Keynote speakers

Session A: Sharing the concepts of agroecology and illustrating their usage

Manuel Blouin: Ecological engineering with earthworms: principles, ecosystem services and mechanisms

Manuel Blouin is professor of Ecology and Agroecology at AgroSup  Dijon in France. He works mainly on interactions between soil organisms and plants. His PhD (2002-2005) aimed at unraveling the mechanisms involved in the positive effect of earthworms on plant growth. In 2007, he took up the position of lecturer at the University Paris Est Créteil, in the Bioemco laboratory (now “Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris”). He worked on ecological engineering, especially soil engineering by earthworms and Technosol construction from urban wastes, on the biocontrol of take-all disease of wheat and plant parasitic nematodes of rice by earthworms. He also conducted basic research on the signal molecules involved in the dialog between earthworms, microorganisms and plants. He is currently doing research on the co-evolution between plants and soil organisms.

Selected publications

Blouin, M., Hodson, M. E., Delgado, E. A., Baker, G., Brussaard, L., Butt, K. R., Brun, J. J. (2013). A review of earthworm impact on soil function and ecosystem services . European Journal of Soil Science, 64(2), 161–182.

Blouin, M., Karimi, B., Mathieu, J., & Lerch, T. (2015). Levels and limits in artificial selection of communities . Ecology Letters, 18, 1040–1048.

Puga-Freitas, R., & Blouin, M. (2015). A review of the effects of soil organisms on plant hormone signalling pathways . Environmental and Experimental Botany, 114(0), 104–116.

Stéphane Declerck: Agroecology: the key role of beneficial rhizosphere microorganisms in ecosystem services

Prof. Stéphane Declerck is the head of the Laboratory of Mycology at the Université catholique de Louvain ’s Earth and Life Institute in Belgium. He is also  the director of the university’s mycothèque (BCCM/MUCL), a fungal repository hosting 30 000 living filamentous fungi, yeasts and arbucular mycorrhizal fungi and leader of the Glomeromycota in vitro collection (GINCO), the world largest collection of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. His research expertise is on (i) fungal biodiversity, mostly in tropical ecosystems; (ii) plant-fungi interactions (symbiosis, endophytism and pathogenicity); (iii) study of trophic chains; and (iv) agricultural role of symbiotic organisms (e.g. agro-ecological and ecosystemic services, abiotic and biotic stress resistance of major tropical and temperate crops such as banana, potato and tomato). He has been involved, as coordinator or partner, in 16 EU projects under INCO, EURATOM, FP6, FP7 and H2020 programs, dealing with the role of microorganisms in agro-environments as well as in natural environments.

Selected publications

Velivelli S.L.S., De Vos P., Kromann P., Declerck S., Doyle Prestwich B. (2014). Biological Control Agents: From Field to Market, Problems and Challenges. Trends in Biotechnology  32 (10): 493-496.

Op De Beeck M., Lievens B., Busschaert P., Declerck S., Vangronsveld J., Colpaert J.V. (2014). Comparison and validation of some ITS primer pairs useful for fungal metabarcoding studies. PLOS One Volume 9, Issue 6 (e97629).

Anene A., Declerck S. (2016). Combination of Crotalaria spectabilis with Rhizophagus irregularis MUCL 41833 decreases the impact of Radopholus similis in banana. Applied soil ecology (In press).

Martina Koberl: The banana microbiome: stability and potential health indicators

Martina Köberl is an environmental microbiologist in the group of Prof. Gabriele Berg at the Institute of Environmental Biotechnology of the Graz University of Technology in Austria. She is currently an Erwin Schrödinger research fellow at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the US. Her research interests focus on the linkage between plant-associated microorganisms and the plant’s health and quality. In this respect, she investigated the banana-associated microbiome and the influence of factors such as biogeography, management practices, Fusarium wilt infestation and transgene expression.

Selected publications

Berg G, Rybakova D, Grube M, Köberl M (2016). The plant microbiome explored: implications for experimental botany . J Exp Bot 67: 995-1002.

Nimusiima J, Köberl M, Tumuhairwe JB, Kubiriba J, Staver C, Berg G (2015). Transgenic banana plants expressing Xanthomonas wilt resistance genes revealed a stable non-target bacterial colonization structure . Sci Rep 5: 18078.

