scholarly journals Past, Present and Future of Hay-making Structures in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 5581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Špulerová ◽  
Kruse ◽  
Branduini ◽  
Centeri ◽  
Eiter ◽  
...  

Hay-making structures are part of the agricultural landscape of meadows and pastures. Hay meadows are still used and found all over Europe, but their distribution patterns as well as their characteristics and regional features depend on geographical area, climate, culture, and intensity of agriculture. Intensively used hay meadows are the most dominant, using heavy machinery to store hay mostly as rounded or square bales. Traditional hay-making structures represent structures or constructions, used to quickly dry freshly cut fodder and to protect it from humidity. The ‘ancient’ forms of traditional hay-making structures are becoming a relic, due to mechanisation and the use of new technologies. Both the need for drying hay and the traditional methods for doing so were similar across Europe. Our study of hay-making structures focuses on their current state, their development and history, current use and cultural values in various European countries. Regarding the construction and use of hay-making structures, we have distinguished three different types, which correlate to natural and regional conditions: (1) temporary hay racks of various shapes; (2) hay barracks, a special type of shelters for storing hay and (3) different types of permanent construction and buildings for drying and storing hay. Hay-making structures have been mostly preserved in connection with traditional agricultural landscapes, and particularly in the more remote regions or where associated with strong cultural identity.

Author(s):  
Tamara Rischen ◽  
Tobias Frenzel ◽  
Klaus Fischer

AbstractAgricultural intensification poses a major threat to the conservation of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Since non-crop habitats are regarded as important refuges for farmland biodiversity, various greening measures have been proposed to halt biodiversity loss. However, the effectiveness of these measures for biodiversity conservation is still under debate. Therefore, we here compared ground-dwelling beetle (Coleoptera) assemblages of different non-crop habitats (field margins, set-aside fields sown with wildflowers, and permanent grassland fallows) and wheat fields within an intensively used agricultural landscape in western Germany. Taxonomic diversity of Carabidae, Staphylinidae and other coleopteran families and their conservation value were higher in all non-crop habitats than on wheat fields. Surprisingly, though, different types of non-crop habitats did not differ in species richness or the number of threatened species. Thus, field margins and sown wildflower fields were as effective in promoting beetle diversity as grassland fallows. However, different non-crop habitats supported different species assemblages, and several species, in particular especially large ones, were restricted to grassland fallows. These results suggest that different greening measures are effective in promoting the biodiversity of beetles, and that permanent grassland fallows are essential for nature conservation. The fact that habitat types harbored different assemblages stresses the need to combine a variety of greening measures to yield the highest benefit for biodiversity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Dahlan Mohammad Zaini ◽  
Mustika Ratna Dewi ◽  
Vania Okky Putri

Traditional agricultural landscape is an important part of rural community’s life and perceived as a cultural heritage. There are various cultural values and agricultural systems with local wisdom that should be preserved. One of the strategies that can be carried out is the initiative of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) which promotes an agricultural landscape becomes a sustainable agricultural heritage system. However, Indonesia as an agricultural country, did not yet has any site that have been registered and participated as a GIAHS site. In fact, there is area with traditional agricultural landscape that is highly potential to be registered, namely Sudaji Village, located in Buleleng Regency, Bali. Therefore, this study aims to identify and analyze the potential and constraints of Sudaji Village regarding its agricultural landscape to be designated as GIAHS Sites in Indonesia. The methods used in this research are benchmarking method and field survey. The results showed that Sudaji Village met the five criterias to be designated as one of GIAHS Sites, as follow: (1) the contribution of the agricultural system to food security and livelihoods, (2) the use of biodiversity as a source of food and agriculture, (3) knowledge and experience of traditional community systems that are still being maintained, (4) the existence of two village government systems that affect the value system and culture of the community, and (5) the landscape condition that is influenced by people's knowledge in managing agricultural landscapes. Hopefully, Sudaji Village will become a part of the GIAHS Sites with its potentials. Keywords: benchmarking method, GIAHS Initiative, landscape management, Sudaji Village, traditional agricultural landscape


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1485-1497
Author(s):  
Mia Nsokimieno Misilu Eric

