scholarly journals Urban lands for agricultural use: soft management of the ecology state

2021 ◽  
Vol 128 ◽  
pp. 03004
Author(s):  
M.A. Safonov ◽  
T.I. Safonova
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Urban Ecosystems ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Vegetable Gardens ◽  
Agricultural Use ◽  
Soft Management ◽  
The Impact

Agricultural lands occupy a special place in the structure of urban lands. There are horticultural and gardening associations on these lands. The “belts” of horticultural associations surround large cities and small settlements; dachas and vegetable gardens play the role of individual subsidiary farms and recreation areas. In Russia, the area of such lands is about 1.5 million hectares; in the Orenburg region - 18.7 thousand hectares. Studies show that horticultural ecosystems differ significantly from the adjacent urban and agricultural ecosystems in terms of the characteristics of soil and plant cover. The reason for this is private investment in the development of these territories, which needs to be managed. For the consistent development of these socio-ecological systems (SES), it is necessary to implement a soft management system. The purpose of creating and supporting of socio-ecological systems in the agricultural use zone and suburbs is the formation of a sustainable complex of natural and social conditions for gardening and recreation of residents; optimization of the belt of lands separating the city from agricultural land to reduce the impact of adverse environmental factors on urban ecosystems (wind restriction, fire safety, pests, etc.); use of these lands as carbon polygons for capturing and retaining of carbon dioxide.

scholarly journals Generational Changes in Agriculture: The Influence of Farm Characteristics and Socio-Economic Factors

Agriculture ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wojciech Sroka ◽  
Michał Dudek ◽  
Tomasz Wojewodzic ◽  
Karol Król
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Endogenous Factors ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Generational Changes ◽  
Exogenous Factors ◽  
The Impact

The increasing importance of large cities (metropolises) poses a range of challenges to the socio-economic functions of the rural and agricultural areas around them. One such challenge is pressure exerted on family-run farms to abandon agricultural activity and on people engaged in such activity to shift to other sectors. This may be a hindrance to successful succession on family farms. The aim of this paper is to present spatial variation in generational changes in farms located around large cities (metropolises) in Poland and to assess the factors affecting the scale of such changes. Special attention was paid to the importance of the location of farms relative to large cities. One innovative feature of the approach presented was to conduct an analysis of generational changes in the agricultural sector at the supra-local level along with an attempt to quantify the impact of large urban centers on that process. The empirical material based on which the conclusions were formulated included official statistics data and information made available by an institution engaged in the implementation of agricultural policy programs financed from European Union (EU) funds, i.e., young farmer payments (Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) pillar I) and measures “Setting up of young farmers” and “Early retirement” (CAP Pillar II). In the executed study, methods of descriptive and multivariate statistics, including regression trees, were used. It was found that socio-economic (exogenous) factors had a significant statistical impact on generational changes in farms. In areas with an attractive labor market and a high level of urbanization, a successful generational shift in farms occurred less often. Nonetheless, generational changes in the agriculture of the analyzed areas were relatively most strongly determined by endogenous factors linked with the economic potential of the farm. Farm characteristics (area of agricultural land and economic size) and the characteristics of managers, including in particular their education, were found to be more important than exogenous factors. In areas where large and economically strong farms dominated and the level of education among farmers was relatively high, generational changes were faster compared to other areas.

Lichens as indicators of atmospheric pollution in urban ecosystems

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Alexey Mikhaylov
Keyword(s):  
Indicator Species ◽  
Urban Ecosystems ◽  
Lichen Species ◽  
Epiphytic Lichens ◽  
Epiphytic Lichen ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Industrial Enterprises ◽  
Xanthoria Parietina ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Lichen Indication

