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Olivier Honnay

@olivierhonnay.bsky.social

5K followers 890 following 180 posts

Conservation biology | Agronomic ecology | Trade-offs | Professor KU Leuven | KU Leuven Plant Institute | Non-utopian https://bio.kuleuven.be/faculty/00012061

Environmental science 37%

Agriculture 27%

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Reposted by Olivier Honnay, Silvia Secchi, Anthony Burke

T&E @transportenvironment.org · 1d

NEW: Biofuels globally emit more than the fossil fuels they replace, our latest study shows.

The first-of-a-kind study looks at global biofuels production today and the potential impacts of government biofuel targets.
🧵⤵️

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · 1d

We are doomed.

European Parliament votes to ban use of ‘veggie burger’ and‘plant-based sausage

European Parliament votes to ban use of ‘veggie burger’ and ‘plant-based sausage’: coalition calls decision misguided and counterproductive

www.weplanet.org

Reposted by Hans Henrik Bruun, Ben Bond‐Lamberty, Richard Betts

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · 7d

📢 Vacancy: I am urgently recruiting a PhD candidate to join a project on selection processes in pedunculate oak.
📅 Start date: no later than December 1st.

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Your Local Epidemiologist @ylepidemiologist.bsky.social · 14d

7/ The previous studies were observational studies, which can detect patterns, but they can’t prove causation. Confounding factors—why someone took Tylenol in the first place, genetics, other exposures—can explain apparent links. This is why the sibling study was so important.

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Andrew McGuire @agronomistag.bsky.social · 28d

Fertilizer DOES NOT burn up soil organic matter.
Long-term study finds "NP fertilization substantially augments both the quantity and stability of soil organic carbon stocks."
scienmag.com/long-term-n...

Long-Term N and P Boost Soil Carbon Storage

In the unrelenting battle against climate change, soil organic carbon (SOC) stands as a pivotal ally, intimately linking terrestrial ecosystems to global carbon cycles. Despite its vital role in climate mitigation and agroecosystem productivity, the persistent decline of SOC

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Joachim Mergeay @jmergeay.bsky.social · Sep 4

Waarom moeten we zo nodig wolven hebben in de Lage Landen? Opinie in De Standaard 3/9/25

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · Sep 1

The author must have lost his mind on this.

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · Sep 1

Just found out that ChatGPT effortlessly converts every thinkable old Flemish measure into English ones and the metric system 🙂.
1 Bruges hoet of wheat = 172 l ≈ 4.88 Winchester bushels.

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Jitka Klimesova @jitkaklimesova.bsky.social · Aug 30

Grime's CSR theory revisited: A whole-plant view of vascular plant functioning across contrasting environments besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Grime's CSR theory revisited: A whole‐plant view of vascular plant functioning across contrasting environments

The findings presented provide strong empirical validation of the competitor, stress-tolerator and ruderal (CSR) theory using an extensive species dataset and expand the number and types of traits th....

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Tamar Haspel @tamarhaspel.bsky.social · Aug 22

Fascinating list of the scientists who have saved the most lives, via @maxroser.bsky.social at @ourworldindata.org ,

2 of the top 3 are food related:

#1 - Haber & Bosch, for synthetic nitrogen (2.3 billion)
#3 - Norman Borlaug, for high-yield crops (245 million)

Data source:
www.scienceheroes.com

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · Aug 22

Doe ik.

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Stef Aerts @stefaerts.bsky.social · Aug 22

Gezocht: lector #natuurbeheer #ecologie #wetenschappen bij @odiseehogeschool.bsky.social Agro- en biotechnologie in Sint-Niklaas.
www.odisee.be/lector-agro-...

Start: het nieuwe academiejaar
Solliciteren: asap!

Diverse opdracht, 50-100% ifv invulling.

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Michael Grunwald @mikegrunwald.bsky.social · Aug 14

“We’re clear-cutting and broiling the planet to stuff our faces.” @theguardian.com did a deep dive into WE ARE EATING THE EARTH!

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Why our broken food system remains a climate disaster: ‘broiling the planet to stuff our faces’

Author Michael Grunwald reckons with the challenge of food-based climate emissions in his new book We Are Eating the Earth

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · Aug 12

@hannahritchie.bsky.social explains why increasing agricultural productivity across Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s most pressing problems: ourworldindata.org/africa-yield...

Increasing agricultural productivity across Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most important problems this century

Agricultural productivity across Sub-Saharan Africa needs to improve to reduce hunger, poverty, and the destruction of biodiversity.

ourworldindata.org

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · Aug 12

To grow food you need two things: some land and some of your time.

Land and labor are two of agriculture’s primary inputs. To build a food system that works for people and the planet, humanity needs to achieve high productivity in both of them.