Köberl M, Dita M, Martinuz A, Staver C, Berg G (2015). Agroforestry leads to shifts within the gammaproteobacterial microbiome of banana plants cultivated in Central America . Front Microbiol 6: 91.


Session B: Managing plant diversity to ensure ecosystem services

Paolo Bàrberi: Functional agrobiodiversity: approach, examples, and applicability to banana cropping systems

Paolo Bàrberi is Professor in Agronomy  and Field Crops at the Institute of Life Sciences, Sant’Anna School of Advances Studies (SSSA) in Pisa (Italy), where he leads the agroecology group. His research focuses on functional agrobiodiversity. His main topics are (i) the optimization of organic and low-input cropping systems through the use of functional agrobiodiversity at genetic, species and/or habitat levels (e.g. cultivar mixtures and evolutionary populations in cereals, cover crops and their mixtures in arable and horticultural systems); (ii) the selection and/or combination of traits related to the provision of agroecosystem services (e.g. resource use efficiency, weed suppression); (iii) agrobiodiversity-mediated trophic interactions (e.g. between crop cultivars, cover crops and arbuscular mycorrhyzal fungi); (iv) weed ecology and management in organic and low-input systems. In addition to coordinating the SSSA’s International PhD Programme in Agrobiodiversity, he is an external expert for the FAO (agroecology and ecological weed management), the European Commission (RTD programmes), the European Food Safety Authority (environmental risk assessment of GMOs) and the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (leader of the organic cropping systems expert group). He has been Scientific Secretary, Vice-President and President of the European Weed Research Society (2002-2015) and is among the 19 founders of Agroecology Europe. He (co)authored more than 250 papers.

Selected publications

Barzman M., Bàrberi P., Birch A.N.E., Boonekamp P., Dachbrodt-Saaydeh S., Graf B., Hommel B., Jensen J.E., Kiss J., Kudsk P., Lamichhane J.R.,  Messéan A., Moonen A.C., Ratnadass A., Ricci P., Sarah J.-L. & Sattin M. (2015). Eight principles of Integrated Pest Management . Agronomy for Sustainable Development. Published online 24 July 2015. DOI: 10.10077s13593-015-0327-9.

Costanzo A. & Bàrberi P. (2014). Functional agrobiodiversity and agroecosystem services in sustainable wheat production . A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 34, 327-348.

Sapkota T.B., Mazzoncini M., Bàrberi P., Antichi D. & Silvestri N. (2012). Fifteen years of no till increase soil organic matter, microbial biomass and arthropod diversity in cover crop-based arable cropping systems . Agronomy for Sustainable Development 32, 853-863.

Fabrice Declerck: Ecosystems Services from Agriculture

Fabrice DeClerck is a landscape and community ecologist whom leads Bioversity International’s component on Biodiversity for Landscape Management and Restoration.  His research lies at the interface of ecological and sociological studies and aims to understand how biodiversity contributes to ecosystem services and poverty reduction in agricultural landscapes.  He obtained his PhD in Geography and Ecology from the University of California Davis where he worked on ecosystem productivity, resource use efficiency and resilience to climate change. His postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University focused on ecology’s role in poverty alleviation initiatives. Between 2006-2012, he was a professor at CATIE in Costa Rica, where he worked closely with farmers and farming communities on conservation initiatives in agricultural landscapes. He collaborates closely with the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) on the Africa Regional Assessment and the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, as well as with the UNEP initiative on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture. He holds faculty appointments at CATIE, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and the University of Idaho.

Selected publications

Garbach, K., J.C. Milder, F.A.J. DeClerck, L. Driscoll, M. Montenegro, and B. Herren. 2016. Close yield and nature gaps: Multi-functionality in five systems of agroecological intensification. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. Accepted February 1, 2016.

Wood, S., D. Karp, F. DeClerck, C. Kremen, S. Naeem, and C. Palm. Functional traits in agriculture: agrobiodiversity and ecosystem services . TREE 30(9):531-539.

