OUTPUT AND INVESTMENT FRONTIERS OF UNITED STATES IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE1

ABSTRACT: Economic models sometimes indicate that irrigation water is misallocated in agriculture, especially when it appears that the marginal value product is higher in other uses (such as for hydro-power). Historically, trends tend to contradict this reasoning, however, especially since irrigation has grown from 20 million acres in 1940 to over 50 million acres in 1980. Results of this study tend to indicate that as agriculture becomes more and more intensive (in terms of inputs), irrigation is part of that long term trend. Further, major economic variables, such as output and investments in agriculture, appear to be more highly correlated with irrigated land than with dryland agriculture. Recent data indicate an upper limit of about 320 million acres for dryland farming in the United States, while no such constraint is apparent for irrigated agriculture.     

福建东山岛西埔湾港养生物资源的开发利用

在研究东山岛西埔湾港养生物资源及其开发现状的基础上,指出资源种类逐年减少,年渔获量急剧下降,渔获个体趋于小型化,资源已明显衰退。作者认为过度捕捞是导致西埔湾总渔获量下降的最主要因素。为了保护资源和提高渔获量,必须控制捕捞力量,改善港养环境条件,并采取季节性开闸纳苗和放流增殖措施。     

Study on Sustainable Development in Vulnerable Eco-areas

The vulnerable eco-area is one of the important research targets in the field of sustainable development. It is the requirement of building a well-off society in an all-round way that we should study more on the vulnerable eco-areas, deal with the relationship between environmental protection and economic development, speed up the economic development in these areas and increase the living standard of the local people. This paper puts forward the countermeasures of environment---economy coordination, on the basis of the recognition of eco-environment features and social economic conditions in the vulnerable eco-areas of China, in view of the progress in sustainable development studies of the vulnerable ones, taking the transitional areas of farming and pasturing in northeast China as an example to study the regional environment vulnerability.     

滇西北高原湖泊剑湖演变过程及其生态环境效应分析

以滇西北高原湖泊剑湖为研究区,1974—2015年间8期遥感影像为数据源,运用遥感和地理信息系统技术,研究剑湖湖泊近40年间的时空演变过程,探析剑湖湖泊的入湖污染物及其生态环境效应变化。结果表明:近40年来剑湖湖泊面积呈现先明显减少再增加后缓慢减少的变化规律,由1974年的504.47 hm~2减至2015年的451.72 hm~2;目前剑湖水体中COD含量较低,符合地表水环境质量Ⅱ类标准;TP含量满足Ⅲ类标准;TN含量仅可满足IV类标准;剑湖入湖的主要污染源是农村生活污染和农业面源污染;随着时间的演变剑湖湖泊TN、TP污染物浓度呈上升趋势,剑湖湖泊生态系统受到极大干扰。     

粤北三座典型中型水库富营养化与浮游植物群落特征

于2010年丰水期（8月）和枯水期（12月）采集粤北地区3座中型水库（沐溪、苍村和赤石迳水库）的水和浮游植物,分析植物群落与水质,以考察季节性温度差异与鱼类养殖对水库水质和浮游植物群落结构的影响。结果表明,3座水库分别属富营养、中营养和中营养水平,营养盐质量浓度丰水期高于枯水期。共鉴定浮游植物7门56种（属）,群落组成以蓝藻、绿藻和硅藻为主。沐溪水库丰枯两季均以蓝藻为优势类群,其浮游植物丰度和生物量明显高于其余两座水库（p〈0.01）;苍村和赤石迳水库丰水期优势门类均为蓝藻,枯水期均为硅藻。3座水库浮游植物丰度均表现为丰水期高于枯水期,生物量则枯水期高于丰水期,但均无显著性差异（p〉0.05）。RDA（冗余分析）结果表明,透明度、总氮和悬浮物是影响浮游植物群落结构的主要因素;其中,沐溪水库的营养盐和悬浮物与浮游植物群落正相关,苍村和赤石迳水库浮游植物群落则与水深和透明度正相关;温度对浮游植物群落的影响主要体现在种类组成的季节差异上。营养盐和优势种类的季节差异造成了浮游植物丰度和生物量在丰水期和枯水期的不一致。聚类分析将不同季节的3座水库分为2个类区,非养鱼水库苍村和赤石迳水库为第一类区,养鱼的沐溪水库为第二类区。沐溪水库库区内发展鱼类养殖业为浮游植物提供了高质量浓度营养盐（尤其是总磷）,即使在温度较低的冬季仍支持蓝藻种类的优势性。     

