Return of Set-Aside Schemes for Farmers

Environment secretary, Hilary Benn has announced new proposals to bring back payments for farmers who set aside areas of uncultivated land to promote biodiversity and environmental benefits.

The system of subsiding farmers for setting-aside areas of land from agricultural production was introduced in the 1980’s in order to curtail over-production, which had generated food surpluses and caused a dramatic reduction in some commodity prices.

The scheme was effectively abolished by the European Commission in 2008 after harvests were devastated by extensive flooding and global food prices began to soar. Environmental groups and conservationists did not welcome the decision as the uncultivated land provided a vital source of food and refuge for wildlife in agricultural landscapes, especially birds.

In a speech to the National Farmers' Union conference in Birmingham later today, Benn is expected to propose two possible options; a mandatory scheme requiring a minimum area land to be set aside with incentives to expand, and an entirely voluntary scheme. A decision is expected in the summer.

"I welcome the idea of a voluntary scheme, led by the industry, if we can be sure that it will deliver," he is expected to say.

Read more about this issue on the Guardian news website
Updates on the NFU conference can be found here

Call for GM Debate to be Reopened

Leading agricultural scientists are calling for another debate on genetic modification (GM), claiming that we will need ‘every tool in our armory if we are to cope with the food security issues raised by population growth, climate change and environmental degradation.’

The genetic modification of plants raises important issues for science and the public. There is legitimate concern about whether GM products safe to eat and release into the environment, but they also hold enormous potential to increase yields and food quality, whilst reducing the need for pesticides.

In 2003 the Government held a national debate on the commercialisation of genetically modified crops in the UK, before setting out its overall policy on the issue in March 2004.

However, many participants felt that the exchanges made in 2003 were marred by anger and personal grievances, which prevented the central issues from being discussed rationally and answered adequately.

With estimates that food production must double by 2050 to feed an anticipated population of 9 billion (FAO), it is imperative that government considers all options at its disposal to ensure food security and mitigate human poverty in the UK. Consequently, leading scientists have called for the debate to be reopened, so that the issues can be addressed with appropriate, evidence based discussions.

Listen to a Radio 4 broadcast on the issue here.

For more information about GM crops, including government policy, click here.

GM Crop that Needs Less Fertilizer

Canadian Scientists have successfully developed genetically modified (GM) rice plants that take-up and metabolise nitrogen more efficiently, thereby reducing the need for nitrogen fertilizers and increasing yields.

Nitrogen is quantitatively the most essential nutrient for plants and a major factor limiting crop productivity. Plants are particularly inefficient at acquiring nitrogen from applied fertilizer, and as a result, excess nitrogen frequently leaches from the soil into waterways and damages aquatic ecosystems, or volatizes to nitrous oxide, an atmospheric greenhouse gas.

To meet growing food demands, the global use of nitrogen increased from 3.5 million metric tonnes (MT) in 1960 to 87 million MT in 2000, and is projected to increase to 249 million MT by the year 2050. Clearly, the importance of developing agricultural crops with enhanced nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) cannot be understated. These crops not only have the potential to lower production costs and reduce environmental pollution, but their increased productively could make a significant contribution to our long-term food security.

Given the complexity of plant physiology, research into the production of transgenic plants with increased NUE is ongoing. Ultimately, all GM crops must be thoroughly assessed on a case-by-case- basis to ensure they meet the stringent safety regulations required by legislation before they can be considered for commercial use.

Source Article: Shrawat, A.K., Carrol, R.T., DePaum, M. et al. (2008). Genetic engineering of improved nitrogen use efficiency in rice by the tissue-specific expression of alanine aminotransferase. Plant Biotechnology Journal. 6: 722-732.

BES Members Interviewed on Plight of UK Bees

Writing in yesterday's Times (Sunday 1st February), Richard Girling explores the plight of bumble and honey bees in the UK. Examining the massive declines in bee populations in the UK, accelerating from 6% of honeybee colonies failing per year in 2003 to over 30% lost each year now, Richard explores the potential causes of the species' perilous state, and the consequences if bee species were to become extinct in the UK.

Two members of the BES were interviewed to inform the article; Professor Dave Goulson, University of Stirling, and Dr Mick Hanley, Plymouth University. We are always keen to hear from members of the BES interested in engaging with the media, and can offer support towards media training if necessary. Please contact the BES Press Officer for more information.

