Agricultural land use dynamics in the Brazilian Amazon based on remote sensing and census data

The potential impact of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon on greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere calls for policies that take account of changes in forest cover. Although much research has focused on the location and effects of deforestation, little is known about the distribution and reasons for the agricultural uses that replace forest cover. We used Landsat TM-based deforestation and agricultural census data to generate maps of the distribution and proportion of four major agricultural land uses throughout the Brazilian Amazon in 1997 and 2007. We built linear and spatial regression models to assess the determinant factors of deforestation and those major agricultural land uses - pasture, temporary agriculture and permanent agriculture - for the states of Pará, Rondônia, and Mato Grosso. The data include 30 determinant factors that were grouped into two years (1996 and 2006) and in four categories: accessibility to markets, public policies, agrarian structure, and environment. We found an overall expansion of the total agricultural area between 1997 and 2007, and notable differences between the states of Pará, Rondônia, and Mato Grosso in land use changes during this period. Regression models for deforestation and pasture indicated that determinant factors such as distance to roads were more influential in 1997 than in 2007. The number of settled families played an important role in the deforestation and pasture, the effect was stronger in 2007 than 1997. Indigenous lands were significant in preventing deforestation in high-pressure areas in 2007. For temporary and permanent agricultures, our results show that in 1997 the effect of small farms was stronger than in 2007. The mapped land use time series and the models explain empirically the effects of land use changes across the region over one decade.     

1953-2005年内蒙古东部产粮区气候变化特征研究

利用系统聚类分析和相关分析方法,根据1953--2005年内蒙古东部产粮区48个气象站的气象资料．进行了气候相似区划分;并得出各区在热量、水分的时间变化上具有较高的区域一致性。据此,以区域内各站点的温度、降水和日照时数的平均值作为区域热水光时间序列,分析了各气候要素变化特征及其对农业可能产生的影响。结果表明：各区域温度呈上升趋势,增温速率（平均增温为0．3-0．4℃／10a）高于中国平均增温速率（0．22℃／10a）,增温幅度呈从西向东递增的趋势,平均最低气温增幅最大,平均最高气温增温幅度与海拔呈正相关,尤以1988年以后变暖趋势最为明显;降水量基本呈减少趋势,年代际波动较大;20世纪90年代至今,内蒙古东部产粮区生长季降水明显减少,气温迅速升高,暖千化趋势表现明显,温差减小和日照时数减少,水热匹配格局发生改变,粮食产量出现减少趋势的可能性较大。     

Assessment of global meteorological,hydrological and agricultural drought under future warming based on CMIP6

在全球变暖背景下,分析和预测干旱的变化趋势和传播规律对于区域生态环境安全和灾害管理具有重要意义.本文基于第六次国际耦合模式比较计划(CMIP6),分析了SSP2-4.5和SSP5-8.5两种变暖情景下的气象(标准化降水指数SPI和标准化降水蒸发指数SPED,水文(标准化径流指数SRI)和农业(标准化土壤水分指数SSI)...     

Measuring land-use and land-cover change using the U.S. department of agriculture’s cropland data layer: Cautions and recommendations

Monitoring agricultural land is important for understanding and managing food production, environmental conservation efforts, and climate change. The United States Department of Agriculture's Cropland Data Layer (CDL), an annual satellite imagery-derived land cover map, has been increasingly used for this application since complete coverage of the conterminous United States became available in 2008. However, the CDL is designed and produced with the intent of mapping annual land cover rather than tracking changes over time, and as a result certain precautions are needed in multi-year change analyses to minimize error and misapplication. We highlight scenarios that require special considerations, suggest solutions to key challenges, and propose a set of recommended good practices and general guidelines for CDL-based land change estimation. We also characterize a problematic issue of crop area underestimation bias within the CDL that needs to be accounted for and corrected when calculating changes to crop and cropland areas. When used appropriately and in conjunction with related information, the CDL is a valuable and effective tool for detecting diverse trends in agriculture. By explicitly discussing the methods and techniques for post-classification measurement of land-cover and land-use change using the CDL, we aim to further stimulate the discourse and continued development of suitable methodologies. Recommendations generated here are intended specifically for the CDL but may be broadly applicable to additional remotely-sensed land cover datasets including the National Land Cover Database (NLCD), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based land cover products, and other regional, national, and global land cover classification maps.     