Palm, C., H. Blanco-Canqui, F. DeClerck, S. Gatere, P. Grace..2014. Conservation agriculture and ecosystem services: an overview . Agriculture Ecosystems and the Environment. 187:87-105


Session C: Enhancing biological regulations in banana cropping systems (field level)

Philippe Tixier: Enhancing ecological regulations in banana cropping systems: an example of a fine-tuned management approach for Cosmopolites sordidus

Philippe Tixier is an agroecologist in the GECO team at CIRAD in France. He is specialist on biophysical processes in agroecosystems. After having worked 10 years in Guadeloupe and Martinique, he is currently based in CATIE in Costa Rica. His current research focuses on the ecological regulation of pests and diseases in banana-based systems, addressing basic and applied questions for the improvement and management of these systems. He uses modeling tools to bridge the gap between community ecology and agronomy for unravelling the role of biodiversity on the performance of agroecosystems. Philippe is the (co)coordinator of the Stradiv project that aims at defining the conditions needed for the ecological transition of agroecosystems based on their biodiversification and their compatibility to a multi-scale innovation dynamic.

Selected publications

Dassou, A. G., Depigny, S., Canard, E., Vinatier, F., Carval, D., Tixier, P. 2016. Contrasting effects of plant diversity across arthropods trophic groups in plantain-based agroecosystems , Basic and Applied Ecology, 17, 11-20.

Tixier, P.,Duyck, P.-F., Côte, F.-X., Caron-Lormier, G., Malézieux, E. 2013. Food web-based simulation for agroecology . Agronomy for Sustainable Development 33, 663-670.

Vinatier, F., Lescourret, F., Duyck, P._F., , Tixier, P. 2012. From IBM to IPM: Using individual-based models to design the spatial arrangement of traps and crops in integrated pest management strategies . Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 146, 52-59.

Sara Sanchez-Moreno: Biodiversity and soil health: the role of the soil food web in soil fertility and suppressiveness to soilborne diseases

Sara Sánchez Moreno is a researcher at the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology in Madrid, Spain. Her research focuses in the role of soil diversity in soil functioning. As a nematologist and soil ecologist, she uses the composition of the nematode community as an indicator of soil food web condition and associated functions. Her current projects deal with the assessment of soil diversity and soil functioning in organic and conventional agricultural systems, on the effects of tillage and cover crops on soil diversity, and on the participation of soil fauna in key agroecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and soil suppressiveness. In general, her research explores the role of the soil food web and soil diversity in sustaining functional, suppressive, and fertile soils for sustainable agricultural productivity.

Selected publications

Sánchez-Moreno, S., Ferris, H. 2007. Suppressive service of the soil food web: Effects of environmental management . Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 119(1-2):75-87.

Carrascosa, M., Sánchez-Moreno, S., Alonso-Prados, J.L. 2014. Relationships between nematode diversity, plant biomass, nutrient cycling and soil suppressiveness in fumigated soils . European Journal of Soil Biology, 62: 49-59.

Sánchez-Moreno, S.,  Castro, J.,  Alonso-Prados, E.,  Alonso-Prados, J.L., García-Baudín, J.M., Talavera, M., Durán-Zuazo, V.H. 2015. Tillage and herbicide decrease soil biodiversity in olive orchards . TÍTULO REVISTA: Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 10.1007/s13593-014-0266-x.


Session D: Improving soil functioning through optimizing mineral and water resource use (field level)

Jean-Luc Chotte: Soil Biological interactions: a driver to improve soil ecosystem services
JLChotte_125x150

Jean-Luc CHOTTE  is a senior scientist at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), France. He is also the Director of the joint unit “Functional Ecology & biogeochemistry of soils & agro-ecosystems”. His research topic deals with the impact of climate and land use changes on soil organic matter dynamics (stocks and fluxes). As a soil ecologist, he has a special interest in the role of soil biota (macrofauna, mesofauna and microorganisms) and their interactions in organic carbon dynamics in soils. His research promotes the role of soil biota as key players in agro-ecosystem functioning and in soil and land rehabilitation.  From 1996 to 2004, he was posted in Sénégal and conducted in- depth field studies on means to enhance soil carbon stock in a range of agro-systems from semi-arid to humid ecosystems. He has been involved in international projects. In 2015, he co-chaired the 3rd International Scientific Conference on “Climate Smart Agriculture”. To date he has published more than 90 publications in the fields of soil sciences and soil ecology. He is the focal point for IRD in the 4P1000 initiative and a member of the UNCCD Convention’s Committee for Science and Technology.