The current state of large cities in Democratic Republic of Congo highlights the necessity of reinventing cities. More than fifty years after the independence, these major cities, like Kinshasa the capital city, are in a state of are in a state of disrepair. They are damaged, dysfunctional, and more vulnerable. Today, these legacy cities do not meet the international requirements of livable cities. Democratic Republic of Congo faces the challenge of rebuilding its cities for sustainability. The movement for independence of African countries enabled the shift from colonial cities to legacy cities. It is important to understand the cultural and ideological foundations of colonial city. Commonly, colonial cities served as purpose-built settlements for the extraction and transport of mineral resources toward Europe. What's required is a creative reconstruction to achieve a desired successful urban change. Creative reconstruction tends to ensure urban transformation in relation with urbanization, by making continuous and healthy communities. Creative reconstruction seems appropriate way of building back cities in harmony with cultural values. The article provides a framework for urban regeneration. The study is based on principle of thinking globally and acting locally in building back better cities.


Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Antonio J. Mendoza-Fernández ◽  
Fabián Martínez-Hernández ◽  
Esteban Salmerón-Sánchez ◽  
Francisco J. Pérez-García ◽  
Blas Teruel ◽  
...  

Maytenus senegalensis subsp. europaea is a shrub belonging to the Celastraceae family, whose only European populations are distributed discontinuously along the south-eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, forming plant communities with great ecological value, unique in Europe. As it is an endangered species that makes up plant communities with great palaeoecological significance, the development of species distribution models is of major interest under different climatic scenarios, past, present and future, based on the fact that the climate could play a relevant role in the distribution of this species, as well as in the conformation of the communities in which it is integrated. Palaeoecological models were generated for the Maximum Interglacial, Last Maximum Glacial and Middle Holocene periods. The results obtained showed that the widest distribution of this species, and the maximum suitability of its habitat, occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum, when the temperatures of the peninsular southeast were not as contrasting as those of the rest of the European continent and were favored by higher rainfall. Under these conditions, large territories could act as shelters during the glacial period, a hypothesis reflected in the model’s results for this period, which exhibit a further expansion of M. europaea’s ecological niche. The future projection of models in around 2070, for four Representative Concentration Pathways according to the fifth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, showed that the most favorable areas for this species would be Campo de Dalías (southern portion of Almería province) as it presents the bioclimatic characteristics of greater adjustment to M. europaea’s ecological niche model. Currently, some of the largest specimens of the species survive in the agricultural landscapes in the southern Spain. These areas are almost totally destroyed and heavily altered by intensive agriculture greenhouses, also causing a severe fragmentation of the habitat, which implies a prospective extinction scenario in the near future.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 305
Author(s):  
Alexandra Siffert ◽  
Fabian Cahenzli ◽  
Patrik Kehrli ◽  
Claudia Daniel ◽  
Virginie Dekumbis ◽  
...  

The invasive Drosophila suzukii feeds and reproduces on various cultivated and wild fruits and moves between agricultural and semi-natural habitats. Hedges in agricultural landscapes play a vital role in the population development of D. suzukii, but also harbor a diverse community of natural enemies. We investigated predation by repeatedly exposing cohorts of D. suzukii pupae between June and October in dry and humid hedges at five different locations in Switzerland. We sampled predator communities and analyzed their gut content for the presence of D. suzukii DNA based on the COI marker. On average, 44% of the exposed pupae were predated. Predation was higher in dry than humid hedges, but did not differ significantly between pupae exposed on the ground or on branches and among sampling periods. Earwigs, spiders, and ants were the dominant predators. Predator communities did not vary significantly between hedge types or sampling periods. DNA of D. suzukii was detected in 3.4% of the earwigs, 1.8% of the spiders, and in one predatory bug (1.6%). While the molecular gut content analysis detected only a small proportion of predators that had fed on D. suzukii, overall predation seemed sufficient to reduce D. suzukii populations, in particular in hedges that provide few host fruit resources.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian-Yu Li ◽  
Yan-Ting Chen ◽  
Meng-Zhu Shi ◽  
Jian-Wei Li ◽  
Rui-Bin Xu ◽  
...  

