A Decision Support System Based on Soil Ecological = Criteria: Results from the European ECOGEN Project.

Saturday, 15 July 2006
149-4

A Decision Support System Based on Soil = Ecological=20 Criteria: Results from the European ECOGEN Project.

Jerome Cortet¹, = Marko=20 Bohanec², Martin Znidarsic², Marko = Debeljak²,=20 Bryan Griffiths³, Sandra Caul³, Jacqueline=20 Thompson³, and Paul H. Krogh⁴. (1) Institut = National=20 Polytechnique de Lorraine - ENSAIA, 2 av. de For=EAt de Haye, BP 172,=20 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, 54505, France, (2) Jozef Stefan Institute, Dept of = Knowledge Technologies, Jamova 39, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia, (3) = Scottish Crop=20 Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA, United Kingdom, (4) = National=20 Environmental Research Institute, Vejlsoevej 25, P.O. box 314, = Silkeborg, 8600,=20 Denmark

The possible use of Genetically = Modified (GM)=20 plants in future agriculture needs in-depth investigations of ecological = and=20 economic consequences. The investigations are important for both the = European=20 Commision (EC), who needs specifications of how to do the GM risk = assessment,=20 and to farmers and the public who are concerned about the possible = ecological=20 implications. The ECOGEN (www.ecogen.dk) project Soil ecological and = economic=20 evaluation of genetically modified crops is an EU-funded project aimed = at=20 combining simple lab tests, multi-species model ecosystems and field = studies to=20 acquire mechanistic and realistic knowledge about economic and = ecological=20 impacts of GM crops on the soil (Cortet et al, 2005, Griffiths et al, = 2005,=20 Vercesi et al, 2005). Economic trade-offs are assessed and related to = ecological=20 effects (Scatasta at al, 2005). One of the goals of the project is to = develop a=20 computer-based decision support system for the assessment of economic = and=20 ecological impacts of using GM crops, with special emphasis on soil = biology and=20 ecology. For model development, we have taken the approach of = qualitative=20 multi-attribute modeling (Bohanec 2003). The idea is to develop a = hierarchical=20 model, consisting of qualitative attributes and utility (aggregation) = functions,=20 represented by decision rules. The development is supported by the = software tool=20 DEXi, which facilitates the development of a tree of attributes, = definition of=20 aggregation rules, evaluation of options (cropping systems in this = case),=20 what-if analysis and charting. Using this approach, we developed a model = for the=20 assessment of the impact of GM and non-GM cropping systems to soil = quality. In=20 this paper, we describe the model and its application to the assessment = of=20 impacts to soil of using conventional and Bt maize to three fields in = France and=20 Denmark. The model is hierarchical, consisting of 37 attributes in = total,=20 grouped into 7 hierarchical levels. There are 24 input attributes, most = of which=20 measure the richness and biomass of representative soil organisms. The=20 assessment of soil quality is based on two main indicators: (1) soil = diversity=20 (assessed through microfauna, mesofauna and macrofauna richness) and (2) = soil=20 functioning (in terms of leaching, comminution, mineralisation and plant = growth). References: (i) Bohanec, M. (2003): Decision support. In: = Mladeni=E6, D.=20 (et al.) (eds.): Data mining and decision support: Integration and=20 collaboration. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 23=9635. (ii) Cortet J., = Andersen M.N.,=20 Caul S., Griffiths B.S., Joffre R., Lacroix B., Sausse C., Thompson J., = Krogh=20 P.H. (2005) Decomposition processes under Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) = maize:=20 results of a multi-site experiment. Soil Biol. Biochem. (in press). = (iii) ECOGEN=20 (2003): ECOGEN: Soil ecological and economic evaluation of genetically = modified=20 crops. Project, funded by the Fifth European Community Framework = Programme:=20 Quality of life and management of living resources, contract = QLK5-CT-2002-01666.=20 http://www.ecogen.dk. (iv) Griffiths B.S., Caul S., Thompson J., Birch = N.,=20 Scrimgeour C., Andersen M.N., Cortet J., Messean A., Sausse C., Lacroix = B.,=20 Krogh P.H. (2005) Microbial community structure, protozoa and nematodes = in soil=20 from field plots of genetically modified maize expressing the Bacillus=20 thuringiensis toxin. Plant and Soil (in press).(v) Scatasta S., Wesseler = J.,=20 Demont M. Irreversibility, Uncertainty, and the Adoption of Transgenic = Crops:=20 Experiences from Applications to HT sugar beet, HT corn, and Bt Corn. = In: Julian=20 Alston, Richard Just, and David Zilberman (eds.): Economics of = Regulation of=20 Agricultural Biotechnology, Chapter 1, 1-26. Berlin: Springer. (vi) = Vercesi=20 L.M., Krogh P.H., Holmstrup M. (2005). Can Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) = corn=20 residues and Bt-corn plants affect life-history traits in the earthworm=20 Aporrectodea caliginosa. Appl. Soil Ecol. (in press).

Back to 3.1A = Land Use=20 Planning: Environmental, Economic and Social Trade-offs - = Poster
Back to=20 WCSS<= /A>

Back=20 to The = 18th World Congress of Soil Science (July 9-15,=20 2006)

Saturday, 15 July 2006149-4

A Decision Support System Based on Soil = Ecological=20 Criteria: Results from the European ECOGEN Project.

Saturday, 15 July 2006
149-4