A review of concepts and criteria for assessing agroecosystem health including a preliminary case study of southern Ontario

The model of agroecosystem health has been advocated as an appealing guideline for agricultural research. Yet, some ambiguity remains in how the concept can be defined and how the general criteria for assessing the health of an agroecosystem at a particular scale can be selected. This paper reviews the literature from various disciplines pertinent to the concept of agroecosystem health. It focuses on assessing the applicability of assorted concepts, norms, and criteria to agroecosystem health assessment, and develops a general definition of agroecosystem health. A classification scheme is proposed which scattered while potentially useful concepts in the literature are discussed, using southern Ontario as a case study to further illustrate the usefulness of the conceptual framework in studying agroecosystem health. Agroecosystem health can be characterized from four different perspectives that are related to agroecosystem structure, function, organization, and dynamics. Given the complexity of agroecosystems, the health of the systems at different scales cannot be fully captured from one perspective only. Criteria, such as resource availability, diversity, and accessibility, are some of the existing concepts capable of depicting the structural state of agroecosystem health. Concepts including productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness appear very useful for assessing the functional performance of agroecosystems. As any agroecosystem interacts actively with its external environments and changes over time, such characteristics are not necessarily captured by structural or functional criteria. Organizational criteria, such as autonomy and self-dependence, are useful to characterize the organizational nature inherent to agroecosystem health. Stability and resilience on the other hand are two appealing concepts capable of revealing the temporal dimension of agroecosystem health. Numerous empirical studies that are used to illustrate how these concepts developed in different disciplines of agricultural research can be potentially employed to facilitate the assessment of agroecosystem health. It is argued that any holistic investigation of the health of an agroecosystem needs to examine biophysical, economic, and human conditions of the system and to evaluate these conditions from perspectives pertinent to system structure, function, organization, and dynamics.     

Agroecosystems stability in the argentine pampas

Consideration of yield stability seems to be especially relevant to agroecosystems that are exposed to environmental perturbations. Improved knowledge about agroecosystem structures and functions and their relationships to the surrounding environment is required. The three main purposes of this work were: (a) to improve knowledge about some ecosystem structures and functions; (b) to evaluate their effects on productivity and yield stability; (c) to consider the design of low cost alternatives to optimize output and minimize risk. By means of a time-sequence analysis, 145 productive periods each with an average duration of 14 consecutive years were considered. Yield oscillation along each time sequence offers an acceptable stability index for the analysed activities. By converting outputs to energy units, the yields and stabilities of different production activities were compared. Results indicate that environmental gradation of the Pampas region affects primary production of herbage and grain more than secondary production of milk and meat, and this effect increases as the environment becomes more restricted. Some combinations of farming activities and energy pathways appear to affect agroecosystem productivity and stability simultaneously. The role of diversification of activities as a tool for agroecosystem stabilization is analysed, and some results are presented. Finally, the perspectives of this agroecological approach to improve system designs and its adaptation to particular regional constraints, are discussed.     

Approaches to assess the environmental impact of organic farming with particular regard to Denmark

