Impacts of LUCC processes on potential land productivity in China in the 1990s

Using meteorological data and RS dynamic land-use observation data set, the potential land productivity that is limited by solar radiation and temperature is estimated and the impacts of recent LUCC processes on it are analyzed in this paper. The results show that the influence of LUCC processes on potential land productivity change has extensive and unbalanced characteristics. It generally reduces the productivity in South China and increases it in North China, and the overall effect is increasing the total productivity by 26.22 million tons. The farmland reclamation and original farmlands losses are the primary causes that led potential land productivity to change. The reclamation mostly distributed in arable-pasture and arable-forest transitional zones and oasises in northwestern China has made total productivity increase by 83.35 million tons, accounting for 3.50% of the overall output. The losses of original farmlands driven by built-up areas invading and occupying arable land are mostly distributed in the regions which have rapid economic development, e.g. Huang-Huai-Hai plain, Yangtze River delta, Zhujiang delta, central part of Gansu, southeast coastal region, southeast of Sichuan Basin and Urumqi-Shihezi. It has led the total productivity to decrease 57.13 million tons, which is 2.40% of the overall output.

Assessing the consequence of land use change on agricultural productivity in China

China's cultivated land has been undergoing dramatic changes along with its rapidly growing economy and population. The impacts of land use transformation on food production at the national scale, however, have been poorly understood due to the lack of detailed spatially explicit agricultural productivity information on cropland change and crop productivity. This study evaluates the effect of the cropland transformation on agricultural productivity by combining the land use data of China for the period of 1990-2000 from TM images and a satellite-based NPP (net primary production) model driven with NOAH/AVHRR data. The cropland area of China has a net increase of 2.79 Mha in the study period, which causes a slightly increased agricultural productivity (6.96 Mt C) at the national level. Although the newly cultivated lands compensated for the loss from urban expansion, but the contribution to production is insignificant because of the low productivity. The decrease in crop production resulting from urban expansion is about twice of that from abandonment of arable lands to forests and grasslands. The productivity of arable lands occupied by urban expansion was 80% higher than that of the newly cultivated lands in the regions with unfavorable natural conditions. Significance of cropland transformation impacts is spatially diverse with the differences in land use change intensity and land productivity across China. The increase in arable land area and yet decline in land quality may reduce the production potential and sustainability of China's agro-ecosystems. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adapting to climate change through sustainable land management: experiences of a pilot project in Tajikistan

Tajikistan is particularly exposed to the risks of climate change. Its widely degraded landscapes are badly prepared to cope with changes in precipitation patterns, increased temperatures, droughts, and the spread of pests and disease. Sustainable land management (SLM) provides a “basket of opportunities” to address these challenges, particularly for increasing land productivity, improving livelihoods, and protecting ecosystems. Within the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) in Tajikistan 70 SLM technologies and approaches on how to implement SLM were documented with the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT ) tools in 2011. For this purpose a climate change adaptation module was developed and tested in order to enhance the understanding about climate change resilience of SLM practices and community workshops conducted to on adaptation mechanisms by rural communities in Tajikistan. The analysis came up with four guiding principles for applying SLM for adapting to climate change: 1. Diversification of land use technologies and farm incomes; 2. Intensification of use of natural resources; 3. Expansion of highly productive land use technologies; 4. Protection of land and livelihoods from extreme weather events. Furthermore, SLM must be up-scaled from isolated plots to entire zones or landscapes and the project developed the concept of three concentric villages zones, the in-, near- and off-village zones. Land users, advisors, and decision- and policy makers face the task of finding management practices that best suit site-specific conditions. This task is most efficiently addressed in collaborative effort, and building up and managing a respective knowledge platform.

