scholarly journals Soil Properties Linking to Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security in Nepal

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Him Lal Shrestha ◽  
Trishna Bhandari ◽  
Bhaskar Karky ◽  
Rajan Kotru
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Ph Value ◽  
Farmyard Manure ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Productivity ◽  
Food Deficit

Crop productivity is directly dependent to soil fertility. High soil organic carbon (SOC) content in soil is vital as it leads to improved soil quality, increased productivity, and stable soil-aggregates. In addition, with the signing of the climate agreement, there is growing interest in carbon sequestration in landscapes. This paper looks at how SOC can be increased so that it not only contributes to reduction of CO2, but also translates to increased food production thereby enhancing food security. This synergy between mitigation and enhancing food security is even more relevant for mountain landscapes of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region where there remains huge potential to increase CO2 sequestration and simultaneously address food security in the chronic food deficit villages. Soil samples were collected from seven transects each in Bajhang and Mustang and from 4 land use types in each transect. Samples of soils were taken from two depths in each plot; 0-15 cm below the soil surface and 15-30 cm below the soil surface to compare the top soil and subsoil dynamics of the soil nutrients. The lab analysis was performed to assess the soil texture, soil color, soil acidity in 'power of hydrogen' (pH), macro-nutrients as soil fertility. Secondary data was used to analyze the level of food deficit in the villages. The result shows that most of the sample soils from Mustang were clay (82.1%) which is 46 samples out of 56. The pH value of soil from Bajhang ranged from 5.29 to 9.09. The pH value of soil ranged from 5.65 to 8.81 in Mustang. SOC contents of sampled soils from Bajhang ranged from 0.20% to 7.69% with mean amount of 2.47% ± 0.17. SOC contents of sampled soils from Mustang ranged from 0.51% to 8.56% with mean amount of 2.60% ± 0.25. By land use type, forest land had the highest carbon (C) content of 53.61 t ha-1 in Bajhang whereas in Mustang, agricultural land had the highest C content of 52.02 tons ha-1. Based on these data, we can say that there is potential for increasing SOC through improved soil health and crop production and soil. Sustainable soil management should be practiced for higher productivity. Livestock may also provide farmyard manure, which can be used to fertilize cultivated soils, which increases soil productivity. Increasing productivity would aid in increasing the access and availability of food in these mountain villages.

scholarly journals A Comparison of Approaches to Regional Land-Use Capability Analysis for Agricultural Land-Planning

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 458
Author(s):  
Tara A. Ippolito ◽  
Jeffrey E. Herrick ◽  
Ekwe L. Dossa ◽  
Maman Garba ◽  
Mamadou Ouattara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Field Samples ◽  
Agricultural Potential ◽  
Fertility Data ◽  
Using Data

Smallholder agriculture is a major source of income and food for developing nations. With more frequent drought and increasing scarcity of arable land, more accurate land-use planning tools are needed to allocate land resources to support regional agricultural activity. To address this need, we created Land Capability Classification (LCC) system maps using data from two digital soil maps, which were compared with measurements from 1305 field sites in the Dosso region of Niger. Based on these, we developed 250 m gridded maps of LCC values across the region. Across the region, land is severely limited for agricultural use because of low available water-holding capacity (AWC) that limits dry season agricultural potential, especially without irrigation, and requires more frequent irrigation where supplemental water is available. If the AWC limitation is removed in the LCC algorithm (i.e., simulating the use of sufficient irrigation or a much higher and more evenly distributed rainfall), the dominant limitations become less severe and more spatially varied. Finally, we used additional soil fertility data from the field samples to illustrate the value of collecting contemporary data for dynamic soil properties that are critical for crop production, including soil organic carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen.

scholarly journals Spatial Differentiation of Cultivated Land Use Intensification in Village Settings: A Survey of Typical Chinese Villages

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Quanfeng Li ◽  
Zhe Dong ◽  
Guoming Du ◽  
Aizheng Yang
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
Output State ◽  
Land Use Intensification ◽  
Development Levels ◽  
Business Entities

The intensified use of cultivated land is essential for optimizing crop planting practices and protecting food security. This study employed a telecoupling framework to evaluate the cultivated land use intensification rates in typical Chinese villages (village cultivated land use intensifications—VCLUIs). The pressure–state–response (PSR) model organizes the VCLUI indexes including the intensity press, output state, and structural response of cultivated land use. Empirical analysis conducted in Baiquan County, China, indicating that the cultivated land use intensification levels of the whole county were low. However, the intensifications of villages influenced by physical and geographic locations and socioeconomic development levels varied significantly. This paper also found that variations in the VCLUIs were mainly dependent on new labor-driven social subsystem differences. Thus, the expanding per capita farmland scales and increasing numbers of new agricultural business entities were critical in improving the VCLUI. Overall, the theoretical framework proposed in this study was demonstrated to be effective in analyzing interactions among the natural, social, and economic subsystems of the VCLUI. The findings obtained in this study potentially have important implications for future regional food security, natural stability, and agricultural land use sustainability.

