Land use change and population growth in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea between 1975 and 2000

The relation between human population growth and land use change is much debated. Here we present a case study from Papua New Guinea where the population has increased from 2.3 million in 1975 to 5.2 million in 2000. Since 85% of the population relies on subsistence agriculture, population growth affects agricultural land use. We assessed land use change in the Morobe province (33,933 km2) using topographic maps of 1975 and Landsat TM images of 1990 and 2000. Between 1975 and 2000, agricultural land use increased by 58% and population grew by 99%. Most new agricultural land was taken from primary forest and the forest area decreased from 9.8 ha person(-1) in 1975 to 4.4 ha person(-1) in 2000. Total population change and total land use change were strongly correlated. Most of the agricultural land use change occurred on Inceptisols in areas with high rainfall (>2500 mm year(-1)) on moderate to very steep slopes (10-56%). Agricultural land use changes in logged-over areas were in the vicinity of populated places (villages), and in close proximity to road access. There was considerable variation between the districts but districts with higher population growth also had larger increases in agricultural areas. It is concluded that in the absence of improved farming systems the current trend of increased agriculture with rapid population growth is likely to continue.     

Socioeconomic Dimensions of Changes in the Agricultural Landscape of the Mediterranean Basin: A Case Study of the Abandonment of Cultivation Terraces on Nisyros Island,Greece

Agricultural landscapes illustrate the impact of human actions on physical settings, and differential human pressures cause these landscapes to change with time. Our study explored changes in the terraced landscapes of Nisyros Island, Greece, focusing on the socioeconomic aspects during two time periods using field data, cadastral research, local documents, and published literature, as well as surveys of the islanders. Population increases during the late 19^th to early 20^th centuries marked a significant escalation of terrace and dry stone wall construction, which facilitated cultivation on 58.4% of the island. By the mid-20^th century, the economic collapse of agricultural activities and consequent emigration caused the abandonment of cultivated land and traditional management practices, dramatically reducing farm and field numbers. Terrace abandonment continued in recent decades, with increased livestock grazing becoming the main land management tool; as a result, both farm and pasture sizes increased. Neglect and changing land use has led to deterioration and destruction of many terraces on the island. We discuss the socioeconomic and political backgrounds responsible for the land-use change before World War II (annexation of Nisyros Island by the Ottoman Empire, Italy, and Greece; overseas migration opportunities; and world transportation changes) and after the war (social changes in peasant societies; worldwide changes in agricultural production practices). The adverse landscape changes documented for Nisyros Island appear to be inevitable for modern Mediterranean rural societies, including those on other islands in this region. The island’s unique terraced landscapes may qualify Nisyros to become an archive or repository of old agricultural management techniques to be used by future generations and a living resource for sustainable management.     

Incentives for low-input land-use types and their influence on the attractiveness of landscapes

Changes in agricultural policy have traceable effects on landscape aesthetics. For the catchment area of Lake Greifensee, an economic land-use model predicted land-use changes caused by agricultural policy. Three scenarios implementing different direct payment schemes show that land-use intensity will decrease by 2011 compared with the ‘reference status’ 2000.The output of the economic land-use model is explicit in space. It was assessed by the ‘naturalness’ perception factor of the method proposed by Hoisl et al. [1989. Landschaftsästhetik in der Flurbereinigung. Materialien zur Flurbereinigung—Heft 17. Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten, München] with regard to landscape aesthetics. Even though lower land-use intensity is generally predicted by 2011, the values of the ‘naturalness’ perception factor do not significantly improve if the payment scheme remains unchanged, or if the payment scheme is amended by incentives for specific location of the ecological compensation areas (ECAs). A significant reduction in the values of the ‘naturalness’ perception factor was found when subsidies for ECA's were cancelled. This leads us to the conclusion that in order to keep Swiss landscapes as attractive as they are at present, policy must sustain incentives for low-intensity land-use types.     

