scholarly journals Convergence of agricultural intensification and climate change in the Midwestern United States: implications for soil and water conservation

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 423 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Hatfield ◽  
R. M. Cruse ◽  
M. D. Tomer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Soil Resource ◽  
Midwestern United States ◽  
Hypoxic Conditions ◽  
The Face

Society faces substantial challenges to expand food production while adapting to climatic changes and ensuring ecosystem services are maintained. A convergence of these issues is occurring in the Midwestern United States, i.e. the ‘cornbelt’ region that provides substantial grain supplies to world markets but is also well known for its contribution to hypoxic conditions in the Gulf of Mexico due to agricultural nutrient losses. This review examines anticipated trends in climate and possible consequences for grain production and soil resource management in this region. The historic climate of this region has been ideal for large-scale agriculture, and its soils are among the world’s most productive. Yet under current trends, degradation of the soil resource threatens our capacity to ensure a stable food supply and a clean environment in the face of a changing climate. A set of strategies and practices can be implemented to meet these challenges by maintaining and improving hydrologic and plant-growth functions of soil, which will improve outcomes for aquatic ecosystems and for the agricultural sector. Soil management ensures our long-term capacity to provide a reliable food supply, and mitigates pressures to expand agricultural practices into marginal croplands that would lead to further environmental degradation.

scholarly journals Soil and water conservation in terraced and non-terraced cultivations - a massive comparison of 50 vineyards

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Pijl ◽  
Wendi Wang ◽  
Eugenio Straffelini ◽  
Paolo Tarolli
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Soil And Water Conservation ◽  
Homogeneous Distribution ◽  
The Face ◽  
Erosion Modelling ◽  
Physical Erosion ◽  
Local Traditions ◽  
Soil And Water

Understanding the soil and water conservation (SWC) impact of steep-slope agricultural practices (e.g. terraces) has arguably never been more relevant than today, in the face of widespread intensifying rainfall conditions. In northern Italy, a diverse mosaic of terraced and non-terraced cultivation systems have historically developed from local traditions and more recently from the introduction of machinery. Previous studies suggested that each vineyard configuration is characterised by a specific set of soil degradation patterns. However, an extensive analysis of SWC impacts by different vineyard configurations is missing, while this is crucial for providing robust guidelines for future-proof viticulture. Here, we provide a unique extensive comparison of SWC in 50 vineyards, consisting of 10 sites of 5 distinct practices: slope-wise cultivation (SC), contour cultivation (CC), contour terracing (CT), broad-base terracing (BT) and diagonal terracing (DT). A big-data analysis of physical erosion modelling based on high-resolution LiDAR data is performed, while four predefined SWC indicators are systematically analysed and statistically quantified. Regular contour terracing (CT) ranked best across all indicators, reflecting a good combination of flow interception and homogeneous distribution of runoff and sediment under intense rainfall conditions. The least SWC-effective practices (SC, CC, and DT) were related to vineyards optimised for trafficability by access roads or uninterrupted inter-row paths, which create high upstream-downstream connectivity and are thus prone to flow accumulation. The novel large-scale approach of this study offers a robust comparison of SWC impacts under intense rainstorms, which is becoming increasingly relevant for sustainable future management of such landscapes.

Ban Ki-moon, 2007–2016

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Gowan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cautious Approach ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Council Decision ◽  
The Face

During Ban Ki-moon’s tenure, the Security Council was shaken by P5 divisions over Kosovo, Georgia, Libya, Syria, and Ukraine. Yet it also continued to mandate and sustain large-scale peacekeeping operations in Africa, placing major burdens on the UN Secretariat. The chapter will argue that Ban initially took a cautious approach to controversies with the Council, and earned a reputation for excessive passivity in the face of crisis and deference to the United States. The second half of the chapter suggests that Ban shifted to a more activist pressure as his tenure went on, pressing the Council to act in cases including Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, and Syria. The chapter will argue that Ban had only a marginal impact on Council decision-making, even though he made a creditable effort to speak truth to power over cases such as the Central African Republic (CAR), challenging Council members to live up to their responsibilities.

