TY - JOUR A1 - Hamidov, Ahmad A1 - Daedlow, Katrin A1 - Webber, Heidi A1 - Hussein, Hussam A1 - Abdurahmanov, Ilhom A1 - Dolidudko, Aleksandr A1 - Seerat, Ali Yawar A1 - Solieva, Umida A1 - Woldeyohanes, Tesfaye A1 - Helming, Katharina T1 - Operationalizing water-energy-food nexus research for sustainable development in social-ecological systems: an interdisciplinary learning case in Central Asia JF - Ecology & Society N2 - In social-ecological systems, natural resource management can be characterized by trade-offs across sectors and sustainability targets. The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus concept makes explicit various trade-offs in order to maximize synergies of interventions. However, there are few successful examples of its operationalization in research settings. Here, we explore in a learning setting if sustainability impact assessment (SIA) protocols can be a useful process to be used to adopt a systemic, interdisciplinary perspective to operationalize WEF nexus in research for sustainable development. The process and method adopted of SIA protocol, evaluated for five exemplary WEF nexus cases in Central Asia during a week-long international workshop, adequately addressed the complexity of WEF interrelationships and associated sustainability issues, and facilitated a comparative case study analysis across scales. Results within this process highlight that water governance was critical for large-scale transboundary WEF nexus management, while land and soil management were decisive for minimizing trade-offs at local levels. Issues of interdisciplinarity, complexity, uncertainty, and reflection on impacts were adequately addressed, but challenges remain in the consideration of ethics and the design of transparent, multi-actor cooperation. Most importantly, this exercise showed that employment of the process of SIA protocol supported disciplinary experts to work across disciplines and take a systemic approach for analyzing WEF nexus. KW - fghanistan; Central Asia; impact assessment; interdisciplinarity; socially responsible research; systemic approach Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-6890 SN - 1708-3087 VL - 27 IS - 1 PB - Resilience Alliance ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bartkowski, Bartosz A1 - Bartke, Stephan A1 - Helming, Katharina A1 - Paul, Carsten A1 - Techen, Anja-Kristina A1 - Hansjürgens, Bernd T1 - Potential of the economic valuation of soil-based ecosystem services to inform sustainable soil management and policy JF - PeerJ N2 - The concept of ecosystem services, especially in combination with economic valuation, can illuminate trade-offs involved in soil management, policy and governance, and thus support decision making. In this paper, we investigate and highlight the potential and limitations of the economic valuation of soil-based ecosystem services to inform sustainable soil management and policy. We formulate a definition of soil-based ecosystem services as basis for conducting a review of existing soil valuation studies with a focus on the inclusion of ecosystem services and the choice of valuation methods. We find that, so far, the economic valuation of soil-based ecosystem services has covered only a small number of such services and most studies have employed cost-based methods rather than state-of-the-art preference-based valuation methods, even though the latter would better acknowledge the public good character of soil related services. Therefore, the relevance of existing valuation studies for political processes is low. Broadening the spectrum of analyzed ecosystem services as well as using preference-based methods would likely increase the informational quality and policy relevance of valuation results. We point out options for improvement based on recent advances in economic valuation theory and practice. We conclude by investigating the specific roles economic valuation results can play in different phases of the policy-making process, and the specific requirements for its usefulness in this context. KW - Agri-environmental policy; Ecosystem services; Economic valuation; Literature review; Multifunctionality; Policy cycle; Soil management Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-6319 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Techen, Anja-K. A1 - Helming, Katharina A1 - Brüggemann, Nicolas A1 - Veldkamp, Edzo A1 - Reinhold-Hurek, Barbara A1 - Lorenz, Marco A1 - Bartke, Stephan A1 - Heinrich, Uwe A1 - Amelung, Wulf A1 - Augustin, Katja A1 - Boy, Jens A1 - Corre, Marife A1 - Duttman, Rainer A1 - Gebbers, Robin A1 - Gentsch, Norman A1 - Grosch, Rita A1 - Guggenberger, Georg A1 - Kern, Jürgen A1 - Kiese, Ralf A1 - Kuhwald, Michael A1 - Leinweber, Peter A1 - Schloter, Michael A1 - Wiesmeier, Martin A1 - Winkelmann, Traud A1 - Vogel, Hans-Jörg ED - Sparks, Donald L. T1 - Chapter Four - Soil research challenges in response to emerging agricultural soil management practices T2 - Advances in Agronomy N2 - Agricultural management is a key force affecting soil processes and functions. Triggered by biophysical constraints as well as rapid structural and technological developments, new management practices are emerging with largely unknown impacts on soil processes and functions. This impedes assessments of the potential of such emerging practices for sustainable intensification, a paradigm coined to address the growing demand for food and nonfood