scholarly journals Evaluation of the intensity of environmental pressures from agriculture on groundwater in Slovenia

Dela ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 5-26
Author(s):  
Barbara Lampič ◽  
Andrejka Rutar
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Environmental Index ◽  
Environmental Pressures ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Sustainability Index ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Using a composite environmental index, we assessed how environmentally sustainable agriculture is by examining water bodies of groundwater (WBG) in Slovenia. Apart from studying identifiable differences among 21 WBG, we also analysed and detailed the pressures of agricultural activities including by different types of aquifer porosity. We found that the most heavily burdened WBG have an intergranular type of porosity. From the standpoint of environmental sustainability agriculture is ill-suited on all five of the alluvial plains with intergranular aquifers in Slovenia. The lowest index was calculated in the area of the WBG in the Drava basin (-0.54), followed by the Mura (-0.34) and Sava basin together with the Ljubljana Marshes (-0.24). In order to better illustrate responsiveness, through analysis of spatial patterns of ecologically cultivated areas, we evaluated the distribution of the most sustainable agricultural practices and found that organic farming is more prevalent on water bodies with predominantly karst type of porosity (17.1% of organically cultivated agricultural land) and it occurs least on alluvial plains with intergranular aquifers (barely 3.7% of organically cultivated agricultural land). Calculations of the sustainability index of agriculture at the level of WBG proved to be very suitable approach for determining environmental sustainability.

Delivery, uptake, fate, and transport of engineered nanoparticles in plants: a critical review and data analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 2311-2331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiming Su ◽  
Vanessa Ashworth ◽  
Caroline Kim ◽  
Adeyemi S. Adeleye ◽  
Philippe Rolshausen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Fate And Transport ◽  
Engineered Nanoparticles ◽  
Environmental Pressures ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Practices

The increasing demand for food coupled to various environmental pressures, is increasing the importance of sustainable agricultural practices.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Environmental Sustainability of Smart Cities in India: The Design and Application of the Indian Smart City Environmental Sustainability Index

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 327
Author(s):  
Shruti Shruti ◽  
Prabhat Kumar Singh ◽  
Anurag Ohri
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Sustainability Index ◽  
Environmental Sustainability Index

There is a growing consensus that the initiatives taken under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) in India should be used as an opportunity to prepare models for Environmentally Sustainable Smart Cities (ESSC). While developed countries have earlier worked towards Sustainable Cities and now are moving towards Smart Sustainable Cities, the conditions in developing countries are different. In their current form, SCM guidelines appear to emphasize more on social and economic development along with governance issues using modern tools of information and communication technology (ICT). To ensure environmental sustainability of such large-scale development planning, after a two-stage screening process, 24 environmental indicators have been finalized (including 11 from the existing guidelines), which can be used to monitor various environmentally sustainable elements of smart cities. Accordingly, in the present study; a tentative framework has been developed using these indicators to arrive at a Smart City Environmental Sustainability Index (SCESI) on a 0–100 increasing scale, and the city’s environmental sustainability has been classified under five categories: Excellent; Good; Fair; Poor or Critically Low; based on decreasing SCESI. Using this framework, five Indian cities, which are currently being developed under SCM (Delhi; Patna; Allahabad; Varanasi; and Bhubaneswar), have been examined. The analyses indicate that while three of them (Delhi, Allahabad, and Bhubaneswar) are found in the Fair (SCESI = 40–60) category of environmental sustainability, two (Varanasi and Patna) are in the Poor (SCESI = 20–40) category. The SCESI developed may be used as a monitoring and diagnostic tool for planning and managing services connected with the environment surrounding human life.

