Traditional Agricultural Management of Kam Sweet Rice (Oryza Sativa L.)in Southeast Guizhou Province, China

Background: The Dong people mainly live in Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou provinces, China, with a long history of glutinous rice cultivation, among which Kam Sweet Rice (KSR) is a group of rice landraces that has been domesticated for thousands of years by the Dong people. The core distribution area of KSR is Liping, Congjiang and Rongjiang County of southeast, Guizhou Province. Paddy fields, forests, livestock and cottages have formed a special artificial wetland ecosystem in local area, and the Dong people have also formed a set of traditional farming systems of KSR for variety breeding, field management, and soil and water conservation. However, this traditional agricultural management has not been reported at multiple levels based on landraces, species and ecosystems.Methods: Fieldwork was conducted in ten villages in southeast Guizhou from 2019-2021. A total of 229 informants were interviewed from the villages. Semi-structured and key informant interviews were administered to collect ethnoecological data on the characteristics and traditional utilization of KSR, traditional farming systems and agricultural management of the Dong people. Results: (1): A total of 57 KSR varieties were recorded as used by the Dong people in southeast Guizhou. We analyzed the cultural importance index (CII) of all KSRs. Varieties with high CII often have a pleasant taste, special biological characteristics of cold resistance, disease and insect resistance and high utilization in the traditional culture of Dong people. (2) There is a clear division of labor between men and women in the breeding, seed retention, field management and grain storage management of different varieties of KSR in Dong communities. In order to resist natural disasters and insect pests, the cultivation of KSR is usually managed by multi-variety mixed planting. These agricultural management modes are the result of Dong people's understanding and adaptation to the local natural geographical environment, as well as the experience and wisdom crystallization of Dong people's long-term practice. (3) The traditional farmland of Dong People is a typical artificial wetland ecosystem that is planted with mixed KSR varieties with rich traditional wisdom. In addition, the economic benefit of the rice-fish-duck symbiotic system was 3.07 times that of hybrid rice alone; therefore, the rice-fish-duck system not only has the function of maintaining soil, water and ecological balance but also improves the income of Dong people.Conclusion: KSR is a special kind of rice that has been domesticated and cultivated by Dong people for thousands of years. Dong people have also formed traditional agriculture dominated by KSR cultivation. The traditional agricultural management of Dong people provides suitable habitats for flora and fauna with biodiversity protection, and convenient conditions for rational utilization and distribution of water resources were also provided. This traditional management mode is of great significance for environmental protection, climate change response, community resource management, sustainable utilization, and agricultural transformation in modern society. Therefore, we call for interdisciplinary research in natural and social sciences, in-depth study of the ecological culture of ethnic areas, and sort out treasures conducive to the development of all mankind.

Water Pollution of Wetlands

Pollution has become a matter of grave concern at present with all the components of the environment laden with pollutants largely from anthropogenic sources and unplanned urbanization. Inland wetlands are very delicate ecosystems and encompass a variety of water bodies, namely ponds, rivers, swamps, etc. They house some unique floristic patterns that are crucial in the primary productivity and maintaining a balance of the wetland ecosystem. In addition to it, the inland water bodies are also productive and are of immense importance to humans. The inland wetlands are also an integral part of boosting the economy of the region as they support a number of industries including fishing and recreation. Thus pollution of water bodies has impacted the human race in a deleterious manner. This chapter is an attempt to overview the inland water bodies, their biodiversity pattern, pollution, and their effect on flora at large.

Analysis of Wetland Landcover Change in Great Lakes Urban Areas Using Self-Organizing Maps

Wetland loss and subsequent reduction of wetland ecosystem services in the Great Lakes region has been driven, in part, by changing landcover and increasing urbanization. With landcover change data, digital elevation models (DEM), and self-organizing maps (SOM), this study explores changing landcover and the flood mitigation attributes of wetland areas over a 15-year period in Toronto and Chicago. The results of this analysis show that (1) in the city of Toronto SOM clusters, the landcover change correlations with wetland volume and wetland area range between −0.1 to −0.5, indicating that a more intense landcover change tends to be correlated with small shallow wetlands, (2) in the city of Chicago SOM clusters, the landcover change correlations with wetland area range between −0.1 to −0.7, the landcover change correlations with wetland volume per area range between −0.1 to 0.8, and the landcover change correlations with elevation range between −0.2 to −0.6, indicating that more intense landcover change tends to be correlated with spatially small wetlands that have a relatively high water-storage capacity per area and are located at lower elevations. In both cities, the smallest SOM clusters represent wetland areas where increased landcover change is correlated with wetland areas that have high flood mitigation potential. This study aims to offer a new perspective on changing urban landscapes and urban wetland ecosystem services in Toronto and Chicago.

Investigation of Ecosystem Health of International Meighan Wetland

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the ecosystem health of Meighan Wetland of Arak. Methods: To evaluate the Meighan Wetland of Arak, the status of benthic organisms and other parameters, sampling of sediments of the wetland floor was performed at 10 points of the wetland and at 5 replications at each point. Heavy metal pollution, biological, and water quality indices were also evaluated. Then, the map of ecosystem health was prepared. Results: The results showed that except for the nickel, zinc and lead, for other elements and compounds (EC, Na, Cl, Mg, Ca, HCO3, SO4 and TDS), the minimum and maximum values ​​belonged to stations 3 and 6, respectively. In the case of copper, zinc and lead, the lowest concentration was seen in the northwestern part of the wetland and the highest in the western and southeastern parts of the wetland. Conclusion: The high amount of the mentioned elements and compounds in station 6 may be due to the activity of a factory that produces sodium sulfate in the northern part of the wetland, which causes changes in the wetland ecosystem by removing sediments from the wetland floor. The high level of the copper, zinc and lead in the southern part of the wetland can be due to urban and domestic wastewaters that enter the wetland from the southwest of the wetland through the outlet channel of Arak refinery.

Optimal water allocation based on agricultural and environmental water value

Despite the significant role of wetlands in maintaining a healthy ecosystem and providing various ecosystem services, they are under threat due to human activities and agriculture use. The fact that the economic value of ecosystem services is not considered in hydro-economic models and integrated water resources management is a key issue that affects the ecosystem and its degradation. the economic value of ecosystem services provides a quantitative and important basis for the reasonable management of water resources. Given that supplying the agriculture and environmental demands conflict with each other, achieving a balance between these goals is very important. So, in this study, a simulation-optimization (WEAP-PSO) approach is employed for optimal planning at the basin and designing environmental flow based on wetland ecosystem services. The objective function of the problem is considered to be the total economic value of the river, which includes the economic value of the agricultural sector and the economic value of the wetland ecosystem services. The decision variables of the problem are considered as, the cultivation area of agricultural units and environmental flow of Kani Barazan wetland. The results show that considering these two objectives together, in addition to sustainable development, causes the highest economic efficiency in the basin.