The life cycle of rice: LCA of alternative agri-food chain management systems in Vercelli (Italy)

The Vercelli rice district in northern Italy plays a key role in the agri-food industry in a country which accounts for more than 50% of the EU rice production and exports roughly 70%. However, although wealth and jobs are created, the sector is said to be responsible for environmental impacts that are increasingly being perceived as topical. As a complex and comprehensive environmental evaluation is necessary to understand and manage the environmental impact of the agri-food chain, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been applied to the rice production system: from the paddy field to the supermarket. The LCA has pointed out the magnitude of impact per kg of delivered white milled rice: a CO_2eq emission of 2.9 kg, a primary energy consumption of 17.8 MJ and the use of 4.9 m³ of water for irrigation purposes. Improvement scenarios have been analysed considering alternative rice farming and food processing methods, such as organic and upland farming, as well as parboiling. The research has shown that organic and upland farming have the potential to decrease the impact per unit of cultivated area. However, due to the lower grain yields, the environmental benefits per kg of the final products are greatly reduced in the case of upland rice production and almost cancelled for organic rice. LCA has proved to be an effective tool for understanding the eco-profile of Italian rice and should be used for transparent and credible communication between suppliers and their customers.     

Phosphorus loss from different farming systems estimated from soil surface phosphorus balance

The phosphorus load originating from crop production and animal husbandry is a major contributor to the eutrophication of lakes, rivers and coastal waters. The P losses to surface waters may, however, differ drastically due to the diversity of agricultural production systems practised under contrasting environmental conditions. To assess the most problematic types of agriculture, we need information on the P load from different alternative farming practices. Such information cannot, however, be obtained solely from field runoff experiments, as the number of treatment combinations required to account for all relevant farming systems and environmental conditions far exceeds our research capabilities. To facilitate the comparison of P loads, we therefore need reasonably simple models. A key factor controlling the P load from agriculture is the past and present use of nutrients in fertilizers and manure in relation to a crop's uptake, i.e. the soil-surface balance of P. Here, we present a simple empirical model that relates the P surplus (or deficit) in a farm to the edge-of-field losses of algal-available P. Based on long-term fertilizer trials, the model first estimates the change in soil-test P of top soil with the aid of the soil-surface balance of P. Soil-test P is then used to approximate the concentration of dissolved reactive P in surface runoff and drainage flow, as adjusted for different P application types. The loss of particulate P is obtained from typical erosion rates. The model can be applied in life-cycle analyses and in assessing future developments. We illustrate use of the model by calculating the loss of algal-available P from conventional and organic crop and dairy farms located on clay and fine sand soils.     

黄土高原主要农作物水分盈亏与雨养农业问题

黄土高原在气候上属亚湿润向半干旱的过渡地区。水分缺乏是农业生产的重要限制因素。本文围绕降水和蒸发,主要作物的需水和降水间的相互关系,农田干湿状况和水分盈亏额进行了分析讨论。认为,发展雨养农业应该是黄土高原农业生产的一条基本方针;在雨养农业作物的选择上,除谷子可以在全区种植外,其他作物受地区局限性很大;发挥雨养农业生产潜力的基本途径应该是增加土壤水分含量和提高土壤有效水分的利用系数,为达到这一目的宜采用平整土地、增施肥料等一系列农业措施。     

Influence of organic ley–arable management and afforestation in sandy loam to clay loam soils on fluxes of N2O and CH4 in Scotland

Assessment of the sustainability of alternatives to conventional uses of agricultural land, viz. organic systems and afforestation should include consideration of any effects on trace gas budgets. Nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) fluxes and controlling soil properties were measured in an organic ley–arable rotation in north-east Scotland on a sandy loam. N₂O fluxes were monitored in the ley and arable phases and in organic permanent grass (Lolium perenne) located nearby throughout the 3-year phase duration. Gas fluxes in woodland that had been converted from arable for 1 or 6 years were also measured in both north-east and south-east Scotland on sandy loam to clay loam soils. The climate is maritime and variable with annual rainfall between 800 and 900 mm. Within the organic rotation, differences in N₂O fluxes between the ley and arable phases were less marked than in conventional agriculture. Although this was mainly because grassland emissions were low, some losses from the arable component were also relatively high. Seasonal rainfall had a major influence on cumulative emissions of N₂O, including the first year after conversion from ley to arable. In the short term, changing land use from arable to woodland increased CH₄ oxidation rates and decreased N₂O emissions, though both these rates were also influenced by seasonal weather. Afforestation of agricultural land appears to be more beneficial to trace gas exchange than conversion to organic production.     

