Soil science contributions towards Sustainable Development Goals and their implementation: linking soil functions with ecosystem services

The United Nations effort to define Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's), emphasizing local goals and capacity building, offers a unique opportunity for soil science to demonstrate the role it can play when focusing on these goals. Several strategic reports have presented key issues for sustainable development: food security, freshwater and energy availability, climate change and biodiversity loss are issues most frequently being listed, not soil degradation. Focusing on soil contributions towards interdisciplinary studies of these key issues, rather than emphasizing soils by themselves, is therefore bound to be more effective for the soil science profession. But this is still inadequate when studying land‐related SDG's, requiring a broader ecosystem approach that can be achieved by a direct link between soil functions and corresponding ecosystem services. Thus, the key issues are not considered separately but linked as part of a dynamic ecosystem characterization following a narrative as is demonstrated for food security, that can be well addressed by precision agriculture. As all key issues and at least five of the ten SDG's are directly land‐related, soil science can potentially play an important role in the suggested interdisciplinary studies. But in addition, the current information society with knowledgeable stakeholders requires innovative and interactive transdisciplinary scientific approaches by not only focusing on knowledge generation but also on co‐learning with stakeholders and, important, on implementation. The soil science discipline can become more effective in the transdisciplinary context by: (1) reconnecting the knowledge chain, linking tacit with scientific knowledge both ways, (2) simplifying soil terminology, (3) learning to deal with “wicked” environmental problems for which no single solutions exist but only a series of alternative options for action, balancing economic, social and environmental considerations, (4) educating “knowledge brokers”, linking science with society in land‐related issues, acting within a “Community of Scientific Practice”, and (5) modernizing soil science curricula. Transdisciplinary approaches are crucial to achieve SDG's, linking science and society. There is a need for specific results on the ground illustrating with hard data the key role soils can play in realizing SDG's.     

温室环境信息语音提示系统的设计与实现

为解决温室内测量数据的及时获取问题，研究了温室数据实时语音提示及报警系统，该系统能够实时地将传感器采集的温室环境信息以语音的方式播放出来。该系统采用MSC51系列单片机作为主控芯片，控制保存在ISD系列语音芯片内的语音数据的输入及输出，同时给出了将数据信息按人的阅读习惯正确朗读出来的控制算法。通过实践应用证明，该系统实现了实时语音提示功能，并具有控制灵活，接口简单，扩展性强等特点。     

Resident rhizosphere microbiome's ecological dynamics and conservation:Towards achieving the envisioned Sustainable Development Goals,a review

The role of the rhizosphere microbiome remain crucial to human existence and can therefore not be over-looked,particularly with respect to plant growth,developm...     

Biosurfactant-assisted phytoremediation of potentially toxic elements in soil: Green technology for meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Biosurfactants are biomolecules produced by microorganisms, low in toxicity, biodegradable, and relatively easy to synthesize using renewable waste substrates. Biosurfactants are of great importance with a wide and versatile range of applications, including the bioremediation of contaminated sites. Plants may accumulate soil potentially toxic elements(PTEs), and the accumulation efficacy may be further enhanced by the biosurfactants produced by rhizospheric microorganisms. Occasionally, the growth of bacteria slows down in adverse conditions, such as highly contaminated soils with PTEs. In this context,the plant's phytoextraction capacity could be improved by the addition of metal-tolerant bacteria that produce biosurfactants. Several sources, categories,and bioavailability of PTEs in soil are reported in this article, with the focus on the cost-effective and sustainable soil remediation technologies, where biosurfactants are used as a remediation method. How rhizobacterial biosurfactants can improve PTE recovery capabilities of plants is discussed, and the molecular mechanisms in bacterial genomes that support the production of important biosurfactants are listed. The status and cost of commercial biosurfactant production in the international market are also presented.     

The challenge for the soil science community to contribute to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by 193 Governments at the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2015 for achievement by 2030. These SDGs present a roadmap to a sustainable future and a challenge to the science community. To guide activities and check progress, targets and indicators have been and are still being defined. The soil science community has published documents that describe the primary importance of soil for SDGs addressing hunger, water quality, climate mitigation and biodiversity preservation, and secondary relevance of soil for addressing several other SDGs. Soil scientists only marginally participated in the SDG discussions and are currently only peripherally engaged in discussions on targets or indicators. Agreement on several soil‐related indicators has still not been achieved. Involvement of soil scientists in SDG‐based studies is desirable for both developing solutions and increasing the visibility of the soil profession. Inputs into policy decisions should be improved as SDG committee members are appointed by Governments. Possible contributions of soil science in defining indicators for the SDGs are explored in this paper. We advocate the pragmatic use of soil–water–atmosphere–plant simulation models and available soil surveys and soil databases where “representative” soil profiles for mapping units (genetically defined genoforms) are functionally expressed in terms of several phenoforms reflecting effects of different types of soil use and management that strongly affect functionality.     

