Adaptive Farming Sustainability Practices: Fundamentals to Advances

  • 10k

    Total downloads

  • 75k

    Total views and downloads

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

As the population and economy grow, the amount of arable land available to meet the increasing diversified demand across geographic regions is declining, leading to the intensification of land use and the use of marginal lands. Urgent action is needed to ensure that current material needs do not lead to the over-extraction of resources or degradation of environmental resources, and should include policies that improve resource efficiency, reduce waste and streamline sustainability practices across all sectors of the economy.

There is a challenge to sustain economic growth, and conserve biological diversity and ecological integrity. Decoupling environmental degradation from economic growth, for example, requires the scaling up of existing sustainable practices and transition in the ways in which people produce, consume, and dispose of goods and materials throughout society. Recently, considerable progress and reorientation have been made to address the management protocols of ecological functions and assess ecological parameters by using decision-support systems to understand their potential effects and to harness the maximum benefits in agriculture and forestry production systems. However, similar challenges exist where crop management policies have created unintended negative environmental impacts through the emission of greenhouse gases, which also warrants adaptation-led mitigation strategies.

New ideas, such as the provision of different interventions for the management of natural resources, input management, microbial integrity for plant fitness, ecology-mediated restoration and climate-sensitive agricultural practices (based on existing infrastructure), as well as new possibilities towards the development of an integrated biophysical and socio-economic approach, are now being applied. This has led to the emerging and growing tendency to switch over to adaptive farming management practices due to the changing availability of resources. Adaptive farm management is thus becoming a viable alternative for broader applications addressing nutrient imbalances, managing problem soils and soil erosion, and optimizing soil-water use. Further, growers’ participatory research is becoming an integral approach by building a functional linkage between science and locally relevant solutions for enhanced adaptation. Although adaptability is a key component of resilience, farmers have varying adaptive capacity with one of the major issues being a lack of funds, making it especially difficult for small-scale farmers. Understanding these complexities is a precursor to the healthy functioning of a habitable Earth as it allows us to consider the repercussions of our actions.

This Research Topic will focus on the creation and maintenance of sustainable resources in agroecosystems through collaborations with farmers, managers, scientists, and other stakeholders. An up-to-date state of scientific knowledge on adaptive management from theory to practices will sensitize interdisciplinary subjects including agricultural and natural sciences, geography, microbiology, computer science, social science, extension education, etc. This Research Topic aims to identify a holistic and systematic approach that utilizes natural resources to secure sustainable environmental, economic, and social benefits for adaptive management, by restoring a firm relationship between land, water, and plants, in ways that mimic nature.

Submissions may address any of the following:
• Digital interventions for the management of natural resources;
• Site-specific input management;
• Resource conservation technologies;
• Microbial integrity for plant fitness;
• Traditional ecological and crop improvement knowledge;
• Soil contamination management knowledge;
• Sustainable food production systems;
• Climate sensitive agricultural practices;
• Technology transfer and plant protection knowledge.

Keywords: Agroecosystem, Agricultural innovation, Climate change, Resilience, Healthy soil-healthy food, Participatory learning

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.