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What makes an operational Farm Soil Carbon Code? Insights from a global comparison of existing soil carbon codes using a structured analytical framework
Get PDFSoils have the potential to sequester and store significant amounts of carbon, contributing towards climate change mitigation. Soil carbon markets are now emerging to pay farmers for changes in land use or management that absorb carbon from the atmosphere, governed by codes that ensure additionality, permanence and non-leakage whilst protecting against unintentional reversals. This paper represents the first global comparative analysis of agricultural soil carbon codes, providing new insights into the wide range of approaches currently used to govern these emerging markets internationally. To do this, the paper first develops an analytical framework for the systematic comparison of codes, which could be applied to the analysis of codes in other land uses and habitats. This framework was then used to identify commonalities and differences in methods, projects, administration and commercialisation and associated code documents for 12 publicly available codes from the UK, France, Australia, USA and international bodies. Codes used a range of mechanisms to manage: additionality (including legal, adoption, financial viability and investment tests); uncertainty and risks around soil carbon sequestration (including minimum permanence periods, carbon buffers, contractual arrangements and/or insurance policies); leakage (including restriction of eligible practices and monitoring to subtract leakage from verified sequestration); baselines (including multi-year and variable buffers based on empirical data or models); measurement, reporting and verification methods (stipulating time intervals, methods, data sources and assessments of uncertainty); auditing; resale of carbon units; stakeholder engagement; and approaches to ensure market integrity (such as buyer checks). The paper concludes by discussing existing MRV methods and codes that could be adapted for use in the UK and evaluates the need for an over-arching standard for soil carbon codes in the UK, to which existing codes and other schemes already generating soil carbon credits could be assessed and benchmarked
Creating an innovation ecosystem for rapid diagnostic tests for livestock to support sustainable antibiotic use
Get PDFAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of today’s greatest public health threats and reducing antimicrobial use in livestock is essential to prevent its spread, requiring rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) to ensure that the drug prescribed matches the sensitivity of the disease organism. However, despite decades of research on RDTs and a relatively permissive regulatory environment in the UK, few devices are in commercial use. Challenges discussed by RDT developers included identifying commercially-viable targets, and management of the innovation ecosystem, e.g. to create clear pathways to market supporting positive interactions between farmers, vets, and other actors along the value chain. Future support for RDT development could be provided through incorporation in: assured food systems; business service packages provided by centralised laboratories; or animal health monitoring packages related to the spread of AMR. Breeding stock sales could require an accompanying health package including RDTs, vaccines and/or antibiotics, linking to precision agriculture approaches. Unlike the example of RDT development for COVID-19, it seems that the urgency of the issue and the clarity of links between animal and human health outcomes are not yet sufficient to support a fast-tracking programme for the development of RDTs to combat AMR
Considerations for Use of Permeable Pavement Systems within Urban Settings across Caribbean Small Island Developing States
No full textIncreasing imperviousness caused largely from urban development coupled with global
warming, sea-level rise and change in weather patterns contribute immensely to frequent
flooding events across numerous urban municipalities across Caribbean Small Island
Developing States (SIDS). Existing conventional drainage systems fail to meet stormwater
runoff peak flow and volume demands generated by today’s changing environment. Land or
service constraints often restrict expansion of these drainage systems. Despite those
challenges, Caribbean SIDS authorities and drainage engineers continue to recommend and
use conventional drainage systems as the dominant infrastructure for the collection and
conveyance of stormwater away from urban areas. Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems
(SUDS) or Low Impact Development (LID) practices such as porous or Permeable Pavement
Systems (PPS) are designed to effectively manage stormwater runoff at the source as opposed
to conventional drainage systems. PPS reduce urban runoff and peak flows via development
of on-site temporary storage measures for potential water reuse and minimisation of impervious
areas. Water quality benefits of PPS include thermal mitigation and reduced pollutant loadings
of suspended solids, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and some nutrients to receiving natural
waters. It is recommended that SUDS such as PPS be incorporated within urban drainage
systems across Caribbean SIDS to help mitigate the frequent flooding events being
experienced annually. PPS installations must be fit for purpose and this paper discusses key
considerations for use of PPS within urban settings across Caribbean SIDS
Environmentally improved desalination processes in the Caribbean for Brine Management: On-Site Produced Sodium Hypochlorite
No full textOptimizing the clipping frequency and nitrogen topdressing in a dual-purpose oat used for fodder and cover cropping
Get PDFManagement strategies such as nitrogen (N) topdressing and clipping can be used to optimize a cover crop
for the dual purpose of soil cover and forage. The present study tested oat (Avena sativa) for a holistic
provision of soil cover and forage under various levels of clipping frequency and N topdressing.
