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Agronomy
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Advances in Agroecology: The Agriculture-Nature Interface
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Advances in Agroecology: The Agriculture-Nature Interface

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 5855

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Oren Shelef

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Natural Resources, Institute of Plant Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion 7505101, Israel
Interests: plant sciences; agroecology; agriculture wildlife conflict; agroforestry; sustainable intensification; agriculture diversification

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Studying the interface between agriculture and natural ecosystems is the core interest of agroecology. Historically, agroecology, as agricultural practice or scientific discipline, is looking at the interactions between agricultural systems and natural systems in order to maintain and improve the sustainability of both ends. A Special Issue in agronomy is devoted to advances in agroecology, aiming at novel research publications that shed light on the agriculture–nature interface.

In this Special Issue, research articles, case studies, reviews, theoretical models, and perspectives will be considered, dealing with novel implementation of ecological concepts in modern agriculture, understanding and suggesting mitigation of agriculture-wildlife conflicts, ecosystem services of natural ecosystems or agroecosystems, and attempts to recruit ecological process conservation for the benefit of sustainable intensification in agriculture (Ecobiomimicry). Advances in agroecology focuses on the need to promote diversification of agriculture to support biodiversity and resilience of agroecosystems.

Dr. Oren Shelef
Guest Editor

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

  • diversification of agriculture
  • agroecosystem services
  • wildlife-agriculture conflict
  • agricultural ecomimicry
  • resource management
  • sustainable agriculture
  • climate crisis

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2342 KiB  
Article
Spatio-Temporal Analysis of the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) for the Summertime in the Period 2000–2021 in Slovenia: The Implication of Heat Stress for Agricultural Workers
by Zalika Črepinšek, Zala Žnidaršič and Tjaša Pogačar
Agronomy 2023, 13(2), 331; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020331 - 21 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2275
Abstract
Due to climate change crisis, the risk of occupational heat stress for agricultural workers has recently increased. The temporal and spatial biometeorological conditions in different climatic regions of Slovenia during summer were analyzed using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), and additionally the [...] Read more.
Due to climate change crisis, the risk of occupational heat stress for agricultural workers has recently increased. The temporal and spatial biometeorological conditions in different climatic regions of Slovenia during summer were analyzed using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), and additionally the water loss index (SW) and the accepted level of physical activity (MHR). Term values of air temperature, relative air humidity, wind speed at 10 m and cloud cover at 14:00 CEST were used as input for the BioKlima 2.6 software package and were retrieved from the Slovenian Environment Agency for the summer months in the period 2000–2021. The rise in the average UTCI values was shown to be positive and statistically significant for summer (0.7 °C/decade) as well as for all three months, the highest being for June (0.9 °C/decade). The percentage of summer days during 2000–2021 that were under strong or very strong heat stress varied widely by location, ranging from one-third to more than one-half. Average monthly UTCI values at 14:00 CEST were the highest in July, reaching 30 °C in a submediterranean climate, Črnomelj is the only station with this average higher than 32 °C. Daily highest UTCI value was 47 °C (Črnomelj). It was shown that conditions in the middle of a hot summer day are not suitable for moderate or severe agricultural workloads. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Agroecology: The Agriculture-Nature Interface)
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18 pages, 2722 KiB  
Article
Estimation of the Enzymatic Activity of Haplic Chernozem under Contamination with Oxides and Nitrates of Ag, Bi, Te and Tl
by Tatiana Minnikova, Sergey Kolesnikov, Natalia Evstegneeva, Alena Timoshenko and Natalia Tsepina
Agronomy 2022, 12(9), 2183; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12092183 - 14 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1282
Abstract
Sustainable agriculture is only possible if the agroecological services of the soil are preserved. Soil contamination with rare elements such as silver (Ag), bismuth (Bi), tellurium (Te), and thallium (Tl) is less studied, but their toxicity is no less high than in other [...] Read more.
Sustainable agriculture is only possible if the agroecological services of the soil are preserved. Soil contamination with rare elements such as silver (Ag), bismuth (Bi), tellurium (Te), and thallium (Tl) is less studied, but their toxicity is no less high than in other heavy metals. Activity of soil enzymes is of great importance for the healthy functioning of soils, agroecosystem services, and their fertility. It is necessary to assess the ecological state of black soil using the most sensitive and informative indicators of the state of soils—their enzymatic activity. The objective of this research was to evaluate changes in activity of five priority soil enzymes (catalase, dehydrogenases, invertase, phosphatase, and urease) when contaminated with oxides and nitrates of Ag, Bi, Te, and Tl in a laboratory model experiment. The integral toxicity of nitrates and oxides of Ag, Bi, Te, and Tl was assessed by the integrated index of soil enzymatic activity. A comparison of the toxicity of oxides and nitrates of each element, according to the integrated index of soil enzymatic activity, allowed us to establish that Ag oxide is more toxic than Ag nitrate; Bi oxide is equivalent in its toxicity to Bi nitrate; and Tl and Te oxides are less toxic than Tl and Te nitrates. When contaminated with oxides, the most informative indicators are activity of invertase (Ag), urease (Bi, Tl), and phosphatase (Te). When contaminated with nitrates, the most informative indicators are activity of phosphatase (Ag) and invertase (Bi, Tl, and Te). Activity of phosphatase and catalase are the most sensitive to contamination by oxides and nitrates of Ag, Bi, Tl, and Te, and dehydrogenases, invertase, and urease are the least sensitive. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Agroecology: The Agriculture-Nature Interface)
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15 pages, 904 KiB  
Article
Dust Particles as a Pesticide’s Carrier in Agro-Ecosystems; Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
by Eli Zaady, Shlomo Sarig and Itzhak Katra
Agronomy 2022, 12(8), 1826; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12081826 - 31 Jul 2022
Viewed by 1650
Abstract
The agricultural landscape constitutes a mosaic of various crop plots intertwined with non-disturbed natural areas. Extensive use of pesticide spraying can pollute the natural areas, causing damage to the natural food webs. The damages to the natural systems can be temporary and cumulative. [...] Read more.
The agricultural landscape constitutes a mosaic of various crop plots intertwined with non-disturbed natural areas. Extensive use of pesticide spraying can pollute the natural areas, causing damage to the natural food webs. The damages to the natural systems can be temporary and cumulative. Although many studies have dealt with the results of pesticide spraying drift to the natural environment, we lack knowledge on the role of dust particle transfer of pesticides. The study aims to investigate the dust particles as pesticide carriers. It examines the presence and accumulation of pesticides in vegetation and soils of the farmlands and natural areas nearby in two different climatic zones, Mediterranean and semiarid. It was hypothesized that seasonal agricultural activities affect the transport of dust particles with pesticides. The research methods included qualitative and quantitative analyses of pesticides in a hierarchy of distances from agriculture fields into natural and nearby. The renewal of the results indicated that seasonal agricultural activity leading to the transport of dust particles was a major contribution to the spatial distribution of pesticides, in both climate zones. Here we reveal results that must be an essential principle in the use of pesticides in agricultural fields, especially in nearby uninhabited areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Agroecology: The Agriculture-Nature Interface)
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