Deconstructing homegardens: food security and sovereignty in northern Nicaragua

Development scholars and practitioners are promoting food security, food sovereignty, and the localization of food systems to prepare for the projected negative impacts of climate change. The implementation of biodiverse homegardens is often seen as a way not only to localize food production but also as a strategy in alignment with a food sovereignty agenda. While much scholarship has characterized and critiqued food security and sovereignty conceptualizations, relatively little research has examined people’s lived experiences in order to test how such theoretical visions play out on the ground in farming communities. Based on a case study of four coffee cooperatives in northern Nicaragua, we examine a non-governmental organization (NGO)-supported project promoting food security and sovereignty through development of homegardens. We ask: To what extent are homegardens an effective strategy to reach food sovereignty? And, why may farmers be resistant to changing their food production and consumption strategies to embrace biodiverse homegardens when they improve food security? We discuss characteristics of agroecological homegardens, the distinctions between food security, food sovereignty and dominant discourses of development, the history of food sovereignty in Nicaragua, and farmer perspectives on homegarden implementation. Despite historic critiques, NGOs are poised to facilitate the transformation of food and agricultural development by employing counter development strategies, a necessary step if homegardens are to be successful in the long term. To conclude, we propose some strategies NGOs and communities might pursue to move forward with homegardens as a food sovereignty strategy. This research suggests that a food sovereignty approach still rooted in mainstream development models faces significant obstacles to moving beyond food security and into a farmer-led food sovereignty agenda.     

Bringing Southeast Asia to the Southeast United States: New forms of alternative agriculture in Homestead,Florida

Immigrant farmers from Southeast Asia have brought knowledge of tropical fruit and vegetable production from their home countries to Homestead, Florida. They have developed a new style of farming, one that most closely resembles agricultural systems described as “homegardens.” Although biodiverse agricultural systems are generally thought to be commercially unviable, homegarden farmers successfully manage crop diversity as an economic strategy. By focusing on growing a mixture of specialty Southeast Asian herbs, fruits, and vegetables, the farmers have created their own economic niche and have shielded themselves from the competition of high-volume, single commodity producers. This paper shows that the Homestead homegardens constitute an alternative form of agriculture that is defined by their agroecological and socioeconomic attributes. It also shows that although the homegarden farms are a form of “alternative agriculture,” they do not operate outside of conventional, global systems of agricultural trade; rather the homegarden farms are embedded in global agriculture. The Homestead case problematizes the tendency to delineate between the global and local scales, and alternative and conventional sectors in agriculture today. This paper concludes that the emergence of the Homestead homegardens can only be understood by taking a place-based approach to studying the environment in which the homegardens are situated as well as identifying the large-scale influences on Miami-Dade County. Valerie Imbruce holds a PhD in plant sciences from a joint program between the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and the New York Botanical Garden. She has conducted research on global agricultural systems in New York City, south Florida, and Central Honduras.     

川西林盘庭院林树种组成特征研究

庭院林作为与居民生产生活联系最密切的人居林，构成乡村人居环境的重要部分，充分解构庭院林树种组成特征对于构建乡村美丽庭院和保护乡土植物景观具有重要意义。研究典型抽样川西平原33个林盘，并全面调查750户庭院中的木本植物和庭院空间，分析内外庭院的树种组成、垂直结构、树种用途特征。结果表明，研究区3 586株庭院林隶属于43科72属92种，其中84种为乡土树种，优势树种有水杉、枇杷、樟、枫杨、桂花等。52.18%的庭院呈现单一用途，庭院根据植物用途可划分为6种类型，其中观赏美化主导庭院（n=122）为主要类型，其次为多用途庭院（n=95）。内庭院林种植率、丰富度、平均植物多度低于外庭院，内外庭院的优势树种有显著差异，但内庭院各高度层间的树种相似度均高于外庭院。内庭院林树种以强调观赏美化（58.4%）为主，外庭院林以生态防护（31.57%）为主。对于不同种植空间中的庭院林特征研究，可以为林盘植物的保护与发展以及庭院环境建设提供指导，并为庭院林景观及人文特征研究做参考。     

