Linking Land Use Capability classes and APSIM to estimate pasture growth for regional land use planning

Soil Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Vogeler ◽  
Rogerio Cichota ◽  
Josef Beautrais
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Land Resource ◽  
Pastoral Systems ◽  
System Models ◽  
Farm System ◽  
The Impact

Investigation of land-use and management changes at regional scales require the linkage of farm-system models with land-resource information, which for pastoral systems includes forage supply. The New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI) and associated Land Use Capability (LUC) database include estimates of the potential stock-carrying capacity across the country, which can be used to derive estimates of average annual pasture yields. Farm system models and decision support tools, however, require information on the seasonal patterns of pasture growth. To generate such pasture growth curves (PGCs), the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) was used, with generic soil profiles based on descriptions of LUC classes, to generate PGCs for three regions of New Zealand. Simulated annual pasture yields were similar to the estimates of annual potential pasture yield in the NZLRI spatial database, and they provided information on inter-annual variability. Simulated PGCs generally agreed well with measured long-term patterns of seasonal pasture growth. The approach can be used to obtain spatially discrete estimates of seasonal pasture growth patterns across New Zealand for use in farm system models and for assessing the impact of management practices and climate change on the regional sustainability.

scholarly journals Deriving pasture growth patterns for Land Use Capability Classes in different regions of New Zealand

2014 ◽  
Vol 76 ◽  
pp. 203-210
Author(s):  
R. Cichota ◽  
I. Vogeler ◽  
F.Y. Li ◽  
J. Beautrais
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Land Resource ◽  
Pastoral Systems ◽  
Resource Information ◽  
Farm System

Abstract Farm system models are increasingly being used to assess the implications of land use and practice changes on profitability and environmental impacts. Exploring implications beyond individual farms requires the linkage of such models to land resource information, which for pastoral systems includes forage supply. The New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (LRI) and associated Land Use Capability (LUC) database includes estimates of the potential stock carrying capacity across the country, which can be used to derive annual, but not seasonal, patterns of pasture growth. The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) was used, with generic soil profiles based on descriptions of LUC classes, to generate pasture growth curves (PGCs) in three regions of the country. The simulated pasture yields were similar to the estimates in the LRI spatial database, and varied with LUC Class within and across regions. The simulated PGCs also agreed well with measured data. The approach can be used to obtain spatially discrete estimates of seasonal pasture growth patterns across New Zealand, enabling investigation of land use and management changes at regional scales. Key words: APSIM modelling, pasture growth curve (PGC), year to year variability, farm system analysis

scholarly journals Sustainable management of hill land

1993 ◽  
pp. 171-176
Author(s):  
A.D. Mackay ◽  
M.E. Wedderburn ◽  
M.G. Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Land Resource ◽  
Land Resources ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Biophysical Indicators ◽  
The Impact

One of the major environmental issues currently facing New Zealand is that of the sustainability of pastoral farming on North Island hill country. To be sustainable, a system must be resource conserving, environmentally compatible, socially supportive and commer-cially competitive. The Resource Management Act defines sustainable management as managing the use, development and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and community to meet their needs without unduly compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Evidence shows that at present this is not so for some hill country, for reasons of on-site land degradation and soil loss, and off-site sediment loading. Socioeconomic sustainability is also in doubt through deterioration in rural infrastructure and social services and steadily decreasing average returns for produce. In the long term there is no conflict between environmental and economic sustainability. The major conflict arises in the short term when the environmental needs of the community can conflict severely with the economic survival of the individual land holder. Adoption of sustainable management will require a much greater understanding of the dynamic interaction between land resources and land use practices and improved matching of land uses with inherent soil and climatic properties. A quantitative understanding of the relationship between biophysical stability of our land resources and their productive capability is required. This paper attempts to: (i) examine how biophysical indicators could be used to quantify the impact of current land use on the productive capability of our hill land resource, and in so doing identify several critical issues facing hill country farmers, and (ii) discuss some of the possible solutions to what we see are currently unsustainable farming practices. It is our contention that the adoption of sustainable management practices will ensure the long-term viability of this sector of the pasture industry and not, as many suggest, its demise. Keywords: biophysical indicators, hill land, offsite effects, on-site effects, sustainability

scholarly journals Capacidade de uso da terra da sub-bacia do Córrego Maria Comprida usando Sistemas de Informações Geográficas

2019 ◽  
pp. 110-121
Author(s):  
Isabela do Carmo Precci Lopes ◽  
Jasmine Alves Campos
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Information System ◽  
Geographic Information System ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Agricultural Activities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Doce River

Agriculture is fundamental for the development of humanity; however, it is necessary to adjust land use planning in order to reconcile agricultural activities with proper soil management practices, thus reducing the impact on the environment. The study aimed to evaluate the land use capacity of the Córrego Maria Comprida-MG sub-basin, located in the Caratinga and Rio Doce river basins. The support of the Geographic Information System (GIS) was used for the framing of the lands according to the system of the capacity of use. The Number of Exceeding Classes (NCE) was evaluated in order to identify conflicts between land use and current land use. It was verified that the sub-basin presents approximately 60% of its land in class VI of the capacity of use and that about half of the study area is being used above its capacity, occupied mainly by pastures. The results proved its importance for planning the rational use of land in the Maria Comprida stream sub-basin.

