The changing agricultural geography of a Finnish lakeland parish

This paper focuses upon a generation of agricultural change in Lapinlahti, a parish in the central Finnish lake district. The resettlement of displaced Karelian farmers in the immediate post-war years disrupted the established farming pattern here as elsewhere in Finland. A programme of forest clearance – socially desirable, but economically insupportable – changed the rural scene as well as providing new arable land for fodder crops to support increased dairy production. In the last decade, agricultural output surplus to market needs has been coupled with timber production insufficient to meet demand. Within the space of a generation, legislation encouraging afforestation and compensating for land withdrawn from cultivation has replaced subsidies for forest colonisation and land clearance. The reactions to this legislation of Karelians in Lapinlahti differ from those of the indigenous farmers.     

Continuity and change: Spatiotemporal land use dynamics on Bellona Island, Solomon Islands

Traditional agricultural land use systems in the humid tropics of the Southwest Pacific are, as elsewhere, affected by globalization processes. This paper analyzes the directions of change in the land use system of Bellona, a small outer island in the Solomon Islands. We focus on the human–environmental interaction that shapes land use patterns and practices in the context of theoretical lines of thought concerning intensification of agricultural systems in the tropics. Aerial photography from 1966 and satellite imagery from 2006 in conjunction with studies from the 1960s and a contemporary household survey reveal only minor changes in the agricultural system. Land use and land cover dynamics are related to agricultural strategies, demographic factors, institutional actors as well as biophysical drivers or constraints. Local agricultural production still contributes significantly to local subsistence but imported food has also become a major food source. Hence, land use has become partially disconnected from the local population pressure and therefore remains relatively stable while the larger livelihood portfolio has undergone significant diversification. At present, the agricultural system is a supplement to a range of strategies supporting the increasing number of people on the island. This explains why land use patterns continue relatively unchanged while livelihood and food supply strategies have changed.     

SOIL SUITABILITY CLASSIFICATION BY SMALL FARMERS

Procedures for soil suitability classification by small farmers of southwestern Nigeria are examined. Data were collected through interviews with 225 farmers at group and individual levels. The survey relied on the farmers'perception of some observable soil properties in the field. Soil properties included texture, color, organic matter, drainage condition of soil, and bulk density. The farmers determine soil types year round, irrespective of season, unlike the Hanunoo system. While soil types were identified by their texture and color characteristics, suitability classes were defined principally by texture. Eighteen soil types and four soil classes were identified for soil suitability classification projects designed for small farmers. The reliability and viability of the results of this study need to be verified through on-farm experiments.     

SOTER数据库支持下的土壤质量综合评价：—以海南岛为例

在海南岛SOTER数据库基础上，选取表征土壤质量的若干指标项目组成评价体系，在GIS环境中对图斑的土壤质量进行了评价，并交评价等级指标与空间数据库相连，输出土壤质量评价结果。     

Military Payroll And Regional Growth

Procedures for soil suitability classification by small farmers of southwestern Nigeria are examined. Data were collected through interviews with 225 farmers at group and individual levels. The survey relied on the farmers'perception of some observable soil properties in the field. Soil properties included texture, color, organic matter, drainage condition of soil, and bulk density. The farmers determine soil types year round, irrespective of season, unlike the Hanunoo system. While soil types were identified by their texture and color characteristics, suitability classes were defined principally by texture. Eighteen soil types and four soil classes were identified for soil suitability classification projects designed for small farmers. The reliability and viability of the results of this study need to be verified through on-farm experiments.     

