance was not significantly different between fallow and high and low-C treatments and termite taxonomic richness was higher in fallow soil than in the two cropping systems. We concluded that fewer species of earthworms and termites were favored under agricultural management that led to lower soil C. Results indicated that the soil disturbance induced by continuous crop production was more detrimental to earthworms than to termites, when compared to the fallow.     

Insecticide and tillage effects on pest and non-pest arthropods in corn agroecosystems

Effects of carbamate and organophosphate insecticides, tillage and previous cropping history on pest and non-target soil arthropods in corn are reported. Also, degradation patterns of organophosphate insecticide were quantified in plowed and no-tillage systems. Overall, tillage and cropping sequence had greater effects on arthropod communities than did insecticide treatments. Rootworm (Diabrotica sp.) damage was less in no-tillage than in plowed systems. There was no significant difference between insecticides in affecting rootworm damage. The organophosphate-treated corn had less black cutworm (Agrostis ipsilon) damage than did the carbamate-treated corn. Cryptostigmata mite density was highest in no-tillage systems. In contrast, non-cryptostigmata mite density was highest in fallow—plowed systems. The carbamate insecticide had a greater negative effect on overall mite density than did the organophosphate compound. With respect to soil macroarthropods, herbivore numbers were highest in plowed systems and lowest in no-tillage systems. Spider numbers were highest in the no-tillage systems. The organo-phosphate insecticide degraded more rapidly in the no-tillage compared to the plowed systems; however, this difference did not appear to affect arthropod numbers.     

东北典型黑土区耕地轮作休耕的空间重构

轮作休耕是保障黑土区耕地资源可持续利用的重要手段。科学合理确定粮食作物轮作休耕的耕地利用规模及空间分布,对实现黑土区耕地修养生息、提升地力和平衡粮食供求结构具有重要意义。以东北典型黑土区——克山县、拜泉县和依安县为研究区,运用作物种植空间适宜性评价模型、多目标优化（MOP）模型和智能体土地布局优化配置（AgentLA）模型,基于地块尺度构建耕地轮作和休耕布局,适度调整轮作休耕规模及分布。结果发现：（1）研究区主要作物种植适宜性高值和低值区存在明显空间差异。玉米和大豆种植适宜性高值区交汇于依安县北部和克山县西部,是玉米—大豆轮作优势区域。主要作物种植适宜性低值区交汇于依安县南部和拜泉县西南部,是休耕的重点区域。（2）基于种植结构优化的轮作规模实现了大豆种植比例增加和玉米种植比例减少,缓解了目前玉米阶段性供大于求、大豆供给不足的现实矛盾。通过设定多种粮食供求情景确定休耕规模有利于灵活应对粮食市场变动。（3）兼顾耕地空间适宜性和集聚性的轮作休耕布局有利于充分利用耕地资源禀赋比较优势、发展规模化经营,对提高耕地利用效率具有重要作用。研究通过科学重构黑土区耕地轮作和休耕空间布局,实现了耕地空间适宜性、空间集聚性、种植结构合理性和粮食供求稳定性的同步提升,为实现黑土区耕地资源合理可持续利用和粮食安全提供政策参考。     

Influence of the immediate environment on the dispersal of Sitona lineatus L. (Col., Curc.) during crop colonisation

The factors favouring the colonisation of pea fields by Sitona lineatus L. were studied in three trapping experiments in fields of the ITCF Experimental Farm in Boigneville (Essonne, France).One trapping device was placed in an open environment, represented by a meadow. It showed that at the end of hibernation, S. lineatus populations dispersed mainly via air currents. The second device was located in a pea crop entirely surrounded by a wooded area used as place of hibernation. The distribution of S. lineatus caught in this protected environment reflected movements which were oriented towards directions not correlated with the wind direction. The third device was placed in a typical open environment of arable crops of the Paris Basin, and was used to determine the movements between three main types of environment occupied by the weevil: a hibernation zone (wooded area), a hibernation and/or feeding zone (clover) and a reproduction zone (pea). Crops on the ITCF experimental farm were colonised simultaneously at the beginning of spring, irrespective of environment, with two peaks in migration.     