How to communicate soil expertise more effectively in the information age when aiming at the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Soil use and management play a key role, when maintaining or restoring soil quality, as an estimated 30% of soils in the world suffer from various forms of degradation. Several of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), approved in 2015 by 195 governments, are land‐related, providing a stimulating challenge for soil research. Unfortunately, soil degradation is still prominent, even though decades of research have resulted in restorative and innovative forms of soil management, generating successful case studies all over the world. Why don't enough farmers adopt such research results? Some argue that the problem of soil degradation is mainly socio‐economic rather than technical. However, this is not correct as the soil–water–plant–climate system raises many basic, unresolved questions about soil behaviour. More attention is needed for information sharing and knowledge building to link the research arena with stakeholders and policy makers. This is particularly urgent because the information revolution, which is fundamentally changing attitudes of increasingly critical stakeholders, presents a challenge to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information on Internet and social media. Continuous interaction with land users in the field and sharing knowledge in a joint‐learning mode is needed more than ever, recognizing that different forms of knowledge can contribute to acceptance in the practice of land‐use innovations and lead to realization of land‐related SDGs. Such forms of interaction take much time, which is of limited availability in current research regimes, and implies a need for change. Soil scientists need assistance from communication experts to facilitate interaction processes.     

Fitting plants to soil through mycorrhizal fungi: plant nutrition in host-endophyte combinations evaluated by the diagnosis and recommendation integrated system

Summary Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi improve plant growth in marginal soils. This study was conducted to determine the effects of three species of VAM fungi on plant nutrition in two cultivars of corn (Zea mays L.) and one of sunflower (Helianthus annus L.). Plants were grown in pot cultures under controlled (greenhouse) conditions in a soil high in K, Mg, and P, and low in Ca and N, and were supplied with amounts of VAM-fungal inocula in which equal numbers of infective propagules had previously been determined. Analysis of variance showed highly significant main effects and interactions due to both factors (plant and fungus) for N, P, Ca, and Mg. For K, only plant effects were significant (P<0.043). The uptake of nutrients was selectively enhanced or inhibited by one or the other VAM fungus relative to non-VAM control plants. In sunflower, N concentration was markedly enhanced (73%) by the mixed inoculum of the three fungi, even though individual effects were not significant. Evaluation of leaf nutrient analyses by the Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) revealed the utility of this system to rank nutritional effects by VAM fungi in an order of relative nutrient deficiency. The DRIS therefore is seen as a useful tool in evaluating and selecting VAM fungi for the alleviation of specific nutrient disorders.Work was funded by the Program in Science and Technology Cooperation, Office of the Science Advisor, Agency for International Development, as Project No. 8.055, and was conducted in collaboration at the Colegio de Postgraduados and the Western Regional Research Center     

Blazing Towards the Next Millennium: Luciferase Fusions to Identify Genes Responsive to Environmental Stress

Contamination of the environment by toxic compounds is a problem of global concern and in addressing this problem, it is necessary to identify the mechanisms by which specific agents exert their toxic effects, and develop effective, inexpensive strategies for detecting compounds in their biologically active and available form. We have used reporter gene fusion technology to identify genes, in the genetically well-characterized bacterium Escherichia coli, whose expression is affected by specific environmental toxins. As an added benefit of our approach, we have elaborated methods to use these gene fusion clones as biosensors to detect specific toxic agents, such as arsenic oxyanions. Arsenic is an abundant and useful element which is also an environmental toxin that can pose severe risks to health. Arsenic toxicity varies with oxidation state, organometallic form, and bioavailability. The Escherichia coli arsB fusion strains respond specifically to arsenic in its toxic, oxyanionic form, and can detect bioavailable amounts of these oxyanions in contaminated water samples. Combinations of different biosensor clones and assay automation will augment the use of luminescent biosensors for the detection of specific toxic agents in the environment.     

