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J Environ Manage 2021 Jun 11;294:113020. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

Department of History and Geography, State University of Maranhão, Cidade Universitária Paulo VI, São Luís, 65055-000, Brazil. Electronic address:

Researches on the deforestation of the Amazon have gained prominence in the last recent years, mainly with the change in the policy regarding the facing of this phenomenon by the Brazilian government. Therefore, an understanding about the causes that pressure the occurrence of deforestation remains relevant and has a leading role in the world. Therefore, the aim of this study is to perform the analysis of the spatial variability of the reasons for the deforestation in the Amazon Biome, in Brazil, (2010-2019). Read More

J Environ Manage 2021 Jun 10;294:112894. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Department of Agronomy & Center for Intensive Mediterranean Agrosystems and Agri-food Biotechnology (CIAIMBITAL), University of Almeria, E-04120, Almería, Spain. Electronic address:

Drylands affected by serious disturbances such as mining activities lose their vegetation cover and organic soil horizons, becoming CO emissions sources. Applications of organic amendments could be a good restoration solution that favours vegetation establishment and soil carbon sequestration; however, they are also associated with CO₂ emissions. Experimental plots with different organic amendments (sewage sludge, garden and greenhouse vegetable composts, and mixtures of both) and unamended soils were installed in a quarry in southeast Spain. Read More

Glob Chang Biol 2021 Jun 11. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

UMR MIA 518, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Univsersité Paris-Saclay, Paris, France.

Ecological theory suggests that biodiversity has a positive and stabilizing effect on the delivery of ecosystem services. Yet, the impacts of increasing the diversity of cultivated crop species or varieties in agroecosystems are still under scrutiny. The empirical evidence available is scattered in scope, agronomic and geographical contexts and impacts on ecosystem services may depend on the type of diversification strategy used. Read More

Environ Manage 2021 Jun 9. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, PO Box 30677, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya.

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021 Jun 5. Epub 2021 Jun 5.

College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China.

Coal mining activities are responsible for significant land degradation and often long-term irreversible effects on ecosystem functioning. To better understand how coal mined sites could be re-vegetated and ecosystem functioning restored, we address the role of the signalling hormone melatonin, which controls plant growth and development under adverse environmental conditions. We assessed the effects of exogenous melatonin on the plant species Althaea rosea by measuring morphological growth attributes, photosynthetic efficiency, reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative damage and antioxidant defence developed by the seedlings when grown on coal-mined spoils under various water regimes. Read More

J Hazard Mater 2021 08 5;415:125589. Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Stress Adaptation Research Unit, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 1-7-22, Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan; Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, 03 Quang Trung, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam; Institute of Genomics for Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock 79409, TX, USA. Electronic address:

We explored genetic evidence for strigolactones' role in rice tolerance to arsenate-stress. Comparative analyses of roots of wild-type (WT) and strigolactone-deficient mutants d10 and d17 in response to sodium arsenate (NaAsO) revealed differential growth inhibition [WT (11.28%) vs. Read More

Bioscience 2021 Jun 3;71(6):637-646. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

East and Central Asia Office, World Agroforestry Centre, Kunming, China, and is the director of the Centre for Mountain Futures and a professor at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Kunming, China.

Accelerating declines in biodiversity and unmet targets in the Convention on Biological Diversity's 2010-2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity are stimulating widespread calls for transformative change. Such change includes societal transitions toward sustainability, as well as in specific content of the CBD's draft Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. We summarize research on transformative change and its links to biodiversity conservation, and discuss how it may influence the work of the CBD. Read More

Nutr Health 2021 Jun 4:2601060211016629. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

NESFAS, India.

Background: Despite generally high agrobiodiversity, the Khasi and Garo indigenous people in Meghalaya have poor nutritional status among children and women.

Aim: To assess the dietary diversity of the Khasi and Garo indigenous women of reproductive age in Meghalaya, while examining the associated factors that affect it and to map the diversity of local food plants.

Methods: A dietary survey was conducted through 24-hour recall with 276 women from 28 villages of Meghalaya. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2021 May 24;789:147983. Epub 2021 May 24.

Department of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.

Climate change-induced floods in tropical urban areas have presented a serious global challenge because of failed conventional stormwater management practices. This research aims to develop a comprehensive methodological framework for flood damage estimation and mitigation, particularly in a tropical urban city. In this study, interdisciplinary fields were integrated through statistical downscaling, hydrologic-hydraulic modeling, and the development of flood damage curves. Read More

J Nematol 2021 21;53. Epub 2021 May 21.

Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Alegre, Brazil.

In conventional coffee farming, soil fauna can be negatively affected by the intensive management practices adopted and the use of an agroforestry system (AFS) is an alternative to reduce these impacts. In coffee AFS, soil nutrition is provided mainly using organic fertilizers. This soil management favors the microbiota and can alter the population dynamics of some organisms. Read More

Life (Basel) 2021 May 26;11(6). Epub 2021 May 26.

