‘For my children’: Different functions of the agricultural landscape and attitudes of farmers on different areas of Greece towards small scale landscape change

AbstractMiscanthus × giganteus, a widely planted biofeedstock, is generally regarded as a relatively low invasion concern. As a seed-infertile species, it lacks a consistent mechanism of long-distance dispersal, a key contributor to invasion rate, and constitutes a low risk for cultivation escape. However, agricultural production shelters plants from stochasticity and increases propagule pressure, enhancing the potential for low-risk species to take advantage of rare dispersal opportunities. Weed risk assessments of M. × giganteus assume the rarity of events such as scouring and flooding that would facilitate secondary dispersal of vegetative rhizome fragments and the long-term sexual inviability of escapes. Combining data from small-scale rhizome fragmentation and movement experiments, and estimates from the literature, we parameterized an individual-based model to examine M. × giganteus spread given three dispersal scenarios. We further evaluated our estimates in response to different field edge buffer widths and monitoring intensities, two key strategies advised for containing biofuel crops. We found that clonal expansion from the field edge alone was sufficient to allow the crop to outgrow buffers of 3 m or less within 11 to 15 yr with low monitoring intensities. Further, models that included the possibility of rhizome dispersal from fields and scouring at field edges demonstrate the potential for long-distance dispersal and establishment with inadequate management. Our study highlights the importance of considering minimum enforced management guidelines for growers to maintain the ecological integrity of the agricultural landscape.

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Driving Forces of Landscape Change at the Upriver of Minjiang, China

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.219-220.532 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 219-220 ◽

pp. 532-537 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yong Hua Zhao ◽

Xiao Feng Wang

Keyword(s):

Landscape Change ◽

Large Scale ◽

Technology Policy ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Good Method ◽

Human Dimensions ◽

Small Scale ◽

Planned Parenthood ◽

Household Level ◽

The Great Leap Forward

Research into landscape change was one of two major fields of interdisciplinary research into the human dimensions of environmental change, the other being the approach of socio-economic metabolism; the causes of which were complicated and comprehensive. Based on the household level interview, analyzing the causes of change by the multifactor was a good method. We applied the household level interview data to analyze the causes of landscape cover change at the upper reach of Minjiang, China. The causes of landscape change at the upper reach of Minjiang included agriculture, wood, infrastructure, economy, technology, policy & institution, demography and culture variables, etc. The results showed that the primary causes of landscape change at the upper reach of Minjiang were the correlative country policies (such as the Great Leap Forward, the Deforestation, the Institutional Revolution, the Planned Parenthood, the Open-up, the Natural Forest Conservation Program) and triggered event (such as the three years’ natural disaster) at the large scale, however, at the small scale such as at the village level, the principal cause of which was different, and there were the interplay among different factors. So we thought that the landscape cover change was the result of multifactor interplay at the upper reach of Minjiang, China.

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Spatial emergy analysis of agricultural landscape change: Does fragmentation matter?

Ecological Indicators ◽

10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.05.067 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 93 ◽

pp. 975-985 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ying-Chieh Lee ◽

Shu-Li Huang

Keyword(s):

Landscape Change ◽

Agricultural Landscape ◽

Emergy Analysis

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Farmland biodiversity: wildflower-sown islands within arable fields and grassy field margins both promote spider diversity

Journal of Insect Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10841-021-00363-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tamara Rischen ◽

Katharina Geisbüsch ◽

Daniel Ruppert ◽

Klaus Fischer

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Landscape ◽

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

Added Value ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Small Scale ◽

Conservation Value ◽

Field Margins ◽

Farmland Biodiversity ◽

Power Pole

Abstract Agricultural intensification and the concomitant landscape homogenization is leading to a worldwide decline in farmland biodiversity. Non-crop habitats in agroecosystems may counteract the loss of arthropods such as spiders and thus contribute to sustainable agriculture. However, the effectiveness of field margins and set-aside wildflower-sown patches in maintaining spider diversity is not well understood. Here, we investigated the effects of three different non-crop habitats, namely field margins, set-aside wildflower-sown patches under power poles (‘power pole islands’), and grassland fallows on spider diversity as compared to wheat fields in an agricultural landscape in western Germany. Using pitfall trapping and suction sampling, we show that species richness and overall conservation value were higher in non-crop habitats than in wheat fields. Interestingly, field margins and power pole islands differed from long-term grassland fallows only in conservation value, which was significantly higher in grassland fallows. Species assemblages differed considerably between grassland fallows, field margins and power pole islands, and wheat fields, documenting the added value of using different conservation strategies. Implications for insect conservation Small-scale non-crop habitats adjacent to wheat fields were surprisingly effective in promoting spider diversity in an agricultural landscape, with field margins and power pole islands being equally effective. To maximize overall diversity in agricultural landscapes, we propose a combination of larger long-term fallows and smaller non-crop habitats such as field margins or set-aside wildflower-sown patches.

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Performance and Operation of Small Activated Sludge Plants in Tourist Areas

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1989.0007 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 67-75 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N. Katsiris ◽

A. Kouzeli-Katsiri

Keyword(s):

Activated Sludge ◽

Small Scale ◽

Return Rates ◽

Effluent Quality ◽

Flow Fluctuations ◽

Operation And Maintenance ◽

Air Supply ◽

Trained Personnel ◽

Time Required ◽

Of Greece

Small scale activated sludge plants are used extensively in tourist areas for the treatment of wastewaters from hotels and other tourist establishments. A recent survey carried out in a big tourist island of Greece showed that the majority of small plants did not perform satisfactorily. The most important problems identified were associated with diurnal flow fluctuations, inadequate control of air supply and sludge return rates, accumulation of grease and fats in the plant and bad design. Another important problem appeared to be the lack of trained personnel for the operation and maintenance of the plant. These problems are discussed in detail and possible measures are presented. Experimental results from the monitoring of two small extended aeration plants confirmed the bad effect of sudden surges of flow on effluent quality. Moreover it was found that the time required for the startup of the plant was approximately six weeks.

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Micro-agricoltura e sistemi lineari

TERRITORIO ◽

10.3280/tr2012-061021 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 122-136

Author(s):

Alessandra Giannini ◽

Andrea Oldani

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Landscape ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Small Scale ◽

Agronomic Practices ◽

Heterogeneous Landscape ◽

Marginal Areas ◽

Vegetable Gardens ◽

Fruit Growing ◽

Materials Used ◽

Definition Of

With the term micro-agriculture, we mean agriculture on a small scale (as opposed to intensive agriculture and monoculture). If horticulture is the collection of agricultural and agronomic practices aimed at the production of vegetables, urban gardening being one aspect of this, then micro-agriculture is the collection of ‘small scale' agricultural practices, including horticulture (as in the case of urban vegetable gardens), fruit-growing or flower-growing. Micro-agriculture is a landscape: the collection of garden plots, and natural and artificial materials used define a unified yet diversified whole, different from the traditional agricultural landscape in its reduced scale, biological richness, the variety of materials used and the heterogeneous landscape created. Land use practices generated spontaneously can lead to projects for landscaping and reorganizing marginal areas, and the definition of a new linear landscape.

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