Food Production Impacts Earth and Its Natural Processes
According to new research, food production is already one of the biggest stressors to our planet, but it has made substantially more challenging by the interaction of Earth system processes.
Earth system procedures refer to the natural activities that maintain the planet in a habitable and also useful state. This includes procedures occurring in the different biospheres like carbon sequestration in forests or nutrient runoff into fresh water systems.
The interactions among these processes challenge their boundaries and effect how well they work.
“Food production is a major motive of environmental stress, impacting on biodiversity loss, the climate and overexploitation of aquatic resources,” co-author Dr. Steven Lade from The Australian National University stated.
“We require to begin generating food in a sustainable way. By assessing the interaction of Earth system procedures, we can guarantee they are considered when developing and implementing food production and agriculture policy.”
The research, led by Aalto College in Finland, examined and characterized different Earth system processes, highlighting how they can be utilized when working toward more sustainable food production techniques.
The study highlighted several essential interactions that are usually overlooked, adding the impact of green water on food production and biodiversity.
“Green water refers to the water kept in soil that is available for plants to grow. It has a central role to play in interacting with and regulating all the other procedures like land, biodiversity, and water flow,” Dr. Lade stated.
“Ensuring we address these numerous interactions will need action. We require better communication, meaning that authorities responsible for locations like agriculture policy and aquatic policy require to talk to each other.
“We require to take a holistic approach when it comes to managing sustainable food production so that it does not strain the boundaries of our natural systems. We require to look beyond just water and land as inputs for food production.”
The researchers say challenges stem from a high density of interactions between the sea, freshwater, and land biospheres.
“Acknowledgement of these interactions and boundaries is required for maintaining stability and resilience in the Earth’s system. In some instances, human pressures might have already pushed the Earth system beyond the safe operating space for humanity,” Dr. Lade stated.
“System interactions make sustainable food manufacturing more challenging. Nevertheless, the interconnected nature means taking positive actions can have extensive flow-on effects.”
Reference:
Anna Chrysafi et al, Quantifying Earth system interactions for sustainable food production via expert elicitation, Nature Sustainability (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-022-00940-6
Read the original article on PHYS.
