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.     

‘Aji gnui assonii’—a practice of organic hill farming among the Apatani tribe of Eastern Himalaya

Apatani, a hill tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, India, has been practising rice fish culture traditionally for many decades. Their practice, locally termed aji ngui assonii, is free from the use of agro-chemicals and additional input of supplementary feed for fish. They basically follow the traditional agronomic practices for rice even in rice-fish combination pertaining to field preparation and maintenance. Field preparation starts in April, occasionally continues up to late May, and rice seedlings are planted in May-June. The strains of common carp are stocked at fry stage (3–5 cm), after just ten days of planting the rice and reared in the field for about 4 months in total. Sometimes they harvest fish partially from the field after an interval of 1.5 months. With multiple harvesting, only 200–300 kg ha-' offish are produced in each harvest whereas with final harvesting the production rate is 500 kg ha-'. The dykes of rice fields are utilized for growing millet in June and are harvested during August-September. The system of such integrated farming is an organic practice, as well as sustainable in the sense that it is based solely on available natural resources in the ecosystem and also preserves the agro-biodiversity, enhancing multidimensional support to the tribal livelihood.     

Multicriteria analysis applied to the sustainable agriculture problem

SUMMARY

The aim of this paper is to present an operational approach to compare the relative sustainability of existing farming systems. Sustainability rests on the assumption that an equilibrium must exist among three domains: social, economic and ecological. If we are to look for a solution to the problem, we must face a multi-dimensional approach. We propose that multicriteria analysis, a multi-dimensional method, is an appropriate methodology to study the issue. As sustainability cannot be measured directly, the way out is to use indicators. We have performed a thorough analysis of four farming systems existing in Guaíra, SP, Brazil to validate the methodology. Thirty indicators of sustainability (ten ecological, ten social, and ten economic) were defined and used to perform the analysis. The results of the multicriteria analysis proved useful because of its capability of reducing the dimensionality of the problem. From the three dimensions of sustainability, a final score was derived that can easily compare the relative sustainability of each farming system.     

Effects of land use on water quality of two high-altitude lakes and catchments in Yunnan Province,China

SUMMARY

Reclaiming farmland from lakes in China in the 1950s damaged the water quality of many lakes. Tremendous efforts have been made since the late 1990s to restore vegetation around the damaged lakes. This paper examines water quality of Fuxian and Qilu Lakes and land-use characteristics within the two catchments in the high-altitude area of Yunnan Province, China. Landsat TM data acquired in 1989, 1994, 1999 and 2005 were used to extract land use and land cover (LULC) information. Measurements of five water quality indices (WQIs), BOD, COD, pH, TN and TP, for the same period of time were examined. The results showed that the area of residential and forest/shrub increased, whereas that of cropland and barren land decreased from 1989 to 2005 in both catchments. Qilu Lake was much more polluted than Fuxian Lake, and pollution worsened over time for both lakes. The differences in water quality between the two lakes were caused by differences in LULC composition and continued degradation in water quality was caused by intensive farming and urban sprawl. Unless the landscape is converted back to its pre-1950 composition and structure, water quality in both lakes cannot be significantly improved and will continue to threaten sustainable development in the region.