products. In terms of soil management, sustainable intensification means that soil productivity is increased while other soil functions and services, such as carbon storage and habitat for organisms, are simultaneously maintained or even improved. In this paper we provide an overview of research challenges to better understand how emerging soil management practices affect soil processes and functions. We distinguish four categories of soil management practices: spatial arrangements of cropping systems, crops and rotations, mechanical pressures, and inputs into the soil. Key research needs identified for each include nutrient efficiency in agroforestry versus conventional cropping systems, soil-rhizosphere microbiome elucidation to understand the interacting roles of crops and rotations, the effects of soil compaction on soil–plant–atmosphere interactions, and the ecotoxicity of plastics, pharmaceuticals and other pollutants that are introduced into the soil. We establish an interdisciplinary, systemic approach to soil science and include cross-cutting research activities related to process modeling, data management, stakeholder interaction, sustainability assessment and governance. The identification of soil research challenges from the perspective of agricultural management facilitates cooperation between different scientific disciplines in the field of sustainable agricultural production. KW - Soil functions KW - Agricultural management KW - Future KW - Research challenges Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2020.01.002 SN - 0065-2113 IS - 161 SP - 179 EP - 240 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Creamer, Rachel E. A1 - Hagens, Mathilde A1 - Baartman, Jantiene A1 - Helming, Katharina T1 - Editorial for special issue on “understanding soil functions – from ped to planet” JF - European Journal of Soil Science Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-6870 SN - 1365-2389 VL - 72 IS - 4 SP - 1493 EP - 1496 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - MacPherson, Joseph A1 - Voglhuber-Slavinsky, Ariane A1 - Olbrisch, Mathias A1 - Schöbel, Philipp A1 - Dönitz, Ewa A1 - Mouratiadou, Ioanna A1 - Helming, Katharina T1 - Future agricultural systems and the role of digitalization for achieving sustainability goals. A review JF - Agronomy for Sustainable Development N2 - By leveraging a wide range of novel, data-driven technologies for agricultural production and agri-food value chains, digital agriculture presents potential enhancements to sustainability across food systems. Accordingly, digital agriculture has received considerable attention in policy in recent years, with emphasis mostly placed on the potential of digital agriculture to improve efficiency, productivity and food security, and less attention given to how digitalization may impact other principles of sustainable development, such as biodiversity conservation, soil protection, and human health, for example. Here, we review high-level policy and law in the German and European context to highlight a number of important institutional, societal, and legal preconditions for leveraging digital agriculture to achieve diverse sustainability targets. Additionally, we combine foresight analysis with our review to reflect on how future frame conditions influencing agricultural digitalization and sustainability could conceivably arise. The major points are the following: (1) some polices consider the benefits of digital agriculture, although only to a limited extent and mostly in terms of resource use efficiency; (2) law as it applies to digital agriculture is emerging but is highly fragmented; and (3) the adoption of digital agriculture and if it is used to enhance sustainability will be dependent on future data ownership regimes. KW - Digital agriculture; Sustainability; Policy; Foresight; Agri-digital law Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-6886 SN - 1773-0155 IS - 42 PB - Springer Nature ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Voglhuber-Slavinsky, Ariane A1 - Lemke, Nahleen A1 - MacPherson, Joseph A1 - Dönitz, Ewa A1 - Olbrisch, Mathias A1 - Schöbel, Philipp A1 - Moller, Björn A1 - Bahrs, Enno A1 - Helming, Katharina T1 - Valorization for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in the Agri-Food Value Chain JF - Environmental Management N2 - Abstract This article defines the term valorization of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) measures, as distinguished from their valuation, and underpins it with an assessment of private valorization examples along the agri-food value chain. Valorization incentivizes measures for promoting BES, while valuation refers to its quantification. Valuation can be a step of valorization but is not indispensable. In scientific literature, the terms valorization and valuation are often used interchangeably. In addition, there is a lack of research on private options versus conventional, public policy options. Therefore, we searched for private valorization options primarily in public sources (gray literature and websites). This led to the identification of four clusters (markets for voluntary services, labeling, and certification, environmental management/CSR, and tradable permits and quotas). Based on these clusters the options were assessed from a legal and systems dynamics perspective. In addition, the viability of selected valorization options in different