Biological Control of Plant Parasitic Nematodes

Plant parasitic nematodes are a leading biotic cause of yield loss in crops, costing world agriculture an estimated US $125 billion annually. These small (0.25-3mm), unsegmented worms can affect crops in a variety of ways: altering normal root cell division, modifying plant cells for nutrient transfer, transmitting viruses and creating wounds that permit the entrance of other plant pathogens. Yet despite their enormous impact on important crop plants through-out the world, there are no effective, environmentally safe management strategies to treat or prevent plants from nematode infection. However, recent results from the EU-funded EcoTrain Project indicate that natural forms of control could provide a long-term solution to the problem.

Current nematode management strategies are largely dependent upon highly toxic pesticides (nematicides), which are harmful to the physical environment and reduce soil biodiversity by eliminating a variety non-target species.

By investigating the regulation of plant parasitic nematodes in the wild, scientists found that naturally occurring soil-dwelling predators could effectively control various nematode species.

The scientists took various micro-organisms, non-parasitic nematodes and microarthropods (such as mites) from the soil in a coastal dune grass (Ammophila arenaria) system, and examined the effect of different combinations on eight different species of parasitic nematode. Their results indicated that the most effective and sustainable method of biological control could be to treat crops with nematode suppressing soils, which contain a variety of soil-dwelling organisms found in wild plant populations. Their results also suggest that ‘conserving soil biodiversity is crucial in order to enhance the reliability of biological crop protection against soil-borne pests and diseases’.

These findings will undoubtedly be followed up with further investigations and more extensive field experiments. Especially in light of the European Parliaments approval of the Plant Protection Products regulation, which aims to phase out many chemical pesticides in Europe and promote of safer alternatives.

However, as parasitologist Tom Powers pointed out in 1992, the difficulty with this method of control appears to be the ability to transform it ‘into management system that can be manipulated by the growers’. After over 50 years of research, there are still no biological controls that are routinely used against plant parasitic nematodes.

Original Article: Piskiewicz, A.M., Duyts, H., van der Putten, W.H. (2008). Multiple species-specific controls of root-feeding nematodes in natural soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 40: 2729-2735.

The EcoTrain Project is funded by the EU's Research Training Network (RTN) Program.

Additional information:
Tom Powers (1992) Biological control of plant parasitic nematodes: Progress, problems and prospects: by G.R. Stirling, CAB International, 1991. Parasitology Today. 8: 320

European Parliament Plant Protection Products Regulations

Efforts to Support Biodiversity Best Focused on Less Intensive Systems

The authors of a new EU-funded study into the biodiversity of intensive and extensively managed farmland systems have recommended that efforts to conserve biodiversity be focused on less intensively managed systems.

Researchers compared the richness of plant species with levels of Nitrogen input on 130 grasslands and 141 arable fields across six European countries, including the UK. Intensively and extensively managed sites were assessed and the number of different plant species in each plot counted. 'Rare' species were defined as those with less than 1% cover in a study area.

The study found a link between increased Nitrogen inputs and a decrease in species richness, along with a link between the richness of plant species and the richness of invertebrates in the fields. The rare species of plant were shown to be the most vulnerable to increasing land-use intensity and were the most likely to disappear following fertilisation of the fields with Nitrogen.

The researchers found that the decline in species richness with an increase in Nitrogen application was sharper on the extensively managed plots, suggesting that species in these areas are more sensitive to land-use change. This suggests both that efforts to manage such areas sensitively can reap rewards for biodiversity, and also that restoration of biodiversity to intensively managed land will require an enhanced level of effort: lower sensitivity to change will mean that greater change will be needed to get the desired result.

The rate of extinction of species in intensively farmed land is 100 - 1000 times greater than the base rate, and is predicted to increase further in the future. The researchers suggest that the difficulty of restoring biodiversity on intensively managed land following such losses, along with the sensitivity of extensively managed land, means that efforts to preserve biodiversity could best be focused on extensively managed systems.

Original article: EU Science for Environment Policy, 15 January 2009
Research Source: Evaluating Current European Agri-environment Schemes to Quantify and Improve Nature Conservation Efforts in Agricultural Landscapes (EASY) (supported by the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme).