AbstractA detailed knowledge on the spatial distribution of pests is crucial for predicting population outbreaks or developing control strategies and sustainable management plans. The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, is one of the most destructive pests of cruciferous crops worldwide. Despite the abundant research on the species’s ecology, little is known about the spatio-temporal pattern of P. xylostella in an agricultural landscape. Therefore, in this study, the spatial distribution of P. xylostella was characterized to assess the effect of landscape elements in a fine-scale agricultural landscape by geostatistical analysis. The P. xylostella adults captured by pheromone-baited traps showed a seasonal pattern of population fluctuation from October 2015 to September 2017, with a marked peak in spring, suggesting that mild temperatures, 15–25 °C, are favorable for P. xylostella. Geostatistics (GS) correlograms fitted with spherical and Gaussian models showed an aggregated distribution in 21 of the 47 cases interpolation contour maps. This result highlighted that spatial distribution of P. xylostella was not limited to the Brassica vegetable field, but presence was the highest there. Nevertheless, population aggregations also showed a seasonal variation associated with the growing stage of host plants. GS model analysis showed higher abundances in cruciferous fields than in any other patches of the landscape, indicating a strong host plant dependency. We demonstrate that Brassica vegetables distribution and growth stage, have dominant impacts on the spatial distribution of P. xylostella in a fine-scale landscape. This work clarified the spatio-temporal dynamic and distribution patterns of P. xylostella in an agricultural landscape, and the distribution model developed by geostatistical analysis can provide a scientific basis for precise targeting and localized control of P. xylostella.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita F. Keir ◽  
Richard G. Pearson ◽  
Robert A. Congdon

Remnant habitat patches in agricultural landscapes can contribute substantially to wildlife conservation. Understanding the main habitat variables that influence wildlife is important if these remnants are to be appropriately managed. We investigated relationships between the bird assemblages and characteristics of remnant riparian forest at 27 sites among sugarcane fields in the Queensland Wet Tropics bioregion. Sites within the remnant riparian zone had distinctly different bird assemblages from those of the forest, but provided habitat for many forest and generalist species. Width of the riparian vegetation and distance from source forest were the most important factors in explaining the bird assemblages in these remnant ribbons of vegetation. Gradual changes in assemblage composition occurred with increasing distance from source forest, with species of rainforest and dense vegetation being replaced by species of more open habitats, although increasing distance was confounded by decreasing riparian width. Species richness increased with width of the riparian zone, with high richness at the wide sites due to a mixture of open-habitat species typical of narrower sites and rainforest species typical of sites within intact forest, as a result of the greater similarity in vegetation characteristics between wide sites and the forest proper. The results demonstrate the habitat value for birds of remnant riparian vegetation in an agricultural landscape, supporting edge and open vegetation species with even narrow widths, but requiring substantial width (>90 m) to support specialists of the closed forest, the dominant original vegetation of the area.


2021 ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
А.Г. Аксенов ◽  
А.В. Сибирев