CAS Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China.

During our investigation of palm fungi in Thailand, two interesting taxa from and (Arecaceae) were collected. Based on phylogenetic analyses of a combined dataset of ITS, LSU, , and nucleotide sequences as well as unique morphological characteristics, we introduce the new genus within Xylariales, and a new species . Additionally, in our study, the genus is transferred to the family Cainiaceae based on its brown conidia and molecular phylogenetic evidence. Read More

Animals (Basel) 2021 May 29;11(6). Epub 2021 May 29.

Department of Agroforestry Engineering, University of Santiago de Compostela, Escola Politécnica Superior de Enxeñaría, Campus Terra, s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain.

Measuring animal activity is useful for monitoring animal welfare in real time. In this regard, passive infrared detectors have been used in recent years to quantify piglet activity because of their robustness and ease of use. This study was conducted on a commercial farm in Northwest Spain during six complete breeding cycles. Read More

Plants (Basel) 2021 May 14;10(5). Epub 2021 May 14.

College of Agricultural and Technological Sciences, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Dracena 17900-000, São Paulo State, Brazil.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate structural and biochemical aspects related to the interaction of resistant (RRIM 937, IAC 502 and 507) and susceptible (RRIM 600) rubber tree clones with . For such analysis, ultrathin sections of the leaf limb were embedded in historesin and differently stained to verify structural alterations and presence of starch grains, arginine, lipids, tannins and lignins. The total proteins and activity of the enzymes peroxidase and (PAL) were quantified. Read More

Conserv Biol 2021 Jun 1. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Department of Biology and McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, 37th and O Streets NW, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) agriculture threatens tropical biodiversity to meet growing demand for chocolate, but cocoa sustainability initiatives largely overlook biodiversity conservation. To inform these initiatives, we analyzed how cocoa agriculture impacts bird diversity at farm and landscape scales with a global meta-analysis of 23 studies. Bird diversity declined sharply in intensified, low shade cocoa. Read More

Front Plant Sci 2021 12;12:649132. Epub 2021 May 12.

Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

Willd (quinoa) has acquired an increased agronomical and nutritional relevance due to the capacity of adaptation to different environments and the exceptional nutritional properties of their seeds. These include high mineral and protein contents, a balanced amino acid composition, an elevated antioxidant capacity related to the high phenol content, and the absence of gluten. Although it is known that these properties can be determined by the environment, limited efforts have been made to determine the exact changes occurring at a nutritional level under changing environmental conditions in this crop. Read More

Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2021 Jun 29;105(11):4751-4759. Epub 2021 May 29.

Institute of Animal Inspection and Quarantine, Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing, 100176, People's Republic of China.

Infection with African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes an acute and highly lethal hemorrhagic disease that has been responsible for huge economic losses in China. To exactly detect the antigen of ASFV, we established a rapid, no-wash, one-step sandwich-type immunoassay based on the amplified luminescent proximity homogenous assay-linked immunosorbent assay (AlphaLISA) using two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) M-5 and M-6 against ASFV p72. ASFV p72 in samples was captured by biotinylated mAb M-5 connected to the donor bead surface via streptavidin and "sandwiched" by mAb M-6 which was coated onto the acceptor bead. Read More

PLoS One 2021 28;16(5):e0252305. Epub 2021 May 28.

Jimma Agricultural Research Center, Jimma, Ethiopia.

This study was conducted in Somodo Watershed to investigate the land-use practices and its effect on species diversity and selected soil properties. Field observation was carried out to identify existing land-use practices following a transect line. A total of 20 plots (10 × 10) m2 were sampled from plots exhibiting different land-use practices found in the watershed in order to evaluate species richness and diversity. Read More

Tree Physiol 2021 May 27. Epub 2021 May 27.

Eco&Sols, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, IRD, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France.

In coffee, fruit production on a given shoot drops after some years of high yield, triggering pruning to induce re-sprouting. The timing of pruning is a crucial farmer's decision affecting yield and labour. A reason explaining fruit production drop could be the exhaustion of resources, particularly the non-structural carbohydrates (NSC). Read More

Nat Microbiol 2021 May 27. Epub 2021 May 27.

International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi (ICTF), .

PLoS One 2021 27;16(5):e0251958. Epub 2021 May 27.

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Scaling is a ubiquitous concept in agricultural research in the global south as donors require their research grantees to prove that their results can be scaled to impact upon the livelihoods of a large number of beneficiaries. Recent studies on scaling have brought critical perspectives to the rather technocratic tendencies in the agricultural innovations scaling literature. Drawing on theoretical debates on spatial strategies and practical experience of agricultural innovation scaling in Ethiopia, this paper adds to the current debate on what constitutes scaling and how to overcome critical scaling constraints. Read More

Front Plant Sci 2021 3;12:649308. Epub 2021 May 3.