Frog Decline Linked to Agri-Chemicals

The global decline in frog populations has been attributed to an increase in infectious diseases. However findings in Nature reveal a link between parasitic infection and local interaction between phosphate fertilisers and herbicides.

The study focused on leopard frogs from wetlands in Minnesota, USA, and these frogs were examined for trematode larvae - a type of parasitic flatworm. Trematodes are known to cause kidney damage and occasionally deformities in amphibians. The researchers also looked for indicative signs of water pollution, by measuring the level of melanomacrophage liver cells, which are involved in amphibian immune response.

Of the many possible factors contributing to these ailments in the frogs, the strongest predictor of larval infection was the herbicide atrazine combined with high phosphate levels. High levels of the atrazine herbicide were correlated with low levels of melanomacrophage cells, indicating the herbicide suppressed the frogs' immune response, increasing susceptibility to the trematodes.

A probable cause of the interaction was revealed, when the frogs were placed in tanks exposed to supposed environmental levels of these chemical in the U.S. Atrazine reduced phytoplankton growth, creating clearer water and higher levels of nutrients. This stimulated algal growth, which in turn encouraged gastropods. Gastropods play host to trematodes, acting as a vector to the amphibians. Since wetland birds are the primary host of trematode eggs, as the authors suggest, these must be present along with the elevated phosphate levels and herbicide for the interactive effect to take place.

The findings highlight problems in the European and American systems for registering chemicals. Although the chemicals have no direct effect on mortality independently, the combined effect results in this pollution-disease pathway and would not be identified under existing pollutant control tests.

Many European countries banned its use even before EU legislation withdrew support for its use in 2004, because of concerns over concentrations in groundwater. Atrazine is used widely across the world for corn and sorghum production. There is still some limited support for its use in European countries, although the UK, Ireland, Spain and Portugal no longer have any support for it.

Amphibians are becoming increasingly threatened across the globe, with many species expected to become extinct by 2050. Amphibian fungal infections, particularly Chytridiomycosis are on the rise across the globe, possibly exacerbated by climate change. Chytridiomycosis is thought to have originated in South Africa, although nobody is entirely certain where it began.

Adapted from the Science Environment Policy bulletin, Source: Rohr, J.R., Schotthoefer, A.M., Raffel, T.R., et al. (2008). Agrochemicals increase trematode infections in a declining amphibian species. Nature. 455: 1235-1240.

Countryside Survey 2007: Results Available

The results of the 2007 Countryside Survey have been released this morning, with the report published electronically on the Survey website. The report will be launched formally later today with a series of presentations and discussions, begun with a keynote speech by the Secretary of State for the environment, Hilary Benn.

In commenting on the results of the survey to the Times, Dr Peter Carey, the report's lead author and a member of both the BES Council and Public and Policy Committee, said that; "The overriding message from the 2007 results is that previous intensive management of the countryside has relaxed over the past 30 years and particularly during the nine years since the last survey.”

A shift by farmers to less intensive management of their land, through set-aside schemes and the conversion of arable fields to grassland, has led to an increase in the abundance of brambles, nettles and hawthorn. This is good news for some bird and mammal species but less beneficial to low-lying plants which are crowded out by these weeds.

From 1998- 2007, the number of species of arable plant found on agricultural land increased by 30%, indicating farmers' increased tolerance for weeds on their land. Conservationists are concerned that the recent decision by the EU to scrap the set-aside scheme could remove the incentive for farmers to encourage the growth of such species.

The BES Science Policy Team will attend the launch of the Survey results and will post further information about this on the Blog in due course.

Busy Bees Get Workshy When Times are Good

The stereotypical image of the hard-working bumblebee has been shattered by new research published in the journal Behavioural Ecology and Social Biology.

Scientists from Queen Mary University London have found that bumblebees Bombus terrestris will only work if they absolutely have to - an evolved strategy to conserve energy in times of plenty.

Bees are known to respond to cues describing how full their food reserves are; successful foragers will reduce the number of runs to and from a nectar source, and fewer bees will engage in foraging trips. Molet and Raine, the lead authors of this study, investigated whether bees will respond to a third cue, that of recruitment pheromones.