National diet and nutrition surveys: the British experience

OBJECTIVE: The National Diet and Nutrition Surveys (NDNS) are a series of government-funded surveys of food intake, nutrient intake and nutritional status of individuals, undertaken to support nutritional policy and risk assessment. This paper summarises a review that considered the extent to which NDNS met the needs of users and suggested options for the future. The Food Standards Agency has since progressed favoured options. This paper aims to help others wishing to obtain this type of information within their own populations. DESIGN: A detailed questionnaire was used to probe use of data and gather opinions from users, producers and managers of the NDNS. It asked about general information needs from NDNS and changes that might be made. This was followed by a two-day workshop which included discussion of the main issues and the generation of 19 possible future options for consideration by the Agency. RESULTS: Options to improve effectiveness included methods to prioritise breadth and depth of coverage and possible ways of improving response and compliance. Strategies to make surveys more efficient and timely, such as adopting a rolling programme, disaggregating survey components, integrating with other studies and improving data access, were also suggested. A rolling programme, in which data are collected continuously, was the favoured option to address some of the concerns and a strategy is now in place to achieve this. CONCLUSIONS: There is widespread support for the NDNS from its users. There is no alternative source for such high-quality data on food and nutrient consumption and nutritional status and physical measurements in the same individuals. Useful information, such as the potential value of using a rolling programme from the outset, can be gained from this British experience by others wishing to measure food and nutrient intakes and status in their own populations.     

Responding to the crisis in sub-Saharan Africa: the role of nutrition

In the chapter dealing with education and health, the report of the influential Commission for Africa prioritises basic health systems, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In contrast, nutrition is given less than half a page and is reduced to parasite control and micronutrient support. Such neglect of nutrition is hard to understand in the context of increasing hunger and malnutrition across the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world where the proportion of underweight children has stagnated and the absolute numbers have actually increased in the last decade. It has been pointed out that if current trends continue sub-Saharan Africa will achieve the Millennium Development Goal for child mortality around 2115 - one century after the target date. Quite clearly those concerned with nutrition need to more powerfully advocate the role of nutrition in lifting Africa out of the spiral of poverty. The present paper argues that to achieve this requires an understanding not just of the critical role of nutrition for health and development (both individual and national), but also of how recent global changes are interacting with changes in food production and supply, other determinants of maternal and child health, and the role and capacity of the state to tackle malnutrition in Africa. It concludes by suggesting some responses that nutritionists could now be making.     

Increasing activity and improving nutrition through a schools-based programme: Project Energize. 1. Design, programme, randomisation and evaluation methodology

Project Energize is a through-school nutrition and activity programme that is being evaluated in a 2-year, cluster-randomised, longitudinal study. The present paper describes the background of the programme and study, the programme development and delivery, the study methodology including randomisation, measurement and analysis tools and techniques, and the mix of the study population. The programme is being delivered to sixty-two primary schools with sixty-two control schools, each limb containing about 11 000 students. The children in the evaluation cohort are 5 or 10 years old at enrolment; the randomisation protocol has achieved post-consent enrolment of 3000 evaluation participants, who are comparable by age, sex and school decile. End-point measures include body composition and associated physical characteristics, fitness, home and school environment and practice.     

Root-induced changes in the rhizosphere: Importance for the mineral nutrition of plants

Root-induced changes in the rhizosphere may affect mineral nutrition of plants in various ways. Examples for this are changes in rhizosphere pH in response to the source of nitrogen (NH₄-N versus NO₃-N), and iron and phosphorus deficiency. These pH changes can readily be demonstrated by infiltration of the soil with agar containing a pH indicator. The rhizosphere pH may be as much as 2 units higher or lower than the pH of the bulk soil. Also along the roots distinct differences in rhizosphere pH exist. In response to iron deficiency most plant species in their apical root zones increase the rate of H⁺ net excretion (acidification), the reducing capacity, the rate of Fe^III reduction and iron uptake. Also manganese reduction and uptake is increased several-fold, leading to high manganese concentrations in iron deficient plants. Low-molecular-weight root exudates may enhance mobilization of mineral nutrients in the rhizosphere. In response to iron deficiency, roots of grass species release non-proteinogenic amino acids (?phytosiderophores”?) which dissolve inorganic iron compounds by chelation of Fe^III and also mediate the plasma membrane transport of this chelated iron into the roots. A particular mechanism of mobilization of phosphorus in the rhizosphere exists in white lupin (Lupinus albus L.). In this species, phosphorus deficiency induces the formation of so-called proteoid roots. In these root zones sparingly soluble iron and aluminium phosphates are mobilized by the exudation of chelating substances (probably citrate), net excretion of H⁺ and increase in the reducing capacity. In mixed culture with white lupin, phosphorus uptake per unit root length of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants from a soil low in available P is increased, indicating that wheat can take up phosphorus mobilized in the proteoid root zones of lupin. At the rhizoplane and in the root (root homogenates) of several plant species grown in different soils, of the total number of bacteria less than 1 % are N₂-fixing (diazotrophe) bacteria, mainly Enterobacter and Klebsiella. The proportion of the diazotroph bacteria is higher in the rhizosphere soil. This discrimination of diazotroph bacteria in the rhizosphere is increased with foliar application of combined nitrogen. Inoculation with the diazotroph bacteria Azospirillum increases root length and enhances formation of lateral roots and root hairs similarly as does application of auxin (IAA). Thus rhizosphere bacteria such as Azospirillum may affect mineral nutrition and plant growth indirectly rather than by supply of nitrogen.     

