Impact of agricultural subsidies on biodiversity at the landscape level

Agricultural management is a major factor driving the change of faunal richness in anthropogenic landscapes. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop tools that allow decision-makers to understand better intended and unintended effects of agricultural policy measures on biodiversity. Here we demonstrate the potential of such a tool by combining a socio-economic model with the biodiversity model GEPARD to forecast the response of bird and carabid species richness to two scenarios of agricultural subsidies: (1) subsidies based on production levels and prices and (2) direct income support that is independent of production levels. We focussed on farmland of the Lahn-Dill area, Germany, as an example of European regions with low intensity farming. GEPARD predicts faunal richness and is based on multi-scaled resource-selection functions. Under both scenarios the area of predicted losses in species richness of birds and carabids was larger than the area of predicted gains in species richness. However, the area with predicted losses of avian richness was smaller under the direct income support scenario than under the production-based subsidy scenario, whereas the area with predicted losses of carabid species richness was smaller under the production-based subsidy scenario than under the direct income support. Yet locally, richness gains of up to four species were predicted for carabids under both scenarios. We conclude that the sometimes contrasting and heterogeneous responses of birds and carabids at different localities suggest the need for spatially targeted subsidy schemes. With the help of the GIS-based approach presented in this study, prediction maps on potential changes in local and regional species richness can be easily generated.     

Porous landscapes – The case of Greater Copenhagen

Many blueprints for urban development argue for the benefits of a sharp distinction between rural and urban space. While such planning designs have been quite successful in maintaining a physical distinction between rural and urban, major transformations of the socio-economic environment in peri-urban areas are creating a more diffuse and porous interface.This paper examines socio-economic consequences of the current transformation of peri-urban areas. Three themes are selected for analysis: changing economies, overall impact of urbanisation as perceived by the individual farm owner and the degree of their local orientation and engagement. Based on case studies in Greater Copenhagen, longitudinal trends and details of the current situation are analysed. In addition, by differentiating between newcomers and long-term residents, possible future changes are indicated. The analysis shows that the importance of agriculture has declined, whereas other gainful activities and residential use have increased. Thus, the functions of the local economy and community are changing. An increasing proportion of the farm owners appreciate the proximity to urban agglomerations (public services, shopping, public transport, social relationships and markets), but this location also has drawbacks, for example in terms of uncertainty concerning future urban development, inconveniences for agricultural production and problems related to public access to private properties.Differences between newcomers and long-time residents are identified. Newcomers without any agricultural background are frequent. They often work outside the municipality and are more frequently personally involved in other gainful activities on-farm. Newcomers perceive more problems related to people accessing the farm properties and are less involved in local activities. In combination, these trends indicate possible future increase in conflicts between farm owners and the public and that the local engagement may be declining. The analysis, however, also shows similarities between newcomers and long-time residents, and therefore does not indicate the development of two cultures or “two nations”. Rather, the urban fringe population is becoming more heterogeneous, ranging from full-time farmers to residents with their social and professional network outside the local area or people engaging in non-agricultural business on-farm.     

Urban land use types contribute to grassland conservation: The example of Berlin

Urbanisation is an important driver of biodiversity loss, also contributing to habitat loss and fragmentation of grasslands at the urban-rural interface. While urban green spaces are known to include many grassland habitats, it is uncertain to what extent urban land use types harbour grasslands of special conservation interest and whether patch characteristics and connectivity of these differ from grasslands on agricultural land. By relating the city-wide biotope mapping to the land use mapping of Berlin, Germany, we assessed (1) to which specific urban land use types the major grassland biotope types belong, (2) differences in patch characteristics and connectivity, and (3) the conservation value of grassland patches at a typological level by means of their legal protection status. Grasslands cover 5% of Berlin's surface, and 43% of that area is assigned to legally protected grassland types. The majority of legally protected grassland (71%) lies on urban land opposed to 29% on agricultural land. Airports and historic parks, which only cover 2% of land in Berlin, contain one-third of all protected dry grasslands. Wet grassland is more confined to agricultural land. In airports and agricultural areas, grassland patches are larger but of a more complex shape than those in historic parks. In airports, grassland patches show greater connectivity as they are situated in grassland-dominated surroundings. Grassland in historic parks appears to be more vulnerable due to smaller patch sizes and higher fragmentation. The example of Berlin demonstrates that the urban green infrastructure can clearly contribute to grassland conservation and may thus partially compensate for the decline of traditional grasslands in cultural landscapes. It will be important to involve residents and landowners in urban grassland conservation and management because most grassland of special conservation interest (57%) was found outside of conservation areas.     