Planning or Improvisation

2020 ◽  
pp. 116-120
Author(s):  
Alasdair Roberts
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Governance Strategies ◽  
The Face ◽  
Imperfect Knowledge

This chapter assesses the role of planning in the design of governance strategies. Enthusiasm for large-scale planning—also known as overall, comprehensive, long-term, economic, or social planning—boomed and collapsed in twentieth century. At the start of that century, progressive reformers seized on planning as the remedy for the United States' social and economic woes. By the end of the twentieth century, enthusiasm for large-scale planning had collapsed. Plans could be made, but they were unlikely to be obeyed, and even if they were obeyed, they were unlikely to work as predicted. The chapter then explains that leaders should make plans while being realistic about the limits of planning. It is necessary to exercise foresight, set priorities, and design policies that seem likely to accomplish those priorities. Simply by doing this, leaders encourage coordination among individuals and businesses, through conversation about goals and tactics. Neither is imperfect knowledge a total barrier to planning. There is no “law” of unintended consequences: it is not inevitable that government actions will produce entirely unexpected results. The more appropriate stance is modesty about what is known and what can be achieved. Plans that launch big schemes on brittle assumptions are more likely to fail. Plans that proceed more tentatively, that allow room for testing, learning, and adjustment, are less likely to collapse in the face of unexpected results.

scholarly journals Economic Competitiveness of Bioenergy Production and Effects on Agriculture of the Southern Region

2006 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burton C. English ◽  
Daniel G. De La Torre Ugarte ◽  
Marie E. Walsh ◽  
Chad Hellwinkel ◽  
Jamey Menard
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Job Creation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Economic Competitiveness ◽  
Over Time

The economic competitiveness of biobased industries is discussed by comparing the South relative to other regions of the United States and biomass as a feedstock source relative to fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum. An estimate of the biomass resource base is provided. Estimated changes in the agricultural sector over time resulting from the development of a large-scale biobased industry are reported, and a study on the potential to produce electricity from biomass compared with coal in the southern United States is reviewed. A biobased industry can increase net farm income and enhance economic development and job creation.

Preparing for Agroterror: How is the Texas Animal Health Commission Implementing Federal Food Security Regulations?

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Hunter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Government ◽  
Agricultural Industry ◽  
The Public ◽  
Department Of Health

AbstractAgroterrorism is a subform of bioterrorism with the potential to have a crippling impact on both the agricultural industry and the food supply of a nation. A calculated attack using a miniscule amount of pathogenic or disease causing substances on the livestock or crops in one rural community can spread to animals and metropolitan regions much farther away long before any response from state or federal veterinary or agricultural organizations. Although there have been no large-scale agroterrorism attacks in the United States, there have been historical precedents for agricultural biological warfare and recent examples of unintentional or accidental spread of pathogens in the food supply that have threatened the health and safety of the public. Along with an ongoing push for preparedness to prevent a biological attack on the U.S. agricultural industry, there is a great deal of uncertainty and conflict among landowners, farmers, analysts, and politicians about what methods should be implemented to safeguard the public. In response to this possible threat, the United States government has implemented legislation that it considers preemptive in its ability to safeguard the food supply and manage the public health and/or biological crime response in a widespread agroterrorist attack scenario. However, this requires cooperation on both the state and federal levels, and of several agencies including the department of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Health and Human Services. This paper examines the steps being taken by the USDA in fulfilling the orders of the federal government in response to the looming threat of agroterrorism and how the TAHC works cooperatively with federal agencies and the private agricultural industry to carry out these regulations.

scholarly journals Integrated application of drones for soil management and precision agriculture in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
pp. 21-30
Author(s):  
Agbakoba Augustine Azubuike ◽  
Ema Idongesit Asuquo ◽  
Agbakoba Victor Chike
Keyword(s):  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Information And Communication

