The less intensively you manage the soil, the better it can function. This is the conclusion from a research team led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). The surprising finding applies to both conventional and organic farming. These important insights for making agriculture more sustainable were published in the scientific journal Science today.

One of the biggest challenges facing agriculture is producing enough food without compromising the soil. Healthy soil has many functions, known as multifunctionality, which must be preserved for sustainable agriculture. A multifunctional soil is essential for sustainable food production, as plants get their nutrients from it. Soil also plays indispensable roles in water storage, climate change mitigation, and disease suppression.

Research on farms across the Netherlands shows that the intensity of tillage determines whether the soil can retain all its functions. Interestingly, the difference between conventional and organic farming has less influence. In both types of agricultural systems, a lot of variation is found in soil tillage and management.

The good news is that conventional agriculture, which makes up most of farms, has a lot to gain from adopting less intensive practices. On all farms, including organic ones, it’s essential not to cultivate the soil too intensively. For example, ploughing less often can be beneficial. Inverting the soil during ploughing is a significant disruption for soil life.

Not only should farmers plough less frequently, but they should also make more use of mixtures of grasses and plants from the bean family, such as clovers. These can be alternated with growing cereals like wheat, barley, spelt, or rye. The research team took samples and carried out measurements at over 50 Dutch agricultural farms on both clay and sandy soils.

The organic carbon present in the soil proved to be the best predictor of soil multifunctionality, and for biological indicators, this was bacterial biomass. The researchers saw the same picture in both soil types – a wide array of soil properties was measured, and farmers shared their farming practices.

A popular term, sustainable intensification, is contradictory to these results. More intensive soil management leads to reduced soil functions and is thus less sustainable. Therefore, the researchers propose a new goal: productive de-intensification. If successful, this will result in more functions from a less intensively cultivated soil while retaining crop yields as much as possible.

These findings are the final result of the Vital Soils project, subsidised by NWO Groen and coordinated by NIOO and Wageningen University & Research. The researchers propose adopting productive de-intensification to make agriculture more sustainable while maintaining or even increasing crop yields.

Revolutionizing Honey Bee Survival: A New Pollen-Replacing Food Source Brings Hope for the Future

A team of scientists from Washington State University and APIX Biosciences NV has made a groundbreaking discovery that could save honey bee colonies from extinction. The researchers have developed a new food source that can sustain honey bees indefinitely without natural pollen, a crucial nutrient for these vital pollinators.

The innovative food source resembles human-made diets fed to livestock and pets, containing all the necessary nutrients for honey bees to thrive. It’s expected to become a potent strategy for combating the escalating rates of colony collapse and safeguarding global food supplies reliant on bee pollination.

In a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers demonstrated successful trials where nutritionally stressed colonies deployed for commercial crop pollination in Washington state thrived on the new food source. The breakthrough addresses one of the growing challenges faced by honey bees: lack of adequate nutrition in their environment.

“The changes in land use, urban expansion, and extreme weather all negatively impact nutrition for honey bees and other pollinators,” said Brandon Hopkins, P.F. Thurber Endowed Distinguished Professor of Pollinator Ecology at WSU. “Honey bees are generalists and do not get all their nutrition from a single source. They need variety in their diet to survive but find it increasingly difficult to find the continuous supply of pollen they need to sustain the colony.”

Dr. Patrick Pilkington, CEO of APIX Biosciences US, emphasized the significance of this development: “Until this study, honey bees were the only livestock that could not be maintained on a human-made feed. The reported scientific work shows in commercial field conditions that providing nutritionally stressed colonies with our pollen-replacing feed results in a major measurable step change in colony health compared to current best practices. Our product has the potential to change the way honey bees are managed.”

The research, a culmination of over a decade of work, involved extensive collaboration between APIX Biosciences and WSU. The newly published work is the result of a herculean scientific effort of three teams: first, the founders and scientists of APIX Biosciences who tested thousands of combinations of ingredients on honey bees over more than 10 years to create this feed; second, the WSU team with leading honey bee and field expertise; and third, leading beekeepers in California together with extension teams.