Is food a motivation for urban gardeners? Multifunctionality and the relative importance of the food function in urban collective gardens of Paris and Montreal

In the cities of industrialized countries, the sudden keen interest in urban agriculture has resulted, inter alia, in the growth of the number and diversity of urban collective gardens. While the multifunctionality of collective gardens is well known, individual gardeners’ motivations have still not been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this article is to explore the role, for the gardeners, of the food function as one of the functions of gardens, and to establish whether and how this function is a motivating factor for them. We draw on a set of data from semi-structured interviews with 39 gardeners in 12 collective gardens in Paris and Montreal, as well as from a survey on 98 gardeners and from field observations of the gardeners’ practices. In the first part we present the nature and diversity of garden produce, and the gardeners’ assessment thereof. In the second part we describe the seven other functions mentioned by the gardeners, which enables us to situate the food function in relation to them. We conclude that the food function is the most significant function of the gardens, and discuss the implications for practitioners and policy makers.     

How social organization shapes crop diversity: an ecological anthropology approach among Tharaka farmers of Mount Kenya

The conservation of in situ crop diversity is a key issue to ensure food security. Understanding the processes that shape it is crucial for efficiently managing such diversity. In most rural societies, crop diversity patterns are affected by farmers’ practices of seed exchange, transmission, and selection, but the role of social organization in shaping those practices has been overlooked. This study proposes an ecological anthropology approach to investigate the relation between crop diversity patterns and the social organization of Tharaka farmers in Kenya. The Tharaka are organized in neighborhood-groups, clans, and age-sets. We quantified the influence of these three major social institutions on crop diversity patterns, for both crop species and sorghum landraces. General linear models were used to test the relations between crop species richness and each social factor, while the crop species and sorghum landraces compositions of cropping systems were compared separately through a between-class correspondence analysis. Crop species and sorghum landraces are not randomly distributed among farms, and neighborhood-groups constitute a significant factor organizing crop diversity at both specific and infraspecific levels. Adjacent neighborhood-groups present significantly different crop richness and composition. The results for species were consistent with those obtained for sorghum landraces, confirming that crop diversity was socially structured. The influence of social organization on seed networks and selection processes is discussed.     

北京皇家园林内廷花园植物种类考证与植物配置研究

  目的  北京皇家园林内廷花园是一种特殊的皇家园林类型,以建筑围合的花园布局突显了植物景观对山林空间营造的重要作用。本文以历史典籍为研究依据,开展以植物种类、植物配置为核心的植物造景研究,并结合内廷花园的空间布局、活动形式等进行综合的植物景观环境搭建,希望能够揭示内廷花园植物造景的基本特征与一般规律。  方法  以4处内廷花园为研究对象,对古树活本、御制诗文、图档、图像4类历史典籍进行梳理,并结合3种考据资料以“二重证据法”治史理念为引导对植物文献名、图画与图像进行学名考证,进而结合植物文化寓意进行种类应用特征分析。在结合历史典籍绘制植物配置图的基础上,对各庭院空间的种植形式、种植位置、种植空间布局结合植物种类考证结果进行频次统计与比较分析,结合聚类分析方法总结得到3类代表性的植物配置类型。  结果  （1）考证得到内廷花园栽植有19种次植物,涉及13个科、16个属。（2）内廷花园的植物种植形式有散植、对植、孤植、丛植、列植5种,其中散植应用最多,列植应用最少。（3）内廷花园的植物种植位置有平地、山石、花台3种,其中平地栽植最多,花台栽植最少。（4）内廷花园的植物空间布局有平行型、U字型、口字型、L字型、一字型5种,其中平行型最多,L字型和一字型最少。（5）结合花园的活动形式可总结得到庭院四面观赏型、庭院中心游乐型、庭院中轴引导型3种代表性植物配置类型。  结论  本研究对植物种类与植物配置进行了图示化研究与数据化统计,综合搭建了北京皇家园林内廷花园35处庭院空间的植物景观环境,可为内廷花园及传统园林植物造景研究提供参考。      