Ever increasing attention is being paid to the environmental impact of intensive agricultural practices, and in this context organic farming is gaining recognition as a relatively friendly production system. In general, the risk of harmful environmental effects is lower with organic than with conventional farming methods, though not necessarily so. This review examines organic farming in the light of European conditions with special regard to recent research findings from Denmark. It specifies the environmental problems caused by modern farming practices and discusses appropriate indicators for assessing their impact. A driving force-state-response (DSR) framework is employed to organise and understand the processes and mechanisms that lie behind the impact of agriculture on nature and the environment. Important groups of environmental indicators are selected that characterise (a) the aquatic environment (nitrate and phosphorus leaching), (b) the soil (organic matter, biology and structure), (c) the ecosystem (arable land, semi-cultivated areas, small biotopes and landscape), and (d) resource usage and balances (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and energy use).The paper also reviews several empirical studies. With regard to soil biology, organic farming is usually associated with a significantly higher level of biological activity (bacteria (Monera), fungi (Mycota), springtails (Collembola), mites (Arachnida), earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris)), due to its versatile crop rotations, reduced applications of nutrients, and the ban on pesticides. In most cases there is also a lower surplus of nutrients and less leaching with organic than with conventional farming. However, poor management (e.g., the ploughing of grass and legumes (Fabates) at the wrong time of year with no subsequent crops to capture the mineralised nitrogen), low self-sufficiency in feed, and problems with certain production systems (such as those involved in organic pig farming, i.e., grazing sows, low crop yields), can lead to a high level of leaching in some organic systems. Organic farming is faced with a need to expand and develop in line with increasing demands for organic food and growing environmental concerns. This requires closer attention to the goals, values and principles on which organic practices are based, and more research into the influence of organic farming on different aspects of the environment.     

新安江水库水环境主要问题及保护对策

新安江水库是钱塘江的重要水源,对保障钱塘江中下游的生态安全和水体功能起着举足轻重的作用。为阐明新安江水库在流域经济发展和人类活动的影响下水环境的主要问题及保护对策,促进饮用水安全保障及构建健康水域生态系统,本文对新安江水库历年的水环境指标、浮游生物群落结构及其变化及水域生态灾变事件资料进行了综合分析。目前新安江水库存在上游来水变差、局部水域藻类异常增殖、渔业生产不合理、营养程度加重等众多问题,但其突出问题是藻类生物量增长过快。新安江水库水环境保护工作要从关注水质向维持生态系统健康转变,并尽快开展生态保育工作,控制流域污染、降低藻类数量、减少藻类异常增殖影响、科学合理渔业生产是其下一步保护的关键。而关于新安江水库的研究,虽然有一定的研究基础和资料,但对水域生态系统缺乏系统认识。研究气候变化条件下新安江水库水域生态系统的结构和功能以及长期演变规律;水利调度导致水位调整对区域水动力学条件、营养物输送过程的影响及评价水利调度对水库重要环境因子和生态系统影响;渔业养殖对水环境的影响,特别是鲢、鳙鱼大水面积养殖对水库生态系统的影响应是今后新安江水库主要的研究领域和方向。     

行政等级与城市规模对生态福利绩效的影响研究

基于广义数据包络分析法（DEA）和随机抽样Bootstrap法,使用2015—2018年全国288个地级及以上城市的面板数据,研究行政等级、城市规模对生态福利绩效的影响,分析城市规模在行政等级影响生态福利绩效中的路径作用。结果表明：我国288个地级及以上城市的生态福利绩效水平整体均值不高,但随时间推移呈上升趋势且近年来增速逐渐加快;行政等级和城市规模均对生态福利绩效起显著正向影响,技术进步显著提升城市的生态福利绩效,外资依存度显著降低城市的生态福利绩效;城市规模是城市行政等级影响生态福利绩效的重要路径,行政等级越高,城市规模越大,生态福利绩效水平越高。基于以上结论,为协调经济、环境、社会实现可持续发展提出政策建议。     

Food security and global environmental change: emerging challenges

Most research linking global environmental change and food security focuses solely on agriculture: either the impact of climate change on agricultural production, or the impact of agriculture on the environment, e.g. on land use, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and/or biodiversity. Important though food production is, many other factors also need to be considered to understand food security. A recent international conference on “Environmental Change and Food Security: Bridging Science, Policy and Development for Adaptation” included a range of papers that embraced the multiple dimensions of the food systems that underpin food security. The major conclusion from the conference was that technical fixes alone will not solve the food security challenge. Adapting to the additional threats to food security arising from major environmental changes requires an integrated food system approach, not just a focus on agricultural practices. Six key issues emerged for future research: (i) adapting food systems to global environmental change requires more than just technological solutions to increase agricultural yields; (ii) tradeoffs across multiple scales among food system outcomes are a pervasive feature of globalized food systems; (iii) within food systems, there are some key underexplored areas that are both sensitive to environmental change but also crucial to understanding its implications for food security and adaptation strategies; (iv) scenarios specifically designed to investigate the wider issues that underpin food security and the environmental consequences of different adaptation options are lacking; (v) price variability and volatility often threaten food security; and (vi) more attention needs to be paid to the governance of food systems.     

