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Delayed environmental pollution caused by transient landscape storage - An example from the Lesser Antilles
Get PDFThe strong pest pressure on intensive banana cultivation in the French West Indies led to the intensive use of chlordecone (an organochlorine insecticide) between 1972 and 1993. Due to its high toxicity for the population and the environment, many studies were conducted on the transfer of chlordecone over the last 20 years. However, most studies focused on the dissolved fraction of chlordecone, while the particle-bound fraction was understudied. Therefore, this study reconstructs pluri-decadal erosion rates ( 1980–2023) and associated chlordecone particle-bound transfers from soil and sediment cores sampled in a cultivated headwater catchment (Saint-Esprit, Martinique). Based on sediment accumulation analyses in an agricultural reservoir, high erosion rates ( 10 t ha−1 yr−1) were found in the investigated catchment during the study period, with values exceeding the estimated tolerable soil loss rate in tropical contexts ( 2.2 t ha−1 yr−1). Based on the analysis of soil cores sampled along a banana plantation hillslope, this study highlights the formation of colluvial deposits with high levels of chlordecone contamination. When these areas are affected by erosion processes, this leads to massive remobilization of particle-bound chlordecone to water bodies. Indeed, in sediment sampled in the downstream reservoir, we observed a drastic increase in these transfers since 2006, synchronous with changes in agricultural practices. This study therefore highlighted the occurrence of legacy contamination at toeslope positions, which was estimated to potentially persist for 4000 to 11,000 years. Such a residence time highlights the need to implement changes in land management to effectively reduce erosion of agricultural soils, particularly in areas identified as ”temporary deposition zones” for chlordecone contamination, in order to protect downstream water bodies from chlordecone transfer. To achieve this, agricultural practices that may increase soil erosion, such as herbicide application or intensive ploughing, should be minimized. Overall, this study improved our understanding of erosion and associated chlordecone transfers in tropical environments
One Health field approach applied to Leptospirosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis across humans, animals and the environment
Get PDFBackground: Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonosis transmitted through urine of infected hosts or contaminated environments. The transmission of bacteria between humans, animals, and the environment underscores the necessity of a One Health approach. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to identify significant findings and challenges in One Health research on leptospirosis, focusing on studies involving sampling in at least two of the three compartments: human, animal, and environment. We searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, Scopus, and ScienceDirect from January 1, 1918 to December 31, 2022. We assessed risk of bias in studies using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) tools and performed a meta-analysis to identify links between One Health compartments. Results: Out of 1,082 leptospirosis studies with sampling, 102 multicompartmental studies conducted between 1972 and 2022 were included: 70 Human-Animal, 18 Animal-Environment, 4 Human-Environment, and 10 across all compartments. Various methodological weaknesses were identified, from study design to statistical analysis. Meta-regressions identified positive associations between human and animal seroprevalences, particularly with livestock and with wild non-rodent animals, and a link between the environmental positivity rate and domestic animal seroprevalence. Our analysis was constrained by the limited number of studies included and by the quality of protocols. Conclusions: This 50-year overview of One Health field approach to leptospirosis highlights the critical need for more robust, well-supported One Health research to clarify the transmission dynamics and identify risk factors of zoonoses
Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030
Get PDFDue to complex interactions, changes in any one area of food systems are likely to impact—and possibly depend on—changes in other areas. Here we present the first annual monitoring update of the indicator framework proposed by the Food Systems Countdown Initiative, with new qualitative analysis elucidating interactions across indicators. Since 2000, we find that 20 of 42 indicators with time series have been trending in a desirable direction, indicating modest positive change. Qualitative expert elicitation assessed governance and resilience indicators to be most connected to other indicators across themes, highlighting entry points for action— particularly governance action. Literature review and country case studies add context to the assessed interactions across diets, environment, livelihoods, governance and resilience indicators, helping different actors understand and navigate food systems towards desirable change
Improvement of iron and β-Carotene bioaccessibility in complementary foods: Biofortification of local crops With organic residual products and microorganisms
