Abstract:A sustainable and just future, envisioned by the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, puts agricultural systems under a heavy strain. The century-old quandary to provide ever-growing human populations with sufficient food takes on a new dimension with the recognition of environmental limits for agricultural resource use. To highlight challenges and opportunities toward sustainable food security in the twenty first century, this perspective paper provides a historical account of the escalating pressure… Show more
“…Finally, we show that implementation of more efficient water management (in scenario BECCS+SWM ) could offer a synergistic way out of the water stress dilemma. Achieving this requires the stringent implementation of such methods worldwide 34 , 45 , 46 , while the required large economic investments (10–20 billion US$ for Africa alone 47 ) would also help achieving several SDGs 48 .…”
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is considered an important negative emissions (NEs) technology, but might involve substantial irrigation on biomass plantations. Potential water stress resulting from the additional withdrawals warrants evaluation against the avoided climate change impact. Here we quantitatively assess potential side effects of BECCS with respect to water stress by disentangling the associated drivers (irrigated biomass plantations, climate, land use patterns) using comprehensive global model simulations. By considering a widespread use of irrigated biomass plantations, global warming by the end of the 21st century could be limited to 1.5 °C compared to a climate change scenario with 3 °C. However, our results suggest that both the global area and population living under severe water stress in the BECCS scenario would double compared to today and even exceed the impact of climate change. Such side effects of achieving substantial NEs would come as an extra pressure in an already water-stressed world and could only be avoided if sustainable water management were implemented globally.
“…Finally, we show that implementation of more efficient water management (in scenario BECCS+SWM ) could offer a synergistic way out of the water stress dilemma. Achieving this requires the stringent implementation of such methods worldwide 34 , 45 , 46 , while the required large economic investments (10–20 billion US$ for Africa alone 47 ) would also help achieving several SDGs 48 .…”
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is considered an important negative emissions (NEs) technology, but might involve substantial irrigation on biomass plantations. Potential water stress resulting from the additional withdrawals warrants evaluation against the avoided climate change impact. Here we quantitatively assess potential side effects of BECCS with respect to water stress by disentangling the associated drivers (irrigated biomass plantations, climate, land use patterns) using comprehensive global model simulations. By considering a widespread use of irrigated biomass plantations, global warming by the end of the 21st century could be limited to 1.5 °C compared to a climate change scenario with 3 °C. However, our results suggest that both the global area and population living under severe water stress in the BECCS scenario would double compared to today and even exceed the impact of climate change. Such side effects of achieving substantial NEs would come as an extra pressure in an already water-stressed world and could only be avoided if sustainable water management were implemented globally.
“…Much has been written about the challenge of meeting dietary needs within sustainable water use limits (40)(41) . While on average the water use associated with Australian diets is within the planetary boundary, this does not mean that there are not parts of the food system located in water-stressed areas.…”
Objective:
Agriculture accounts for around 70 % of global freshwater withdrawals. As such, the food system has been identified as a critical intervention point to address water scarcity. Various studies have identified dietary patterns that contribute less to water scarcity. However, it is unclear what level of reduction is necessary to be considered sustainable. The pursuit of unnecessarily aggressive reductions could limit dietary diversity. Our objective was to assess the sustainability of water use supporting Australian dietary habits and the adequacy of current dietary guidelines.
Design:
Dietary intake data were obtained from the National Nutrition and Physical Activity component of the Australian Health Survey. For each individual daily diet, the water scarcity footprint was quantified, following ISO14046:2014, as well as a diet quality score. Water scarcity footprint results were compared with the planetary boundary for freshwater use downscaled to the level of an individual diet.
Setting:
Australia.
Participants:
9341 adults participating in the Australian Health Survey.
Results:
Dietary water scarcity footprints averaged 432·6 L-eq (95 % CI 432·5, 432·8), less than the 695 litres/person per d available to support the current global population of 7·8 billion, and the 603 litres/person per d available for a future population of 9 billion. Diets based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines required 521 L-eq/d, or 379 L-eq/d with lower water scarcity footprint food choices.
Conclusions:
Diets based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines were found to be within the freshwater planetary boundary. What is needed in Australia is greater compliance with dietary guidelines.
“…Farmers need to operate as managers of the countryside, valorizing their own by-products and using agricultural products with improved environmental profile. Therefore, searching for new technologies and approaches to boost crop productivity under optimal and sub-optimal conditions and to improve resources use efficiency (water and fertilizers) is crucial to ensure food security, while preserving soil quality and providing opportunities of business for farmers [4]. Biobased products such as biostimulants represent a sustainable, efficient technology or complement to their synthetic counterparts (i.e., agrochemicals) to improve nutrient use efficiency and secure yield stability of agricultural and horticulture crops under optimal and sub-optimal conditions [5,6].…”
Section: Biostimulants In Agriculture: Rationalementioning
Modern agriculture increasingly demands an alternative to synthetic chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides) in order to respond to the changes in international law and regulations, but also consumers’ needs for food without potentially toxic residues. Microbial (arbuscular mycorrhizal and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria: Azotobacter, Azospirillum and Rizhobium spp.) and non-microbial (humic substances, silicon, animal- and vegetal-based protein hydrolysate and macro- and micro-algal extracts) biostimulants represent a sustainable and effective alternative or complement for their synthetic counterparts, bringing benefits to the environment, biodiversity, human health and economy. The Special Issue “Toward a sustainable agriculture through plant biostimulants: from experimental data to practical applications” compiles 34 original research articles, 4 review papers and 1 brief report covering the implications of microbial and non-microbial biostimulants for improving seedling growth and crop performance, nutrient use efficiency and quality of the produce as well as enhancing the tolerance/resistance to a wide range of abiotic stresses in particular salinity, drought, nutrient deficiency and high temperature. The present compilation of high standard scientific papers on principles and practices of plant biostimulants will foster knowledge transfer among researchers, fertilizer and biostimulant industries, stakeholders, extension specialists and farmers, and it will enable a better understanding of the physiological and molecular mechanisms and application procedure of biostimulants in different cropping systems.
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