Pidgeon J D, May M J, Perry J N, Poppy G M
Broom's Barn Research Station, Higham, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP28 6NP, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2007 Jun 22;274(1617):1475-9. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2007.0401.
Currently, the UK has no procedure for the approval of novel agricultural practices that is based on environmental risk management principles. Here, we make a first application of the 'bow-tie' risk management approach in agriculture, for assessment of land use changes, in a case study of the introduction of genetically modified herbicide tolerant (GMHT) sugar beet. There are agronomic and economic benefits, but indirect environmental harm from increased weed control is a hazard. The Farm Scale Evaluation (FSE) trials demonstrated reduced broad-leaved weed biomass and seed production at the field scale. The simplest mitigation measure is to leave a proportion of rows unsprayed in each GMHT crop field. Our calculations, based on FSE data, show that a maximum of 2% of field area left unsprayed is required to mitigate weed seed production and 4% to mitigate weed biomass production. Tilled margin effects could simply be mitigated by increasing the margin width from 0.5 to 1.5 m. Such changes are cheap and simple to implement in farming practices. This case study demonstrates the usefulness of the bow-tie risk management approach and the transparency with which hazards can be addressed. If adopted generally, it would help to enable agriculture to adopt new practices with due environmental precaution.
目前，英国没有基于环境风险管理原则的新型农业实践审批程序。在此，我们首次将“蝴蝶结”风险管理方法应用于农业，以评估土地利用变化，该案例研究涉及转基因抗除草剂（GMHT）甜菜的引入。这带来了农艺和经济效益，但杂草控制增加导致的间接环境危害是一种风险。农场规模评估（FSE）试验表明，在田间尺度上阔叶杂草生物量和种子产量有所减少。最简单的缓解措施是在每个GMHT作物田块中留出一定比例的行不喷洒除草剂。我们基于FSE数据的计算表明，最多需要留出2%的田块面积不喷洒除草剂以减轻杂草种子产量，留出4%以减轻杂草生物量产量。通过将田边宽度从0.5米增加到1.5米，可简单地减轻翻耕田边的影响。这种改变在农业实践中实施起来成本低且简单。该案例研究证明了“蝴蝶结”风险管理方法的实用性以及应对风险的透明度。如果普遍采用，将有助于农业在采取适当环境预防措施的情况下采用新的实践方法。