土地利用生态风险评价研究进展

土地利用生态风险评价是对生态系统在土地利用直接或间接作用下可能产生的不利影响的评价。在梳理已有研究工作的基础上,从评价模型、生态风险空间表达和不确定性分析三个方面,总结土地利用生态风险评价研究方法的进展,阐述土地利用生态风险管理在土地利用生态风险评价中的地位和作用。目前该领域存在的主要问题是:（1）评价指标和评价标准不统一;（2）评价过程和评价结果的不确定性较大;（3）生态风险管理环节研究薄弱。未来的发展趋势包括:（1）关注全球变化条件下的土地利用生态风险;（2）重视土地利用生态风险评价在国土空间规划与生态修复中的作用;（3）加强土地利用生态风险管理研究;（4）建立并完善土地利用生态风险评价的数据管理平台。     

碳排放视角下的江苏省土地利用转型生态效率研究——基于混合方向性距离函数

生态效率关乎经济与生态之间的双重问题,要保证在实现社会经济正常发展的同时将环境影响控制到最小程度。CO₂等温室气体的排放作为造成全球气候变暖的主要产物,成为改善全球环境问题的焦点。土地利用转型在一定程度上影响着土地生态,并从土地的投入和产出方面影响土地生态效应,分析其影响机理将有助于最小化土地利用成本,最大化土地生态价值。论文运用混合方向性距离函数模型和Global Malmquist-Luenberger（GML）指数,将CO₂排放量作为生态效率的非期望产出指标,构建土地利用转型投入和产出指标体系,测算2006—2014年江苏省13个城市在土地利用转型背景下的生态效率及环境全要素生产率增长状况,并对全要素生产率变动进行分解,以期缓解经济快速增进带来的生态环境问题。研究结果表明：CO₂过度排放以及能源过度消耗,使得很多城市普遍存在生态低效率;2006—2014年江苏省总体平均生态效率值为0.827,若能够充分利用当前技术水平,资源强度和污染排放强度在平均意义上可以提高17%;江苏省生态效率变化区域差异明显,生态效率存在空间关联性和集聚效应;环境全要素生产率增长呈现地域不均衡性,纯技术进步是影响环境全要素生产率增长变动的重要影响因素;技术规模变化的区域差异幅度最大,是构成环境全要素生产率增长差异的重要因素。     

阿拉善高原生态环境退化研究进展

区域生态环境退化问题是当前研究的热点内容,分析其研究现状及存在问题能更好地把握其核心领域并开展更进一步的研究。本文以典型生态环境脆弱区——阿拉善高原为研究对象,系统梳理了该区域土地沙漠化、沙尘暴演化、土地利用/覆被变化、绿洲退化、水量减少与水质恶化等与生态环境退化相关领域的研究进展。在分析已有研究成果的基础之上,就不同生态环境退化问题研究存在的不足进行了归纳总结,并提出了今后需要重点开展的研究内容,以期为阿拉善高原乃至其他生态环境脆弱区生态系统的研究提供参考。     

Nonparasitic Nematoda provide evidence for a linear response of functionally important soil biota to increasing livestock density

Soil acidity, nutrient availability and livestock density have a major influence on the belowground ecological community. As fast decomposition rates are due mostly to bacterial-based pathways and slower decomposition rates mostly to fungal-based pathways, it is helpful to condense empirical information in the so-called Nematode Channel Ratio (NCR). The NCR is shown to be a good indicator of efficiency in soil decomposition processes. We argue that in intensive agroecosystems, other fungivore members of the decomposer food web may outcompete the hyphal-feeding nematodes. We demonstrate how the NCR can be used to set ecological standards for sustainable use of the soil in agroecosystems. To summarize the interactions between the microbial resources and the decomposer nematofauna according to increasing land management, we propose the use of the fifth percentile as proxy for a sustainable environmental quality of grasslands on sandy soils, and the NCR mean as the upper threshold for low-stocked farms.     