日本虎杖覆盖对连作的影响——日本西阿瓦陡坡土地农业系统传统耕作评价

禾本科物种(例如银草、芦苇)在日本传统的地膜覆盖农业中普遍使用,西阿瓦地区是全球重要的农业遗产系统(GIAHS)所在地。传统上,这里的农民使用银草覆盖农业土壤。但当地农民从长期的经验中了解到,日本虎杖覆盖更适合该地区茄科作物的种植。目前尚不清楚日本虎杖覆盖物为何对茄科作物的种植有益。在本项研究中,我们假设日本虎杖覆盖物可能会有效避免连续种植马铃薯的危害。因为过去每年都会种植两次本地马铃薯,因此,我们调查了日本虎杖覆盖对连续种植马铃薯以及番茄种植后对马铃薯产量的影响。在2018年进行的田间试验中,我们首先在连续马铃薯栽培的土壤和未耕种的土壤中比较了日本虎杖覆盖、银草覆盖和无草覆盖(对照)对马铃薯产量的影响,结果表明日本虎杖覆盖减少了马铃薯产量的降低程度。其次,我们比较了番茄种植后的土壤和未耕种的土壤中的虎杖覆盖和无草覆盖对马铃薯产量的影响,结果再次表明了日本虎杖覆盖减少了马铃薯生长和产量下降的程度。这些发现表明用日本虎杖覆盖有助于避免连续种植马铃薯的风险。     

WISE USE OF WETLAND FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD THROUGH PARTICIPATORY APPROACH： A CASE OF ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE

1INTRODUCTION Hydroponics(aGreekword,hydromeanswater andponos,labour),asoil-lessagriculture,isa termtobedescribedinseveralwaysinwhichplants cangrowwithoutsoil,byuseofaninertmedium whereplantcantakeupessentialnutrients,either fromwaterinwhichanutrientsolutionisaddedor fromorganicmaterialsthatexistsinthemedium.Thesemediacanbegravel,sand,peat,vermiculate,prelite,sawdustorotherplantmatters(organiccom ponents).Therefore,theprocessinwhichaquatic weedsaredumpedonwatertoconstructfloatingbed orart…     

Financial efficiency of major soil and water conservation measures in West Usambara highlands, Tanzania

Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) measures are needed to control soil erosion and sustain agricultural production on steep slopes of West Usambara mountains. However, the adoption by farmers of the recommended soil and water conservation measures is low and soil erosion continues to be a problem. It could well be that the reason for the low adoption is that the costs to invest in soil and water conservation are higher than the eventual benefits. This research assessed the costs and benefits of bench terraces, grass strips and fanya juu, which are major SWC measures. Financial Cost Benefit Analysis (FCBA) was undertaken for farmers with low, moderate and high opportunity costs of labour at different slopes and soil types. The results show that labour is the major cost item in implementing SWC measures and is higher with bench terraces than with fanya juu and grass strips. The results also show that the costs of establishing the three SWC measures exceed the returns in the initial 2 years. However, in the long term, the three SWC measures are profitable to farmers with low to medium opportunity costs of labour on gentle to moderate slopes. It was also found that SWC measures are not financially attractive to most farmers with off-farm activities and other sources of income. It is concluded that high investment costs and initial negative returns are the major hindrances to the adoption of SWC measures by smallholder farmers in West Usambara mountains. Options to overcome the initial investment costs include the gradual investment in SWC measures, introduction of high value crops and small credit facilities. The promotion of dairy cattle under zero grazing system can also increase the adoption of SWC measures because of the high benefits from grasses used to stabilise SWC measures.     

COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE AND LAND RESOURCE SURVEYS IN SWAZILAND

This paper argues for the incorporation of community environmental knowledge systems in modem land resource surveys. Such surveys, usually carried out by specialists from outside traditional communities, oftem do not incorporate the communities’ concepts and knowledge which modulate land use practices. They are therefore not helpful to the small farmers who are the primary land users. Recent studies have confirmed the viability of indigenous knowledge systems. In Swaziland, the farmers’ concepts of soil and slope unit systems have been validated and are found to be similar to the modem survey concepts of “soil series” and “land slope”. They have also employed other land attributes (such as animal life and vegetation elements) as indicators of land quality. The time has come when land resource surveys must take account of such indigenous knowledge systems so that the goals of improved land management and increased production may be achieved.     

