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Agronomy
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Integration of Biodiversity and Soil Conservation with a Sustainable Production...
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Integration of Biodiversity and Soil Conservation with a Sustainable Production in the Restoration of Pastoral Systems

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Grassland and Pasture Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 5153

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rodolfo Gentili

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Interests: climate change; conservation biology; restoration ecology; plant ecology; alien species; systematic botany
Dr. Chiara Ferré

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dept Earth & Environm Sci, Univ Milano Bicocca, Piazza Sci 1, I-20126 Milan, Italy
Interests: soil carbon stock; soil-plant interactions; soil biodiversity; soil management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pastoral systems around the world encompass fragile ecosystems, such as grasslands, shrublands, wetlands, highlands, and arid and semi-arid lands. Since the Anthropocene, such environments have been faced with several challenges that cause environmental degradation. In northern and temperate regions, the effects of grazing abandonment (especially in mountain areas) have a detrimental impact on the biodiversity levels (soil biota, animals, and plants) of pastures due to rapid recolonization by shrub and tree species, which also results in changes to soil properties. On the other hand, in southern and warm regions, pastoral systems are highly vulnerable to climate change and desertification, leading to the reduction in food resources for livestock and economic challenges in human populations. Finally, in some world regions, the excessive exploitation of pastoral systems through overgrazing has caused pasture impoverishment, habitat fragmentation, and soil erosion, again with negative implications on local-scale economies.

This Special Issue encourages the publication of papers on nature restoration and the land management of pastoral systems, taking into account new science-based policies and paradigms in order to (i) maintain the resilience of traditional farming systems to promote safeguards of the agro–sylvo–pastoral landscape, practices, and food quality (ii); preserve and restore biodiversity levels (iii); maintain soil biodiversity, water retention, and fertility; (iv) implement nature-based solutions to climate-change-induced issues (aridification, desertification, invasion of alien species, ecosystem turnover); (v) manage grazed landscapes to increase soil carbon stocks; and (vi) preserve sustainable production, especially considering its impact on human and animal well-being.

Dr. Rodolfo Gentili
Dr. Chiara Ferré
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • degraded pastures
  • soil carbon stock
  • agro–sylvo–pastoral landscape
  • rangeland
  • soil fertility
  • sustainable pasture management

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3044 KiB  
Article
Dung Beetle Activity Is Soil-Type-Dependent and Modulates Pasture Growth and Associated Soil Microbiome
by Long Ma, Nirodha Weeraratne, Saliya Gurusinghe, Jesmin Aktar, K. M. Shamsul Haque, Philip Eberbach, Geoff G. Gurr and Leslie A. Weston
Agronomy 2023, 13(2), 325; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020325 - 21 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2637
Abstract
The introduction of numerous exotic dung beetles across southern Australia in regions where native dung beetles are not generally efficient in processing livestock dung has resulted in significant reductions in the quantity of such dung on the soil surface in recent years. However, [...] Read more.
The introduction of numerous exotic dung beetles across southern Australia in regions where native dung beetles are not generally efficient in processing livestock dung has resulted in significant reductions in the quantity of such dung on the soil surface in recent years. However, the direct impacts of such ecosystem services on pasture quality and soil nutrient mobility have not yet been investigated in the Riverina region of New South Wales (NSW), an area recognised for prime cattle and sheep production in Australia. Utilising 48 soil columns for lysimetry, we quantified the impact of a common introduced dung beetle (Bubas bison) in this region on water quality after permeation through four different soil types sown to winter annual pastures. Dung beetle treatments included dung plus dung beetles, dung alone and no dung beetles, and no dung and no beetles as a control. Dung beetles and soil type impacted on the performance of improved overseeded annual pastures as measured by biomass accumulation over a four-month growing season. The four soil types, namely, Chromosol, Kandosol, Rudosol, and Vertosol, differed considerably with respect to their water-holding capacity and nutrient profiles, as assessed by initial soil testing and soil leachate evaluation following rainfall plus simulated rainfall events. The concentration of Escherichia coli resulting from cattle dung, cattle dung plus beetles, and the control soils without dung or beetles was assessed in collected leachates over a three-month period. E. coli numbers were significantly increased following B. bison activity, when compared to the dung-only and control treatments. Evaluation of the soil microbiome, by assessing genomic DNA in soils sampled 10 cm below the soil surface where dung beetles remained active following tunnelling, revealed significant differences among soil types with respect to bacterial and fungal communities. Within each soil type, dung beetle activity impacted the fungal community structure, but not the bacterial community. Pasture performance as assessed by biomass accumulation was significantly improved following dung beetle activity in later stages of pasture growth, while E. coli numbers and total coliforms appeared unaffected by beetle presence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of Biodiversity and Soil Conservation with a Sustainable Production in the Restoration of Pastoral Systems)
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15 pages, 4495 KiB  
Article
Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks under Agrosilvopastoral Systems with Different Arrangements in a Transition Area between Cerrado and Caatinga Biomes in Brazil
by Igor Costa de Freitas, Matheus Almeida Alves, Jaílson Ramos Magalhães, Rafael Ferreira Dias, Carlos Juliano Brant Albuquerque, Evander Alves Ferreira, Luiz Arnaldo Fernandes, Rodinei Facco Pegoraro and Leidivan Almeida Frazão
Agronomy 2022, 12(12), 2926; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12122926 - 23 Nov 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1842
Abstract
Production systems that promote the accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM) must be implemented to maintain the sustainability of agriculture, livestock, and forestry. Since increases in MOS content contribute to improving the chemical, physical, and biological quality of the soil, as well as [...] Read more.
Production systems that promote the accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM) must be implemented to maintain the sustainability of agriculture, livestock, and forestry. Since increases in MOS content contribute to improving the chemical, physical, and biological quality of the soil, as well as helping to reduce carbon emissions to mitigate climate change. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) stocks after the implementation of agrosilvopastoral (ASP) systems in a Cerrado-Caatinga transition zone in Brazil. Native vegetation of Cerrado-Caatinga (NV), regenerating stratum of Cerrado-Caatinga (RS), two arrangements of ASP systems cultivating Cenchrus ciliaris L. intercropped with Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. × Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm. hybrid (ASP1 and ASP2), and intercropped with Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake × Eucalyptus grandis W. Mill ex Maiden hybrid (ASP3 and ASP4) were evaluated. Soil C and N stocks and the C content in the humic fractions of SOM were evaluated at 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm soil depths. The introduction of ASP2, ASP3, and ASP4 systems in an area previously occupied by low productivity pasture increased and restored SOC stocks to levels found in NV, at a depth of 0–30 cm. N stocks were higher in ASP systems, regardless of the arrangement studied. As a result, the ASP systems provided accumulations that ranged from 1.0 to 4.31 Mg SOC ha−1 yr−1 and from 0.33 to 0.36 Mg N ha−1 yr−1. The carbon contents in humic fractions remained higher in NV. The hierarchical grouping and principal component analysis showed that the implementation of the ASP systems was efficient in increasing soil C and N stocks over time. In conclusion, the present study identified that integrated production systems can support land use intensification strategies based on sustainable and low-carbon agriculture in a transition area between the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes in Brazil. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of Biodiversity and Soil Conservation with a Sustainable Production in the Restoration of Pastoral Systems)
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