盐碱地不同土地利用方式下土壤细菌群落结构多样性差异分析

为了研究盐碱地不同土地利用方式下土壤细菌群落结构特征分布,利用高通量测序技术,对黄河三角洲地区的耕地、园地和荒地中3个不同深度的土壤细菌群落结构多样性进行了研究.结果表明:①荒地中的土壤细菌群落丰富度和多样性均大于其他土地利用类型.②相同土地利用类型的细菌群落结构相似度较高,而不同土地利用类型的细菌群落结构有一定的差别.③细菌群落在门类水平上达到20门以上,优势菌种均以放线菌门、变形菌门、酸杆菌门、绿弯菌门及浮霉菌门为主,相对丰度约为69%～83%;属类水平的细菌群落达230多属,酸杆菌属在土壤中的相对丰度最高,为5.76%.④土壤有效磷、速效钾和有机质含量与土壤细菌多样性指数呈显著相关性.     

城市土地利用下的植物物种资源特征分析

根据对前联邦德国卡尔斯鲁厄市城市自生植被的调查资料,分析了城市植物区系的特征及其与人类活动影响的关系。结论为：①城市植物区系在优势科组成和生态特征方面与其所在地区自然植被明显不同,并在城市之间表现出较大的相似性；②人类活动和城市热岛效应对城市植物区系及其生态特征的作用明显；③城市土地利用和城市绿地管理对许多物种的生存构成威胁     

Farm-level models of spatial patterns of land use and land cover dynamics in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Longitudinal studies examining socio-demographic and other contextual factors are vital to understanding landscape change. Landscape structure, function, and change are assessed for the northern Ecuadorian Amazon by examining the composition and spatial organization of deforestation, agricultural extensification, and secondary plant succession at the farm level in 1990 and 1999 through the integration of data from a satellite time-series, a longitudinal household survey, and GIS coverages. Pattern metrics were calculated at the farm level through the generation of a hybrid land use and land cover (LULC) digital classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data. Population, labor, and other household variables were generated from a scientific sample of survey farms or fincas interviewed in 1990 and resurveyed in 1999. Topography, soils, and distance and geographic accessibility measures were derived for sample farms through a GIS as well as qualitative assessments from household surveys. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) were generated for 155 and 157 fincas in 1990 and 1999, respectively, using pattern metrics at the landscape level as dependent variables, and biophysical, geographical, and socio-economic/demographic variables as independent variables. The models were derived to explore the changing nature of LULC at the finca level by assessing the variation in the spatial structure or organization of farm landscapes in 1990 and 1999, and the extent to which this variation could be explained by the available data. Results indicate rapid population growth causing substantial subdivision of plots, which in turn has created a more complex and fragmented landscape in 1999 than in 1990. Key factors predicting landscape complexity are population size and composition, plot fragmentation through subdivision, expansion of the road and electrical networks, age of the plot (1990 only), and topography. The research demonstrates that the process of combining data from household surveys, satellite time-series images, and GIS coverages provide an ideal framework to examine population–environment interactions and that the statistical models presented are powerful tools to combine such data in an integrated way.     

河北坝上与坝下不同土地利用类型土壤入渗特征及其影响因素

为查明河北省坝上与坝下不同土地利用类型土壤入渗能力,选择张北县(坝上风蚀区)和阳原县(坝下水蚀区)作为典型研究区,采用微型圆盘入渗仪测量土壤入渗特性,并分析其主要影响因素。研究结果表明:(1)阳原县不同土地利用类型土壤渗透性能表现为:高盖度草地>低盖度草地>耕地>林地,张北县表现为:草地>耕地>灌木林地>防护林地;(2)不同入渗模型拟合度之间存在显著差异,其中Philip模型拟合效果最佳;(3)土壤初始入渗速率、稳定入渗速率、稳定入渗时间与容重呈极显著负相关关系,而与总孔隙度均呈极显著正相关关系。结果表明,该区草地土壤入渗能力最强,后期开展生态工程建设时应更加重视草地涵养水源的作用。     