future scenarios was examined. The analysis revealed a wide range of private valorization options, which in contrast to public policy options that focus almost entirely on the production stage, are spread across the agri-food value chain. Their suitability differs under different future scenarios, legal and systems conditions. KW - - KW - Biodiversity KW - Ecosystem services KW - Valorization KW - Value chain KW - Foresight KW - Private valorization options KW - Studies in Human Society Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-9162 SN - 0364-152X SN - 1432-1009 VL - 72 IS - 6 SP - 1163 EP - 1188 PB - Springer US ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strauss, Veronika A1 - Paul, Carsten A1 - Dönmez, Cenk A1 - Löbmann, Michael A1 - Helming, Katharina T1 - Sustainable soil management measures: a synthesis of stakeholder recommendations JF - Agronomy for Sustainable Development N2 - Abstract Soil degradation threatens agricultural production and soil multifunctionality. Efforts for private and public governance are increasingly emerging to leverage sustainable soil management. They require consensus across science, policy, and practice about what sustainable soil management entails. Such agreement does not yet exist to a sufficient extent in agronomic terms; what is lacking is a concise list of soil management measures that enjoy broad support among all stakeholders, and evidence on the question what hampers their implementation by farmers. We therefore screened stakeholder documents from public governance institutions, nongovernmental organizations, the agricultural industry, and conventional and organic farmer associations for recommendations related to agricultural soil management in Germany. Out of 46 recommended measures in total, we compiled a shortlist of the seven most consensual ones: (1) structural landscape elements, (2) organic fertilization, (3) diversified crop rotation, (4) permanent soil cover, (5) conservation tillage, (6) reduced soil loads, and (7) optimized timing of wheeling. Together, these measures support all agricultural soil functions, and address all major soil threats except soil contamination. Implementation barriers were identified with the aid of an online survey among farmers ( n = 78). Results showed that a vast majority of farmers (> 80%) approved of all measures. Barriers were mostly considered to be economic and in some cases technological, while missing knowledge or other factors were less relevant. Barriers were stronger for those measures that cannot be implemented in isolation, but require a systemic diversification of the production system. This is especially the case for measures that are simultaneously beneficial to many soil functions (measures 2, 3, and 4). Results confirm the need for a diversification of the agricultural system in order to meet challenges of food security and climate change. The shortlist presents the first integrative compilation of sustainable soil management measures supporting the design of effective public or private governance. KW - - KW - Agriculture in transition KW - Diversification in agriculture KW - Soil functions KW - Soil health KW - Sustainable soil management KW - Stakeholder recommendations KW - Environmental Sciences Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-9293 SN - 1774-0746 SN - 1773-0155 VL - 43 IS - 1 PB - Springer Paris ER - TY - JOUR A1 - MacPherson, Joseph A1 - Voglhuber-Slavinsky, Ariane A1 - Olbrisch, Mathias A1 - Schöbel, Philipp A1 - Dönitz, Ewa A1 - Mouratiadou, Ioanna A1 - Helming, Katharina T1 - Future agricultural systems and the role of digitalization for achieving sustainability goals. A review JF - Agronomy for Sustainable Development N2 - Abstract By leveraging a wide range of novel, data-driven technologies for agricultural production and agri-food value chains, digital agriculture presents potential enhancements to sustainability across food systems. Accordingly, digital agriculture has received considerable attention in policy in recent years, with emphasis mostly placed on the potential of digital agriculture to improve efficiency, productivity and food security, and less attention given to how digitalization may impact other principles of sustainable development, such as biodiversity conservation, soil protection, and human health, for example. Here, we review high-level policy and law in the German and European context to highlight a number of important institutional, societal, and legal preconditions for leveraging digital agriculture to achieve diverse sustainability targets. Additionally, we combine foresight analysis with our review to reflect on how future frame conditions influencing agricultural digitalization and sustainability could conceivably arise. The major points are the following: (1) some polices consider the benefits of digital agriculture, although only to a limited extent and mostly in terms of resource use efficiency; (2) law as it applies to digital agriculture is emerging but is highly fragmented; and (3) the adoption of digital agriculture and if it is used to enhance sustainability will be dependent on future data ownership regimes. KW - - KW - Digital agriculture KW - Sustainability KW - Policy KW - Foresight KW - Agri-digital law KW - Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences KW - Law and Legal Studies Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-9282 SN - 1774-0746 SN - 1773-0155 VL - 42 IS - 4 PB - Springer Paris ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mayar, Mohammad Assem A1 - Hamidov, Ahmad A1 - Akramkhanov, Akmal A1 - Helming, Katharina ED - Disse, Markus ED - Huang, Jingshui T1 - Consideration of the Environment in Water-Energy-Food Nexus Research in the Aral Sea Basin JF - Water N2 -