基于政府与小农散户博弈视角的农产品质量安全规制路径选择

当前小农散户农产品生产是我国农产品质量安全问题集中高发区,成为农产品质量安全治理的重点领域。该研究针对我国农产品质量安全治理存在的问题,从政府与小农散户博弈的视角建立博弈模型,分析政府实行"严管"对农户违法行为的影响,得出"严管"的预期效果是加大农户违法成本、压缩农户违法利润空间、促使农户守法、保障食品安全的结论。但对小农散户农产品质量安全治理的路径选择上,要在适度、完善的立法,严格的执法和明确的司法基础上充分发挥法律的震慑作用的同时,提高监管能力,促进小农散户规范经营,加大宣传教育,增加对小农散户的扶持力度,共同促进我国农产品质量安全水平的提升。     

城市居民森林康养活动需求偏好研究——以福州市为例

了解不同类型市民对森林康养活动的需求,有助于森林管理者开发和建设满足市民需求偏好的森林康养产品.以福州市民为对象,通过问卷调查法进行数据收集,运用SPSS22.0统计软件对市民的森林康养活动需求偏好进行探讨分析.运用因子分析法得出福州市民的主要森林康养活动需求包括科普体验、保健疗养、运动健身和修身养性四大类;保健疗养是...     

Agri-environmental schemes and the European agricultural landscapes: the role of indicators as valuing tools for evaluation

In Europe most conservation values, from biodiversity to scenic sites, are integral parts of agricultural landscapes. When these landscapes change as a result of agricultural policies, natural values – species, habitats, landscapes – are usually affected. Until recently however, these values have not been part of agricultural policies. The impacts of such new policies are difficult to evaluate because landscapes are complex and diverse, and the effects of policy are rarely immediate or causal.This paper evaluates the potential effects of Agri-environmental Regulation EC 2078/92 on European agricultural landscapes through the use of agri-environmental indicators (AEIs) on policy effects. After discussing the general framework of the evaluation methodology through the use of AEIs, we distinguish two types of agri-environmental policy (AEP) effects: policy performances and policy outcomes. The impediments to direct measurement of policy outcomes are stated. The potential for measuring policy performances are checked in two case study areas, one in Spain and one in Denmark, characterized by extensive agricultural land-uses and by the dual process of intensification/abandonment that is threatening their natural values. Both study areas are currently targeted by agri-environmental schemes under Reg. 2078/92. The realisability or availability of suitable statistical data to construct and report each AEI is stated for both types of effects. A problem of scale and content is found in most of the available statistics for assessing policy outcomes and the need for data at farm level is concluded to be indispensable if policy performances are to be measured. Effects of policy performance are measured for key selected AEIs in each study area on the basis of the results of a field survey based on questionnaires of participating and non-participating farmers in the AEP schemes. The main effects may be catalogued as improvement effects or protection effects since they represent a change in participant over non-participant farmers' decisions. Finally, the importance of this type of policy evaluation approach is discussed in the light of the likely future development of AEP in the European Union.     

都市政策性农业保险发展现状及建议——以北京市为例

摘要：政策性农业保险是党和国家支农、惠农、强农政策的具体表现，也是化解农业风险、提高农户生产积极性的重要举措。北京市政策性农业保险自2007年开办以来已覆盖全市13个涉农行政区以及首农集团等农业龙头企业，经办险种60余个，为农林牧渔业提供了全面的风险保障，开办品种数量、质量及保障水平在全国领先，但仍然面临着个性化保障程度不足、与新型农业经营主体风险需求错配等诸多发展困境。为有效推动北京市政策性农业保险高质量发展，需要加强农业保险的产品创新力度，提升现代化农业产业的保障水平、保障范围，优化财政补贴政策，增加对农业保险的科技应用，建立定损和监管的统一标准，更好地服务于都市型现代化农业发展和乡村振兴战略实施。     

Emergent urban agricultural practices and attitudes in the residential area in China

This paper explores the emergence of urban agriculture and its changing nature and role in the urbanization process in China. With an increase in urban agricultural pursuits in both planned and unplanned residential areas, the focus of the paper is primarily on better understanding the nature of emerging ‘informal’ practices in built and unbuilt spaces. By using a planned residential area in Kunming, Yunnan Province as a case study, this paper identifies the physical and spatial expressions of urban agriculture practices as well as the motivations and attitudes of stakeholders. The results show that over half of the participants had experience in undertaking urban agricultural practices, with the predominant reason being to fulfill personal interests, including meeting household needs. When undertaking urban agricultural practices, local residents demonstrate their divergent abilities and skills in negotiating, adapting, and managing both private and increasingly incursions into the public domain. Analysis of the empirical results indicates that urban agricultural pursuits are a viable practice which supports the livelihoods and wellbeing of the residents by using innovative, creative and emergent forms in both private and public spaces.     