To investigate this idea, the team attached minute radio transmitters (Radio Frequency Identification or RFIDs) to the bees, to determine the frequency of visits to pollen sites within the study area. The researchers created a concoction of chemicals that closely resembled bumblebees' natural cue pheromone, and also used a single chemical cue, to examine recruitment response. The bouts were recorded in 30 minute intervals, and during each interval the researchers monitored how 'full' the honeypots were.

Although pheromones increased the number of foraging bouts and new recruits, the bees were far less likely to respond when food reserves were well stocked, effectively ignoring the invitation to forage for nectar.

Dr Raine described how the chemical cue given off by single foragers to collect more food was not always heeded:

"If there isn't stuff to collect, a lot of them are pretty much on standby. They will be sitting around doing very little, or apparently so."

In summary, the research shows that bees use a suite of complex cues, (recruitment pheromone, frequency of visits by other foraging bees, and food reserve fullness) to decide whether or not to bother going out and foraging for food. This is the first time bumblebees' response to pheromones has been shown to be tempered by another cue, in this case - colony nutrition status.

The research has potential implications for commercial crop pollination. A healthy, well fed colony may be more reluctant to go out looking or food - and thus pollinating - if the incentive isn't there. In the study the bumblebees were up to four times more responsive to the natural, 3-chemical pheromone mix than the single eucalyptus cue, therefore using the right chemical make-up when enticing bees is essential to motivating them.

However the bees reputation has not been completely tarnished. Dr Raine said that its not that the bumblebees are lazy, they have simply evolved an effective strategy to conserve energy when food is plentiful, and they are busy when there is work to be done.


Reference: Molet, M., Chittka, L., Stelzer, R.J., Streit, S., & Raine, N.E., 2008, Colony nutritional status modulates worker responses to foraging recruitment pheromone in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris, Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, 62:1919–1926, DOI 10.1007/s00265-008-0623-3

UK Farming Dependent on Soil Health

Speaking on the Today Programme, Professor Dick Godwin spoke of the overemphasis on environmental issues in farming, rather than growing food for the people. The Royal Agricultural Society of England released a report today warning that England's soils are being overworked.

Professor Dick Godwin said: "I think the major concern of the Royal Agricultural Society of England in commissioning this report was really in 'Where do farmers get their advice from, where do they get new applied research?'." Professor Godwin called for more research into how soil will adapt to a changing climate.

The society cite a combination of intensive agricultural techniques, dry summers and shifting growing seasons as causing a decline in soil quality. Certainly intensive agriculture has been at the heart of many of the problems that farmland specialist species have faced.

However in the report, Professor Godwin stressed the aim is to provide farmers with relevant up to date information, in order to secure Britain's food supplies for the future.

A scheme similar to Professor Bill Sutherland's Conservation Evidence may be the way forward in terms of effectively disseminating information. The success of the Conservation Evidence scheme so far, with the help of the British Ecological Society, has been highlighted in a recent interview with NERC in their Planet Earth publication.

Access the NERC interview here: http://www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/planetearth/2008/autumn/aut08-conserving.pdf

Check out the Conservation Evidence website here.

Climate Policymakers Must Consider Small Livestock Farmers

The director general of the International Livestock Research Institute, Carlos Sere has urged policy makers not to impose policies on farmers in developing countries to curb livestock use and production.

The institute recognises that livestock production is responsible for an estimated 18% of global greenhouse gases (GHGs), whilst transport contributes 13% overall.

Policies aimed at globally reducing meat consumption might make the livelihoods of small scale farmers in developing countries even more difficult than they already are.

Sere recognised the plight of the half a billion people around the world that rely upon domestic livestock: "If you stop [livestock] production, it will make a lot of people become poor … it's important to have policies to facilitate these people so they can live and adapt to more modern challenges." Sere believes that policymakers need to recognise the impacts of the decisions that they make.

As with so many global policy issues the policy, in most cases, must be fine tuned to the local level. In the Sci Dev article, Carlos Sere failed to mention the proportional impact that the enormous meat production industry in the West has, particularly the US and Europe. Carlos is right that small-scale independent farmers should not be 'forgotten' when policy is proposed. However the link between consumer demand, and where the impact of that demand is felt must be of chief importance in policy development in this area.

BES members and blog readers are invited to comment.