Marine biodiversity and ethnobiodiversity of Bellona (Mungiki) Island, Solomon Islands

This paper reports on the marine biodiversity and ethnobiodiversity of Bellona, a small island in Solomon Islands inhabited by Polynesians who have, for centuries, depended on biodiversity for their own sustainability. The Bellonese have names for at least 8 whales and dolphins, 7 reptiles, over 500 finfish, 191 molluscs, 48 crustaceans, 29 echinoderms and a range of corals, other invertebrates and marine plants, most of which have commercial, subsistence or cultural value. If conserved, this inheritance will continue to provide a foundation for continuing sustainability in a rapidly globalizing world. The paper highlights the importance of the preservation, and application to development, of ethnobiodiversity for food and subsistence security, and contingent issues of conservation and sustainability in small island developing states. As the current extinction crisis escalates globally, the rate of attrition of the intangible indigenous knowledge that has coevolved with this threatened biodiversity is probably far greater. In itself, the recording of information on biodiversity and related sustainable livelihoods is not sufficient to ensure sustainability. There is a vital need to integrate this into the formal education system and applied scientific activities at all levels to achieve the right balance between agriculture, wild harvest and trade, upon which sustainability and subsistence affluence still depend.     

农业生产转型类型诊断及其对乡村振兴的启示——以黄淮海地区为例

城乡转型发展背景下,农业生产转型成为解析区域乡村人地关系演变的重要窗口。科学诊断中国传统农区农业生产转型的类型及其存在的核心问题,可为调控农业生产政策和完善乡村发展战略提供参考。论文以中国传统农区黄淮海地区为例,以农业生产转型的类型划分为突破口,系统诊断不同农业生产转型类型面临的困境及其破解方案。研究发现：“自上而下”和“自下而上”相结合的多尺度分析法是分析农业生产转型阶段差异的有效手段;空间弹性视角下,黄淮海地区农业生产转型类型可以划分为传统农耕型、现代市场型和城郊休闲型3类;传统农耕型地区耕地利用转型与农业劳动力转型的失调、缺乏核心产业支撑及实际城镇化率较低是限制乡村有序转型的关键问题;现代市场型地区不合理的土地利用状态和小农户的有效组织是当前亟需突破的难题;城郊休闲型地区完善农户的市场参与方式和降低资本风险是当前必须考虑的问题;针对各转型类型的差异化问题因地制宜科学施策,有利于推动乡村振兴战略的落实。     

中国农业类型划分的初步研究

农业类型是系统反映农业分布差异特征的农业生产地域综合体。我国农业生产条件复杂,地域差异显著,类型分布多样。本文按照土地利用、产值结构、集约程度、产出效益、商品化特征和农业自然条件等方面的依据指标,将全国划分为12个一级类和122个二级型。     

Rural Development and Social Exclusion: A case study of sustainability and distributive issues in Brazil

Rural modernisation based on the concept of the Green Revolution has changed the social and ecological landscape in Brazil, particularly since the late 1960s. The expansion of extensive cattle ranching and mechanised agriculture have been major driving forces in this transformation process. In the Midwest, one of the last frontier regions in Brazil, extensive savanna land has recently been cleared for cash-crop production and pastureland. After the displacement of indigenous people during early confrontations with Portuguese explorers in the eighteenth century, we are now witnessing the dispossession of traditional small-scale farmers who had settled in the region two centuries ago. Rural communities have remained marginalised and powerless in the face of pressure and impact from recent development of agribusiness and cattle ranching. The agricultural activity of the smallholders is subsistence-oriented with little market integration, and their production system (shifting cultivation) is based on local knowledge, which seems to be well adapted to the savanna environment. The system is no longer sustainable. Due to capitalist expansion and prevailing conditions of unsecured land tenure, lack of access to basic assets, and high population pressure on scarce resources, the peasants have had to intensify production. This research focuses on the consequences of recent social, economic and environmental change in traditional rural communities.     