不同栽培模式下耕层土壤盐分演变规律研究

通过定位试验对有机栽培、无公害栽培和常规栽培模式下土壤盐分动态进行了研究。结果表明,有机栽培和无公害栽培模式中土壤盐分差异不显著,常规与无公害栽培模式中土壤盐分差异显著(F0.05=9.04),常规与有机栽培模式下的土壤盐分差异也极显著(F0.01=9.37)。常规栽培与无公害栽培环境中,全年土壤全盐量变化表现为两个积盐期:春季和秋季,以春季积盐最明显;有机栽培环境中,从7月份即出现了积盐过程,并且土壤全盐量变化趋势与气温变化基本一致。     

鸭稻共作方式对土壤肥力因素的影响

鸭稻共作是一种较为典型的稻田生态农业模式。鸭子不停地在稻田中日夜活动对土壤肥力会产生一定的影响。通过与常规栽培方式的对比试验研究发现，除土壤速效磷含量外，鸭稻共作稻田的土壤有机质、碱解氮、交换性钾的含量均分别比常规耕作稻田的有所增高，其中某些土壤养分含量在某些生育期存在显著差异。由此初步表明，鸭稻共作生态农业模式可以实现在水稻生产全过程中不使用任何化肥和农药，而基本上可达到保持土壤肥力，生产绿色食品的目的。     

上海粮田锌和铅的生物地球化学

本文介绍了1990—1991年对上海粮田锌和铅的生物地球化学研究.阐述了锌和铅在上述地区的富集和迁移规律.研究了结累锌和铅的地球化学栅栏以及谷物对锌和铅的吸收与富集.     

青藏高原农牧结合的功能、模式与对策

青藏高原民族众多 ,民族生存方式及资源利用形式的牧业化 ,构成了高原农业发展的一大特色。通过剖析透视高原农牧结合的功能特征 ,认为高原已形成核心农区、农区边缘地带、核心牧区、牧区边缘地带等4种可供选择的农牧结合生产模式 ,只有采取有效措施促进高原农牧业的有机结合 ,才有可能切实加快推进高原农业可持续发展的现代化进程 ,从而确保高原各民族人民的食物安全。     

Groundwater quality: Responsible agriculture and public perceptions

The chief sources of groundwater contamination on farms come from point sources and diffuse sources. Possible point sources are feedlots, poorly-sited manure piles, septic sewage-treatment systems—all of which can release nitrate, phosphates and bacteria— and sites of chemical spills. Diffuse sources are typified by excess fertilizer leaching from a number of arable fields. The basis of quality standards for drinking-water is discussed in relation to common contaminants present on farms. Samples of drinking-water were collected in 1991–1992 from wells on about 1,200 farms in order to study the quality of rural groundwater in Ontario. Analysis showed that approximately one third of wells were contaminated with bacteria, 14% were contaminated with nitrate, two wells were contaminated with pesticide, but 40% were considered unsafe because of the presence of at least one contaminant. These values were similar to those reported for similar regions in the U.S. There was no significant effect of agricultural practice on the proportion of contaminated samples. One response of Ontario's farmers to information on water quality has been to initiate their own program, the Environmental Farm Plan, which has 23 modules by which the risk of environmental contamination can be assessed. Government policies for agriculture can be expected to influence farming practices. However, the literature suggests that the consequences of policies aimed at reducing environmental contamination are poorly understood, not least because the instruments used for implementation can have widely differing impacts. The need for discussions on the ethics surrounding the relationship between food producers and consumers with regard to environmental contamination is identified.     

黄淮海平原农区宅基地扩展时空特征及整治潜力分析——以禹城市5个村庄为例

综合遥感解译、宗地调查和入户问卷调查方法,研究黄淮海平原农区禹城市5个村庄的宅基地时空演变特征和不同退出标准的宅基地整治潜力和整治效果。研究结果表明：（1）改革开放以来,农村宅基地经历了剧烈扩张,调研村庄的宅基地平均扩张了3.7倍。2015年户均宅基地高达1.6宗,30.8%的农户存在“一户多宅”现象,28.5%的房屋被闲置或废弃。（2）2000年以前,调研村庄的宅基地空间扩张模式以飞地式为主,2000年后被填充式和蔓延式所取代。分村庄来看,宅基地空间扩张受到主要交通干线布局、土地资源禀赋和村庄初始布局等因素的影响。（3）调研村庄宅基地整治具有较大的理论潜力,可节约56%的村庄居住用地。基于两套退出标准方案的宅基地整治可分别节约26%和36%的村庄居住用地,但均与理论潜力存在较大差距。（4）未来宅基地试点改革亟需在推进转移人口市民化、建立宅基地退出补偿价值体系、探索退出的宅基地转化为集体经营性建设用地的办法等宏观体制机制推进,并在微观层面依据农户就业结构和土地资源禀赋分类施策。