Traditional agriculture in transition: examining the impacts of agricultural modernization on smallholder farming in Ghana under the new Green Revolution

Following the renewed effort at achieving a new green revolution for Africa, emphasis has been placed on modernizing smallholder agriculture through the deployment of improved inputs especially mechanized technologies. In Ghana, the government has in the last decade emphasized the provision of subsidized mechanized ploughing services to farmers alongside a rapidly growing private sector tractor service market. While mechanized technology adoption rates have increased rapidly, the deployment of these technologies has been without critical analysis of the impacts on production patterns and local agrarian systems. This paper examines the distributional impacts of agriculture mechanization on cropping patterns and farm sizes of smallholder farmers in northern Ghana using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, and semi-structured interviews with smallholder farmers (n=60). Specifically, comparative analysis of the field sizes and cropping patterns of participant farmers prior to and after the adoption of mechanized technologies was conducted. In-depth interviews were used to contextualize the experiences of smallholder farmers toward understanding how mechanization may be impacting traditional agriculture. Our findings reveal a mechanization paradox in which farm sizes are expanding, while cropping patterns are shifting away from traditional staple crops (pearl millet and sorghum bicolor) to market-oriented crops (maize, rice and groundnuts). This transition we argue, has adverse implications on the cultural dimension of food security, the organization of social life, and climate change adaptation. We recommend a retooling of the current agricultural policy focus to ensure context sensitivity for a more robust battle against food insecurity.     

4种不同生境的蟹类金属硫蛋白cDNA的克隆与比较

利用Carcinus maenas金属硫蛋白氨基酸序列资料，用全简并引物从鳃组织总RNA中扩增并克隆了首个甲壳类金属硫蛋白cDNA片段序列，3'-RACE获得了其编码区全长cDNA。之后，用部分简并的引物扩增并克隆了其它3种国内常见蟹类的金属硫蛋白cDNA编码区全长序列。序列分析结果表明，几种蟹的金属硫蛋白cDNA序列存在差异，推知的氨基酸序列也不完全相同，比较不同蟹的cDNA和氨基酸序列数据不能证明不同生态环境对金属硫蛋白的分子进化起重要作用。图4表1参15     

长江流域水生态环境安全主要问题、形势与对策

为进一步深化长江流域水生态环境保护的系统性、整体性科学认识,围绕长江水生态环境安全的主要问题及形势进行了剖析,提出了进一步加强长江流域水生态环境安全保障的对策建议.研究表明:在水环境质量方面,磷污染成为制约水质改善的主要影响因素,农业源排放量占比高,但工业源入河对水体的影响更直接,水库群运行带来的水沙条件变化对磷污染沿程演变有明显影响;在水生态健康方面,长江水生生物资源衰退、湖库富营养化格局发生改变、湿地生态功能退化问题突出;在水环境风险方面,化工围江、航运污染风险引起广泛关注.当前长江流域面临着源头区水资源战略储备减少、区域经济发展与生态环境保护双重压力仍较大、水环境质量仍存问题隐患、水生态系统退化态势未得到根本遏制等复杂且严峻的形势,未来长江水生态环境安全保障仍有诸多挑战.建议统筹长江全流域“一盘棋”,推进区域绿色协调发展,强化磷污染点面源综合管控,着力提升水生态健康水平,同时加快水环境风险隐患排查整治,强化科技创新有效供给.      

基于最大熵模型的福建省红树林潜在适生区评估

本研究利用生物气候、地形、底质类型、海温等环境因子和红树林分布数据建立了福建省红树林分布模型,基于最大熵方法分析了福建省沿岸红树林潜在适生区的空间分布.根据模型输出结果对福建省红树林的生境适宜性进行了评估,识别了影响红树林分布的关键环境因子及其适生值区间,并通过空间叠加分析获取了福建省红树林保护与修复的优先区与空缺区域.结果表明,影响福建省红树林适生区分布格局的主要环境因子包括海表温度、气温和降水等,福建省红树林潜在适生区主要位于沙埕港-三沙湾-兴化湾沿岸、泉州湾-厦门湾-九龙江口沿岸、漳江口-东山湾沿岸等地,其中最优适生区面积约为91km².全省共识别出8处红树林保护与修复的优先区域,现存红树林保护率约为64.4%,保护修复空缺主要出现在沙埕港、三沙湾、罗源湾、福清湾等处,研究结论可为未来福建省红树林保护和修复行动提供科学参考.     

