BIOECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR WASTEWATER REUSE IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION1

ABSTRACT: Urban wastewater can be a valuable source of water and plant nutrients for agricultural producers, particularly in arid regions. The scientific literature reveals cautious optimism concerning the biological, institutional, and economic viability of irrigating crops with secondary-treated effluent. A derived effluent demand function for agricultural producers near Tucson, Arizona, reveals a potential annual demand of 11,000 acre-feet under present price and proposed delivery system conditions. In this case, wastewater could be exchanged for ground water and both the urban and rural areas would gain.     

EFFECTS OF CROPPING SYSTEMS ON NO3-N LOSSES TO TILE DRAIN1

Abstract: Diverse cropping systems can have significant impacts on nutrient losses through tile drain systems and to surface water bodies (rivers and streams). Increased transport of nitrogen to water bodies can reduce dissolved oxygen and enrich the supply of nutrients, resulting in hypoxic zones. With the objective of reducing the transport of nutrients from agricultural watersheds, long term studies (1990 to 1998) were conducted in Iowa to investigate the impact of tillage, crop rotation, and N-management practices on NO₃-N leaching losses to tile drain water. Results of these studies indicated that continuous corn production systems required higher input of nitrogen fertilizers and resulted in significantly higher NO₃-N leaching losses compared to rotated corn in plots either fertilized with manure or urea ammonium nitrate. Also, rotated corn gave higher corn yields, 8 megagrams per hectare (Mg/ha) versus 6 Mg/ha, than continuous corn. The higher N application rates resulted in increased NO₃-N concentrations in tile water. A strip cropping system with alfalfa lowered NO₃-N concentrations in tile water to less than 10 mg/l. These studies indicated that better land use practices can reduce NO₃-N leaching losses to surface and ground water systems and will help in mitigating environmental concerns of the production agriculture.     

APPLICATION OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC MODELING SYSTEM FOR WATERSHED ASSESSMENTS1

ABSTRACT: A National Pilot Project (NPP) on Livestock and the Environment was initiated in 1992 to help provide solutions to environmental problems associated with livestock production. A major development of the NPP was the Comprehensive Economic and Environmental Optimization Tool‐Livestock and Poultry (CEEOT‐LP), an integrated modeling system designed to produce economic and environmental indicators for alternative policy scenarios applied to intensive livestock production watersheds. The system consists of a farm‐level economic model (FEM) and two environmental models: the field‐scale APEX model and the watershed‐level SWAT model. To date, CEEOT‐LP has been applied to two watersheds in Texas and one in Iowa. Predicted reductions in P losses for two P‐based manure application rate scenarios, relative to baseline conditions, ranged from ?4 to ?54 percent across the three watersheds; however, N loss impacts ranged from a decrease of 34 percent to an increase of 79 percent. For five other alternative scenarios that were simulated for only one watershed, N and P loss impacts ranged between a reduction of 78 percent to an increase of 20 percent. Aggregate watershed‐level economic impacts of the seven scenarios spanned a spectrum of a 27 percent decrease to a 25 percent increase in profit, relative to the baseline.     

Weed manipulation for insect pest management in corn

Populations of insect pests and associated predaceous arthropods were sampled by direct observation and other relative methods in simple and diversified corn habitats at two sites in north Florida during 1978 and 1979. Through various cultural manipulations, characteristic weed communities were established selectively in alternate rows within corn plots.Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith) incidence was consistently higher in the weed-free habitats than in the corn habitats containing natural weed complexes or selected weed associations. Corn earworm (Heliothis zea Boddie) damage was similar in all weed-free and weedy treatments, suggesting that this insect is not affected greatly by weed diversity. Only the diversification of corn with a strip of soybean significantly reduced corn earworm damage.In one site, distance between plots was reduced. Because predators moved freely between habitats, it was difficult to identify between-treatment differences in the composition of predator communities. In the other site, increased distances between plots minimized such migrations, resulting in greater population densities and diversity of common foliage insect predators in the weed-manipulated corn systems than in the weed-free plots. Trophic relationships in the weedy habitats were more complex than food webs in monocultures.Predator diversity (measured as mean number of species per area) and predator density was higher in com plots surrounded by mature, complex vegetation than at those surrounded by annual crops. This suggests that diverse adjacent areas to crops provide refuge for predators, thus acting as colonization sources.     