Effects on root and above-ground biomass, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and crude protein
(CP) were evaluated. Clipping frequency had four levels, namely clipped only at termination (C1), clipped
at 28 days after emergence (DAE) and termination (C2), clipped at 28, 42 DAE, and termination (C3), and
clipped at 28, 42, 56 DAE, and termination (C4). Nitrogen topdressing had two levels, namely with (N1)
and without (N0) the recommended N topdressing. Increasing clipping frequency reduced the root and
aerial biomass and did not affect the forage quality harvested before termination. However, N topdressing
increased biomass and CP content across the clipping frequencies. Results suggest clipping thrice
combined with N topdressing (C4 � N1) provides the best option to satisfy both soil cover and livestock
demands. The treatment (C4 � N1) gave > 2 t ha−1 of biomass during the growing period and 6 t ha−1 at
termination which can be used for livestock forage and soil cover, respectively. Clipping thrice without N
topdressing (C4 � N0) was the best option for resource-constrained farmers
Rural arts entrepreneurs’ placemaking - how entrepreneurial placemaking explains creative hub evolution during COVID-19 lockdown
Get PDFThis article critically evaluates the development and impact of a new online ‘dance practice’ service in a rural creative hub Remote. The research asks: ‘How does entrepreneurial placemaking contribute to the evolution of rural creative hubs during the COVID-19 pandemic?’ To answer this question, the article critically evaluates the business activities of one artisan entrepreneur, applying placemaking and resilience. Using a case study strategy, this research employs online qualitative research. Creative hub development is explained as a result of ‘entrepreneurial placemaking’, forming the main contribution of this article. This term subsumes multi-layered exchanges. ‘Entrepreneurial placemaking’ is conceptualised as continuous becoming, and illustrated by Remote’s adaption processes to lockdown phases. Remote is turned into a stage for digital placemaking during the COVID-19 lockdown via the ‘open dance practice’ service provided by a performance dance artist. Findings highlight that to enact entrepreneurial placemaking, creative professionals need to draw upon adaptive capacity, which includes the ability to develop exchange relationships and business-related digital skills. Peer-learning is a recommended solution for developing such digital skills across artist entrepreneurial communities. This article contributes to the ongoing conversation on the role of creative hubs for socioeconomic development and foregrounding the activities of hub users
Farmers' willingness to pay towards the sustainability of plant clinics: evidence from Bangladesh, Rwanda and Zambia
Get PDFABSTRACT
Fee-based agricultural extension programmes have been proposed in response to
the constraints of funding public extension services. This has piqued researchers’
interest in determining farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for extension services in
recent decades. The current study examines farmers’ WTP to ensure the
sustainability of plant clinics. Smallholder farmers in over 30 countries benefit
from this demand-driven extension method, which delivers plant health
diagnostic and consulting services. External funders are now paying the plant
clinic operations, which raises worries about their long-term viability if the
funding stops. We used survey data from 602, 637, and 837 households in
Bangladesh, Rwanda, and Zambia. We discovered that roughly 64% of the sample
farmers were willing to pay an amount sufficient to cover the operational costs of
an established plant clinic using the iterative bidding technique of eliciting WTP.
Farmers in Bangladesh, Rwanda, and Zambia were willing to spend an average of
0.27USD, 0.85USD, and 2.25USD per visit to plant clinics. According to our
findings, farmers appear to value the plant clinic extension method and are eager
to contribute to its long-term viability. Therefore, piloting fee-paying plant clinic
services to determine farmers’ actual WTP and preferred payment options would
be beneficial
Common protein-coding variants influence the racing phenotype in galloping racehorse breeds
Get PDFSelection for system-wide morphological, physiological, and metabolic adaptations has led to extreme athletic phenotypes among geographically diverse horse breeds. Here, we identify genes contributing to exercise adaptation in racehorses by applying genomics approaches for racing performance, an end-point athletic phenotype. Using an integrative genomics strategy to first combine population genomics results with skeletal muscle exercise and training transcriptomic data, followed by whole-genome resequencing of Asian horses, we identify protein-coding variants in genes of interest in galloping racehorse breeds (Arabian, Mongolian and Thoroughbred). A core set of genes, G6PC2, HDAC9, KTN1, MYLK2, NTM, SLC16A1 and SYNDIG1, with central roles in muscle, metabolism, and neurobiology, are key drivers of the racing phenotype. Although racing potential is a multifactorial trait, the genomic architecture shaping the common athletic phenotype in horse populations bred for racing provides evidence for the influence of protein-coding variants in fundamental exercise-relevant genes. Variation in these genes may therefore be exploited for genetic improvement of horse populations towards specific types of racing
Coastal landscape changes at Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar: Contextualizing the archaeology of an early Islamic port of trade
No full textUnguja Ukuu, located on the Zanzibar Archipelago, eastern Africa, was an active Indian Ocean trading settlement from the mid-first millennium until the early second millennium AD. As part of recent archaeological excavations aimed at understanding the site's transregional trade networks, geoarchaeological analyses were undertaken to document the geomorphic context of the ancient settlement. Here, we outline the results of these field and laboratory studies to discuss patterns of anthropogenic sediment deposition. Unguja Ukuu�s deep coastal stratigraphy appears to record progradation of an inhabited back-reef shore from the mid-seventh to the nineth centuries AD, perhaps in the wake of an earlier middle to late Holocene marine transgression. Excavations on the back-beach show that deposits associated with the ancient settlement include interlayered middens, paleofloors, and backshore sands and, in later phases, a peri-urban dump with dark-earth-type anthrosols developed on these deposits. Coastal progradation appears to have been driven in part by the accumulation of anthropogenic detritus and compaction of ancient surfaces. We hypothesize how the inherited, submerged relic Late Pleistocene geomorphology of the intertidal zone and later Holocene sediment supply from the hinterland may have supported the emergence of Unguja Ukuu as a trading locale, and possibly contributed to its decline in the early second millennium AD