Application of a hybrid MBR system to treat herbicides from agricultural runoffs

Agricultural discharge of herbicides to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) poses significant threat to the marine ecosystem. This study evaluates the performance of a hybrid treatment system consists of a membrane bioreactor (MBR), UV disinfection unit and a granular activated carbon (GAC) column in treating Ametryn which is one of the major herbicides in agricultural discharges. While the MBR alone removes only 40% of Ametryn at a hydraulic retention time of 7.8 hours, the hybrid system removed Ametryn to below detection levels.

Does agricultural food provide a good alternative to a natural diet for body store deposition in geese?

Over the past decades most goose populations have become increasingly dependent on agricultural crops during wintering and migration periods. The suitability of agricultural crops to support all nutritional requirements of migratory geese for the deposition of body stores has been questioned; feeding on agricultural crops may yield higher rates of fat deposition at the cost of reduced protein accretion due to an unbalanced diet. We compared amino-acid composition of forage, and investigated food-habitat use and dynamics and composition of body stores deposited by barnacle geese feeding on agricultural pasture and in natural salt marsh during spring migratory preparation. Overall content and composition of amino acids was similar among forage from both habitats and appeared equally suitable for protein accretion. There was no relationship between body composition of geese and their preferred food habitat. Fat and wet protein contributed with 67% and 33%, respectively, to body stores gained at a rate of 11 g/d throughout the one-month study period. We found no evidence of impaired protein accretion in geese using agricultural grassland compared to natural salt marsh. Our study supports the hypothesis that the expansion of feeding habitat by including agricultural grassland has played an important role in the recent growth of the East Atlantic flyway population of barnacle geese and other herbivorous waterbirds. Feeding refuges of improved grassland provide geese with an adequate diet for the deposition of body stores crucial for spring migration and subsequent reproduction, thereby alleviating the conflict with agriculture.

Influences of agricultural landuse and seasonal changes in abiotic conditions on invertebrate colonisation of riparian leaf detritus in intermittent streams

The structure and function of agricultural stream reaches with sparse riparian and floodplain vegetation differ from those of forested reaches, but may be ‘reset’ as these streams flow through reaches with forested riparian zones. We investigated whether invertebrate colonisation of River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) leaf packs in lowland intermittent streams was influenced by the adjacent reach-scale landuse (cleared farmland or forested reserve) within an agricultural catchment in Victoria, Australia. Further, we examined the influence of seasonal changes in hydrology and associated changes in abiotic conditions on the colonisation of leaves by repeating experiments over two summers and one spring. Across these experiments, there were no consistent differences in the structure of communities that colonised leaves in farmland and reserve reaches. In both seasons, most leaf colonists were collectors and few were shredders in both farmland and reserve reaches. Relative abundances of gastropod grazers were much higher in summer than in spring. The structure of invertebrate communities colonising leaves in the different reaches converged over time when streams flowed in spring, but diverged over time as the streams dried and abiotic conditions within disconnected pools became increasingly harsh in summer. Thus, patterns of leaf pack colonisation were influenced by the regional climate causing large seasonal changes in hydrology, but not by reach-scale landuse. The large-scale disturbances of agricultural landuse across the catchment and a supra-seasonal drought probably contributed to low diversities of invertebrate communities in the streams.

Plant variety protection and traditional agricultural knowledge in Southeast Asia

This article provides an overview of the emerging plant variety protection (PVP) systems in Southeast Asia. The case studies are from countries that form part of the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), mainly Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. The focus will be on the intersection between intellectual property rights (IPRs) and popular demands for the protection of the traditional knowledge (TK) of local communities. Factors that fuelled the emergence and shaped the content of the PVP laws were the obligation to comply with art 27(3)(b) of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), aspirations for the development of the biotechnology industry, avoidance of possible sanction under the US ‘Special 301’ procedure, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), the role played by the International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV), technical assistance from UPOV member countries, membership of international biodiversity treaties and demands from civil society organisations for protection of TK. The PVP laws that resulted present an uneasy amalgam of conventional property rights with some aspects of protection of TK. It is very likely that the local communities claiming TK rights will face legal hurdles, in as much as government agencies implementing the law will face administrative and technical complications.

Expert systems modeling for assessing climate change impacts and adaptation in agricultural systems at regional level

Australian agriculture is very susceptible to the adverse impacts of climate change, with major shifts in temperature and rainfall projected. In this context, this paper describes a research methodology for assessing potential climate change impacts on, and formulating adaptation options for, agriculture at regional level. The methodology was developed and applied in the analysis of climate change impacts on key horticultural commodities—pome fruits (apples and pears), stone fruits (peaches and nectarines) and wine grapes—in the Goulburn Broken catchment management region, State of Victoria, Australia. Core components of the methodology are mathematical models that enable to spatially represent the degree of biophysical land suitability for the growth of agricultural commodities in the region of interest given current and future climatic conditions. The methodology provides a sound analytic approach to 1) recognise regions under threat of declines in agricultural production due to unfolding climatic changes; 2) identify alternative agricultural systems better adapted to likely future climatic conditions and 3) investigate incremental and transformational adaptation actions to improve the problem situations that are being created by climate change.

Ecological connectivity or barrier fence? Critical choices on the agricultural margins of Western Australia

Western Australia's State Barrier Fence represents a continuation of colonial era attitudes that considered kangaroos, emus and dingoes as 'vermin'. Recent plans to upgrade and extend the Barrier Fence have shown little regard for ecological impacts or statutory environmental assessment processes.