ANALYSIS OF DYNAMICS OF LAND USE STRUCTURE AND SOIL FERTILITY INDICATORS OVER THE KLYAZMA RIVER BASIN

2021 ◽  
pp. 88-98
Author(s):  
I.N. Kurochkin ◽  
◽  
E.Yu. Kulagina ◽  
N.V. Chugay ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Land Use Structure ◽  
Vladimir Region ◽  
Fallow Lands ◽  
Analysis Of Dynamics

The main trends in changing the land use structure in the territory of the Klyazma River basin were de-scribed in the article. Using GIS technologies and remote sensing data the areas of land with different land use regimes in the studied territory were determined in the period from 2001 to 2019. The indices of LAI and FPAR phytoproductivity for the territory of the Klyazma basin as a whole, and for each basin included in it were determined. The analysis of the dynamics of changes occurring in the structure of land use is carried out. For the territory of Vladimir region, which is a part of the Klyazma River basin, an assessment of soil types distribution over occupied area was carried out. An integral indicator of soil fertility was calcu-lated on the basis of statistical data of agrochemical indicators. The fraction of fallow lands decreased by 2019 and it amounts 33.76% of the total area of the studied territory. The fraction of mixed forests increased from 38.48% in 2001 to 44.50% in 2019 due to the formation of fast-growing tree species shoots on fallow lands. The area of meadow vegetation for the period from 2015 to 2019 decreased by 3.5%, from 4 276 to 3 121 km2, due to agriculture degradation and a significant decrease in livestock grazing. The indicator of soil fertility for the Klyazma basin was 0.74, which is a high indicator. It is established that the most active decrease in the agricultural land area occurs in the central, north-western and western parts of the river basin.

scholarly journals Crop Residue Management for Sustenance of Natural Resources and Agriculture Productivity

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maninder Singh ◽  
Anita Jaswal ◽  
Arshdeep Singh
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Residue ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Residue Management ◽  
Soil Productivity ◽  
Crop Residue Management

Crop residue management (CRM) through conservation agriculture can improve soil productivity and crop production by preserving soil organic matter (SOM) levels. Two major benefits of surface-residue management are improved organic matter (OM) near the soil surface and boosted nutrient cycling and preservation. Larger microbial biomass and activity near the soil surface act as a pool for nutrients desirable in crop production and enhance structural stability for increased infiltration. In addition to the altered nutrient distribution within the soil profile, changes also occur in the chemical and physical properties of the soil. Improved soil C sequestration through enhanced CRM is a cost-effective option for reducing agriculture's impact on the environment. Ideally, CRM practices should be selected to optimize crop yields with negligible adverse effects on the environment. Crop residues of common agricultural crops are chief resources, not only as sources of nutrients for subsequent crops but also for amended soil, water and air quality. Maintaining and managing crop residues in agriculture can be economically beneficial to many producers and more importantly to society. Improved residue management and reduced tillage practices should be encouraged because of their beneficial role in reducing soil degradation and increasing soil productivity. Thus, farmers have a responsibility in making management decisions that will enable them to optimize crop yields and minimize environmental impacts. Multi-disciplinary and integrated efforts by a wide variety of scientists are required to design the best site-specific systems for CRM practices to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability while minimizing environmental impacts.

scholarly journals Diversification of Local Tubers through Optimization of Cocoa Farming in Supporting Sustainable Food Security

2021 ◽  
Vol 940 (1) ◽  
pp. 012089
Author(s):  
H Pribadi ◽  
S Jumiyati ◽  
A Muis ◽  
I K Widnyana ◽  
J Mustabi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Sweet Potato ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Calorific Value ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
World Population ◽  
Sweet Potatoes ◽  
Sustainable Food

