Biomimicry
for shaping future
Agriculture
Our project
Literature review
Current problems in agriculture
Modern agriculture has had immense benefit in terms of reduced hunger and improved nutrition, especially since the second half the the 20th century (Tilman et al., 2002). The introduction of fertilizers, pesticides and other technologies of the 'Green Revolution’ has permitted a considerable increase in the yield of crops (Stoate et al. 2001; Tilman et al., 2002; FAO, 2001; WHO, 1990). Sustaining this level of production is a major challenge, but at the same time environmental impacts have to be greatly reduced (Tilman et al., 2001; Vitousek, 1997; Carpenter, 1998). The main environmental impacts of agriculture come from (1) the conversion of natural ecosystems to agriculture and thus from the space needed for crop production, (2) from overexploitation of water resource, (3) from soils impoverishment and pollution due to fertilizers and pesticides, which (4) are intensively used to protect crops from pests (Tilman et al., 2002). We could apply biomimicry to one of these point to improve the sustainability of food production.
Situation in Eastern Europe
Biomimicry in Agriculture
The concept of biomimicry can be found among others in the field of architecture (El-Zeiny, 2012), medicine (Lurie-Luke, 2014, Marino et al. 2015), material production (Reed et al. 2009, Lurie-Luke, 2014), energy generation and agriculture (Lurie-Luke, 2014). Many innovations based on biomimicry are developed by looking at an organism ability to produce matter, create constructions, sense or move in a certain way. However, based on available literature, it appears that less attention has been given to direct applications of biomimicry in agriculture to reach environmentally friendly processes or systems.
We can nevertheless highlight a few examples of biomimicry based concepts in agriculture such as:
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the closed-loop coffee farming system (AskNature, 2015). This system got inspired by the closed-loop arrangement of rainforest ecosystem in which waste products are used within the system.
©Emily Harrington
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Prairie-like agriculture for improved soil and water quality and nutrient cycling (Jackson, 2002)
©Durden Images
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Vertical farming (AskNature, 2008)
©Dickson Despommier
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Swarm-based robots that communicate with each other for planting seeds autonomously (Dorhout, 2015)
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Camel-inspired irrigation system for crops (Biomimicry Institute, 2013)
©Egy-Osmo
A plausible explanation for the lack of biomimicry applications in agriculture is the low of interest in innovative knowledge towards sustainable agriculture. Vanloqueren and Baret (2009) described how the Agricultural Research System (ARS) has shaped technological regime in genetic engineering and locked out agroecological innovations. There are just few research institutes with stronger agroecological agendas and they have less power than mainstream scientific organisations, more focused on molecular research. They also found that there is a widespread belief that agroecology is only of value in some regions for some problems, so many scientists have a static view (or are more focused in their own disciplines). Furthermore, agroecological engineering is an interdisciplinary application. Academic barriers to work on interdisciplinary level are obstacles to develop agroecological trajectories. These problems defined by Vanloqueren and Baret (2009) seem to be obstacles to the development and application of biomimicry in agriculture.
A second reason it is the definition of biomimicry itself. There are many terms being used that are synonym of biomimicry or have similar explanation: bioengineering, biomimesis, biomimetics, biognosis, bio-inspired design, bionics, biophysics and biotechnology (House and Li, 2014). By taking the principles of Benyus and the definition of the Biomimicry Institute into account, some agricultural practices are likely to already be based on biomimicry, but due to the inconsistent use of definitions it is not clear which agricultural practices are placed within this concept. For instance permaculture is often seen as biomimicry and/or it uses its principles (Marshall and Lozeva, 2009). Organic agriculture is a form of agriculture that relies on ecosystem management and eliminate external (artificial) inputs (FAO, 1999). It can be argued that it also uses biomimicry principles, but the boundaries are not clear. Therefore inconsistent use of definitions or no label at all for agricultural practice can thus result in low appearance of biomimicry-based agricultural applications in literature.
But why biomimicry?
As industrialized agriculture presents a range of environmental impacts different approaches can be used to reduce them. Still a high production must be maintained to cope with the demand of food (and other products) without compromising the ecological sustainability. The success of modern agroecology relies on this major principle and authors such as Pablo Tittonell, Thierry Doré and Eric Malézieux are already developing the concept of ecological intensification. Prior to the abuse of external inputs, agriculture was closely related to its surroundings, that is, the local ecosystem. In order to develop an agriculture with lower environmental impacts the dependency on these inputs must be lowered (or eliminated) and substituted by the internal cycles of the ecosystem. This also means that it must be context specific, adapted to the local or regional conditions. In fact there is not a single agroecological solution for industrialized farming and some may work better in certain conditions. Organic agriculture, diversification of farming systems, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, traditional farming, permaculture and biomimicry are different models of application of the ecological intensification (Tittonell, 2014). Our project is based in the latter concept, although practices or elements from other models are used. This approach is totally coherent: the biosphere provides humankind with solutions to diverse problems or adaptations that were selected through evolution. That is, adjusting or designing new systems which resemble the natural dynamics will ensure us ways of production which are in harmony with the environment (at local, regional or higher levels). Finally, we must ensure a high productivity sustained in time.
References
Current problems in agriculture
Water
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Soil
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Space
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Pests
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Energy
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Situation in Eastern Europe
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Biomimicry in Agriculture
AskNature (2015). AskNature. Retrieved from http://www.asknature.org/product/e88763c54703239122490014ca3a6f46
BiomimicryInstitute (2013). Biomimicry Global Design Challenge. Retrieved from http://challenge.biomimicry.org/
Doré T., Makowski D., Malézieux E., Munier-Jolain N., Tchamitchian M. and Tittonell P. (2011). Facing up to the paradigm of ecological intensification in agronomy: Revisiting methods, concepts and knowledge. European Journal of Agronomy, 34(4), pp.197-210.
Dorhout D. (2015). Dorhout R&D LLC - Prospero The Robot Farmer. Retrieved from http://dorhoutrd.com/prospero_robot_farmer
Elmahdi A., & Badawi H. (2008). Biomimicry of termite engineering as solution for water and soil conservation. ICE 2008, XXIII International Congress of Entomology. Retrieved from http://works.bepress.com/amgad_elmahdi/11/
El-Zeiny R.M.A. (2012). Biomimicry as a Problem Solving Methodology in Interior Architecture. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 50(July), 502–512.
FAO (2009). Organic agriculture. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/X0075e.htm
House D., & Li D. (2014). Biomimetics. Encyclopedia of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, 1–2.
Jackson W. (2002). Natural systems agriculture: A truly radical alternative. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 88(2), 111–117.
Lurie-luke E. (2014). Product and technology innovation : What can biomimicry inspire ? Biotechnology Advances, 32(8), 1494–1505.
Marino A., Filippeschi C., Mattoli V., Mazzolai B., & Ciofani G. (2014). Biomimicry at the nanoscale: current research and perspectives of two-photon polymerization. Nanoscale, 7(7), 2841–2850.
Marshall A., & Lozeva S. (2009). Questioning the theory and practice of biomimicry. International Journal of Design and Nature and Ecodynamics, 4(1), 1–10.
Reed E.J., Klumb L., Koobatian M., & Viney C. (2009). Biomimicry as a route to new materials: what kinds of lessons are useful? Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences, 367, 1571–1585.
Vanloqueren G., & Baret P.V. (2009). How agricultural research systems shape a technological regime that develops genetic engineering but locks out agroecological innovations. Research Policy, 38(6), 971–983.
