Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Agriculture
Border biosecurity interceptions for air passengers – assessing intervention methods and analytic tools
Published: 2024-11-14
Subjects: Agriculture, Biosecurity, Life Sciences
At-border interventions are a critical step along the biosecurity continuum, to measure and control the risks associated with the cross-border movement of people and goods. Air passengers are a high-volume pathway for a range of biosecurity risk materials, against which various interventions may be used (e.g., manual searches, detector dogs, x-rays, etc.). Using a large interception database for [...]
Internet of Nature (IoN) and Time-Series Analysis for Ecosystem Conservation and Forecasting
Published: 2024-10-18
Subjects: Agriculture, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Potentiality of Metal Nanoparticles in Precision and Sustainable Agriculture
Published: 2024-08-08
Subjects: Agriculture, Life Sciences
The world’s increasing population has a higher demand for food and a suitable environment. However, using conventional farming methods and industrial agrochemicals leads to environmental risk, which is a significant threat for the next generation. So, nanotechnology can be a blessing for saving our environment and producing risk-free foods at minimal cost in an eco-friendly way. Nanoparticles [...]
Evaluation of livelihoods programming in Biodiversity Challenge Funds projects
Published: 2024-07-12
Subjects: Agriculture, Biodiversity, Economics
The UK government's Biodiversity Challenge Funds (BCF; including Darwin Initiative, Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, and Darwin Plus) have funded hundreds of conservation projects across the Global South since the early 1990s. Increasingly, these projects include goals relating to human livelihoods, recognising the complex interrelationships between poverty reduction and biodiversity [...]
Physical Trait Variation in Hass Avocados Across Different Fruit Sizes
Published: 2024-07-04
Subjects: Agriculture, Life Sciences
Hass avocados are globally consumed, nutrient-rich fruits. While current analyses mainly benefit the industry, there is a need for research focused on consumer advantages. Understanding the statistical relationships between the physical characteristics of avocados, particularly pulp content, can help consumers make better purchasing decisions. This study examines the physical attributes of Hass [...]
Beyond the buzz: A review of the prospects of replacing meat consumption with insect-based foods
Published: 2024-04-04
Subjects: Agriculture, Food Science, Nutrition
The substantial environmental footprint of meat production means that dietary shifts are needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Insects may offer one alternative. However, to deliver genuine benefits for sustainability of the food system, insects must first be widely accepted and consumed by the general public. In this review, we examine the necessary stages that need to be fulfilled before [...]
Have the environmental benefits of insect farming been overstated? A critical review
Published: 2024-04-04
Subjects: Agricultural and Resource Economics, Agriculture, Food Science
Humanity's food system has an immense environmental impact, and insects have been frequently proposed as a more environmentally sustainable option. The industrialised farming of insects for livestock feed and human food has attracted the attention of industry, policymakers, and the scientific community. However, many of the benefits commonly mentioned by companies and proponents of insect farming [...]
Social cues and habitat structure influence the behavior of a non-social insect
Published: 2024-03-05
Subjects: Agriculture, Animal Sciences, Biodiversity, Entomology, Life Sciences
Habitat fragmentation and loss is a known threat to biodiversity. Their combined effect leaves organisms in small isolated patches of habitat, contributing to the current biodiversity crisis. The first response of animals to environmental change is typically behavioral. Beyond the physical elements of the environment, the "social landscape" shapes the spatial distribution of the habitats [...]
Thresholds and prediction models to support the sustainable management of herbivorous insects in wheat. A review
Published: 2024-01-29
Subjects: Agriculture, Entomology
daily calorific intake for countries across the globe. Wheat crops are attacked by a diverse range of herbivorous invertebrates (pests) that cause significant yield loss. It is anticipated that yield loss caused by pests will increase in response to a changing climate. Currently, these pests are primarily controlled using pesticides, however there is an increased need for more sustainable pest [...]
Smart Solutions, Big Returns: Closing Biodiversity Knowledge Gaps with Digital Agriculture
Published: 2023-12-23
Subjects: Agriculture, Biodiversity
The global expansion and intensification of food production threaten biodiversity, vital for ecosystem services and food security. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) advocates drastic changes in agricultural management, yet translating recommendations into local action is challenging. Biodiversity-friendly practices carry highly uncertain benefits, dissuading their adoption. [...]
Ecosystem functions and services provided by dung beetles: a global meta-analysis
Published: 2023-12-19
Subjects: Agriculture, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Entomology, Life Sciences
Dung beetles are known to carry out a range of ecosystem functions such as secondary seed dispersal, bioturbation, nutrient cycling, plant growth, pest and parasite control, and trophic regulation, many of which support key ecosystem services. Despite the globally purported significance of this group of insects for ecosystem functioning, there has been no quantitative synthesis to establish the [...]
otb: Creating a HiC/HiFi Pipeline to Assemble the Prosapia bicincta Genome
Published: 2023-12-05
Subjects: Agriculture, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genomics, Other Animal Sciences
The implementation of a new genomic assembly pipeline named only the best [Genome Assembly Tools] (otb) has effectively addressed various challenges associated with data management during the development and storage of genome assemblies. otb, which incorporates a comprehensive pipeline involving a setup layer, quality checks, templating, and the integration of Nextflow and Singularity. The [...]
Sharing the burden: Cabbage stem flea beetle pest pressure and crop damage are lower in rapeseed fields surrounded by other rapeseed crops
Published: 2023-11-04
Subjects: Agriculture, Entomology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
The cabbage stem flea beetle (Psylliodes chrysocephala) is a significant pest of rapeseed (Brassica napus). Feeding by adult P. chrysocephala can cause severe leaf damage and larval infestation can reduce stem strength, both of which impact crop growth and development, causing substantial yield losses and economic damage. The structure of the agricultural landscape can regulate herbivorous pest [...]
A Comprehensive Assessment of Verticillium Wilt of Potato: Present Status and Future Prospective
Published: 2023-07-28
Subjects: Agricultural Science, Agriculture, Life Sciences, Plant Pathology, Plant Sciences
The fungal disease Verticillium wilt is a soil-borne pathogen that is caused by Verticillium dahliae. This disease affects a wide range of crops and can cause significant yield losses. Recent findings suggest that Verticillium wilt has been affecting potato crops in abundant demesne around the global world, including in North America, parts of Europe, and Asia. In some cases, the disease has been [...]
Yield declines and producer responses to shifting climate and economic conditions in Mexican coffee production
Published: 2023-04-06
Subjects: Agricultural and Resource Economics, Agricultural Economics, Agriculture, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Geography, Life Sciences, Nature and Society Relations, Other Environmental Sciences
Coffee’s climate sensitivity contributes to extreme production and price fluctuations. However, as coffee is a perennial crop, producers have difficulty responding to short-term market shifts. Combining historical climate, production and price data from all coffee-growing municipalities in Mexico, we examined trends of climate and coffee production and then characterized and quantified coffee [...]