Get PDFMicronutrient deficiencies remain a great public health challenge worldwide with iron, zinc, and vitamin A being the most problematic. It has been shown that biofortification through agronomic strategies can increase their micronutrient content, but data on the bioavailability remain limited. In Senegal, consumption of cereals and legumes is high, and orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP), rich in β-carotene, has been introduced a decade ago. The objective of the present work was to assess the bioaccessibility of iron, zinc, and β-carotene in local complementary foods prepared with millet, cowpea, and OFSP alone or in combination, produced using different agronomic biofortification strategies. Organic residual products were used alone or in combination with microorganisms to produce the abovementioned crops that were used to prepare the complementary foods. Static in vitro digestion was performed to assess the bioaccessibility of the micronutrients, according to a harmonized protocol. The two organic residual products had different effect, as the cow dung alone was inefficient to increase iron and zinc contents as well as their bioaccessibility in millet porridges. However, the use of poultry litter alone or in combination with microorganisms increased iron bioaccessibility in cooked cowpea (27%–29%) compared to the non-biofortified counterpart (9%). Surprisingly, bioaccessible β-carotene was significantly higher (4.1%) in sample of mashed OFSP biofortified with the combination of the different agronomic strategies than in the others (1.4%–2.5%). Portions (150 g) of porridge prepared from the three biofortified crops would cover up to 100% of the daily vitamin A requirements of children aged 6–23 months. The use of a combination the most promising varieties of crops, together with the agronomic strategies, would be a complementary approach to sustainability limit micronutrient deficiencies in a context of monotonous diets
Genomic and phylogenetic investigations suggest that sugarcane streak mosaic virus is vectored by at least one species of mite
Get PDFThe insect vector of sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV) is unknown. SCSMV belongs to the genus Poacevirus of the family Potyviridae. This genus currently includes four virus species: Sugarcane streak mosaic virus, Triticum mosaic virus, Caladenia virus A, and Zoysia mosaic virus. Triticum mosaic virus is transmitted by the wheat curl mite (WCM) Aceria tosichella, an eriophyid mite that failed to transmit SCSMV. This mite is also the vector of wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), a tritimovirus of the family Potyviridae. WSMV has a zinc finger like (ZFL) motif [H(X2) C X29 C(X2)C] in the HC-Pro protein that is necessary for its transmission by the WCM. However, all viruses of the Potyviridae family that possess a HC-Pro protein have a ZFL motif in the HC-Pro, which is therefore not specific to mite transmission. Two other well studied motifs, namely KITC and PTK, are associated with aphid-transmission of potyviruses. Among 131 species of the Potyviridae family, the KITC [or a similar motif that is attached to the C(X2)C motif of the ZFL motif] and the PTK motifs are present in almost all aphid-transmitted potyviruses, but are missing in all non-aphid transmitted viruses. A phylogenetic tree was constructed with the HC-Pro sequences of the 131 Potyviridae species and was linked to protein motifs and virus vectors. SCSMV clustered with a group of viruses spread by Aceria mites, which suggested that at least one mite species is a vector of SCSMV. Most mite species found on sugarcane belong to the Eriophyidae family with at least 10 species belonging to six genera that are distributed in Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania. Eriophyid mites are able to spread most mite-transmitted viruses. Consequently, eriophyid mites are good candidates for vectoring SCSMV and should be identified and tested in geographical locations where this virus is present
(Semi-)automatic extraction of urban planning rules in french for better management of land artificialization
Get PDFLand artificialization is a significant modern concern, as it is irreversible, diminishes agriculturally suitable land and causes environmental problems. Our project, Hérelles, aims to address this challenge by developing a framework for land artificialization management. In this framework, we associate urban planning rules in text form with clusters extracted from time series of satellite images. To achieve this, it is crucial to understand the planning rules with two key objectives: (1) to verify if the constraints derived from the rules are verifiable on satellite images and (2) to use these constraints to guide the labelling (or semantization) of clusters. The first step in this process involves the automatic extraction of rules from urban planning documents written in the French language. To solve this problem, we propose a method based on the multilabel classification of textual segments and their subsequent summarization. This method includes a special format for representing segments, in which each segment has a title and a subtitle. We then propose a cascade approach to address the hierarchy of class labels. Additionally, we develop several text augmentation techniques for French texts that can improve prediction results. Finally, we reformulate classified segments into concise text portions containing necessary elements for expert rule construction. We adapt an approach based on Abstract Meaning Representation (AMR) graphs to generate these portions in the French language and conduct a comparative analysis with ChatGPT. We experimentally demonstrate that the resulting framework correctly classifies each type of segment with more than 90% accuracy. Furthermore, our results indicate that ChatGPT outperforms the AMR-based approach, leading to a discussion of the advantages and limitations of both methods
Bridging gaps and leveraging opportunities for One Health: Feedback from the 8th World One Health Congress
Get PDFWe attended the 8th WOHC between the 20th and 23rd of September 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa and we provide here our feedback with a specific perspective on the policy implications. The One Health approach still needs to go beyond diseases and to embrace a truly holistic definition of health in both its pathogenic and salutogenic components. This broader definition of health should be applied to all human groups with more equity and inclusivity, to non-human animals, as sentient beings, and to ecosystems and the environment in a more integrated way
