Agriculture is the largest contributor to biodiversity loss with expanding impacts due to changing consumption patterns and growing populations. Agriculture destroys biodiversity by converting natural habitats to intensely managed systems and by releasing pollutants, including greenhouses gases. Food value chains further amplify impacts including through energy use, transport and waste. Reducing the food system’s toll on biodiversity is a critical challenge. The ‘sparing or sharing’ debate contrasts two response pathways: intensifying agriculture to release other land for protection versus biodiversity-friendly farming over larger areas. Most conservation policies focus on intensification and set-aside but recent research challenges these assumptions. The Global Land Outlook of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification highlights how modern farming is undermining the sustainability of large land areas. Intensification has not solved the biodiversity crisis and has often made it worse. Effective responses must involve both producers and consumers, and require a mixture of conservation, sustainable management and restoration. Agricultural land serves many purposes beyond food production and mechanisms are needed to pay farmers for wider stewardship of land resources. A multifunctional landscape approach balances different needs at a landscape scale while incorporating site-level specificity on land use, demand, and condition. At the same time, consumers play a critical role in reducing unsustainable food waste. Many of the techniques and strategies for biodiversity-friendly farming systems exist; the challenge is to bring them to scale.

Globally, agriculture is facing an unprecedented set of pressures over the coming decades. After a brief review of recent studies on the challenges facing the food and farming sector, the RSPB offers its views on approaches to balancing agricultural production and conservation in the UK, drawing on case studies from within the charity’s own farming portfolio. There are decisions to be made on how we use our land in the future, including whether we follow the ‘land sparing’ model of intensive agriculture freeing up land for nature conservation objectives; or adopt a ‘land sharing’ approach where wildlife-friendly farming delivers both food and biodiversity. The RSPB conclusion is that there is no ‘one size fits all’ model for the future of farming. Intensive and extensive farms, conventional and organic, arable and livestock, lowland and upland can all form part of the mix. Government, scientists and land managers must focus on addressing the conflicts between farming and conservation to make all farming systems more sustainable. An evidence-based approach, building on sound scientific research and efficient dissemination of new knowledge to land managers, will be critical.

The transition of the oil-based economy towards a sustainable economy completely relying on biomass as renewable feedstock requires the concerted action of academia, industry, politics and civil society. An interdisciplinary approach of various fields such as microbiology, molecular biology, chemistry, genetics, chemical engineering and agriculture in addition to cross-sectional technologies such as economy, logistics and digitalization is necessary to meet the future global challenges. The genomic era has contributed significantly to the exploitation of naturés biodiversity also from extreme habitats. By applying modern technologies it is now feasible to deliver robust enzymes (extremozymes) and robust microbial systems that are active at temperatures up to 120°C, at pH 0 and 12 and at 1000bar. In the post-genomic era, different sophisticated “omics” analyses will allow the identification of countless novel enzymes regardless of the lack of cultivability of most microorganisms. Furthermore, elaborate protein-engineering methods are clearing the way towards tailor-made robust biocatalysts. Applying environmentally friendly and efficient biological processes, terrestrial and marine biomass can be converted to high value products e.g. chemicals, building blocks, biomaterials, pharmaceuticals, food, feed and biofuels. Thus, further application of extremophiles has the potential to improve sustainability of existing biotechnological processes towards a greener biobased industry.

Specialization of production and intensive use of mechanization, energy, pesticides, mineral fertilizers, concentrated animal feed and newly established varieties and races imply serious consequences for the environment and agro-biodiversity. In order to ensure sustainable development, protection of agro-environment and preservation of food quality and food safety, imposes the need for renewal of the relations between agriculture and nature. According to that, sustainable agriculture (also known as bioeconomics) is established and developing, and it includes: ensuring of food safeness (quantitatively, qualitatively and structurally); preservation of natural environment; valorisation and efficient use of agricultural resources; improvement of agriculture competitiveness (on domestic and foreign market) and realization of production surpluses; gaining of balanced and stable farmers’ incomes and growth of living standard of population that live in rural areas.Depending on regional specificities of production area, environmentally sustainable production systems and techniques in agriculture differ among themselves, but also they have a lot in common, which are before all related to ensuring and improvement of soil fertility and more rational application of pesticides and mineral fertilizers. Faced with the essential requirements of economic and ecological efficiency achievement, in other words production profitability with minimal risk of environment violation, Serbian agriculturalists strive to adjust their production as much as possible to the regulations of good agricultural practice.Using the methods for evaluation of the ecological sustainability on the agricultural husbandries, authors were directed their research to the selected family husbandries within the defined territorial units of the Danube region in Serbia, as are: the area of the Upper Danube region, within the Metropolitan area Belgrade – Novi Sad (also known as the Central Danube region) and in the Carpathians (also known as the Lower Danube region). The main goal of research is to express and compare the willingness of family husbandries in the Danube region within the Serbia toward respect of the current requirements that are imposed by environment-friendly production in agriculture.

