Terracing: From Agriculture to Multiple Ecosystem Services

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Socci ◽  
Alessandro Errico ◽  
Giulio Castelli ◽  
Daniele Penna ◽  
Federico Preti
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Anthropogenic Landscapes ◽  
Agricultural Terraces ◽  
Runoff Reduction ◽  
The World ◽  
Productivity Increase ◽  
Historical Heritage ◽  
Terraced Slopes

Agricultural terraces are widely spread all over the world and are among the most evident landscape signatures of the human fingerprint, in many cases dating back to several centuries. Agricultural terraces create complex anthropogenic landscapes traditionally built to obtain land for cultivation in steep terrains, typically prone to runoff production and soil erosion, and thus hardly suitable for rain-fed farming practices. In addition to acquiring new land for cultivation, terracing can provide a wide array of ecosystem services, including runoff reduction, water conservation, erosion control, soil conservation and increase of soil quality, carbon sequestration, enhancement of biodiversity, enhancement of soil fertility and land productivity, increase of crop yield and food security, development of aesthetic landscapes and recreational options. Moreover, some terraced areas in the world can be considered as a cultural and historical heritage that increases the asset of the local landscape. Terraced slopes may be prone to failure and degradation issues, such as localized erosion, wall or riser collapse, piping, and landsliding, mainly related to runoff concentration processes. Degradation phenomena, which are exacerbated by progressive land abandonment, reduce the efficiency of benefits provided by terraces. Therefore, understanding the physical processes occurring in terraced slopes is essential to find the most effective maintenance criteria necessary to accurately and adequately preserve agricultural terraces worldwide.

scholarly journals Effects of water and soil conservation works on runoff and sediment variation in the areas with high and coarse sediment yield of the middle Yellow River

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 01033
Author(s):  
Wei Ying Sun ◽  
Pan Zhang ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Jiang Nan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Soil And Water Conservation ◽  
Contribution Rate ◽  
Rainfall Variation ◽  
Runoff Reduction ◽  
Soil And Water

The areas with high and coarse sediment yield of the middle Yellow River is well known for its severe erosion, high sediment yields. Since 1982 when the 8 key soil and water conservation harnessing regions has been built, the ecological environment has been gradually improved and the amount of sediment and runoff entering the Yellow River has been reduced continuously. Some researchers considered that it was owing to the water and soil conservation works (WSCW), while others believed that it was caused by the rainfall variation, but this has not been quantified for the effect respectively. This paper deals with the effects of WSCW on runoff and sediment variation. The study has been carried out in the Sanchuanhe River watershed, where was listed as one of the 8 key soil and water conservation harnessing regions. The results show that the contribution rate of human activities was 80.2% after 1st harnessing stage (1970-1979), 43.0% after 2nd harnessing stage (1980-1989), in 3rd harnessing stage (1990-1996) it reached 98.4%, and was 44.8% after 4th harnessing stage (1997-2006). With regard to the influence on runoff reduction in the watershed, the contribution rate of human activities was 62.5% compared with the natural factors after 1st harnessing stage (1970-1979), 28.4% after 2nd harnessing stage (1980-1989), in 3rd harnessing stage (1990-1996) it reached 69.6%, and was 37.0% after 4th harnessing stage (1997-2006). The results revealed that human activities exerted the largest effects on the sediment reduction and explained 66.6% of the variation in the specific sediment yield. This study suggests that a combination of human activities and rainfall variation effectively reduces runoff and sediment delivery of the Loess Plateau. Generally The runoff reduction and contribution of rainfall variation to runoff reduction in this area were as large as human activities. After many years' harnessing the great benefit have been obtained in water and soil loss control in this watershed.

scholarly journals Ecosystem Services Changes on Farmland in Response to Urbanization in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area of China

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 501
Author(s):  
Xuege Wang ◽  
Fengqin Yan ◽  
Yinwei Zeng ◽  
Ming Chen ◽  
Bin He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Great Loss ◽  
The Past ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Farmland Loss ◽  
The World

Extensive urbanization around the world has caused a great loss of farmland, which significantly impacts the ecosystem services provided by farmland. This study investigated the farmland loss due to urbanization in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) of China from 1980 to 2018 based on multiperiod datasets from the Land Use and Land Cover of China databases. Then, we calculated ecosystem service values (ESVs) of farmland using valuation methods to estimate the ecosystem service variations caused by urbanization in the study area. The results showed that 3711.3 km2 of farmland disappeared because of urbanization, and paddy fields suffered much higher losses than dry farmland. Most of the farmland was converted to urban residential land from 1980 to 2018. In the past 38 years, the ESV of farmland decreased by 5036.7 million yuan due to urbanization, with the highest loss of 2177.5 million yuan from 2000–2010. The hydrological regulation, food production and gas regulation of farmland decreased the most due to urbanization. The top five cities that had the largest total ESV loss of farmland caused by urbanization were Guangzhou, Dongguan, Foshan, Shenzhen and Huizhou. This study revealed that urbanization has increasingly become the dominant reason for farmland loss in the GBA. Our study suggests that governments should increase the construction of ecological cities and attractive countryside to protect farmland and improve the regional ESV.