村域社会资本与环境影响的关系——基于甘肃省村域调查数据

社会资本作为改善生态环境的先决条件,已引起了全社会的广泛关注,当前急需辨明社会资本与环境影响之间的关系,并依次寻求解决生态环境问题的对策措施。研究基于甘肃省20个村域的调查数据,以网络、信任、规范为指标测度社会资本,以生态足迹为指标测度环境影响,利用计量经济模型分析了村域层面社会资本与环境影响的关系。结果表明:①社会资本差异有助于解释村域之间的环境影响差异;②社会资本的普遍信任维度、制度信任维度与环境影响呈显著正相关,规范维度与环境影响呈显著负相关,网络维度虽与环境影响呈负相关,但统计上不显著;③劳动力受教育程度、非农就业水平与环境影响呈显著负相关,人口规模虽与环境影响呈正相关,但在多数模型中不显著。最后,指出了社会资本对环境影响作用研究中需进一步关注的问题。     

From pattern to process: landscape fragmentation and the analysis of land use/land cover change

The incorporation of landscape ecological and fragmentation analyses within remote sensing science has expanded the inferential capabilities of such research. This issue presents a series of papers on the use of landscape ecological techniques to explore the relationship between land cover and land use spatial pattern and process in an international, comparative context. Methodologically, researchers seek to link spatial pattern to land use process by integrating geographic information systems (GIS), socio-economic, and remote sensing techniques with landscape ecological approaches. This issue brings together papers at the forefront of this research effort, and illustrates the diversity of methods necessary to evaluate the complex linkages between pattern and process in landscapes across the world. The analyses focus on major forces interacting at the earth’s surface, such as the interface of agricultural and urban land, agriculture and forestry, and other pertinent topics dealing with environmental policy and management. Empirical analyses stem from many different ecological, social and institutional contexts within the Americas, Africa, and Asia.     

2000—2018年鄂尔多斯市植被覆盖度变化及驱动因素分析

植被变化是一个复杂而漫长的过程,受气候变化、土地利用、生态工程、城市化等多种因素的影响,其中人类活动是植被覆盖度变化的重要影响因子,评估区域植被覆盖度的人为影响值具有重要的研究意义. 鄂尔多斯市融入新一轮西部大开发、黄河流域生态保护和高质量发展、黄河“几”字湾都市圈及内蒙古自治区的重要经济增长极等国家和区域战略,是国家重要能源和战略资源基地,且位于我国北方防沙带的南侧,对维护国家整体生态安全具有重要作用. 本文以鄂尔多斯市为研究区,利用遥感数据、气象数据、土地利用数据,采用基于变异系数的人为影响模型,分析鄂尔多斯市2000—2018年植被覆盖度的时空变化,定量探究气候与人类活动对植被变化以及生态环境的影响,识别人类活动影响区域,区分正向、负向影响. 结果表明:2000—2018年鄂尔多斯市植被覆盖度平均值呈现波动性上升趋势,从0.23升至0.35,总体呈现由低、中覆盖向中高、高覆盖转化的趋势. 2000—2018年NDVI变异系数为0.005~4.360,植被稳定性较弱,变异系数高值区与气候因子的相关性未达到显著性水平. 人为变异系数为?0.25~1.50,研究区西部受人类干扰程度较大,而东部受干扰程度较小. 人类活动的正向影响区域主要集中在研究区东部,占研究区总面积的54.00%,与近年来生态保护修复治理密不可分. 人类活动的负向影响区域主要分布在鄂托克旗西北部等区域,土地利用类型为工矿用地,且这些区域是采矿场增加区域之一,很大程度上受到矿产开发的影响,同时该区域处于防风固沙屏障区和生物多样性优先区,不仅关系到鄂尔多斯市的人居安全保障,而且关系到内蒙古自治区乃至京津冀、华北及西北地区的生态安全. 因此需进一步加强人类活动管控工作,协调好经济发展与环境保护的关系,保障生态环境质量持续改善,为地方政府生态环境监管与干旱半干旱区生态保护修复提供科学依据,同时为黄河流域高质量发展以及我国北方生态安全屏障构筑提供重要保障.      