不同茶园昆虫群落结构及稳定性分析*

 2008年7-8月,在茶叶生长茂盛期对云南省腾冲县蒲川乡3种不同茶园昆虫群落组成和结构变化进行调查。结果表明,调查区茶园共发现60种昆虫。生态茶园的昆虫群落丰富度、多样性指数、均匀度指数均高于普通茶园,而优势度指数则低于普通茶园。茶园的物种多样性与稳定性紧密相关,多样性越丰富,其稳定性越好。研究结果可为今后茶园害虫的持续控制提供理论依据。     

不同园林植物类型昆虫群落的比较研究

对4种不同植物类型(百花园、园林植物苗圃、草坪、国槐行道树)组成的昆虫群落的特征指数进行分析比较。不同植物类型的昆虫群落的物种数、多样性、均匀性等均有不同程度的变化,植物种类丰富的百花园、苗圃和草坪,昆虫物种数远远多于植物种类单一的国槐行道树,其多样性指数、均匀性指数也较国槐昆虫群落高。     

Totonac homegardens and natural resources in Veracruz,Mexico

The Totonac homegarden is a traditionally designed agroecosystem mixing different elements, such as cultivated and wild plants, and livestock. Our objective was to understand the role and importance of homegardens as a strategy for subsistence and natural resources management. Anthropological fieldwork was carried out in Coxquihui, Veracruz, Mexico, a Totonac community. Conventional sampling using a questionnaire yielded a sample of 40 individuals, each representing a family group. Personal interviews, life stories, observations, and field transects enriched survey information. Fieldwork permitted identification of four types of Totonac homegardens: backyards, cropping fields, acahuales or fallow fields, and fences or field edges. Each of these gardens yields an array of products and services important for several cultural roles and natural resource management aims. Totonacs see land as the dominant and most critical resource. A great deal of terrain is steeply sloped and soils are poor. Homegardens play a key role in a production system that minimizes these site limitations, striking a balance between resource maintenance and subsistence needs. Their functions are ecological, to foster a multistrata vegetation cover, and a continuous supply of organic matter to the soil; economic, serving as living storehouses where diverse products (food, timber, firewood, forage, animals, ceremonial supplies, medicinal products), are kept through the annual cycle; and social, performing various social roles such as growing medicinal, ritual, and edible plants, thus supporting beliefs and culture continuity. Studies like this contribute to a better understanding of Totonac culture and native ecology, and give ideas for a better land management.     

农民的农业生产多样性对其饮食多样化和营养健康的影响

目的我国是大国小农的基本国情,小农户比重大,自产自消（费）程度高,他们的食物生产、消费与营养协调发展是乡村振兴战略的健康保障,调查江苏省、河南省、四川省农民的饮食多样性（人日均摄入的食物种类）以及农业生产多样性（日常生产的食物种类）与饮食多样化和营养健康（BMI）的相关性,旨在为农民良好饮食习惯形成以及农村人力资本建设提供理论依据。 方法 基于随机抽样和分层抽样相结合的问卷调查方法,利用食物频率法从江苏省10个村、河南省10个村、四川省6个村共收集395份农民调查问卷,开展总样本与各省分样本自产食物种类情况、各类食物摄入的来源与数量、每日摄入自产食物的营养状况的描述性分析;根据食物消费与个人健康效用的经济理论,在不存在内生性问题的前提下,采用多元线性回归模型分析农民的农业生产多样性对其饮食多样化的影响和采用Probit模型探讨农民的农业生产多样性对其营养健康的影响。结果 受访者的农业生产多样性程度不高,平均生产3.37个食物种类,省际差距较小,摄入的食物如水产品、水果类、奶及奶制品、畜禽肉主要来自购买;农民的饮食多样化程度也不高,人日均摄入食物种类3.34个,省际差距较大,摄入自产食物的数量均低于推荐量;在总摄入量中,畜禽肉摄入过多,而奶及奶制品、水产品摄入不充分;农民人日均摄入自产食物获得的营养不均衡,从自产食物获取的能量充足,但获取蛋白质、脂肪、钙、镁、钾、维生素A等营养素较低;近6成农民的BMI值正常,但省际差距较大。农民的饮食多样性、营养健康与农业生产多样性在10%统计水平上有显著的正相关性;农民的年龄、受教育程度、家庭总纯收入、营养知识认知、市场准入等因素也对饮食多样化有显著影响,而农民的性别、年龄、受教育程度以及食物营养教育等因素对个人的营养健康产生显著影响。结论与其他发展中国家一样,我国的农业生产多样性促进了农民的饮食多样化和营养健康。然而,随着我国农业商品化程度和农民非农收入的提高,农民购买食物满足饮食多样化的趋势不可逆转,在水土资源有限的实际情况下提高农民农业生产多样性的可行性不大。因此,鼓励在农村建立规范化的农产品市场,加强食物营养宣传教育提高农民营养知识可能是保障他们饮食多样化和营养健康的可行途径。     

