The role of rainfed agriculture in securing food production in the Nile Basin

A better use of land and water resources will be necessary to meet the increasing demand for food in the Nile basin. Using a hydro-economic model along the storyline of three future political cooperation scenarios, we show that the future of food production in the Basin lies not in the expansion of intensively irrigated areas and the disputed reallocation of water, but in utilizing the vast forgotten potential of rainfed agriculture in the upstream interior, with supplemental irrigation where needed. Our results indicate that rainfed agriculture can cover more than 75% of the needed increase in food production by the year 2025. Many of the most suitable regions for rainfed agriculture in the Nile basin, however, have been destabilized by recent war and civil unrest. Stabilizing those regions and strengthening intra-basin cooperation via food trade seem to be better strategies than unilateral expansion of upstream irrigation, as the latter will reduce hydropower generation and relocate, rather than increase, food production.     

基于农业生态地带模型的中国粮食产能动态评估

随着人口增加和人们生活水平的不断提高,我国粮食消费需求将继续呈刚性增长,使得粮食品种和区域结构性矛盾加剧,而粮食产能的动态评估能够让我们加深认识我国粮食供需平衡,对制定适宜于我国经济社会发展同时保障粮食安全的粮食可持续发展战略具有重要意义.论文选取农田生产力作为我国粮食产能的指标,通过改进农业生态地带(AEZ)模型,动态嵌入不同县域水平的管理和投入水平的限制性因子,集成县级截面数据估计投入系数权重,并基于此估算了全国2000-2010年间农田生产力水平.研究发现,2000年以来,我国农田生产力虽年际间存在波动,但总体呈现增长的态势,且区域差异性显著.农田生产力水平存在从沿海到内陆、从南向北及从东向西的递减的梯度,而局部地区农田生产力变化明显,表现出明显的东西分异规律,其次是南北分异规律.而对各个地区农田生产力平均值统计发现,东部沿海地区与南部省份的农田生产力要高于内陆省份,西部地区农田生产力普遍低于东部和中部地区.2000、2005、2010年全国分县统计的粮食产量数据与动态估算结果进行精度验证,其相关系数分别达到0.82、0.76和0.89,实际产量为估算结果的69.4％、73.4％、67.2％,较好的反映了我国农田生产力的基本状况.最后,基于我国农田生产力时空变化规律和局部差异性特征,以及我国经济区水平上的中国农田生产力的变化规律,从耕地数量保障、农业管理和投入水平提高以及适宜的农业区划方面,提出适宜于我国自然环境状况和社会经济发展的农田生产力保障策略,对保障我国的农田生产力的稳定增长方面的规划决策与政策制定具有参考价值.     

Agency–Community Partnership in Landcare: Lessons for State-Sponsored Citizen Resource Management

/ With over 2500 Australian Landcare groups, 65,000 volunteer members, and considerable evidence of program impact, Landcare is an important example of state-sponsored rural development in a developed nation. The agency-community partnership is a fundamental element of Landcare and getting the partnership right is vital to long-term program success. After reviewing the emergence of Landcare in the state of Victoria, the author reports research from a 1995 survey of Victorian Landcare groups. Survey information highlighted the extent of agency-group contact, the important roles agency staff played in many Landcare groups, and the positive impact of agency contact and government funding upon group activity. Large majorities of groups reported they were satisfied with their relationship with agency staff. However, a majority of groups reported money or materials provided to manage land and water degradation was inadequate. Recently proposed changes to the Landcare program will provide government funding of work on private property and may address this concern. A majority of groups also reported support for leadership and management training was inadequate and respondents emphasized the need to revise program guidelines that limit funding for group coordinators. This information highlighted the importance of articulating a practical model of community participation in Australia and adopting a systematic approach to providing agency support for Landcare groups. Reflecting upon the Landcare experience, the author suggests some of the key elements of a practical model of state-sponsored citizen resource management contributing to rural development.KEY WORDS: Landcare; Australia; Community participation; Rural development; Citizen resource management; Sustainable agriculture     

Ecosystem services provided by urban gardens in Barcelona,Spain: Insights for policy and planning

