About this Research Topic
Agronomy, as the science and practice of crop production, is the thread that ties and underpins the SDGs of Hunger, Health, Water, Work, Consumption, Climate and Land – in short seven of the SDGs and, thus more than any other sector. As a science, agronomy is defined as the study of the interactions between genotype, environment and management (GxExM); as a practice, it implements agronomic knowledge to grow food. Knowledge can come from theories, experiences and experiments that have to be jointly considered to optimize their benefits. Agronomy is concerned with both producing food and its nutritional quality. The social aspect of agronomy is evidenced in the gender balance between agronomic scientists, advisors and practitioners and farmers.
Agronomists work at different scales: (i) local scale (square metres); (ii) field scale (hectares); (iii) landscape scale (e.g. Consortia, square kilometres). Conversely, agronomy biological scales move from individual plant organs up to plant populations, via individual plants. Sometimes, a more complex agronomy can cover entire crop communities. As far as temporal scales are concerned, they range from daily to yearly, sometime reaching the multiannual analysis. From this point of view, sciences related to spatial and temporal monitoring and modelling (Geomatics) are playing a crucial role in the new agronomy era by efficiently supporting more traditional ones like soil and earth sciences chemistry, biology, crop genetics, ecology and social sciences (all reflecting GxExM). The possibility of understanding (or just modelling) the relationships among biotic and abiotic ecosystem components relies on prediction and projecting of the GxExM for food production that can be achieved by proposing simulation models (e.g. digital twins) and advanced statistical tools
In summary, agronomy is aimed at improving production systems of food, feed, fuel and fibre through the comprehension and modelling of the underlying interactions relating crop genotype, environment and management.
In the context of the UN SDGs, agronomy and hunger have a clear interaction; health includes the provision of nutritious food, agronomy uses large quantities of water; work in agronomy highlights gender differences; food consumption and waste are as important in food security as food production; climate and weather have huge effects on food production and land is the essential planetary resource for producing food.
As part of an innovative collection showcasing agronomy in the context of the SDGs, this Research Topic will focus on Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land.
In this article collection, we welcome any submissions relating to Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land on topics such as (but not limited to):
• Sustainable Land Management Systems
• Crop rotations and intercropping to reduce soil erosion
• Conservation tillage to reduce soil erosion and to improve soil health
• Remote sensing and Geomatics in the assessment and management of cropping systems
• Cover crops to promote soil fertility and water conservation
• Agroecological biodiversity practices
Agronomists work at different scales: (i) local scale (square metres); (ii) field scale (hectares); (iii) landscape scale (e.g. Consortia, square kilometres). Conversely, agronomy biological scales move from individual plant organs up to plant populations, via individual plants. Sometimes, a more complex agronomy can cover entire crop communities. As far as temporal scales are concerned, they range from daily to yearly, sometime reaching the multiannual analysis. From this point of view, sciences related to spatial and temporal monitoring and modelling (Geomatics) are playing a crucial role in the new agronomy era by efficiently supporting more traditional ones like soil and earth sciences chemistry, biology, crop genetics, ecology and social sciences (all reflecting GxExM). The possibility of understanding (or just modelling) the relationships among biotic and abiotic ecosystem components relies on prediction and projecting of the GxExM for food production that can be achieved by proposing simulation models (e.g. digital twins) and advanced statistical tools
In summary, agronomy is aimed at improving production systems of food, feed, fuel and fibre through the comprehension and modelling of the underlying interactions relating crop genotype, environment and management.
In the context of the UN SDGs, agronomy and hunger have a clear interaction; health includes the provision of nutritious food, agronomy uses large quantities of water; work in agronomy highlights gender differences; food consumption and waste are as important in food security as food production; climate and weather have huge effects on food production and land is the essential planetary resource for producing food.
As part of an innovative collection showcasing agronomy in the context of the SDGs, this Research Topic will focus on Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land.
In this article collection, we welcome any submissions relating to Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land on topics such as (but not limited to):
• Sustainable Land Management Systems
• Crop rotations and intercropping to reduce soil erosion
• Conservation tillage to reduce soil erosion and to improve soil health
• Remote sensing and Geomatics in the assessment and management of cropping systems
• Cover crops to promote soil fertility and water conservation
• Agroecological biodiversity practices
Keywords: SDG, Life on Land
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.
