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The ‘4 per mille Soils for Food Security and Climate’ was launched at the COP21 with an aspiration to increase global soil organic matter stocks by 4 per 1000 (or 0.4 %) per year as a compensation for the global emissions of greenhouse gases by anthropogenic sources. This paper surveyed the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock estimates and sequestration potentials from 20 regions in the world (New Zealand, Chile, South Africa, Australia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, India, China Taiwan, South Korea, China Mainland, United States of America, France, Canada, Belgium, England & Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Russia). We asked whether the 4 per mille initiative is feasible for the region. The outcomes highlight region specific efforts and scopes for soil carbon sequestration. Reported soil C sequestration rates globally show that under best management practices, 4 per mille or even higher sequestration rates can be accomplished. High C sequestration rates (up to 10 per mille) can be achieved for soils with low initial SOC stock (topsoil less than 30 t C ha− 1), and at the first twenty years after implementation of best management practices. In addition, areas which have reached equilibrium will not be able to further increase their sequestration. We found that most studies on SOC sequestration only consider topsoil (up to 0.3 m depth), as it is considered to be most affected by management techniques. The 4 per mille number was based on a blanket calculation of the whole global soil profile C stock, however the potential to increase SOC is mostly on managed agricultural lands. If we consider 4 per mille in the top 1m of global agricultural soils, SOC sequestration is between 2-3 Gt C year− 1, which effectively offset 20–35% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. As a strategy for climate change mitigation, soil carbon sequestration buys time over the next ten to twenty years while other effective sequestration and low carbon technologies become viable. The challenge for cropping farmers is to find disruptive technologies that will further improve soil condition and deliver increased soil carbon. Progress in 4 per mille requires collaboration and communication between scientists, farmers, policy makers, and marketeers.

Current food systems are challenged by relying on a few input-intensive, staple crops. The prioritization of yield and the loss of diversity during the recent history of domestication has created contemporary crops and cropping systems that are ecologically unsustainable, vulnerable to climate change, nutrient poor, and socially inequitable. For decades, scientists have proposed diversity as a solution to address these challenges to global food security. Here, we outline the possibilities for a new era of crop domestication, focused on broadening the palette of crop diversity, that engages and benefits the three elements of domestication: crops, ecosystems, and humans. We explore how the suite of tools and technologies at hand can be applied to renew diversity in existing crops, improve underutilized crops, and domesticate new crops to bolster genetic, agroecosystem, and food system diversity. Implementing the new era of domestication requires that researchers, funders, and policymakers boldly invest in basic and translational research. Humans need more diverse food systems in the Anthropocene—the process of domestication can help build them.

The poultry industry is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors of livestock production in the world. The estimated 2010 world flock was over 18 billion birds with a yearly manure output of 22 million tonnes. Storage and disposal of raw poultry manure has become an environmental problem because of the associated air, water and soil pollution. Environmental and health problems such as odor and pathogens that may arise during and after land application of raw manure can be eliminated by drying. Dried manure can be utilized as a soil conditioner to improve soil tilth and reduce the problems associated with soil compaction and as a feed for ruminants because of its high nitrogen content. The aim of this study was to investigate the kinetics of thin layer drying of poultry manure and evaluate the effects of drying with heated air on the chemical and biological properties of manure. The effects of temperature and depth of manure layer were evaluated. The profile of the moisture content of poultry manure followed an exponential decay curve. The moisture decay constant was affected by the drying temperature and the depth of the manure layer. At the three temperature levels studied, the time required to dry poultry manure in 1 cm-deep layer was the least, followed by 2 and 3 cm-deep layers, respectively. The diffusion coefficient increased with both temperature and depth of drying layer, but did not show a linear increase with either variable. The optimum depth for drying manure (at which the highest drying effectiveness occurred) was 3 cm. Drying manure at 40-60°C resulted in the loss of 44-55% of the total Kjeldahl nitrogen, with losses increasing with both the temperature and depth of manure. The pH of the manure decreased from the initial value of 8.4 before drying to about 6.6 after drying. The odor analysis indicated that dried poultry manure did not have an offensive odor. Drying achieved 65.3 and 69.3% reductions in odor intensity and offensiveness, respectively. Reductions in the number of bacteria, mold/yeast and E.coli were 65-99, 74-99 and 99.97% respectively. The greatest reductions in microbial population occurred at the highest temperatures (60°C) and the thinest manure depths (1 cm). Heated air drying of poultry manure at temperatures between 40 and 60°C was effective in killing pathogens and removing odor.

The influence of compost on the growth of bean plants irrigated with As-contaminated waters and its influence on the mobility of As in the soils and the uptake of As (as NaAs(III)O2) by plant components was studied at various compost application rates (3·10(4) and 6·10(4) kg ha(-1)) and at three As concentrations (1, 2 and 3 mg kg(-1)). The biomass and As and P concentrations of the roots, shoots and beans were determined at harvest time, as well as the chlorophyll content of the leaves and nonspecific and specifically bound As in the soil. The bean plants exposed to As showed typical phytotoxicity symptoms; no plants however died over the study. The biomass of the bean plants increased with the increasing amounts of compost added to the soil, attributed to the phytonutritive capacity of compost. Biomass decreased with increasing As concentrations, however, the reduction in the biomass was significantly lower with the addition of compost, indicating that the As phytotoxicity was alleviated by the compost. For the same As concentration, the As content of the roots, shoots and beans decreased with increasing compost added compared to the Control. This is due to partial immobilization of the As by the organic functional groups on the compost, either directly or through cation bridging. Most of the As adsorbed by the bean plants accumulated in the roots, while a scant allocation of As occurred in the beans. Hence, the addition of compost to soils could be used as an effective means to limit As accumulation in crops from As-contaminated waters.

As the effects of global climate change become more apparent, animal species will become increasingly affected by extreme climate and its effect on the environment. There is a pressing need to understand animal physiological and behavioural responses to climatic stressors. We used the reactive scope model as a framework to investigate the influence of drought conditions on vervet monkey ( Chlorocebus pygerythrus ) behaviour, physiological stress and survival across 2.5 years in South Africa. Data were collected on climatic, environmental and behavioural variables and physiological stress via faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCMs). There was a meaningful interaction between water availability and resource abundance: when food availability was high but standing water was unavailable, fGCM concentrations were higher compared to when food was abundant and water was available. Vervet monkeys adapted their behaviour during a drought period by spending a greater proportion of time resting at the expense of feeding, moving and social behaviour. As food availability decreased, vervet mortality increased. Peak mortality occurred when food availability was at its lowest and there was no standing water. A survival analysis revealed that higher fGCM concentrations were associated with an increased probability of mortality. Our results suggest that with continued climate change, the increasing prevalence of drought will negatively affect vervet abundance and distribution in our population. Our study contributes to knowledge of the limits and scope of behavioural and physiological plasticity among vervet monkeys in the face of rapid environmental change.

A new solar dryer, which consisted of a solar air heater and a drying chamber, was developed for drying food products. The present drying system was successfully tested using sultana grapes, green beans, sweet peppers and chilli peppers. The traditional sun-drying experiments were employed and compared with the solar-drying experiments. It was shown that the use of this type of solar dryer reduced the drying time significantly and essentially provided better product quality.