scholarly journals Colonial Architecture in Panama City. Analysis of the Heritage Value of Its Monastic Buildings

Designs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Antonio Cubero Hernández ◽  
Silvia Arroyo Duarte
Keyword(s):  
Architectural History ◽  
Heritage Preservation ◽  
Panama City ◽  
World Heritage List ◽  
Current Location ◽  
Specific Analysis ◽  
The World ◽  
Value Loss ◽  
Historical Role ◽  
Historical Heritage

The Historic District of Panama City was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997 for representing an exceptional example of 17th century colonial urban planning in the Americas. This article focuses on the specific analysis of the deteriorated monastic typology, highlighting its historical role as an articulating piece of the original urban layout designed in 1673 after the transfer from Panamá Viejo to the current location and which continues today. Our methodology consisted of reviewing the different stages of each of these buildings, extracting common events, and identifying the examples of the greatest value loss, with the aim of enhancing and highlighting their historical footprint. This study includes approaches from urbanism, architectural history, and heritage preservation that allows us to discuss possible tools, either for protection or adaptative reuse, to avoid the deterioration of such important historical heritage.

Envisaged transfer projects: New technologies in the water sustainability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naseer Ahmed Abbasi ◽  
Xiangzhou Xu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
The World

<p><strong>Abstracts:</strong> Influenced by global climate change, water shortages and other extreme weather, water scarcity in the world is an alarming sign. This article provides evidences regarding the Tunnel and Tianhe project’s feasibility and their technical, financial, political, socioeconomic and environmental aspects. Such as how to utilize the water vapour in the air and to build a 1000 km long tunnel project to fulfill the goal of solving water shortage in China. The projects are promising to solve the problem of water, food and drought in the country. In addition, the telecoupling framework helps to effectively understand and manage ecosystem services, as well as the different challenges associated with them. Such efforts can help find the ways for proper utilization of water resources and means of regulation.</p><p><strong>Key words: </strong>Sustainability; water shortage; transfer project</p>

scholarly journals HISTORICAL HERITAGE AND SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT: CHALLENGES IMPOSED ON OWNERS AND MANAGERS OF LISTED HISTORICAL BUILDINGS IN THE CITY OF SÃO PAULO

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-35
Author(s):  
Fernanda Cardoso Romão Freitas ◽  
Fabiane Domingues de Magalhães de Almeida ◽  
Alcides Garcia Junior
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Historical Buildings ◽  
The World ◽  
Historical Heritage ◽  
The City ◽  
Lack Of Knowledge

The worldwide concern regarding sustainable urban development has been increasing as the populations of countries increase and demand more consumption of the already scarce natural resources. According to the United Nations, it is estimated that 55% of the world population lives in urban centers, with the perspective of surpassing 68% in 2050. In Brazil, 84% of the population today live in the cities. One of the goals of sustainable development is to make cities more sustainable and inclusive and, to accomplish such goal, many variables need to be accomplished, among which is the strengthening of efforts to protect and safeguard cities’ cultural heritage, for the present and future generations. Seeing as São Paulo is the 10th urban city in the world, and its historical heritage preservation policies are recent and in the process of being outlined, this research strives to answer: What are the main challenges identified by owners/managers of listed historical buildings in São Paulo, which stand in the way of conserving/preserving their properties? Results revealed that the main challenges are a lack of knowledge about what interventions can be done to the property, lack of knowledge on incentive laws and more feasible ways for the conservation of historical sites and dealing with excessive bureaucracy. Such results contribute to the implementation of urban development policies focused on the sustainable goal of safeguarding the city’s cultural heritage, in order to propitiate advancements in preserving the memory and identity of the city through the conservation of properties listed as historical heritage.  

scholarly journals Conservation in the Future

Conservation ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 361-400
Author(s):  
Charles Perrings
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Crop Wild Relatives ◽  
Wild Relatives ◽  
Forest Conversion ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
Subsidiarity Principle ◽  
Economic Trends

The final chapter considers the factors likely to influence the value of species and ecosystems to individual users and the wider community in the future, including the factors likely to drive a wedge between the value of ecosystems to individual users or individual communities and to the rest of the world. It reviews environmental trends identified by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and economic trends identified by organizations such as the World Bank. Using the European Union’s subsidiarity principle as a guide, the chapter discusses the optimal scale at which to manage future conservation challenges, and the implications this has for governance. It concludes by applying the discussion to four issues of particular concern: forest conversion, the loss of landraces and crop wild relatives, marine capture fisheries, and emerging infectious zoonoses.

