Agriculture, ecology and the multiple bottom line - Martin Wolfe (Organic Research Centre)Martinwolfe wakelyns

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© The Organic Research Centre

Agriculture, ecology and the multiple

bottom line

Martin Wolfe The Organic Research Centre and

Wakelyns Agroforestry,Suffolk

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Interacting Challenges on Food Production

Energytrough

Populationgrowth

Resources scarcity

Climate instability

Biodiversityservices down

- simultaneous solutions are needed!

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- this is what we survive by - the natural world – or, as it is now frequently termed -

Ecosystem Services

Provisioning (food and water, materials, energy);

Regulating (carbon sequestration, climate regulation, decomposition and detoxification,

purification of water and air, pests and diseases, pollination);

Supporting (nutrient dispersal and cycling, seed dispersal, primary production);

Cultural (spiritual, health and recreational benefits)

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Monoculture

1) High productivity of few commodities with low labour input; convenience

2) High financial, environmental and social costs

3) Major negative effect on biodiversity through replacement, toxicity etc.

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Yellow stripe rust of wheat

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Boosting evolution of the pathogen (- plants, animals, humans)

a. P. striiformis evolved as a spore-producing 'factory' – just to survive

b. Thus, monoculture encouraged massive population increase in the pathogen (which overcame R vars, fungicides)

c. Now globalisation of resistance and monoculture has selected

GREATER AGGRESSION AND WIDER CLIMATE TOLERANCE

Milus, E.A., Kristensen, K., and Hovmoller, M.S. 2009. Phytopathology 99:89-94.

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Agroecological solutions

1. Among-crop diversity – in space and time

2. Within-crop diversity – species, variety, genotype levels

3. Induced resistance – one role of weeds

4. For pests – the push-pull approach

5. For animals - the above and low density

6. For humans – all of the above....

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Does it have to be this way?Need for a paradigm shift in research and development:

- to break away from the 'lock-in' to genetic engineering (but not from molecular biology)

'Lock-in' – see Vanloqueren, G and Baret, P V Research Policy 38 (2009) 971–983

“How agricultural research systems shape a technological regime that develops genetic engineering but locks out agroecological innovations”

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Is organic farming the answer?

Crop rotation

Complex clover leys

Builds-up own crop nutrition

No herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, growth regulators

More and larger hedges

Smaller fields

More mixed farms - all help, but a LONG way to go

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Wheat yield trends at Wakelyns

Early 90's – pre- organic6 – 7 t/ha

Late 90's – conversion 5 – 6 t/ha

Early- mid 00's4 – 5 t/ha

Late 00's7 – 8 t/ha

Most recent9 – 10 t/ha

NO inputs

(other than tractor diesel)

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What can ecology offer?

DARWIN, C. (1859) On The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection

“So in the general economy of any land,the more widely and perfectly the animals and plants are diversified for different habits of life, so will a greater number of individuals be capable of there supporting themselves.”

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Feed-back systems

Linking biodiversity and ecosystems: towards a unifying ecological theory Loreau, M (2010) Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2010 365, 49-60

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Unifying concepts in ecology (Loreau 2010)

There are positive correlations between:

A) DIVERSITY AND STABILITY

(e.g. wheat populations)

B) DIVERSITY AND PRODUCTIVITY

(e.g. large-scale natural grassland projects)

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Within-crop diversity: wheat populations

POSITIVE

Capacity: more phenotypic and genotypic variation

Complementation: different genotypes complement each other

Compensation: if some fail, others take their place

Change: evolutionary shifts in response to selection

NEGATIVE

Competition: may work against the four ‘Cs’ above.

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Bezostaya yq yq yq yq yq yq yq yq yq yq yq Y Y Y Y Y Y Y YWembley yq YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ Y Y Y Y Y Y YTanker yq YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ Y Y Y Y Y YOption yq YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ Y Y Y Y YNorman yq YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ Y Y Y YHTL yq YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ Y Y YDeben yq YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ Y YClaire yq YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YBuchan yq YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQ YQThatcher Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q QSpark Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q QSoissons Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q QRenesansa Q Q Q Q Q Q Q QRenan Q Q Q Q Q Q QPastiche Q Q Q Q Q QMonopol Q Q Q Q QMercia Q Q Q QMaris Widgeon Q Q QHereward Q QCadenza Q

Y - 36 crosses; Q – 66 crosses; YQ – 107 crosses(Total crosses – 190 rather than 210 because of Bezostaya)(NB Mixtures have only 9 (Y), 12 (Q) or 20 (YQ) fixed components)

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Resilience

Variance in trial performance

Populations

Mixtures

Relative yield difference

Postv

PostvNegtv

Negtv

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Project 3: SOLIBAMThe SOLIBAM diagram (Strategies for Organic and Low-input Integrated Breeding and Management) – an EU project started in March 2010:

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'MAGIC' populations at NIAB

ELITE

Alchemy, Brompton, Claire, Hereward, Rialto, Robigus, Soissons, Xi19

DIVERSE

Banco, Bersee, Brigadier, Copin, Cordiale, Flamingo, Gladiator, Holdfast, Kloka, Maris Fundin, Robigus, Slejpner, Soissons, Staring, Steadfast, Stetson

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Diversity and Productivity

Natural grassland experiments

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BIODEPTH project: biomass and diversity at eight European sites

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Cedar Creek: Biomass and biodiversity improves with time

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- and the importance of perenniality

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Advantages of long-term perennial grassland versus annual wheat

A. Above Ground

Higher N yield, no inputs Perennials dominant, high diversity Pollinators, herbivores, detrivores more, more

diverse

B. Below Ground

Roots longer, deeper Food webs more diverse and structured Soil: more C and N, better structure, less leaching Better water quality (reduced NO3-N load) (Glover et al., 2010)

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Root biomass below native perennial prairie versus crop land in Kansas (Culman et al. 2010)

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- leading to the ultimate step

AGROFORESTRY

- the integration of tree management into agriculture

- and the cultivation of woodland edge

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Advantages of tree integration

• Achieves ecosystem intimacy• Carbon capture and storage• Ammonia abatement• Nutrient cycling• Produces food, fuel and fibre• Biodiversity• Crop and animal protection and nutrition• Also protects soil, water and air• Employment opportunities; pension scheme

Inputs needed:• Soil, sun, air, water – and some labour

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Winter wheat and hazel in 2006

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Clover ley in 2008

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Potato crop in 2009

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Hazel coppice recovery on single row (4 months)

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Wheat populations and diverse hardwood trees

Technology

Agriculture, ecology and the multiple bottom line - Martin Wolfe (Organic Research Centre)Martinwolfe wakelyns