The effects of land tenure change on sustainability: human security and environmental change in southern African savannas

Using a human security perspective, we investigate how the history of land tenure changes has driven sustainability in southern African savannas. The paper examines four countries—Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Two research questions are addressed: first, how has colonial land tenure and distribution affected people's options and capacity to end, mitigate or adapt to risks to their human, environmental and social rights, and what have been the related effects on land uses and degradation? Second, to what extent have post-independence land reforms addressed threats to human security and political causes of land degradation? The inequitable distribution of land and colonial legacy of dual or pluralistic systems of tenure are found to be at the root of many agrarian and environmental problems. Post-independence land reforms have largely failed to address these fundamental issues, sometimes even reinforcing threats to social, economic and environmental sustainability. The skewed distribution of land and resources, insecure rights, and the marginalisation and restriction of savanna livelihood systems have persisted, undermining human security and environmental integrity in the region as well as leading to mounting conflict and insecurity.     

Sustainable land management practices as providers of several ecosystem services under rainfed Mediterranean agroecosystems

Little is known about the multiple impacts of sustainable land management practices on soil and water conservation, carbon sequestration, mitigation of global change and crop yield productivity in semiarid Mediterranean agroecosystems. We hypothesized that a shift from intensive tillage to more conservative tillage management practices (reduced tillage optionally combined with green manure) leads to an improvement in soil structure and quality and will reduce soil erosion and enhance carbon sequestration in semiarid Mediterranean rainfed agroecosystems. To test the hypothesis, we assessed the effects of different tillage treatments (conventional (CT), reduced (RT), reduced tillage combined with green manure (RTG), and no tillage (NT)) on soil structure and soil water content, runoff and erosion control, soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, crop yield and carbon sequestration in two semiarid agroecosystems with organic rainfed almond (Prunus dulcis Mill) in the Murcia Region (southeast Spain). It was found that reduction and suppression of tillage under almonds led to an increase in soil water content in both agroecosystems. Crop yields ranged from 775 to 1,766 kg ha^?1 between tillage treatments, but we did not find a clear relation between soil water content and crop yield. RT and RTG treatments showed lower soil erosion rates and higher crop yields of almonds than under CT treatment. Overall, higher soil organic carbon contents and aggregate stability were observed under RTG treatment than under RT or CT treatment. It is concluded that conversion from CT to RTG is suitable to increase carbon inputs without enhancing soil CO₂ emissions in semiarid Mediterranean agroecosystems.     

Gender influences decisions to change land use practices in the tropical forest margins of Jambi,Indonesia

This study explores the role of gender as a factor in decision making about alternative land use options and in responses to new investment opportunities, which has received little attention to date. An observational study to determine the different factors affecting male and female decisions to change land use at the individual level in a forest margin landscape in Jambi (Sumatra, Indonesia) was combined with a set of role playing games (RPGs) designed to assess participant responses in a simulated social setting of women-only and men-only groups. The RPG included simulated agents offering new opportunities to convert or conserve agroforest. In the study area, rubber (Hevea braziliensis) agroforests that support high biodiversity and carbon storage are giving way to monoculture rubber and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantations. When women from both the upland and lowland villages played the RPGs, external investors proposing logging or oil palm conversion were approached very positively and the resulting land use change was more dynamic and extensive than in the equivalent men-only groups. Consequently, women outperformed men in achieving income targets. In lowland areas gender is strongly associated with land use change, while in the uplands the level of conservation awareness plays a more crucial role in the maintenance of rubber agroforests. Based on the data, and contrary to expectations and gender stereotypes, it is expected that the greater involvement of women in landscape level decision making will increase emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in the area, posing further challenges to efforts to reduce such emissions.     