Environmental characteristics of urban-rural farming migrants in the Republic of Korea and their significance for rural sustainability

ABSTRACT

The number of households migrating to agricultural villages has sharply increased in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) since the late 1990s when the Asian economic crisis developed. This study investigates the environmental behaviour and the socio-economic characteristics of urban-rural migrant farming households and provides insights into their significance for rural sustainability in South Korea. The study is based on survey data collected in 2016 from a sample of 166 migrant farming households and 46 native farming households from the Namwon region in South Korea. The migrant farming households are divided into 29 return and 137 non-return farming households. It was found that most non-return migrants are organic farmers, and can be characterised as anti-urban, amenity-pursuing, green, and lifestyle migrants. It is no wonder that they have a strong intent to make their new home an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable place for their children. Thus, appropriate policy measures need to be designed in such a way to facilitate the synergy between the repopulation of rural areas by farming migrants, their uptake of organic farming, their active engagement in community rebuilding, and regional economic development.     

Breeding skylarks (Alauda arvensis) on organic and conventional arable farms in The Netherlands

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of differences in cropping pattern between organic and conventional arable farms on the breeding activity of skylarks and to assess the effects of arable crop management on skylark nest survival. Skylark nest density was seven times higher on organic farms than on conventional farms (0.63 vs. 0.09 nest per 10 ha). Skylarks showed a strong preference for spring cereals, lucerne and grass leys, all of which were mainly or exclusively grown on organic farms. On organic farms nests were initiated during the entire breeding season, but on conventional farms no nesting activity was found during the peak of the season (early May to early June). On organic farms 27% of all nests was successful. Increasing the availability of suitable breeding habitat during the peak of the breeding season on conventional farms might provide one means of enhancing breeding skylark populations. On organic farms, crop management should focus on reducing nest loss due to farming operations.     

Environmental Implication of Intensive Farming Practices on North China Plain

Abstract

The current pressure on production resources of North China Plain, such as land and water to feed the growing population, necessitates the assessment of the sustainability of farming practices. This study focuses on the sustainability of farming practices related to groundwater and soil fertility management. The assessment is based on selected site-specific key indicators and their established threshold limits. The current farming practices in the study area are clearly unsustainable. Only about 6% of the surveyed farm households practice sustainable farming. The study stresses that farming practice, which is economically sustainable, should not be promoted at the cost of environment. Holistic strategies need to be developed and implemented that aim at balanced use of inputs, which satisfy both productivity and environmental concerns.     

Understanding why consumers in China switch between wild,farmed, and synthetic bear bile products

An important rationale for legally farmed and synthetic wildlife products is that they reduce illegal, wild-sourced trade by supplying markets with sustainable alternatives. For this to work, more established illegal-product consumers must switch to legal alternatives than new legal-product consumers switch to illegal wild products. Despite the widespread debate on the magnitude and direction of switching, studies among actual consumers are lacking. We used an anonymous online survey of 1421 traditional Chinese medicine consumers in China to investigate switching among legal farmed, synthetic, and illegal wild bear bile. We examined the past consumption behavior, applied a discrete choice experiment framed within worsening hypothetical disease scenarios, and used latent class models to investigate groups with shared preferences. Bear bile consumers (86% respondents) were wealthier, more likely to have family who consumed bile, and less knowledgeable about bile treatments than nonconsumers. Consumer preferences were heterogenous, but most consumer preferences switched between bile types as disease worsened. We identified five distinct latent classes within our sample: law-abiding consumers (34% respondents), who prefer legal products and were unlikely to switch; two all-natural consumer groups (53%), who dislike synthetics but may switch between farmed and wild; and two nonconsumer groups (12%), who prefer not to buy bile. People with past experience of bile consumption had different preferences than those without. Willingness to switch to wild products was related to believing they were legal, although the likelihood of switching was mediated by preferences for cheaper products sold in legal, familiar places. We found that consumers of wild bile may switch to legal alternatives, given the availability of a range of products, whereas legal-product consumers may switch to illegal products if the barriers to doing so are small. Understanding preferences that promote or impede switching should be a key consideration when attempting to predict consumer behavior in complex wildlife markets.