No Link Found Between Pollinator Declines and Agriculture

Considerable research efforts have suggested that there is, or could be a link between insect pollinator decline and agricultural output. The body of science on the subject of pollinators and agriculture has influenced policy at the highest level; the creation of the International Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators (IPI) at a United Nations meeting in 2000.

However, new research published in Current Biology suggests that agriculture has not been affected by the decline of key insect pollinators.

Examining a period spanning over 40 years, Alexandra Klein's research time investigated agricultural productivity of crops requiring pollinators with those that do not. Contrary to popular belief, the researchers found that crop yields have gone up consistently, with growth rates of up to 1.5%, despite the falling numbers of pollinators. Focusing on tropical agricultural regions, no difference in yields were found between breeze and insect pollinated crops, (though it is not known whether these regions had experienced significant concurrent pollinator declines).

It is possible that the researchers, having grouped together all crops globally, might not be picking up on detail happening at finer spatial scales.

The results of this work are out of sync with the work of many others such as Taylor Ricketts, director of WWF's conservation science programme. Rickett's group found that coffee plantations were 20 per cent more productive when grown within 1km of forested areas. Other work has also suggested that an abundant diversity of pollinators increases crop yields.

Some scientists remain sceptical. Jaboury Ghazoul, a plant ecologist at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, believes that few crop species actually depend on pollinator species.

Klein however does not rescind the notion that pollinators are very important for agriculture. She suggests that actions by farmers at the local level, (such as hand pollination or pollinator transplantation) may mask the extent of pollinator decline. Klein anticipates that a crop productivity crash could occur any time soon - many major crop plants now are pollinator dependent, 15% up from 8% in 1961.

Do blog readers think that agricultural productivity can continue with a concurrent decline in pollinators? Is there an optimum spatial scale to conduct this kind of research? Is pollinator diversity important?


Source: Aizen M. A., Garibaldi, L. A., Cunningham, S. A. & Klein, A. M., 2008, Current Biology, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.08.066

Eat Less Meat to Tackle Climate Change

The BES Science Policy Team last night attended a lecture given by Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the International Panel on Climate Change, sponsored by Compassion in World Farming. Dr Pachauri argued that one way for citizens in developed countries to tackle climate change is to eat less meat, particularly beef; the production of which uses vast tracts of land, along with huge amounts of grain and water.

Dr Pachauri presented the audience with some disturbing figures during the course of his lecture, including that of the massive increase in agricultural land in the past 40 years (gaining 500MHa from forests and other land uses); a growth which is set to continue. 80% of the emissions from agriculture are accounted for by livestock, whilst livestock rearing and processing itself accounts for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock industry accounts for only 1% of global GDP. Dr Pachauri argued that these statistics illustrate the lack of productivity in livestock farming, stating that although meat consumption is increasingly seen as the 'right' of a developed society, livestock rearing is often a symptom of poverty.

Perhaps the most powerful statistic displayed by Dr Pachauri was this: that a farmer can feed up to 30 people on 1Ha of land providing vegetables, fruit, cereals and vegetable fats, over the course of one year, but if the same area of land is used for the production of eggs, milk and meat, only five to 10 people can be sustained.

Dr Pachauri was joined after the talk by a panel including Professor Bob Watson, Chief Scientific Advisor to Defra, Felicity Lawrence, Guardian correspondent, and Dr John Fowles, Cambridge University Institute of Public Health. Interesting points to emerge from the discussion were the need to "educate the public for choice", starting with engaging children with the issue of climate change, links to our diet and inequalities the need to reform agricultural subsidies to ensure that over-production and over-consumption of meat is not peversely supported,

Dr Fowles argued for the "double dividend" which could arise through a reform of patterns of meat consumption. Through 'contraction' of intake in the West, developing countries would be given space to 'converge' on meat consumption currently enjoyed in the developed world. Over time, greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock industry would remain constant. Greater consumption of meat in poorer areas would encourage better childhood growth and health, whilst evidence sugggested that reducing meat consumption in the developed world could lower the incidence of heart attack and colon cancer.