Selected publications

Chotte, J. L., Munch, J. C. and Schloter, M. (2009). Quantification of key genes steering the microbial nitrogen cycle in the rhizosphere of sorghum cultivars in tropical agroecosystems . Applied and Environmental Microbiology  75 (15): 4993-5000.

Villenave, C., Rabary, B., Chotte, J. L., E., B. and Djigal, D. (2009). Impact of direct seeding mulch-based cropping systems on soil nematodes in a long-term experiment in Madagascar . Pesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira  44 (8): 949-953.

Chapuis-Lardy, L., Brauman, A., Bernard, B., Pablo, A. L., Toucet, J., Mano, M. J., Weber, L., Brunet, D., Razafimbelo, T. M., Chotte, J. L. and Blanchart, E. (2010). Effect of the endogeic earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus on the microbial structure and activity related to CO2 and N2O fluxes from a tropical soil (Madagascar) . Applied Soil Ecology  45 (3): 201-208.


Session E: Processes, multi-criteria assessment of performances, and contextual factors driving stakeholder strategies (at farm, landscape or higher levels)

Christian Bockstaller: Multicriteria assessment of farming systems with indicators: state of the art and methodological issues

Christian Bockstaller  is the leader of the “Sustainable Agriculture” research team at INRA Colmar, France. He is a specialist of multi-criteria assessment of sustainability in agriculture. His main field of interest is the assessment of cropping system impacts on water, air, soil quality and biodiversity. He also collaborates with CIRAD scientists on tropical productions (bananas and citrus). He worked on the development of the INDIGO® environmental assessment method, and contributed to the development of sustainability assessment methods, like MASC and DEXiPM. He also developed an expertise on methodological questions such as the validation, aggregation and comparison of indicators. He has led several national projects and the European Interreg COMETE project (with Agroscope Zurich) and has participated in European projects such as SEAMLESS and ENDURE, and more recently FLINT. He is involved in several commissions on indicators and environmental assessment.

Selected publications

Bockstaller, C., Feschet, P., and Angevin, F. (2015). Issues in evaluating sustainability of farming systems with indicators . Oléagineux Corps gras Lipides 22.

Craheix, D., Bergez, J.-E., Angevin, F., Bockstaller, C., Bohanec, M., Colomb, B., Doré, T., Fortino, G., Guichard, L., Pelzer, E., Méssean, A., Reau, R., and Sadok, W. (2015). Guidelines to design models assessing agricultural sustainability, based upon feedbacks from the DEXi decision support system . Agronomy for Sustainable Development.

Ricou, C., Schneller, C., Amiaud, B., Plantureux, S., and Bockstaller, C. (2014). A vegetation-based indicator to assess the pollination value of field margin flora . Ecological Indicator 45, 320-321.

Sébastien Zanoletti: Agroecological banana production in Guadeloupe and Martinique: from pesticide reduction to sales price improvement
Zanoletti_125x150

Sébastien Zanoletti is the Director of Sustainable Development  UGPBAN  (banana growers association of the French West Indies), located in Rungis, France.


Keynote Abstracts

 

Ecological engineering with earthworms: principles, ecosystem services and mechanisms

M. Blouin

AgroSup/Université de Bourgogne, 26 Bd Docteur Petitjean, BP 87999, 21079 Dijon Cedex, France

Keywords: Earthworms, ecological engineering; ecological mechanisms, ecosystem services, plants.

Abstract

Ecological engineering principles defined by H.T. Odum recommend a better use of natural processes, especially biotic interactions, to replace, reduce or complement the use of fossil energy and human technologies, with the aim of reducing our dependence on external energy and avoid negative collateral effects on the environment, such as CO2 emission. Ecological engineering in agroecosystems could take advantage of earthworms, which act on a huge number of processes that have consequences on many ecosystem services. After an overview of the different soil functions and ecosystem services impacted by earthworms, I will present different ways in which we can benefit from the effect of earthworms on soil functions. Depending on the context and their objectives, managers can benefit from ecosystem services delivered by earthworms through the conservation of native species, help in natural earthworm recolonization, inoculation of different earthworm life stages or the use of earthworm-made products such as vermicompost. Some results on the impact of agricultural practices on earthworm populations and field inoculations will be presented. The use of earthworms or other soil organisms could be optimized with a better understanding of how earthworms affect plant growth. A molecular dialogue between earthworms, microorganisms and plants, through signal molecules, appears to be a major explanation to understand the positive impact of earthworms on plant growth. This functional integration suggests a co-evolution between plants, earthworms and microorganisms. A major axis for agroecology could be to consider the heritage of these evolutionary processes to develop artificial selection strategies aimed at making crops better adapted to soil organisms.

