The Role of the Concept of the Natural (Naturalness) in Organic Farming

Producers, traders, and consumers oforganic food regularly use the concept of thenatural (naturalness) to characterize organicagriculture and or organic food, in contrast tothe unnaturalness of conventional agriculture.Critics sometimes argue that such use lacks anyrational (scientific) basis and only refers tosentiment. In our project, we made an attemptto clarify the content and the use of theconcepts of nature and naturalness in organicagriculture, to relate this conception todiscussions within bioethical literature, andto draw the implications for agriculturalpractice and policy.Qualitative interviews were executed with arange of people in the field of organicagriculture and with consumers of organicproducts, on the basis of a list of statementsabout the meaning of the concept of naturalnessformulated by the authors. Based on the resultsof the interviews, we distinguished 3 aspectsof the concept of naturalness: natural as theorganic (life processes), natural as theecological, and natural as referring to thecharacteristic nature of an entity. We relatedthese conceptual aspects to three mainapproaches within the field of organicagriculture: the no chemicals approach, theagro-ecological approach, and the integrityapproach. It became clear that these approachescan also be recognized in the change ofattitude of farmers as they convert fromconventional to organic agriculture, and in theattitudes of consumers of organic foodproducts.We conclude that the idea of ``naturalness' canbe used to characterize organic agriculture andto distinguish it from conventionalagriculture, but only if naturalness not onlyrefers to not using chemicals but also toecological principles and respect for theintegrity of life. Thus perceived, theprinciple of naturalness can also serve as aguide to future developments in the field oforganic agriculture. As part of the holocentricethics of organic farming the value ofnaturalness has three dimensions: a cognitiveone, an emotive one, and a normative one.     

CSTR+UASB技术在养殖场沼气工程的应用

养殖场产生的粪污是有价值的可回收资源,采用CSTR和二次发酵技术相结合的工艺技术,对高TS的有机废水的处理具有较好的效果。经过处理,可实现废物的资源化利用,沼气燃烧的热量可用于对消化器的加温,保证设备在高寒地区的正常运行。沼渣、沼液可创造经济效益。该技术对高寒地区的沼气处理工程的应用具有推广意义,既创造了生态效率,又实现了经济效益。     

Carbon balance of an intensively grazed temperate pasture in two climatically contrasting years

Grazed grasslands occupy 26% of the earth's ice free land surface and are therefore an important component of the global C balance. In New Zealand, pastoral agriculture is the dominant land use and recent research has shown that soils under intensive dairy pastures have lost large amounts of carbon (∼1000 kg C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹) during the past few decades. The objective of this research was to determine the net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) of an intensively grazed dairy pasture in New Zealand. Net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE) was measured using an eddy covariance (EC) system from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009. Other C imports (feed) and exports (milk, methane, leaching, and harvested biomass) were calculated from farm production data and literature values. During 2008 there was a one in 100 year drought during summer/autumn, which was followed by a very wet winter. There were no prolonged periods of above or below average rainfall or soil moisture in 2009, but temperatures were consistently lower than 2008. The severe summer/autumn drought during 2008 caused a loss of CO₂ to the atmosphere, but annual NEE remained negative (a CO₂ sink, −1610 ± 500 kg C ha⁻¹), because CO₂ lost during the drought was regained during the winter and spring. The site was also a net CO₂ sink during 2009 despite the colder than usual conditions (−2290 ± 500 kg C ha⁻¹). Including C imports and exports in addition to CO₂ exchange revealed that the site was a C sink in both years, with a NECB of 590 ± 560 kg C ha⁻¹ in 2008, and 900 ± 560 kg C ha⁻¹ in 2009. The C sequestration found in this study is in agreement with most other Northern Hemisphere EC studies of grazed pastures on mineral soils, but is not consistent with the large C losses reported for soils under dairy pastures throughout New Zealand. In the current study (like many other EC studies) the influence of climatic conditions and management practices on the annual C balance was only semi-quantitatively assessed. An extended period of EC measurements combined with modelling is required to more accurately quantify the effect of different climatic conditions on the annual C balance, and the influence of different management practices needs to be quantified using specifically designed studies (such as paired EC towers), so that practices which minimise C losses and maximise C sequestration can be identified.     

南昌市畜禽养殖业污染减排研究

规模化畜禽养殖污染减排已纳入国家"十二五"重点规划,治理养殖业污染问题已成为社会关注的焦点。第一次污染源普查结果显示,南昌市规模化畜禽养殖业COD排放9 915.4 t、氨氮排放323.6 t,全年废水产生量129.41万t,粪便产生量32.47万t,尿液产生量58.14万t,其中猪的养殖是污染物的主要来源。养殖业污染排放量大,治理难度高,应当运用循环经济理论,因地制宜采取污染物减排措施。文章从污染物减量化、资源化、废水治理三个角度分析了养殖业的减排途径,并结合南昌实际情况,提出了相应的治理思路,为畜禽养殖业污染物减排提供合理化建议。     

HBR反应器处理畜禽养殖废水实验研究

文章将好氧工艺应用到压氧折流扳反应器中形成新型的复合折流板反应器(HBR),研究了HBR反应器对畜禽养殖废水COD和NH4+-N的去除效果,考察了反应器的挂膜性能、水力停留时间的影响和各个格室的去除效果、实验结果表明,HBR反应器对畜禽养殖废水具有较好的处理效果,在进水COD浓度、NF4+-N浓度和水力停留时间分别为9...     