Abstract The rate of world population growth gets faster every year, while on the other hand the land available for food production activities is increasingly limited. Efforts to increase income and food crop production by using cocoa farming to support national food security can be done by optimizing of land through crop diversification patterns by planting local tubers under cocoa farming. This research aims to analyze the optimization of land use, revenue and production costs. In addition, analyzing the nutritional content contained in each type of local tubers, namely sweet potato, cassava and taro. The research was conducted in the the buffer zone of Lore Lindu National Park (TNLL), Palolo District, Sigi Regency, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The results showed that the optimization of land use and revenue was obtained through the diversification pattern of sweet potato and cocoa. Optimization of the costs use occurs in the use of fertilizer production inputs. In addition, sweet potatoes have a higher calorific value, protein and fat compared to cassava and taro. However, the carbohydrate content of cassava is higher than that of sweet potato and taro.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Impacts on Agricultural Land use in the Northeast

1978 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-74
Author(s):  
Douglas E. Morris ◽  
Albert E. Luloff
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Improvement ◽  
Agricultural Land Use ◽  
Timber Production ◽  
Crop Acreage ◽  
Socioeconomic Impacts ◽  
Grapes Of Wrath

Joad said, “You're bound to get idears if you go thinkin’ about stuff.”John Steinbeck, The Grapes of WrathPast agricultural programs encouraged the withdrawal of cropland from agricultural production. With the removal of crop acreage restrictions and despite the favorable relationships of the 1972–1974 period, all of this land has not been immediately activated into crop production. Some programs encouraged shifts of cropland to pasture, timber production, or to soil improvement uses. Land converted to these alternatives is potentially available for crop production, but whether or at what rate it will be reemployed remains problematic.

scholarly journals From jhum to broom: Agricultural land-use change and food security implications on the Meghalaya Plateau, India

AMBIO ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabi Narayan Behera ◽  
Debendra Kumar Nayak ◽  
Peter Andersen ◽  
Inger Elisabeth Måren
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Land Use

scholarly journals Impact of the Domestic Labor Market on Sustainability of Agriculture in Oman

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Hemesiri Bandara Kotagama ◽  
Hamam Al-Farsi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Farm Production ◽  
Government Sector ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Impact

Undistorted factor markets are a perquisite for efficient allocation of resources and growth in production. In Oman by 2013, only 16% of households have reported agriculture as the main occupation and 53% have reported nonagricultural government employment as the main occupation. This situation is hypothesized to be related to the labor market; where government legislated higher remuneration in the nonagricultural government sector vis-a-vis agricultural sector, influences Omani farmers to move to nonagricultural employment, causing reduced cultivated area and farm production. The study uses operations research methods to quantify the impact of labor market policies on agricultural employment, farm gross income and land use intensity (proxy for farm production and food security). It is found that the shift of Omani labor from agriculture is influenced by higher wages in the nonagricultural sectors. The agricultural land use intensity is thereby decreased. The policy of allowing hiring of expatriate labor is beneficial in overcoming labor scarcity. However, in the long-run both farm productivity need to improve to be competitive with legislated income receivable from nonagricultural employment and ideally labor markets need to operate freely, to enhance food security and assure employment of Omani labor in agriculture.

scholarly journals Scientific and methodological approaches to the development of experimental land management projects for the organization of the territory of state scientific institutions and enterprises for the production of organic products

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Dorosh ◽  
◽  
A. Barvinskyi ◽  
G. Kolisnyk ◽  
L. Svyrydova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
State Research ◽  
Organic Products ◽  
Methodological Approaches

The expansion of organic production in Ukraine is in line with global trends in the agricultural sector in the direction of greening of agricultural land use, accompanied by reducing the level of anthropogenic pressure on land resources, ensuring high quality crop products and maintaining a clean environment. The only means of creating spatial conditions for the harmonious functioning of organic land use within the territories of state research institutions and enterprises is the appropriate land management mechanism, which is currently lacking. Therefore, it is important to solve this problem by its creation and implementation in the practice of economic entities. The purpose of this study is to improve scientific and methodological approaches to the development of experimental land management projects for the organization of the territory for the production of organic products within the land use of state research institutions and enterprises. For this purpose the following tasks were solved: analysis of the current state of development of relevant land management projects and their legal support, determination of structural features and placement of relevant elements of the organization of the territory for organic crop production, substantiation of ecological and economic optimization of agricultural land structure and crop rotation.

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