LEGU-MED2 - Legumes in biodiversity-based farming systems in Mediterranean basin

Legumes were chosen as case-study for their potential to enhance soil fertility (especially when in symbiosis with efficient rhizobia) while sustaining growers’ profits and producing healthy food. Food legumes (or pulses) are cultivated on 80.3 million hectares of crop area, producing 72.3 million metric tons of grain worldwide (Joshi and Rao, 2017, Ann. of the New York Acad. Sci. 1392 (1): 6-17). In addition, legumes are the backbone of the Mediterranean agro-ecosystems from ancient times, but their unique and wide biodiversity has not been sufficiently valorized, especially by North-African countries. Legumes are ideal crops for sustainable land use (greening) provided by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU).

The proposal was structured through a logic process based on key questions (Figure 3). As requested by the call, we have identified some indicators that will be taken in our consideration to evaluate strenghts and weaknesses of our proposal such as the following: 1) soil structural stability, soil erosion or crusting; 2) organic matter characteristics (quantity, state, composition, role for bacterial community, microflora and macrofauna); 3) nutrient, water and input/energy use; 4) nutrient cycling (C/N ratio, nutrient removal ratio, nutrient balance intensity, and mineralization rate of crop residues); 5) amount of key nutritional components (N and proteins, anti-nutritional, antioxidants); 6) nutrient losses and leaching (nitrogen, nitrate, sulfate); 7) weed management via improved resource competition or allelopathy from crops; 8) control of main pests and diseases on different geographic Mediterranean areas; 9) stakeholder’s and consumer’s satisfaction value measured by surveys organized at events and meetings provided by the proposal; 10) presence of organisms beneficial for agro-ecosystems such as wild bees (pollinators, predators), earthworms).

The impacts of the proposed biodiversity-based crop systems on agroecosystem functioning and performances over time will be particularly analyzed and dissected in Act. 8 and 9 where we will use well-known methods of learning-support to maximize stakeholder’s participation, transfer of knowledge and technologies to all kind of stakeholders. New participatory methods for establishing and evaluating relationships with stakeholders will be developed and tested (Act. 8). In Act. 9 we will perform a socio-economic evaluation of the proposed biodiversity-based solutions together with stakeholders that have already shown their interest. In Act. 10, we will conduct a well-defined and integrated dissemination and exploitation plan thorugh the organization of one scientific meeting, one technical stakeholder’s meeting and one training school every year.