Periodic Reporting for period 4 - EcoStack (Stacking of ecosystem services: mechanisms and interactions for optimal crop protection, pollination enhancement, and productivity)
Reporting period: 2023-03-10 to 2024-03-09
Intensifying agricultural practices to meet the demands of a growing global population presents a significant challenge in balancing productivity with environmental preservation. The conversion of natural habitats into farmland and the intensive use of synthetic agrochemicals have detrimental effects on the environment and biodiversity, prompting the implementation of EU agri-environment policies and directives.
Addressing this challenge is not only an ethical imperative but also a societal necessity. With the projected increase in global population, it is crucial to develop agricultural production methods that minimize environmental impact while meeting food demands. Moreover, these methods must align with goals to mitigate climate change.
Agroecosystems, though managed artificially, rely on ecosystem services provided by various organisms for pest control, pollination, nutrient recycling, and biodiversity conservation. The EcoStack project aims to enhance the sustainability of crop production systems in Europe by optimizing biodiversity management and utilizing bio-inspired tools for crop protection.
In conclusion, EcoStack addressed the pressing issue of reconciling agricultural productivity with environmental protection. By promoting and assessing new approaches of landscape management and a number of novel in-crop strategies, EcoStack has significantly contributed to agroecosystems resilience. These results have been successfully integrated with naturally inspired plant protection tools by defining broader strategies with a modelling approach, meeting at the best ecological, economic and social sustainability. EcoStack results significantly contribute to food security while preserving natural resources and biodiversity for future generations.
Addressing this challenge is not only an ethical imperative but also a societal necessity. With the projected increase in global population, it is crucial to develop agricultural production methods that minimize environmental impact while meeting food demands. Moreover, these methods must align with goals to mitigate climate change.
Agroecosystems, though managed artificially, rely on ecosystem services provided by various organisms for pest control, pollination, nutrient recycling, and biodiversity conservation. The EcoStack project aims to enhance the sustainability of crop production systems in Europe by optimizing biodiversity management and utilizing bio-inspired tools for crop protection.
In conclusion, EcoStack addressed the pressing issue of reconciling agricultural productivity with environmental protection. By promoting and assessing new approaches of landscape management and a number of novel in-crop strategies, EcoStack has significantly contributed to agroecosystems resilience. These results have been successfully integrated with naturally inspired plant protection tools by defining broader strategies with a modelling approach, meeting at the best ecological, economic and social sustainability. EcoStack results significantly contribute to food security while preserving natural resources and biodiversity for future generations.
THE ROLE OF LANDSCAPE - Using yield monitor data collected from farmers we showed that yield declines at the crop edge can be mitigated by off-crop semi-natural habitats (SNH) e.g. hedgerows. Pollinators were more abundant and pest regulation services higher in crops adjacent to SNH than other crops. Molecular and image-based tools have been developed and tested to help understand species interactions and how they are impacted by SNH. The positive impact of SNH has been widely disseminated.
IN-CROP INTERVENTIONS - Agronomic practices within the crop, e.g. variety mixes, companion crops and the use of organic mulch can significantly improve the provision of ecosystem services within the crop. We have found that certain varietal mixes reduce aphid performance and that companion planting (intercropping, trap cropping, undersowing) and organic mulches reduce pests while supporting beneficial insects. The results of crop trials designed by consulting commercial farmers and other stakeholder groups show how these measures can be successfully implemented in barley, wheat, oilseed rape and potato crops.
BIO-INSPIRED PLANT PROTECTION: Strategies to promote naturally occurring or introduced antagonists of pests and pathogens were tested for efficacy, with results communicated to farmers and crop protection companies. Production of candidate molecules for biopesticides was scaled up, with efficacy trials and biosafety testing conducted. Plant signaling molecules were identified to enhance defense against insect pests and pathogens.
ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT – Data have been collected on the biology and ecology of ESP key species for modelling studies; the sensitivity to selected insecticides and their combinations of major pest control agents and pollinators in different European countries has been assessed. Data collected indicate a high probability of unacceptable effects of the tested insecticides on ESP communities. However, no major synergistic interactions were found between the tested plant protection products.
MODELLING AND UPSCALING –Pursued by developing landscape models to support simulation of ESPs in collaboration with other H2020 projects. Landscape models were completed for nine countries (Belgium Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and UK). Development of ESP is underway: a new sub-population approach added to ALMaSS to model numerous species (e.g. aphids) and development of northern-European species of beetle solitary bee and a spider. The subpopulation model is complete, all northern European aphid models are calibrated and tested.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT – For the socio-economic evaluation of the EcoStack strategies, cost-benefit calculations were carried out for most of the individual measures at farm level. The implementation of the ‘realistic uptake’ stacking scenario in ALMaSS showed the possible range of changes in impacts on the considered ESPs that could occur if some restrictions were applied to the measures considered in the ‘maximum uptake’ scenario. The assessment of the socio-economic impacts of EcoStack in selected EU countries based on cost-benefit-analyses showed that EcoStack measures generally benefit ecosystem services and in many cases are also economically viable at farm level.