Protecting Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) by Industrial Integration Development (IID): Practices from China

With Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) increasing in number around the world, their conservation has become a new international research theme. From the perspective of combining theoretical analyses and practical case applications, this study examines the Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) conservation pathways and operation mechanisms through industrial integration development (IID). First, the theoretical framework of IID in IAHS sites was constructed according to the requirements of IAHS conservation, which include analyses of the connotation and basic principles of IID, the necessity of IID for IAHS sites, the resource conditions, and the IID pathways. And then based on the theoretical framework, the IID of Longji Terraces in Guangxi, Honghe Hani Rice Terraces System in Yunnan (HHRTS), Aohan Dryland Farming System in Inner Mongolia (ADFS), and Huzhou Mulberry-dyke & Fish-pond System (HMFS) in Zhejiang are analyzed systematically. The main finding is that IID is an effective pathway for IAHS conservation. However, the IID in IAHS sites must stress the ecological and cultural values of the resources; IID should be based on local resource advantages; and IID should attach importance to the combination of different policies and coordination between different stakeholders.     

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。     

Conceptual Framework for Key Element Identification in Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS): Case of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces System in China

With the continuous emergence of global development problems, the dynamic conservation and sustainable development of Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) have been assigned greater importance. However, due to the complex structure, multi-component, dynamic, and open characteristics of IAHS, there are neglected problems which need to be solved in conservation practice, such as component element ambiguity, obscurity of the conservation redline, etc. This study defined the concept of key elements (KE) of IAHS, put forward a conceptual framework of KE identification, conducted empirical research by taking Honghe County of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces System (HHRTS) as an example and analyzed the level of recognition motivations for different stakeholder groups. The following conclusions were drawn: 1) The KE of HHRTS are grain crops, rice species biodiversity, terrace construction and maintenance technique, Hani traditional festivals, Hani traditional foods, and virgin forest; 2) The reasons behind the KE priorities of farmers, businessmen and tourists were at the micro level, the reasons of officers were at the middle level and the reasons of researchers were at the macro level. The empirical study conducted in HHRTS showed that the proposed conceptual framework could identify KE of IAHS effectively, and provided a theoretical perspective for the structuring of and essential need for IAHS research. Moreover, the KE recognition levels of different stakeholder groups reflected their potential action strategies. We should focus on the coherence of policies and measures in both the microscale and macroscale to balance the diversified demands of stakeholders, and to stimulate their enthusiasm for participation in the conservation in order to improve the management level of IAHS sites.     

Design and Application of the Annual Report of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Monitoring

Scientific and effective heritage monitoring can not only realize the conservation of the heritage itself and the maintenance of its values, but it can also realize the sustainable development of the heritage site. In order to promote the conservation and management of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), this study proposed a design for the annual report of GIAHS monitoring under the overall framework of the GIAHS monitoring system, and explored the application of the annual report in the first GIAHS site in China: the Qingtian Rice-Fish Culture System. In the design scheme of this study, the GIAHS annual monitoring report is composed of 24 monitoring items, with each of them logically related. It is to be filled in by the bureaus of the heritage site and reported through the GIAHS dynamic monitoring system. The results of an analysis of the annual reports of Qingtian Rice-Fish Culture System for four years showed that Qingtian County has taken a series of conservation and development measures which have reduced the area of abandoned paddy, enhanced the unit benefit of agri-products, and increased the farmers’ income. At the same time, the heritage site is faced with various challenges and threats, such as the weakening of the tourism attraction, the aging of the heritage practitioners, and the limitation of the heritage-themed agri-products and tourism income, which need to be addressed with proper measures. The results can also provide guidance for other GIAHS based on indications that heritage sites should improve the development of cultural products, the construction of social organization and the cultivation of spontaneous publicity, and an exchange and learning mechanism should be established among them in the future. The design and application of the GIAHS annual monitoring reports can not only provide specific guidance for conducting the GIAHS monitoring, but also lay the foundation for evaluating the effectiveness of GIAHS conservation and management. This study is expected to help enrich the theory of GIAHS monitoring, further promote China’s GIAHS monitoring work, and also provide China’s experience for the benefit of international GIAHS monitoring efforts.     