A critical discovery within the research is the role of isofucosterol, a molecule found naturally in pollen that acts as a vital nutrient for honey bees. Colonies fed with isofucosterol-enriched food survived an entire season without pollen access, while those without it experienced severe declines, including reduced larval production, adult paralysis, and colony collapse.

To validate the efficacy of the new food source under real-world conditions, WSU conducted field trials with nutritionally stressed colonies in blueberry and sunflower fields, both known for poor pollen quality for bees. Compared to colonies receiving standard commercial feed or no supplementation, those fed the new food source thrived, demonstrating increased survival and colony growth.

“Some beekeepers don’t pollinate blueberries anymore because colonies suffer or die and the pollination fees don’t cover the losses,” Hopkins said. “Blueberry pollen isn’t very nutritious for honey bees, and they aren’t adapted well to pollinating that crop. But if they have this supplemental food source, beekeepers may return to pollinating those fields since they know their bees are more likely to survive.”

The severe challenge of high annual colony mortality, with recent reports indicating crisis-level losses, underscores the urgency of this innovation.

Pilkington expressed optimism about the discovery’s impact: “We are confident that the product will positively impact beekeepers and growers once it’s available to purchase in the US, which is targeted for mid-2026. Meanwhile we are working with WSU and the beekeeping community across the USA to develop the best way to make use of this new tool in agricultural settings.”

The mobility of nanoplastics in soil is an increasingly pressing concern due to their potential threat to ecosystems. Researchers from Waseda University and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have made a groundbreaking discovery about how soil type and pH influence the migration behavior of these microscopic particles.

As plastic waste breaks down, it releases tiny particles that can penetrate our environment, hinder plant growth, and potentially transfer pollutants to organisms. The researchers focused on nanoplastics, which are particularly concerning due to their ability to penetrate ecosystems through various routes, including soil beneath our feet.

The study was led by Kyouhei Tsuchida, a PhD student from AIST and Waseda University, along with his colleagues Yukari Imoto, Takeshi Saito, and Junko Hara. They aimed to understand the adsorption behavior of nanoplastics on different soil types and how pH conditions affect their migration.

To achieve this, the researchers conducted experiments using two distinct soil types: andosol (volcanic soil) and fine sand. “Both andosol and fine sand have extremely different properties,” explained co-author Hara. “We utilized these two to get a broader idea of how the behavior of nanoplastics changes with respect to soil composition and surface characteristics.”

The team analyzed the homo-aggregation of polystyrene nanoparticles, their adsorption onto soil particles, and how this adsorption affects the aggregation of soil particles. They prepared suspensions of polystyrene nanoparticles under three different pH conditions, measuring particle size, aggregate particle size, and zeta potential.

To determine the adsorption properties of the polystyrene nanoparticles onto the two soil types, the researchers employed batch adsorption testing. This allowed them to gain insight into how plastic particles accumulate in soil pores.

The analysis involved advanced instrumental techniques, including laser diffraction, UV spectroscopy, and zeta potential analysis. According to their findings, no aggregation was observed in the polystyrene nanoparticles due to their high negative charge, which remained unaffected by pH changes.

However, when the researchers tested the adsorption properties of the nanoplastics onto soil, they found that it was influenced by pH. Furthermore, the aggregation of soil particles was also affected by the presence of polystyrene nanoparticles.

The results indicate that the movement of nanoplastics in soil can be significantly altered by soil type and pH levels. Understanding these aspects could aid policymakers in developing more effective strategies for mitigating plastic pollution.

As we continue to grapple with the consequences of plastic waste, this study serves as a crucial reminder of the importance of considering the complex interactions between plastics, soil, and our environment. By examining the mobility of nanoplastics under various conditions, researchers can provide valuable insights that inform policies aimed at protecting our ecosystems.