农户粪肥施用的关键驱动和障碍因素——以曲周为例

畜禽粪肥替代部分化肥还田施用可有效降低作物生产成本和环境成本,促进农业绿色发展.然而,在实际农业生产中存在很多社会经济因素阻碍农户施用粪肥.因此,理解粪肥施用的关键驱动和障碍因素,对化肥减量和提高粪肥还田利用率具有十分重要的意义.本研究以计划行为理论为框架进行问卷设计,以河北省曲周县为研究区域,通过农户调研探究农户粪肥施用的认知和意愿.结果 表明,粮食种植体系粪肥用户占比仅为25％,蔬菜和果树种植体系粪肥用户则分别高达95％和87％.粪肥施用的关键障碍因素包括高昂的粪肥施用成本和负面的农学及环境效应.与经济作物(蔬菜和水果)种植户相比,粮食种植户认知到的粪肥施用障碍因素更多.粪肥施用的主要驱动因素包括提高作物产量、提高土壤肥力、增加农业收入.社会参与方对农户粪肥施用具有积极作用.研究表明,为促进农户粪肥施用,需要利益相关者共同参与,政府应提供政策激励措施,并加强指导,以提高农户对粪肥施用的认知水平.     

The future of marine citizenship is now: Cetacean conservation in the eyes of young Spanish citizens

1. The number of young conservationist movements is increasing worldwide, as new generations become more aware of the environmental problems that are having an impact on the planet. Consequently, young people appear to play a fundamental role in developing successful conservation strategies.
2. This research examines young citizens’ knowledge, attitudes and engagement in cetacean conservation in coastal and non-coastal regions of Spain, and assesses the influence of whaling tradition.
3. A total of 902 anonymous surveys were conducted with students between 14 and 16 years old at 10 high schools located in nine different study areas, six located along the Cantabrian coast (Southern Bay of Biscay) and three located in inland regions of Spain.
4. In general, results showed low levels of knowledge about cetaceans and whaling among young people, but high concern about cetacean conservation. As it was expected, knowledge about the history of whaling was higher in participants from areas with than without a whaling tradition. However, no statistically significant differences were found regarding attitudes towards cetaceans between these two groups.
5. Significant differences were detected between genders with respect to cetacean conservation and engagement. Females showed more positive attitudes towards cetaceans when compared with their male counterparts.
6. A correlation between knowledge and positive attitudes regarding whales and dolphins was found in areas located along the Cantabrian coast, and a correlation between positive attitudes and engagement in cetacean conservation was observed in all study areas.
7. Although the majority of participants showed strong support for the protection of whales and dolphins, less than two-thirds stated that they were willing to engage in cetacean conservation.
8. The results of this study may contribute to the implementation of improved marine education programmes. These programmes should not only raise awareness of the marine environment, but also promote pro-environmental behaviour and engagement in the protection of the ocean.

     

Factors influencing public preferences for invasive alien species management

Invasive species research has traditionally focused on the ecological aspects of invasions and their threats to biodiversity. Few studies have incorporated social dimensions of invasive alien species (IAS) management. In this study, we surveyed visitors (N = 1166) to Cumberland Island National Seashore, GA, USA, to measure their knowledge of, attitudes toward, and preferences for various IAS management options. Multinomial logistic regression, two-step cluster analysis, and the Potential for Conflict Index were used to determine factors that predict support for IAS control, identify subgroups of visitors with unique management preferences, and evaluate the level of consensus among these distinct groups. Results showed that, although knowledge and perceived threat scores were related to management preferences, environmental attitude orientations were the best indicators of support for IAS control. Absolute ecocentric visitors (typically younger, less educated individuals with less experience in parks) believed that all living things have a right to coexist without disruption and favored a hands-off management approach. Adaptive ecocentric visitors (typically older, more educated individuals with more experience in parks) believed that some degree of human interference is necessary to maintain ecosystem integrity and favored hands-on management. Despite these different perspectives, adaptive on-site control of invasive species was viewed as the most acceptable and least controversial management option across all visitor subgroups. This study may inform IAS management practices by providing a framework for identifying stakeholder characteristics and synthesizing public preferences to minimize conflict and highlight ecologically beneficial and socially acceptable outcomes.     

Consumer attitudes towards castration of piglets and alternatives to surgical castration

From three in-depth focus group studies and an internet based study concerning consumers attitudes towards surgical castration of piglets and alternatives, it can be concluded that Norwegian consumers are content with the current practice of castration using local anaesthesia. They accept castration as a necessary means to prevent the risk of boar taint in meat and thereby secure meat quality. Even though castration using anaesthesia is not a perfect solution, it is considered sufficient, and the consumers do not ask for alternatives. Most consumers were sceptical of immunocastration. The scepticism was mainly based on the fear of residuals in meat and unknown long-term consequences for the consumers. On the other hand the confidence in Norwegian control authorities is considerable, and will probably contribute to the maintenance of purchase habits even if immunocastration is to be introduced in Norwegian pig production. Castration without anaesthesia was characterized as completely unacceptable.     