Land consolidation engineering and modern agriculture: A case study from soil particles to agricultural systems

Land consolidation engineering is one of the very important ways to improve the quality of farmland and the level of agricultural productivity. Studies of land consolidation and crop cultivation still mainly focus on single land functional optimization or crop breeding and yields. However, whether the improved crop varieties were sown on healthy and fertile soils is still a question. This paper introduces new ideas and engineering measures for sandy land rehabilitation and modern agricultural development in the Mu Us Sandy Land, Shaanxi Province, Western China. The important roles of particles and aggregates in soil reconstruction were confirmed following three innovative microscopic theories, including micro-structure, micro-morphology and micro-mechanism. New soil was constructed based on the physical complementarity of sandy, clay and loess particles in the Yulin area, northern Shaanxi Province. Field experiments were carried out to study the appropriate mixture ratio of different soils and their suitability for different crops. The improved crop varieties were sown on healthy and fertile soils, which were chosen by coupling according to its soil ecological suitability and crop physiological adaptability. The fertility improvement practices in the new constructed soils with different crops integrated water and fertilizer management measures, which were also provided in the experiment. Overall, an integrated land optimization configuration with improved and optimized crop variety selection was suggested for engineering sandy land-oriented consolidation from the soil particles to the agricultural system.     

A Review and Implication of Land Fallow System Research

Land fallow is of great significance for undertaking land reclamation, safeguarding national food security, promoting environmental improvements and ensuring the sustainable use of land resources. This paper reviews the important achievements in three areas of research on the land fallow system. It reviews and compares the land fallow system in different countries and regions of the world; it examines the response of farmers to the land fallow system and ecological environment; and it looks at the economic effects of the land fallow system. Based on China's rotation system for cultivated land, some relevant policy implications are put forward. Based on the different degrees of land damage, the evaluation system and the subsidy accounting standard for fallow land are formulated, and the compulsory fallow and voluntary participation of the niche fallow are targeting. The land fallow system should improve both the regulatory and the restraint mechanisms, improve the environmental awareness and environmental protection skills of farmers, change the production behaviors of farmers, and encourage farmers to change to high coverage crops to protect the land. In view of the negative effects produced by implementation of the fallow system should take corresponding management and compensation measures.     

土地整治与现代农业:从土壤颗粒到农业系统——以陕西省榆林市为例（英文）

Land consolidation engineering is one of the very important ways to improve the quality of farmland and the level of agricultural productivity. Studies of land consolidation and crop cultivation still mainly focus on single land functional optimization or crop breeding and yields. However, whether the improved crop varieties were sown on healthy and fertile soils is still a question. This paper introduces new ideas and engineering measures for sandy land rehabilitation and modern agricultural development in the Mu Us Sandy Land, Shaanxi Province, Western China. The important roles of particles and aggregates in soil reconstruction were confirmed following three innovative microscopic theories, including micro-structure, micro-morphology and micro-mechanism. New soil was constructed based on the physical complementarity of sandy, clay and loess particles in the Yulin area, northern Shaanxi Province. Field experiments were carried out to study the appropriate mixture ratio of different soils and their suitability for different crops. The improved crop varieties were sown on healthy and fertile soils, which were chosen by coupling according to its soil ecological suitability and crop physiological adaptability. The fertility improvement practices in the new constructed soils with different crops integrated water and fertilizer management measures, which were also provided in the experiment. Overall, an integrated land optimization configuration with improved and optimized crop variety selection was suggested for engineering sandy land-oriented consolidation from the soil particles to the agricultural system.     