Environment and/(or) Development: Competing Narratives from Uttara Kannada District, Karnataka

2021 ◽  
pp. 0169796X2110012
Author(s):  
Manisha Rao
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
The State ◽  
Hydroelectric Power ◽  
Environmental Movements ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Agricultural Community ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Practices ◽  
Forestry Programs ◽  
Forest District

The Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka well known as the “Pepper Queen” during colonial times gradually declined in stature and came to be known as a backward, forest district in need of “development.” These concerns framed the post-independence debates on the development of the district in terms of forestry programs and hydroelectric power projects, to help in the growth story of India. In the post-liberalization period, we have observed increasing market- and state-led drives of “resource development and conservation.” In recent years, international recognitions have come to the region’s sustainable agricultural practices and to its rich biodiversity, and it is declared a Heritage site. The dominant agricultural community of the region, the Havyaks, known for their environmentally sustainable spice garden farming, are credited with spearheading environmental movements against the material practices of the state. This article attempts to understand the complex social ecology of the region and the multiple ways in which it is portrayed and the way people talk about it. It attempts to juxtapose the environmental narrative along with the development narrative of the district and to understand and map the complex ground realities that exist interlinking the local with the global.

scholarly journals Accounting for Regional Heterogeneity of Agricultural Sustainability in Spain

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Mili ◽  
Javier Martínez-Vega
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Agricultural Sustainability ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Policy Coherence ◽  
Regional Variability

Agriculture is increasingly facing major challenges such as climate change, scarcity of natural resources and changing societal demands. To tackle these challenges there is a pressing need to evolve towards more sustainable agricultural practices. As a result, sustainability stands among the most relevant topics in agricultural research worldwide, and Spain is no exception. Agricultural sustainability has been analysed in Spain mainly at a national and farm scale. This contribution aims at assessing agricultural sustainability in Spain at a provincial scale, allowing the scrutiny of regional variability induced by the existing differences in extension, relevance and policies of the agricultural activity at this level. The sustainability assessment performed is based on a selection of twenty-two indicators covering the three classical dimensions of sustainability—environmental, economic and social. The methodology implemented is based on normalising and aggregating selected indicators according to three composite indicators for the fifty Spanish provinces. Numerous statistical and cartographic sources are used. Cluster analysis establishes four different groups of provinces according to their performance in terms of agricultural sustainability. Higher economic sustainability in provincial agriculture seems to be mostly associated with more intensive use of agricultural labour and agricultural machinery and faster wealth growth. Social sustainability seems to be linked to greater diversification of economic activities and to quality productions under Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI). Best environmental sustainability is achieved where extension of agricultural land is larger, less agricultural area is burned, and carbon stock and sequestration by agricultural ecosystems is better. It is expected that the results could improve the policy coherence and decision-making for more sustainable agricultural systems in Spanish regions.

scholarly journals Greening development of landscape agroforestry: historical foundations and innovative approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
A. S. Cheshev ◽  
◽  
V. L. Melenkin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Production Development ◽  
Urgent Task ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Forest Belts ◽  
Development Processes

Agroforestry is an important component of agricultural production development. According to the Great Russian scientists, forest vegetation in the form of continuous afforestation or various types of forest belts on agricultural landscapes had and still has a significant impact on the formation of favorable agro-climatic conditions both on inter-forest and inter-strip spaces. Therefore, the creation of a system of different types and types of forest strips on the territory of agricultural land is an urgent task for the formation of environmentally sustainable agricultural production. The article presents various aspects of agroforestry activi-ties greening, reveals its historical development processes, and analyzes the introduction of innovative technologies in this area.

scholarly journals An Appraisal of Biodegradable Mulch Films with Respect to Strawberry Crop Performance and Fruit Quality