The influence of initial attitudes on responses to communication about genetic engineering in food production

Source credibility has been thought to bean important determinant of peoples reactions toinformation about technology. There has also been muchdebate about the need to communicate effectively withthe public about genetic engineering, particularlywithin the context of food production. Questionnaireswere used to investigate the impact of sourcecredibility, admission of risk uncertainty, andinitial attitude towards genetic engineering onattitudes of respondents after information provision.120 respondents with positive attitudes towardsgenetic engineering in food production were providedwith persuasive information about the technology,where both source attribution and admission of riskuncertainty were systematically varied within theexperimental design. Impact on perceptions of sourcecredibility, informational qualities, and postintervention attitudes were examined, and compared toa second group of respondents who held initiallynegative attitudes towards genetic engineering, andwho had been exposed to similar informationinterventions. As predicted by Social Judgment Theory,initial attitude was found to be an importantdeterminant of post-intervention attitude. However,admission of risk uncertainty was also found to beinfluential in increasing acceptance and reducingrejection of the technology, possibly through thefacilitation of elaborative processing. Contrary toprevious research, prior attitudes had an impact onperceptions of both source credibility andinformational quality. In terms of effectiveinformation provision about genetic engineering, itwas concluded that scientific honesty is the bestpolicy, and that lay understanding of scientificprocess is probably greater than hitherto assumed byexperts.     

Who Complains About Alligators? Cognitive and Situational Factors Influence Behavior Toward Wildlife

Understanding perceptual and situational factors underlying nuisance complaints can help managers maintain carnivore populations while mitigating conflicts with people. Our study uses data from a mail survey (n = 467 complainants about nuisance alligators, and n = 669 random Florida residents) and a three-step binary logistic regression analysis to examine how general attitudes, specific beliefs, and situational factors influence the behavior of reporting nuisance alligators. Residence adjacent to fresh water, the presence of outdoor pets, higher risk belief scores, higher nuisance belief scores, higher education, and older age were all related to complaining about an alligator, whereas general attitude toward alligators was not. Results are consistent with the “specificity principle” for attitude–behavior correspondence and emphasize the importance of situational factors as behavioral determinants. Targeted harvest areas can help to manage complaints in marginal habitats where risk from alligators is persistent. Information about protective behaviors and benefits of alligators can motivate residents to avoid dangerous encounters.     

Multi-sector resource allocation and integrated management of abalone stocks in Western Australia: Review and discussion of management strategies

ABSTRACT:   Fishery policy formation is a multilateral political process that typically involves conflicting attitudes towards management, and opposing interests among resource users. As fisheries resources continue to decline, conflict between and within fishing sectors will grow. The challenge for fisheries policy makers is to ensure fisheries resources are evenly allocated among the stakeholders whilst managing resources in a sustainable manner. Australian fisheries management has been revolutionized by the introduction of Integrated Fisheries Management (IFM), which is based on a systematic approach involving the inclusion of all sectors in the management process. This approach means determining the total amount of fish that can be harvested from a fishery and then adopting management strategies for allocating explicit catch shares between the competing sectors. The recent increased burden on fisheries stocks, caused by higher recreational user participation, has forced policy makers to make large changes relating to the allocation of resources. Policy makers in Western Australia, aware of conflict developing between users of the abalone resource, developed a unique management system based on resource sharing. By integrating the recreational sector in the overall management process, the primary objective of the new agenda is to decrease conflict between competing users and develop a management system without partisanship.     

Constructing a nitrogen fertilizer recommendation system using a dynamic model: what do farmers want?

Abstract. An effective fertilizer recommendation system requires information on seasonal, soil-related and cultural variations in soil mineral nitrogen (N) and nutrient requirements of the crop. This can be provided by dynamic N turnover models, such as listed by Plentinger & Penning De Vries (1996). In this paper, we describe a survey of farmer opinion designed to ascertain what farmers want from such a decision support system. Over 100 farmers were surveyed. Surveyed farmers requested that default values be available for all model inputs. Inputs should be entered both by windows-based menu (for clarity) and tabular format (for speed), have user-selected units, and be fully supported by context-sensitive help. The system should have a hierarchical structure allowing access to fixed parameters, and be compatible with commonly used farm recording packages. Recommendations should be provided both for the field (single and optional application rates), and in tabular format across the whole farm. Simulations should be easily rerun using more recent crop and weather data. Turnover processes underlying recommendations should be illustrated by flow diagrams of flux between pools, pie charts of fertilizer fate, bar charts of movement down the soil profile and graphical plots of changes in N status against time.     

Can Australian farming systems be more sylvan?

This paper discusses the extent to which Australian agriculture is integrating trees into farming systems and concludes that while broad environmental awareness and concern may have increased, Australian agriculture exemplifies essentially the same attitudes to native vegetation as those held by the first European settlers. It is suggested that for real change to occur, land users require three key ingredients — commitment, knowledge and resources. The state of play with respect to each of these key factors is reviewed and suggestions for reform mooted.     

Non-commercial collection of spur-thighed tortoises (Testudo graeca graeca): a cultural problem in southeast Spain

Collecting tortoises for the pet trade is one of the factors threatening species of Testudo in the Mediterranean area. The collection of Testudo graeca graeca for pets is described in southeast Spain, where the main European population of this subspecies coincides with an area where keeping tortoises in captivity is a long-established custom. This present paper, based on inquiries made to children, reveals that this practice continues to be a common activity, and estimates a captive population in the order of tens of thousand of tortoises. Tortoises are collected as a result of chance encounters with wild animals by local inhabitants, and without any commercial objectives. The captive breeding and the release of tortoises without any institutional control is also common. These activities could be an important threat for the species. Implications for conservation are discussed and a critical review of the conservation strategies developed in relation to this threat (trade control and re-introduction programmes) are presented. We suggest that environmental education programmes are necessary to reduce casual collection and to change the social perception of tortoises as pets.