The effects of land use and its patterns on soil properties in a small catchment of the Loess Plateau

Due to relatively strong human activities in the hilly area of Loess Plateau,the natural vegetation has been destroyed,and landscape pattern based on agricultural land matrix was land use mosaic composing of shrub land,grassland,woolland and orchard.This pattern has an important effect on soil moisture and soil nutrients.The Danangou catchment,a typical small catchment,was selected to study the effects of land use and its patterns on soil moisture and nutrients in this paper.The results are as follows:The comparisons of soil moisture among seven land uses for wet year and dry year were performed:(1)the average of soil moisture content for whole catchment was 12.11% in wet year,while it was 9.37% in dry year;(2)soil moisture among seven land uses was significantly different in dry year,but not in wet year;(3) form wet year to dry year,the profile type of soil moisture changed from decreasing type to fluctuation-type and from fluctuant type to increasing type;(4)the increasing trend in soil moisture from the top to foot of hillslope occurred in simple land use along slope,while complicated distribution of soil moisture was observed in multiple land uses along slope.The relationships between soil nutrients and land uses and landscape positions were analysed:(1)five nutrient contents of soil organic matter(SOM),total N(TN),available N(AN),total P(TP) and available P(AP) in hilly area were lower than that in other areas.SOM content was less than 1%,TN content less than 0.07%,and TP fallow land and cropland,and higher level in soil fertility was found in crop-fruit intercropping land among croplands;(3)soil nutrient distribution and responses to landscape positions were variable depending on slope and the location of land use types.     

Landscape patterns and parcel boundaries: an analysis of composition and configuration of land use and land cover in south-central Indiana

In many areas of the world, socioeconomic and political factors are increasingly impacting spatial patterns of land use and land cover in the landscape. Much of the land in the United States has been divided using a grid-based system that was implemented to realize socioeconomic and political goals rather than to protect and conform to biophysical differences. The borders of individual parcels of land often reflect the boundary lines created by this system. These borders are important components of policies related to land management such as zoning and private land use decisions. The potential impact this system of land division may have on spatial patterns in a landscape remains unclear. The majority of landscape research has focused exclusively on biophysical differences occurring over relatively large areas of land and ignored possible finer-scale, human impacts on landscape composition and configuration. There is a need for research on spatial patterns occurring over areas that match socioeconomically or politically important units of land in order to improve understanding of relationships between human related processes and ecosystem functions and to create better management policies.This research explores whether the system of land parcelization is evident in patterns of land use and land cover in the landscape of south-central Indiana. In particular, it investigates whether parcel boundaries correspond to distinct changes in the composition and configuration of forest, developed, and agricultural lands. This research uses theory and methodology from geography, geographic information science, and landscape ecology to analyze patterns of land use and land cover in a rural to semi-rural county in south-central Indiana. A classification of a remotely sensed image is used as a basis for calculating metrics of landscape composition and configuration with the use of a geographic information system. The metrics are calculated for areas of forest, developed, and agricultural land associated with a sample of parcels chosen to represent all the parcels within Monroe County. The values for areas near the parcel boundaries are compared with the values for areas at relatively short distances from the parcel boundaries. This comparison indicates whether there is a distinct change in the composition or configuration of the landscape occurring at approximately the parcel boundaries.The results suggest that in Monroe County, Indiana, changes in the composition of the landscape, particularly the amount of area covered by agriculture and forest, correspond with parcel boundaries. Changes in the configuration of agricultural and, to a lesser extent, developed lands also occur near parcel boundaries. The results support the hypothesis that the grid-based system of parcelization has affected spatial patterns of land use and land cover. These results illustrate the potential impact socioeconomic and political systems may have on spatial patterns in a landscape.     

基于土地利用与植被恢复情景的土壤侵蚀演变特征

基于土地利用与植被恢复情景,使用USLE和土壤风蚀方程对坝上地区水蚀和风蚀强度进行估算。结果表明:(1)2015年坝上地区风蚀、水蚀和总侵蚀强度均值分别为8.83±5.15 t·ha^-1·a^-1、4.37±6.62 t·ha^-1·a^-1和13.22±8.18 t·ha^-1·a^-1;风蚀占总侵蚀67%,水蚀占33%。(2)土地利用调整情景下,风蚀、水蚀和总侵蚀强度分别减少4.9%～9.9%、2.9%～8.3%和4.3%～9.3%;土地利用+植被恢复情景下,风蚀、水蚀和总侵蚀强度则分别减少6.3%～13.8%、5.2%～16.2%和5.9%～14.3%。(3)土地调整面积与风蚀强度减少率呈对数关系,与水蚀强度减少率呈指数关系,与总侵蚀强度减少率呈线性关系(P<0.01)。本文结果可以为土壤侵蚀方程计算及区域土壤侵蚀防治提供数据参考。     

