Policy options for Agriculture Green Development by farmers in China

Farmers are the key agents who manage land and water. Agriculture Green Development (AGD) requires a transformation in farming from high resource consumption and environmental cost to sustainable intensification with high productivity, high resource use efficiency and low environmental risk. This paper analyzes the public policy challenge of AGD and makes the case for a location-sensitive policy mix made up of regulation, advice provision, voluntarism and targeted incentives. The public agricultural extension service in China is a key resource, but one that requires reorientation and reform with the aim of better balancing high farm productivity with environmental protection.     

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images improve habitat suitability models

Context

The ability to detect ecological networks in landscapes is of utmost importance for managing biodiversity and planning corridors.

Objectives

The objective of this study was to evaluate the information provided by a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image for landscape connectivity modeling compared to aerial photographs (APs).

Methods

We present a novel method that integrates habitat suitability derived from remote sensing imagery into a connectivity model to explain species abundance. More precisely, we compared how two resistance maps constructed using landscape and/or local metrics derived from AP or SAR imagery yield different connectivity values (based on graph theory), considering hedgerow networks and forest carabid beetle species as a model.

Results

We found that resistance maps using landscape and local metrics derived from SAR imagery improve landscape connectivity measures. The SAR model is the most informative, explaining 58% of the variance in forest carabid beetle abundance. This model calculates resistance values associated with homogeneous patches within hedgerows according to their suitability (canopy cover density and landscape grain) for the model species.

Conclusions

Our approach combines two important methods in landscape ecology: the construction of resistance maps and the use of buffers around sampling points to determine the importance of landscape factors. This study was carried out through an interdisciplinary approach involving remote sensing scientists and landscape ecologists. This study is a step forward in developing landscape metrics from satellites to monitor biodiversity.

     

Sentinel-2 images reveal functional biophysical heterogeneities in crop mosaics

Landscape Ecology - Identifying landscape structure and understanding its functions are crucial for biological control. However, the relationship between the crop mosaic phenological heterogeneity...     

Comparison of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus taeda</Emphasis> L. whole-tree wood property calibrations using diffuse reflectance near infrared spectra obtained using a variety of sampling options

A necessary objective for tree-breeding programs, with a focus on wood quality, is the measurement of wood properties on a whole-tree basis, however, the time and cost involved limits the numbers of trees sampled. Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy provides an alternative and recently, it has been demonstrated that calibrations based on milled increment cores and whole-tree data can provide good estimates of whole-tree properties. Several options exist for sampling standing trees and the aim of this study was to compare wood property calibrations based on NIR spectra collected from samples obtained using different sampling methods. Calibrations for whole-tree lignin and basic specific gravity based on NIR spectra from whole-tree chips (milled or intact) had the strongest statistics, calibrations based on NIR spectra from milled increment cores were similar. Other options for sampling the tree (drill shavings, etc.) gave errors that were too large for practical applications. If an increment core is going to be used to estimate whole-tree properties, it is recommended that it be dried and milled prior to analysis.     

A new bioclimatic model calibrated with vegetation for Mediterranean forest areas

? Water availability is one of the main factors explaining flora composition and growth in Mediterranean regions, where it may decline with climate change.

? Our goal was to develop a model for forest site assessment in Mediterranean environments, focusing on water availability to assess potential vegetation composition and productivity in any places, whatever their level of disturbance.

? We designed a statistical model, using global climatic and geographic variables, as well as detailed local topographic and edaphic variables, to compute a bioclimatic index for Mediterranean forest environments. This model was calibrated in France with a flora index from 325 old forests. The model explained 80.3% of the flora index variance. The method fills a gap in existing models, bridging scales from the region to forest sites.

? Beyond its theoretical aspect, it was designed to allow practical tools to be derived from it for decision-making and management, such as the assessment of climate change impact on vegetation, and of forest productivity. Its development and adaptation is possible in other Mediterranean regions, and in any region where water is one of the main limiting factors.

     

An economist's perspective on irrigation performance assessment: With examples from large scale irrigation in Morocco

This paper accepts that assessing the performance of irrigated agriculture is difficult because being multi-dimensional it requires a multi-disciplinary approach. Public irrigation schemes may have a number of often competing objectives and are assessed by interest groups with differing values and perspectives. A wide range of performance indicators are thus required. Some of these and the complex inter-relationships that may exist in the system are illustrated.     

The River Wadu role play — ten years experience

This paper describes a role playing planning exercise that has been used for training agriculturists, engineers and agricultural economists for more than ten years. It sets out the objectives and key features of the exercise and the experience that has been gained in its use. The exercise has been found to successfully test and integrate subject matter expertise acquired from formal teaching. It also highlights the multiple and often conflicting objectives of irrigation planning, and the need for full evaluation of alternatives and sound technical judgements under conditions of inadequate data and time pressure. The exercise is also successful in developing professional personal skills such as group working, interviewing and presentation, and is recommended as an effective training aid.     

Nonenzymatic browning of lactose and caseinate during dry heating at different relative humidities

Dry mixtures of lactose and caseinate were heated at 60 degrees C for up to 96 h at different relative humidities (RHs) ranging from 29 to 95%. The resulting nonenzymatic browning was studied by determining lactulosyl lysine formation in the caseinate (as measured by the conversion to furosine), amount of reacted lactose, loss of lysine, color formation, and fluorescent intensity. For each measurement, the maximum reaction occurred at intermediate RHs. While there is general agreement between the results obtained by different methods, discrepancies are understandable given the complex nature of nonenzymatic browning. It was shown that the degradation of the Amadori product, lactulosyl lysine, increased with RH. Moreover, the Maillard reaction, as opposed to caramelization of lactose, was the major pathway at all RHs. Visible browning occurred when the destruction of Amadori product became dominant, and interactions between sugar fragments and caseinate were not the rate-limiting steps in the nonenzymatic browning.     

Near infrared spectroscopy for cost effective screening of foliar oil characteristics in a Melaleuca cajuputi breeding population

The identification of Melaleuca cajuputi leaf samples (trees) that demonstrate enhanced oil characteristics using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is described. Leaf samples from an unthinned M. cajuputi seedling seed orchard in Indonesia were collected and air-dried, and their 1,8-cineole content and oil concentrations were determined. NIR spectra of the leaves were obtained, and calibrations for 1,8-cineole content and oil concentration were developed using spectra that had been selected using spectral features; that is, no knowledge of 1,8-cineole content or oil concentration was used to select the calibration samples. The calibrations were used to predict the 1,8-cineole content and oil concentration of the remaining samples. It was demonstrated that NIR spectroscopy could be used to identify leaf samples that had high 1,8-cineole contents and oil concentrations. The technique has the potential to greatly reduce the time involved in ranking large numbers of samples for these attributes, as is a requirement in tree breeding programs to enhance oil production.