Institution
Wageningen University and Research Centre
Education•Wageningen, Netherlands•
About: Wageningen University and Research Centre is a education organization based out in Wageningen, Netherlands. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Sustainability. The organization has 23474 authors who have published 54833 publications receiving 2608897 citations.
Topics: Population, Sustainability, Agriculture, Climate change, Gene
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: It is unknown how the extensive European agri-environmental budget for conservation on farmland contributes to the policy objectives to halt biodiversity decline, and new research directions are identified addressing this important knowledge gap.
Abstract: Biodiversity continues to decline, despite the implementation of international conservation conventions and measures. To counteract biodiversity loss, it is pivotal to know how conservation actions affect biodiversity trends. Focussing on European farmland species, we review what is known about the impact of conservation initiatives on biodiversity. We argue that the effects of conservation are a function of conservation-induced ecological contrast, agricultural land-use intensity and landscape context. We find that, to date, only a few studies have linked local conservation effects to national biodiversity trends. It is therefore unknown how the extensive European agri-environmental budget for conservation on farmland contributes to the policy objectives to halt biodiversity decline. Based on this review, we identify new research directions addressing this important knowledge gap.
578 citations
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University of Aberdeen1, University of Bristol2, University of Brasília3, Murdoch University4, Nanjing Agricultural University5, University of Minnesota6, University of Reading7, KIIT University8, Agro ParisTech9, Colorado State University10, Wageningen University and Research Centre11, Environment Canada12, AgResearch13, Nagoya University14, Aix-Marseille University15, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign16, University of Exeter17, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology18
TL;DR: The state-of-the-art understanding of these global change pressures on soils is reported, knowledge gaps and research challenges are identified and actions and policies to minimize adverse environmental impacts arising from theseglobal change drivers are highlighted.
Abstract: Soils are subject to varying degrees of direct or indirect human disturbance, constituting a major global change driver. Factoring out natural from direct and indirect human influence is not always straightforward, but some human activities have clear impacts. These include land-use change, land management and land degradation (erosion, compaction, sealing and salinization). The intensity of land use also exerts a great impact on soils, and soils are also subject to indirect impacts arising from human activity, such as acid deposition (sulphur and nitrogen) and heavy metal pollution. In this critical review, we report the state-of-the-art understanding of these global change pressures on soils, identify knowledge gaps and research challenges and highlight actions and policies to minimize adverse environmental impacts arising from these global change drivers. Soils are central to considerations of what constitutes sustainable intensification. Therefore, ensuring that vulnerable and high environmental value soils are considered when protecting important habitats and ecosystems, will help to reduce the pressure on land from global change drivers. To ensure that soils are protected as part of wider environmental efforts, a global soil resilience programme should be considered, to monitor, recover or sustain soil fertility and function, and to enhance the ecosystem services provided by soils. Soils cannot, and should not, be considered in isolation of the ecosystems that they underpin and vice versa. The role of soils in supporting ecosystems and natural capital needs greater recognition. The lasting legacy of the International Year of Soils in 2015 should be to put soils at the centre of policy supporting environmental protection and sustainable development.
575 citations
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École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne1, University of Minho2, Technical University of Denmark3, University of Queensland4, University of Lyon5, University of Santiago de Compostela6, Wageningen University and Research Centre7, Polytechnic University of Milan8, National Research Council9, Delft University of Technology10, Hamburg University of Technology11, University of Borås12, Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague13, Technische Universität München14, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna15, University of Hohenheim16, University of Paris17, University of Toulouse18, Spanish National Research Council19, Institut national de la recherche agronomique20
TL;DR: Recommendations on items that strongly influence the outcome of BMP tests such as inoculum characteristics, substrate preparation, test setup, and data analysis are presented to increase the probability of obtaining validated and reproducible results.
575 citations
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TL;DR: This work proposes a taxonomic scheme in which the family Hepeviridae is divided into the genera Orthohepevirus (all mammalian and avian hepatitis E virus (HEV) isolates) and PiscihepeVirus (cutthroat trout virus), and proposals are made for the designation of genotypes within the human and rat HEVs.
