Substantial advancement in aquaria rearing methods to assist recovery of an Endangered soft coral

1. The temperate soft coral Dendronephthya australis has been listed as Endangered in NSW, Australia, owing to its restricted geographic range, rapidly declining populations, and a number of escalating threats. Research to assess practical methods for aquarium cultivation of D. australis for rehabilitation of wild populations is considered a high priority.
2. Previous attempts at restoration by transplanting D. australis fragments have had limited success, but identified key challenges, which included achieving attachment to substrates and identifying appropriate foods to maximize survival.
3. This study presents the results of experiments promoting the attachment of cuttings (nubbins) removed from donor colonies to moveable substrates (small concrete discs). Using a balanced orthogonal experimental design, three feeding regimes were tested: live artemia, live rotifers and dry powdered zooplankton.
4. Donor colony survival and growth were also monitored over a 6 month period in the field.
5. An overall nubbin survival rate of 100% was achieved under all three feeding regimes. Attachment rates were similar across feeding treatments, although nubbin behavioural responses (percentage of open polyps before feeding) suggested some preference for live rotifers.
6. The cutting removal process had no significant effect on donor colonies in the wild, indicating that this is a sustainable approach for restoration.
7. Overall, this study substantially advances the methodology for maintaining an Endangered azooxanthellate soft coral in aquaria and provides valuable input for management programmes aimed at implementing transplantation into the wild to aid species recovery.

     

Emergent urban agricultural practices and attitudes in the residential area in China

This paper explores the emergence of urban agriculture and its changing nature and role in the urbanization process in China. With an increase in urban agricultural pursuits in both planned and unplanned residential areas, the focus of the paper is primarily on better understanding the nature of emerging ‘informal’ practices in built and unbuilt spaces. By using a planned residential area in Kunming, Yunnan Province as a case study, this paper identifies the physical and spatial expressions of urban agriculture practices as well as the motivations and attitudes of stakeholders. The results show that over half of the participants had experience in undertaking urban agricultural practices, with the predominant reason being to fulfill personal interests, including meeting household needs. When undertaking urban agricultural practices, local residents demonstrate their divergent abilities and skills in negotiating, adapting, and managing both private and increasingly incursions into the public domain. Analysis of the empirical results indicates that urban agricultural pursuits are a viable practice which supports the livelihoods and wellbeing of the residents by using innovative, creative and emergent forms in both private and public spaces.     

A global systematic literature review on sustainable soil management practices (1994–2022)

Sustainable Soil Management Practices (SSMP) offer potential benefits while conserving natural resources. However, the low adoption of SSMP limits the achievement of their full potential. To examine the current state of knowledge on SSMP adoption and identify research gaps, we systematically reviewed 269 peer-reviewed publications pooled from Scopus, Web of Science and ScienceDirect, covering the period from 1994 to 2022. We assessed the temporal and spatial transitions of SSMP adoption and identified a broad perspective of 14 themes on SSMP adoption and highlight the research trends and gaps. Prior to 2010, research on SSMP adoption was concentrated on a few themes and has become diversified in later years, covering emerging themes such as climate change and use Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Publications on SSMP adoption exhibited a global distribution, with particular emphasis on the African continent due to the flow of donors' funds driven by severe soil degradation and limited use of improved technologies in Africa. Studies on minimum soil disturbance were prevalent worldwide, with the highest number of publications. Our findings also indicate a strong research collaboration between developed and developing countries, showcasing donor-driven collaborative efforts and mutual benefits across different regions. This review however highlights the limited inclusion of local knowledge in SSMP promotion and recommends a bottom-up approach for future initiatives. In the discussion section, different critical factors of SSMP adoption covering farmers' perceptions, climate change, policy impact and the use of ICT are discussed. These findings and identified research gaps are useful for further research and the development of sustainable soil management policies, programmes and projects.