Paola Migliorini

Edible and Tended Wild Plants, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Agroecology

Humans the world over have depended on wild-growing plants in their diets for hundreds of thousands of years, and many people continue to rely on these species to meet at least part of their daily nutritional needs. Wild harvested plant foods include: roots and other underground parts; shoots and leafy greens; berries and other fleshy fruits; grains, nuts and seeds; and mushrooms, lichens, algae and other species. Use of any of these species requires special cultural knowledge regarding harvesting, preparation, cooking and other forms of processing. Many were, and are, prepared and served in mixtures or combinations. In most cases, too, the species are managed, tended or manipulated in some way to increase their productivity and availability. Many of the most widely used species are categorized as weeds—species that grow and reproduce readily in disturbed or cleared land, and are common around human settlements and agricultural areas. This paper presents case examples of edible wild plant use and the roles of these species in agroecosystems from different parts of the world and discusses similarities and differences in use across different cultures and segments of society.

Mycorrhizal activity and diversity in a long-term organic Mediterranean agroecosystem

In organic agriculture, soil fertility and productivity rely on biological processes carried out by soil microbes, which represent the key elements of agroecosystem functioning. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), fundamental microorganisms for soil fertility, plant nutrition and health, may play an important role in organic agriculture by compensating for the reduced use of fertilizers and pesticides. Though, AMF activity and diversity following conversion from conventional to organic farming are poorly investigated. Here we studied AMF abundance, diversity and activity in short- and long-term organically and conventionally managed Mediterranean arable agroecosystems. Our results show that both AMF population activity, as assessed by the mycorrhizal inoculum potential (MIP) assay, the percentage of colonized root length of the field crop (maize) and glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) content were higher in organically managed fields and increased with time since transition to organic farming. Here, we showed an increase of GRSP content in arable organic systems and a strong correlation with soil MIP values. The analysis of AMF spores showed differences among communities of the three microagroecosystems in terms of species richness and composition as suggested by a multivariate analysis. All our data indicate that AMF respond positively to the transition to organic farming by a progressive enhancement of their activity that seems independent from the species richness of the AMF communities. Our study contributes to the understanding of the effects of agricultural managements on AMF, which represent a promising tool for the implementation of sustainable agriculture.

Effect of different cover crops on organic tomato production

When animal husbandry is not included in organic farming systems, green manure may be crucial to preserve or increase soil organic matter content and to ensure an adequate N supply to crops. Different species, both legumes and nonlegumes, may be used as cover crops. The present research was carried out to investigate the effect of different green manure crops [oats and barley mixture ( Avena sativa L. and Hordeum vulgare L.), rye ( Secale cereale L . ), brown mustard ( Brassica juncea L.), flax ( Linum usitatissimum L.), pigeon bean ( Vicia faba L . var. minor )] on the production of the following tomato crop. A field trial was conducted for two cropping seasons (2003–2004 and 2004–2005) in a commercial organic farm. The yield of tomato crop was positively affected by pigeon bean, although statistically significant differences in comparison with the other treatments were observed only in 2004–2005, when the experiment was conducted in a less fertile soil. This was probably due mainly to the effect of the pigeon bean cover crop on N availability. In fact, this species, in spite of a lower biomass production than the other cover crops considered in the study, provided the highest N supply and a more evident increase of soil N-NO 3 . Also, cover crop efficiency, evaluated using the N recovery index, reached higher values in pigeon bean, especially in the second year. The quality of tomato fruits was little influenced by the preceding cover crops. Nevertheless, when tomato followed pigeon bean, fruits showed a lower firmness compared to other cover crops, and in the second year this was associated with a higher fruit N content.