A bar chart showing agricultural value added per worker, which is calculated by dividing the amount of economic value generated from farming, forestry, and fishing by the number of people who work in those sectors. Data for 2022 is shown for 6 countries and the global average. Ag. value added per worker is relatively high in countries like Australia ($122,800) and the Netherlands ($85,200) — but relatively much lower in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as Congo ($1429), Tanzania ($874), and Uganda ($850). The data is expressed in constant 2015 US dollars; it's adjusted for inflation but doesn't account for cost of living differences between countries. The data source is the World Bank, OECD national accounts, and ILOSTAT (2025). The chart is CC BY Our World in Data.

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

The Economist @economist.com · Aug 12

“Probing how and why the atomic bombs were deployed against Japan has become a cottage industry all of its own.” The War Room, our defence newsletter, recommends seven of the best books about the country’s defeat in the second world war

The War Room newsletter: Seven of the best books on the Pacific war

Richard Cockett, a news editor, recommends seven books about the defeat of Japan in the second world war

Reposted by Olivier Honnay, Patrick Dunleavy

Ken Opalo @kopalo.bsky.social · Aug 7

How Ethiopia avoided colonization in the late 19th century but then lagged behind in the 20th century: www.africanistperspective.com/p/how-ethiop...

How Ethiopia avoided colonization in the late 19th century but then lagged behind in the 20th century

Lessons in stateness, (failed) modernization, and economic (under)development

www.africanistperspective.com

Reposted by Terry P. Hughes, Olivier Honnay, Stacy D. VanDeveer , and 1 more Terry P. Hughes, Olivier Honnay, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Ben Phalan

Nicholas D Carter @nicholasdcarter.bsky.social · Jul 30

'Cows just replaced the methane from wild bison'

Not even close.

At their peak, wild ruminants incl. bison emitted ~15 Tg CH₄/yr

Today’s 4+ billion farmed ruminants emit over 100 Tg CH₄/yr

That’s nearly 7x more methane.

essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...

Global Methane Budget 2000–2020

Abstract. Understanding and quantifying the global methane (CH4) budget is important for assessing realistic pathways to mitigate climate change. CH4 is the second most important human-influenced gree...

essd.copernicus.org

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

De Speld @speld.nl · Jul 26

Hier komt deze zomer geen festival

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Nature @nature.com · Mar 13

NASA's Perseverance rover has found one of the strongest yet signs of Martian life

https://go.nature.com/43HXMwE

Did Mars harbour life? One of the strongest signs yet is spotted in a peculiar rock

The intriguing chemistry of a rock collected by the Perseverance rover could trace to microbial activity — or not.

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · Nov 30

Do agroecological practices ↗️ yields in Africa? Meta-analysis shows only effective intervention combines mineral & organic fertilizers—ironically, a taboo for orthodox agroecologists. Takeaway: lack of controlled experiments; context dependence; & use best agricultural practices, whatever they are.

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · Jul 7

😱

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · Jul 7

Op vakantie in het hol van de leeuw.

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · Jul 3

Totally agree. There seems to be the idea that regen ag will do the trick. See our response to a BES report

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · Jul 3

6. Then other people say, "we must rewild the world".
Yes. But it's not going to happen without major dietary change.
Eg we can't have grass-fed beef (the most land-hungry of all products) and rewilding. In fact, it drives a massive de-wilding.
At this point, half the enthusiasts shuffle away.

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · Jun 11

Yields do matter.
Nitrogen does matter.
And orthodox agroecology will very likely not deliver the required productivity gains.

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · Nov 30

Do agroecological practices ↗️ yields in Africa? Meta-analysis shows only effective intervention combines mineral & organic fertilizers—ironically, a taboo for orthodox agroecologists. Takeaway: lack of controlled experiments; context dependence; & use best agricultural practices, whatever they are.

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · Jun 11

link to the paper: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

Reposted by Rob Marchant

Olivier Honnay @olivierhonnay.bsky.social · Jun 11

Can Africa feed itself without further expansion of its agricultural land at a high C and biodiversity cost?
=> Would require *tripling* current annual yield increase to achieve cereal self-sufficiency.
=> Big differences between E & W Africa due to differences in nitrogen fertilization regime.

Reposted by Olivier Honnay, Halley E. Froehlich

Richard Waite @waiterich.bsky.social · Jun 10

New research from my colleagues out today looking at the environmental and social impacts of food crop-based biofuels in the US, where we now use >30% of the corn supply and >40% of the soybean oil supply (on tens of millions of acres of prime cropland) to produce only ~6% of US transport fuel. 🧪

Increased Biofuel Production in the US Midwest May Harm Farmers and the Climate

The expansion of biofuel production as an alternative fuel source not only raises questions about sustainability, but about economic inequities among Midwestern small farmers.

Reposted by Olivier Honnay

Zoognosis with Joy! @zoognosisjoy.bsky.social · Jun 8

Fascinating study. For every 1000 bears in an area, there is an associated 4% increased likelihood of a bigfoot sighting. 🧪
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...