Effect of land use and land cover change on soil erosion and the spatio-temporal variation in Liupan Mountain Region, southern Ningxia, China

The Liupan Mountains are located in the southern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China, that forms an important divide between landforms and biogeographic regions. The populated part of the Liupan Mountain Region has suffered tremendous ecological damage over time due to population pressure, excessive demand and inappropriate use of agricultural land resources. To present the relationship between land use/cover change and spatio-temporal variation of soil erosion, data sets of land use between the late 1980s and 2000 were obtained from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, and spatial models were used to characterize landscape and soil erosion conditions. Also, soil erosion in response to land use and land cover change were quantified and analyzed using data from geographical information systems and remote sensing. Soil erosion by water was the dominant mode of soil loss, while soil erosion by wind was only present on a relatively small area. The degree of soil erosion was classified into five severity classes: slight, light, moderate, severe, and very severe. Soil erosion in the Liupan Mountain Region increased between the late 1980s and 2000, both in terms of acreage and severity. Moderate, severe, and very severe eroded areas accounted for 54.86% of the total land area. The lightly eroded area decreased, while the moderately eroded area increased by 368817 ha (22%) followed by severe erosion with 146552 ha (8.8%), and very severe erosion by 97067.6 ha (5.8%). Soil loss on sloping cropland increased with slope gradients. About 90% of the cropland was located on slopes less than 15°. Most of the increase in soil erosion on cropland was due to conversion of steep slopes to cropland and degradation of grassland and increased activities. Soil erosion was severe on grassland with a moderate or low grass cover and on dry land. Human activities, cultivation on steep slopes, and overgrazing of pastures were the main reasons for the increase in erosion severity.     

The rules for land use,land use change and forestry under the Kyoto Protocol—lessons learned for the future climate negotiations

This paper provides an overview of the rules for accounting emissions of land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. It first describes the rules in detail, it then provides an overview of the history of negotiations that led to these rules and provides resulting conclusions for future international climate negotiations. We conclude that the current rules can be better understood in the light of the negotiation history. For the future, we conclude that first an agreement on the objectives of including LULUCF in the future climate regime should be developed, e.g. to contribute significantly to the ultimate objective of the convention. Further, a solid set of data should be developed that can assess the magnitude of possible options. The rules should be scientifically sound, complete and balanced as well as unambiguous before the quantitative targets are defined. They should further be simple and inclusive to include all carbon pools, i.e. provide incentives to avoid deforestation and unsustainable logging in all countries.     

Integrated assessment of future CAP policies: land use changes,spatial patterns and targeting

The recent and upcoming reforms of the Common Agricultural Policies (CAPs) aim at strengthening the multifunctional role of agriculture, acknowledging the differences in economic, environmental and social potentials within European regions. This paper presents results from an integrated assessment of existing and future policies within the framework set up in the FP6 EU project MEA-Scope. Spatial explicit procedures allow for the MEA-Scope modelling tools to provide information related to regional, environmental and socio-economics settings. The impact of different policy scenarios on structural change, land abandonment and cropping pattern of typical farms has been assessed based on linked agent-based (ABM) and Linear Programming (LP) models at regional and farm scale for two study areas. For the German case study area Ostprignitz-Ruppin (OPR), the issue of policy targeting has been addressed by relating non-commodity outputs (NCOs) to soil quality and protection status. For the Italian case study area (Mugello), changes in landscape patterns in terms of increased fragmentation or homogeneity as affected by changes in agricultural intensity have been analysed using semivariance analysis. The spatial explicit approach highlighted the relevance of case study research in order to identifying response structures and explaining policy implementation patterns.     

