scholarly journals Impacts of Land-use Transformation on Agriculture land in Afghanistan, Kabul city as case study

Author(s):  
Hamidullah Amin ◽  
Mansoor Mohammad Helmi

The change in land-use over a certain period of time is inevitable. This paper investigates the issue of land use change on agricultural land that has become a phenomenon affecting the economy and environment in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. Agriculture is the main economic source of Afghan cities, however, due to rapid population growth, population densification, and inability to apply Kabul city’s master plan and regulations, a large portion of land cover transformed from agricultural areas to unplanned developments and have shifted the function of communities from productive societies into consumer and dependent societies. The study sheds light on Yakatoot as a study farmland area in Kabul city to present an alive example of what is happening in the reality of agricultural land in Kabul. Therefore, approaches for sustainable conversion of agricultural land in Kabul city is a vital quest that needs to be followed seriously. The study illustrates Afghanistan's land laws. It identifies the social, economic and environmental impacts of land-use change. This paper applies qualitative methods, where data and analysis worked by using field surveys, aerial photographs from Google Earth and data collected from CRIDA. It also investigates international experience regarding land-use change and sustainable solutions. Therefore, due to positive implications of urban agriculture practice as a feasible and sustainable approach to tackle the ongoing challenges related to land-use change in Kabul city, this paper suggests inducing this approach in Kabul city’s master plan and other urban initiatives because it will not only lead to environmental protection, but also, it will re-establish economic stability, enhance social welfare, revive city’s historic identity.

2021 ◽  
Vol 922 (1) ◽  
pp. 012060
Author(s):  
L N Sholikah ◽  
Z K Nisa ◽  
B F Pratama ◽  
A G Pradipta ◽  
Ngadisih ◽  
...  

Abstract After New Yogyakarta International Airport (NYIA) opening, Kulon Progo continues to develop, one of which is The Bedah Menoreh route project which passes through the mountainous region. The development encourages agricultural land conversion, which impacts food security in Kulon Progo, especially in the mountainous region. This study aims to identify the conversion of agricultural land in the mountainous region of Kulon Progo Regency in 2005 – 2020 and analyze its impact on regional food security. The method used is a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) on Landsat Imagery using Machine Learning through Google Earth Engine (GEE) to identify land-use change and mathematical calculations in analyzing regional food security. The result of the supervised classification is a land cover map of the mountainous region of Kulon Progo Regency, which shows that every year the area of rice fields, in general, continues to decrease until 2020 the total area is 2,102.79 ha with a rate of agricultural land conversion -114.87 ha/year. It causes regional food security to be in a food-insecure condition, even though the availability of rice fields can be used for food self-sufficiency for up to 53 years. Other factors such as climate, rice seeds, soil, and water quality, in this case, are quite influential in rice production, not only productivity and agricultural land area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. L. Myers ◽  
Richard R. Rediske ◽  
James N. McNair ◽  
Aaron D. Parker ◽  
E. Wendy Ogilvie

Abstract Background Urban areas are often built along large rivers and surrounded by agricultural land. This may lead to small tributary streams that have agricultural headwaters and urbanized lower reaches. Our study objectives assessed are as follows: (1) landscape, geomorphic, and water quality variables that best explained variation in aquatic communities and their integrity in a stream system following this agricultural-to-urban land use gradient; (2) ways this land use gradient caused aquatic communities to differ from what would be expected for an idealized natural stream or other longitudinal gradients; and (3) whether the impacts of this land use gradient on aquatic communities would grow larger in a downstream direction through the agricultural and urban developments. Our study area was an impaired coldwater stream in Michigan, USA. Results Many factors structured the biological communities along the agricultural-to-urban land use gradient. Instream woody debris had the strongest relationship with EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) abundance and richness and were most common in the lower, urbanized watershed. Fine streambed substrate had the strongest relationship with Diptera taxa and surface air breather macroinvertebrates and was dominant in agricultural headwaters. Fish community assemblage was influenced largely by stream flow and temperature regimes, while poor fish community integrity in lower urban reaches could be impacted by geomorphology and episodic urban pollution events. Scraping macroinvertebrates were most abundant in deforested, first-order agricultural headwaters, while EPT macroinvertebrate richness was the highest downstream of agricultural areas within the urban zone that had extensive forest buffers. Conclusion Environmental variables and aquatic communities would often not conform with what we would expect from an idealized natural stream. EPT richness improved downstream of agricultural areas. This shows promise for the recovery of aquatic systems using well-planned management in watersheds with this agricultural-to-urban land use pattern. Small patches of forest can be the key to conserving aquatic biodiversity in urbanized landscapes. These findings are valuable to an international audience of researchers and water resource managers who study stream systems following this common agricultural-to-urban land use gradient, the ecological communities of which may not conform with what is generally known about land use impacts to streams.


Author(s):  
Yujuan Gao ◽  
Jianli Jia ◽  
Beidou Xi ◽  
Dongyu Cui ◽  
Wenbing Tan

The heavy metal pollution induced by agricultural land use change has attracted great attention. In this study, the divergent response of bioavailability of heavy metals in rhizosphere soil to different...


Author(s):  
Allison Neil

Soil properties are strongly influenced by the composition of the surrounding vegetation. We investigated soil properties of three ecosystems; a coniferous forest, a deciduous forest and an agricultural grassland, to determine the impact of land use change on soil properties. Disturbances such as deforestation followed by cultivation can severely alter soil properties, including losses of soil carbon. We collected nine 40 cm cores from three ecosystem types on the Roebuck Farm, north of Perth Village, Ontario, Canada. Dominant species in each ecosystem included hemlock and white pine in the coniferous forest; sugar maple, birch and beech in the deciduous forest; grasses, legumes and herbs in the grassland. Soil pH varied little between the three ecosystems and over depth. Soils under grassland vegetation had the highest bulk density, especially near the surface. The forest sites showed higher cation exchange capacity and soil moisture than the grassland; these differences largely resulted from higher organic matter levels in the surface forest soils. Vertical distribution of organic matter varied greatly amongst the three ecosystems. In the forest, more of the organic matter was located near the surface, while in the grassland organic matter concentrations varied little with depth. The results suggest that changes in land cover and land use alters litter inputs and nutrient cycling rates, modifying soil physical and chemical properties. Our results further suggest that conversion of forest into agricultural land in this area can lead to a decline in soil carbon storage.


Author(s):  
A. V. Prishchepov ◽  
F. Schierhorn ◽  
N. Dronin ◽  
E. V. Ponkina ◽  
D. Müller

2014 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 19-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Murray-Rust ◽  
Derek T. Robinson ◽  
Eleonore Guillem ◽  
Eleni Karali ◽  
Mark Rounsevell

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadaf Pourghorbani

This thesis is a supporting paper for a photographic exhibition that explores contemporary social and political issues in the country of Iran, through the depiction of a changing landscape. The work consists of photographs of the northern province of Gilan, Iran. As a critical body of work, the installation engages audiences to experience the changing environment and asks viewers to question the causes of the environmental changes in agricultural areas. A brief history of land use change in Iran during the White revolution is presented followed by a description of the current situation of farmlands in contemporary Iran. Goals for the project, methodology and issues of subjectivity are discussed. The shooting strategies, selection of the images, and presentation of the project is outlined. Finally, the essay discusses the project’s documentary relevance.


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