As a small nation with high biodiversity and an extensive system of protected areas, Costa Rica will face particular challenges regarding food security over the next few years. Thus, whatever development model the country chooses, it must achieve a compromise between conservation and production (agricultural, energy and so on). Although the country’s malnutrition levels are below 5%, socioeconomic asymmetries - which have been increasing in recent years - put a growing proportion of the population at risk. Costa Rica also has a high disaster risk (due to volcanism, seismicity and climatic events), which is likely to be increased by climate change. Moreover, the country’s population is aging and growing very little in absolute numbers, which is also reflected in the predominance of farmers growing older. It is important to mention that the country relies heavily on food imports, mainly of basic grains, to cover the needs of its population. Food production uses a large amount of imported seed and propagating material, which are often not suited to local conditions, as well as very intensive use of agrochemicals, with negative consequences for health and the environment. Over the next few years, it will be crucial to maintain solid public higher-education and research structures in the agricultural field. Although there is no shortage of water in the country in general, water is unevenly distributed at certain times and between regions. Another important challenge is that overweight and obesity show an increasing and alarming upward trend. A comprehensive approach considering many actors and positions is required to ensure food and nutrition in Costa Rica over the next fifty years. To this end and to be consistent with a long tradition that has earned the country recognition, the government should continue with its policies to conserve protected areas and biodiversity. At the same time, it should increase productivity and yields in land with a clear agricultural vocation. This is important for reducing dependence on imported food in order to meet the basic needs of the country’s inhabitants. In order to achieve broad access to sufficient nutritious food, it is essential to reduce the gaps in the population’s socioeconomic conditions. Production systems should be more environmentally friendly by reducing the use of agrochemicals, and making more and better use of soil, and integrated pest, water resources, waste and residue-management practices. It will also be important to encourage, where possible, the use of local species or those adapted to local conditions, some of which are little known and underutilized, which are important for the diet beyond caloric intake (as a source of micronutrients, vitamins and functional compounds). This requires considering the enormous biodiversity present in the country and encouraging genetic improvement in order to reduce dependence on imported seed and propagation materials, since these were often developed for other climatic and edaphic conditions, as well as different productive systems. It is essential to achieve greater differentiation of products that follow certain quality standards in terms of production, marketing and nutritional value over the next few years, and for this to provide some form of competitive advantage. Prevention and mitigation measures must be taken against disasters that can be caused by specific events (hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc.) or climate change. It will be important to continue the construction and maintenance of water collection, storage and supply works to reduce water shortages in particular areas and at specific times. Agricultural activity must be made attractive so that young people choose to remain in the countryside rather than migrating to cities. State funding for research on priority issues for the country must be increased, and incentives created so that the private sector also becomes interested in supporting research. It is also necessary to continue promoting high-level human resource training, preferably at top universities abroad, to promote agricultural research. Likewise, technical and vocational education must be promoted with the participation of various institutions (such as the Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, technical and vocational colleges and dual education). The country must consider a wide range of options for agricultural production with a view toward ensuring food and nutrition for its inhabitants. This framework must consider all the (bio)technological options, provided they do not conflict with the environment and health. It is also essential to continue and intensify programs that seek to promote healthy eating habits and encourage physical activity among the population.

