Global agricultural production is on a trajectory to double by 2050 due to both increases in the global population and the dietary changes associated with growing incomes. This also means more pressure on water resources, as agriculture accounts for 70% of global water withdrawal, and for energy production as the whole food supply chain accounts for about 30% of total global energy consumption. Although there are ongoing discussions related to the sustainability of water, energy and food (WEF) sectors, the integration of all three are still rare and challenging. This paper presents a novel methodology framework based on accessible secondary data to evaluate the impacts of three rural practices - agroforestry, spring protection and pasture rotation - on the WEF nexus in Atlantic Forest, South-east of Brazil. The results of the business as usual scenario indicated concern regarding water security, particularly in relation to sewage treatment and water commitment. A comparable pattern was observed in energy security, where only two indicators exhibited positive performance in the analysis. Conversely, a scenario of reduced vulnerability was observed in food security, as evidenced by the indicators of food production, nutritional value, and annual gross revenue. However, in the scenarios proposed by experts the adoption of the rural practices that were assessed here can lead to consistent improvements in WEF security, evidencing the multifunctional capabilities of agriculture. Hence, the methodological framework presented here demonstrate its potential to be incorporated into decision-making processes to promote the multifunctionality of agriculture and sustainable use of rural areas.

Cryptosporidium, a protozoan parasite causing severe diarrheal illness in humans and animals, poses detection challenges due to low parasite concentrations, inhibitors, and inefficient DNA extraction. This study optimized DNA extraction and detection of Cryptosporidium in environmental samples and evaluated their practical use in agriculture. After evaluating 11 DNA extraction methods from spiked phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) samples, three methods for molecular detection of Cryptosporidium in water, soil, and fresh produce were selected and further tested using real-time PCR. A total of 188 artificially contaminated samples were prepared, consisting of distilled water (n = 36), environmental water (n = 44), soil (n = 36), and fresh produce (lettuce and spinach; n = 72). Each sample was inoculated with serial dilutions of 12,500 to 5 Cryptosporidium oocysts and tested using real-time PCR and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to evaluate detection sensitivity. Results demonstrated that extraction performance varied by matrix, with two spin-column kits excelling for water and another for soil and produce. DNA from as few as five oocysts was occasionally detectable, with ddPCR being less prone to be affected by PCR inhibitors than real-time PCR. These methods were then applied to detect Cryptosporidium in 210 environmental samples (water, soil, produce) from South African small-scale farms. None of the samples tested positive with real-time PCR, while ddPCR detected Cryptosporidium in 13.6% of water, 23.3% of soil, and 34.7% of fresh produce samples. Surface water showed the highest contamination at 28.6%. Soil amended with both fertilizer and manure had a 45% contamination rate. Among vegetables, roots were most affected (46.7%), followed by fruiting (40%) and leafy greens (30.15%). These findings highlight the health risks of Cryptosporidium in food systems and the need for improved detection methods to enhance surveillance and inform future outbreak prevention strategies.

Groundwater has significantly supported the increase in agricultural output in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region. However, the region has faced severe groundwater depletion for decades. To address this, water conservation in agriculture is considered a key strategy to groundwater decline. However, it is facing with a dilemma to suppress groundwater usage or to pursue agricultural production for food security when considering the criteria for sustainable groundwater use. In this study, we propose a comprehensive water-saving scheme and a planting structure optimisation approach to evaluate the thresholds for the water-food trade-off under various agricultural water conservation scenarios. We investigated, the gains and losses of three main agricultural measures to balancing the groundwater budget: (i) Reducing the planting scale (Sca), (ii) Optimising the planting structure (Str), and (iii) Promoting water-saving technologies (Tec), as well as combined pathways of these water-saving measures. The results showed that: (1) Achieving water conservation goals is challenging when applying a single measure. For example, the effect of water conservation would be 558 million m3 yr−1 by merely optimising the planting structure without reducing the planting scale, whereas the effect would be 527 million m3 yr−1 by solely reducing the planting scale according to farmland conservation plan/goals. (2) Under current water resource conditions in the BTH region, increasing crop water productivity (WP) by 11.5 % could balance the groundwater budget in agriculture, while a 19.2 % increase could achieve balance across all sectors. (3) By employing combined water-saving strategies, including optimising in planting scale/structure and improvements in water-saving technologies, groundwater conservation goals could be met with a 9 % increase in WP, provided that the planting scale and structure are adjusted to meet minimum grain production goals. (4) Two critical thresholds distinguish water-saving pathways, highlighting the marginal effects of investing in technological improvement versus optimising planting scale/structure. These results provide a basis for quantifying critical thresholds in cropping system optimising and provide useful information for similar regions worldwide.

