Simulating Soil Water Content,Evapotranspiration, and Yield of Variably Irrigated Grain Sorghum Using AquaCrop

Use of models to simulate crop production has become important in optimizing irrigation management in arid and semiarid regions. However, applicability and performance of these models differ across regions, due to differences in environmental and management factors. The AquaCrop model was used to simulate soil water content (SWC), evapotranspiration (ET), and yield for grain sorghum under different irrigation regimes and dryland conditions at two sites in Central and Southern High Plains. Prediction error (P_e), estimated as the difference between simulated and measured divided by measured, for SWC ranged from ?17% to 4% in fully irrigated, ?3% to ?10% in limited irrigated, and ?16% to 25% in dryland treatments. The P_e within ±4%, ?5%, and ?17% to 24% were attained for seasonal ET under fully irrigated, limited irrigated, and dryland conditions, respectively. P_e values for grain yield were within those previously reported and ranged from ?10% to 12%, ?12% to 7%, and 9% to 17% for fully irrigated, limited irrigated and dryland conditions, respectively. Overall performance of the AquaCrop model showed it could be used as an effective tool for evaluating the impacts of variable crop and irrigation managements on the production of grain sorghum in the study area. Finally, the application of the model in the study area revealed planting date has a significant impact on sorghum yield and irrigation requirements, but the impact of planting density was negligible. Editor's note : This paper is part of the featured series on Optimizing Ogallala Aquifer Water Use to Sustain Food Systems. See the February 2019 issue for the introduction and background to the series.     

Yield and Water Productivity of Winter Wheat under Various Irrigation Capacities

The Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator model validated in a prior study for winter wheat was used to simulate yield, aboveground crop biomass (BM), transpiration (T), and evapotranspiration under four irrigation capacities (ICs) (0, 1.7, 2.5, and 5 mm/day) with two nitrogen (N) application rates (N1, 94 kg N/ha; N2, 160 kg N/ha) to (1) understand the performance of winter wheat under different ICs and (2) develop crop water production function under various ICs and N rates. Evaluation was based on yield, aboveground crop BM, transpiration productivity (TP), crop water productivity (WP), and irrigation WP (IWP). Simulation results showed winter wheat yield increased with increase in N application rate and IC. However, the rate of yield increase gradually reduced with additional irrigation beyond 2.5 mm/day. A 5 mm/day IC required a total of 190 mm irrigation and produced a 5%–16% yield advantage over 2.5 mm/day. This indicates it is possible to reduce groundwater use for wheat by 50% incurring only 5%–16% yield loss relative to 5 mm/day. The TP and IWP for grain were slightly higher under IC of 1.7 mm/day (15.2–16.1 kg/ha/mm and 0.98–1.6 kg/m³) when compared to 5 mm/day (14.7–15.5 kg/ha/mm and 0.6–1.06 kg/m³), respectively. Since TP and IWPs are relatively higher under lower ICs, winter wheat could be a suitable crop under lower ICs in the region. Relationship between yield–T and yield–ET was linear with a slope of 15–16 and 9.5–10 kg/ha/mm, respectively. Editor's note : This paper is part of the featured series on Optimizing Ogallala Aquifer Water Use to Sustain Food Systems. See the February 2019 issue for the introduction and background to the series.     

Case Study Comparing Multiple Irrigated Land Datasets in Arizona and Colorado,USA