Today, after the International Year of Soils in 2015 and the proclamation by the International Union of Soil Sciences of the International Decade of Soils 2015-2020, much attention is paid to soil quality. Often used interchangeably, both terms, soil quality and soil health, refer to dynamic soil properties such as soil organic matter or pH, while soil quality also includes inherent soil properties such as texture or mineral composition. However, it is the dynamic or manageable properties that adequate soil management can influence and thus contribute to a well-functioning soil environment capable to deliver the soil-mediated provisioning, regulating and supporting ecosystem services and soil functions. This contribution intends to highlight the key principles of sustainable soil management and provide evidence that they are compliant with a productive, resource efficient and ecologically friendly agriculture. Paradoxically, and despite benefitting from good soil quality, agriculture itself when based on conventional, especially intensive tillage-based soil management practices contributes decisively to soil degradation and to several of the soil threats as identified by the Soil Thematic Strategy, being soil erosion and soil organic matter decline the most notorious ones. To mitigate soil degradation, the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy has introduced conservation measures, mainly through cross-compliance measures supposed to guarantee minimum soil cover, to limit soil erosion and to maintain the levels of soil organic matter. However, it remains unclear to what extent EU member states apply these ‘Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition’ (GAEC) measures to their utilized agricultural areas. Effective and cost-efficient soil management systems able to conserve or to restore favourable soil conditions, to minimize soil erosion and to invert soil organic matter and soil biodiversity decline and improve soil structure are those capable to mimic as close as possible natural soil conditions while producing food, feed, fibre and fuel. This means to establish and manage crops while disturbing the soil as least as possible, to maintain the soil permanently covered with plants or their residues and to allow for a diversity of plants either in rotation or in association. These principles also known as Conservation Agriculture have shown to be the most promising approach for a sustainable production intensification and proven to work in a wide range of agro-ecological conditions. Although adopted already on more than 150 Mha worldwide, in Europe it still can be considered a novel soil management practice as it is applied on only around 2% of the annual cropland. A paradigm shift and innovative approaches are needed both to recognise the principles of Conservation Agriculture as the only cost-effective, and thus overall sustainable soil management practices capable to deliver the soil-mediated ecosystem services and to make Conservation Agriculture systems work and accepted as the best compromise to attain better soil quality.

The food importance and industrial relevance of cocoa agroecosystem and its sociocultural perspective have given rise to this document as a reflection on the validity of strengthen the farmer capacity whose for centuries has preserved this locally adapted ancestral production system. The Ethnobotany of cocoa shows the cultural inheritance transmitted by custom, graphics, symbols or phytomorphic representations related to the use, distribution among different ethnic groups, domestication, agricultural work and agronomic management that gradually has been done around this Mesoamerican crop. The ancient Mayas and Aztecs began cultivation, designed its agroforestry systems, created elaborated trade routes throughout Mesoamerican region, and processing cocoa almost two thousand years ago. If the production of cocoa in Nicaragua for this period was an attraction for the ethnic migrations of the north and the south, it is huge possible that the Ethnohistory of this productive system in this country had have its peculiarities. The quality of Nicaraguan cacao could be associated with this biocultural heritage, which currently supports the opportunity to redesign a biodiversity agroecosystem, environmentally friendly and with high potential to generate export commodities. It is urgent to establish the link between all those who produce, identify, adapt and apply knowledge in this productive system, and the state simultaneously must to lead policies and incentives that strengthen producers. With the goal that they must to answer with increased efficiency to the challenges of the modern world by diversifying their farms, opening up new market niches and identifying themselves with the adaptive capacity of traditional agriculture in the face of future needs. | A la relevancia agroalimentaria e industrial del cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) se suma la perspectiva sociocultural que este cultivo posee, elementos que han dado origen a este documento como una reflexión acerca de la vigencia de fortalecer la capacidad de los agricultores que durante siglos ha preservado este sistema de producción ancestral localmente adaptado. La etnobotánica del cacao muestra la herencia cultural trasmitida por la costumbre, gráficos, símbolos, representaciones fitomórficas relacionadas al uso, expansión, domesticación, labores agrícolas y manejo agronómico que gradualmente se han realizado alrededor de este cultivo mesoamericano. Los antiguos Mayas y Aztecas iniciaron el cultivo, diseñaron sistemas agroforestales, crearon rutas de comercialización del producto entre Mesoamérica y posiblemente América del Sur, y procesaron cacao desde hace casi dos mil años. Si la producción de cacao en Nicaragua fue en aquel tiempo un atractivo para las migraciones étnicas del norte y el sur, es altamente posible que la etnohistoria de este sistema productivo en el país haya tenido sus peculiaridades. La calidad del cacao nicaragüense podría estar asociada a esta herencia biocultural, lo cual actualmente fundamenta la oportunidad de rediseñar un agroecosistema biodiverso, amigable con el ambiente y con alto potencial para generar productos de exportación. Es urgente establecer la vinculación entre quienes producen, identifican, adaptan y aplican el conocimiento en este sistema productivo, y simultáneamente dirigir políticas e incentivos que fortalezcan a los productores para responder con incrementada eficiencia a los retos del mundo moderno, diversificando sus fincas, abriendo nuevos nichos de mercado e identificándose con la capacidad de respuesta adaptativa de la agricultura tradicional frente a futuras necesidades.