Modern methods of lichen indication allow assessing the impact of climate change and air pollution on ecosystem health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the general state of atmospheric air in urban ecosystems of cities and towns using lichen indication methods. The objectives of the study included identifying lichen indicator species, as well as assessing the response of these species to various pollutants (e.g., lead, iron, manganese). The study was conducted in 2017 in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation (9 settlements in total) and the Oryol region (1 settlement – the city of Oryol). Four hundred samples belonging to epiphytic lichens were collected. Additional 300 and 137 samples of epiphytic lichens were used for chemical and toxicological analyses, respectively. The following two generally accepted lichen indicator indices were calculated: poleotolerance index (PI) and atmospheric purity index (API). When calculating the latter, the lichen species Xanthoria parietina was used as the baseline. Epiphytic lichens in small settlements were represented by 50 species (28 genera, 8 families). In large cities, 55 (Bryansk) and 53 (Oryol) species of epiphytic lichens were detected. The number of species in small settlements was 1.5 times lower than that of large cities. There were 8-15 and 25-32 species of epiphytic lichens in the central region and in the periphery of Bryansk, respectively. The number of epiphytic lichen species detected in the parks was 41. Within the territory of large cities, 17 species of lichens were identified as potential indicators, since they were found in every second or fourth sample. Maximum concentrations of lead were recorded in industrial areas of cities, as well as near major roads with traffic intersection and bridges and in some dormitory suburbs. This is a distinctive feature of large cities – the predominance of lead in lichen thalli, which is primarily associated with vehicles. In small cities in which there are no specific industrial enterprises (metallurgical plants, etc.), other heavy metals – manganese and iron – prevail in the thalli of lichens. In this work, new methods are adopted – mapping pollution with the use of nitrophilous epiphytic lichens that reflect the ongoing macro processes of nitrification in urban areas. The authors have proposed and tested the following lichen indicator methods: the use of indicator species (epiphytes-nitrophytes) of various sensitivities and the study of their distribution within the territory. The mapping method has been substantiated, which takes into account the API and zoning of territories according to the level of general pollution. Among the indicator species, Xanthoria parietina turned out to be the most suitable one.

scholarly journals The impact of revitalization treatments on biological activity of soil under afforestation on post-agricultural land

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 293-302
Author(s):  
Anna Augustyniuk-Kram ◽  
Karol J. Kram
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Dissolved Carbon ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Long Term Experiment ◽  
Agricultural Use ◽  
The Impact

In Poland, afforestation is usually carried out on the weakest soils, excluded from agricultural use and wasteland, i.e. post-agricultural land. A characteristic feature of such habitat is poor-quality soil, relatively high content of nutrients for trees, particularly nitrogen, as well as a low level of humus. This is important for the quality of microbiological processes occurring in post-agricultural soils. Restitution of the forest in such a habitat requires the use of various revitalisation treatments for improving soil quality and increasing biological activity and soil fertility. This article presents the results of a long-term experiment on the effectiveness of various revitalisation treatments (zoo- and phytomelioration) on afforested post-agricultural lands after more than 30 years from their application in pine forests in north-western Poland. These treatments consisted of introducing additional organic matter into the soil in the form of bark and sawdust, sowing lupine and introducing soil fauna. The comparative area for afforestation on post-agricultural soils in the presented experiment was the area of forest soils, located in the same habitat, in a pine stand, at the same time. Biological activity of soil was measured with the activity of soil enzymes dehydrogenases and acid phosphatase, the biomass of microorganisms was measured and the content of total dissolved carbon and nitrogen was also determined. 

The effects of silt fields of Bortnytska aeration station on ecological state of land and water in the adjacent areas

2021 ◽  
pp. 114-128
Author(s):  
M. V. Yatsiuk ◽  
A. M. Shevchenko ◽  
R. P. Bozhenko ◽  
S. M. Lyutnitsky
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Ecological State ◽  
Crop Failure ◽  
Maximum Permissible Concentrations ◽  
Mobile Forms ◽  
Exchangeable Magnesium ◽  
Agricultural Use ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact

The article highlights the results of research on assessing the ecological state of the land near the silt fields №1 and №3 of Bortnytska aeration station in the Zolochiv village community of Boryspil district in Kyiv region. The presence of previously recorded increased content of heavy metals in soils compared to the background content, both in terms of their gross content and the content of mobile forms was confirmed within the certain areas near the silt fields. For the elements-pollutants (Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb) at some points within the agricultural land, exceeding the values ​​of their gross content and the content of mobile forms (Zn, Cu) of the maximum permissible concentrations was recorded at 1.1-6.2 and 1.1 -2.6 times, respectively. The average values ​​of heavy metals content for floodplains (settlement) and agricultural land near silt fields indicate their prevailing values ​​for the latter in almost all elements, as well as exceeding the background values ​​and maximum permissible concentrations for the land where silt deposits were previously applied as fertilizers. Within the surveyed areas, soils are classified as unsalted, but the increased content of exchangeable magnesium may adversely affect soil fertility. Increased mineralization and content of ammonium and nitrates in groundwater are observed near silt fields, which is obviously related to the impact of silt water and can lead to deterioration of groundwater quality in the area of ​​their transit and discharge, in particular within the village Gnidyn. The area of ​​land with an extremely dangerous pollution rate in terms of total heavy metal is about 300 hectares, with a dangerous pollution rate is 260 hectares, and the estimated damage from crop failure may be 1.65 million UAH/year and 0.3 million UAH/year respectively. Within the areas adjacent to the silt fields, the condition of soils, water resources, cultivated products and the health of the population should be constantly monitored, especially when using the polluted land for agricultural use or housing.