云南园林的生态安全思索

提出了生态安全的园林理念,从地形地貌特征、典型气候天象、自然植被、生物多样性、大树移植、防灾功能、绿化安全、园林物种引进8个方面阐述了云南园林生态安全问题,进一步提出了维护云南园林生态安全的对策,即：①因地制宜,继承中国古典园林的自然观,尊重自然要素;②对城市园林绿地系统规划提出更高的要求;③重视城乡绿地一体化建设,保持城郊生态系统的完整性;④大力发展苗木产业,提倡就地培育大苗;⑤城市园林绿化树种的选择应做到适地适树。最后指出了云南园林的发展要充分利用和结合云南优越的生态背景条件和优势,其中对生态安全的思索应成为关注的焦点。     

陕北寺庙园林景观营造探析

针对陕北寺庙园林景观的营造现状,分析了寺庙园林自然环境条件恶劣、宗教和旅游功能兼备、建筑群空间容量较大、历史文化背景悠久以及兼具植物园功能的景观特点,也指出了陕北寺庙园林中存在的许多问题,集中表现在绿化方面缺乏总体规划和与宗教文化相关的植物;缺少体现植物观赏性和季相性的艺术配置手段;植物配置缺少陕北文化特征;配置方式不够丰富,配置比例不合理;对垂直绿化重视不足;植物群落相似性较大,多样性较小。在调查和分析陕北寺庙园林景观现状特点和存在问题的基础上,对陕北寺庙园林的香道、宗教活动部分和生活供应部分在布局形式和植物配置上进行研究,并归纳出适应陕北地区寺庙园林绿化的植物种类,旨在探索陕北寺庙园林＂天人合一＂的景观新模式,以期为陕北寺庙园林的景观营造提供参考。     

南京地区寺庙园林植物群落特征研究

选择了南京地区的10个寺庭和10个寺园作为调查研究对象,运用植物群落学的方法,共记录维管植物146种（含变种）,隶属于96属．63科。对各植物群落优势种群、物种丰富度、物种多样性及群落相似性进行了分析,结果表明：①寺庭和寺园的优势树种均为乔木。乔木在整个植物群落中占主导地位;灌木层（0．32株／m^2）的总体密度大于乔木层（0．21株／m^2）。寺园的乔木密度（2．4株／m^2）和灌木密度（4．5株／m^2）均大于寺庭。②寺园样地物种丰富度和Simpson指数均高于寺庭样地,反映了寺园样地为寺庙附属绿地,物种丰富度较高,群落层次与结构较合理;乔木层和灌木层的Pielou指数均较高,说明寺庙园林中各树种的数量分布均匀。③各寺园的相似性系数相对高于寺庭,但均未超过50％,反应了寺园中物种的种类相对丰富度较高,相对于树种较少的寺庭,树种重复出现几率明显提高。     

现代茶园建立与配套工程技术研究

现代茶园建立应具有物种多样性、层次丰厚性、功能完善性生态位特征。通过"四园一体"与特色种质资源的优化配置、茶园间作与配套工程的实施,使主体(茶园)达到物流循环利用好、能流转化率高、价值流增加显著的整体效应,实现生态良种优质高效茶园生态平衡、生物链协调与相对稳定,自然形成山水园林、生态景观、旅游文化的美学风貌和"四化"标准。     