Influence of land use on organic carbon pool and chemical properties of Vertic Cambisols in central and southern Italy

Land use strongly influences soil properties and unsuitable practices lead to degradation of soil and environmental quality. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of different land uses on some chemical properties of soils developed from Pliocene clays, within hilly environments of central and southern Italy. The areas investigated are located in Vicarello di Volterra (Pisa, Tuscany), S. Quirico d’Orcia (Siena, Tuscany) and Soveria Simeri (Catanzaro, Calabria). Within each area different land uses were compared, including a natural ecosystem (Mediterranean bush), a perennial grass or pasture and an intensive crop (wheat, as monoculture or in rotation). The soils were sampled at 0.0–0.1, 0.1–0.2 and 0.2–0.4 m depth and analysed for particle size, pH, bulk density, cation exchange capacity and exchangeable cations, total organic carbon (TOC) and humified carbon (HC) concentrations, organic carbon stock and total N. The stratification ratio of soil organic carbon was calculated to characterize soil organic carbon distribution with depth. At all sites, soil under Mediterranean bush contained the largest amounts of TOC (as both concentration and stock), HC, total N and exchangeable K, together with the highest cation exchange capacity and the lowest pH values. The decrease in soil OC stock with land use change from natural to agricultural ecosystem was 65–85% to 0.1 m depth, 55–82% to 0.2 m depth and 44–76% to 0.4 m depth, with the lowest decrements for perennial grass from S. Quirico and the highest decrement for continuous wheat from Soveria Simeri. Continuous wheat cropping, based on conventional tillage, proved to be the least sustainable land use. At Soveria Simeri, the organic carbon content under pasture was not significantly larger than under wheat cultivation, probably because of grazing mismanagement; however, organic carbon under pasture was more humified. At S. Quirico, the perennial grass resulted in a significant increase in soil organic carbon at the soil surface relative to the wheat cultivation, while at Vicarello no differences were observed between alfalfa/wheat rotation and perennial grass. Our results lead to the questioning of sustainability of intensive cereal farming and uncontrolled grazing in the considered environments, emphasizing the need for greater attention to conservative land managements.     

Community fire use,resource change,and livelihood impacts: The downward spiral in the wetlands of southern Sumatra

Fire is an important community wetland management tool in Indonesia, but its increasing use in the wetlands of southern Sumatra is degrading the landscape and diminishing household incomes and livelihood options. We studied evolving community land and fire use, resource and livelihood impacts on two sites of roughly 250 km² each using satellite image analysis and biological and socio-economic surveys. Uncontrolled fire use expanded over time in relation to sonor or swamp rice cultivation, logging, fishing, grazing, and annual cropping on drained wetlands. As a result, most of the landscape has been subject to repeated fires of varying intensities, more extensive in El Niño years. Direct burning by companies played a smaller transitory role in fire ignition over the two decades. But company activities and other large-scale developments contributed to expanding community fire-based land use by bringing in more people, improving access to remote wetlands or making them more flammable. Widespread, repeated fires have transformed the landscape from mature high swamp forests to uniform stands of fire-resistant Gelam (Melaleuca cajuputi) forests and thickets, open savannas and grasslands. These new types of land cover are also degrading. Local communities have rapidly adapted to the changing resources and new opportunities. Logging and fishing declined in importance, and sonor and harvesting of Gelam expanded. But resource depletion has led to falling incomes and fewer livelihood options. The impacts extend beyond local areas as workers migrate into neighbouring forests to extract resources. Large-scale developments, community fire-based management practices and landscape transformation are spreading from accessible to formerly more remote wetlands.     