scholarly journals Rural Roads Are Paving the Way for Land-Use Intensification in the Uplands of Laos

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 330
Author(s):  
Jean-Christophe Castella ◽  
Sonnasack Phaipasith
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Rural Roads ◽  
External Resources ◽  
Hybrid Maize ◽  
The Impact

Road expansion has played a prominent role in the agrarian transition that marked the integration of swidden-based farming systems into the market economy in Southeast Asia. Rural roads deeply altered the landscape and livelihood structures by allowing the penetration of boom crops such as hybrid maize in remote territories. In this article, we investigate the impact of rural road developments on livelihoods in northern Laos through a longitudinal study conducted over a period of 15 years in a forest frontier. We studied adaptive management strategies of local stakeholders through the combination of individual surveys, focus group discussions, participatory mapping and remote-sensing approaches. The study revealed the short-term benefits of the maize feeder roads on poverty alleviation and rural development, but also the negative long-term effects on agroecosystem health and agricultural productivity related to unsustainable land use. Lessons learnt about the mechanisms of agricultural intensification helped understanding the constraints faced by external interventions promoting sustainable land management practices. When negotiated by local communities for their own interest, roads may provide livelihood-enhancing opportunities through access to external resources, rather than undermining them.

scholarly journals Grandma in the greenbelt : how the natural disposal of our dead could save Ontario's green space

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Elizabeth Heron-Monk
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Land Resource ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Environmental Challenges ◽  
A Value ◽  
Burial Grounds

Cemetery grounds and sustainable land use practice are rarely used in conjunction however natural burial grounds present opportunities to leverage the land use and environmental challenges associated with conventional cemeteries for the benefit of people and the environment. This paper explores land use planning challenges facing Ontario in planning for the disposal of our dead and the emergence of natural burial grounds as a sustainable alternative to conventional burial. This paper also explores how planning challenges related to planning for the disposal of our dead could be leveraged to produce positive outcomes; in particular the strengthening of Ontario's Greenbelt as a living landscape. This paper argues the Natural burial has potential to be a value added land resource and can mitigate a series of burial related land use challenges currently present in Ontario.

scholarly journals Towards the integrated assessment of New Zealand pastoral farm systems

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 103-108
Author(s):  
M.B. Dodd ◽  
D.R. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Integrated Assessment ◽  
Complex Adaptive System ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Resource Owner ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Land Use And Management ◽  
Farm System ◽  
The Impact

Land use and management change is a feature of New Zealand farm systems, driven by a range of factors including volatile markets and exchange rates, variable weather and climate patterns, continuous policy evolution and the inherent innovation of New Zealand farmers. Yet the common indicators used to evaluate the impact of change appear to be limited to the link between productivity (of land/labour/capital) and profitability. However, if farm system "owners" seek truly sustainable systems they should consider a wider set of indicators to guide investment. Sustainability is considered in terms of the ability of the pastoral farm system to fulfil its primary purpose in the long-term, i.e. "to derive value from the natural capital of a land and water resource that is sufficient to support the objectives of the resource owner" and fulfil secondary objectives considered important by other stakeholders (e.g., product and environmental quality). The objective of this study was to develop an integrated assessment framework for sustainability indicators that was useful for guiding change decisions at the farm system scale, a key determinant of regional economic, environmental and social outcomes. The approach is based on the fundamental properties of a complex adaptive system: existence, effectiveness, freedom of action, security, adaptability and coexistence, applied to six key system drivers (financial, environmental, social, cultural, technological and regulatory). This framework could support decision-making in terms of the investment of human, natural and financial capital at the farm system scale and contribute to larger scale information imperatives (e.g., value chains, catchments). Keywords: integrated assessment, pastoral farm systems, sustainability, systems properties

Close to the Madding Crowd: How Resilient are Imperilled Mediterranean Urban Wetlands?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdallah Aouadi ◽  
Farrah Samraoui ◽  
Laid Touati ◽  
Riad Nedjah ◽  
Lynda Souiki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Conservation Action ◽  
Marsh Harrier ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Circus Aeruginosus ◽  
Ixobrychus Minutus ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Investigating how Mediterranean wetlands respond to adjacent land use conversion, is an important first step in mitigating the impact of human encroachment and other environmental stressors. We monitored the composition and structure of waterbird assemblages, in a Mediterranean urban marsh, subjected to severe anthropogenic pressures. Remote sensing indicated that in the last two decades Boussedra Pond was subjected to landfill, resulting in a substantial reduction (~ 50%) of the marsh, while due to a lack of urban planning urban built-up and agriculture areas expanded considerably in its surroundings. Seasonal changes in the diversity of waterbirds, including the globally Endangered (EN) White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala and the Near-Threatened (NT) Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca, reflected the importance of the site as a staging and wintering area for many migratory species. The long-term study also suggested that breeding waterbirds species respond differentially to the loss and degradation of habitats, as highlighted by the resilience of the synanthropic Moorhen Gallinula chloropus and the disappearance of several breeding marsh specialists, like the Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus and the Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus. The study points out the need for both a coordinated cross-sectorial land use planning and an immediate, affordable and sustainable wetland conservation action.

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