IN-CROP INTERVENTIONS - Agronomic practices within the crop, e.g. variety mixes, companion crops and the use of organic mulch can significantly improve the provision of ecosystem services within the crop. We have found that certain varietal mixes reduce aphid performance and that companion planting (intercropping, trap cropping, undersowing) and organic mulches reduce pests while supporting beneficial insects. The results of crop trials designed by consulting commercial farmers and other stakeholder groups show how these measures can be successfully implemented in barley, wheat, oilseed rape and potato crops.
BIO-INSPIRED PLANT PROTECTION: Strategies to promote naturally occurring or introduced antagonists of pests and pathogens were tested for efficacy, with results communicated to farmers and crop protection companies. Production of candidate molecules for biopesticides was scaled up, with efficacy trials and biosafety testing conducted. Plant signaling molecules were identified to enhance defense against insect pests and pathogens.
ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT – Data have been collected on the biology and ecology of ESP key species for modelling studies; the sensitivity to selected insecticides and their combinations of major pest control agents and pollinators in different European countries has been assessed. Data collected indicate a high probability of unacceptable effects of the tested insecticides on ESP communities. However, no major synergistic interactions were found between the tested plant protection products.
MODELLING AND UPSCALING –Pursued by developing landscape models to support simulation of ESPs in collaboration with other H2020 projects. Landscape models were completed for nine countries (Belgium Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and UK). Development of ESP is underway: a new sub-population approach added to ALMaSS to model numerous species (e.g. aphids) and development of northern-European species of beetle solitary bee and a spider. The subpopulation model is complete, all northern European aphid models are calibrated and tested.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT – For the socio-economic evaluation of the EcoStack strategies, cost-benefit calculations were carried out for most of the individual measures at farm level. The implementation of the ‘realistic uptake’ stacking scenario in ALMaSS showed the possible range of changes in impacts on the considered ESPs that could occur if some restrictions were applied to the measures considered in the ‘maximum uptake’ scenario. The assessment of the socio-economic impacts of EcoStack in selected EU countries based on cost-benefit-analyses showed that EcoStack measures generally benefit ecosystem services and in many cases are also economically viable at farm level.
THE ROLE OF LANDSCAPE – The analysis of ESP impact on yield and its link to the surrounding landscape allows an accurate estimate of the ecological and economic impact of the off-crop components of food production systems. This approach will help to manage agricultural landscapes to maximize crop yields while minimizing inputs.
IN-CROP INTERVENTIONS – The core innovation of EcoStack is the “ecostacking” of the “best bets” in approaches to be tailored and implemented at farm level in later years of the project, using the modeling tools developed by EcoStack and through local field trials.
BIO-INSPIRED PLANT PROTECTION – This EcoStack experimental approach is highly innovative as it uses natural antagonists beyond the organism level, as a source of natural biopesticides and plant biostimulants, for the control of pests and diseases. This enables a step-change in terms of how biologically-based approaches can be deployed as part of sustainable and integrated pest management.
ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT – There is no single data source that enables assessment of actual risks to non-target organisms across different crops, pedo-climatic zones of the EU and for a range of pesticides. EcoStack is filling this gap by developing more realistic Ecological Risk Assessment for pesticides and contributing to models that allows prediction of long-term effects of combined pesticide use and other agricultural practices in a complex landscape.
MODELLING AND UPSCALING – The use of cutting-edge ALMaSS modelling facilitates extrapolation of knowledge from one context to another, so that a sparse matrix of laboratory and field data can be exploited to develop the best solutions for different eco-climatic and pedo-climatic zones in Europe, overcoming the limit of an unmanageable number of empirical field trials.
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT – A combination of region specific cost-benefit analysis of the process and product innovations generated by EcoStack, along with the innovative use of ALMaSS to define suitable “realistic uptake scenarios” are the most innovative aspects of an in-depth and unique evaluation and effective enhancement of the socio economic impact of EcoStack.
IN-CROP INTERVENTIONS – The core innovation of EcoStack is the “ecostacking” of the “best bets” in approaches to be tailored and implemented at farm level in later years of the project, using the modeling tools developed by EcoStack and through local field trials.
BIO-INSPIRED PLANT PROTECTION – This EcoStack experimental approach is highly innovative as it uses natural antagonists beyond the organism level, as a source of natural biopesticides and plant biostimulants, for the control of pests and diseases. This enables a step-change in terms of how biologically-based approaches can be deployed as part of sustainable and integrated pest management.
ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT – There is no single data source that enables assessment of actual risks to non-target organisms across different crops, pedo-climatic zones of the EU and for a range of pesticides. EcoStack is filling this gap by developing more realistic Ecological Risk Assessment for pesticides and contributing to models that allows prediction of long-term effects of combined pesticide use and other agricultural practices in a complex landscape.
MODELLING AND UPSCALING – The use of cutting-edge ALMaSS modelling facilitates extrapolation of knowledge from one context to another, so that a sparse matrix of laboratory and field data can be exploited to develop the best solutions for different eco-climatic and pedo-climatic zones in Europe, overcoming the limit of an unmanageable number of empirical field trials.
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT – A combination of region specific cost-benefit analysis of the process and product innovations generated by EcoStack, along with the innovative use of ALMaSS to define suitable “realistic uptake scenarios” are the most innovative aspects of an in-depth and unique evaluation and effective enhancement of the socio economic impact of EcoStack.