Establishment of agricultural production systems for sustainable agriculture based on life cycle assessment methods
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique for assessing environmental aspects and potential impacts throughout the life of products (i.e., cradle-to-grave), from raw material acquisition through production, use, and disposal. The purpose of this project is to develop LCA methods for estimating the negative and positive impacts of agricultural production on the environment, in order to improve the environmental preservation functions of agricultural and reduce the environmental load arising from agricultural activities.
The expected results of this project are as follows:

1) Develop the LCA method for application to agriculture, such as (1) develop a macro-analytic method based on an industry-relation analysis, (2) develop the LCA method based on the pile method to estimate different types of rice/ vegetable cultivation, (3) make estimates for traditional agriculture based on the LCA method and compare it to current agriculture, and (4) make a handbook of LCA methods for agricultural production.
2) Improve technology to reduce the impact of agriculture on the environment in the atmosphere, water and soil, using LCA, such as establishing field-based/greenhouse agriculture production systems that reduce environmental load.

(Research period: 1998-2002)

Safety assessment for application of recombinant DNA technology in agriculture
The project aims at developing the safety assessment methodology for the application of recombinant DNA techniques in food crops, trees, microorganisms and live vaccines for livestock.
Transgenic food crops were safe as a food in terms of allergenicity and nutritious elements as far as our experiments showed. A test of allergenicity by using some cells line was tried in vitro and became more realizable. Transfer of introduced genes from the transgenic tree stocks to grafted trees was not observed. Some efficient expression systems for useful recombinant genes and a suicide gene system was constructed for microbes. A killer yeast for silage defective in catabolizing lactic acid was assessed for its use and safety. Vaccinia viruses transformed with cow leukemia virus gene was assessed for the effectiveness and safety as a live vaccine based on distribution of the virus in a calf body. Recombination of plant viruses was assayed to evaluate possible recombination of transgenic viruses with other viruses.
A possibility of recombination of the introduced virus genes with infected viruses was assessed in transgenic virus resistant plants. Information on the commercialization of genetically modified foods in the world were collected and the trend in public acceptance of the recombinant DNA technologies was surveyed.
(Research period: 1996-1998)

 

Development of bioremediation techniques through employment and reinforcement of microbial-remediation ability
Various pollutants, including recalcitrant chemicals, have been released into the environment, and pose serious environmental problems. In the ecosystems of agriculture, forestry, on fisheries, increasing pollution and deterioration of environmental conditions are a matter of concern. Hence, remediation techniques must be developed. Since bioremediation has many advantages, including efficiency of decomposition and removal of pollutants, cost effectiveness, and safety to the environment, it is considered to be superior to other remediation techniques.
Fundamental research on the ecology of microorganisms has been carried out in research institutes of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, aiming at the application of microorganisms in the environment. It is now possible to make significant progress in environmental biotechnology by employing molecular-biological techniques. In this project, analysis of remediation processes including degradation pathways, cloning and analysis of degradation genes, are being carried out along with developing of techniques to optimize the expression of remediation functions.
The results obtained were as follows:
PCP-degrading fungi have been selected from the culture collection of wood rot fungi. Tributyltin (TBT)-degrading bacteria and quintozene-carbaryl-degrading bacteria have been isolated from river mud and forest soil, respectively. Their degradation pathway, genes and enzymes involved have been elucidated. PCB degradation genes and chlorocatechol degradation genes have been modified to improve their degradation ability and stability. Charcoals have been devised to accumulate degrading microorganisms.
(Research period: 1996-1998)

 

Advanced method for predicting food productivity changes due to global warming in Asia using high-performance satellites
Food productivity will become unstable due to global environmental changes and economic growth. In this situation, for food security in Japan, it is important to observe food productivity continuously, as it undergoes changes in the 21st century. As a practical approach to the research, although remote sensing has been used to achieve a partial grasp of food productivity, its quality must be improved for full application. Moreover, food growth models can be applied for this objective since they have been developed.
Objectives of the present research are (1) estimate precisely agricultural product resources in Asia using remote sensing, and (2) predict food production changes in Asia due to global warming.
Midterm products were compiled as follows. Remote sensing methods were developed for shearing in land surface categories and crop status. Using images detected at different times of sensing, a procedure for the precise description of changes in land use was introduced for research sites located in Japan and China. Changes in crop yield were estimated by shifts of leaf color for field conditions.
Regional climate scenarios were proposed and provided to estimate changes in agro-ecological zones in Asia. Spatial changes in cultivation types were also discussed for Asia by use of databases of global climate and GIS datasets. A composite map of unusual weather was analyzed for Northeast Asia.
(Research period: 1998-2001)

Soil Museum Soil monoliths from Japan and the world showing poor soils, fertile soils, red soils or black soils.

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