A Functional Land Management conceptual framework under soil drainage and land use scenarios

Agricultural soils offer multiple soil functions, which contribute to a range of ecosystem services, and the demand for the primary production function is expected to increase with a growing world population. Other key functions on agricultural land have been identified as water purification, carbon sequestration, habitat biodiversity and nutrient cycling, which all need to be considered for sustainable intensification. All soils perform all functions simultaneously, but the variation in the capacity of soils to supply these functions is reviewed in terms of defined land use types (arable, bio-energy, broadleaf forest, coniferous forest, managed grassland, other grassland and Natura 2000) and extended to include the influence of soil drainage characteristics (well, moderately/imperfect, poor and peat). This latter consideration is particularly important in the European Atlantic pedo-climatic zone; the spatial scale of this review. This review develops a conceptual framework on the multi-functional capacity of soils, termed Functional Land Management, to facilitate the effective design and assessment of agri-environmental policies. A final functional soil matrix is presented as an approach to show the consequential changes to the capacity of the five soil functions associated with land use change on soils with contrasting drainage characteristics. Where policy prioritises the enhancement of particular functions, the matrix indicates the potential trade-offs for individual functions or the overall impact on the multi-functional capacity of soil. The conceptual framework is also applied by land use area in a case study, using the Republic of Ireland as an example, to show how the principle of multi-functional land use planning can be readily implemented.     

鄂南4种典型土地利用方式红壤CO2排放及其影响因素

以湖北省咸宁地区分布的红壤为研究对象,采用静态箱法对4种典型土地利用方式（水稻-油菜轮作田,旱地,林地,果园）土壤CO₂的排放特征及其相关影响因子进行了观测研究.结果表明,4种利用方式土壤CO₂的年排放总量从高到低分别为水稻-油菜轮作田1 129 g/(m²·a),果园828 g/(m²·a),旱地632 g/(m²·a),林地533 g/(m²·a).土壤CO₂排放通量呈现明显的季节性变异,水田夏季淹水期排放低,而其它3种土壤都是夏季最高,春秋次之,冬季最低,并与对应的大气温度、土壤温度变化趋势基本一致.其中5 cm地温与4种土壤CO₂排放通量均成极显著的相关关系,且以林地的相关性最大.除水田外,其它土壤CO₂排放通量与大气温度均呈显著正相关关系.根据5 cm地温与CO₂排放通量的相关方程计算得出,4种利用方式红壤的Q₁₀分别为水田1.51,果园1.88,林地2.08,旱地2.7.土壤CO₂排放通量与土壤WFPS之间并没有明显的相关关系.土壤可溶性有机碳（DOC）含量与CO₂排放通量的变化趋势基本一致,且DOC在降水或淹水的情况下显著增大.     

Adaptation of land management in the Mediterranean under scenarios of irrigation water use and availability

Meeting the growing demand for food in the future will require adaptation of water and land management to future conditions. We studied the extent of different adaptation options to future global change in the Mediterranean region, under scenarios of water use and availability. We focused on the most significant adaptation options for semiarid regions: implementing irrigation, changes to cropland intensity, and diversification of cropland activities. We used Conversion of Land Use on Mondial Scale (CLUMondo), a global land system model, to simulate future change to land use and land cover, and land management. To take into account future global change, we followed global outlooks for future population and climate change, and crop and livestock demand. The results indicate that the level of irrigation efficiency improvement is an important determinant of potential changes in the intensity of rain-fed land systems. No or low irrigation efficiency improvements lead to a reduction in irrigated areas, accompanied with intensification and expansion of rain-fed cropping systems. When reducing water withdrawal, total crop production in intensive rain-fed systems would need to increase significantly: by 130% without improving the irrigation efficiency in irrigated systems and by 53% under conditions of the highest possible efficiency improvement. In all scenarios, traditional Mediterranean multifunctional land systems continue to play a significant role in food production, especially in hosting livestock. Our results indicate that significant improvements to irrigation efficiency with simultaneous increase in cropland productivity are needed to satisfy future demands for food in the region. The approach can be transferred to other similar regions with strong resource limitations in terms of land and water.     