La acuicultura es un sector de producción en crecimiento, en el cual, parte de ella ha generado un impacto negativo al ambiente, lo que ha promovido la implementación de técnicas más amigables con el ambiente, como lo son: los sistemas cerrados de recirculación (SCR) y los sistemas acuapónicos (SA). Estas tecnologías han permitido el incremento de la densidad de siembra, reciclaje de nutrientes, manejo adecuado del agua, incremento de la biodiversidad, entre otros. Por lo tanto, estudiar la dinámica de nutrientes en SCR es importante para comprender el comportamiento entre el alimento, la biomasa y la especie. Esta información permitirá interrelacionar los nutrientes de un SCR y los requerimientos minerales de las plantas en un SA. Para este trabajo se utilizó un diseño completamente al azar 3x3, donde se evaluaron tres tratamientos (T) cultivo de P. brachypomus (T1), O. sp (T2) y C. carpio (T3), con tres repeticiones cada uno. Para la siembra y muestreos mensuales de los peces se siguieron las variables de peso (P), longitud total (LT) y estándar (LE), a partir de lo cual se obtuvieron parámetros productivos. El análisis de fisicoquímicos en los sistemas se realizó semanalmente para las siguientes variables: nitrógeno amoniacal total (NAT), nitrito (NO2-), calcio (Ca2+), hierro (Fe2+), potasio (K+), manganeso (Mn2+), pH y temperatura. Mensualmente se enviaron muestras de agua para el análisis de nitrato (NO3-). Como resultados, la dinámica de los nutrientes, como el nitrógeno (NAT+ NO3-) mostró que los niveles disminuían con respecto al crecimiento de las tres especies, para el K+ en T1 se obtuvo que al aumentar la biomasa de peces las concentraciones bajaban, mientras que en T2 y T3 los niveles se mantuvieron relativamente estables durante los seis meses, para el caso del Ca2+ no se observaron diferencias entre los T, y durante el tiempo de cultivo se mantuvieron valores relativamente similares. Para los micronutrientes se obtuvo que el Fe2+ fue mayor en T2, seguido por T3 y por último T1, mientras que el Mn2+ mantuvo concentraciones mayores en T3, luego T2 y finalizando con T1. En cuanto al crecimiento de los peces T1 y T3, presentaron un mejor ajuste al modelo exponencial para las tres variables evaluadas, mientras que T2 mostró un crecimiento de tipo lineal. En conclusión, la dinámica de nutrientes en T1, T2 y T3 mostró que entre los macronutrientes evaluados, los niveles de NO3- fueron los más altos, seguido por el K+ y el Ca2+; mientras que en los micronutrientes el Mn2+ fue superior al Fe2+. | Vicerrectoría de investigaciones - Universidad Militar Nueva Granada | Aquaculture is a growing production sector, wich one has generated a negative impact on the environment. It promoted the implementation of more environmentally friendly techniques such as recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and aquaponic systems (AS). These technologies have allowed increased sowing density, nutrient recycling, proper water management, increased biodiversity, among others. Therefore, it is important studying the nutrient dynamics in RAS to understand the behavior between food, biomass and species. This information will allow to interrelate the nutrients of RAS and the mineral requirements of the plants in AS. For this work a completely randomized 3x3 design was used, where three treatments (T) were cultured for P. brachypomus (T1), Oreochromis. sp (T2) and C. carpio (T3), with three replicates each. For the sowing and monthly sampling of the fish the variables of weight (W), total (TL) and standard length (SL) were followed, from which productive parameters were obtained. The analysis of physicochemicals in the systems was performed weekly for the following variables: total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN), nitrite (NO2-), calcium (Ca2+), iron (Fe2+), potassium (K+), manganese (Mn2+), pH and temperature. Water samples were sent monthly for nitrate (NO3-) analysis. As results, nutrient dynamics such as nitrogen (NAT + NO3-) showed that levels decreased with respect to the growth of the three species, for K+ at T1 it was obtained that as fish biomass increased the concentrations decreased while That in T2 and T3 the levels remained relatively stable during the six months, for the case of Ca2+ no differences between the T were observed, and during the time of culture relatively similar values ​​were maintained. For the micronutrients it was obtained that Fe2+ was higher in T2, followed by T3 and finally T1, while Mn2+ maintained higher concentrations in T3, then T2 and ending with T1. Regarding the growth of fish T1 and T3, they presented a better fit to the exponential model for the three variables evaluated, while T2 showed a linear type growth. In conclusion, the nutrient dynamics in T1, T2 and T3 showed that among the macronutrients evaluated, NO3- levels were the highest, followed by K+ and Ca2+; While in micronutrients Mn2+ was higher than Fe2+. | Maestría