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Agroecology: the key role of beneficial rhizosphere microorganisms in ecosystem services

S. Declerck

Catholic University of Louvain, Earth and Life Institute (ELI), Applied Microbiology sectionPlace Croix du Sud 2/11, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Keywords: Agricultural practices, arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi, ecosystem services, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, rhizosphere.

Abstract

Soil contains a tremendous diversity and abundance of microbes with millions of species or ecotypes. Many of them (e.g. arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi – AMF, plant growth promoting rhizobia - PGPR) inhabit the rhizosphere, the confined zone of soil in close contact with and influenced by the root, and provide important ecosystem services to agroecosystems. These include increased resistance/tolerance to pests and diseases, suppression of pathogens, improved micro- and macronutrient uptake, resistance to abiotic stresses (e.g. drought, salinity, heavy metals), improved soil structure and sequestration of carbon.

The application of beneficial microbes in agroecosystems (via e.g. commercial products) or the preservation/stimulation of the local populations or a combination of both are thus of particular importance when aiming at providing food security for an increased world population, expected to reach 9 billion by 2050. In the majority of cases, modern agricultural practices do not take these microbes into consideration and when they are applied into the field, the results are often disappointing, not reproducing the observations under controlled conditions. There is thus a need to investigate/understand the impact of agricultural practices on the beneficial rhizosphere microbes and to integrate those microbes as key players in the development of agroecological approaches that valorize in the best way ecological processes and ecosystem services these microbes provide to produce significant amounts of food.

Here we review and exemplify the detrimental impact of some classical agricultural practices (e.g. use of pesticides and mineral fertilizers, monoculture, tillage) on the beneficial rhizosphere microbes and illustrate some agroecological practices (e.g. direct seeding, cover crops, intercropping, application of allelopathic plants, no or minimum tillage) that support ecosystem services offered by beneficial microbes and that in combination with those microbes increases the resilience of agroecosystems and improve plant health and yield.

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The banana microbiome: stability and potential health indicators

M. Köberl1, M. Dita2,3, J. Nimusiima4,5, J.B. Tumuhairwe4, J. Kubiriba5, C. Staver6 and G. Berg1

1Graz University of Technology, Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Austria; 2Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation – Embrapa, Brasília, Brazil; 3Bioversity International, Turrialba, Costa Rica; 4National Agricultural Research Organisation, National Agricultural Research Laboratories, Kampala, Uganda; 5Makerere University, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Department of Agricultural Production, Kampala, Uganda; 6Bioversity International, Montpellier, France

Keywords: Agroforestry, banana-associated microbiota, Fusarium wilt, organic soil amendments, Xanthomonas wilt.

Abstract

Banana cultivation represents the world’s largest monoculture, and Musa spp. belong to the most important global food commodities. Although the plant-associated microbiome has substantial influence on plant growth and health, there is limited knowledge of the banana microbiome and its influencing factors. We studied the impact of i) biogeography, ii) agroforestry, and iii) Fusarium wilt (race 1) infestation on the banana-associated gammaproteobacterial microbiome analyzing Gros Michel bananas (AAA genome) grown in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Moreover, we investigated iv) the microbiome of the East African Highland banana (AAA genome) treated by different organic soil amendment combinations of mulch and manure, and v) the microbiome stability of Xanthomonas wilt-resistant transgenic East African Sukari Ndizi (AAB genome) in Uganda. Overall, the gammaproteobacterial banana microbiome was dominated by Pseudomonadales, Enterobacteriales and Xanthomonadales. An extraordinary high diversity of gammaproteobacterial microbiota was observed within the endophytic microenvironments, endorhiza and pseudostem. Enterobacteria were identified as highly dominant group of aerial plant parts, especially of the pseudostem and leaves. None of the investigated factors revealed a statistically significant impact on the gammaproteobacterial banana microbiome in general. However, indicator species for every constellation could be identified. For example, banana plants grown in agroforestry systems were characterized by an increase of potential plant-beneficial bacteria, like Pseudomonas and Stenotrophomonas, and on the other side by a decrease of Erwinia. The gammaproteobacterial communities of banana plants in Costa Rica were more sensitive to the Fusarium infection than in Nicaragua, whereby Enterobacteriaceae positively correlated with infestation state. The microbiome composition was pretty stable in regard to organic soil amendments, and also transgenic resistance gene expression did not result in significant microbiome shifts.