Floristics, performance and prognosis of historical trees in the urban forest of Guangzhou City (China)

Outstanding historical trees embedded in cities constitute pertinent environmental assets, yet they are widely threatened in third-world cities. Inadequate understanding of this valuable natural-cum-cultural heritage hinders proper conservation. A case study of Guangzhou in south China evaluated floristic composition, age profile and biomass structure of historical trees, assessed their performance in major habitats (institutional, park and roadside), and established a prognosis for future growth and management. The 348 historical trees examined belonged to only 25 species, vis-à -vis 254 trees in the entire urban forest, dominated by five species and native members. Roadside had more trees, followed by institutional and park, with merely the most common four species shared by all habitats. The limited commonality reflected tree-performance differentiation by habitats exerting selection pressure on species. The institutional growth-regime was more conducive to nurturing high-caliber specimens, whereas park is less capable. Individual species achievement by habitats, derived from tree-count ranking and relative-abundance indices, could inform species choice and tree conservation. Few trees exceeded 300 years of age in the millennium-old city, echoing a history of intense tree—city conflicts. Potential life-span, trunk and crown diameters indicated ample opportunities for further expansion of biomass and landscape impacts, which would be straitjacketed by the tightening urban fabric.     

A Spatial Model to Estimate Habitat Fragmentation and Its Consequences on Long-Term Persistence of Animal Populations

The increasing use of the landscape by humans has led to important diminutions of natural surfaces. The remaining patches of wild habitat are small and isolated from each other among a matrix of inhospitable land-uses. This habitat fragmentation, by disabling population movements and stopping their spread to new habitats, is a major threat to the survival of numerous plant and animal species. We developed a general model, adaptable for specific species, capable of identifying suitable habitat patches within fragmented landscapes and investigating the capacity of populations to move between these patches. This approach combines GIS analysis of a landscape, with spatial dynamic modeling. Suitable habitat is identified using a threshold area to perimeter ratio. Potential movement pathways of species between habitat patches are modeled using a cellular automaton. Habitat connectivity is estimated by overlaying habitat patches with movement pathways. The maximum potential population is calculated within and between connected habitat patches and potential risk of inbreeding within meta-populations is considered. The model was tested on a sample map and applied to scenario maps of predicted land-use change in the Peoria Tri-county region (IL). It (1) showed area of natural area alone was insufficient to estimate the consequences on animal populations; (2) underscored the necessity to use approaches investigating the effect of land-use change spatially through the landscape and the importance of considering species-specific life history characteristics; and (3) highlighted the model's potential utility as an indicator of species likelihood to be affected negatively by land-use scenarios and therefore requiring detailed investigation.     