Abstract: The family Hepeviridae consists of positive-stranded RNA viruses that infect a wide range of mammalian species, as well as chickens and trout. A subset of these viruses infects humans and can cause a self-limiting acute hepatitis that may become chronic in immunosuppressed individuals. Current published descriptions of the taxonomical divisions within the family Hepeviridae are contradictory in relation to the assignment of species and genotypes. Through analysis of existing sequence information, we propose a taxonomic scheme in which the family is divided into the genera Orthohepevirus (all mammalian and avian hepatitis E virus (HEV) isolates) and Piscihepevirus (cutthroat trout virus). Species within the genus Orthohepevirus are designated Orthohepevirus A (isolates from human, pig, wild boar, deer, mongoose, rabbit and camel), Orthohepevirus B (isolates from chicken), Orthohepevirus C (isolates from rat, greater bandicoot, Asian musk shrew, ferret and mink) and Orthohepevirus D (isolates from bat). Proposals are also made for the designation of genotypes within the human and rat HEVs. This hierarchical system is congruent with hepevirus phylogeny, and the three classification levels (genus, species and genotype) are consistent with, and reflect discontinuities in the ranges of pairwise distances between amino acid sequences. Adoption of this system would include the avoidance of host names in taxonomic identifiers and provide a logical framework for the assignment of novel variants.
573 citations
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Université du Québec à Montréal1, VU University Amsterdam2, Wageningen University and Research Centre3, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology4, University of Göttingen5, University of Toulouse6, Finnish Environment Institute7, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences8, University of Zurich9, Centre national de la recherche scientifique10
TL;DR: Reducing the functional diversity of decomposer organisms and plant litter types slowed the cycling of litter carbon and nitrogen, and the emergence of this general mechanism and the coherence of patterns across contrasting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems suggest that biodiversity loss has consistent consequences for litter decomposition and the Cycling of major elements on broad spatial scales.
Abstract: The decomposition of dead organic matter is a major determinant of carbon and nutrient cycling in ecosystems, and of carbon fluxes between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Decomposition is driven by a vast diversity of organisms that are structured in complex food webs. Identifying the mechanisms underlying the effects of biodiversity on decomposition is critical given the rapid loss of species worldwide and the effects of this loss on human well-being. Yet despite comprehensive syntheses of studies on how biodiversity affects litter decomposition, key questions remain, including when, where and how biodiversity has a role and whether general patterns and mechanisms occur across ecosystems and different functional types of organism. Here, in field experiments across five terrestrial and aquatic locations, ranging from the subarctic to the tropics, we show that reducing the functional diversity of decomposer organisms and plant litter types slowed the cycling of litter carbon and nitrogen. Moreover, we found evidence of nitrogen transfer from the litter of nitrogen-fixing plants to that of rapidly decomposing plants, but not between other plant functional types, highlighting that specific interactions in litter mixtures control carbon and nitrogen cycling during decomposition. The emergence of this general mechanism and the coherence of patterns across contrasting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems suggest that biodiversity loss has consistent consequences for litter decomposition and the cycling of major elements on broad spatial scales.
573 citations
Authors
Showing all 23851 results
Name | H-index | Papers | Citations |
---|---|---|---|
Walter C. Willett | 334 | 2399 | 413322 |
Albert Hofman | 267 | 2530 | 321405 |
Frank B. Hu | 250 | 1675 | 253464 |
Willem M. de Vos | 148 | 670 | 88146 |
Willy Verstraete | 139 | 920 | 76659 |
Jonathan D. G. Jones | 129 | 417 | 80908 |
Bert Brunekreef | 124 | 806 | 81938 |
Pedro W. Crous | 115 | 809 | 51925 |
Marten Scheffer | 111 | 350 | 73789 |
Wim E. Hennink | 110 | 600 | 49940 |
Daan Kromhout | 108 | 453 | 55551 |
Peter H. Verburg | 107 | 464 | 34254 |
Marcel Dicke | 107 | 613 | 42959 |
Vincent W. V. Jaddoe | 106 | 1008 | 44269 |
Hao Wu | 105 | 669 | 42607 |