西部特色农业发展的思考

西部大开发的实施虽然成效显著,但是东西部差距仍在扩大。如何促进西部农业增效和农民增收,特色农业是一个新的发展思路。在简要分析当前西部特色农业发展的必要性和制约因素的基础上,从区域规划、资金扶持、科技支撑、资源环境与粮食安全协调4个方面,提出破解制约因素以及促进西部特色农业发展的对策建议与措施。     

长江流域农业用水效率研究:基于超效率DEA和Tobit模型

提高农业用水效率对于农业可持续发展和保障粮食安全具有重大意义。考虑降雨量中绿水资源对农作物生长的重要性,将绿水资源纳入农业用水总量,全面分析长江流域农业用水效率变动趋势。基于1998~2011年长江流域10个省份的面板数据,运用超效率DEA和Tobit模型对流域农业用水效率进行了测度和影响因素的检验。研究发现:(1)在研究期间内,长江流域农业用水效率呈现出波段式上升态势;流域各区段的用水效率呈下游、上游、中游依次递减的区域分布格局。(2)灌溉费、节水灌溉技术和农业对外开放度对流域农业用水效率有显著的正向效应;人均水资源量和年降水量均对流域农业用水效率有负向关系,但只有降水量在统计上显著。研究结果表明应当提高长江流域,尤其是中上游水资源禀赋较高地区的农业用水效率;在农业节水的具体政策方面,调整农业灌溉水价、加强农业技术创新能力和扩大农业经济对外开放程度能够取得较为显著的节水效应。     

A Comparison of DEM‐Based Indexes for Targeting the Placement of Vegetative Buffers in Agricultural Watersheds

Targeted placement of vegetative buffers may increase their effectiveness for improving water quality in agricultural watersheds. The use of digital elevation models (DEMs) enables precise mapping of runoff pathways for identifying where greater runoff loads can be intercepted and treated with buffers. Five different DEM‐based targeting indexes were compared and contrasted for the degree to which they identify similar locations in watersheds: Flow Accumulation [S.K. Jenson and J.O. Domingue (1988). Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 54:1593], Wetness Index [I.D. Moore, R.B. Grayson, and A.R. Ladson (1991). Hydrological Processes 5:3], Topographic Index [M.T. Walter, T.S. Steenhuis, V.K. Mehta, D. Thongs, M. Zion, and E. Schneiderman (2002). Hydrological Processes 16:2041], and the Water Inflow and Sediment Retention Indexes [M.G. Dosskey, Z. Qiu, M.J. Helmers, and D.E. Eisenhauer (2011b). Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 66:362]. The indexes were applied in two different watersheds, one in New Jersey and one in Missouri. Results showed that they all tend to target similar locations in both watersheds which traces to the importance of larger contributing area to the rankings by each index. Disagreement among indexes traces to other variables which enable more accurate targeting under particular hydrologic circumstances. Effective use of these indexes poses special challenges, including selecting an index that better describes the hydrologic circumstances in a watershed and is simple enough to use, ensuring the accuracy of the DEM, and determining a maximum index value for the appropriateness of vegetative buffers. When properly applied, each index can provide a standardized basis and effective spatial resolution for targeting buffer placement in watersheds.     

Biodiversity conservation through faith and tradition in India: some case studies

SUMMARY

In India, since ancient times, several members of the flora and fauna have been identified with particular personalities of the Hindu pantheon and are worshipped. Many wild animals, such as tigers, lions and elephants, and birds such as the peacock, owl and swan have been revered as the vehicles of Gods and Goddesses and worshipped. Several trees, such as mango, coconut, khejri, emblica, tamarind, ashoka, madhuca and wood apple, and herbs such as basil are considered highly sacred and worshipped. This belief and these practices continue in one form or another even today in certain sections of Indian society, particularly the rural folk and the aboriginal tribes living in the forest. Nature worship is a form of tribal belief and the faith of these laymen has helped to conserve many natural ecosystems in India. They have preserved many pristine forests—called ‘sacred groves’ in their original forms. Sacred groves are rich in biodiversity. They are the last refuge of the rare flora and fauna which have otherwise disappeared from the modern world. Sacred groves have become part of the ‘biosphere reserves’ of India.     