West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.

Maize lethal necrosis (MLN), resulting from co-infection by maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) can cause up to 100% yield losses in maize in Africa under serious disease conditions. Maize improvement through conventional backcross (BC) takes many generations but can significantly be shortened when molecular tools are utilized in the breeding process. We used a donor parent (KS23-6) to transfer quantitative trait loci (QTL) for resistance to MLN into nine adapted but MLN susceptible lines. Read More

Methods Mol Biol 2021 ;2309:105-111

Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.

Current knowledge on the mechanism of strigolactones (SLs) as signaling molecules during specific interactions in the rhizosphere is mainly related to the control of germination of parasitic weed seeds and hyphal branching of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Thus, the role of plant secreted SLs in regulating the growth and development of root-colonizing fungi still remains controversial. Fusarium oxysporum can sense and respond to extracellular signals through oriented germ tube emergence and redirectioning of hyphal growth toward gradients of nutrients, sex pheromones, or plant root exudates. Read More

Data Brief 2021 Jun 21;36:107073. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

World Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya.

Understanding which trees farmers prefer, what determines their survival and enhancing farmer knowledge of tree management is key to increasing tree cover in agricultural landscapes. This article presents data on tree seedling survival under different tree planting and management practices in Kenya and Ethiopia. Data were collected from 1600 households across three Counties in Kenya and 173 households across four Woredas in Ethiopia, using a structured questionnaire which was administered through the Open Data Kit. Read More

Front Microbiol 2021 7;12:656235. Epub 2021 May 7.

Research Center of Microbial Diversity and Sustainable Utilization, Faculty of Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

is a poorly known genus, and currently, no DNA sequence data are available to ascertain its proper phylogenetic placement and evolutionary relationships with other bitunicate fungi. To date, there are only two species accepted in the genus. During our ongoing research study of bambusicolous fungi in southwest China and Thailand, a fungus associated with stromata of sp. Read More

Nature 2021 Jun 19;594(7861):71-76. Epub 2021 May 19.

School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK.

Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) remain widespread among people in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to sufficient food from plant and animal sources that is rich in micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) is limited due to socioeconomic and geographical reasons. Here we report the micronutrient composition (calcium, iron, selenium and zinc) of staple cereal grains for most of the cereal production areas in Ethiopia and Malawi. We show that there is geospatial variation in the composition of micronutrients that is nutritionally important at subnational scales. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 May 18;11(1):10512. Epub 2021 May 18.

Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento s/n, E-04120 La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain.

In this study, we measured diurnal patterns of sap flow (V) in cacao trees growing in three types of agroforestry systems (AFs) that differ in the incident solar radiation they receive. We modeled the relationship of V with several microclimatic characteristics of the AFs using mixed linear models. We characterized microclimatic variables that may have an effect on diurnal patterns of sap flow: air relative humidity, air temperature, photosynthetically active radiation and vapor pressure deficit. Read More

J Proteomics 2021 Jul 15;243:104263. Epub 2021 May 15.

Agroforestry and Plant Biochemistry, Proteomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Cordoba, UCO-CeiA3, 14014 Cordoba, Spain. Electronic address:

Quercus ilex is the dominant tree species in natural forest ecosystems across the Mediterranean Basin and in the agrosilvopastoral system dehesa, which has a high ecological and economical significance. As in other forestry species, survival in Q. ilex is threatened by long periods of drought. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021 29;11:610567. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Key Laboratory for Agro-biodiversity and Pest Control of Ministry of Education, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China.

Climate change will affect numerous crops in the future; however, perennial crops, such as tea, are particularly vulnerable. Climate change will also strongly influence fungal pathogens. Here, we predict how future climatic conditions will impact tea and its associated pathogens. Read More

Front Plant Sci 2021 30;12:668562. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Department of Science and Technology, University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy.

Fruit ripening is a physiologically complex process altering texture, color, flavor, nutritional value, and aroma. However, some fruits are consumed at an early stage of ripening due to the very peculiar characteristics varying during ripening. An example is a particular ecotype of pepper, the Friariello pepper, among the most important representatives of Campania (Southern Italy) agro-alimentary culture. Read More

BMJ Open 2021 05 13;11(5):e045609. Epub 2021 May 13.

Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Universidad Nacional Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo, Huaraz, Peru.

Background: Preventing infantile anaemia and ensuring optimal growth and development during early childhood, particularly in resource-constrained settings, represent an ongoing public health challenge. Current responses are aligned to treatment-based solutions, instead of determining the roles of its inter-related causes. This project aims to assess and understand the complex interplay of eco-bio-social-political factors that determine infantile anaemia to inform policy, research design and prevention practices. Read More