Eight years of annual no-till cropping in Washington's winter wheat-summer fallow region

The tillage-based winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-summer fallow (WW-SF) cropping system has dominated dryland farming in the Pacific Northwest USA for 125 years. We conducted a large-scale multidisciplinary 8-year study of annual (i.e., no summer fallow) no-till cropping systems as an alternative to WW-SF. Soft white and hard white classes of winter and spring wheat, spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), yellow mustard (Brassica hirta Moench), and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) were grown in various rotation combinations. Annual precipitation was less than the long-term average of 301 mm in 7 out of 8 years. Rhizoctonia bare patch disease caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani AG-8 appeared in year 3 and continued through year 8 in all no-till plots. All crops were susceptible to rhizoctonia, but bare patch area in wheat was reduced, and grain yield increased, when wheat was grown in rotation with barley every other year. Remnant downy brome (Bromus tectorum L.) weed seeds remained dormant for 6 years and longer to heavily infest recrop winter wheat. There were few quantifiable changes in soil quality due to crop rotation, but soil organic carbon (SOC) increased in the surface 0–5 cm depth with no-till during the 8 years to approach that found in undisturbed native soil. Annual no-till crop rotations experienced lower average profitability and greater income variability compared to WW-SF. Yellow mustard and safflower were not economically viable. Continuous annual cropping using no-till provides excellent protection against wind erosion and shows potential to increase soil quality, but the practice involves high economic risk compared to WW-SF. This paper provides the first comprehensive multidisciplinary report of long-term alternative annual no-till cropping systems research in the low-precipitation region of the Pacific Northwest.     

Variations in soil properties along three toposequences in Burkina Faso and implications for the development of improved cropping systems

Three toposequences representing different stages in the degradation process were studied for the Sudanian Savanna zone of Burkina Faso. Morphological, chemical and mineralogical soil data are presented for the major toposequence land types easily recognized in the landscape.Owing to their low initial fertility, most soils of uplands and upper and mid-slopes are prone to rapid degradation when cultivation is intensified and fallow periods are shortened due to growing populations and the presence of growing animal herds. Once the permanent vegetation has been removed, these soils tend to develop dense surface crusts which reduce moisture infiltration, thereby increasing runoff and erosion as well as the risks of drought. By contrast, the soils of the lower slopes are more fertile and their moisture availability is more assured. The lowland soils are generally the most fertile but may suffer from occasional waterlogging. The local agriculture will often permanently occupy the lower slopes and lowland fields, whereas the higher fields will be in fallow systems. The cropping systems vary simultaneously among different land types. Based on the soil studies and crop adaptation patterns to toposequence land types, certain modifications to the present cropping systems and cultural practices are proposed to developed more stable and sustainable production systems for upland areas in particular.     

双氰胺对冬闲稻田和油菜地N2O排放的影响

冬季的温室气体排放往往被忽视,而最新的研究结果表明,冬闲稻田和冬季油菜地N_2O排放仍较大,研究相应的减排措施及减排机制对于减少农田土壤N_2O排放有重要意义.在中国科学院桃源农业生态试验站选择冬闲稻田和油菜地两种不同土地利用方式,并设置添加和不添加双氰胺(DCD)处理,采用静态箱采集和气相色谱法结合监测N_2O排放动态,利用分子生物学手段分析氨氧化古菌(AOA)和氨氧化细菌(AOB)的群落结构和丰度变化.结果表明,添加DCD后明显抑制了冬闲稻田和油菜地N_2O排放,分别减少了36.7%和23.6%.DCD施入抑制了冬闲稻田AOA和AOB的丰度但只改变AOA的群落结构,DCD使AOA和AOB丰度分别减少了59.3%和73.7%.与此相反,添加DCD只改变油菜地AOB的群落结构同时只抑制了AOB的丰度.本研究表明,施加DCD能有效减少冬闲稻田和冬季油菜地N_2O排放,但减排机制不一致.     

Response of the bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi) to climate change in relation to its pest status, vectoring potential and function in a crop-vector-virus pathosystem

Global climate change threatens world food production via direct effects on plant growth and alterations to pest and pathogen prevalence and distribution. Complex relationships between host plant, pest, pathogen and environment create uncertainty particularly involving vector-borne diseases. We attempt to improve the understanding of the effects of climate change via a detailed review of one crop-vector-pathogen system.The bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi, is a global pest of cereals and vector of yellow dwarf viruses that cause significant crop losses in cereals. R. padi exhibits both sexual and parthenogenetic reproduction, alternating between crops and other host plants. In Australia, only parthenogenesis occurs due to the absence of the primary host, thus the aphid continuously cycles from grasses to cereals, allowing for continuous virus acquisition and transmission.We have reviewed the potential impact of future climate projections on R. padi population dynamics, persistence, abundance, dispersal and migration events as well as the interactions between vector, virus, crop and environment, all of which are critical to the behaviour and development of the vector and its ability to transmit the virus. We identify a number of knowledge gaps that currently limit efforts to determine how this pathosystem will function in a future climate.     