The Impact of Policy and Institutional Environment on Costs and Benefits of Sustainable Agricultural Land Uses: The Case of the Chittagong Hill Tracts,Bangladesh

As in other mountain regions of Asia, agricultural lands in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh are undergoing degradation due primarily to environmentally incompatible land-use systems such as shifting cultivation (jhum) and annual cash crops. The suitable land-use systems such as agroforestry and timber tree plantation provide benefit to the society at large, but they might not provide attractive economic benefits to farmers, eventually constraining a wide-scale adoption of such land-use systems. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate agricultural land-use systems from both societal and private perspectives in the pursuit of promoting particularly environmentally sustainable systems. This article evaluated five major land-use systems being practiced in CHT, namely jhum, annual cash crops, horticulture, agroforestry, and timber plantation. The results of the financial analysis revealed the annual cash crops as the most attractive land use and jhum as the least attractive of the five land-use systems considered under the study. Horticulture, timber plantation, and agroforestry, considered to be suitable land-use systems particularly for mountainous areas, held the middle ground between these two systems. Annual cash crops provided the highest financial return at the cost of a very high rate of soil erosion. When the societal cost of soil erosion is considered, annual cash crops appear to be the most costly land-use system, followed by jhum and horticulture. Although financially less attractive compared to annual cash crops and horticulture, agroforestry and timber plantation are the socially most beneficial land-use systems. Findings of the alternative policy analyses indicate that there is a good prospect for making environmentally sustainable land-use systems, such as agroforestry and timber plantation, attractive for the farmers by eliminating existing legal and institutional barriers, combined with the provision of necessary support services and facilities.

贵州农业非点源污染土壤重金属含量特征及区域差异性研究

贵州农用地土壤在长期的耕作过程中,承载大量的重金属污染物,影响土壤质量。采集了贵州东部、南部、中部、北部主要农业非点源重金属污染区土壤样品进行检测。结果表明,贵州农业非点源重金属污染物主要是Hg、Pb,贵州省农业非点源污染土壤中重金属累积污染程度Hg＞Pb＞Cd＞As＞Cr。各地区污染物种类和程度不同,重金属As污染为中部地区较高,农业土壤Hg、Pb污染主要集中在中部和东部地区,Cd污染主要发生在南部区域。     

Nutrient transport within three vegetative treatment areas receiving silage bunker runoff

Silage bunker runoff can be a very polluting substance and is increasingly being treated by vegetative treatment areas (VTAs), but little information exists regarding nutrient removal performance of systems receiving this wastewater. Nutrient transport through the shallow subsurface of three VTAs (i.e. one VTA at Farm WNY and two VTAs at Farm CNY) in glaciated soils containing a restrictive layer (i.e., fragipan) was assessed using a mass balance approach. At Farm WNY, the mass removal of ammonium was 63%, nitrate was 0%, and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) was 39%. At Farm CNY, the mass removal of ammonium was 79% in the West VTA, but nitrate and SRP increased by 200% and 533%, respectively. Mass removal of ammonium was 67% in the East VTA at Farm CNY; nitrate removal was 86% and SRP removal was 88%. The East VTA received a much higher nutrient loading, which was attributed to a malfunctioning low-flow collection apparatus within the settling basin. Results demonstrate that nutrient reduction mechanisms other than vegetative uptake can be significant within VTAs. Even though increases in nitrate mass were observed, concentrations in 1.65m deep wells indicated that groundwater impairment from leaching of nitrate was not likely. These results offer one of the first evaluations of VTAs treating silage bunker runoff, and highlight the importance of capturing concentrated low flows in VTA systems.     

Spatial and temporal variation in nutrient parameters in stream water in a rural-urban catchment, Shikoku, Japan: effects of land cover and human impact