While there are currently a number of irrigated land datasets available for the western United States (U.S.), there is uncertainty regarding in how they relate to each other. To help understand the characteristics of available irrigated datasets, we compared (1) the Cropland Data Layer (CDL), (2) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Irrigated Agriculture Dataset (IAD), (3) Digitized Irrigated Land (DIL), and (4) Consumptive Use for Irrigation (CUI) data in Arizona and Colorado, U.S. These datasets were derived from multiple sources at various spatial resolutions and temporal scales. We found spatial and temporal trends among all of them. The datasets showed decreases in irrigated land area in Arizona during the 2000–2010 time period. The change ranges and ratios were similar in all Arizona datasets. Irrigated land in Colorado decreased in DIL and CUI but increased in IAD and CDL. The agreement within the same type of dataset during different time periods was from 60% to 80% (R² from 0.35 to 0.72) in Arizona and from 50% to 80% (R² from 0.23 to 0.68) in Colorado. DIL had the highest agreement (80%) in both states. The agreement among different datasets acquired at approximately the same time frame ranged from 51% to 63% (R² from 0.14 to 0.31) in Arizona and from 47% to 69% (R² from 0.32 to 0.40) in Colorado. The results from this study support a greater understanding of the multiresolution and multitemporal nature of these datasets for various applications.     

Reasons for implementing ISO 14001 in Malaysia

Environmental management systems (EMS) have been introduced globally to reduce environmental degradation issues brought about by industrial development. The research discussed in this paper is aimed at identifying the benefits and motivations of the implementation of EMS in compliance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 standard in Malaysian industries by using the pairwise comparison method. Experts in EMS from the Scientific and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia were invited to participate in the research panel. Based on the experts’ input, data analysis was carried out by using multi‐criteria pairwise comparisons. The findings showed the ranked benefits and motivations of the implementation of the ISO 14001 standard for businesses. The results can indicate to policy‐makers and business advisors how businesses can be encouraged to implement the ISO 14001.     

Multi‐strainer model concept for conjunctive pumping of saline and non‐saline groundwater from coastal aquifers

The current paper discusses the multi‐strainer technique developed to augment usable water by the combined use of saline and non‐saline aquifers in locations where a freshwater aquifer is underlain or overlain by a saline water aquifer. The multi‐strainer technique evaluates design criteria for the formulation of multi‐strainer schemes to supply water at an acceptable salinity limit by combined use of the saline and non‐saline aquifers. The design ratio of discharges can be maintained by adjusting the strainers’ lengths in the saline and non‐saline aquifers. The multi‐strainer scheme has been applied in the coastal aquifers of Bangladesh and found to be effective at lowering the water salinity concentrations to acceptable levels, thus increasing the availability of water for sustainable use. The multi‐strainer scheme should be designed based on the thickness of the aquifer layers to be screened, the salinity concentrations of the screened layers, and the level of salinity concentration to be maintained.     

环境权益及其市场化代理制度

提出了一个以新制度经济学方法分析环境问题及其控制方式的理论模型,并据此提出了当前环境保护工作实现制度创新的思考,其逻辑思路是：由环境资源的稀缺性引起的用于满足人类生存需要和生产需要这两种环境功能之间的矛盾,外化为人类生存性和生产性两型环境权益的冲突;解决这个冲突的两种制度安排─市场和政府─都存在着各自的“失灵”,因此,需要设计和实施一种使两者结合起来的更高形式的制度安排,途径之一是建立和实施以“法律框架、公众参与、代理公司”为要素的“环境权益之市场化代理制度”。当前我国环境保护工作正面临着这种制度创新的契机。     

POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON AGRICULTURAL WATER USE IN THE SOUTHEAST U.S.1

ABSTRACT: Climate change has the potential to have dramatic effects on the agricultural sector nationally and internationally as documented in many research papers. This paper reports on research that was focused on a specific crop growing area to demonstrate how farm managers might respond to climate-induced yield changes and the implications of these responses for agricultural water use. The Hadley model was used to generate climate scenarios for important agricultural areas of Georgia in 2030 and 2090. Linked crop response models indicated generally positive yield changes, as increased temperatures were associated with increased precipitation and CO2. Using a farm management model, differences in climate-induced yield impacts among crops led to changes in crop mix and associated water use; non-irrigated cropland received greater benefit since irrigated land was already receiving adequate moisture. Model results suggest that farm managers will increase cropping intensity by decreasing fallowing and increasing double cropping; corn acreage decreased dramatically, peanuts decreased moderately and cotton and winter wheat increased. Water use on currently irrigated cropland fell. The potential for increased water use through conversion of agriculturally important, but currently non-irrigated, growing areas is substantial.     