Integrated assessment of future CAP policies: land use changes,spatial patterns and targeting

The recent and upcoming reforms of the Common Agricultural Policies (CAPs) aim at strengthening the multifunctional role of agriculture, acknowledging the differences in economic, environmental and social potentials within European regions. This paper presents results from an integrated assessment of existing and future policies within the framework set up in the FP6 EU project MEA-Scope. Spatial explicit procedures allow for the MEA-Scope modelling tools to provide information related to regional, environmental and socio-economics settings. The impact of different policy scenarios on structural change, land abandonment and cropping pattern of typical farms has been assessed based on linked agent-based (ABM) and Linear Programming (LP) models at regional and farm scale for two study areas. For the German case study area Ostprignitz-Ruppin (OPR), the issue of policy targeting has been addressed by relating non-commodity outputs (NCOs) to soil quality and protection status. For the Italian case study area (Mugello), changes in landscape patterns in terms of increased fragmentation or homogeneity as affected by changes in agricultural intensity have been analysed using semivariance analysis. The spatial explicit approach highlighted the relevance of case study research in order to identifying response structures and explaining policy implementation patterns.     

The ecological basis of boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis Boheman) management

The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis Boheman), generally considered to be native to Mexico or Central America, spread into the southern United States of America in the late 1800s and seriously threatened the cotton industry. As there were no effective alternatives, pest control specialists studied the insect's ecology and advocated cultural practices that would disrupt its environment and maximize the benefits of natural biological and environmental controls. An ecologically orientated pest management scheme founded on cultural practices emerged well before suitable chemical control technology became available and allowed farmers to live with the weevil problem.Despite the ingenuity of the early management scheme, it frequently did not provide satisfactory boll weevil control gauged by present standards. Control of the pest thus shifted largely from an ecological to a chemical approach as effective synthetic organic insecticides became available after World War II. The chemical approach was successful for a number of years, but problems of insecticide-resistant strains of pests, secondary pest outbreaks, environmental quality, and increased costs of the insecticides have forced pest control specialists to re-emphasize the nonchemical techniques used widely against the boll weevil before World War II and to revive the ecological approach to weevil management.This article examines boll weevil ecology as related to management of the insect and reviews the status and prospects of ecologically-based weevil management techniques in the United States.     

1961—2015年西南区域单季稻生长季气候年型及其生产潜力分析

了解气候变化背景下农作物气候年型以及不同气候年型下作物的生产潜力,对实现农业的可持续发展具有重要意义。基于1961—2015年西南区域单季稻种植区316个气象台站的逐日气象资料和单季稻生产资料,利用异常度概念分析了单季稻生长季的10种气候年型,解析了不同气候年型下单季稻的气候生产潜力,并分析气候变化对单季稻生长季气候年型及生产潜力的影响。结果表明：（1）近55年来西南区域单季稻生长季正常年型发生频次最高,平均21.5次,其次是少雨年型和多雨年型。从空间分布来看,正常年型多出现在云南南部和西北部、四川攀西和四川盆地南部的部分地区,少雨和多雨年型多出现在四川盆地大部和其他省市的部分地区,高温年型多出现在四川攀西地区、云南和贵州的个别地区,低温和寡照年型的空间差异不明显。（2）1961—2015年,西南区域单季稻气候生产潜力平均为7065.6 kg/hm²。与正常年相比,多雨年型气候生产潜力偏高超过10%,少雨年型偏低超过14%,降水是影响单季稻气候生产潜力的最主要因子。（3）气候变暖对西南区域单季稻生长季气候年型变化的影响最为显著。与1961—1990年相比,1991—2015年暖年增加,冷年减少。近55年来西南各省市单季稻气候生产潜力均呈下降趋势,1990年代以来暖年的增加有利于气候生产潜力的提高,而少雨和寡照年的增加是气候生产潜力总体下降的主要原因。     

Use of pheromone traps to suppress populations of Scolytus multistriatus (Marsham) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in three isolated communities of elms

The technique of mass trapping as a pest management tool was evaluated for its potential in reducing populations of Scolytus multistriatus. More than two million beetles were caught on traps baited with a synthetic attractant composed of both aggregation pheromones and host tree volatiles. Trends in trap catches over a period of 4 years (1976–1979) in three small isolated towns of similar size and with a similar number of elms, suggest that there was little or no reduction of the beetle population. Patterns in the number of beetles captured and the dispersion of trap catches indicate that pheromonebaited traps may be deployed to help identify local infestations and to focus sanitation efforts.     