Seasonal and spatial variations in major ion chemistry and isotope composition in the rural-urban catchment of the Shigenobu River were monitored to determine the influences of agricultural and urban sewage systems on water quality. Temporal patterns of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and suspended sediment (SS) were examined at four sites in the rural-urban catchment. Urban land cover, incorporating the effects of increased population, domestic water use, and industrial wastewater, was positively associated with increases in water pollution and was included as an important explanatory variable for the variations in all water quality parameters. Significant trends were found in each parameter. BOD concentrations ranged widely, and were high in urban regions, due to the presence of a waste water treatment plant. TN and SS showed various trends, but did not vary widely, unlike TP. TP concentrations varied greatly, with high concentrations in cultivated areas, due to fertilizer use. Local water quality management or geology could further explain some of the variations in water quality. Non-point-source pollution exhibited strong positive spatial autocorrelation, indicating that incorporating spatial dimensions into water quality assessment enhances our understanding of spatial patterns of water quality. Data from the Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) and Environment Ministry (EM) were used to investigate trends in land management. Stepwise regression analysis was used to test the correlation between specific management practises and substance concentrations in surface water and sediment. MLIT and EM data for 1981-2003 showed an increase in TN, TP, and SS concentrations in surface water. High levels of fertilizer in dormant sprays and domestic water use were associated with high pesticide concentrations in water and sediment. This paper presents a novel method of studying the environmental impact of various agricultural management practises and recommends a management strategy that combines the use of reduced-risk pesticides with irrigation and non-irrigation periods in paddy fields.     

Process safety aspects in water-gas-shift (WGS) membrane reactors used for pure hydrogen production

The syngas produced by coal gasification processes can be utilized in Pd-based water-gas-shift membrane reactors for the production of pure H₂. Pd/alloy composite membrane reactors exhibit comparative advantages over traditional packed bed reactors such as simultaneous reaction/separation in one compact unit and increased reaction yields. Furthermore, the development of comprehensive process intensification strategies could further enhance membrane reactor performance resulting in a substantially smaller and functional, inherently safer, environmentally friendlier and more energy efficient process.A systematic non-isothermal modeling framework under both steady state and dynamic/transient conditions for a catalytic high temperature water-gas shift reaction in a Pd-based membrane reactor has been developed to characterize the dynamic behavior of the process system at various operating conditions from a process safety standpoint. In particular, various reaction conditions as well as key process variables such as feed temperature and flow rate, catalyst loading, driving force for H₂ permeation are considered as they are critically related to various safety aspects in the operation of a Pd-based membrane reactor. Within the proposed framework, process parameters and operating conditions which may induce hazards and compromise process safety are identified, analyzed and characterized. Finally, the proposed approach is evaluated through detailed simulation studies in an illustrative case study involving a real Pd-based membrane reactor used for pure hydrogen production and separation that exhibits complex behavior over a wide operating regime.     

农副产品加工园区水污染控制管理体系研究——以沈阳辉山农副产品加工园区为例

农副产品加工园区产生排放的废水对沈阳市蒲河全流域水环境造成污染,严重影响园区的持续发展。利用管理手段完成园区污染物总量减排目标是保证园区可持续发展的关键。农副产品加工园区管理体系主要由管理部门、企业、综合污水处理厂及社会公众构成,各构成要素间存在监督、监管及市场等关系。为实现园区水污染控制体系目标,各构成要素应充分发挥其功能。     

Adsorption–desorption behavior of atrazine on agricultural soils in China

Adsorption and desorption are important processes that affect atrazine transport,transformation,and bioavailability in soils.In this study,the adsorption–desorption characteristics of atrazine in three soils(laterite,paddy soil and alluvial soil) were evaluated using the batch equilibrium method.The results showed that the kinetics of atrazine in soils was completed in two steps:a"fast" adsorption and a "slow" adsorption and could be well described by pseudo-second-order model.In addition,the adsorption equilibrium isotherms were nonlinear and were well fitted by Freundlich and Langmuir models.It was found that the adsorption data on laterite,and paddy soil were better fitted by the Freundlich model;as for alluvial soil,the Langmuir model described it better.The maximum atrazine sorption capacities ranked as follows:paddy soil alluvial soil laterite.Results of thermodynamic calculations indicated that atrazine adsorption on three tested soils was spontaneous and endothermic.The desorption data showed that negative hysteresis occurred.Furthermore,lower solution pH value was conducive to the adsorption of atrazine in soils.The atrazine adsorption in these three tested soils was controlled by physical adsorption,including partition and surface adsorption.At lower equilibrium concentration,the atrazine adsorption process in soils was dominated by surface adsorption;while with the increase of equilibrium concentration,partition was predominant.