生存与发展的结合--混农林业的崛起

混农林业（Agroforestry）是一种历史悠久、形式多样的高效土地利用制度（方式）。目前，它得到了世界许多国家，特别是发展中国家的重视。本文介绍了混农林业迅速兴起与发展的原因以及国内外学者对混农林业的定义和分类所进行的探讨。     

Exploration of possible correlates of nutrition awareness and the relationship with nutrition-related behaviours: results of a consumer study

OBJECTIVES: To unravel the concept of nutrition awareness, as it relates to risky personal nutrition-related behaviours, and to assess the sociodemographic and psychosocial correlates of nutrition awareness. DESIGN: Data were collected in a cross-sectional study with the aid of a face-to-face interview-assisted questionnaire that was based on the Precaution Adoption Process Model and Stages of Change Model. SETTING: Dutch consumer homes. SUBJECTS: Six hundred and three Dutch adults aged 18 to 80 years, selected from a panel. RESULTS: Our model explains nutrition awareness well (explained variance 53.7%). Psychosocial correlates were involvement with nutrition, health awareness, association with healthy food, perceived relevance of eating less fat, association with necessity, perceived relevance of vitamins, and perceived attributes of independent organisations. Sociodemographic correlates were gender and age. The relationship between nutrition awareness and nutrition-related behaviours proved to be very complicated. CONCLUSIONS: The value of our study is that it unravels the concept of nutrition awareness. Understanding the correlates of nutrition awareness can contribute to a more effective application of behavioural change models. Our results support increasing involvement with nutrition through personalising and tailoring to the motivational stage.     

Factors determining the nutrition transition in two Mediterranean islands: Sardinia and Malta

OBJECTIVE: To examine and analyse consumption changes over time of 24 food items between Sardinia and Malta. SETTING: The data were collected in 2001 in Sardinia and 2002 in Malta. DESIGN: A structured qualitative questionnaire, articulated around four main themes: food supply, transformation, preparation and consumption habits, was administered by face-to-face interviews with the help of a local person. It encompassed mainly open-ended questions, which allowed us to measure factors contributing to change. SUBJECTS: Thirty mother-daughter pairs were interviewed in each insular territory. RESULTS: Despite a common trend revealing a shift away from cereals, pulses and potatoes to the benefit of meat products, fats and sugar, our results showed contrasting evolutions in food consumption between both insular societies. Fruit and vegetables, olive oil and fish, which are part of the main features of the Mediterranean diet, were among the top foods for which consumption frequency has increased in Sardinia. In Malta, besides an increase in olive oil and vegetable consumption, cheeses and desserts showed the highest increase. Along with modernity and improved living conditions, enhanced commercial availability and increased diversity of food preparation were also identified as factors contributing to food consumption changes. CONCLUSIONS: Although the Sardo-Mediterranean model is evolving under the impact of modernisation, it is not disappearing. In Malta, however, modernity has led to a more sudden shift from a state of food shortage to one of affluence, but in a cultural context where the identity is no longer Mediterranean but Anglo-Saxon.     

T-DNA插入突变在植物营养研究中的应用

随着拟南芥整个基因组序列测定的完成,T-DNA插入形成的功能缺失(Loss-of-function)突变体和功能获得型(Gain-of-function)突变体,已经越来越多地运用到植物的各种代谢研究中。它可以作为有效的工具从基因的结构、功能、表达上来了解植物营养机制,从而为遗传工程改良植物本身的营养特性来适应贫瘠、盐碱化、酸害以及重金属危害等不良的土壤环境提供了条件。本文综述了T-DNA的结构、转化过程、侧翼序列的获得,以及T-DNA插入诱变在植物营养胁迫研究中的应用。     

搞好“长治”工程建设 加快农村经济发展

长寿县自1989年实施“长治”工程建设以来,共建设基本农田5 593. 3hm2,发展经果林6 480hm2,农民生产生活条件大为改善。“长治”工程建设增加了农民收入,促进了农村产业结构调整和经济发展,改变了农村面貌,解决了农村富裕劳动力就业问题,维护了社会安定。