Media articles:

Eat less meat to curb global warming: Juliette Jowit, Observer, 08 Sept
Save the planet by cutting down on meat? That's just a load of bull: Boris Johnson, Telegraph 09 Sept

Royal Society Launches New Study on Enhancing Food Crop Production

The Royal Society has launched a new study on 'Biological Approaches to Enhance Food Crop Production'. The study aims to provide a balanced assessment of the challenges to world food-crop production, the different biological approaches that could be used to enhance supplies and their likely consequences and impacts.

The Society is seeking the views of agriculturalists, bioscientists, academics, policy-makers, industrialists and other interested parties to inform the study. Organisations and individuals are invited to contribute to the study by responding to the call for evidence by Monday 06 October 2008. Evidence should be submitted to Sarah Mee at the Royal Society (sarah.mee@royalsociety.org).

The working group leading the study will report on its findings in summer 2009.

Honeybee Populations' Numbers Lower Than Feared

A survey by the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) has revealed that nearly one in three of the Uk's 240,000 honeybee hives did not survive over the last winter and srping, putting at risk the pollination of fruits and vegetables.

One in five colonies were reported dead earlier in 2008 by a government survey of 10% of the UK's hives. The losses reported in the BBKA survey are substantially higher. Defra has attributed high mortality to wet weather last summer and early in spring 2008, which confined bees to their hives. They were unable to forage for nectar and pollen and this provided the opportunity for pathogens to build up and spread through the colonies. The BBKA believe the causes are less clear.

The President of the BBKA, Tim Lovett, stated that: "Average winter bee losses due to poor weather and disease vary from betwen 5- 10%, so a 30% loss is deeply worrying." The Honey Association warns that English honey will run out by Christmas, with shortages into next year.

The colony collapse is expected to cost the UK economy £50 million. Rowse Honey, the UK's leading honey company, has pledged to provide extra support for honeybee research. The company has pledged to provide £25,000 to support research to find a "hardier bee", which can better withstand disease. Defra currently spends £1.3 million on bee health each year, with an extra £200,000 for research. The BBKA has called for government to increase support to £8 million per annum.

Rowse's clear English honey comes from the borage plant. However, less borage has been planted this year due to the increased demand for biofuels; making wheat more profitable to grow.

Other honey-producing nations have seen a decline in their bee populations. Argentina has seen a 27% drop in honey yield due to droughts and the planting of soya beans for biofuel.

• Read original article: Honeybee population collapse exceeds worse fears as one in three hives are lost, Guardian 13 August 2008
  
• Respond to Defra's current consultation on honeybee health (Closing date 29 August 2008)
  
• Read comment and analysis by Richard Black, Environment Correspondent, BBC Website (14 August 2008)

Future Farming and its Impact on Biodiversity

Ths BES's Science Policy Team yesterday attended a fascinating conference at New Hall College, Cambridge, organised by the Cambridge Conservation Forum. "Future Farming in the UK: Global Implications for Society and Biodiversity" was an opportunity to discuss and debate the impacts which farming methods and models of the future could have on biodiversity, and how such models could be affected by climate change.

Presentations ranged from a discussion of the potential for miscanthus and short-rotation-coppice willow to meet our future bioenergy needs, to the future of the Common Agricultural Policy and the future impacts of UK agriculture to peoples internationally. We heard too from a farmer, Nicholas Watts of Vine House Farm, who discussed his shift to organic farming and measures on the farm to encourage biodiversity. A presentation from the BTO outlined the measures which farmers could adopt to encourage late-breeding in the turtle dove (leaving fields as whole or part stubble following the harvest) and skylarks (in-field undrilled patches to create suitable nest sites).

During the day, participants were given the opportunity to suggest possible solutions to problems of food security, climate change and consequent pressures on biodiversity. Delegates voted for the 'top' solution as; recognising that population growth is part of the problem. Increased investment in education for girls, along with greater access to birth control for women, must be part of the solution.

Professor Bill Sutherland (University of Cambridge), a co-organiser of the conference, concluded the meeting, stressing the importance of horizon-scanning to ensure that the science community is prepared, with the results of relevant scientific research, when challenges emerge. There are serious challenges ahead, and the science community has to think about how it will address these; conservationists should be part of the dialogue and part of the solution.

Access the 'top solutions' to the challenges, as voted for by delegates, plus presentations from the day, at the website of the Cambridge Conservation Forum.

