Sacred sites as habitats of culturally important plant species in an Indian megacity

Cultural ecosystem services related to urban green spaces contribute significantly to liveable cities. While previous studies highlight the intersection of cultural ecosystem services with societal values, spiritual or religious values associated with urban nature have received less attention. In India, as in other parts of the world, sacred sites are known for their biological richness, but analyses from urban sacred sites are largely missing. Based on a stratified random sampling approach, we analysed the cultivated and wild plant species assemblages of 69 sacred sites in the megacity of Bengaluru, India, in relation to biological and cultural features, and parameters related to the urban matrix and type of sacred sites (temple vs. katte). Unlike other urban studies, we found a dominance of native species in the cultivated and spontaneous species pools (121 species in total), with Ficus religiosa and Azadirachta indica as most frequently planted species. Culturally relevant species prevailed in the species pool (89%), with overlaps between religious (36%), medicinal (50%) and ornamental (62%) plants; only 11% of species were weeds. Urban matrix parameters (age of development, housing density) and size and type of sacred sites were related to differences in species assemblages. We identified key species for different classes of age and housing density, and for types of sacred sites. Our study demonstrates that urban sacred sites have an important potential in harbouring both native and culturally significant species that can support urban livelihoods in developing countries by a range of cultural and provisioning ecosystem services, including medicinal uses. As such sites are conserved by communities for spiritual or cultural beliefs, local biodiversity can be enhanced, e.g. by adapting management practices through community participation. This would strengthen the important contribution of sacred sites within the green infrastructure of rapidly growing megacities.     

Memory and resilience: A two-pronged approach to natural spaces in Colombia’s transition to a peaceful society

The analysis of spontaneous environmental initiatives undertaken by individuals and communities in cases of conflicts has led to a growing research field in social science, according to which the community-based stewardship of nature seems to conduce to the resilience of co-evolved social-ecological systems. In Colombia, where no such research exists so far, the conflict which officially ended in November 2016 has led to massive internal migration due to forced displacement, as well as to widespread degradation of the environment. Based on evidence provided by case studies of top-down and bottom-up living memorials and urban agriculture initiatives, the article explores the potential of urban greening in the process of memorialisation and in generating new social cohesion, as well as better living conditions in urban areas. It analyses cases both where the conflict has taken place and in the cities where refugees have settled, in order to explore avenues for public policies in post conflict Colombia. The author concludes that greening initiatives offer manifold, so far overlooked, opportunities to restoring social and ecological resilience in urban areas and thus contribute to a lasting peace in Colombia.     

Soil quality assessments in integrated crop–livestock–forest systems: A review

Integrated crop–livestock–forest is a promising strategy to improve soil quality. It comprises four different integrated farming systems: crop–livestock, crop–forest, forest–livestock and crop–livestock–forest. This work systematically reviewed studies about integrated crop–livestock–forest systems and soil quality. A total of 92 papers were retrieved from the Web of Science—Clarivate Analytics platform, and the following information was analysed: publication year, institution, region of the studied site, type of integrated system, soil type, tillage system, maximum soil depth and the soil quality indicators assessed. Most studies were published in the second half of the 2010s. Brazil is a prominent focus of research about soil quality and integrated crop–livestock–forest systems, with significant contribution from its central and southern regions. The Embrapa was the main publishing institution, present in over one‐third of the studies. Crop–livestock was the most common integrated system, Ferralsols was the most common soil group, and most of the studied soils were clayey. No tillage was the main tillage system. Most studies focused on the topsoil, assessing physical and/or chemical soil quality indicators. More emphasis on biological indicators of soil quality is required, as well as assessments integrating biological, physical and chemical indicators of soil quality. Future works should compare different integrated systems, including assessments deeper in the soil profile, especially in systems with the forest component, and also in sandy and silty soils. Soil quality indicators that have been rarely used should be further tested. Novel indicators should be added to better understand the promotion of soil quality by integrated crop–livestock–forest systems.     

乡镇图书馆(室)要加强对农村读者的服务

本文通过对农村读者的调研 ,提出了农村读者读书难 ,以及他们对具体书刊的需求。着重要求乡镇图书馆加强对农村读者的服务 ,提高农村读者的文化素质。并针对实际提出解决问题的服务对策。     

加快发展福建省农村中介组织的思考

当前,面对加入WTO和全面建设小康社会的新形势、新任务,有必要大力发展农村中介组织以发展农村经济、增加农民收入。本文拟通过近年来福建农村中介组织发展的状况、存在问题的分析研究,提出加快发展壮大农村中介组织的思路与对策。     

古籍咨询工作中的新视角

本文讨论古籍咨询的服务创新问题,提出了内容咨询这一新概念。认为根据个人自身条件,有些咨询人员不妨可以对古籍的内容进行研究,这有利于与读者进行深入的交流,可以提高咨询水平的深度。     

连锁超市在我国农村地区发展的问题及对策研究

在分析归纳连锁超市在我国农村地区发展动因的基础上,指出了发展中面临的问题,并根据我国农村消费品市场的自身特点,提出了解决问题的对策。     

政府渔业补助政策与博弈

渔业补助政策是政府为弥补市场经济缺陷而采取的重要措施，本文应用博弈论对政府与渔民的互动博弈展开研究，并确立了混合策略模型下的政府和渔民各自最佳选择概率，达到纳什均衡，这对于解释当前政府渔业补助政策内涵与指导修订补助政策有参考意义。     

复合图书馆的信息服务探讨

复合图书馆作为图书馆的一种发展形态，有其自身的特点和要求，有许多值得研究的内容。复合图书馆的读者服务工作是图书馆工作的出发点和各项业务工作的最终价值体现。文章分析了目前图书馆读者服务工作面临的形势，探讨了我们应采取的措施。     

完善农村居民最低生活保障制度的几点建议

当前，我国农村普遍建立了居民最低生活保障制度，这是保障农村社会稳定的“最后一道安全网”，是中国农村社会保障体系的基础工程。但是，我国农村居民最低生活保障制度也还存在一些问题，例如保障对象、保障方式、保障资金、管理体制等，充分认识并采取 有效措施解决好这些问题，对于完善农村社会保障体系，维护农村社会稳定和经济发展有着重要现实意义。