Assessment of the environmental impact of carnivorous finfish production systems using life cycle assessment

When evaluating the environmental impacts of finfish production systems, both regional impacts (e.g., eutrophication) and global impacts (e.g., climate change) should be taken into account. The life cycle assessment (LCA) method is well suited for this purpose. Three fish farms that represent contrasting intensive production systems were investigated using LCA: rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in freshwater raceways in France, sea-bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in sea cages in Greece, and turbot (Scophtalmus maximus) in an inland re-circulating system close to the seashore in France. Two main characteristics differentiated the three farm systems: feed use and energy use. Emission of nitrogen and phosphorus accounted for more than 90% of each farm's potential eutrophication impact. In the trout and sea-bass systems, feed production was the major contributor to potential climate change and acidification impacts and net primary production use (NPPU). In these systems, the main source of variation for environmental impacts was the feed conversion ratio. Results from this study indicate that the sea-bass cage system was less efficient than the trout raceway system, with a higher level of potential eutrophication (65% greater) and NPPU (15% greater). The turbot re-circulating system was a high energy-consumer compared to the trout raceway system (four times higher) and the sea-bass cage system (five times higher). Potential climate change and acidification impacts were largely influenced by energy consumption in the turbot re-circulating system. In the turbot re-circulating system 86% of energy use was due to on-site consumption, while in the sea-bass cage farming system 72% of energy use was due to feed production. These results are discussed in relation to regional contexts of production and focus attention on the sensitivity of each aquatic environment and the use of energy carriers.     

丛枝菌根真菌在矿区生态环境修复中应用及其作用效果

针对煤矿区生态环境修复中存在的主要问题,研究丛枝菌根真菌与紫穗槐共生状况,丛枝菌根真菌对紫穗槐根系发育的影响及其对煤炭开采塌陷区退化土壤的改良效应.结果表明,接种菌根5个月后,接种丛枝菌根促进紫穗槐地上部分和根系生长,提高了紫穗槐根系侵染率;接种区紫穗槐根际土壤中球囊霉素、易提取球囊霉素含量显著增加;接种菌根提高了紫穗槐根际土壤有效磷和有机质含量,微生物数量明显提高,取得较好的菌根生态效应.接种菌根有利于对矿区根际土壤的改良,促进了矿区生态系统稳定,对维持矿区生态系统的持续性具有重要意义.     

Response of the bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi) to climate change in relation to its pest status, vectoring potential and function in a crop-vector-virus pathosystem

Global climate change threatens world food production via direct effects on plant growth and alterations to pest and pathogen prevalence and distribution. Complex relationships between host plant, pest, pathogen and environment create uncertainty particularly involving vector-borne diseases. We attempt to improve the understanding of the effects of climate change via a detailed review of one crop-vector-pathogen system.The bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi, is a global pest of cereals and vector of yellow dwarf viruses that cause significant crop losses in cereals. R. padi exhibits both sexual and parthenogenetic reproduction, alternating between crops and other host plants. In Australia, only parthenogenesis occurs due to the absence of the primary host, thus the aphid continuously cycles from grasses to cereals, allowing for continuous virus acquisition and transmission.We have reviewed the potential impact of future climate projections on R. padi population dynamics, persistence, abundance, dispersal and migration events as well as the interactions between vector, virus, crop and environment, all of which are critical to the behaviour and development of the vector and its ability to transmit the virus. We identify a number of knowledge gaps that currently limit efforts to determine how this pathosystem will function in a future climate.     