Mating system evolution in response to search costs in the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria

A general and intuitive prediction from models of mate preference is that when the cost of searching for mates increases, individuals should become less choosy. Here, we test this prediction by comparing the mating propensity of females in two populations of the butterfly Pararge aegeria. The populations originated from southern Sweden and Madeira and due to different adult emergence patterns throughout the year, the average density of males per female is likely to be lower on Madeira. Therefore, we expected that the cost of searching should be greater on Madeira and, consequently, that the Madeiran females should be less choosy. In line with predictions, the Madeiran females mated significantly sooner after the first interaction with males than did females from southern Sweden. This difference may reflect a weaker preference for territorial males over non-territorial patrollers in the Madeiran population, because of the greater costs of searching. The Madeiran females also showed a shorter time lag between mating and the start of oviposition. We discuss this unexpected result and propose that the same mechanism could also explain this population difference, i.e. different costs of searching for suitable host plants. Both search processes are fundamental for female reproductive success and we find it plausible that they can be generalised into the same theory of optimal search behaviour. Received: 14 May 1998 / Accepted after revision: 13 December 1998     

不同灌溉方式冬小麦农田生态系统碳平衡研究

全球气候变暖趋势明显,陆地生态系统碳循环的研究成为目前的研究热点,而农田生态系统是陆地生态系统的重要组成部分,由于农田生态系统是受人类强烈调节与控制的复合系统,其碳循环受各类农作措施的影响极大。新疆地处干旱区,水分条件是农田碳循环的最重要限制因子。为此,分析不同灌溉方式对冬小麦（Triticum aestivuml）农田生态系统碳平衡的影响,从而提出有利于新疆冬小麦生产的固碳减排的灌溉方式。试验于2012—2013年在伊宁县科技示范园冬小麦试验田进行,选择伊农18冬小麦品种为供试材料,确定滴灌和漫灌为两个试验主因子并设置小区。试验自冬小麦返青开始至完全成熟结束,期间平均每7天采1次样,其中用典型样株法采集小麦植株,分根、茎、叶等不同器官单独烘干测定植株固碳量;用静态钠石灰吸收法测定冬小麦土壤呼吸;收集整理已发表国内外文献中的各类碳排放参数确定本研究中所需参数;采用王小彬的碳平衡计算方法分析不同灌溉方式农田生态系统碳平衡,据此对滴灌和漫灌两种灌溉方式的冬麦农田作物生物量固碳、土壤碳排放量和作物生产过程中物质投入的间接碳排放量,以及两种灌溉方式下冬麦农田生态系统净碳值进行分析。试验结果表明：滴灌条件下冬麦农田生态系统小麦的固碳量、土壤碳排放总量分别比漫灌小麦的高出15.38%和11.43%,冬小麦穗是差异形成的主要原因;而农业生产资料排碳总量比漫灌少排3.88%;但无论是滴灌还是漫灌,耗电碳排放量均占农业生产资料碳排放总量的59%以上,是农业生产资料碳排放的第一大来源。两种灌溉方式下冬小麦田生态系统的净碳值均呈现出固碳并存在显著差异（p〈0.01）,且滴灌冬麦农田生态系统净碳值比漫灌高25.39%。因此,新疆冬小麦生产中采用滴灌方式更有利于农田生态系统的固碳,     

新疆某油田企业两轮清洁生产审核效益分析

新疆某油田企业于2007年进行了第一轮清洁生产审核工作,确定了清洁生产方案14项,其中无／低费方案9项,中／高费方案5项,产生的直接、间接经济效益总计为4057．27万元／a。该企业于2011年完成了第二轮清洁生产审核,确定了清洁生产方案14项,其中无／低费方案6项,中／高费方案8项,总计清洁生产方案产生经济效益1954．142万元／a。通过两轮清洁生产审核工作,企业产生了较好的经济效益与环境效益。