Modeling the impacts of agricultural management strategies on crop yields and sediment yields using APEX in Guizhou Plateau, southwest China

Globally, farmers remain the key ecosystem managers responsible for increasing food production while simultaneously reducing the associated negative environmental impacts. However, research investigating how farmers’ agricultural management practices are influenced by the values they assign to ecosystem services is scarce in South Africa. To address this gap, a survey of farmers’ agricultural management practices and the values they assigned towards ecosystem services was conducted in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Results from the survey show that farmers assign a high value on food provisioning ecosystem services compared to other ecosystem services. Irrigation and fertiliser decisions were mostly based on achieving maximum crop yields or good crop quality. The majority of farmers (86%) indicated a willingness to receive payments for ecosystem services (PES) to manage their farms in a more ecosystems-oriented manner. To encourage farmers to shift from managing ecosystems for single ecosystem services such as food provision to managing ecosystems for multiple ecosystem services, market-oriented plans such as PES may be employed. Effective measures for sustainable intensification of food production will depend on the inclusion of farmers in the development of land management strategies and practices as well as increasing farmers’ awareness and knowledge of the ecosystem services concept.

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Biological control agents in the integrated nematode management of potato in Egypt

Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control ◽

10.1186/s41938-020-00325-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mahfouz M. M. Abd-Elgawad

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Integrated Management ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Economic Value ◽

Potato Production ◽

Parasitic Nematodes ◽

Main Body ◽

Biological Control Agents ◽

Economic Significance

Abstract Background Potato represents Egypt’s largest vegetable export crop. Many plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are globally inflicting damage to potato plants. In Egypt, their economic significance considerably varies according to PPN distribution, population levels, and pathogenicity. Main body This review article highlights the biology, ecology, and economic value of the PPN control viewpoint. The integration of biological control agents (BCAs), as sound and safe potato production practice, with other phytosanitary measures to manage PPNs is presented for sustainable agriculture. A few cases of BCA integration with such other options as synergistic/additive PPN management measures to upgrade crop yields are reviewed. Yet, various attributes of BCAs should better be grasped so that they can fit in at the emerging and/or existing integrated management strategies of potato pests. Conclusion A few inexpensive biocontrol products, for PPNs control on potato, versus their corresponding costly chemical nematicides are gathered and listed for consideration. Hence, raising awareness of farmers for making these biologicals familiar and easy to use will promote their wider application while offering safe and increased potato yield.

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In situ cosmogenic 10Be, 26Al, and 21Ne dating in sediments from the Guizhou Plateau, southwest China

Science China Earth Sciences ◽

10.1007/s11430-020-9744-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ye Yang ◽

Yu Liu ◽

Yan Ma ◽

Sheng Xu ◽

Cong-Qiang Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Southwest China ◽

Cosmogenic 10Be ◽

Guizhou Plateau

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Spatial variability of soil chemical properties after coffee tree removal

Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo ◽

10.1590/s0100-06832009000500041 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 33 (5) ◽

pp. 1507-1514 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sidney Rosa Vieira ◽

Osvaldo Guedes Filho ◽

Márcio Koiti Chiba ◽

Heitor Cantarella

Keyword(s):

Spatial Variability ◽

Spatial Dependence ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Spherical Model ◽

Soil Chemical Properties ◽

Kriging Interpolation ◽

Geostatistical Methods ◽

Plant Removal

Assessing the spatial variability of soil chemical properties has become an important aspect of soil management strategies with a view to higher crop yields with minimal environmental degradation. This study was carried out at the Centro Experimental of the Instituto Agronomico, in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The aim was to characterize the spatial variability of chemical properties of a Rhodic Hapludox on a recently bulldozer-cleaned area after over 30 years of coffee cultivation. Soil samples were collected in a 20 x 20 m grid with 36 sampling points across a 1 ha area in the layers 0.0-0.2 and 0.2-0.4 m to measure the following chemical properties: pH, organic matter, K+, P, Ca2+, Mg2+, potential acidity, NH4-N, and NO3-N. Descriptive statistics were applied to assess the central tendency and dispersion moments. Geostatistical methods were applied to evaluate and to model the spatial variability of variables by calculating semivariograms and kriging interpolation. Spatial dependence patterns defined by spherical model adjusted semivariograms were made for all cited soil properties. Moderate to strong degrees of spatial dependence were found between 31 and 60 m. It was still possible to map soil spatial variability properties in the layers 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm after plant removal with bulldozers.

