Traditional agriculture in transition: examining the impacts of agricultural modernization on smallholder farming in Ghana under the new Green Revolution

Following the renewed effort at achieving a new green revolution for Africa, emphasis has been placed on modernizing smallholder agriculture through the deployment of improved inputs especially mechanized technologies. In Ghana, the government has in the last decade emphasized the provision of subsidized mechanized ploughing services to farmers alongside a rapidly growing private sector tractor service market. While mechanized technology adoption rates have increased rapidly, the deployment of these technologies has been without critical analysis of the impacts on production patterns and local agrarian systems. This paper examines the distributional impacts of agriculture mechanization on cropping patterns and farm sizes of smallholder farmers in northern Ghana using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, and semi-structured interviews with smallholder farmers (n=60). Specifically, comparative analysis of the field sizes and cropping patterns of participant farmers prior to and after the adoption of mechanized technologies was conducted. In-depth interviews were used to contextualize the experiences of smallholder farmers toward understanding how mechanization may be impacting traditional agriculture. Our findings reveal a mechanization paradox in which farm sizes are expanding, while cropping patterns are shifting away from traditional staple crops (pearl millet and sorghum bicolor) to market-oriented crops (maize, rice and groundnuts). This transition we argue, has adverse implications on the cultural dimension of food security, the organization of social life, and climate change adaptation. We recommend a retooling of the current agricultural policy focus to ensure context sensitivity for a more robust battle against food insecurity.     

烟气排放连续监测系统比对监测中存在问题探讨研究

随着工业化、城镇化进程加快和消费结构的持续升级,能源需求刚性增长、国内资源保障能力受限、环境容量受到制约,"十二五"时期的节能减排工作显得尤为紧迫、艰巨和重要。污染源自动监测数据作为节能减排监测体系中计算排污企业主要污染物排放量和确定达标排放的重要依据,是环境保护主管部门进行总量考核、监督执法、排污申报核定等工作的数据基础。用传统的国家标准方法对固定污染源烟气排放连续监测系统进行比对测试时,会受到水分、一氧化碳、硫化氢、监测点位以及分析方法的影响,对比对测试结果会造成一定影响;通过分析比对监测过程中的影响原因,针对相应的影响因素给出了相应的对策措施,提高了自动监测数据的准确性和有效性。     

1644~1949年长江三角洲地区五种洪涝致灾因子组合特征分析

为研究洪涝灾害中不同洪涝致灾因子组合特征对灾害的决定作用,基于历史文献资料,对长江三角洲地区1644~1949年五种洪涝致灾因子(简称洪涝因子)——连续降水、台风、潮灾、上游洪水以及强降水——分类辨识并逐年赋值统计,得到1644~1949年长江三角洲逐年洪涝因子总值序列。结果表明:(1)影响洪涝的因子平均为1.66个,依据洪涝因子总值序列变化趋势,研究时段可划分为三阶段:阶段一,1644~1718年,三因子与四因子洪涝年多集中于这一阶段,该阶段均值高于全段均值与其它两阶段;阶段二,1719~1864年,该段波动较大,单一因子与二因子洪涝年发生频次较高,该段均值最低,其中单一因子洪涝年以强降水因子的影响为最多;阶段三,1865~1949年,大多出现单一因子与二因子洪涝年,整体波动较小,为较平稳的时段。(2)单一因子洪涝年发生频率最大,以强降水因子出现最多,二因子洪涝年发生频率次之,以连续降水-强降水比例最高,三因子洪涝年以连续降水-台风-强降水为最多,四因子洪涝年出现最多的为连续降水—台风—上游洪水—强降水的因子组合,未出现五因子洪涝年。(3)按灾情影响范围辨识了长江三角洲地区1644~1949年6个极端洪涝灾害年和7个极端台风灾害年,发现极端洪涝灾害年主要集中于阶段一中期和阶段二后半期,包括2个四因子年、3个三因子年和1个二因子年,都与连续降水和强降水有关;而极端台风灾害年多发生于阶段二前半期,多为台风与潮灾共同致灾。     

德兴铜矿不同年份废石产酸规律研究

矿山选矿废石、尾矿在长期堆积过程中氧化产生的酸性废水会对环境造成严重危害.实验选取德兴铜矿1、5、10和20年废石进行产酸规律研究,静态评价结果显示,4种废石均有产酸潜势,且除1年废石以外均已产酸.为期9个月的动态评价结果表明,4个年份的废石pH均与电导率呈显著负相关,检出离子主要为氟化物、Cu2+、Zn2+、SO2-4、Fe3+.1年废石在整个实验进行中并未产酸,5、10年废石产酸稳定,20年废石产酸缓慢,可推断废石的产酸过程为:不产酸-高速产酸-稳定产酸-产酸速率下降.     