Sustainable environmental resource utilisation: a case study of farmers’ ethnobotanical knowledge and rural change in Bungoma district, Kenya

This paper examines farmers’ ethnobotanical knowledge, innovation and rural change, and indicates one way in which indigenous technical knowledge complementing scientific knowledge may be documented for use by development planners and agencies. This paper firstly identifies plant species recognised as resources by farmers, and considers the value of these resources. Secondly, the paper documents and assesses the ethnobotanical knowledge associated with the utilisation of plant species, before turning to examine how plant resources are defined by use and culture. It also demonstrates that some components of ethnobotanical knowledge have potential for the sustainable development of plant species. The study shows that farmers have started to domesticate some of the ‘traditional’ plants, and new crops have been introduced associated with corresponding innovations in local agricultural systems. Since the farmers have a relatively strong tradition in natural resources conservation, this study suggests that it will be possible to introduce community-based gene banks linked to formal or government facilities. The paper demonstrates that it is important to combine and interweave ‘modern’ and indigenous knowledges to produce a more realistic and sensitive understanding and management of natural environmental resources for sustainable development.     

Sustainable land use in Tikopia: Food production and consumption in an isolated agricultural system

The land use system on Tikopia – a Polynesian outlier in Solomon Islands – is analyzed to determine how it has developed since it was first described in the 1930s and again in the 1970s. Fieldwork included a household questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews on farming practices and decision making, and the collection of soil samples from the major soil and garden types. The Tikopian land use system has not undergone significant changes since the 1970s; indeed the focus on self-sufficiency in food crops may have been strengthened over the past 30 years as ship arrivals have become increasingly unreliable. Local agricultural production and exploitation of marine resources are essential to sustain the population, and with few exceptions farming and fishing techniques remain unchanged. Most of the island is still farmed permanently and the intensive agricultural system has not suffered long-term setbacks, not even from extreme events such as Cyclone Zoe in 2002. The high fertility of Tikopian soils reported in the 1960s was found to be unchanged. It is concluded that the land use system is highly resilient to shocks and that there are no indications that Tikopian villagers would not be able to support their subsistence in the future, provided there is no substantial increase in the resident ( de facto ) population.     

干旱区防护林营造方式对沙漠化土地恢复能力的影响研究

通过对防护林体系营造方式对沙漠化土地的恢复和重建能力的研究,发现固氮灌木树种对沙漠化土地肥力恢复的作用十分显著。采用工程措施与生物措施相结合的组合造林技术是恢复沙漠化土地肥力最有效的方法。在沙漠化土地上营造乔、灌混交防沙阻沙林带,可以明显地提高土壤的有机质和氮素水平。建立农田防护林网可以有效地改善土壤水环境和物理性质,并能增加土壤微生物,使土壤微生物的种群数量较荒漠化土地有较大幅度提高。土壤微生物的数量分布与种植植物的种类和人为经营强度有关。草田轮作是干旱区改土培肥的好形式,新开发荒漠地以第一年农作物+第二年牧草+第三年农作物的轮作制度较好。     

大都市郊区农户生计多样化及对土地利用的影响——以北京市大兴区为例

以北京市大兴区为例,采用农户调查数据,设计不同资源群体农户分类评价指标体系,利用非系统聚类方法将农户划分为5类(①中等资源禀赋,中等非农收入;②高等资源禀赋,中等非农收入;③中等资源禀赋,低等非农收入;④纯农户;⑤非农户),进而分析了不同资源群体农户的生计多样化特点及对土地利用的影响。研究表明:(1)在大都市郊区,农户类型1～3、纯农户和非农户分别采取了农业和非农兼顾、留在农业和脱离农业的生计策略。(2)农户类型1～3和纯农户中,70%农户生计多样化指数分布在2～3之间,且依然呈现粮食作物播种面积较大,选择比例最高,其次是经济作物。(3)农户类型1～3和非农户中,以就地转移方式非农就业是农户家庭劳动力安排的主要选择,且非农就业劳动力年龄最轻和教育水平最高。(4)大都市郊区土地非农化的转型特点促使农户从类型1～4被动地向类型5转化,土地利用效益低下也持续推动了农户生计多样化,同时,农户生计多样化会引发粮食生产能力停滞不前、土地流转和产权调整大规模顺势而生、土壤养分富集等土地利用现象。