The impact of land reform on the development of united territorial communities

2020 ◽  
pp. 29-33
Author(s):  
Tamara Smovzhenko ◽  
Oryslava Korkuna ◽  
Ivan Korkuna ◽  
Ulyana Khromyak
Keyword(s):  
Land Reform ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Public Lands ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Practical Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Land Code

Nowadays, according to decentralization and current legislation (Land Code of Ukraine, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine «On Self-Governance»), the public lands have been transferred to the CTCs since 1 February 2018. In 2018/2019, 788 CTCs received communal ownership of 1.68 ha of public lands. According to the Draft Law «On Amendments to Several Legal Documents of Ukraine on Agricultural Lands Turnover», the consolidated territorial communities become the legal entities and can acquire property rights to agricultural land plots. Therefore, transferring the lands to be used by the newly created CTCs is currently an urgent issue that requires extended scientific and practical research. The paper aims to research the role of land reform in Ukraine and its impact on increase of CTCs’ budget revenues. The stages of land reform and the development of the land reform in Ukraine as well as its implementation strategy are outlined. The disparities of the integrated satellite map and the data of the Land Cadaster of Ukraine in terms of unregistered lands are defined. The amount of a CTC budget’s increased revenues due to the reform is estimated. Statistical data on small, medium, and large farmers and their interest in the land reform are analyzed. The terms of selling the land to foreign investors and conditions of participation in land auctions are examined. The mechanisms of land purchase, selling, and lease in line with the land reform are suggested. Generalizing the presented aspects of the land reform in Ukraine and their impact on economic activity of the newly created CTCs, it can be argued that the process is quite positive and necessary for both communities and businesses in order to get additional budget revenues for CTCs. The land reform improves the living standards of Ukrainian people through the disclosure of the country’s agricultural capacity.

The Impact of Biochar on the Soil

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 2197-2208
Author(s):  
Carmen Otilia Rusanescu ◽  
Erol Murad ◽  
Cosmin Jinescu ◽  
Marin Rusanescu
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Biomass Gasification ◽  
High Humidity ◽  
Agricultural Ecosystems ◽  
Productive Potential ◽  
Co2 Balance ◽  
Environmentally Sound ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Organic Resources

In the present paper are presented the experimental results of biomass gasification, the biochair was produced from vineyards by controlled pyrolysis at 750 �C, in order to increase the fertility of soils, it was found the increase of the fertility produced by the development of the vegetables in the soil to which was added biochar. Soil was added to soil 4 g/dm3 biochar, 8 g/dm3 biochar, the soil had no high humidity, was taken at a time when it had not rained for at least one week, the soil pH was 8, in the soil with 8 g/dm3 biochar the plants increased compared to the soil with 4 g/dm3 and the soil without biochar. The biochar resulting from pyrolysis and gasification processes is a valuable amendment to agricultural soils and an efficient and economical way to seize carbon. Using biochar it is possible to increase the diversity of agricultural land in an environmentally sound way in areas with depleted soils, limited organic resources and insufficient water for development. Helps to soil carbon sequestration with negative CO2 balance, increases the productive potential of agricultural ecosystems.

The Impact of High-Speed Rail on the Spatial Structure of Chinese Urban Agglomerations

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-397
Author(s):  
Chunyang Wang
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
River Delta ◽  
City Size ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Urban Agglomerations ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Spatial Systems ◽  
Economic Concentration ◽  
The Impact

This paper measures the spatial evolution of urban agglomerations to understand be er the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) construction, based on panel data from fi ve major urban agglomerations in China for the period 2004–2015. It is found that there are signi ficant regional diff erences of HSR impacts. The construction of HSR has promoted population and economic diff usion in two advanced urban agglomerations, namely the Yang e River Delta and Pearl River Delta, while promoting population and economic concentration in two relatively less advanced urban agglomerations, e.g. the middle reaches of the Yang e River and Chengdu–Chongqing. In terms of city size, HSR promotes the economic proliferation of large cities and the economic concentration of small and medium-sized cities along its routes. HSR networking has provided a new impetus for restructuring urban spatial systems. Every region should optimize the industrial division with strategic functions of urban agglomeration according to local conditions and accelerate the construction of inter-city intra-regional transport network to maximize the eff ects of high-speed rail across a large regional territory.