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Functional agrobiodiversity: approach, examples, and applicability to banana cropping systems

P. Bàrberi

Group of Agroecology, Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy

Keywords: Agroecology, agroecosystem service, functional trait, interdisciplinarity, participatory research.

Abstract

It has long been recognized that biodiversity is important for agroecosystem sustainability, but the relationship between biodiversity and the provision of agroecosystem services is not always clear, mainly due to confusion in the use of terms and concepts. This keynote paper aims to highlight the key place of Functional Agrobiodiversity (FAB) as a pillar of Agroecology and hence as the best approach to (re)design truly sustainable cropping and farming systems. The paper is structured in three parts. In the first part, the duality of relationships between agriculture and biodiversity will be recapped and contextualized in an agroecological framework. In the second part, FAB will be defined and distinguished from the often overlapping concept of biofunctionality. Three important components of FAB, viz. functional identity, functional composition and functional diversity sensu stricto will be introduced and illustrated. A 4-step approach to the study and implementation of FAB, which is thought to be applicable to any cropping system anywhere, will be presented. Examples from own research will be used to show the potential of FAB components to provide various agroecosystem services across different temporal and spatial scales. In the third part, the applicability of the FAB approach to banana cropping systems will be discussed. Recent relevant examples of trait-based approaches to design more sustainable banana cropping systems will be shown. Knowledge gaps as well as potential opportunities and limitations to further deploy FAB in banana cropping systems as a way to foster agroecological innovation will be discussed.

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Ecosystems Services from Agriculture

F. DeClerck

Bioversity International, Parc Scientifique II, 34397 Montpellier, France

Keywords: Agricultural biodiversity, agroecological intensification, sustainability, sustainable development goals.

Abstract

Current agricultural intensification practices are the biggest threat to sustainability and a major force behind breaching multiple planetary boundaries. Agriculture contributes to between 19 and 29% of total GHG emissions uses of 69% of freshwater resources, and 34% of the terrestrial, ice-free surface of the planet accounting for 31% of wild biodiversity loss. It is the primary driver for the substantial breach of the planetary boundary for phosphorous, and nitrogen. The foods we produce from these systems struggle to nourish a growing global population where nearly 2 billion suffer from nutrient deficiencies, and another 2 billion suffer from obesity. In as much as agricultural practices are important parts of the problem, they are likely to be our best bet for novel solutions addressing both human and environmental health. Increasing and improved use of agricultural biodiversity has the capacity to provide both food and nutritional security, along with the ingredients of healthy, culturally sensitive, and enjoyable meals. Mounting evidence suggests that producing food for diversified diets is often complementary with improving agriculture’s sustainability record.  Agricultural biodiversity provides the core ecosystem services that underpin sustainable agricultural intensification: pollination, pest control, and sustainably stored and sourced soil nutrients. Finally, as the planet’s largest ecosystem, sustainable intensification of agricultural ecosystems has the capacity to provide multiple ecosystem services converting agriculture from a net source, to net sink of green house gases; reigning in planetary boundaries on phosphorus, nitrogen, and water; and creating a safe space for wild biodiversity. Achieving agricultural biodiversity’s potential however, requires stronger support of the research and development community, better articulation of biodiversity’s contribution to multiple sustainable development goals, and improved indicators and indices that facilitate impact and progress both environmental and human well-being targets.

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Enhancing ecological regulations in banana cropping systems: an example of a fine-tuned management approach for Cosmopolites sordidus

P. Tixier

CIRAD, UPR GECO, F-34398 Montpellier, France

Keywords: Generalist predators, mass trapping, organization of habitats, pest control, plant diversity.

