Transcript A research agenda for below-ground biodiversity and

Programme of Work on Below-Ground
Biodiversity and related Ecosystem
Services
Jeroen Huising
Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility
Institute (TSBF), Nairobi
International Centre for Tropical
Agriculture (CIAT), Colombia
A multi-disciplinary approach to research in
soil related ecosystem services
Soil ecology
Soil science
Environmental economics
Resource economics
Soil Biodiversity
Ecosystem functions
Soil processes
Ecosystem services
for human welfare
Soil Organisms
Sociology
soil biology - microbiology
Political sciences
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Afr. Regional Workshop on Sustainable Use of Agrobiodiversity
Assessment 1: Large percentage of species of soil
organisms is unknown
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(Source: Barrios et al, in press)
Afr. Regional Workshop on Sust. Use of AB
Assessment 2:
Organisms, functional groups and ecosystem process
Examples of diverse biota within functional groups are listed for a few
ecosystem processes that are similar in soils and sediments
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Organisms
Functional groups
Ecosystem process
Vertebrates (lizards, beavers);
invertebrates (crustaceans, molluscks
in sediments; ants, termites in soils)
Bioturbators, ecosystem
engineers
Soil and sediment alteration and structure,
laterally and to greater depths, redistribute
organic matter and microbes
Plant roots, algae, diatoms
Primary producers
Create biomass, stabilize soils and
sediments
Decapods, millipedes
Shredders
Fragment, rip, and tear organic matter,
providing smaller pieces for decay by
organisms
Bacteria and Fungi
Decomposers
Recycle nutrients, increase nutrient
availability for primary production
Symbiotic (e.g Rhizobium) and
asymbiotic (e.g. Azobacter,
Cyanobacter)
Nitrogen fixers
Biologically fix atmospheric N2
Methanogenic bacteria, denitrifying
bacteria
Trace-gas producers
Transfer of C, N2, N2O, CH4
denitrification
Roots, soil organisms
CO2 producers
Respiration, emission of CO2
(Source: Wall (ed.), 2004)
Afr. Regional Workshop on Sust. Use of AB
KEY FUNCTIONAL GROUPS
OF SOIL BIOTA
Maize
Micro-symbionts
mycorrhizal
Fungi
Macrofauna
(Ecosystem Engineers)
– Earthworms
– Termites
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Source Swift (2002)
Legume
Decomposers
e.g. cellulose degraders
N-fixing
Bacteria
C&N transformers
e.g.methanogens
& nitrifiers
Microregulators
Nematodes
Pests and
Diseases
e.g. fungi, invertebrates
Afr. Regional Workshop on Sust. Use of AB
Assessment 3: Ecosystem services
Ecosystem services provided by
soil and sediment biota
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Regulating biogeochemical cycles
Retention and delivery of
nutrients to plants and algae
Generation and renewal of soil
and sediment structure
Bioremediation
Provision of clean drinking water
Modification of the hydrological
cycle (e.g. erosion control)
Translocation of nutrient, particles
and gases
Regulation of atmospheric trace gasses
Modification of anthropogenically driven global change
Regulation of animal and plant populations
Contribution to plant production for food, fuel and fiber
Contribution to landscape heterogeneity and stability
Vital component of habitats important for recreation and natural
history
Afr. Regional Workshop on Sust. Use of AB
Assessment 4: Importance of processes for
provision of goods and services
(SCOPE/SSBEF/GLIDE)
Provision of goods and services in a temperate grassland ecosystem
(Source Wall (Ed.), 2004
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Afr. Regional Workshop on Sustainable Use of Agrobiodiversity
Assessment 5:
Vulnerability of ecosystem goods and services
(SCOPE)
Arable tilled ecosystems provided by the soil biota to three agents of global
change; invasive species, climate change and land-use change
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Afr. Regional Workshop on Sust. Use of AB
Results from Indonesia confirm loss of BGBD with
increasing land use intensity (termites)
TERMITE ABUNDANCE
(nos of encounter / land use)
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b = -2.3357*
R2 = 0.5171
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20
15
10
5
0
FLI (1)
FI (2)
Shrb (3)
TBLI (4)
TBI (5)
CBLI (6)
LANDUSE TYPE (RANK)
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CBI (7)
Decrease in earthworm biomass with
increasing land use intensity (Indonesia)
Biomass:abundance (g.individu-1)
0.60
0.50
0.45
0.40
0.31
0.30
0.24
0.20
R2 = 0.9565
0.17
0.14
0.09
0.11
CBLI (6)
CBI (7)
0.10
0.00
FLI (1)
FI (2)
