Environmental conditions and climate change on a global scale affect the overall agriculture and food supply. Globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus (L.) Fiori) is widely distributed all over the world. Immature inflorescence, commonly called capitula or head, is used in human consumption. These vegetables are a good source of human health promoting components. Artichokes are widely used in human diet, characterized by low protein and fat, high content of minerals, vitamins, inulin, carbohydrates and polyphenolic compounds. Relationship between plant growth and development is tight and complicated. Many agroecological factors, such as temperature, irrigation and fertilization level, planting and harvesting date, influence processes of growing and development of globe artichoke. Biologically active compounds in plants are dependent on climate conditions, seasonal changes, cultivar properties and maturity. Pre-germination is required for better plant establishment in the field. Better plant growing and development can be ensured by regular irrigation which provides 85 – 100% from evaporation and applied fertilization before planting and during vegetation period according to soil properties. The biochemical quality of artichoke heads differs between cultivars, head fraction, and stage of head development. This indicates possibility to grow artichokes in Latvia.

Scientific evidence is robust about the environmentally destructive side-effects of the current industrial civilization and that requires radical actions to safeguard sustainable management of natural resources and liveable Planet Earth. Agroecology as a broader movement serves some of this role in demonstrating alternative practices in food production and ecosystem management. This paper demonstrates that the permaculture movement in Latvia is developing as a recognized alternative on the pathway to solutions, linking to the work elsewhere done on management of common natural resources – the things that no one owns and are shared by everyone. The author has explored the development of the permaculture movement in Latvia since its first roots in the late 2000s and the establishment of the Latvian Permaculture Association (LPA) in 2011. The contribution of the movement manifests itself in diverse aspects. It unifies various sustainability-oriented people, grounds itself in locality and traditions, organises practically oriented events to upskill people, and collaborates with Latvian environmental organisations and internationally. Within the research the author consciously opted for an in-depth involvement and co-creation of initiatives within the permaculture movement, leading the LPA since 2016 and organizing multiple events and workshops. That leads to further reflections on the role and necessity for participatory action research for sustainability transformations and common natural resources.

Artichokes (Cynara cardunculus L.) contain many minerals, vitamins, fibres, and polyphenols. Environmental conditions and climate change on a global scale affects the overall agriculture and food supply. Composition of biological active compounds in plants depends on the climate and growing conditions, cultivar properties, plant development stage, harvesting time and other factors. The aim of research was to evaluate the effect of agroecological factors on yield and flavonoids content of globe artichoke. An experiment was carried out under open field conditions in Institute of Horticulture, in Pūre investigation fields during the vegetation period of 2014 and 2015. The experiment was arranged in two different soils: brown soil with residual carbonates and the soil strongly altered by cultivation. The yield and its quality were analysed during the whole vegetation period. Higher yield was observed in the soil strongly altered by cultivation. The results showed tendency that the higher flavonoids content in artichoke heads was observed in 2014 than in 2015. Significant differences between flavonoid content per harvest time are observed in both soils.