In many European cities, urban gardens are seen as increasingly important components of urban green space networks. We adopt an ecosystem services framework to assess contributions of urban gardens to the quality of of their users. First, we identify and characterize ecosystem services provided by urban gardens. Secondly, we assess the demographic and socioeconomic profile of its beneficiaries and the relative importance they attribute to different ecosystem services. Next we discuss the relevance of our results in relation to critical policy challenges, such as the promotion of societal cohesion and healthy lifestyles. Data were collected through 44 semi-structured interviews and a survey among 201 users of 27 urban gardens in Barcelona, Spain, as well as from consultation meetings with local planners. We identified 20 ecosystem services, ranging from food production over pollination to social cohesion and environmental learning. Among them, cultural ecosystem services (non-material benefits people derive from their interaction with nature) ​ stand out as the most widely perceived and as the most highly valued. The main beneficiaries of ecosystem services from urban gardens are elder, low-middle income, and migrant people. Our results about the societal importance of urban gardens ​were deemed highly relevant by the interviewed green space planners in Barcelona, who noted that our data can provide basis to support or expand existing gardening programs in the city. Our research further suggests that ecosystem services from urban gardens can play an important role in addressing several urban policy challenges in cities, such as promoting stewardship of urban ecosystems, providing opportunities for recreation and healthy lifestyles, and promoting social cohesion. We conclude that urban gardens and associated ecosystem services can play an important ​ in urban policies aimed at enhancing quality of life in cities, particularly if access to their benefits is expanded to larger segments of the population.     

黄土高原雨养农业区雨水集蓄应用研究

经过对坡度为5°和15°,集水面分别是塑料、水泥、三合土、夯实土和自然土等5种表面的车道型雨水径流试验研究结果表明,径流系数与降雨强度和坡度均有一定的关系;塑料、水泥面的平均径流系数为72％～77％,三合土、夯实土、自然土的平均径流系数为5％～18％。根据计算和试验结果,进行了垄膜沟植雨水集蓄试验研究,表明增产效果比较明显。根据设计降雨量、平均径流系数和小麦生育期需水量,估算了西峰、环县和天水等代表站集水面与耕种面积之比,其值在0.5～0.8之间。     

大力推进重庆市生态农业建设实现社会可持续发展

经过多年实践,中国生态农业建设取得了显著的经济、生态、社会效益。本文针对重庆市农业生态环境现状,从可持续发展的角度,提出重庆市生态农业建设的对策措施。     

西部大开发与现代集约持续农业

本文在分析西部大开发面临的机遇与挑战的基础上,阐述了我国发展现代集约持续农业的必然性,并对我国现代集约持续农业的目标、内容、重点领域及发展现代集约持续农业应注意的问题进行了探讨。     

Effect of pH values on the solubility of some elements in different soil samples

The purpose of this study is to know the concentrations of some heavy-metal elements (Zn, Pb and Cd) in different types of soil and the effect of pH values on their solubility. Two types of soil were selected from area adjacent to the sewage treatment plant, as well as from an agricultural area in the city of Al-Rass, Qassim, KSA for this purpose. The results showed high concentrations of elements in the acidic medium at pH 2, while concentrations decreased as the pH increased to reach the neutral medium. The decrease in concentrations was very clear in the alkaline medium and reached the lowest values at pH10. On the other hand, the highest concentrations were detected in soil adjacent to the sewage treatment specially for Pb and Cd in comparison with agricultural soil. The previous results show the urgent need for wastewater treatment and checking for pH values at standard limits before use in irrigation or discharge it on soil surface, as well as soil analysis prior to the planting and selection of appropriate plants by specialists for the health of citizens, where each plant characterise by its absorption for specific elements.     

Sustainable agricultural attitudes and behaviors: a gender analysis of Iranian farmers

The purpose of this paper is to compare the attitudes of male and female rice growers towards environmental sustainability and identify the constructs that will influence their attitudes and behaviors. A survey methodology with systematic sampling techniques was used to select 181 households in four villages’ of Kazeroon, Iran. Results indicated that women farmers’ attitudes were more positive toward sustainability. A model was developed to explain farmers’ attitudes and behavior toward environmental sustainability. Finally, the determinants of sustainable agriculture attitudes and behavior are discussed. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Assessing land-use/water-quality relationships across contrasting geologic areas in New Jersey

In all, 13 stream water-quality parameters, including specific conductance (SC), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), three nutrients, and six major ions were compared between the northern bedrock and southern coastal plain regions of New Jersey, USA and related to watershed-disturbance gradients characterized by the percentage of urban land, impervious surface (IS), agriculture, and altered land (sum of urban land and agriculture) in the watersheds. SC, DO, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and chloride concentrations were greater in the north. DOC was higher and pH was lower in the south. Nutrient, potassium, and sulfate concentrations did not differ between regions. Regional water-quality differences are attributed to geologic setting and land use. Except for DO in southern streams, all water-quality parameters were related to urban land, agriculture, or both. Significant correlations between urban land and IS and water-quality variables were similar in both regions with differences in unitless correlation coefficients ranging from 0.00 to 0.06. Compared to urban land and agriculture, relationships between most water-quality variables and altered land were stronger in the south. The extent of urban and agricultural lands in the watersheds did not differ by region. Altered land was correlated with urban land in both regions and with agriculture only in the south. Although focused on New Jersey, this study has broader implications for watershed planning.