The extent of monoculture and its effects on insect pest populations with particular reference to wheat and cotton

The effects of changes in region-wide cropping patterns on insect pest populations have not been well studied. This paper reviews the empirical literature and develops a theoretical framework for these effects. Changes in regional cropping patterns do affect insect populations, and in at least one case, the presence of fence rows and thickets provide a net benefit to the nearby agro-ecosystem. Of the 17 studies reviewed here, 15 discuss cotton or wheat. With cotton, increased monoculture leads to increases in 13 pest populations and a decrease in two. With wheat, increases occurred in only three populations, while seven were not affected or decreased. Most of the insect populations that were not affected or decreased are multivoltine and oligophagous or polyphagous. All of the populations that increased are monophagous on the crop in the region in which they were studied. A higher proportion of the wheat fauna is multivoltine and oligophagous or polyphagous than the cotton fauna. This may explain the difference between the response of the wheat fauna and the cotton fauna to changes in the extent of monoculture. Additional factors may be insect vagility, host-finding ability, and the response of the predators and parasitoids.     

Diagnosis on the sustainability of an upland cropping system of southern Haiti

An impact assessment of current upland cropping systems in Haiti was carried out using a combined experimental and agronomic survey approach on fields that were chosen as being representative of the diversity of land use practices and intensities. These cropping systems were mostly developed on ferralsols with differing degrees of weathering owing to the varying depths to the limestone bedrock. Three soil types for which the CEC of the mineral fraction was less than 3, 4–7, or 11–18 cmol₍₊₎ kg⁻¹ were distinguished. The study shows that apart from phosphorus, soil cation availability (K, Mg) is the most limiting factor for a successful bean crop. With the insertion of a fertilized cabbage crop into the rotation, the soil bioavailable P at the sowing of the bean–maize intercrop (BMI) did not significantly increase, whereas the exchangeable K content of the soils increased from 0.22 to 0.38 and led to a significant increase in the bean yield from 654 to 1079 kg ha⁻¹. It is clear that the trend of the cropping systems towards a shorter fallow period, increasing frequency of the BMI and introduction of N–P–K fertilizers, may all increase crop production in the short term. However, these changes are unlikely to lead to sustained benefits. One of the potential risks is the soil Mg depletion due to K fertilization as revealed by a microlysimeter experiment. Another risk is the increased proportion of plants with bean root diseases, due to the shortening of the BMI rotation interval. The proportion of plants with bean root diseases increased from 7 to 22% in 1989 and from 10 to 39% in 1990, when the bean rotation interval was reduced from 3 to 1 years. Another risk is the spatial spread of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) from the plots covered with residues of a preceding maize crop, to the neighboring plots recently sown with maize. Future research should therefore focus on optimizing the K:Mg ratio of fertilizer, breeding bean varieties resistant to Fusarium disease, diversifying the range of crops cultivated, and management of the maize residues. The evolution of the cropping systems in the last 10 years is somewhat consistent with the diagnosis made about 15 years earlier.     

稻油不同轮作模式对农田甲烷和氧化亚氮排放的影响

以南方稻区不同轮作模式为研究对象,采用静态箱-气相色谱法研究水稻-油菜轮作处理的甲烷（CH₄）和氧化亚氮（N₂O）排放特征,并估算稻田增温潜势（GWP）和温室气体排放强度（GHGI）.结果表明,双季稻田、一季中（晚）稻田、油菜地和休闲地CH₄平均排放量分别为135.25,55.64、5.05和1.89 kg ·hm^-2,稻季CH₄排放占不同轮作周年CH₄排放的91.8%~98.5%,稻田土壤水溶性有机碳与CH₄排放呈显著正相关,常规晚稻稻田CH₄排放比杂交晚稻高18.7%（P<0.05）;双季稻田、一季中（晚）稻田、油菜地和休闲地N₂O平均排放量分别为0.94、0.64、1.38和0.24 kg ·hm^-2,油菜地的N₂O排放占周年排放的57.2%~70.2%,双季稻和一季稻处理的冬闲农田N₂O排放占周年排放的17.8%和30.6%,杂交稻和常规稻稻田N₂O排放无显著性差异;双季稻-冬闲和双季稻-油菜的GWP处理高于稻-油和稻-冬闲处理,稻季排放CH₄的GWP占轮作周年GWP排放的71.2%~90.9%;GHGI以稻-稻-油菜最高,稻-油和稻-冬闲处理较低,综合环境效益和经济效益,建议南方稻区选择杂交晚稻-油菜的种植模式,有利于南方多熟制稻田的温室气体减排.     