Shrub (3)
TBLI (4)
TBI (5)
Land Use and Its Intensity Rank
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Afr. Regional Workshop on Sust. Use of AB
Economic valuation of BGBD
Economic benefits derived from biological nitrogen fixation using
promiscuous soybean cultivars in Sub-Sahara Africa
Nigeria
South Af rica
Zimbabw e
Rw anda
Congo DR
Zambia
Uganda
Cameroon
Egypt
Liberia
Ethiopia
Benin
Tanzania
Cote d'Ivoire
Burkina Faso
Gabon
Morocco
Burundi
Madagascar
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20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
US $ (x thousand)
Total benefit in 2004: 180 million US dollars (Chianu et al. unpubl. data)
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Assessment: Guiding Principles
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Definition of Below-Ground BioDiversity as
component of AgroBiodiversity
Documentation and mapping of existing
below-ground biodiversity and soil biological
resources (degradation of soil biological
resources)
Identifying threats to BGBD and trends in loss
of BGBD (monitoring)
Afr. Regional Workshop on Sustainable Use of Agrobiodiversity
Management (adaptive) 1:
People Land management and Environmental Change (PLEC)
AGRODIVERSITY
Mainly temporal variations
Mainly spatial variations
Natural
Environment
Modified
environment
Related
development
issues
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Climatic variability
Biophysical Diversity
Macro- and meso-climate
Cycles and random trends
Droughts, floods
Soils, productivity
Plants, biota
Water, Microclimate
Organisational Diversity
Management diversity
Agro BioDiversity
Household characteristics
Resource endowments
Farm organisation
Local knowledge
Adaptation and innovation
New technology
Use and management of
species
Production, conservation
Demography
Macro-economy
Livelihoods
Population,
Migration
Gender, age
Government services
Subsidies, aid, taxation
Poverty and food security
Sustainability
(Source: Stocking 2005)
Afr. Regional Workshop on Sust. Use of AB
Management (adaptive) 2
Hierarchical management of soil biota
Scale levels and gradients
At which scale levels do gradients
in BGBD and land use intensity
occur and where to intervene.
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Preservation of key land uses (e.g.
forest patches, landscape
elements like hedges); Land use
mosaics (conservation biology)
Farm gradients & diversity at farm
level. Allocation of resource at the
farm (maintaining and improving
productivity at farm level;
rehabilitating degraded lands?)
Plot level diversity (Integrated
pest management)
HIERARCHICAL
MANAGEMENT OF SOIL
BIOTA
1. CROPPING SYSTEM LEVEL
Choice of plants
Genetic manipulation
Design in space and time
Micro-symbionts & Rhizosphere
2. SOIL MANAGEMENT LEVEL
Organic matter inputs (RQ)
Mineral Fertilisers & Amendments
Tillage, Irrigation
3. KEYSTONE BIOTA LEVEL
Macrofauna
Biological control agents
Chemical manipulation
(Swift, 1998)
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Management (adaptive) 3:
limited opportunities to manage BGBD directly
The influence of biotic
and abiotic factors on
species diversity
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Management (adaptive) 4:
Mngt. of biodiversity at plot and landscape scales
Hypothesised relationship between diversity and the efficiency of
function of ecosystem services at the patch-ecosystem (i.e. plot) scale
(Curves 1 and 2) and the scale of the landscape (Curves 3 and 4)
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From Swift et al. (2004)
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Management (adaptive) 3: negotiation of trade-offs
ASB – matrix trade-off
Source: Tom Tomich et al. (2005)
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Management and indicators: stable food webs
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Management (adaptive): Guiding principles
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Entry points for interventions; tools and techniques
Indicators of performance across scales
Geographical and socio-economic context (mechanisms)
Pathways for intensification of land use/management (use of
fertilizers, organic inputs, conservation measures)
Platform for negotiating trade-offs
Capacity building:
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Scientific (viz. taxonomy, soil ecology; technological
development)
Technical (adoption, implementation and adaptation of
technologies)
Skills (management, organisation and negotiation)
Political (policy development; decentralisation,
empowerment)
Afr. Regional Workshop on Sust. Use of AB