Paired rangeland and cultivated soils were characterized along toposequences formed in sandstone, siltstone, and shale parent materials in southwestern North Dakota to evaluate changes in organic constituents and total P resulting from 44 yr of cultivation. Cultivated and virgin grassland soils were compared on adjacent landscape segments in order to quantify losses or gains of organic C, N, P, and total P. Losses were generally greatest from the upper landscape segments where erosion resulted in significant reductions in solum thickness. Sediment accumulation through erosional processes and redistribution during tillage operations resulted in accretion on selected landscape segments along the cultivated fields. Soils derived from sandstone and siltstone appear to have lost larger proportions of organic C, N, and P through mineralization than the soils formed in shale. Mineralization losses of organic constituents were countered by accretion on depositional segments. Regression analyses indicated that losses of organic C, N, and P were more closely linked to erosion in the finer‐textured soils formed in shale. Changes in total P were closely linked to redistribution and sorting of soil particles because the total quantity of P in soils is independent of mineralization transformation.
Digitization has increased in importance for the agricultural sector and is described through concepts like Smart Farming and Precision Agriculture. Due to the growing world population, an efficient use of resources is necessary for their nutrition. Technology like GPS, and, in particular, sensors are being used in field cultivation and livestock farming to undertake automatized agricultural management activities. Stakeholders, such as farmers, seed producers, machinery manufacturers, and agricultural service providers are trying to influence this process. Smart Farming and Precision Agriculture are facilitating long-term improvements in order to achieve effective environmental protection. From a legal perspective, there are issues regarding data protection and IT security. A particularly contentious issue is the question of data ownership.
New organisms and biological systems designed to satisfy human needs are among the aims of synthetic genomics and synthetic biology. Synthetic biology seeks to model and construct biological components, functions and organisms that do not exist in nature or to redesign existing biological systems to perform new functions. Synthetic genomics, on the other hand, encompasses technologies for the generation of chemically-synthesized whole genomes or larger parts of genomes, allowing to simultaneously engineer a myriad of changes to the genetic material of organisms. Engineering complex functions or new organisms in synthetic biology are thus progressively becoming dependent on and converging with synthetic genomics. While applications from both areas have been predicted to offer great benefits by making possible new drugs, renewable chemicals or clean energy, they have also given rise to concerns about new safety, environmental and socio-economic risks – stirring an increasingly polarizing debate. Here we intend to provide an overview on recent progress in biomedical and biotechnological applications of synthetic genomics and synthetic biology as well as on arguments and evidence related to their possible benefits, risks and governance implications.
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