“十一五”期间黑龙江省环境空气中可吸入颗粒物变化趋势及影响

随着经济的快速发展和物质生活的日益提高,维护生态环境和提高环境质量越来越成为社会的迫切需要。已有研究成果表明,大气中的可吸入颗粒物对人体健康和生态环境有很大的影响。在中国空气质量超标的城市中,68%都存在可吸入颗粒物污染的问题。本文通过对"十一五"期间黑龙江省环境空气中可吸入颗粒物监测数据实证分析,总结了近五年全省环境空气中可吸入颗粒物变化趋势,研究了可吸入颗粒物浓度变化对环境空气质量的影响。     

创建环境保护总体规划在大连社会经济发展中的战略地位及实施思路

以建设资源节约型、环境友好型社会和生态宜居城市为总体目标,以全面贯彻落实科学发展观,促进经济增长方式转变和优化城市布局为主线,以建立良好的生态环境为核心,坚持环境保护与经济增长并重、与经济发展同步,全力推进生态文明建设,构建持续协调发展的生态经济体系、自然宜居的生态环境体系、责权明晰的生态环境执法和保障体系,建立了《大连市环境保护总体规划(2008—2020)》. 该规划的指标体系是以《生态市建设指标》、《大连市城市总体规划》和《大连市生态环境保护“十一五”规划》中的相关指标为基础,通过污染物排放量预测、环境容量分析、资源承载力分析,比较分析了发达国家主要城市的环境质量目标,综合考虑了环境质量标准而设定. 采用数值模拟,系统分析,动态分析,生态足迹,虚拟水计算,决策分析,SWOT分析和3S等技术方法,在大气与海域环境容量、生态功能分区、环境发展战略、生态承载力等方面大量理论研究的基础上,提出了包括大气环境规划、水环境规划、声环境规划、固体废物处置规划、核与辐射污染控制规划、工业布局与结构调整规划、自然生态系统规划、农村环境保护规划、环境风险防范以及环境管理能力建设规划等10个方面的规划. 《规划》通过全域谋划、统筹规划,有步骤、分阶段地解决制约经济发展和群众关注的环境问题,有效协调生态保护区和经济开发区的关系,最终实现“社会-经济-资源-环境”的可持续发展.      

产业结构变化及其生态环境效应——以新疆喀什地区为例

摘要：产业结构是人类作用于生态环境系统的主要环节,产业结构是否合理很大程度上决定了经济效益、资源利用效率和对环境的胁迫。以喀什地区为例,通过计算产业结构的生态环境影响指数,定量评价了20年来喀什地区产业结构变化的生态环境效应。研究结果表明：研究时段内全区的第一产业产值比重持续下降,区域工业化、城市化进程缓慢。20余年来,产业结构变化对生态环境的影响属于中等,且有所降低,产业结构的调整限制了人类活动对自然生态环境的干扰。研究结果对喀什地区经济的发展具有一定的指导意义。     

海岛旅游开发生态影响及保护对策研究

海岛是相对独立的地理单元,生态系统较为脆弱,旅游开发将对海岛带来环境影响.为保护和利用海岛的旅游资源和自然环境,以蜈支洲岛旅游开发为例,采用矩阵法识别海岛开发生态影响因子,建立了水土流失、土壤、沙滩、植被、保护动植物、珊瑚、珊瑚生态、景观等评价指标体系,采用模型预测和类比分析等方法预测、分析和评价旅游开发活动的生态影响,并提出减缓对策,从而避免旅游开发造成岛屿的生态破坏,维护岛屿生态系统的完整性.