Abstract

As for many crop pests, the control of the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus has primarily relied on pesticide-based strategies. Nowadays, there is a growing interest in environmentally-friendly alternative control methods. Because of the diversity of processes involved, the use of ecological regulations to control C. sordidus is an archetype of integrated pest management. While ecological means show a great potential for the control of C. sordidus, the banana agrosystems in which they were successfully implemented remain scarce. Empirical and modeling studies have demonstrated the need for multi-scale and holistic approaches to successfully control this pest. In contrast with pesticide applications, this requires combining multiple agroecological methods, including primary prophylaxis, spatial management, mass trapping, and the enhancement of biocontrol processes. The detailed analysis of the dispersion of C. sordidus has revealed the importance of reasoning mass trapping at the farm scale, e.g. in plots in inter-culture and around newly planted areas to prevent their contamination. The spatial and temporal management of mass trapping using pitfall traps synergized with pheromone has clearly been demonstrated as a key of its success. As confirmed by recent meta-analyses, specialist pests with low/moderate dispersal capacities are expected to be better controlled by generalist organisms managed at local scale. We have disentangled the role of associated plants (i.e. weeds, cover-crops, associated crops or trees) on the structure of the community of arthropods and identified the most promising options to maximize the predation of C. sordidus. Based on our latest results from research carried out in the French West Indies, Cameroon and Costa Rica, I will present encouraging perspectives for a sustainable agroecological control of C. sordidus in export-banana cropping systems and small-holder banana farms.

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Biodiversity and soil health: the role of the soil food web in soil fertility and suppressiveness to soilborne diseases

S. Sanchez-Moreno

Plant Protection Products Unit (DTEVPF), National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Keywords: Microfauna; multifunctional assessment, soil services, sustainability.

Abstract

The soil food web plays a fundamental role in ensuring key ecosystem processes, maintaining soil fertility and improving soil suppressiveness to soilborne diseases. Composition and the structure of the soil food web reflect the health and condition of soils, and the effects of soil management – including the use of pesticides, fertilizers, tillage, crop rotation or cover crops – on soil functioning and services can be assessed through the use of soil food web indicators. Our presentation will focus on how the assessment of the nature, diversity and structure of nematode communities allow diagnosing the status of the soil food web and hence soilhealth. As main components of the soil microfauna involved in the different trophic levels and functional guilds, soil nematode communities -including free living nematodes-provide unique ecological data on soil processes. The high abundance and the large functional and taxonomical diversity of soil nematodes permit the calculation of a number of indicators of soil food web diversity, maturity and condition. The diversity and biomass of nematodes in different trophic levels can be related to different ecosystem services. Nematodes participate in various soil food web nutrient and energy channels; bacterial-and fungal-feeding nematodes are used as indicators of the soil food web mineralization service, and indices derived from their abundances and biomass are related to plant productivity and crop yield, while plant-feeding nematodes are used as indicators of belowground pest pressure. Nematodes in higher functional guilds, predators and omnivores, act as natural enemies of belowground pests, and have been found to be excellent indicators of soil suppressiveness against introduced herbivore preys. The joint assessment of such three components of the soil food web, largely facilitated by recent on-line tools, allows an integral diagnosis of soil health, as well as the on-farm assessment of the effect of management on soil functioning.

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Soil Biological interactions: a driver to improve soil ecosystem services

J.L. Chotte1, E. Blanchart1, A. Brauman1, P. Hinsinger2, L. Lardy1, C. Plassard2 and J. Trap1

1IRD, 2INRA - UMR 210 Ecologie Fonctionnelle & Biogéochimie des sols & des Agro-écosystèmes, Montpellier SupAgro, Place Viala (Bt. 12), F-34060 Montpellier cedex 2, France

Keywords: C-N-P cycles, interactions, macrofauna, mesofauna, microorganisms, rhizosphere, soils.

Abstract

Soil ecosystem services are largely based on the functions performed by soil organisms and plant roots. Major functions such as the decomposition of organic matter, mineralization/ immobilization of nutrients, bioturbation, changes in hydrological cycles, etc. affect ecosystem services like nutrient cycling, primary production (biomass), carbon storage, climate regulation (greenhouse gas), etc.

In recent decades, human activities, and in particular agriculture, have significantly degraded ecosystems. Soils are strongly affected in most agro-ecosystems, with declining levels of biodiversity and organic matter, erosion, soil compaction, loss of nutrients, etc. A major scientific challenge is to provide science-based recommendations to design cropping systems that are productive, sustainable and environmentally friendly.