The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is a holistic concept used to understand the synergies and trade-offs of interdependent water, energy, and food resources. Despite its widespread use, this concept often overlooks environmental concerns. In addition, the lack of a systemic approach in the Aral Sea Basin (ASB) has resulted in serious environmental degradation. For instance, the Aral Sea, situated at the terminus of the basin, is steadily shrinking, yet researchers studying the WEF nexus tend to overlook the upstream tributaries of the basin. This study aims to determine the extent to which research on the WEF nexus in the ASB in Central Asia has considered the environment through a systematic review of the literature published between 2012 and 2022. The results indicate that the number of WEF publications regarding the ASB has seen an upward trend, with a primary focus on the transboundary level and less research available on the local and national levels. This confirms the strong reliance of Central Asian states on one another for food, energy, and water resources. Furthermore, the results show that the majority of published studies either do not consider environmental concerns in their analyses at all or do so with little precision. Therefore, to achieve precise and sustainable outcomes, this study recommends the inclusion of environmental concerns along with basin-wide coverage in future WEF analyses. Finally, the WEF concept should be downscaled to the national and local levels in order to facilitate its implementation.
KW - - KW - systematic review KW - transboundary KW - sustainability KW - Central Asia KW - trends Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-9426 SN - 2073-4441 VL - 16 IS - 5 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reckling, Moritz A1 - Watson, Christine A. A1 - Whitbread, Anthony A1 - Helming, Katharina T1 - Diversification for sustainable and resilient agricultural landscape systems JF - Agronomy for Sustainable Development N2 - Abstract This virtual issue comprises papers that address diversification for providing sustainable solutions at different scales from cropping and grassland to food systems. The authors investigated processes in case studies at the landscape scale where synergies and trade-offs between social and environmental objectives become the most tangible. Contributions from all continents highlighted regional specificities related to diversification and include research from natural and social sciences, with inter- and transdisciplinary approaches including synthesis of knowledge (reviews), empirical studies with experiments as well as assessments with interviews in case studies: Model-based design of crop diversification, the role of digitalization for achieving sustainability in the European context, ecological engineering for rice pest suppression in China, the role of cereal species mixtures in Ethiopian smallholder farmers, diversified planting in arid irrigation areas in northwestern China, integration of legumes in European and Canadian cropping systems, screening of native forage legumes for northern Swedish grassland systems, cropping system diversification of smallholder farmers in south-central Bangladesh, identification of how farmers imagine diversified landscapes in southern Idaho in the US, farm diversification affecting impacts from COVID-19 across Europe, the role of diversified farming in Mato Grosso Brazil, diversification and soil management measures in Germany, value chain formation for the scaling of crop diversification, and the design process with farmers and scientists for the transition toward legume-supported farming in Europe. A key finding from these examples is that agricultural intensification has led to the simplification of cropping systems and landscapes in terms of species diversity and ecosystem function. To instead move towards sustainable transformation, all system levels (i.e. from the plot, farm, landscape, governance and overall food systems) need to interact and reinforce each other for diversification to deliver the desired outcomes. KW - - KW - Co-design KW - Crop-livestock systems KW - Food system KW - Legumes KW - Transformation KW - Environmental Sciences KW - Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-9302 SN - 1774-0746 SN - 1773-0155 VL - 43 IS - 4 PB - Springer Paris ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mason, Eloïse A1 - Bispo, Antonio A1 - Matt, Mireille A1 - Helming, Katharina A1 - Rodriguez, Elena A1 - Lansac, Rocio A1 - Carrasco, Violeta A1 - Hashar, Mohammad Rafiul A1 - Verdonk, Loes A1 - Prokop, Gundula A1 - Wall, David A1 - Francis, Nancy A1 - Laszlo, Peter A1 - Löbmann, Michael T. T1 - Sustainable soil and land management: a systems-oriented overview of scientific literature JF - Frontiers in Soil Science N2 -Healthy soil is vital for our wellbeing and wealth. However, increasing demand for food and biomass may lead to unsustainable soil and land management practices that threaten soils. Other degradation processes such as soil sealing also endanger soil resources. Identifying and accessing the best available knowledge is crucial to address related sustainability issues and promote the needed transition towards sustainable soil and land management practices. Such knowledge has to cover all knowledge domains, system knowledge, target knowledge, and transformation knowledge. However, a comprehensive overview of existing research addressing societal needs related to soil is still missing, which hinders the identification of knowledge gaps. This study provides a detailed analysis of scientific literature to identify ongoing research activities and trends. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of scientific literature related to sustainable soil and land management was conducted. A systems-oriented analytical framework was used that combines soil and land related societal challenges with related knowledge domains. Our analysis revealed a significant increase in scientific publications and related interest in soil and land use-related research, above the average increase of publications within all scientific fields. Different forms of reduction and remediation of soil degradation processes (e.g. erosion, contamination) have been studied most extensively. Other topic areas like land take mitigation, soil biodiversity increase, increase of ecosystem services provision and climate change mitigation and adaption seem to be rather recent concerns, less investigated. We could highlight the importance of context-specific research, as different regions require different practices. For instance, boreal, tropical, karst and peatland regions were less studied. Furthermore, we found that diversifying soil management practices such as agroforestry or including livestock into arable systems are valuable options for increasing biomass, mitigating/adapting to climate change, and improving soil related ecosystem services. A recent trend towards the latter research topic indicates the transition from a soil conservation-oriented perspective to a soil service-oriented perspective, which may be better suited to integrate the social and economic dimensions of soil health improvement alongside the ecological dimension.
KW - - KW - CorTexT KW - knowledge gaps KW - literature analysis KW - societal challenge KW - soil mission KW - stock assessment Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-9418 SN - 2673-8619 VL - 3 PB - Frontiers Media S.A. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lachmuth, Susanne A1 - Dönmez, Cenk A1 - Hoffmann, Carsten A1 - Specka, Xenia A1 - Svoboda, Nikolai A1 - Helming, Katharina T1 - Facilitating Effective Reuse of Soil Research Data: The BonaRes Repository JF - European Journal of Soil Science N2 - ABSTRACT Soil plays a paramount role in addressing complex challenges related to climate change, the agri‐food system, and ecosystem services. This importance makes soil research data highly relevant for meta‐analysis, research synthesis, modelling, and assessment. As data‐intensive techniques proliferate in studying global change impacts on agricultural systems, effective data management and reuse are essential. Repositories that adhere to the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) principles are crucial for maximizing the value and efficiency of research data. While publishing in an Open Access repository is necessary for data reusability, it alone is not sufficient. Specialized repositories enhance data reuse potential by addressing discipline‐specific needs through targeted metadata and technical frameworks. The BonaRes Repository was developed for agricultural soil research data and is guided by the FAIR principles, with a focus on data reusability. Here, we introduce the repository's infrastructures and services, including specialized tools for data quality assurance and the management of soil profile as well as long‐term field experiment data. We emphasize the ability of these infrastructures and services to promote data publication and reuse specifically in soil and agricultural sciences. We review examples of data reuse, highlighting their scientific contributions to the understanding of soil and agricultural systems. Finally, we discuss the remaining challenges in achieving FAIR and open soil data publication and reusability. From 2018 to date, the BonaRes Repository has facilitated 815 data publications; 62 papers have reused the published data. Reuse applications range widely—from extracting study site metadata or environmental covariates to reanalysing (meta)data in light of new research questions, to developing scenarios and conducting model calibration and evaluation. A key insight from our review of data reuse is that researchers frequently apply reused data to advance method development. Initiatives such as reciprocal metadata harvesting and integration into larger national and international research data infrastructure will further expand the scope and reuse of the repository's data, including in broader agrosystems science. KW - - KW - agricultural data KW - data quality KW - data reusability KW - FAIR data principles KW - long‐term field experiments KW - open science KW - research data management KW - soil profiles KW - spatial data infrastructure KW - specialized repository Y1 - 2025 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-9793 SN - 1351-0754 SN - 1365-2389 VL - 76 IS - 2 PB - Blackwell Publishing Ltd CY - Oxford, UK ER -