退耕还林补贴政策对农户与政府间博弈行为的影响

退耕还林工程是一项具有较强公共属性的生态建设工程,其项目收益更多考虑长远的生态、环境等社会收益,而非当期既得经济收益。作为退耕还林工程的行动主体农户与政府对于该项工程的利益诉求不同,使得政府主要用行政补贴的手段以实现生态保护的目的。根据农户与政府的博弈关系,补贴作为一种激励手段,在其数量与形式方面必须达到一定标准,并且具有因地制宜的适应性才能够使得补贴实现其功能。因此不应将退耕还林补贴制度统一化,建议改进现有的补贴方式,将补贴与监管惩罚机制相结合,建立“因地制宜”的退耕还林补贴制度。     

Temporal (1958–1995) pattern of change in a cultural landscape of northwestern Portugal: implications for fire occurrence

In this paper we test the hypothesis that landscape changes in a region of Northern Portugal (Minho) in the last 40 years could be predicted from socioeconomic and political history. The major predicted changes were related to agricultural abandonment and afforestation. We further predicted that these changes contributed to increased fire risk. Analysis of aerial photography for the years 1958, 1968, 1983 and 1995 in a study area of 3700 ha revealed a significant decline in agricultural areas and low shrublands and an increase in tall shrublands and forests. This represented a 20–40% increase in fuel accumulation at a landscape level, suggesting that the abandonment of farming activities is a major driving force of increasing fire occurrence in the region. With one exception, all the predictions were partly or totally confirmed. This study confirms that socioeconomic factors might explain a significant part of the variation in landscape composition across time, in the Mediterranean region.     

吐鲁番秋延设施黄瓜病虫害绿色防控技术

为确保吐鲁番生态安全、农产品安全生产和重要农产品的有效供给,对秋延晚设施黄瓜病虫害的绿色防控技术进行探索及总结,主要内容包括农业措施（清洁棚室、高温闷棚、品种选择、合理间作、科学灌溉）、物理措施（防虫网、黄板诱杀）、生物措施（合理利用生物药剂）及化学措施（合理用药）,实现了减少化学防治2～8次,667 m2节约成本240元左右,经济、生态、社会效益显著,助力农户节本增收和当地特色农业提质增效。     

汕头农村食用菌栽培技术推广现状及对策

结合汕头市人多地少、农业资源缺乏、食用菌栽培广泛等情况,提出应充分利用本地自然环境和气候条件,积极推广食用菌栽培技术,充分利用本地农作物秸秆作为基础原料进行种植,减少和避免焚烧农作物秸秆对自然环境的污染,把有限的农业资源和自然资源进行再循环与再利用,通过做大做强食用菌种植产业,增加农村的经济实力,促进社会效益的提升,从根本上帮助农民脱贫致富.     

多元化种植目标、交易稳定性对农户绿色农产品种植意愿的影响

推进绿色农产品种植是农业供给侧结构性改革的重要环节。该研究引入多元化种植目标、交易稳定性概念,采用二元Logistic回归模型分析二者对农户绿色农产品种植意愿的影响,以期提升农户绿色农产品种植意愿,加快推进农业供给侧结构性改革进程。结果表明:在多元化种植目标中,农户拓展销路目标和社会责任目标能够显著提升其绿色农产品种植意愿;在交易稳定性中,农产品销售中交易价格稳定性会抑制农户绿色农产品种植意愿,但交易频率稳定性有利于提升农户绿色农产品种植意愿。     

Integration by case,place and process: transdisciplinary research for sustainable grazing in the Lachlan River catchment,Australia

In a context of global agricultural intensification, integrating conservation and agricultural production is a major challenge. We have tackled the problem using a transdisciplinary research framework. Our work focuses on part of the upper Lachlan River catchment in southeastern Australia. The region is dominated by livestock grazing, and is part of an internationally recognised threatened ecoregion because most native woodland vegetation has been cleared. In productive areas, most remnant vegetation occurs as scattered and isolated paddock trees, which are dying from old age and not regenerating due to agricultural practices. The policy context and industry trends present additional risks for sparse trees. These declining trees provide many ecosystem services, including enhanced water infiltration, shade for livestock, aesthetic and cultural values, and habitat for native species. Our research aims to identify management options and policy settings that enable landscape-scale tree regeneration while maintaining grazing production. Our findings highlight tensions between the trajectory of tree cover in the region and stakeholder values. Under status quo management, many scattered and isolated paddock trees will be lost from farms, although most farmers would like to see them persist. Case studies on selected farms reveal management strategies that may be more sustainable in terms of tree regeneration and agricultural productivity, such as rotational grazing. In addition to these applied insights, our work provides a case study illustrating how a transdisciplinary study can be conducted efficiently by a small team. Our pragmatic approach has successfully combined targeted disciplinary activities with strategic collaborations and stakeholder engagement, all united by shared landscape, case graziers, and outreach activities.     