This presentation will illustrate how biological interactions (macrofauna, microflora, microorganisms and roots) can modify soil carbon and nutrient cycles. Different examples have been selected to show the importance of maintaining soil biodiversity. The presentation will open the debate on how this knowledge can be integrated into agricultural practices.

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Agroecological banana production in Guadeloupe and Martinique: from pesticide reduction to sales price improvement

S. Zanoletti

UGPBAN (Banana grower association of the French West-Indies), 38 rue du Séminaire, Centra 401, 94 616 Rungis Cedex - France, IT2 Institut Technique Tropical - IT2 -C/o BANAMART, Bois-Rouge, 97 224 Ducos, Martinique - France

Keywords: agroecological cropping systems, biodiversity, communication to consumers, dissemination of innovations to growers, low input systems, reduction in pesticide use, sustainable banana plan.

Abstract

In 2007, banana production in Guadeloupe and Martinique, which was still recovering from the Chlordecone crisis, was hit by hurricane Dean. With the support of the French national government, the European Economic Community and the regional authorities, the banana growers of UGPBAN (Banana grower association of the French West-Indies) decided to set up a global innovation plan to restore the banana industry building on the principles of agroecology. This “Sustainable Banana Plan” had four main pillars: the modernization of production farms, research and development of technical innovations, the dissemination of innovations, and communication.  The plan was launched with the scientific support of CIRAD, and the technical assistance of IT2 (Technical Tropical Institute), a new structure contributing to the design and the dissemination of innovations with the collaboration of local grower organizations in Martinique and Guadeloupe. The R&D part of the plan involved two innovation platforms where growers, technicians and researchers were collaborating in a multi stakeholder participatory approach. The first platform was dedicated to the creation and the selection of new banana cultivars resistant to black leaf streak (BLS) while the second one targeted innovative and low-input banana cropping systems in collaboration with volunteer growers. The disseminated agroecological techniques relied upon sanitizing fallows, crop rotations with cover crops promoting ecological services, clean tissue culture banana plants, black weevil trapping with pheromones... A yearly life cycle assessment of the whole banana value chain was also done by IT2. In 2014, a global assessment of the Sustainable Banana Plan, including environmental, social and economic aspects, was made on demand of the French government. The study showed that 6 years after its start, the plan has met its goals since more than 50% reduction in pesticide use was achieved and a noticeable come back of animal biodiversity was observed in banana farms. The study also found that crop productivity had decreased by around 5%, and the savings made from reduced inputs were not yet fully compensating for the loss in productivity. The promising results from the plan led UGPBAN to create, in addition to organic and fair trade labels, a new label called “banane française”. The price for this “banane française” has been upgraded to 40 €cents per finger. It is sold by package of 3-6 fingers with a French flag sticker.
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Multicriteria assessment of farming systems with indicators: state of the art and methodological issues

C. Bockstaller

LAE, INRA, Université de Lorraine, 68021 Colmar, France

Keywords: Aggregation, biodiversity, Indicator framework, INDIC database, nitrogen management, sustainability evaluation.

Abstract

The growing concern about the side effects of agriculture intensification has led to a growing range of research on alternative forms of agriculture based – among others – on the principles of agroecology. In parallel, more and more stakeholders pay attention to multicriteria assessment of farming systems as a prerequisite to any enhancement of their performance with regards to sustainability. This step of evaluation is now essential in any policy decision, in the research and design and of innovative solutions, in development projects, as well as in the certification processes. The aim of the presentation is to: i) discuss methodological steps in the evaluation of sustainability in agriculture; ii) provide an overview of available assessment methods and indicators based on a large literature review.

We start with the need to develop a conceptual indicator framework to specify the evaluators’ own vision of sustainability. Then, we address the need to answer preliminary questions that will guide the selection of a set of indicators or an assessment method. The way to categorize indicators will be discussed. In a second part, we present results from an exhaustive literature review on assessment methods that led to the development of the INDIC database, describing 116 methods and 3046 indicators. Then we focus on some themes of the environmental dimensions, like nitrogen management and biodiversity, and highlight the diversity of evaluation methods of sustainability. Finally we conclude our presentation with a general discussion on questions that remain to address.

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