Estimating Watershed Level Nonagricultural Pesticide Use From Golf Courses Using Geospatial Methods1

Abstract: Limited information exists on pesticide use for nonagricultural purposes, making it difficult to estimate pesticide loadings from nonagricultural sources to surface water and to conduct environmental risk assessments. A method was developed to estimate the amount of pesticide use on recreational turf grasses, specifically golf course turf grasses, for watersheds located throughout the conterminous United States (U.S.). The approach estimates pesticide use: (1) based on the area of recreational turf grasses (used as a surrogate for turf associated with golf courses) within the watershed, which was derived from maps of land cover, and (2) from data on the location and average treatable area of golf courses. The area of golf course turf grasses determined from these two methods was used to calculate the percentage of each watershed planted in golf course turf grass (percent crop area, or PCA). Turf‐grass PCAs derived from the two methods were used with recommended application rates provided on pesticide labels to estimate total pesticide use on recreational turf within 1,606 watersheds associated with surface‐water sources of drinking water. These pesticide use estimates made from label rates and PCAs were compared to use estimates from industry sales data on the amount of each pesticide sold for use within the watershed. The PCAs derived from the land‐cover data had an average value of 0.4% of a watershed with minimum of 0.01% and a maximum of 9.8%, whereas the PCA values that are based on the number of golf courses in a watershed had an average of 0.3% of a watershed with a minimum of <0.01% and a maximum of 14.2%. Both the land‐cover method and the number of golf courses method produced similar PCA distributions, suggesting that either technique may be used to provide a PCA estimate for recreational turf. The average and maximum PCAs generally correlated to watershed size, with the highest PCAs estimated for small watersheds. Using watershed specific PCAs, combined with label rates, resulted in greater than two orders of magnitude over‐estimation of the pesticide use compared to estimates from sales data.     

农作物秸秆综合利用的研究进展综述

通过对农作物秸秆的研究现状、处理方法及综合应用情况进行综述,归纳出了目前农作物秸秆综合利用领域、主要处理方法及需要突破的关键技术.明确了突破农作物秸秆外表面物质结构实现完全降解和完成内部纤维素、半纤维素等高分子化合物降解转化是综合利用农作物秸秆研究的重点和难点.同时指出了解决农作物秸秆综合利用的技术层面、法律层面和人文认知理念等方面的发展趋势,为高效利用农作物秸秆及开展关键技术攻关提供参考.     

作物种植专业化与化肥减量来源——兼顾经营规模的影响

以作物种植横向专业化和纵向专业化为切入点,运用中国13个粮食主产省份1980—2018年的面板数据,考察了作物种植专业化对农业化肥减量的影响及其作用机制。研究主要发现：（1）基础回归分析表明,作物种植横向专业化和纵向专业化均对化肥施用强度具有显著的削减效应,对化肥的利用效率有显著的增效作用。且作物种植纵向专业化或社会化服务卷入程度加深,能够增强横向专业化对化肥的减量增效作用。（2）影响路径分析表明,作物种植横向专业化通过扩大农地经营规模,进而增强了作物种植纵向专业化对化肥施用强度的削减效应和利用效率的增效作用。但也应警惕,通过扩大农地经营规模以增强作物种植纵向专业化的减量效应可能存在临界水平。此外,当作物种植横向专业化和纵向专业化积极配合时,可能推移临界点的到来。据此,通过发展作物种植横向专业化,鼓励农户通过服务外包卷入农业的纵向专业化分工以及发展农业适度规模经营,进而实现农业领域化肥的减量增效。     