Relationships between diversity of grassland vegetation, field characteristics and land use management practices assessed at the farm level

In order to assess the impact of policies to encourage extensification in less favoured areas and improve our knowledge of extensive livestock systems, we analyzed relationships between the diversity of grassland vegetation and land use management practices and field characteristics. This study, conducted on a mountainous area in the centre of France, was based on 149 fields, mainly of natural grasslands belonging to 7 farmers. Regression analyses were performed to analyze the relations between the grassland vegetation types (five types established from the list of dominant species), management practices (cutting versus grazing and fertilization) and the topographic (altitude and aspect) and topologic (slope, distance and surface area) characteristics of the fields. The land use management rules used by the farmers were studied by specifying the grazing management rules of the herd (dairy cows), as well as those for conserved forage (mainly hay or silage) and were identified from observations mentioned on the “grazing schedules”, as well as from interviews at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the study period. The statistical analysis showed that neither the topographic characteristics of the fields nor the distance from the cowshed or surface area were correlated with the grassland vegetation types. It was the management practices used, largely determined by the field slope, which determined the grassland vegetation type. On the other hand, farmers’ statements showed that the grazing and cutting management rules were mostly determined by the slope of the fields and the distance from the cowshed and, to a lesser extent, by the altitude and aspect. These results showed that the farmers take into consideration environmental differences when choosing fields to allocate for grazing and cutting at different seasons, particularly when they are constrained by these features. Nevertheless, when the constraints were minimal, a wide diversity of grassland vegetation types was also observed. This diversity was a result of attributing different functions to the fields which led to different management practices (defoliation methods and fertilization) and, thus, to different grassland vegetation types. Consequently, for farms where animal feed requirements vary according to the time of the year and the type of animal, we suggest that diversity in the grassland vegetation types is a sound component of these livestock systems.     

Runoff and sediment losses from 27 upland catchments in Southeast Asia: Impact of rapid land use changes and conservation practices

Rapid changes in upland farming systems in Southeast Asia generated predominantly by increased population pressure and ‘market forces’ have resulted in widespread land degradation that has been well documented at the plot scale. Yet, the links between agricultural activities in the uplands and downstream off-site effects remain largely unknown because of the difficulties in transferring results from plots to a larger scale. Many authors have thus pointed out the need for long-term catchment studies. The objective of this paper is to summarize the results obtained by the Management of Soil Erosion Consortium (MSEC) over the last 5 years from 27 catchments in five countries (Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). The purpose of the study was to assess the impacts of cultivation practices on annual runoff and erosion rates. Initial surveys in each catchment included topography, soils and land use. Monitoring included climatic, hydrologic and erosion (total sediment yield including bed load and suspended sediment load) data, land use and crop yields, and farmers’ income. In addition, new land management options were introduced through consultations with farmers and evaluated in terms of runoff and erosion. These included tree plantations, fruit trees, improved fallow with legumes, maize intercropped with legumes, planted fodder, native grass strips and agro-ecological practices (direct sowing and mulch-based conservation agriculture). Regressions analyses showed that runoff during the rainy season, and normalized runoff flow coefficient based on erosive rainfall during the rainy season (rainfall with intensity exceeding 25 mm h⁻¹) increase with the percentage of the catchment covered by maize. Both variables decrease with increasing soil depth, standard deviation of catchment slope (that reflects terrain roughness), and the percentages of the catchment covered by fallow (regular and improved), tree plantations and planted fodder. The best predictors of sediment yield were the surface percentages of maize, Job's tears, cassava and footpaths. The main conclusions generated from this study were: (i) soil erosion is predominantly influenced by land use rather than environmental characteristics not only at the plot scale but also at the catchment scale; (ii) slash-and-burn shifting cultivation with sufficiently long rotations (1 year of cultivation, 8 years of fallow) is too often unjustly blamed for degradation; (iii) in its place, continuous cropping of maize and cassava promotes high rates of soil erosion at the catchment scale; (iv) conservation technologies are efficient in reducing runoff and total sediment yield at the catchment scale; (v) the adoption of improved soil management technologies by upland farmers is not a function of the degree of intensification of their farming system and/or of their incomes. The results suggest that if expansion of maize and cassava into already degraded upland systems were to occur due to increased demand for biofuels, there is a risk of higher runoff and sediment generation. A failure to adopt appropriate land use management strategies will result in further rapid resource degradation with negative impacts to downstream communities.