Tropical tree species with high wood specific gravity have higher concentrations of wood phosphorus and are more efficient at resorbing it
Get PDFPhosphorus (P) and potassium (K) play important roles in plant metabolism and hydraulic balance, respectively, while calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) are important components of cell walls. Although significant amounts of these nutrients are found in wood, relatively little is known on how the wood concentrations of these nutrients are related to other wood traits, or on the factors driving the resorption of these nutrients within stems. We measured wood nutrient (i.e. P, K, Ca, and Mg) concentrations, wood specific gravity (WSG), as well as wood fibre and parenchyma fractions, in both inner (i.e. close to the pith) and outer (i.e. close to the bark) wood, for 22 tree species from a rainforest of eastern Amazonia. We first examined the associations of wood nutrient concentrations with WSG, fibre fractions, and parenchyma fractions. Then, we assessed whether resorption rates (i.e. difference between heartwood and sapwood nutrient contents) differed among nutrients, and whether nutrient resorption rates were related to species ecological strategies. WSG was unrelated to wood Ca, positively related to wood P in outer wood, and negatively related to inner wood Mg, as well as to both inner and outer wood K. Overall, nutrients were unrelated or negatively related to fibre and parenchyma fractions, except for wood Ca and wood P, which were positively related to fibre and axial parenchyma fractions in outer wood, respectively. We found that resorption rates did not differ among nutrients, and that P resorption rates were higher in high WSG, while K, Ca, and Mg resorption rates were unrelated to WSG. This study illustrates that the relationships of wood nutrient concentration with WSG and cell type fractions can be nutrient-specific. Our results indicate that, excluding a positive association between wood Ca and fibre fractions, and between wood P and axial parenchyma fractions, wood nutrients were mostly unrelated to anatomical traits. Our findings also suggest that high-WSG (i.e. shade-tolerant) species store higher amounts of wood P, and are more efficient at resorbing wood P, than low-WSG (i.e. fast-growing) species. These insights are important to increase our understanding on wood nutrient allocation, nutrient resorption, and tree ecological strategies in lowland tropical forests
Breeding of camels in Europe: Between continuity and innovation
Get PDFCamel breeding in Europe has undergone significant changes, intertwining historical continuity with modern innovation. Historically, dromedaries (Camelus dromedarius) and Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus), played essential roles in Roman logistics, medieval rituals, and agriculture, leaving archeological and cultural footprints across Europe. Following a decline during the Middle Ages, camels were largely confined to exotic collections. However, the past few decades have witnessed a resurgence in camel farming, primarily driven by tourism and the demand for camel milk, with an estimated 5000–6000 camels now present in Europe. Despite their adaptability to harsh climates and nutritional advantages, the sector faces challenges such as small population sizes, fragmented breeding efforts, and the absence of regulatory frameworks tailored to camels. Advances in genomic tools, including genome-wide association studies and SNP genotyping, have created opportunities for the genetic management of camels in Europe, yet also reveal concerns about low genetic diversity stemming from founder effects. Addressing these issues requires coordinated international efforts, standardized phenotype recording, and enhanced welfare guidelines. With climate change highlighting the resilience of camels to arid environments, their potential as sustainable livestock remains promising. This review underscores the balance between preserving the historical legacy of camels in Europe and fostering their integration into contemporary agricultural systems
Verrouillages institutionnels des dynamiques d'innovation dans les systèmes agroforestiers structurés par les filières cacao et café en Haïti
Get PDFCet article étudie les verrous de l'innovation dans les systèmes agroforestiers structurés par les filières cacao et café en Haïti, en questionnant l'environnement institutionnel qui régule leur régime sociotechnique. Il mobilise le cadre d'analyse multi-niveaux de l'innovation, la démarche de recherche-action participative et les données d'enquêtes. L'analyse multi-niveaux est fondée sur la théorie de l'économie institutionnelle pour étudier les verrous institutionnels au sein de ce régime sociotechnique. La recherche-action participative a été mise en oeuvre à travers un processus d'innovations socio-organisationnelles basé sur deux dispositifs d'appui-conseil, l'un collectif et l'autre individuel. Les données de terrain sont issues d'entretiens individuels, d'enquêtes formelles et de consultations à dires d'experts. Les résultats ont mis en évidence l'existence de plusieurs verrous à l'adoption d'innovations : (i) le non-alignement entre deux dynamiques de production en termes de gouvernance ; (ii) le fonctionnement hiérarchisé des filières étudiées qui induit une compétitivité dans le système-acteurs, (iii) les formes institutionnelles qui concourent à la stabilisation du régime sociotechnique, bloquant ainsi le développement des niches d'innovation ; (iv) la faible implication des agriculteurs liée à la réduction des actions collectives de type " coopératif " et la non-valorisation des initiatives endogènes (stratégie et savoir-faire) dans les processus d'innovation. Ces résultats soulignent les pistes de déverrouillage par l'activation de leviers sociotechniques portant sur les innovations et les capacités des acteurs