Converging and diverging principles and practices of organic agriculture regulations and agroecology. A review

There is ongoing debate among stakeholders about the future development of agricultural and food systems to meet the global challenges of food supply, biological and cultural diversity, climate change, and social justice. Among other options, agroecology and organic agriculture are discussed. Both have similar goals and use a systems approach; however, they are recognised and received differently by stakeholders. Here we review and compare principles and practices defined and described in EU organic agriculture regulations, International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movement (IFOAM) norms, and agroecology scientific literature. The main finding are as follows: (1) Regarding principles, EU organic regulations mainly focus on appropriate design and management of biological processes based on ecological systems, restriction of external inputs, and strict limitation of chemical inputs. IFOAM principles are very broad and more complete, and include a holistic and systemic vision of sustainability. Agroecology has a defined set of principles for the ecological management of agri-food systems, which also includes some socio-economic principles. (2) Many proposed cropping practices are similar for EU organic, IFOAM, and agroecology, e.g. soil tillage, soil fertility and fertilisation, crop and cultivar choice, crop rotation, as well as pest, disease and weed management. In contrast, the origin and quantity of products potentially used for soil fertilisation and pest, disease, and weed management are different. Additionally, some practices are only mentioned for one of the three sources. (3) In animal production, only a few proposed practices are similar for EU organic, IFOAM, and agroecology. These include integration of cropping and animal systems and breed choice. In contrast, practices for animal management, prevention methods in animal health, animal housing, animal welfare, animal nutrition, and veterinary management are defined or described differently. (4) Related to food systems, organic agriculture focusses on technical aspects, such as food processing, while in agroecology there is a prominent debate between a transformative and conformative agenda. Both agroecology and organic agriculture offer promising contributions for the future development of sustainable agricultural production and food systems, especially if their principles and practices converge to a transformative approach and that impedes the conventionalisation of agro-food systems.

An integrated sustainability score based on agro-ecological and socioeconomic indicators. A case study of stockless organic farming in Italy

ABSTRACT The purpose of our research is to develop an integrated sustainability score (ISS) choosing the farm level as system’s boundaries and developing a methodology, based on a geometric mean algorithm, which is negatively affected by the internal imbalance of the agroecosystem. The first step is to identify and calculate the indicators of systems and sub-systems to assess the agro-ecological and socioeconomic dimensions of sustainability. The second step is the selection, weighting and integration of indicators that permit the calculation of the ISS ranging from 0 to 1. The farm sustainability score is categorized into three levels: weak, intermediate and strong. This methodology has been verified on a stockless organic farming system case study of 12 farms in Italy. Results show that most of the farms reached intermediate levels of sustainability but there are significant differences on ISS scores within the study group. Agro-ecological and socioeconomic dimension play a different role in highlighting the coexistence of different models of sustainability. A further development of the present methodology should include an in-depth analysis of the social dimension of sustainability and integrate an assessment procedure to formulate improved management practices that will help farmers to find win-win solutions that decrease the contrast between environmental and economic sustainability.

The Evaluation of Sustainability of Organic Farms in Tuscany

Sustainability evaluation with an updated version of MESMIS Framework has been conducted in 5 organic farms in Tuscany, characterised by different management approach. The real differences is, indeed, determined by motivations that explain how the landscape, the work structure and the cultural heritage are organized, giving the present assessment of the Tuscan rural world.

Alpine home gardens in the Western Italian Alps: the role of gender on the local agro-biodiversity and its management

ABSTRACT Home gardens are reservoirs of biodiversity, promoting food security and maintaining farm ecosystem processes. A study on alpine home gardens was conducted in two valleys in Piedmont, north-western Italy. Forty semi-structured interviews with garden managers were gathered. We analysed if gender roles affect the agro-biodiversity and the management of home gardens in the Western Italian Alps. The results show that mixed couples (consisting of men and women) present higher diversity of management practices and a higher number of taxa detected: 138 taxa were detected and out of that 138 taxa were found among mixed couples, 82 among male gardeners and 69 among female gardeners. Indeed, when vegetable gardens are managed by men only, more than half of the taxa are represented by horticultural species. On the other hand, when vegetable gardens are managed by women only, flowering species, wild and semi-wild species representing a relevant percentage of the total number of mentioned taxa. Despite most of the literature emphasising the role of women in biodiversity conservation and traditional ecological knowledge keeping, this study seeks to demonstrate that the joint presence of men and women appears to increase the levels of biodiversity and diversity in management practices within alpine home gardens.