How is table tennis used to boost the development of Shanghai? Interviewing the executive director of Shanghai Table Tennis Association

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Hao Dong Gu
Keyword(s):  
Urban Development ◽  
Executive Director ◽  
Table Tennis ◽  
City Image ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Government Relations ◽  
Star Power ◽  
The World ◽  
Historical Heritage

PurposeScholars have examined the relationship between sports and urban development and proposed to use sport programs and events as a catalyst to revitalize communities, upgrade urban infrastructure, promote city image, shift economic structure, nurture an active lifestyle, and enhance societal harmony and solidarity. Yet, previous studies were usually focused on mega sport events and were typically conceptual, theoretical and lack of practical applications. This study was designed to attain in-depth understanding on how a specific sport, table tennis, can be systematically organized and utilized to influence urban development through a qualitative research injury.Design/methodology/approachThis investigation was carried by conducting in-depth interviews of the executive director of the Shanghai Table Tennis Association, on-site observations and comprehensive review of literature. Development of interview questions took into consideration the conceptual framework postulated by Preuss (2007) that contains six structures of urban development through sports. Triangulation analyses were conducted to cross validate the three information sources to generate themes and assertions.FindingsWhile the identified practices were consistent with Preuss' (2007) framework, specific management activities earnestly practiced in Shanghai are centered on utilizing cultural and historical heritage, star power, branding strategies, staging tournaments, hallmark events, technical innovation and government relations to achieve the objectives of table tennis as a sport and the objectives of urban development through table tennis.Originality/valueThe findings of this study help fill the void that a theory usually cannot specify, namely, detailed, unambiguous practices. While table tennis may be a viewed as a small sport in many parts of the world, it has a strong, unprecedented historical heritage in Shanghai. This city has made a prudent choice and investment in this sport, which has proved to be effective. Other cities in the world should look into their own social, cultural and historical heritage and develop sport strategies, operations and programs accordingly.

Becoming Gypsy: Tell Me What the Body Knows in Flamenco Dance

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-35
Author(s):  
Diane Oatley
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
The Body ◽  
Physical Interaction ◽  
Embodied Knowledge ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
The World ◽  
Language And Cognition ◽  
Experiences Of Women

Abstract In The Meaning of the Body, philosopher Mark Johnson makes a case for the significance of movement in terms of the body processes he holds as essential to the generation of meaning and knowledge acquisition in physical interaction with the world–equally essential as language and cognition. The article employs this theory in interpreting the experiences of women learning flamenco dance in Spain. The investigation of the perceptions of women studying flamenco dance, a dance tradition often defined as “gypsy,” indicates that exposure to flamenco dance and culture leads to revision of stereotypes regarding embodiment and difference, but respondents did not relate this revision to bodily engagement, or physical processes particular to dancing flamenco. Although Johnson’s failure to properly account for the role of the unconscious proved to be a serious shortcoming in the theory, and one which had implications for the findings, application of the theory disclosed the parameters of a discourse on the body in flamenco. The theory thus represents a radical gesture in redefining embodiment in its own right in a manner that precludes dualism with the consequent opening of a range of alternative perspectives on the articulation of embodied knowledge.

Ecologies by Humans for Humans

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oswald J. Schmitz
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Ecology ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Industrial Ecology ◽  
Environmental Stewardship ◽  
Resource Extraction ◽  
Ethical Position ◽  
The World ◽  
Virtual Resources

This chapter discusses the potential of industrial and urban ecology to entwine humans and nature to achieve sustainability in ways that are respectful and ethical to both. Thinking about humans and nature linked as socio-ecological systems means appreciating the growing, inextricable connectedness between global locations where technology is manufactured and used, and locations that physically provide the key elements. An ethical position of environmental stewardship would obligate one to first question whether it is right to protect nature in one location and force resource extraction to be done in other parts of the world. Industrial ecology is an emerging field that enhances society's ability to maintain the functionality of related ecosystems, and is also now toying with using principles of evolutionary biology and resilience. Like industrial ecology, urban ecology is based on systems thinking and include the valuation of ecosystem services, telecoupling of real and virtual resources, and environmental stewardship.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document