牡蛎壳粉和石灰改良酸性水稻土对磷有效性、形态和酶活性的影响

我国南方粮食主产区土壤酸化治理是提升耕地地力促进粮食增产的重要内容,目的是探究酸化土壤改良剂牡蛎壳粉和石灰对水稻土酸度、磷有效性和形态以及酶活性和相关功能基因的影响.盆栽试验设计2种改良剂的3个施用量（0.05%、0.10%和0.15%）,以水稻为试验作物.结果表明：①牡蛎壳粉和石灰均显著提高土壤pH,降低土壤交换性酸,且改良效果随着改良剂用量增加而提高,相同用量下石灰对土壤酸性的改良效果高于牡蛎壳粉;② 4种有效磷提取剂提取的土壤有效磷测定结果表明,牡蛎壳粉和石灰显著提高H₂SO₄-P、Bray-1 P和Olsen-P含量,其中Olsen-P含量随改良剂用量的增加而提高.③土壤中不同形态无机磷含量表现为：Fe-P>Al-P>Ca-P,石灰和牡蛎壳粉显著提高Al-P和Fe-P含量,分别提高26.3%~37.4%和7.9%~23.7%;0.15%改良剂显著增加Ca-P含量;④石灰和牡蛎壳粉对土壤DHA、ALP、IPP活性和phoD基因拷贝数具有提高作用,而对土壤ACP活性、phoC和pqqC拷贝数表现为降低;⑤改良剂（0.10%和0.15%）显著提高水稻产量,0.15%用量的石灰和牡蛎壳粉分别提高水稻产量34.2%和46.8%,但对秸秆生物量无显著影响.相关分析表明,土壤无机磷和有效磷含量与pH和ALP活性呈显著正相关,改良剂通过消除土壤酸化和提高土壤磷酸酶活性来改善土壤磷营养状况,这对促进作物产量具有积极作用.     

轮作方式对冬水田温室气体排放的影响

以位于西南大学农业部重庆紫色土生态环境重点野外科学观测试验站内的冬水田(RF)、水稻-油菜轮作(RR)和水稻-儿菜轮作(RV)农田为研究对象,采用静态箱-气相色谱法对农田的温室气体的排放通量进行了为期一年的原位观测,其中采用静态暗箱技术观测CH4和N2O,静态明箱技术观测CO2.结果表明,不同轮作方式下CH4的年排放总量[以CH4计,kg·hm-2]RF(422.87±27.1) RR(132.05±23.11) RV(50.91±3.83),其中RV与RR处理较RF处理CH4排放量有明显下降(P0.05);N2O的年排放总量[以N2O计,kg·hm-2]依次为RV(21.38±6.51) RR(20.02±5.23) RF(0.48±0.02),RV和RR处理N2O的排放总量均显著高于RF(P0.05);CO2的年净排放总量[以CO2计,t·hm-2]为RR(-55.43±5.04) RV(-29.1±3.00) RF(-14.08±1.81),RV和RR处理CO2的吸收量显著高于RF处理(P0.05).在100a时间尺度上,全年排放的CH4、N2O和CO2所引起综合GWP(以CO2计,t·hm-2)为RR(-46.43) RV(-22.01) RF(-2.11),表明冬水田转变为水旱轮作系统后能显著提升农田生态系统的增汇效果,相比于RV处理,RR处理增汇效果更好,即在西南地区水稻-油菜轮作农田在生态系统增汇上是一种最有效的轮作方式.     

A strategy for wildlife management in depopulating rural areas of Japan

Former ranges of wild animals have been reestablished in many developed countries. However, this reestablishment has led to increasing human–wildlife conflict in agroforest ecosystems. In Japan, human–wildlife conflict, such as crop raiding by and ecological impacts of wild ungulates and primates, is a serious problem in depopulated rural areas due to these animal range expansions and increased abundances. Japan's human population is predicted to decline by 24% by 2050, and approximately 20% of agricultural settlements will become completely depopulated. In this scenario, anthropogenic pressures on wildlife (e.g., hunting and habitat alteration) will continue to decrease and human–wildlife conflict will increase due to increasing wildlife recovery. Japan's local governments plan to slow range recovery, prevent species reestablishment, or remove recolonizing large mammals through lethal control. This strategy, however, is not cost-effective, and workforce shortages in depopulated communities make it infeasible. Moreover, the suppression of wildlife prevents the recovery of ecological functions and thus would degrade regional biodiversity. The declining pressure on wildlife that accompanies human depopulation will prevent the restoration of any past states of human–wildlife interaction. We suggest human-used areas in rural landscapes be aggregated in compact cities and that in transition zones between human settlements and depopulated lands that land-sharing approaches be applied. Concentrating management efforts in compact cities may effectively decrease human–wildlife conflict, rather than intensifying human pressures. Reforestation of depopulated lands may lead to recovery of wildlife habitats, their ecosystem functions, and regional biodiversity due to minimization of negative anthropogenic effects (land-sparing approach). Balancing resolution of human–wildlife conflict and ecological rewilding could become a new, challenging task for regional wildlife managers.