Conservation of the Important Agricultural Heritage Systems in the Economically Developed Area：Experiences,Problems and Solutions—A Case Study of Zhejiang Province

Zhejiang Province, located in the Yangtze River Delta region, is representative of China's economically developed areas. It enjoys superior natural conditions and a long history of agriculture, and is a comprehensive agricultural area with integrated development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery. It has nurtured the farming culture represented by Hemudu culture and Liangzhu culture, which have given rise to numerous precious Agricultural Heritage Systems. At present, Zhejiang Province has three of the world’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) and 12 China Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (China-NIAHS), so it not only has the largest number of heritages in China, but it has also attained remarkable achievements in heritage conservation. Taking Zhejiang Province as an example in combination with the rural revitalization strategy, this paper summarizes the achievements in the protection of Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) in Zhejiang Province during the past 15 years from the aspects of increasing farmers’ income, cultural Inheritance and industrial upgrading, as well as the conservation experiences in government promotion, community initiative, enterprise participation, technology driving and social linkage. Further, in view of the problems that exist in the current heritage protection,such as imperfect management of heritage sites, low participation of community residents, lack of special protection funds, and imperfect provincial management system,the following countermeasures and suggestions are put forward: (1) Improve the management mechanism for the conservation and development of Agricultural Heritage Systems; (2) Develop regional public branding of agricultural products in Agricultural Heritage System sites; (3) Increase the Agricultural Heritage System science education as well as cultural and creative product development; (4) Carry out the evaluation and recognition of IAHS at the provincial level; and (5) Provide substantial support and input to the conservation and utilization of IAHS. This study can provide some guidance for the conservation of IAHS in Zhejiang Province and it provides important reference for IAHS in the economically developed areas in China.     

Scenarios of land system change in the Lao PDR: Transitions in response to alternative demands on goods and services provided by the land

Sudden and gradual land use changes can result in different socio-ecological systems, sometimes referred to as regime shifts. The Lao PDR (Laos) has been reported to show early signs of such regime shifts in land systems with potentially major socio-ecological implications. However, given the complex mosaic of different land systems, including shifting cultivation, such changes are not easily assessed using traditional land cover data. Moreover, regime shifts in land systems are difficult to simulate with traditional land cover modelling approaches. A novel simulation approach was employed that focused on simulating changes in land systems rather than focusing on land cover. With the CLUmondo model we simulated three scenarios of potential developments between the years 2010 and 2030 assuming different degrees of international market integration and sustainable growth objectives. Although all scenarios show a decline of shifting cultivation systems, the respective orientation of markets and land governance resulted in strongly different land change trajectories. The land system changes are strongly location dependent and different trajectories are found in different parts of the country. Some scenarios show clear elements of land sparing with intensification of land management in the valleys and re-growth of forest on sloping land. Other scenarios show elements of enhanced multi-functionality. The approach addressed methodological challenges in simulating land system regime shifts and complex mosaic landscapes while accounting for societal demands for different types of goods and services from land systems. The land systems approach allows a nuanced representation of different types of forests and agricultural systems such as shifting cultivation and commercial agricultural plantations. Simulation results contribute to a debate about desired future land use on the national scale including its environmental and socio-economic implications.