海拔高度对茶园环境及茶叶品质的影响

[目的]研究不同海拔高度对山地茶园环境和茶叶内含成分的影响。[方法]对黄山市徽州区不同海拔高度的茶园生态环境和茶叶生化品质(包括氨基酸、咖啡碱、茶多酚、酚氨比、茶水浸出物、叶绿素)进行研究。[结果]茶园小气候因子和茶叶品质性状在不同海拔高度的变异存在很大差异。海拔每增加100 m,年均气温下降0.65℃,降水量增加36.3 mm,相对湿度增加3.85%。茶园日光照强度曲线呈一个开口向下的抛物线变化趋势,峰值出现在12:00。通过对茶叶产量及其构成要素的分析表明,随着海拔的上升,芽叶密度呈明显的下降趋势;产量最高值在海拔400 m的茶园。随着海拔的增加,氨基酸和咖啡碱含量均增加,茶多酚和水浸出物含量均是海拔600 m的茶园最高,酚氨比与海拔呈明显负相关。叶片中叶绿素a、叶绿素b及叶绿素总量随海拔增加呈先上升后先下降的变化规律,在海拔达到400 m时,茶树叶片中叶绿素a、叶绿素b含量最高分别为6.32和2.68 mg/g;而叶绿素a/b值随着海拔增加呈下降趋势,且下降速率随着海拔增加而逐渐减缓。[结论]该研究可为建立复合生态茶园优化管理技术体系提供科学依据。     

不同管理类型茶园蜘蛛多样性及时空变化

为探究不同管理方式对茶园蜘蛛类群结构及时空分布的影响，了解蜘蛛在茶园绿色集约化管理中的作用，于2015—2016年通过拍打法（茶丛）和陷阱法（地面）对常规无间作的1#茶园、植被覆盖度深且人为干扰较少的2#茶园和无植被覆盖且定期施药锄草的3#茶园的蜘蛛及叶蝉数量进行为期2年的研究。结果显示，3类茶园的蜘蛛个体数表现为2#茶园>1#茶园>3#茶园，差异显著（P<0.05）。Shannon-Wiener多样性表现为2#茶园>3#茶园、1#茶园，差异显著（P<0.05）。蜘蛛主要分布于茶丛，地表较少。茶园叶蝉和蜘蛛数量在2年间基本保持一致，其中3#茶园由于定期施用化学农药，蜘蛛和叶蝉的数量波动最小；2#茶园的蜘蛛数量波动较大；且蜘蛛对叶蝉存在明显的调节效应。2#茶园周围植被丰富，且茶园均匀间种台湾相思树、中间种植落叶乔木，生境结构相对复杂，植被覆盖度深，形成了一定的缓冲带，对茶园小气候具有改善作用，增加了蜘蛛类群多样性。由此表明，构建合理的缓冲带、增加茶园四周及内部植被覆盖深度、减少人为干扰可更好地优化蜘蛛群落时空结构分布。     

园林建设与城市生态经济发展

城市园林不仅充当着人工生态系统的角色和城市中唯一一项有生命性质的基础设施,还起着美化城市外貌的作用;更为重要的是,它改善城市生态坏境、降低自然灾害发生的几率以及维持物种多样性。本文就加强城市园林建设的必要性、我国城市园林建设存在的问题及应对措施和促进城市生态经济的发展3个方面进行了阐述。     

不同品种茶园害虫及天敌群落多样性研究

通过对不同品种茶园(巴渝特早、福鼎大白茶、川茶群体种)害虫群落结构及天敌种类进行一年的系统调查,结果表明:茶园中害虫及天敌共有2纲,20目,41科;其优势种群基本相似,主要是同翅目和蜘蛛目;川茶群体种茶园的物种丰富度指数、多样性指数、均匀度指数均高于其他两个品种茶园,且3个品种茶园的害虫和天敌种类具有高度相似性.     

寒地城市雨水花园植物品种的选择与配置——以沈阳市为例

结合国内外雨水花园研究中的针对植物的功能及生态环境方面的相关内容和寒地城市自身特性,总结出寒地城市雨水花园中植物品种的选择与配置原则,并以沈阳为例,筛选出适合沈阳雨水花园种植的乡土植物和外来物种,并提出以控制径流污染为目的和以控制雨洪为目的的雨水花园植物配置种类。