Horticulturae ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Maria Giordano ◽  
Ciro Gianmaria Amoroso ◽  
Christophe El-Nakhel ◽  
Youssef Rouphael ◽  
Stefania De Pascale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Magnesium Content ◽  
Bioactive Molecules ◽  
Biodegradable Films ◽  
Small Plant ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Biodegradable Mulch ◽  
Mulch Films ◽  
Berry Fruits ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Fragaria × ananassa is a fruit grown all over the world, appreciated for its organoleptic and nutraceutical properties. Together with other berry fruits, it is rich in bioactive molecules that make it a beneficial fruit for human health. However, strawberry cultivation is influenced by pre- and post-harvest factors. Being a small plant, its fruit comes into direct contact with the soil and, as such, can quickly decompose. To reduce this inconvenience, farmers have used different strategies to mulch the soil, and the most useful method is polyethylene mulch films that are not biodegradable. The focus on environmentally sustainable agriculture can be represented by a transition to biodegradable mulch films. In our study, ten biodegradable mulch films were used to understand their effectiveness in covering the soil during the cultivation cycle of strawberry cv. Rociera. Polyethylene film was considered the control. The best yield and the highest number of fruits with greatest size and quality were obtained on polyethylene, BioFlex® (P2), Bio 6, and Bio 7 films. On BioFlex® (P2) and Bio 3 biodegradable films, strawberries showed a higher calcium and magnesium content, respectively. These results may encourage growers toward the use of eco-sustainable agricultural practices, such as biodegradable mulch films.

scholarly journals Agrobiotechnology Goes Wild: Ancient Local Varieties as Sources of Bioactives

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 2248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Berni ◽  
Claudio Cantini ◽  
Marco Romi ◽  
Jean-Francois Hausman ◽  
Gea Guerriero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Biotic And Abiotic Stresses ◽  
Local Varieties ◽  
Phytochemical Content ◽  
Biodiversity Preservation ◽  
Fruit Productivity ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Practices ◽  
Genetic Characters

The identification and use of species that have best adapted to their growth territory is of paramount importance to preserve biodiversity while promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Parameters including resistance to natural conditions (biotic and abiotic risk factors), biomass and fruit productivity, and phytochemical content with nutraceutical potential, could be used as quantitative markers of the adaptability of plants to wild environments characterized by minimal human impact. Ancient varieties, which are plant varieties growing in regional territories and not destined for market distribution, are a source of unique genetic characters derived from many years of adaptation to the original territory. These plants are often more resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses. In addition, these varieties have a high phytochemical (also known as bioactives) content considered health-beneficial. Notably, the content of these compounds is often lower in commercial cultivars. The use of selected territorial varieties according to the cultivation area represents an opportunity in the agricultural sector in terms of biodiversity preservation, environmental sustainability, and valorization of the final products. Our survey highlights the nutraceutical potential of ancient local varieties and stresses the importance of holistic studies (-omics) to investigate their physiology and secondary metabolism.

scholarly journals Assessing the Sustainability Index of Part-Time and Full-time Hazelnut Farms in Giresun and Ordu Province, Turkey

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Çağatay YILDIRIM ◽  
Hatice Türkten ◽  
İsmet BOZ
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Average Score ◽  
Economic Sustainability ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Environmental Index ◽  
Sustainability Index ◽  
Farm Type ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Index Value ◽  
Environmental Sustainability Index

Abstract The study's primary purposes were to assess the sustainability index of hazelnut farms and explore the effects of part-time and full-time farming types on sustainability index in hazelnut production in the Giresun and Ordu Province of Turkey. One hundred fifty-two hazelnut farms were selected using the stratified sampling method, and data were collected. Several steps were taken, including using factor analysis after standardizing the variables to determine their weights to calculate the composite hazelnut farms sustainability index. The research findings showed that overall hazelnut sustainability scores of farms varied from 0.28 to 0.59, and the average score was 0.44 at sampled farms. The composite hazelnut sustainability index was at an unsatisfactory level. The social and economic sustainability index value of farms was equal, and they were higher than the environmental index value. The values were 0.50 and 0.30, respectively. While the economic sustainability index score of full-time farms was higher than that of part-time farms, and part-time farms had higher environmental sustainability index scores than that of full-time farms. Social sustainability scores were not different in terms of farm type. It was recommended that when designing and regulation support policies, policy-makers should differentiate part-time and full-time hazelnut farming. Training and extension programs must be planned to increase the level of knowledge of every willing farmer. In addition, training and certification programs must be implemented to enhance the quality of the foreign labor force.

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