Intensification of agricultural practices has caused irreversible damage to environment during the last few years. Several consumers are now deviating towards healthier diets produced from eco-friendly and sustainable agricultural systems. In this regard, the possibilities of utilizing edible biomass originating from sustainable agricultural practices have gained recent attention. The underutilized edible plants, especially their seeds could be one of the interesting alternates, as some of these seeds are not only nutritious, but could also be produced using sustainable practices. Similarly, edible insects represent another category of biomass which are rich in nutrients and could be produced sustainably. The seeds from underutilized edible plants and the edible insects could be simultaneously harvested using a sustainable agricultural system involving field border flowering strips. Field border flowering strip is a part of agricultural landscape that is reserved for herbaceous vegetation. These strips are popularly grown throughout the world to enhance biodiversity. The main objective of this thesis is to utilize seeds from some of the plants grown as field border flowering strips and insects that find refuge in these plants for the provision of food and health promoting substances. From the literature reviewed in chapter two, it was observed that: (1). Most plants that are grown in field border flowering strips are edible, and their aerial parts have been extensively analyzed for chemical composition. However, there is a scarcity of literature evaluating chemical composition/food utilization of the seeds from plants that are grown as field border flowering strips. So, the primary objective of this thesis is to investigate the nutritional and health promoting potential of the seeds from some plants that are grown in these strips. (2). A number of grasshopper species find refuge in field border flowering strips. Several grasshopper species are considered edible throughout the world and they are interesting source of nutrients. So the secondary objective of this thesis is to screen some edible grasshopper species that are present in field border flowering strips, analyze their nutritional value, and investigate possibilities to establish their commercial rearing for ensuring year-long availability of edible biomass. The research strategy adopted to achieve the objectives of this thesis is mentioned in chapter three. This chapter includes details about the selection of raw materials (both plant seeds and insects), and subsequent analysis. Chapter four contains the detail about the materials and methods used for analysis during this study. Chapter five includes details about the investigations on edible insects. Chorthippus parallelus Zetterstedt species grasshoppers were shortlisted for detailed investigation due to their high densities in field border flowering strips. This insect species was analyzed for proximate composition, amino acid profile, fatty acid profile and mineral profile. Moreover the toxicity of these insects was also evaluated using two different models. Results indicated that these insects could be consumed as an alternate source of proteins (69%) and omega-3 fatty acid rich lipids (10%). Rearing trials done during this study indicates that commercial rearing could be developed to produce sufficient and safe biomass for human consumption. The selection of seeds from three plant species (Achillea millefolium L., Anthriscus sylvestris (L). Hoffm. and Prunella vulgaris L.), for detailed analysis on the basis of lipid content and fatty acid profile has been mentioned in chapter six. Chapter seven, eight and nine include the details about the composition and anti-oxidant activity of A. millefolium, A. sylvestris and P. vulgaris seeds, respectively. Proximate composition, lipid profile, amino acid profile, mineral profile, lignocellulosic profile, phenolic profile and phytate content of the three plant seeds were investigated during this study. Two new phenolic acids were discovered originating from P. vulgaris seeds. These compounds were named amolsamic acid A and amolsamic acid B. Discovery of these compounds was the true highlight of this thesis. All the three plant seeds were found to contain substantial level of total phenolics (0.8-2.6%) and interesting phenolic profiles (dominated by chlorogenic acid, rosmarinic acids and related compounds). Keeping this in mind, the detailed anti-oxidant activity (including anti-radical scavenging, horseradish peroxidase response modulation, cellular anti-oxidant, myeloperoxidase response modulation and anti-lipid peroxidation activity) of their respective seed extracts was also analyzed. Results obtained during this study indicate that A. millefolium, A. sylvestris and P. vulgaris seeds not only contain interesting level of nutrients, but their extracts also exhibit significant anti-radical scavenging, horseradish peroxidase response modulation, cellular anti-oxidant (IC50 values order: P. vulgaris>A. sylvestris>A. millefolium) and myeloperoxidase response modulation activity (IC50 values order: A. sylvestris>A. millefolium>P. vulgaris for both direct and SIEFED assay). The main conclusions (chapter ten) of this PhD dissertation are: (1). C. parallelus insects could be viewed as an alternative source of nutrients to diversify human diets. The preliminary rearing studies done during this study indicate that commercial rearing could be developed for generation of substantial (and safe) biomass to support human consumption. (2). A. millefolium, A. sylvestris and P. vulgaris seeds could be included in food formulations (or consumed as whole) as a source of proteins, lipids, minerals and phenolics. P. vulgaris seeds could also be used for the extraction of two new phenolic constituents (amolsamic acid A and amolsamic acid B). The first investigations involving A. millefolium, A. sylvestris and P. vulgaris seeds realized during this study, indicate that seed extract (or whole seeds) from all three plants could possibly be consumed for the prevention of neutrophil and myeloperoxidase mediated damage in human body. | AgricultureIsLife project 4B- Field border flowering strips as a source of valuable compounds