Digital innovations can offer solutions to various food, water, and land systems challenges globally. However, there are concerns on the ethical and social inclusivity aspects of these innovations, particularly for marginalized groups of people in less industrialised countries. In this article, we describe the design and development of a digital inclusivity framework, which builds from a detailed synthesis of inclusivity in digital literature. Key insights from the review were collated into five dimensions: risk mitigation, accessibility, usability, benefits, and participation. These dimensions can be assessed by means of twenty-one concrete and measurable sub indicators. Our focus was to enable a more holistic approach to the usually technocentric design of digital innovations. The framework, including the associated indicators, lays the groundwork for the development of a digital inclusivity index, a tool for assessing and fostering the inclusivity of digital innovations in food, water, and land systems.

Wastewater reuse for agricultural irrigation is increasingly essential, but it carries potential public health risks due to the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study evaluates the effectiveness of four tertiary wastewater treatment technologies—peracetic acid (PAA), PAA combined with low-intensity ultraviolet-C (PAA/UV Low), high-intensity UV-C (UV High), and ultrafiltration (UF)—in reducing extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-E. coli) and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in reclaimed water used for irrigation. The relative abundance of the genes, normalized to the 16S RNA gene present in the water samples, was then estimated to assess whether there is an amplification of these genes during the reuse process in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The results indicate that while all treatments significantly reduced ESBL-E. coli (≥3 logs cfu/100 mL) and ARGs (≥ 1.5 logs gc/100 mL), complete elimination was not achieved in any WWTP. Among the treatments, UF demonstrated the highest removal efficiency (≈4 log gc ARG/100 mL), against ARGs, followed by UV High (≈3 log gc ARG/100 mL), whereas PAA and PAA/UV Low were less effective (≈2 log gc ARG/100 mL). The study also found that while absolute ARG levels were reduced, their relative abundance remained stable or showed minimal decline, suggesting a persistent environmental reservoir of resistance genes. Among the ARGs analyzed, the most frequently detected were associated with tetracyclines (tetW, tetA), quinolones (qnrB, qnrS), and sulfonamides (sul1, sul2), highlighting potential public health concerns. Moreover, multidrug-resistant (MDR) ESBL-E. coli isolates were present across all WWTPs, exhibiting resistance to β-lactams, quinolones, tetracyclines, and sulfonamides. Nevertheless, notably low levels of resistance to last-resort antibiotics (tigecycline, colistin, and meropenem) were observed. These findings underscore the critical role of tertiary treatments in mitigating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) risks in water reuse systems. However, the persistence of ARGs in effluents suggests that current WWTP processes require further optimization.

El kéfir de agua es una bebida fermentada que ha experimentado un creciente interés popular en su producción, comercialización y consumo. Sin embargo, no se encontraba contemplada en el Código Alimentario Argentino (CAA). El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar características microbiológicas y fisicoquímicas de muestras de kéfir de agua producidas por emprendedores argentinos, con la intención de reunir la información mínima necesaria para que la Comisión Nacional de Alimentos (CONAL) genere un artículo que incorpore dicho producto en el CAA. Para esto, 31 productores de kéfir de agua de diferentes ciudades del país fueron invitados a enviar muestras de sus productos al Laboratorio Nacional de Referencia del Instituto Nacional de Alimentos (INAL, Buenos Aires, Argentina). En el período diciembre 2021-febrero 2022, se recibieron en el INAL 13 muestras de kéfir de agua, junto con la información correspondiente sobre su forma de producción. Estas muestras presentaron un pH entre 2,9 y 3,7, una acidez titulable entre 6 y 16,6 (ml de NaOH 1N/100 ml de muestra) y un contenido de alcohol entre 0,58 y 2,55 (%, v/v), con un recuento de bacterias lácticas del orden de 1 × 10⁷ UFC/ml, de levaduras de 1 × 10⁶ UFC/ml y de enterobacterias < 10 UFC/ml. Los resultados permitieron disponer de datos locales que culminaron en la publicación, el 12 de agosto de 2024, de la resolución conjunta 7/2024 de la Secretaría de Calidad en Salud y Secretaría de Bioeconomía por la cual se incorporó al CAA el artículo 1084 tris al capítulo XIII de bebidas fermentadas, referente al kéfir de agua. | Water kefir is a fermented beverage that has experienced a growing popular interest in its production, commercialization and consumption. However, it was not contemplated as such in the Argentine Food Code (CAA, Spanish acronym). The aim of this work was to determine some microbiological and physicochemical characteristics of water kefir samples produced by Argentine entrepreneurs, to have the necessary information for the National Food Commission(CONAL, Spanish acronym) to generate an article incorporating water kefir in the CAA. Forthis purpose, 31 water kefir producers from different cities of the country were invited tosend samples of their products for microbiological and physicochemical analysis to the National Reference Laboratory of the National Food Institute (INAL, Spanish acronym) (Buenos Aires,Argentina). In the period December 2021-February 2022, a total of 13 samples were received,together with the corresponding information on their production process. The samples analyzed showed a pH between 2.9 and 3.7, a titratable acidity between 6 and 16.6 (ml of NaOH 1N/100 mlof sample), an alcohol content between 0.58 and 2.55 (%v/v), a lactic acid bacteria count of1 × 10⁷CFU/ml and a yeast count of 1 × 10⁶CFU/ml, with enterobacteria counts lower than10 CFU/ml). The results provided local data that culminated in the publication, on August 12,2024, of the joint resolution 7/2024 of the Secretariat of Quality in Health and Secretariat of Bioeconomy by which article 1084 tris was incorporated to the CAA in the chapter XIII offermented beverages, referring to water kefir. | Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos

While research has extensively investigated the dynamics of CO2 water partial pressure (pCO2) and planktonic food webs (PFWs) separately, there has been limited exploration of their potential interconnections, especially in marsh typologies. This study’s objectives were to (1) investigated if pCO2 and atmospheric CO2 flux can be elucidated by PFW topologies, and (2) ascertain if these potential relationships are consistent across two distinct “Blue Carbon” ecosystems. Abiotic and biotic variables were measured in two contrasting wetlands at the Atlantic French coast: a saltwater (SM, L’Houmeau) and a freshwater marsh (FM, Tasdon). SM acted as a weak carbon source, with pCO2 between 542 and 842 ppmv. Conversely, FM exhibited strong atmospheric CO2 source or sink characteristics, varying with seasons and stations, with pCO2 between 3201 and 114 ppmv. Five PFW topologies were linked to varying pCO2 across the two ecosystems: three stable topologies ('biological winter', 'microbial', 'multivorous' PFW) exhibited consistently high pCO2 values (FM: 971, 1136, 3020 ppmv; SM: 'biological winter' not observed, 842, 832 ppmv), while two transient topologies ('weak multivorous' and 'weak herbivorous') displayed lower and more variable pCO2 values (FM: from 127 to 1402 ppmv; SM: from 638 to 749 ppmv). Seasonality emerged as an influencing factor for both pCO2 dynamics and PFW. However, PFW in FM did not demonstrate a seasonal equilibrium state, potentially hindering a clearer understanding of the relationship between pCO2 and PFW. This is the first documented association between PFW topologies and pCO2 dynamics in “Blue Carbon” marsh environments.

The China’s Black Soil Granary (CBSG) is vital for national food security in China. Large-scale agricultural reclamation has boosted grain production, however, it has led to the encroachment and shrinkage of wetlands, disrupted the sustainability of water resource and threatened the stability of grain production. Therefore, evaluating the water-wetland-food (WWF) nexus is crucial for balancing agriculture and wetland ecosystems. However, quantifying synergies and trade-offs within the WWF nexus remains challenging due to unclear mechanisms. In this study, a comprehensive WWF evaluation system was proposed to analyze spatiotemporal patterns across 20 prefecture-level cities (2000–2020) using a coupling coordination degree model. Cities were classified into four distinct WWF bundles based on a similar index. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Redundancy Analysis (RDA) were employed to explore internal and external drivers of changes in the WWF nexus. The Results show that: (1) From 2000–2020, the WWF system transitioned from a wetland-dominated Barely Coordinated bundle to a WWF Intermediate Coordinated Development bundle, indicating progress toward intermediate coordination (0.7–0.79). (2) Increased precipitation positively impacted wetlands through water resources, but rising food security indices compromised wetland security, hindering WWF synergy. (3) External factors, such a precipitation intensity, GDP per capita, NDVI, and urbanization, positively influenced WWF development. (4) Water resources are the core constraints, wetlands ensure sustainability, and food security is the central goal. This study identifies the conflicts between water and ecology within WWF bundles, provides targeted actions for sustainable development, and promotes regional collaboration.