租佃制是具有活力的土地流转方式

历来中国农村自始至终存在着两种经济成分：一种是自给自足的小农经济,即所谓“编户齐民”似“汪洋大海”的小农经济。另一种是地主经济,他们依靠其社会政治、经济地位优势,占有超常的土地,控制劳动力,用剥削方式从事生产经营。地主土地的经营方式归纳起来大致有三种：蓄养农奴耕作、雇工耕作和出租给佃户耕作。宋代以后广泛实行的租佃制是历史选择的结果。租佃制促进了土地权属的流转,目前土地租赁在农业经营中依然存在活力。     

A Spatial Decision Support System design for land reallocation: A case study in Turkey

Reallocation of regular size parcels is accepted as the core of land consolidation. For fast and efficient progress in projects, usage of computer technology has been essential.In this case study, a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS)-based land reallocation model was developed to provide reallocating newly created regular size parcels to landowners in land consolidation projects. Reallocation results of the SDSS-based land reallocation model and conventional land reallocation models are compared. Surveys were conducted with the landowners in order to obtain their opinions of the land reallocation results. The purpose of the survey study was to determine which of the two land reallocation models they preferred. 66.1% (39 people) of the interviewed landowners stated that they were pleased with their land reallocation on the basis of the conventional land reallocation model. This compares with 89.9% (53 people) of the landowners who expressed that they were pleased with the outcome of the SDSS-based model. According to the results, the SDSS-based land reallocation model was more preferred by landowners.     

Landowners and cat predation across rural-to-urban landscapes

Fluctuations of bird abundances have been attributed to such factors as supplemental feeding, landscape change, and habitat fragmentation. Notably absent from consideration, however, is the role of private landowners and their actions, such as owning free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus; cats allowed free access to the outdoors). To understand the impacts of cat predation on birds, we surveyed all 1694 private landowners living on three breeding bird survey (BBS) routes (∼120 km) that represent a continuum of rural-to-urban landscapes in Southeastern Michigan, where the majority (>90%) of land is privately owned. Our data indicate that among the 58.5% of landowners that responded, one quarter of them owned outdoor cats. On average a cat depredated between 0.7 and 1.4 birds per week. A total of 23+ species (12.5% of breeding species) were on the list of being killed, including two species of conservation concern (Eastern Bluebirds and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds). Across the three landscapes there were ∼800 to ∼3100 cats, which kill between ∼16,000 and ∼47,000 birds during the breeding season, resulting in a minimum of ∼1 bird killed/km/day. While the number and density (no./ha) of free-ranging cats per landowner differed across the rural to urban landscapes, depredation rates were similar. Landowner participation in bird feeding showed no relationship with the number of free-ranging cats owned. Similarly, selected demographic characteristics of landowners were not significantly related to the number of free-ranging cats owned. Our results, even taken conservatively, indicate that cat predation most likely plays an important role in fluctuations of bird populations and should receive more attention in wildlife conservation and landscape studies.     

农民土地权益保障的困境与出路

分析了我国农民土地权益保障的现实困境：一是农村集体土地产权虚置;二是农村集体土地主体虚位;三是农村集体土地权能残缺;四是农民的物质帮助权缺失。提出了加强农民土地权益保障的路径：一是完善农民土地权益保障的立法;二是科学设置农村土地权益,包括明确规定农村土地的集体所有制的法律性质为农民按份共有、明确界定农地所有权主体、消除产权残缺与确保农民产权的完整化、明确界定公共利益的范围、明确规定征地主体对原产权人合理补偿原则5点;三是完善农村村民自治;四是规范征地制度,包括规范土地流转的程序与控制耕地征收、确立公平补偿标准与规范土地补偿程序2个方面;五是加强土地流转过程中的司法监督;六是加快农民合作经济组织发展与培植农民维权组织。     

Farmers’ objectives toward their woodlands in the upper Midwest of the United States: implications for woodland volumes and diversity

This paper reports the results of a study that explores the relationship between farm woodland owners’ stated intentions for owning woodland, and the structure and composition of these woodlands in the states of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa in the upper Midwest of the United States. Data from two sample-based inventories conducted by the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program were combined for this analysis—the FIA forest resources inventory and the National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS). We looked for relationships between product value and investment in woodlands, as reflected in volumes and tree quality. We also examined whether measures of diversity reflected specific management focus. Our results partially supported our hypotheses. Woodland-focused ownership reasons were found to have larger volumes and individual tree sizes. We found that a passive woodland ownership reason—that woods were “part of the farm”—generally had lower volumes per hectare. Although we were not able to differentiate between different forest product classes and measures of volume, we did find that those landowners who harvested veneer had more volume than those who harvested for firewood. Woodland owners who salvage-harvested their woodlands—a harvesting reason that is more reactive than proactive—exhibited lower volumes per hectare than those who harvested for more proactive, product-focused reasons. Biodiversity was also found to be related to the ownership focus and harvest intent. Generally, there was lower diversity in overstory species when the woodland was viewed merely as “part of the farm,” when the product harvested was fence posts and when timber was harvested for salvage or land clearing. The small sample size limits our analysis, but we can conclude that focusing the woodland owners on management of their woodlands—regardless of what the specific management goals might be—should increase productivity and biodiversity of those woodlands.

Serving members and reaching others: The performance and social networks of a landowner cooperative

Local forest landowner associations and broader peer-to-peer learning efforts have received attention–particularly in the United States of America–as ways to increase landowner engagement in forest planning and management. Unlike traditional technical assistance and outreach, knowledge is primarily shared among landowners as opposed to being derived from natural resource professionals. While potentially promising, few studies have investigated these approaches. Through a study of a landowner cooperative in Wisconsin, I report on a finding that considers both the effectiveness of a landowner cooperative in the Upper Midwest (USA) and the social network members rely on in decision-making. The former relies on an importance–performance analysis (IPA) of the services provided by the cooperative and the latter on an egocentric network analysis of members with an emphasis on strong and weak ties. Data were collected via a mail survey to which 146 members (81%) responded. The IPA indicates that the cooperative is providing services with which members are largely satisfied. The network analysis suggests that members, through strong ties, discuss their land with on average three others—primarily natural resource professionals (including cooperative staff), as opposed to other members, neighbors, and kin. However, by virtue of membership, they share weak ties with other members whom they see as trustworthy. The extent to which a network perspective might be applied to similar situations is discussed, as are conceptual implications and future directions. The main conclusion is that the emergence of local landowner associations and peer-to-peer learning requires research methods that better capture the social nature of these new directions.     

Biophysical and socioeconomic factors explaining the extent of forest cover on private ownerships in a Midwestern (USA) agrarian landscape

As landscape fragmentation continues to escalate, it is imperative that we improve our understanding of the factors that contribute to the creation and retention of forest on privately-owned land to most effectively design and implement conservation policy. This article presents the percentages of variation in the proportion of forest on private ownerships across an agriculturally-dominated landscape in north-central Indiana, USA that can be explained by biophysical characteristics, landowner (socioeconomic) attributes, and private landowner assistance programs. While biophysical characteristics of the land accounted for the majority of variation explained (17.35%, p < 0.0001, n = 194), attitudinal and demographic attributes of the landowners contributed significantly to explaining additional variation (7.97%, p<0.0001), and overlapped with biophysical characteristics to explain another 17.31%. Program familiarity and enrollment did not explain a significant amount of the variation independent of either biophysical or landowner attributes. Private landowner assistance programs should broaden their objectives and increase incentives to appeal to the variety of landowners who possess the decision-making authority for most of the land in the region and the nation as a whole.