Land Markets in the EU Candidate Countries of Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. Factor Markets Working Paper No. 1, September 2011

The paper provides an overview and a comparison of land markets covering the three candidate countries for European Union membership: Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia and Turkey. It analyses and compares agricultural land structures and factors driving land markets, based on the available cross-section and time-series evidence on agricultural land structures and land productivity (yields). The land productivity measured by production per hectare of agricultural land varies between the three countries. Agricultural land structures are the result of historical evolution in land markets and land-leasing developments with additional different institutional environments and agrarian and land reforms.

A Spatial Analysis of Agricultural Land Prices in Bavaria. Factor Markets Working Document No. 50, June 2013

This paper empirically analyses a dataset of more than 7,300 agricultural land sales transactions from 2001 and 2007 to identify the factors influencing agricultural land prices in Bavaria. We use a general spatial model, which combines a spatial lag and a spatial error model, and in addition account for endogeneity introduced by the spatially lagged dependent variable as well as other explanatory variables. Our findings confirm the strong influence of agricultural factors such as land productivity, of variables describing the regional land market structure, and of non-agricultural factors such as urban pressure on agricultural land prices. Moreover, the involvement of public authorities as a seller or buyer increases sales prices in Bavaria. We find a significant capitalisation of government support payments into agricultural land, where a decrease of direct payments by 1% would decrease land prices in 2007 and 2001 by 0.27% and 0.06%, respectively. In addition, we confirm strong spatial relationships in our dataset. Neglecting this leads to biased estimates, especially if aggregated data is used. We find that the price of a specific plot increases by 0.24% when sales prices in surrounding areas increase by 1%.

Jatrophanviljely ja maankäyttö Vietnamissa

Biofuels are under discussion all over the world today. There are fears that the farming of biofuel plants hurts food production and weakens the food security of the poor. On the other hand, biofuel production could lessen the green house gas emissions caused by transportation, and it could also spread the profits from fuel markets more evenly between countries. The aim of this thesis is to find out how an oil plant called jatropha curcas L., which is used for biodiesel production, can affect the sustainability of livelihoods in Vietnam from the point of view of land use. Special attention is given to the effects of jatropha farming on food production, land productivity, natural resources of livelihoods and global livelihood. Jatropha belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae, and it grows naturally in tropical and subtropical areas. It can be grown on poor soils, its seeds have high oil content, and it cannot be eaten due to its toxicity. The plant grows naturally in Vietnam, and during the past few years it has also begun to be farmed for making biodiesel. Population growth in Vietnam has slowed down, but the population's standard of living and energy consumption are still rising quickly. An interest in the international biodiesel markets has awoken following Vietnam's opening up to international trade. Jatropha diesel plays a significant part in Vietnam’s clean fuel strategy, and many companies have set up jatropha plantations to produce raw material for biodiesel. Diesel made from jatropha is planned to be used both locally and for export. This thesis uses a theoretical concept of sustainable livelihoods. According to the theory, the resources that people have shape their livelihood possibilities. Farming of jatropha affects the livelihoods of people especially through land use, as land use changes have effects on many of the livelihood resources. In addition to the written sources, the material of the thesis is based on 14 interviews in Vietnam and Finland, and on observation during a field trip to Northern Vietnam in the spring of 2008. The results of the thesis show that jatropha diesel can support the sustainability of livelihoods at different scales if it is produced with deliberation. However, positive results are only possible if decisions are made carefully and more experience is collected. The possibilities of sustainable jatropha farming depend mainly on the previous land use methods and ways of production. Farming of jatropha does not threaten food production in Vietnam if the farming plans are implemented as planned. Jatropha may take some land from cassava, but at the same time, food production can be increased if mixed farming is used on some farms. Plenty of new research information and practical experiences on jatropha farming has to be collected before results of the real sustainability of the farming are ready. Carefully considered continuation and documentation of present and future projects would help to understand the possibilities of jatropha diesel in Vietnam and elsewhere.