Impact on Mountainous Agricultural Development in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area forced by Migrants of the Three Gorges Project

The Three Gorges Project attracts worldwide attention because of the Three Gorges migrants, and the agriculture of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area is a foundation for the development of the Three Gorges migrants. The Three Gorges Reservoir Area is situated at the mountainous area with bad agricultural development conditions and relatively low levels of development. As a result, the large-scale migration fias special influence on its agricultural development, which has attracted much attention. The paper analyzes influence that the migrants have forced on its agricultural development based on the scientific data, and makes some explorations on the models that are suitable for the development of mountainous agriculture in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area.     

Farming dynamics and social capital: A case study in the urban fringe of Mexico City

Urban development has important implications for farmland preservation and natural resource management in local peri-urban communities. Social science research on recent changes in rural landscape of mega-cities tends to be limited to case studies in Latin-American nations. This study analyses the socioecomic dynamics of farming land use and the interactions between multiple cultural variables and the environment. Fieldwork was carried out during the 2002–2003 period in rural livelihoods of the five high mountain towns of south Mexico City. Data obtained from participatory survey and ethnographic techniques were integrated to assess changes in rural landscape and resource management and how urbanization, deforestation and market oriented agricultural production result in different livelihoods within a similar urban fringe context. The dynamic of mixture of urban and rural landscapes is based on farm productivity and social capital factors. The study concludes that policy support for regional agricultural production systems through enhancing ecosystems services, environmental protection and economic development is needed for sustainable development of local communities. Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue     

Rural vulnerability to environmental change in the irrigated lowlands of Central Asia and options for policy-makers: A review

Climate change, land degradation and drought affect millions of people living in drylands worldwide. With its food security depending almost entirely on irrigated agriculture, Central Asia is one of the arid regions highly vulnerable to water scarcity. Previous research of land and water use in the region has focused on improving water-use efficiency, soil management and identifying technical, institutional and agricultural innovations. However, vulnerability to climate change has rarely been considered, in spite of the imminent risks due to a higher-than-average warming perspective and the predicted melting of glaciers, which will greatly affect the availability of irrigation water. Using the Khorezm region in the irrigated lowlands of northwest Uzbekistan as an example, we identify the local patterns of vulnerability to climate variability and extremes. We look at on-going environmental degradation, water-use inefficiency, and barriers to climate change adaptation and mitigation, and based on an extensive review of research evidence from the region, we present concrete examples of initiatives for building resilience and improving climate risk management. These include improving water use efficiency and changing the cropping patterns that have a high potential to decrease the exposure and sensitivity of rural communities to climate risks. In addition, changes in land use such as the afforestation of degraded croplands, and introducing resource-smart cultivation practices such as conservation agriculture, may strengthen the capacity of farmers and institutions to respond to climate challenges. As these can be out-scaled to similar environments, i.e. the irrigated cotton and wheat growing lowland regions in Central Asia and the Caucasus, these findings may be relevant for regions beyond the immediate geographic area from which it draws its examples.     

精确农业发展与我国农业生态工程创新

介绍了西方精确农业的主要目标及技术思想,比较了中国农业生态工程与精确农业的异同点。提出农业生态工程研究应正视自身发展中存在的问题,吸收精确农业有关原理及方法,在理论规范化,手段现代化,过程监测及其控制自动化,增加高新技术含量,与信息技术、机械工程专业有机结合,提高工程设计可操作性等方面的努力,推动农业生态系统设计与管理的信息化与知识化,逐步形成基于信息技术、生物技术及机械工程装备的农业生态工程技术体系。     

贵州主要农业自然灾害及其防御对策

在论述了贵州各种主要农业自然灾害多发性和危害性事实的基础上,对农业减灾防灾对策措施提出了若干建议。     

河西地区的生态建设与可持续农业发展战略及对策

本文分析了河西地区主要生态环境问题的现状和成因,认为人类不合理的经济活动和人口压力破坏了干旱区复合生态系统的良性循环维持机理,导致区域的水、土、生态环境之间的平衡被打破,使区域生态环境劣变。对此,文章提出了河西地区生态建设与可持续农业发展的对策建议。