连续型空间故障树中因素重要度分布的定义与认知

为了解工作环境条件因素对系统故障概率的影响的特征,同时丰富连续型空间故障树(CSFT)的理论框架,提出因素重要度分布的概念。因素重要度分布从经典故障树的概率重要度发展而来,目的是研究系统所处环境因素变化导致系统可靠性变化的程度。给出元件和系统的因素重要度分布概念、公式及所需基础数据,并分析因素重要度分布的正负分布特点。使用该概念研究元件X1和系统T的因素t重要度分布和因素c重要度分布。结果表明:在不同环境中,对于因素t或c变化影响元件或系统的故障概率变化程度是不同的。因素重要度分布有效地表达了t和c对元件或系统的故障概率影响特征。     

丙二酸二(2-(2,3-二羟基苯甲酰胺)乙基)酯的合成与螯合性能研究

用2,3-二羟基苯甲酸经羟基保护、酰胺化、酯化和去保护4步反应,生成一种新型的四齿丙二酸二(2-(2,3-二羟基苯甲酰胺)乙基)酯配体.采用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)、紫外-可见光谱(UV-Vis)、核磁共振氢谱(1H NMR)、核磁共振碳谱(13C NMR)和质谱(MS)对其结构进行了表征.在中性pH值条件下,研究了这种配体对铀酰离子的络合能力.结果表明,丙二酸二(2-(2,3-二羟基苯甲酰胺)乙基)酯配体与铀酰离子的螯合常数为23.2.     

Analysis of Meteorological Drought Pattern During Different Climatic and Cropping Seasons in Bangladesh

Drought is one of the most frequent natural disasters in Bangladesh which severely affect agro‐based economy and people's livelihood in almost every year. Characterization of droughts in a systematic way is therefore critical in order to take necessary actions toward drought mitigation and sustainable development. In this study, standardized precipitation index is used to understand the spatial distribution of meteorological droughts during various climatic seasons such as premonsoon, monsoon, and winter seasons as well as cropping seasons such as Pre‐Kharif (March‐May), Kharif (May‐October), and Rabi (December‐February). Rainfall data collected from 29 rainfall gauge stations located in different parts of the country were used for a period of 50 years (1961‐2010). The study reveals that the spatial characteristics of droughts vary widely according to season. Premonsoon droughts are more frequent in the northwest, monsoon droughts mainly occur in the west and northwest, winter droughts in the west, and the Rabi and Kharif droughts are more frequent in the north and northwest of Bangladesh. It is expected that the findings of the study will support drought monitoring and mitigation activities in Bangladesh.     

Landscape trajectory of natural boreal forest loss as an impediment to green infrastructure

Loss of natural forests by forest clearcutting has been identified as a critical conservation challenge worldwide. This study addressed forest fragmentation and loss in the context of the establishment of a functional green infrastructure as a spatiotemporally connected landscape-scale network of habitats enhancing biodiversity, favorable conservation status, and ecosystem services. Through retrospective analysis of satellite images, we assessed a 50- to 60-year spatiotemporal clearcutting impact trajectory on natural and near-natural boreal forests across a sizable and representative region from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Scandinavian Mountain Range in northern Fennoscandia. This period broadly covers the whole forest clearcutting period; thus, our approach and results can be applied to comprehensive impact assessment of industrial forest management. The entire study region covers close to 46,000 km² of forest-dominated landscape in a late phase of transition from a natural or near-natural to a land-use modified state. We found a substantial loss of intact forest, in particular of large, contiguous areas, a spatial polarization of remaining forest on regional scale where the inland has been more severely affected than the mountain and coastal zones, and a pronounced impact on interior forest core areas. Salient results were a decrease in area of the largest intact forest patch from 225,853 to 68,714 ha in the mountain zone and from 257,715 to 38,668 ha in the foothills zone, a decrease from 75% to 38% intact forest in the inland zones, a decrease in largest patch core area (assessed by considering 100-m patch edge disturbance) from 6114 to 351 ha in the coastal zone, and a geographic imbalance in protected forest with an evident predominance in the mountain zone. These results demonstrate profound disturbance of configuration of the natural forest landscape and disrupted connectivity, which challenges the establishment of functional green infrastructure. Our approach supports the identification of forests for expanded protection and conservation-oriented forest landscape restoration.     

Clam shell catalyst for continuous production of biodiesel

Continuous flow transesterification of waste frying oil (WFO) with methanol for the biodiesel production was tested in a laboratory scale jacketed reactive distillation (RD) unit packed with clam shell based CaO as solid catalyst. The physiochemical properties of the clam shell catalysts were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy Dispersive Atomic X-ray Spectrometry (EDAX). The effects of the reactant flow rate, methanol-to-oil ratio, and catalyst bed height were studied to obtain the maximum methyl ester conversion. Reboiler temperature of 65°C was maintained throughout the process for product purification and the system reached the steady state at 7 hr. The experimental results revealed that the jacketed RD system packed with clam shell based CaO showed high catalytic activity for continuous production of biodiesel and a maximum methyl ester conversion of 94.41% was obtained at a reactant flow rate of 0.2 mL/min, methanol/oil ratio of 6:1, and catalyst bed height of 180 mm.     

接种微生物与人粪便同步连续投加对好氧堆肥效果的影响简

利用新型梨形筒式好氧堆肥反应器，在通风量为3.0 L/min，搅拌频率为5 min/h的条件下，就不接种微生物、接种土著菌种、枯草芽孢杆菌与酵母菌时人粪便连续投加好氧堆肥效果进行了对比。堆制20 d即2个运行周期中各堆体的温度、含水率、COD、总氮、pH值与GI等的变化表明，接种微生物可以显著提高堆体的升温速率与堆体平均温度、COD降解率、GI（P<0.01），堆肥可迅速达到完全腐熟。接种土著菌种效果最为明显（P<0.01），其后相继为枯草芽孢杆菌与酵母菌。接种土著菌种可使堆体温度在50℃以上维持18 d，第8天COD降解率达到61.17%、总氮损失率为25.75%，第6天时GI达到108.22%。