Irrigation and food security in the 21st century

Global food projections indicate that food prices in the next threedecades will likely be stable or decline, but progress inreducing malnutrition in developing countries will be slow. Smallshortfalls in crop productivity growth would lead to rising foodprices and worsening malnutrition. Increased food production fromirrigation is essential, and will require expansion of irrigatedarea and water supplies, and improved efficiency of use of existingwater supplies. Neither of these growth factors will prove easy, andboth will require complex institutional and policy reforms. Failureto meet food production needs through efficient expansion andintensification of irrigated agriculture would increase pressure onland resources and hasten the process of environmental degradation.Irrigation and water development strategies have been hampered bya lack of understanding of the links between water scarcity, foodproduction, food security, and environmental sustainability.Research to improve this understanding would have high payoffs.     

Creating and Consolidating Locally Managed Irrigation in Turkey: the National Perspective

The Turkish program of irrigationmanagement transfer has gained worldwidecelebrity for its speed and effectiveness. This paper describes the program brieflyand assesses its effectiveness from anational perspective. The assessmentincludes changes in staffing levels,operational costs, service fee levels, andcost recovery from farmers. A companionpaper examines impacts at the local leveland looks specifically at changes in systemperformance.     

Simulation of the soil-water dynamics and corn yields under deficit irrigation

Summary A simulation model capable of predicting the yield response of corn to a limited water supply was developed by combining two existing mathematical models. The resulting computer model was evaluated using experimental data taken under a wide range of soil moisture conditions. The soil profile water balances was simulated using SWATRE and SUCROS was used to model the crop growth in response to environmental conditions. In addition to the integration of the two existing models, some minor changes were made to each in an effort to improve the accuracy of the combined models. The model input parameters were derived entirely from published literature. The experimental data necessary for model validation were available from irrigation studies at the Sandhills Agricultural Laboratory of the University of Nebraska. These experiments not only provided the required input soil and climatic data, but also the observed irrigation levels, soil moisture distributions and crop yield required for model validation. Initial evaluation of the computer model indicates that the combined model adequately describes crop evapotranspiration, soil moisture extraction and crop yield under a fairly wide range of soil moisture stress. Additional modifications for the prediction of leaf area expansion and senescence, especially under moisture stress, are needed to improve the accuracy of the model.     

Habitat suitability and connectivity modeling reveal priority areas for Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) conservation in a complex habitat mosaic

Context

Conservation for the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), a federally endangered species in the United States of America, is typically focused on local maternity sites; however, the species is a regional migrant, interacting with the environment at multiple spatial scales. Hierarchical levels of management may be necessary, but we have limited knowledge of landscape-level ecology, distribution, and connectivity of suitable areas in complex landscapes.

Objectives

We sought to (1) identify factors influencing M. sodalis maternity colony distribution in a mosaic landscape, (2) map suitable maternity habitat, and (3) quantify connectivity importance of patches to direct conservation action.

Methods

Using 3 decades of occurrence data, we tested a priori, hypothesis-driven habitat suitability models. We mapped suitable areas and quantified connectivity importance of habitat patches with probabilistic habitat availability metrics.

Results

Factors improving landscape-scale suitability included limited agriculture, more forest cover, forest edge, proximity to medium-sized water bodies, lower elevations, and limited urban development. Areas closer to hibernacula and rivers were suitable. Binary maps showed that 30% of the study area was suitable for M. sodalis and 29% was important for connectivity. Most suitable patches were important for intra-patch connectivity and far fewer contributed to inter-patch connectivity.

Conclusions

While simple models may be effective for small, homogenous landscapes, complex models are needed to explain habitat suitability in large, mixed landscapes. Suitability modeling identified factors that made sites attractive as maternity areas. Connectivity analysis improved our understanding of important areas for bats and prioritized areas to target for restoration.

     

Dihydrooxadiazines: Octopaminergic system as a potential site of insecticidal action

Dihydrooxadiazines are structural analogs of octopamine and were compared with octopamine for their ability to compete with [³H]dihydroergocryptine ([³H]DHE) for binding sites on DHE-sensitive receptors, to stimulate adenylate cyclase activity in nervous system homogenates of Periplaneta americana L., and to modulate the action of the peptide proctolin on the oviducal muscles of Locusta migratoria L. [³H]DHE binding was inhibited by low concentrations (μM range) of octopamine, phentolamine, N-demethylchlordimeform (DCDM) and several dihydrooxadiazines. The tested dihydrooxadiazines acted as aminergic agonists in stimulating cyclic AMP production in cockroach nervous system homogenates and did not show additive effects with octopamine, whereas additivity was observed with 5-hydroxytryptamine. The relative potency of octopaminergic antagonists, including mianserin, cyproheptadine, phentolamine, and gramine, to block octopamine-mediated elevation of cyclic AMP production was similar to the rank-order potency of the same antagonists to inhibit dihydrooxadiazine-mediated elevation of cyclic AMP production. Octopamine, 2-(4-bromophenyl)-5,6-dihydro-4H-1,3,4-oxadiazine (4-Br-PDHO), and 8-Br-cyclic AMP caused increased phosphorylation of proteins that are phosphorylated by exogenously added cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. These results indicate that the dihydrooxadiazine-induced rise in cyclic AMP levels in homogenates of the cockroach nervous system results directly in activation of an endogenous cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. 4-Br-PDHO behaved similarly to octopamine in modulating the action of proctolin-induced contractions in locust oviducal muscles. These observations suggest that dihydrooxadiazines act as octopamine agonists and have an octopaminergic action in modulating the action of proctolin. Thus, it is proposed that dihydrooxadiazines exert at least part of their insecticidal and miticidal actions through interaction with the octopaminergic system.     

Verrucosamide,a Cytotoxic 1,4-Thiazepane-Containing Thiodepsipeptide from a Marine-Derived Actinomycete

A new cytotoxic thiodepsipeptide, verrucosamide (1), was isolated along with the known, related cyclic peptide thiocoraline, from the extract of a marine-derived actinomycete, a Verrucosispora sp., our strain CNX-026. The new peptide, which is composed of two rare seven-membered 1,4-thiazepane rings, was elucidated by a combination of spectral methods and the absolute configuration was determined by a single X-ray diffraction study. Verrucosamide (1) showed moderate cytotoxicity and selectivity in the NCI 60 cell line bioassay. The most susceptible cell lines were MDA-MB-468 breast carcinoma with an LD₅₀ of 1.26 µM, and COLO 205 colon adenocarcinoma with an LD₅₀ of 1.4 µM. Also isolated along with verrucosamide were three small 3-hydroxy(alkoxy)-quinaldic acid derivatives that appear to be products of the same biosynthetic pathway.     

Thermal performance curves based on field movements reveal context-dependence of thermal traits in a desert ectotherm

Landscape Ecology - Thermal traits likely mediate organismal responses to changing thermal environments. As temperatures increase, predicting species responses will depend on understanding how...     

Grassland fragmentation affects declining tallgrass prairie birds most where large amounts of grassland remain

Landscape Ecology - Habitat fragmentation can exacerbate the negative effects of habitat loss for some species. Mitigating fragmentation is difficult, however, because population responses depend...     

Economics of robots and automation in field crop production

Precision Agriculture - This study reviewed research published after 1990 on the economics of agricultural mechatronic automation and robotics, and identified research gaps. A systematic search was...