Agriculture Commons^™

Working With Locals To Restore Biodiversity To A Rubber Dominated Landscape, Francis Commercon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Xishuangbanna, in Yunnan,China, contains the country’s highest concentration of biodiversity. Since the 1980s,rubber plantations have replaced a significant portion of the prefecture’s lowland Seasonal Tropical Rainforest, leading to wildlife habitat loss and other environmental issues.Monoculture farming practices also leave farmers economically vulnerable to market fluctuations. To learn the best solutions for increasing ecosystem services and income stability in rubber-dominated areas, the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) project Green Rubber engages smallholders directly in establishing and maintaining scientifically rigorous intercropping experiments in their villages.

Using Man’e village and the Green Rubber project as a case study, I asked to what degree and …

Evaluating Animal Agriculture Impacts On Water Quality: Data Gaps In West Central Minnesota Case Study, Ed Brands

Environmental Studies Publications

Balancing the economic and food system contributions of animal agriculture with negative impacts such as water quality degradation has been a recurring question in Minnesota and other agricultural states (e.g., Iowa and North Carolina). Over the past 15 years significant federal- and state-level changes in the regulation of animal feeding operations (AFOs) and associated practices have attempted to improve water quality. The impacts of these changes are unclear; therefore, the main purpose of this project was to evaluate policies designed to protect water quality from manure runoff and spills within the context of a manageable geographic area. Project work was …

Effects Of Refuges On The Evolution Of Resistance To Transgenic Corn By The Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera Leconte, Jennifer Deitloff, Mike W. Dunbar, David A. Ingber, Bruce E. Hibbard, Aaron J. Gassmann

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte is a major pest of corn and causes over a billion dollars of economic loss annually through yield reductions and management costs. Corn producing toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been developed to help manageD. v. virgifera.However, previous studies have demonstrated the ability of this species to evolve resistance to Bt toxins in both laboratory and field settings.

RESULTS: We used an experimental evolution approach to test the refuge strategies for delaying resistance of D. v. virgifera to corn producing Bt toxin Cry34/35Ab1. In the absence of refuges, D. v. virgifera developed resistance to …