scholarly journals Mediterranean Landscape Re-Greening at the Expense of South American Agricultural Expansion

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 204
Author(s):  
Jaime Martínez-Valderrama ◽  
María E. Sanjuán ◽  
Gabriel del Barrio ◽  
Emilio Guirado ◽  
Alberto Ruiz ◽  
...  

The stabling of livestock farming implies changes in both local ecosystems (regeneration of forest stands via reduced grazing) and those located thousands of kilometers away (deforestation to produce grain for feeding livestock). Despite their importance, these externalities are poorly known. Here we evaluated how the intensification and confinement of livestock in Spain has affected forest surface changes there and in South America, the largest provider of soybeans for animal feed to the European Union. For this purpose, we have used Spanish soybean import data from Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and a land condition map of Spain. The area of secondary forest in Spain that has regenerated as a result of livestock stabling has been ~7000 kha for the decade 2000–2010. In the same period, 1220 kha of high value South American ecosystems (e.g., Chaco dry Forest, Amazonian rainforest or Cerrado) have been deforested. While these figures may offer a favorable interpretation of the current industrial livestock production, it is not possible to speak of compensation when comparing the destruction of well-structured ecosystems, such as primary South American forests, with the creation of secondary forest landscapes in Spain, which are also prone to wildfires. Our results highlight how evaluating land use change policies at a national or regional level is an incomplete exercise in our highly telecoupled and globalized world.

Ciencia Unemi ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (26) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Fernando Javier Moreno Brieva ◽  
Daniel Peñaherrera-Patiño ◽  
Kimberly Domínguez-Rodríguez

En un mundo cada vez más globalizado, con productos que son el resultado de una cadena global, las alianzas entre países ha pasado a ser sustancial, dándole prioridad a la I+D+i, que está directamente relacionada con los niveles de desarrollo de los países. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo central analizar el desarrollo de la cooperación entre la Unión Europea (UE) y los países sudamericanos, focalizándose en la I+D+i. La metodología empleada ha sido a través de la revisión de la literatura, y la realización de análisis estadísticos desde datos provenientes de ambas partes analizadas. Principalmente, se puede concluir que ha existido un acercamiento de los países del bloque europeo con los de América del Sur, posterior a la incorporación de España a la UE; aunque en temas de I+D+i, alrededor de las tres cuartas partes de la cooperación ha sido efectuada con Argentina, Brasil y Chile. AbstractIn an increasingly globalized world, with products that are the result of a global chain, alliances between countries have become substantial, giving priority to R+D+i, which is directly related to the levels of development of the countries. The main objective of this study is to analyze the development of cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the South American countries, focusing on R+D+i. The methodology used has been through the literature review, and the accomplishment of statistical analysis obtained from data of secondary sources, coming from both analyzed parts. Mainly, it can be concluded that there has been a rapprochement of the countries of the European Union with those of South America, after the incorporation of Spain to the EU; although around three quarters of the cooperation has been carried out with Argentina, Brazil and Chile, related to terms of R+D+i.


2004 ◽  
Vol 155 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 80-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Ackermann

Wild growing yams (Dioscorea spp.) are an important supplementary food in Madagascar, especially during periods of rice shortage in the rainy season. Yams grow in dry forests and there is a particularly high occurrence of yam tubers in recently burned, open secondary forest formations. The study found that the uncontrolled harvest of yams can contribute to the degradation of dry forests due to the high quantity of wild yams harvested by the local population and the widespread practice of intentionally burning forests to increase yams production.


2021 ◽  
pp. 103617
Author(s):  
Camila Martínez ◽  
C. Jaramillo ◽  
J. Martínez Murcia ◽  
W. Crepet ◽  
A. Cárdenas ◽  
...  