GeneSys: a model of the influence of cropping system on gene escape from herbicide tolerant rapeseed crops to rape volunteers: I. Temporal evolution of a population of rapeseed volunteers in a field

The aim of model GeneSys is to rank cropping systems according to their risk of gene escape from genetically modified, herbicide tolerant winter oilseed rape cultivars to rapeseed volunteers. The model integrates the effects of crop succession and crop management at the level of a region. The first part of the model presented in this paper describes the temporal evolution of rapeseed volunteers in a field, using an annual life-cycle comprising stages such as seed bank, seedlings, adult plants, flowers or freshly produced seeds. The relationships between the various stages depend on the crops grown each year and the cultivation techniques (stubble breaking, soil tillage, sowing date and density, herbicides, cutting and harvesting). Parameter values were either deduced from existing models and literature, or estimated from experimental studies and field surveys. The extension of the temporal sub-model to include the genetic evolution of rapeseed volunteers and the spatial dimension is presented in a second paper [Colbach, N., Clermont-Dauphin, C., Meynard, J.M., 2001. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ.].     

集约化农区土地利用变化对水资源的影响——以河北省曲周县为例

根据曲周县统计资料和水利观测资料,分析了近30年来土地投入变化及其对粮食作物单产变化的贡献率,并对区域水资源平衡变化的情况进行了计算和分析。研究结果表明,作为集约化农区的曲周,30年来土地利用集约化程度不断提高,表现为土地的复种指数、化肥投入和灌溉率不断提高;播种作物面积单产的生产函数模拟表明,灌溉保障率的提高对作物播种面积单产的贡献率最大,达到了0.546;作物播种面积单产提高对水资源的高度依赖性,导致了对水资源的过度开采,使区域水资源失衡。这种趋势持续下去,将对区域的资源持续利用产生不利影响。要促进集约化农区水土资源的可持续利用,只有降低复种指数,减少耗水作物,特别是小麦的播种面积。     

Slash and burn agriculture at higher elevations in north-eastern India. II. Soil fertility changes

The effect of ‘slash and burn’ agriculture (jhum) on soil fertility at higher elevations of Meghalaya, north-eastern India was investigated, comparing and contrasting 15, 10 and 5-year jhum cycles. The pH of the surface soil increased after the burn and gradually decreased during cropping and subsequent fallow development. Nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen are volatilized by the burn and declined, at least in the initial phase of cropping. However, nitrogen recovery started during the later phase of cropping. Available phosphorus followed a more or less similar pattern as nitrogen. On the other hand, cations increased markedly after the burn and were depleted during cropping. In general, the nutrient level under a 5-year jhum cycle was significantly lower than under 10 and 15-year cycles. The recovery pattern during fallow development had an initial phase of depletion, up to about 5 years, followed by recovery. This suggests that a jhum cycle of 5 years, now prevalent in the region, is definitely too short. The generally lower nutrient status under a terrace system after cropping, even when compared to a 5-year jhum cycle, suggests that a terrace system could not be sustained without a heavy input of fertilizers.     

Competition between maize and pigeonpea in semi-arid Tanzania: Effect on yields and nutrition of crops

Productivity of maize–pigeonpea cropping systems is dependent on facilitative and competitive interactive effects on resource availability. Controlling these interactions may benefit farmers through increased productivity associated with optimized crop yields. Previous research on maize–pigeonpea culture in Sub-Saharan Africa has focused on yield and soil fertility, but provided inadequate information on the mechanisms of possible interspecific competition. We employed a factorial field experiment to examine yield and nutritional responses of maize and pigeonpea to cropping systems (sole maize, intercropping, and improved fallow), N and P fertilizer additions, and cattle manure additions in Dodoma, Tanzania. The study objectives were to assess competition between crops and to determine how manure or fertilizer inputs may mitigate such interactions to improve yields. Intercropping enhanced maize yield over sole maize only when fertilized, reflecting probable nutrient competition. Improved fallows alone or with fertilizers (1.2–1.6 Mg ha⁻¹) increased maize yields over sole maize (0.6 Mg ha⁻¹). These increases were attributed to pigeonpea facilitation through soil nutrient replenishment, reduced competition associated with sequential cropping arrangements, and added nutrients from fertilization. Combined fertilizer and manure applications also improved maize and pigeonpea yields. Plant nutrient diagnosis indicated primary and secondary P and Ca deficiencies, respectively associated with P-fixation and leaching of cations due to high soil acidity and exchangeable Al. Maize competed strongly in mixture suppressing biomass and grain yields of the unfertilized pigeonpea by 60% and 33%, respectively due to limited soil nutrients and/or moisture. These yield reductions suggest that the intercropped pigeonpea did not recover from competition after maize harvesting that reduced competition. Optimizing yields of both maize and pigeonpea would require the addition of prescribed fertilizer when intercropped, but applications can be reduced by half under the improved fallow system due to alleviating interspecific competition.