Conservation tillage and input use

 There continues to be a question as to the overall effectiveness of conservation tillage practices in reducing the impact of agricultural production on the environment. While it is generally recognized that water runoff and soil erosion will decline further, as tillage and mulch tillage systems are not used more extensively on cropland, what will happen to pesticide and fertilizer use remains uncertain. To gain some insight into this, the conservation tillage adoption decision is modelled. On the assumption that the decision to adopt conservation tillage is a two-step procedure, the first decision is whether or not to adopt a conservation tillage production system and the second concerns the extent to which conservation tillage should be used – appropriate models of the Cragg and Heckman (dominance) type are estimated. Based on farm-level data on corn production in the United States for 1987, the profile of a farm on which conservation tillage was adopted is that the cropland had above-average slope and experienced above-average rainfall, the farm was a cash grain enterprise, and it had an above-average expenditure on pesticides and a below-average expenditure on fuel and custom pesticide applications. Additionally, for a farm adopting a no-tillage production practice, an above-average expenditure was made on fertilizer. Received: 18 September 1995 · Accepted: 6 December 1995     

Seasonal and Diurnal Variation of Surface Ozone and a Preliminary Analysis of Exceedance of its Critical Levels at a Semi-arid Site in India

The mixing ratios of surface O₃ were measured at St. John's College, Agra, an urban and traffic influenced area for the period of 2000–2002. The monthly averaged O₃ mixing ratios ranged between 8 to 40 ppb with an annual average of 21 ppb. Strong diurnal and seasonal variations in O₃ mixing ratios were observed throughout the year except for monsoon season. The mixing ratios of O₃ follow the surface temperature cycle and solar radiation (r = 0.72 and r = 0.65 with temperature and solar radiation, respectively). Concentrations were higher with winds associated with NE and NW direction indicating the impact of pollution sources on surface O₃ concentration. Exceedance of ozone critical level was calculated using the AOT 40 index and found to be 840 ppb.h and 2430 ppb.h for summer and winter seasons, respectively. The present O₃ exposures are lower than the critical level of O₃ and suggest that the present level of O₃ does not have any impact on reduction in crop yields.     

生物制氢:Ⅰ.理论研究进展

对生物制氢的理论研究进行了评论性的回顾。讨论了光合成生物制氢系统、光分解生物制氢系统、水气交换反应生物制氢系统、光合—发酵杂交生物制氢系统和厌氧发酵生物制氢系统、离体氢酶生物制氢系统等6个生物制氢系统。乙醇型发酵生物制氢理论(双碳发酵产氢学说或理论)是生物制氢理论的新发展。     

新疆葡萄产品的优势及其生态气候条件评价

新疆生产的品质优良和用途广泛的无公害葡萄产品，是干旱荒漠区得天独厚的生态气候条件造就的结果。与国内东部葡萄产区相比，最大的优势是干热气候条件和稳定的灌溉水源；不利条件是冬季寒冷，春季灾害天气多、缺水，对葡萄生长有影响。     

柴达木盆地近40a气候变化及其对农业影响的研究

利用柴达木盆地6个代表站逐日平均气温、逐月降水资料以及逐日最低气温资料。对盆地40a来的气候变化特征进行分析。同时分析了气候变化对农业生产的影响。为充分利用变化了的农业气候资源。减少不利因素带来的影响提出了对策和建议。     

中国稻田甲烷产生和排放研究 Ⅰ.产生和排放机理及其影响因子

综合论述了近 2 0年来中国稻田甲烷排放的研究状况 ,包括中国稻田甲烷排放通量的观测 ,稻田甲烷生成的生物学机理及产生、转化、传输的机理研究 ,稻田甲烷排放的影响因子 ,主要介绍了稻田甲烷产生和氧化过程、影响甲烷排放的因子     

河流调整中的熵、熵产生和能耗率的变化

河流是一个真正的开放系统,而不是孤立系统或封闭系统。运用经典热力学和非平衡态热力学基本原理,分析研究了河流调整中的熵、熵产生和能耗率的变化。指出:熵和熵产生是两个不同的概念;最小熵产生原理等价于最小能耗率原理;冲积河流在调整过程中遵循最小熵产生原理或最小能耗率原理,而不是最大熵原理。     

Privatizing conditions of production: trade agreements as neoliberal environmental governance

Recent multilateral trade agreements are among the major manifestations of neoliberalism. They are also emerging as some of the most important sites of environmental governance in the 21st century. I argue here that these trade agreements, particularly the sweeping new protections they provide for investors, are redefining property rights and environmental governance in fundamental ways. I suggest that in addition to furthering the centuries-long process of the enclosure of nature under capitalism, the neoliberal agenda of NAFTA and similar trade agreements also involves something new: the privatization, or primitive accumulation, of conditions of production as an accumulation strategy. I explore these dynamics through examination of two cases, one in the United States and one in Mexico. I also explore the roles of social movements in these dynamics.     

Aeolian abrasion and modes of fine particle production from natural red dune sands: an experimental study

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the potential for aeolian abrasion of natural dune sands to produce fine particles (< 125 µm) by (1) the release of resident fines; (2) spalling, chipping and breakage of particles; and (3) the removal of grain surface coatings. Parent samples were obtained from the surfaces of four active continental dunes and abraded using a glass ‘test tube’ chamber for up to 120 h. The fine particles produced by this abrasion process were trapped at varying time intervals and subject to detailed particle‐size analyses using a Coulter Multisizer. The abrasion of untreated parent samples produced fine particles in one of two main size classes, < 10 µm and > 50 µm, but when the parent sample was sieved to exclude particles < 250 µm, relatively more material in the range 10–50 µm was produced. For unsieved parent samples, the size range associated with the dominant mode varied according to the length of the abrasion time. The coarsest mode (> 63 µm) was dominant during the first 16 h of abrasion, then became less significant and is thought to be associated with the release of resident fines into suspension. The finest mode (< 10 µm) was absent or very weak during the first 16 h of abrasion, then became more significant and, in some instances, dominated the distribution as abrasion continued. Removal of grain surface coatings is the main source of fine material < 10 µm, and this may be a significant source of fine material in areas where sands are dominated by subrounded and rounded particles. By comparison with previous studies of aeolian particle abrasion, these natural dune sands produced very low quantities of fine material (by weight), but their spatial extent makes them potentially a significant source of dust‐sized particles at the global scale.     

Dust production and the release of iron oxides resulting from the aeolian abrasion of natural dune sands

Global dust trajectories indicate that signi?cant quantities of aeolian‐transported iron oxides originate in contemporary dryland areas. One potential source is the iron‐rich clay coatings that characterize many sand‐sized particles in desert dune?elds. This paper uses laboratory experiments to determine the rate at which these coatings can be removed from dune sands by aeolian abrasion. The coatings impart a red colour to the grains to which previous researchers have assigned variable geomorphological signi?cance. The quantities of iron removed during a 120 hour abrasion experiment are small (99 mg kg^?1) and dif?cult to detect by eye; however, high resolution spectroscopy clearly indicates that ferric oxides are released during abrasion and the re?ectance of the particles alters. One of the products of aeolian abrasion is ?ne particles (<10 µm diameter) with the potential for long distance transport. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.