Степень технологической и технической зависимости отечественных производителей овощных культур от зарубежных производителей с.-х. техники, а также их техническая оснащенность специализированными машинами объясняется высокими затратами на производство овощей, особенно на уборку, что при общем дефиците ручного труда приводит к сокращению площадей, нарушению технологии выращивания и соответственно снижению урожайности. Цель исследований – определить современное состояние технологического и технического обеспечения производства овощных культур в Российской Федерации. Для достижения поставленной цели использовали методологию системного анализа и синтеза, математической статистики, численные методы решения аналитических зависимостей. Статистические исследования современного состояния технического обеспечения производства овощей в России могут служить основой для построения модели и разработки концептуальных принципов модернизации технологического и технического обеспечения работ в овощеводстве. Определена потребность товаропроизводителей в современных высокотехнологичных комплексах машин для производства овощных культур. Проведенные статистические исследования позволили оценить современное состояние с.-х. машиностроения по выпуску необходимого для товаропроизводителей количества машин. Повышение объемов производства овощной продукции неразрывно коррелирует с уровнем технического обеспечения отрасли овощеводства в целом, что подтверждает уровень локализации с.-х. машиностроения РФ, а также Беларуси и Казахстана, где с.-х. машиностроение представлено широкой номенклатурой предприятий, выпускающих комплексы машин от предпосадочной обработки почвы до послеуборочной обработки товарной продукции. Для возрождения с.-х. машиностроения и развития рынка средств механизации аграрного производства определены основные механизмы обновления парка сельхозтехники – преимущественно привлечением кредитных ресурсов коммерческих банков и лизинговых компаний. Кроме того, интенсивность ведения сельского хозяйства в современных условиях производства невозможна без высокого уровня насыщения машинно-технологических комплексов средствами интеллектуализации. Получать качественную конкурентоспособную продукцию можно только при использовании современных высокопроизводительных машин, обеспечивающих совмещение технологических операций, в конструкциях которых заложены системы автоматизированного управления технологическими процессами, учета почвенного плодородия, обеспечения экологической чистоты агроландшафтов. The degree of technological and technical dependence of domestic producers of vegetable crops on foreign producers of agricultural machinery, as well as their technical equipment with specialized machines, is explained by the high costs of vegetable production, especially for harvesting, which, with a general shortage of manual labor, leads to a reduction in area, disruption of cultivation technology and, accordingly, a decrease in yield. The purpose of the research is to determine the current state of technological and technical support for the production of vegetable crops in the Russian Federation. To achieve this purpose, we used the methodology of system analysis and synthesis, mathematical statistics, numerical methods for solving analytical dependencies. Statistical studies of the current state of technical support for vegetable production in Russia can serve as a basis for building a model and developing conceptual principles for modernizing technological and technical support for work in vegetable growing. The need of commodity producers for modern high-tech complexes of machines for the production of vegetable crops is determined. The conducted statistical studies made it possible to assess the current state of agricultural engineering for the production of the number of machines necessary for commodity producers. The increase in the production of vegetable products is inextricably correlated with the level of technical support for the vegetable growing industry as a whole, which confirms the level of localization of agricultural machinery in the Russian Federation, as well as in Belarus and Kazakhstan, where agricultural machinery is represented by a wide range of enterprises that produce complexes of machines from pre-planting tillage to post-harvest processing of commercial products. For the revival of agricultural machinery and the development of the market of agricultural production mechanization tools, the main mechanisms for updating the agricultural machinery fleet are determined-mainly by attracting credit resources from commercial banks and leasing companies. In addition, the intensity of agriculture in modern production conditions is impossible without a high level of saturation of machine-technological complexes with means of intellectualization. It is possible to obtain high-quality competitive products only with the use of modern high-performance machines that ensure the combination of technological operations, in the designs of which there are systems for automated control of technological processes, accounting for soil fertility, ensuring environmental cleanliness of agricultural landscapes. Key words: vegetable growing, vegetable seeders, transplanters, vegetable harvesting equipment.


2013 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 727-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
GERUZA L. MELO ◽  
BARBARA MIOTTO ◽  
BRISA PERES ◽  
NILTON C. CACERES

Each animal species selects specific microhabitats for protection, foraging, or micro-climate. To understand the distribution patterns of small mammals on the ground and in the understorey, we investigated the use of microhabitats by small mammals in a deciduous forest of southern Brazil. Ten trap stations with seven capture points were used to sample the following microhabitats: liana, fallen log, ground litter, terrestrial ferns, simple-trunk tree, forked tree, and Piper sp. shrubs. Seven field phases were conducted, each for eight consecutive days, from September 2006 through January 2008. Four species of rodents (Akodon montensis, Sooretamys angouya, Oligoryzomys nigripes and Mus musculus) and two species of marsupials (Didelphis albiventris and Gracilinanus microtarsus) were captured. Captured species presented significant differences on their microhabitat use (ANOVA, p = 0.003), particularly between ground and understorey sites. Akodon montensis selected positively terrestrial ferns and trunks, S. angouya selected lianas, D. albiventris selected fallen trunks and Piper sp., and G. microtarsus choose tree trunks and lianas. We demonstrated that the local small-mammal assemblage does select microhabitats, with different types of associations between species and habitats. Besides, there is a strong evidence of habitat selection in order to diminish predation.


Author(s):  
Santiago García

With the rapid development of smart phones, tablets and their operative systems, many positioning enabled sensors have been built into these devices. Users can now accurately fix their location according to the function of GPS receivers. For indoor environments, as in the case we are studying, WiFi based positioning is preferred to GPS due to the attenuation or obstruction of signals. This paper deals with the automatic classification of customers in a Sports Shop Center on the basis of their movements around the shop's premises. To achieve this goal, we start by collecting (x,y) coordinates from customers while they visit the store. Consequently, any costumer's path through the shop is formed by a list of coordinates, obtained with a frequency of one measurement per minute. Then, a guess about the full trajectory is constructed and a number of parameters about these trajectories is calculated before performing an Unsupervised Learning Clustering Process. As a result, we can identify several types of customers, and the dynamics of their behavior inside the shop. This information is of great value to the company, to be used both in the long term and also in short periods of time, monitoring the current state of the shop at any moment, identifying different types of situation appearing during restricted periods, or predicting customer flow conditions


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