现代销售渠道对技术效率的影响——基于江苏省草莓种植户调研

随着高质量农产品需求逐渐增加,以农超对接、农产品电商和龙头企业模式为代表的现代销售渠道逐渐发展。现代销售渠道具有价格稳定、供应关系稳定、质量要求高等特点,能够提高农户的整体生产环节技术效率。本文基于江苏省358份草莓种植户调研数据,运用SFA-PSM方法,研究参与现代销售渠道对农户技术效率的影响。结果表明:传统销售渠道与现代销售渠道的农户在投入上存在显著差异,参与现代销售渠道能提高9%左右的技术效率,显著提高农户收益。据此提出建议,相关部门应大力扶持现代销售渠道发展,连接农户与市场,形成稳定的供销关系,提高草莓种植户的技术效率。     

绿豆生产者风险偏好影响因素实证分析

为保持绿豆生产的可持续发展,稳定绿豆生产者的风险态度,使其在生产中降低风险投入的同时增加生产效益,利用黑龙江省213户绿豆生产者的调研数据,运用有序Probit模型对黑龙江省绿豆生产者风险偏好的影响因素进行分析。结果表明:从事绿豆种植年限、绿豆市场价格、退休后继续从事绿豆种植、主粮(玉米、大豆、水稻)种植面积占比增加均对不同程度的风险态度有影响。为稳定生产者的风险态度,提出了提高生产者们对绿豆种植风险的意识水平,多渠道加强培训;鼓励达到退休年龄的生产者继续从事绿豆种植;建议国家农业相关部门提高对主要粮食作物的补贴或惠民政策标准及价格的调控等建议。     

常见食用蕈菌采收环节误区分析及关键点控制

食用菌产业的壮大发展,需要有专业技术人员对食用菌从业者进行培训来保障产品的质量和生产者的利益。实地考察菌农生产过程中,发现菌农在采收环节上存在着许多问题和误区,针对该环节常出现的子实体采挖取舍不当、采收时机把握不当、采收不分质量等级、采收前后补水方法不当、采后不知补肥增收、不注意观察病虫害、忽视"疏花疏果"盲目追求产量忽视质量等误区进行分析,把相关原理加以解释并给出了正确的方法和关键点控制要领,希望在此提出的建议能为培训者提供参考,同时以此引起广大食用菌从业者对该环节的重视,用科学、规范的方法努力挖掘和提升食用蕈菌产品的内在价值。     

Landscape perception and recreation needs in urban green space in Fuyang,Hangzhou, China

This study analyzes the landscape characteristics and the residents’ recreational activities in the urban green spaces in Fuyang, Hangzhou, China. It explores the correlation of the desire to be in close proximity to urban green space to engage in recreational activities (the need for recreation) related to residents’ demographic and socio-economic factors: gender, education, monthly income and dwelling location. Residents’ preferences for landscape elements and attributes of urban green space are examined using principal components analysis. In addition, regression analysis identifies that coherence and vegetation are the most relevant factors correlated with perceived overall recreational appropriateness of the three most frequently visited urban parks. The purpose of the study is to attempt to quantify people's recreation needs in urban green space; identify the landscape components in urban green space which can encourage more outdoor visits and/or greater recreational activities; and provide proposals and strategies on planning, management and conservation for recreation-oriented urban green space which will enhance people's enjoyment and wellbeing by improving landscape esthetic quality, recreational and ecological function.     

居住区宅间绿地园艺应用调查

通过问卷和实地调查,对长沙市3个居住小区宅间绿地中园艺的应用现状进行总结和分析。结果表明,居民具有参与园艺栽培休闲活动的意愿;宅间园艺种植区域缺乏科学的规划;家庭投入宅间园艺活动资金有限,50～200元资金是较为合适的标准;宅间园艺植物种类繁杂;居民喜爱种植花卉;市区和郊区居民对园艺种类的喜好差异较大。