锌污染对猪粪堆肥过程中氧化还原类酶活性的影响

以猪粪和秸秆为主要试验材料,添加不同浓度重金属Zn,采取发酵罐处理方法,在好氧高温条件下,研究了重金属锌污染对猪粪堆肥过程中多酚氧化酶、脱氢酶活性的影响,以及对堆腐过程堆体温度、堆料pH值、胡敏酸E4/E6值的影响.结果表明:①CK以及低量重金属Zn污染的堆料升温快,高温期持续时间长,达到无害化处理.②Zn含量为600mg·kg-1和900mg·kg-1的堆料E4/E6平均值小,有利于腐殖质的缩合和芳构化.③Zn含量为600mg·kg-1的堆料多酚氧化酶平均活性、脱氢酶平均活性最高,有助于堆料中木质素的降解及其产物的转化、微生物生长繁殖.④Zn含量为300mg·kg-1、600mg·kg-1、900mg·kg-1的堆料对pH有较强的控制能力,其脱氢酶活性均表现出一定的不稳定性,可能是重金属对脱氢酶活性有抑制作用的同时发生"抗性酶活性现象".     

提高液化气罐区事故预防能力

膨胀压力和静密封泄漏是液化气罐区两大不安全因素,介绍了消除膨胀压力和控制静密封泄漏、稀释泄漏浓度、抢险堵漏的方法和注意事项。     

Large males dominate: ecology,social organization,and mating system of wild cavies,the ancestors of the guinea pig

Ecological factors differently affect male and female animals and thereby importantly influence their life history and reproductive strategies. Caviomorph rodents are found in a wide range of habitats in South America and different social and mating systems have evolved in closely related species. This permits to study the impact of ecological factors on social evolution. In this study, we investigated the social organization and the mating system of the wild cavy (Cavia aperea), the ancestor of the domestic guinea pig, in its natural habitat in Uruguay. Based on our laboratory investigations, we expected a polygynous system with large males controlling access to females. Results from radiotelemetry and direct observations showed that females occupied small stable home ranges which were largely overlapped by that of one large male, resulting in a social organization of small harems. In some cases, small satellite males were associated with harems and intermediate-sized roaming males were occasionally observed on the study site. However, microsatellite analyses revealed that offspring were exclusively sired by large males of the same or neighboring harems, with a moderate degree of multiple paternity (13–27%). Thus, the mating system of C. aperea can be described as polygynous and contrasts with the promiscuous organization described for other species of cavies (Cavia magna, Galea musteloides and Microcavia australis) living under different ecological conditions. Our findings stress the strong impact of environmental factors on social evolution in Caviomorphs as resource distribution determines female space use and, thereby, the ability of males to monopolize females. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

A comparative study of microbial communities in soils amended by manures from pigs fed with organic versus synthetic feeds

We applied pyrosequencing to determine bacterial communities in soil samples taken from test fields amended by manures of pigs fed with green feeds (GPMS), synthetic feeds (APMS), and the reference field without swine manure amendment (NPMS), respectively. For each sample, 7050 effective sequences were selected and utilized to do the bacterial diversity and abundance analysis, respectively. In total, 2986, 2873, and 1602 operational taxonomic units were obtained at a 3% distance cut-off in GPMS, APMS, and NPMS, respectively. Bacterial phylotype richness in GPMS was higher than the other samples. NPMS had the least richness. The most dominant class in both GPMS and APMS is Betaproteobacteria, whereas Alphaproteobacteria is dominant in NPMS. Circa 7.5% sequences in GPMS were found to be affiliated with Burkholderiales order. Bacterial diversity and abundance in the soil varied with swine manure amendment, due to nutrient elements as well as toxic metals in swine manures. Compared with the soil amendment by manures from pigs bred with synthetic feeds, more bacterial diversity but less potentially pathogenic bacterial genera in the soil amended by manures of pigs fed with green feeds were found, which indicated that these manures were better land-applied organic fertilizers.     

USE OF SOIL AND WATER PROTECTION PRACTICES AMONG FARMERS IN THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION OF THE UNITED STATES1

ABSTRACT: Data were collected in the fall of 1998 and the winter of 1999 from 1,011 land owner‐operators within three watersheds in the North Central Region of the United States to assess adoption of soil and water protection practices. Farm owner‐operators were asked to indicate how frequently they used 18 different agricultural production practices. Many farmers within the three watersheds had adopted conservation protection practices. However, they also employed production practices that could negate many of the environmental benefits associated with conservation practices in use. Comparison of adoption behaviors used in the three watersheds revealed significant differences among the study groups. Respondents in the Iowa and Ohio watersheds reported greater use of conservation production systems than did farmers in Minnesota. However, there were no significant differences between Ohio and Iowa farmers in terms of use of conservation production practices. This was surprising, since farmers in the Ohio watershed had received massive amounts of public and private investments to motivate them to adopt and to continue using conservation production systems. These findings bring into serious question the use of traditional voluntary conservation programs such as those employed in the Ohio watershed. Study findings suggest that new policy approaches should be considered. It is argued that “whole farm planning” should be a significant component of new agricultural conservation policy.