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Ahmad Alshannaq ◽  
Jae-Hyuk Yu

The most common, toxic, and carcinogenic mycotoxins found in human food and animal feed are the aflatoxins (AFs). The United States is a leading exporter of various nuts, with a marketing value of $9.1 billion in 2019; the European Union countries are the major importers of U.S. nuts. In the past few years, border rejections and notifications for U.S. tree nuts and peanuts exported to the E.U. countries have increased due to AF contamination. In this work, we analyzed notifications from the “Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF)” on U.S. food and feed products contaminated with mycotoxins, primarily AFs, for the 10-year period 2010–2019. Almost 95% of U.S. mycotoxin RASFF notifications were reported for foods and only 5% for feeds. We found that 98.9% of the U.S. food notifications on mycotoxins were due to the AF contamination in almond, peanut, and pistachio nuts. Over half of these notifications (57.9%) were due to total AF levels greater than the FDA action level in food of 20 ng g−1. The Netherlands issued 27% of the AF notifications for U.S. nuts. Border rejection was reported for more than 78% of AF notifications in U.S. nuts. All U.S. feed notifications on mycotoxins occurred due to the AF contamination. Our research contributes to better understanding the main reasons behind RASFF mycotoxins notifications of U.S. food and feed products destined to E.U. countries. Furthermore, we speculate possible causes of this problem and provide a potential solution that could minimize the number of notifications for U.S. agricultural export market.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 51-57
Author(s):  
S. Yu. Zaytsev ◽  
◽  
N. V. Bogolyubova ◽  

Pig breeding is one of the key areas for the development of livestock meat production both in Russia and in the world. According to forecasts of various agro-industrial companies and information and analytical agencies, by the end of 2020, pork production was predicted to grow similar to that in 2019, which was 5,1% (or more than 192,6 thousand tons, in slaughter weight, compared to 2018). This would represent more than a third of the total meat production in Russia, which was estimated at 11,04–11,22 million tons (as compared to 10,9 million tons in 2019). According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation (dated February 4, 2021), pork production increased "at 8.9% by 2019, which in live weight is +446 thousand tons", while the total meat production in Russia in 2020 reached 15,6 million tons, an increase of 3,1% (+472 thousand tons) more than in 2019. These indicators significantly exceed the forecasts indicated above, which is associated with the implementation of investment projects (primarily with state participation) in this direction and "expansion of export opportunities for Russian suppliers" in 2020. Despite the sanctions, coronavirus and other global challenges to the Russian economy, pork has been the "main driver" for the growth of meat production in Russia in recent years. Now our country is on the 4th line in the ranking according to the pig numbers (46.5 million heads in 2019) after China, the European Union and the United States of America. Agricultural enterprises in Russia account for 83,4% of pigs, 14,6% – on personal subsidiary plots, 2,0% – on farms. According to experts, the long-term development trend is an increase in the number of pigs in 5 years by 27,7%, in 10 years – by 36,1%, and the annual increase in pork production is planned at about 5%. Thus, in recent years, pork production has determined a positive trend in all domestic livestock farming in terms of the volume and quality of meat produced in Russia.


Multilingua ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Anne Harrison

AbstractThis article examines the current situation of regional language bilingual primary education in Alsace and contends that the regional language presents a special case in the context of France. The language comprises two varieties: Alsatian, which traditionally has been widely spoken, and Standard German, used as the language of reference and writing. The advantages of learning Standard German have been highlighted by language-in-education policy-makers: as well as being the written form of the regional language, German is promoted as the most widely spoken language in the European Union, the language of neighbouring countries, an asset in the search for employment and an aid to learning another powerful language in our increasingly globalized world, namely English. Nevertheless, Alsatian can be, and in some cases is being, employed in the classroom, although it remains in a minority position in comparison to Standard German. Based on original research undertaken in the region, the article aims to explore current classroom practices, which are sometimes found to be incongruous with official language-in-education policy. It analyses the language attitudes of parents and considers the effect of these attitudes on the promotion of Alsatian and Standard German. Practices and attitudes in city and small town locations are compared to evaluate the influence of urban and peri-urban settings. As the transmission of Alsatian is no longer guaranteed in the home, the article investigates whether the school can promote this traditional, non-standardized regional variety alongside the dominant standard languages, and whether parents wish for this to happen.


2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Salm ◽  
Euphly Jalles-Filho ◽  
Cynthia Schuck-Paim