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A new species ofGyraulus(Gastropoda: Planorbidae) from Ancient Lake Lugu, Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Southwest China

Molluscan Research ◽

10.1080/13235818.2012.754146 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 34-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Fengyue Shu ◽

Frank Köhler ◽

Cuichang Fu ◽

Hongzhu Wang

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Southwest China ◽

Ancient Lake ◽

Guizhou Plateau ◽

Lake Lugu ◽

A New Species

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Suspended sediment and discharge dynamics across multiple spatial and temporal scales in a glaciated alpine environment: the case of the upper Ötztal, Austria

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-9575 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lena Katharina Schmidt ◽

Till Francke ◽

Theresa Blume ◽

Johannes Schöber ◽

Daniel Pfurtscheller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Suspended Sediment ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Transient State ◽

Data Availability ◽

Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽

Sediment Yields ◽

Catchment Areas ◽

Suspended Sediment Concentrations ◽

Alpine Catchments

High alpine areas are affected disproportionately by global warming and are thus found to be in a transient state. This causes accelerating glacial retreat, which can have severe impacts on discharge and potentially sediment dynamics. Possible effects include changes in water quantities and hydrograph timing as well as changing sediment source areas and the associated magnitude and timing of transport capacities. In turn, the resulting changes in water and sediment supplies and timing have the potential to severely impact downstream ecosystems and infrastructure.An essential step towards estimating the effects of future changes and developing sustainable management strategies is to quantify the behavior in the past and present. We therefore used the excellent data availability of discharge and suspended sediment concentrations in our study area in the upper &#214;tztal in Tyrol, Austria, to make such an assessment. We study discharge and suspended sediment concentrations, which have been monitored at three gauges and for a minimum of seven years in the case of the youngest gauge. The resulting nested catchment setup, with catchment sizes ranging between 98 km&#178; and 785 km&#178;, allows us to learn about discharge and sediment fluxes and their spatial distribution, thus allowing us to quantify the relative importance of the glaciated areas as compared to the lower-lying catchment areas. It also allows us to study the temporal dynamics, such as the seasonal timing of the peaks and their interannual differences. In turn, the nested catchments allows us to investigate the spatial variability of these temporal dynamics. &#160;The results confirm the high specific sediment yields for alpine catchments in the order of 10&#179; t/km&#178; per year and higher yields in areas with higher glacier cover as well as a very pronounced seasonality.

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Weeds and Their Effect on the Performance of Maize and Finger Millet in Mid-Hills of Nepal

International Journal of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology ◽

10.3126/ijasbt.v2i3.10790 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 275-278 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tika Bahadur Karki ◽

Shrawan K. Sah ◽

Resam B. Thapa ◽

Andrew J. McDonald ◽

Adam S. Davis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Weed Management ◽

Crop Production ◽

Finger Millet ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Cropping System ◽

Weed Species ◽

Ageratum Conyzoides ◽

Alternative Crop ◽

Weed Infestation

Relay cropping of maize with fingermillet (maize/fingermillet) is the predominant cropping system for sustaining food security situation in the hilly regions of Nepal. In this region weed pressure severely reduces crop yields. Basic information on weed species composition, biomass production and their effect on crop yields and economics are lacking for this region. This information will be necessary to develop effective weed management strategies for the future. In light of this an empirical study was carried out in two representatives mid hill districts of Parbat and Baglung during summer season of 2010/2011 in Nepal. A total of 10 major weed species with densities of 172 in Parbat and 311 per 0.25m2 area in Baglung were observed. The highest percentage of both relative and absolute densities were recorded for Ageratum conyzoides in Parbat and Polygonum chinensis in Baglung. Weed infestation under farmers practice of crop management reduced the grain yield of maize by 1.985 Mt ha-1 (117%) in Baglung and 1.760 Mt ha-1 (108%) in Parbat. Similarly, in finger millet it was 0.489 Mt ha-1 (63%) in Baglung and 0.403 Mt ha-1 in Parbat. Similarly, the combined yield of both the crops was also significantly reduced by 79.3% and 61.7% in Baglung and Parbat respectively. Hence, weeds are directly affecting the crop performance in the region. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop an alternative crop production system in the hills. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijasbt.v2i3.10790Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol. 2(3): 275-278

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The Wheat Microbiome Under Four Management Strategies, and Potential for Endophytes in Disease Protection

Phytobiomes Journal ◽

10.1094/pbiomes-05-17-0023-r ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 158-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Kristi Gdanetz ◽

Frances Trail

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Communities ◽

Management Strategy ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Growing Season ◽

Amplicon Sequencing ◽

Antagonistic Activity ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Operational Taxonomic Units ◽

Plant Organ

Manipulating plant-associated microbes to reduce disease or improve crop yields requires a thorough understanding of interactions within the phytobiome. Plants were sampled from a wheat/maize/soybean crop rotation site that implements four different crop management strategies. We analyzed the fungal and bacterial communities of leaves, stems, and roots of wheat throughout the growing season using 16S and fungal internal transcribed spacer 2 rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The most prevalent operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were shared across all samples, although levels of the low-abundance OTUs varied. Endophytes were isolated from plants, and tested for antagonistic activity toward the wheat pathogen Fusarium graminearum. Antagonistic strains were assessed for plant protective activity in seedling assays. Our results suggest that microbial communities were strongly affected by plant organ and plant age, and may be influenced by management strategy.

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