The recent push for precision agriculture has resulted in the deployment of highly sophisticated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) gadgets in various agricultural practices and methods. The introduction of ICT devices has been linked to significant improvements in agricultural activities. These devices have been shown to enhance the optimal management of critical resources such as water, soil, crop and arable land. Again, ICT devices are increasingly attractive due to their flexibility, ease of operation, compactness and superior computational capabilities. Especially when in comparison to the mundane methods previously used by most small- and large-scale farmers. For instance, ICT devices such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) also referred to as drones, are increasingly being deployed for remote sensing missions where they capture high quality spatial resolution images. The data generated by these UAVs provide much needed information that aids in early spotting of soil degradation, crop conditions, severity of weed infestation and overall monitoring of crop yield variability. This enables farmers to acquire on-the-spot information that will enhance decision making within a short period of time, which will in turn contribute to reduction in running cost and potentially increase yield. It is safe to say that full potentials of drones are yet to be fully utilized in the Nigerian agricultural sector. This is due to several factors; most notably are the numerous challenges that accompany the introduction and adoption of much new technologies. Other factors; include high cost of technology, inadequate or total lack of skilled labour, poor awareness and low-farmer literacy. Therefore, this review work highlights the global progress recorded as a result of the recent application of drones for soil management and efficient crop production. Furthermore, key discussions surrounding the application of drones for precision agriculture and the possible drawbacks facing the deployment of such technology in Nigeria has been covered in this work.

scholarly journals Towards an EU Regulatory Framework for Climate-Smart Agriculture: The Example of Soil Carbon Sequestration

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Verschuuren
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Smart Agriculture

AbstractThis article assesses current and proposed European Union (EU) climate and environmental law, and the legal instruments associated with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), to see whether soil carbon sequestration is sufficiently promoted as a promising example of ‘climate-smart agriculture’. The assessment shows that current and proposed policies and instruments are inadequate to stimulate large-scale adoption of soil carbon projects across Europe. Given the identified structural flaws, it is likely that this is true for all climate-smart agricultural practices. An alternative approach needs to be developed. Under EU climate policy, agriculture should be included in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) by allowing regulated industries to buy offsets from the agricultural sector, following the examples set by Australia and others. The second element of a new approach is aimed at the CAP, which needs to be far more focused on the specific requirements of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Yet, such stronger focus does not take away the need to explore new income streams for farmers from offsets under the ETS, as the CAP will never have sufficient funds for the deep and full transition of Europe’s agriculture sector that is needed.

scholarly journals Total cost of carbon capture and storage implemented at a regional scale: northeastern and midwestern United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 20190065 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Schmelz ◽  
Gal Hochman ◽  
Kenneth G. Miller
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Midwestern United States ◽  
Additional Costs ◽  
The Cost ◽  
And Storage

We model the costs of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in subsurface geological formations for emissions from 138 northeastern and midwestern electricity-generating power plants. The analysis suggests coal-sourced CO 2 emissions can be stored in this region at a cost of $52–$60 ton −1 , whereas the cost to store emission from natural-gas-fired plants ranges from approximately $80 to $90. Storing emissions offshore increases the lowest total costs of CCS to over $60 per ton of CO 2 for coal. Because there apparently is sufficient onshore storage in the northeastern and midwestern United States, offshore storage is not necessary or economical unless there are additional costs or suitability issues associated with the onshore reservoirs. For example, if formation pressures are prohibitive in a large-scale deployment of onshore CCS, or if there is opposition to onshore storage, offshore storage space could probably store emissions at an additional cost of less than $10 ton −1 . Finally, it is likely that more than 8 Gt of total CO 2 emissions from this region can be stored for less $60 ton −1 , slightly more than the $50 ton −1 Section 45Q tax credits incentivizing CCS.

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