In this study we propose a model that represents the importance of large arborescent palms in the dynamics of seasonally-dry Amazonian forests. Specifically, the model is aimed at guiding the investigation of the role of large arborescent palms on forest regeneration and succession. Following disturbance, the high level of luminosity reaching recently formed forest gaps favors the quick proliferation of shade-intolerant lianas that, by casting shade on the crowns of mature forest trees and increasing tree-fall probability, suppress forest succession. Due to their columnar architecture palm trees are, however, not severely affected by vines. As the palms grow, the canopy at the gaps becomes gradually higher and denser, progressively obstructing the passage of light, thus hindering the growth of shade-intolerant lianas and enabling late-successional tree development and forest regeneration. Owing to the long time associated with forest regeneration, the model cannot be tested directly, but aspects of it were examined with field data collected at an Attalea maripa-rich secondary forest patch within a matrix of well-preserved seasonally-dry forest in the Southeastern Amazon. The results indicate that (1) forest disturbance is important for the recruitment of large arborescent palms species, (2) these palms can grow rapidly after an event of disturbance, restoring forest canopy height and density, and (3) secondary forest dominated by palm trees species may be floristically similar to nearby undisturbed forests, supporting the hypothesis that the former has undergone regeneration, as purported in the model.


2002 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 762-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Brookes

Abstract The use of the technology of genetic modification (GM) in European agriculture and the food supply chain is currently controversial. Because of strong anti-GM technology sentiments, the use of ingredients derived from plants containing GM have largely been eliminated from foods manufactured for direct human consumption by the food supply chain in much of the European Union (EU). During the past year, the attention of those opposed to the technology has turned to the use of GM ingredients in livestock production systems by incorporation of GM soy and maize in animal feed. A discussion is presented of the key issues relating to this subject, focusing on how supplies of GM or non-GM products are segregated or how their identities are preserved. The discussion is centered on GM maize and soybeans into which agronomic traits, such as herbicide tolerance and/or insect resistance, have been incorporated. These are currently the only crops into which some varieties containing GM have been approved for use in the EU.


Krmiva ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
Zvonko Antunović ◽  
Đuro Senčić ◽  
Josip Novoselec ◽  
Danijela Samac ◽  
Željka Klir

The aim of the present study was to analyze the situation in organic livestock farming in Croatia and Europe. In the European countries in the year 2017, around 4.5 million cattle, 5.2 million sheep, 1 million pigs and 50 million poultry were registered in organic farming. The highest share of organically registered domestic animals compared to the total population in Europe and the European Union-28 was in cattle (3.5% and 5.2%) and sheep (3.4% and 5.0%), and the lowest in pigs (0.6% and 0.7%). In Croatia the highest share is in sheep (8.57%) and the lowest in poultry (0.02%) number. The largest increase in recent ten years in the EU has been in the number of poultry (by 103%) and the smallest in the number of pigs (by 47.6%), while the increase was the number of cattle and sheep was around 76% and 74%, respectively. In Croatia organic sheep production increased the most (by 65.0%), while the number of cattle and poultry increased by 62 and 64%, and the smallest increase is in the number of pigs (by 24%). The majority of organic meat of all species of domestic animals is produced in France and in United Kingdom, while organic milk is produced mostly in Germany and France. During the year 2018, most organic beef was produced in the UK and France, organic pork in France and Finland, organic sheep meat in Spain and the UK, organic goat meat in Spain, while most of organic poultry was produced in France and in the UK. A significant increase in the number of livestock in organic farming in Europe and in Croatia indicates an increasing interest in organic livestock farming, not only increase of farmers and processors but also increase of consumers of organic products in European countries.


Author(s):  
A. V. Vedeneev ◽  
Yu. L. Bobarikin ◽  
V. P. Zalewski

Dynamics of development of sales of cars in the world is considered. The steady growth of car sales in the period 2013–2018 was determined. It is determined that in just nine months of 2018, 71 153 025 cars were registered in the world, which is 1.7% more than in the nine months of 2017, and according to the data of the ASEAN (European Association of car manufacturers), 11 951 957 cars were registered in the automotive market of the European Union countries in the nine months of 2018 in the EU, which is 2.5% more than in the same period of 2017. It is determined that despite some decline in production in Japan, South Korea, the rest of the traditional car manufacturers in Europe and North America show a steady pace of development, built and planned construction of new modern production of automotive equipment mainly in the Asian and South American regions. Analysis of the development of metal cord production showed that it is expected to increase investment in the production of metal cord with a planned increase in production by 22% until 2022. At the same time, the greatest growth should fall on passenger and lightcargo tires. Due to the increasing competition in the metal cord market, the development of the latter is in the direction of highstrength structures. The transition to a high-strength metal cord attracts the possibility of reducing the weight of tires, increasing their mobility and reducing the cost per unit weight of the metal cord with an equally strong replacement of structures in tires.


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