Were you there? Share your thoughts on the conference with us by leaving a comment on the Blog

Soil Biodiversity Integral to Carbon Cycling

The respiration of soil is a key function in the carbon cycle, moving carbon from the ground to the atmosphere.

Peatland across Northern Europe occupies somewhere in the region of 3.5 million km2 and holds one third of the world's soil carbon. These areas are under pressure from increased agricultural activity, which accelerates the net loss of carbon dioxide. Theory and practice suggests that afforestation will result in net carbon uptake and reduce carbon loss to the atmosphere from soil respiration. Although soils are thought to act as a sink for carbon, land-use change such as agriculture alters the way that carbon dioxide is emitted.

Currently tree plantations are believed to be a worthwhile mitigation technique against climate change. However, in a research paper published in Soil Biology and Biochemistry, researchers found that previous agriculture on afforested land led to higher soil respiration than undisturbed areas, up to decades after afforestation.

At present, European legislation is placing an emphasis on the role of afforestation in combating climate change. This research suggests that further work is required into the effects of climate change on soil biodiversity and the subsequent effect on the carbon cycle.

BES members and readers of the blog are invited to discuss this article.

EU Biofuel Policy: Environmental Implications

A new report published by Birdlife International suggests that EU's biofuel policy could lead to global environmental harm.

The proposed legislation states that 10% of all fuels will be biofuels by 2020. The Commission proposal fails to consider the indirect impacts of biofuel production, including an increased use of European oil-seed rape driving demand for South-East Asian palm oil and soya expansion in the amazon resulting from US corn ethanol subsidies. Set-aside schemes (i.e. areas of farmland excluded from agricultural activities) will come under pressure from the Commission proposal. Wildlife that has thus far benefited from set-aside schemes and could be at risk, include corn marigold, insects such as the white-tailed bumblebee, as well as the brown hare and the lapwing.

BirdLife International has called upon EU decision makers to drop the 10% biofuel target, and made a series of recommendations.

Do BES members and blog readers believe that this legislation should be introduced? Are the recommendations and calls to EU decision makers in the report realistic/enforceable?

The BES welcomes comment and debate on this article.

Improving Current Agricultural Practices

A new study in the Journal of Environmental Health Management identifies new farming practices that could eliminate non-target effects of pesticides by 2010.

Fungal pests are a particular problem in the Netherlands due to climatic conditions. Pesticide usage in the Netherlands has declined since 1991, however current practices still result in spray-drift, that is the spreading of pesticides onto non-target plants, fungi and insects.

Using modeling techniques, the researchers were able to measure the impact spray drift had on non-target species in three different scenarios; the recent past (1999), the present (2005) and the near future (2010). The study showed that by introducing non-crop borders around agricultural fields, pesticide impacts on non-target species could be cut to zero. The paper has strong policy implications, given that current best practice techniques result in negative impacts on 41 per cent of areas next to treated fields, despite the use of low-drift nozzles and unsprayed borders.

A European policy framework directive for sustainable pesticide use is currently being developed as is a new Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides.

The BES welcomes comments from BES members and blog readers

Prioritising Global Conservation Efforts

New research published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B indicates that agricultural expansion and population growth must be incorporated into prioritising conservation efforts for biodiversity 'hotspots', (areas of exceptionally high biological diversity).

Previous research has suggested that global conservation priorities should be set according to biodiversity hotspots alone, whereas other research has identified weaknesses in the 'hotspots' approach for prioritising conservation effort, such as the incronguence of endemism and threat levels with biodiversity hotspots.

The new research takes into consideration future global change as a means of prioritising conservation effort. The published research exposed the existing global network of protected areas to potential future threats such as climate and land-use change using the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment criterion and looked at the threats against conservation value and the ability of biogeographic and geopolitical regions to take measures against forecasted change.

The research indicated that developing tropical nations with few resources for conservation but high levels of biological diversity such as Indonesia and Madagascar are most at risk in the future, and should be the focal points of global conservation efforts. Africa is predicted to face major land-use change in the future, contains areas of high biodiversity and may lack the capacity to cope with threats to biodiversity.

The authors recognise the need to create a network of new reserves in places that are likely to be threatened in the near future, to stand the best chance of both mitigating the effects of climate change and conserving biodiversity.

The BES invites members to comment on this article