Impact of LULC Changes on LST in Rajshahi District of Bangladesh: A Remote Sensing Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulla Al Kafy ◽  
Abdullah Al-Faisal ◽  
Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan ◽  
Md. Soumik Sikdar ◽  
Mohammad Hasib Hasan Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Lulc Changes ◽  
The Impact

Urbanization has been contributing more in global climate warming, with more than 50% of the population living in cities. Rapid population growth and change in land use / land cover (LULC) are closely linked. The transformation of LULC due to rapid urban expansion significantly affects the functions of biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as local and regional climates. Improper planning and uncontrolled management of LULC changes profoundly contribute to the rise of urban land surface temperature (LST). This study evaluates the impact of LULC changes on LST for 1997, 2007 and 2017 in the Rajshahi district (Bangladesh) using multi-temporal and multi-spectral Landsat 8 OLI and Landsat 5 TM satellite data sets. The analysis of LULC changes exposed a remarkable increase in the built-up areas and a significant decrease in the vegetation and agricultural land. The built-up area was increased almost double in last 20 years in the study area. The distribution of changes in LST shows that built-up areas recorded the highest temperature followed by bare land, vegetation and agricultural land and water bodies. The LULC-LST profiles also revealed the highest temperature in built-up areas and the lowest temperature in water bodies. In the last 20 years, LST was increased about 13ºC. The study demonstrates decrease in vegetation cover and increase in non-evaporating surfaces with significantly increases the surface temperature in the study area. Remote-sensing techniques were found one of the suitable techniques for rapid analysis of urban expansions and to identify the impact of urbanization on LST.

scholarly journals Evaluating Forest Cover and Fragmentation in Costa Rica with a Corrected Global Tree Cover Map

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 3226
Author(s):  
Daniel Cunningham ◽  
Paul Cunningham ◽  
Matthew E. Fagan
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Forest Area ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Agricultural Crop ◽  
Forest Change ◽  
Alos Palsar ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
The Impact

Global tree cover products face challenges in accurately predicting tree cover across biophysical gradients, such as precipitation or agricultural cover. To generate a natural forest cover map for Costa Rica, biases in tree cover estimation in the most widely used tree cover product (the Global Forest Change product (GFC) were quantified and corrected, and the impact of map biases on estimates of forest cover and fragmentation was examined. First, a forest reference dataset was developed to examine how the difference between reference and GFC-predicted tree cover estimates varied along gradients of precipitation and elevation, and nonlinear statistical models were fit to predict the bias. Next, an agricultural land cover map was generated by classifying Landsat and ALOS PalSAR imagery (overall accuracy of 97%) to allow removing six common agricultural crops from estimates of tree cover. Finally, the GFC product was corrected through an integrated process using the nonlinear predictions of precipitation and elevation biases and the agricultural crop map as inputs. The accuracy of tree cover prediction increased by ≈29% over the original global forest change product (the R2 rose from 0.416 to 0.538). Using an optimized 89% tree cover threshold to create a forest/nonforest map, we found that fragmentation declined and core forest area and connectivity increased in the corrected forest cover map, especially in dry tropical forests, protected areas, and designated habitat corridors. By contrast, the core forest area decreased locally where agricultural fields were removed from estimates of natural tree cover. This research demonstrates a simple, transferable methodology to correct for observed biases in the Global Forest Change product. The use of uncorrected tree cover products may markedly over- or underestimate forest cover and fragmentation, especially in tropical regions with low precipitation, significant topography, and/or perennial agricultural production.

scholarly journals The Role of Selected Ecosystem Services in Different Farming Systems in Poland Regarding the Differentiation of Agricultural Land Structure

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6673
Author(s):  
Lidia Luty ◽  
Kamila Musiał ◽  
Monika Zioło
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Formation ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Organic System ◽  
Supporting Soil ◽  
Management Method ◽  
The Impact

The functioning of various agroecosystems is nowadays shaped by different farming systems, which may impair their functions, as well as being beneficial to them. The benefits include ecosystem services, defined as economic and noneconomic values gained by humans from ecosystems, through supporting soil formation and nutrient circulation, and the impact of agriculture on climate and biodiversity. Their mutual flow and various disturbances depend on the agroecosystem’s management method, which is associated with the type of management of agricultural land (AL) in individual farms. This paper raises a problem of transformation in the structure of three main farming systems in Poland, in 2004–2018, in relation to the implementation of 16 selected ecosystem services and their scale. Special attention was given to organic farming, as the most environmentally friendly and sustainable. The analysis demonstrates the increase in ALs in that type of production during the analyzed period of time. Disparities of transformation associated with the type of agricultural system were noticeable at the regional level, which were presented in 16 Polish voivodeships. The results of the analysis confirm that the organic system, which is an important carrier of various ecosystem services, gained a stable position. Moreover, areas with integrated farming still do not exceed 0.5% of total agricultural lands in such voivodeships. The analysis of factors influencing the deterioration or disappearance of selected environmental services characterizing agricultural systems indicates the need to depart from an intensive conventional management system.

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