Barriers to plantation activities in different agro-ecological zones of Southern India

This paper analyses environmental and socio-economic barriers for plantation activities on local and regional level and investigates the potential for carbon finance to stimulate the increased rates of forest plantation on wasteland, i.e., degraded lands, in southern India. Building on multidisciplinary field work and results from the model GCOMAP, the aim is to (1) identify and characterize the barriers to plantation activities in four agro-ecological zones in the state of Karnataka and (2) investigate what would be required to overcome these barriers and enhance the plantation rate and productivity. The results show that a rehabilitation of the wasteland based on plantation activities is not only possible but also anticipated by the local population and would lead to positive environmental and socio-economic effects at a local level. However, in many cases, the establishment of plantation activities is hindered by a lack of financial resources, low land productivity and water scarcity. Based on the model used and the results from the field work, it can be concluded that certified emission reductions such as carbon credits or other compensatory systems may help to overcome the financial barrier; however, the price needs to be significantly increased if these measures are to have any large-scale impact.

A relação logística X produtividade das unidades de triagem: estudos de casos.

O presente trabalho se propôs a fazer uma análise do espaço físico e dos resultados obtidos de cinco unidades de triagem, localizadas em diferentes municípios da região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro: a Coopcarmo, em Mesquita; a Recooperar São Gonçalo, em São Gonçalo; a Recooperar Itaboraí, em Itaboraí; a Usina de Triagem e Reciclagem, no Rio de Janeiro; e a Coleta Seletiva de São Francisco, em Niterói. Destas, somente a Coleta Seletiva de São Francisco não é cooperativa. Exceto a Usina de Triagem e Reciclagem, todas foram criadas antes da Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos. Com base nas informações obtidas por cada unidade de triagem, foram estabelecidos quatro indicadores - produtividade por funcionário, produção por m2 de área útil, produção por m2 de área total de terreno e produtividade ao mês por número de funcionário por área útil com o objetivo de se fazer uma avaliação comparativa entre as unidades visitadas. Pelos indicadores apresentados, observou-se que a Usina de Triagem e Reciclagem apresentou a melhor produtividade por funcionário e a maior produção por m2 de área útil. Também se verificou que, apesar da Coleta Seletiva de São Francisco possuir a menor área e o menor número de funcionários, apresenta a maior produtividade por mês por número de funcionários por área útil, revelando que uma grande área de cooperativa e ou uma alta quantidade de funcionários não são fatores que contribuem para uma alta produtividade da unidade de triagem. A análise da logística de cada unidade de triagem indicou que há uma sequência de etapas nas atividades de produção das unidades de triagem e que a localização espacial de cada atividade deveria seguir a sequência das mesmas etapas. Elaboraram-se propostas para adaptação do espaço físico de cada uma, visando a um novo reordenamento, tendo como objetivo menor desgaste em deslocamentos e maior produtividade.

黄土高原土壤干层评定指标的改进及分级标准

土壤干层是黄土高原普遍存在的特殊土壤水文现象,研究其现状、成因、防治、调控措施等对科学认识区域植被承载力、土地生产力以及低效林草改造和可持续植被建设等有重要理论与生产指导意义,而合理通用评判指标与分级标准是开展土壤干层研究的基础。目前黄土高原土壤干层尚无统一评判指标与分级标准,给区域土壤干层研究带来困难。本文在已有研究成果的基础上,提出用土壤有效水饱和度/不饱和度作为土壤干层评判指标,并给出其分级标准。该评判指标计算简单,具通用性和可比性,可望成为土壤干层的通用评判指标。

陕北中部丘陵区土壤肥力现状及提高土地生产力的途径

调查分析了延安宝塔区和安塞县 7个乡镇近三年来的粮食生产 ,肥料投入以及各土地类型的土壤肥力状况 ,表明 :投入的化肥中 ,氮肥以低浓度养分的碳铵为主 ,平均占肥料总量的 38.3% ,从施入土壤的 N、P、K养分来看 ,K比例很小 ,结构不合理。土壤肥力总体水平低 ,且不同土地类型差异大 ;由于各乡镇自然和经济状况的差异 ,土地投入量不同 ,从而导致粮食产量相差悬殊 ,并且年际波动大。提高土地生产力的有效途径是培肥土壤和大力推广农作物高产栽培技术