Mega-Development Trends in the Amazon: Implications for Global Change

This paper describes four global-change phenomena that are having major impacts on Amazonian forests. The first is accelerating deforestation and logging. Despite recent government initiatives to slow forest loss, deforestation rates in Brazilian Amazonia have increased from 1.1 million ha yr^–1 in the early 1990s, to nearly 1.5 million ha yr^–1 from 1992–1994, and to more than 1.9 million ha yr^–1 from 1995–1998. Deforestation is also occurring rapidly in some other parts of the Amazon Basin, such as in Bolivia and Ecuador, while industrialized logging is increasing dramatically in the Guianas and central Amazonia.The second phenomenon is that patterns of forest loss and fragmentation are rapidly changing. In recent decades, large-scale deforestation has mainly occurred in the southern and eastern portions of the Amazon — in the Brazilian states of Pará, Maranho, Rondônia, Acre, and Mato Grosso, and in northern Bolivia. While rates of forest loss remain very high in these areas, the development of major new highways is providing direct conduits into the heart of the Amazon. If future trends follow past patterns, land-hungry settlers and loggers may largely bisect the forests of the Amazon Basin.The third phenomenon is that climatic variability is interacting with human land uses, creating additional impacts on forest ecosystems. The 1997/98 El Niño drought, for example, led to a major increase in forest burning, with wildfires raging out of control in the northern Amazonian state of Roraima and other locations. Logging operations, which create labyrinths of roads and tracks in forsts, are increasing fuel loads, desiccation and ignition sources in forest interiors. Forest fragmentation also increases fire susceptibility by creating dry, fire-prone forest edges.Finally, recent evidence suggests that intact Amazonian forests are a globally significant carbon sink, quite possibly caused by higher forest growth rates in response to increasing atmospheric CO₂ fertilization. Evidence for a carbon sink comes from long-term forest mensuration plots, from whole-forest studies of carbon flux and from investigations of atmospheric CO₂ and oxygen isotopes. Unfortunately, intact Amazonian forests are rapidly diminishing. Hence, not only is the destruction of these forests a major source of greenhouse gases, but it is reducing their intrinsic capacity to help buffer the rapid anthropogenic rise in CO₂.     

铁路建设对动物生态行为的影响与控制策略

从动物生境的破坏与污染两方面分析了铁路建设对动物生态行为的影响，并从铁路的路线选择、防噪减噪、设置动物通道、加强管理等方面论述了其控制对策。     

西藏食物保障度分析及对策

食物保障是西藏社会性经济可持续发展重要问题之一。分析表明，西藏食物保障度及目标因食物种类而异。尽管粮食总产及单产均持续增长，但结构性短缺问题难以解决，粮食保障不应过分强调自给率目标；肉类中羊肉自给，但猪肉基本依靠内地；蔬菜保障存在生产不稳定问题，如何提高生产的稳定性是问题的关键。对居民营养摄入量及结构的分析表明，城乡居民食物消费结构及来源结构有较大差异，城镇居民食物消费与内地差异不大，而乡村居民的食物消费呈现极显著的本地化特征；分析还表明，城乡居民生活支出中有一半以上用于食物，表明收入和生活水平还不高，特别要关注低收入居民的食物问题。为此，粮食不应继续作为食物保障的重点，重点应在鲜活食物的保障；建立包括开放食物流通系统和开放食物生产系统在内的开放的食物保障系统；改善交通运输条件、增进食物空间可达性，包括增进食物生产资料空间可达性和改善畜产品外销通径；增强储备意识和能力：保障贫困人口食物供给：广辟食物来源。     

Spatial distribution of ecological security status assessment of West-Liaohe River based on geographic information system

Eco-security assessment is a hot research area in resource and environmental science, which involves data with much spatial, non-linear, and random features. Geographic information system (GIS), as a useful tool to analyze and manage spatial information, has a superior advantage in this field. A case study in the western part of the Liaohe River featuring a method of eco-security spatial differences (ESSD) based on GIS is developed in this paper. The method includes four steps: 1) developing the pressure-state-response (P-S-R) framework with site data; 2) digitizing West-Liaohe River and setting its GRID database of ecosecurity assessment indicators; 3) figuring out the relative membership degree (RMD) of eco-security indicators by using the analytical hierarchy process with the weight of indicator; 4) classifying the security zone and mapping the assessment result of eco-security status in grid by GIS method of assigning and clustering. The visual spatial differences of eco-security based on GIS enables decision makers to know the status of eco-security better in making policies for achieving sustainability. __________ Translated from Environmental Science, 2005, 26(5): 28–33 [译自: 环境科学]