Review and appraisal of concept of sustainable food production systems

Environmental degradation, competition for resources, increasing food demands, and the integration of agriculture into the international economy threaten the sustainability of many food production systems. Despite these concerns, the concept of sustainable food production systems remains unclear, and recent attempts to appraise sustainability have been hampered by conceptual inconsistencies and the absence of workable definitions. Six perspectives are shown to underpin the concept. Environmental accounting identifies biophysical limits for agriculture. Sustained yield refers to output levels that can be maintained continuously. Carrying capacity defines maximum population levels that can be supported in perpetuity. Production unit viability refers to the capacity of primary producers to remain in agriculture. Product supply and security focuses on the adequacy of food supplies. Equity is concerned with the spatial and temporal distribution of products dervied from resource use. Many studies into sustainable agriculture cover more than one of these perspectives, indicating the concept is complex and embraces issues relating to the biophysical, social, and economic environments. Clarification of the concept would facilitate the development of frameworks and analytical systems for appraising the sustainability of food production systems. LRRC Contribution No. 90–46.     

水稻“早育间作”技术与结果分析

本文以提高光热资源利用率、人工改变秧田微气候条件，提早中稻播期为突破口，辅之以提早移栽期和间种优质懦稻等系列配套技术措施，促成了前季中稻的早熟、高产、早收，同时又为后季再生稻创造了必要的时间和温光条件，从而使水稻单产提高２０％以上。     

Morphologie effects of channelization: the case of the Neebing-McIntyre floodway,Thunder Bay,Ontario, Canada

The Neebing-McIntyre floodway in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, has been constructed with a relatively straight and uniform trapezoidal channel, compared with the prechannelized sinuous reaches of the Neebing and the McIntyre rivers. The flow regime of the floodway also contrasts significantly with the prechannelized regime, because of the combination of discharges from these rivers into a new channel and the regulation of flows by a diversion structure. The maximum channel capacity of the floodway is about 284 m³ s^–1 (175-year regional flood), compared with about 40 m³ s^–1 and 60 m³ s^–1, respectively, for the Neebing and the McIntyre. According to regime theories, the construction of a straight and trapezoidal channel has upset the equilibrium of the stream system and therefore should lead to some accelerated erosion and sedimentation processes in the new channel immediately after construction. Erosion potential is particularly high during higher discharge events, when flow velocities are expected to be greater than the prechannelized velocities of the Neebing and the McIntyre. The overall sediment yield of the watershed is low (71t km^–2 yr^–1), compared with other documented watersheds of North America, but the rates of deposition in the floodway are relatively high, mainly due to the backwater effect of Lake Superior. Unless maintained by constant channel work, the floodway will tend to fill up with sediment, until a postconstructional equilibrium is reestablished.     

REUSE OF DOMESTIC WASTEWATER FOR IRRIGATION IN ARID ZONES: A CASE STUDY1

ABSTRACT: The domestic sewage of the city of Beer-Sheva, Israel, which is located in an arid region, is treated in a series of facultative ponds. The treated effluent is stored temporarily in an open surface earthen reservoir (about 0.5 ± 10⁶ m³ in volume) and then used for irrigation. The effluent is applied via sprinkler and trickle irrigation systems. The main crops irrigated are cotton, wheat, alfalfa, and corn. Total cotton yield is over 5500 kg/ha, and the wheat grain yield is over 7500 kg/ha. The amount of effluent applied is about 6500 m³/ha for cotton (including preplant irrigation), and the wheat receives about 4500 m³/ha via irrigation and an additional 2000 m³/ha from precipitation. Due to the nutrient content in the effluent, the above yields are obtained without any additional fertilization.     

郫县灰潮田有效硅含量和小麦施硅效应初探

通过同田对比试验，本文对郫县水稻土小麦施用硅肥进行了初步研究．结果表明，小麦施硅获得了增产效果；施硅对小麦穗粒数、株高和基部节间体积等具有生长效应；郫县水稻土有效硅含量为１２７±３９ｍｇ·ｋｇ－１（ｎ＝１２），变异较大，与土壤粘粒（＜０．００１ｍｍ）呈极显著正相关（ｒ＝０．７９）；发育于第四系岷江灰色冲积母质的郫县水稻上，粘粘含量普遍较低，因此，郫县小麦施硅具有较大增产潜力．     

WATER YIELD AUGMENTATION THROUGH FOREST AND RANGE MANAGEMENT - ISSUES FOR THE FUTURE1

The demand for more water is increasing throughout the country. Research on upland watersheds clearly demonstrates that water yield can be increased using forest and range management practices. Based on the experience of the past several decades and a review of six papers in a recent AWRA series on water yield augmentation through vegetation management, the following issues and concerns are discussed: predicting increased yields from large basins; economic evaluation of additional flows; court acceptance and need for system models; the legal question of ownership and transferability of increased yields; and management emphasis on private and federal lands. The immediate potential for water yield augmentation is on carefully selected watersheds that have the bio-physical potential to produce high value water under environmentally acceptable multiple use management. We predict water yield management on a broader scale will result from increased pressures to solve the legal and economic issues involved.     

春季连阴雨对江苏省夏收作物产量的影响

分析了江苏省40年(1960～1999)春季连阴雨的发生概率、发展趋势及其时空分布规律。研究发现,春季连阴雨累计日数、总雨量与夏粮产量呈显著负相关关系,且累计日数≥30d时,夏粮减产非常明显,这种情况的发生概率达59．1％。     

降低地下矿深孔爆破落矿大块率的技术措施

降低深孔爆破落矿大块率是矿山凿岩中的一个重要课题。笔者对地下矿深孔爆破落矿中大块产生位置及原因进行分析;探讨在炸药单耗、孔网布置、装药结构、堵塞长度、微差间隔、起爆方式等方面对其产生影响的规律;提出地下矿深孔爆破落矿中通过优化爆破参数降低大块率的技术措施。该优化技术措施主要有:减少地质构造对深孔落矿的影响,合理确定炸药单耗的方法,使用大孔距小抵抗线落矿技术,采用多种装药结构技术,采用多排微差起爆技术,加强深孔的施工管理和加强爆破施工的现场管理。这些措施在工程实践中获得了良好的应用效果。     

WATER QUALITY FROM TWO SMALL FORESTED WATERSHEDS IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS1

Two intermittent streams on oak-hickory watersheds in southern Illinois were gaged with a V-notched weir and sampled with an automatic water sampler. For three years data were collected on flow volume and water quality. Flow volumes show large variations between years and watersheds. Samples were analyzed for Na⁺, K⁺, Ca⁺⁺, Mg⁺⁺, P, and NO^-₃. Water quality was consistently high, although there were significant differences between watersheds. A baseline for water quality has been established for comparison after one of the watersheds is clearcut at a later date.