侵蚀条件下坡地土壤水分与有效磷的空间分布特征

坡地的水土流失及磷素在泥沙中的富集不仅导致土地生产力下降、环境恶化 ,也对下游水体的环境造成严重危害。以不同施磷时间的黄绵土为试验材料 ,通过人工模拟降雨试验观察了坡地侵蚀土壤水分含量 (SM)与有效磷含量 (APC)的空间变化特征。结果表明 :自坡顶向下侵蚀土壤表层 0～ 5 cm与 5～ 10 cm的土壤水分 (SM)呈现出完全一致的波浪状递增趋势。有效磷含量 (APC)的空间变化虽然也为波浪状 ,但其节奏要较水分变化快一倍 ,而且 0～ 5 cm与 5～ 10 cm两层间并不同步 ,下层略有滞后。磷向 2 0 cm以下土层的迁移量极少 ,不同坡位间差别不大。施磷 2 4d以前从坡顶向下有效磷含量 (APC)呈降低趋势 ,而施磷 2 4d以后在坡下则略有富集 ;施磷 6 d以前坡地 0～ 5 cm土层有效磷含量 (APC)较 6 d以后低 8%左右

陕北黄土高原农牧交错带土地生产潜力及人口承载力

根据陕北黄土高原农牧交错带生态环境特点以及作物生长发育过程对光、热、水、土资源的要求和利用效率,运用逐步订正法对该地区的土地生产潜力进行了定量估算,并对其土地的人口承载力进行了计算与分析,指出了提高该地区土地生产潜力及人口承载力的途径。结果表明,该地区光温生产潜力为光合生产潜力的65.21%,气候生产潜力为光温生产潜力的37.91%,土壤生产潜力为气候生产潜力的32.19%,现实生产能力仅为土壤生产潜力的42.47%;在现实生产能力水平下,人民生活仅能维持我国低消费水平,如果要实现世界中等消费水平,必须使土地的现实生产能力达到土壤生产潜力的89.40%,气候生产潜力的27.00%。提高该地区土地生产潜力及人口承载力的途径包括提高植被覆盖度,控制土地荒漠化;发展设施农业和灌溉农业,提高作物产量;改进施肥方法,培肥地力;因地制宜,开发滩区等。

Ecos recientes de un debate inconcluso acerca de la Revolución Agrícola en Inglaterra y de la transformación de su economia agraria entre 1500 y 1850

El debate acerca de la existencia, cronología y factores de una "revolución agrícola" que precede y se relaciona con la "revolución industrial" tiene larga data. Los temas sustantivos de este debate conservan una importancia central para comprender el desarrollo tanto de la agricultura como de la economía inglesas en los siglos que median de 1500 a 1850. A lo largo del mismo se han configurado una versión tradicional y otra revisionista. Resulta posible a esta altura, realizar una confrontación de ambas interpretaciones por medio de la obra de dos autores importantes, Marc Overton y Robert C. Allen.

Ecos recientes de un debate inconcluso acerca de la Revolución Agrícola en Inglaterra y de la transformación de su economia agraria entre 1500 y 1850

El debate acerca de la existencia, cronología y factores de una "revolución agrícola" que precede y se relaciona con la "revolución industrial" tiene larga data. Los temas sustantivos de este debate conservan una importancia central para comprender el desarrollo tanto de la agricultura como de la economía inglesas en los siglos que median de 1500 a 1850. A lo largo del mismo se han configurado una versión tradicional y otra revisionista. Resulta posible a esta altura, realizar una confrontación de ambas interpretaciones por medio de la obra de dos autores importantes, Marc Overton y Robert C. Allen.