Agricultural Transformation and Its Impact on Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being in Peri-Urban Areas: The Case of Xi’an, China

There is a gap in understanding the relationships between the transformation of agricultural landscapes, ecosystem services and human well-being in the peri-urban fringe of major cities worldwide. In this paper, we use semi-structured interviews, perception surveys, social surveys and field mapping to examine linkages between agricultural and landscape transition, ecosystem services and human well-being in five sample villages in Xi’an metropolitan zone, China. The results indicate that: (1) Agricultural change has increased landscape fragmentation, with a shift from grain to more profitable horticulture and nursery production. The farming system is more diversified and exhibits a multifunctional character. (2) This transformation has had a significant impact on the character of the agroecosystem. (3) The agricultural transformation towards greater multifunctionality has increased the supply of ecosystem services, including tourism-related activities, potentially improving human well-being. (4) Different combinations of activities in the sample villages were evaluated with respect to a well-being index, indicating the importance of combining horticulture and tourism. (5) Linkages identified between agricultural transformation, ecosystem services and human well-being may have significant implications for potential approaches within future studies.

Advances in Nursery Production of Hazelnut Plants in Serbia − Successful Grafting of Different Corylus avellana L. Cultivars and Clones Onto Corylus colurna L. Rootstock

The latest trends in hazelnut production are moving in the direction of selection and breeding of more productive cultivars, isolation of native clones, and more intensive clonal selection of rootstocks aimed at enhancing the agronomic performance of plants. Serbia stands out in the production of quality planting material by grafting on Turkish filbert (Corylus colurna L.), which does not form shoots and develops in the form of a tree. The aim of this research was to investigate the success achieved by grafting leading Italian cultivars (Tonda gentile romana, Tonda di Giffoni, and Tonda Gentile della Langhe) and their clones on Turkish filbert seedlings using technology developed at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Agriculture, Serbia, as well as determine possible differences in the quality and variability of the obtained planting material. For this purpose, from the end of March to the end of April, two-year-old C. colurna generative rootstocks (seedlings) were grafted by the whip and tongue method. At the beginning of September, the grafted plants were counted, and after the plants entered the dormant period (autumn in the year of grafting), they were taken out of the soil and classified. The obtained results revealed that the chosen hazel cultivars and clones exhibited excellent grafting success rate. In both analyzed years, as well as throughout the entire study period, greater grafting success was achieved using clones relative to the main cultivars. Over the two-year study period, the highest grafting success was achieved by clone AD17. Class I grafted plants were obtained in 80% of the cases, especially with Tombesi and AD17 clones, while significantly fewer Class I grafted plants were produced by grafting basic cultivars. Clones AD17 and Tombesi also produced grafted plants of greatest height and graft union diameter. All clones exhibited superior uniformity (i.e., a more stable grafting success) relative to their basic cultivars.

Collection Age and Seed Mass Influence Germination and Seedling Growth in Midwestern White Spruce Accessions

Stored tree seed collections are essential resources for seedling production and conserving unique germplasm. As stored seeds age, however, seed viability and seedling vigor can decline. This study tests how age and seed mass correspond to germination dynamics and seedling vigor in four white spruce collections from the upper midwestern Unites States. Using two seedling growth experiments, this study demonstrates that white spruce seeds stored for >30 years have low seed viability and slower seedling growth rates compared with seeds from more recent (≤10 years) white spruce collections. Seed mass also predicted seedling growth rate regardless of collection age, suggesting larger seeds from older collections generate faster growing seedlings. Study Implications: Efficient use of stored tree seeds saves nursery managers time and resources. White spruce is a collection priority, but management needs to know how seed viability and seedling vigor decline during storage. Diminished germination and seedling growth after >30 years in storage suggests older collections are most appropriate for germplasm conservation and underscore the importance of testing stored seed prior to nursery production. For collections stored <10 years, larger seeds germinate more readily than smaller seeds and produce faster growing seedlings. For older collections, seed mass does not correspond with germination, but seedling growth rate positively correlated with seed mass.

The Scientific Basis of the Target Plant Concept: An Overview

Reforestation and restoration using nursery-produced seedlings is often the most reliable way to ensure successful establishment and rapid growth of native plants. Plant establishment success—that is, the ability for the plant to develop within a set period of time with minimal further interventions needed—depends greatly on decisions made prior to planting, and yet nursery-grown plants are often produced independently of considering the range of stressors encountered after nursery production. The optimal plant or seedling will vary greatly with species and site (depending on edaphic and environmental conditions), and in having the biological capacity to withstand human and wildlife pressures placed upon vegetative communities. However, when nursery production strategies incorporate knowledge of genetic variability, address limiting factors, and include potential mitigating measures, meeting the objectives of the planting project—be it reforestation or restoration—becomes more likely. The Target Plant Concept (TPC) is an effective framework for defining, producing, and handling seedlings and other types of plant material based on specific characteristics suited to a given site. These characteristics are often scientifically derived from testing factors that are linked to outplanting success, such as seedling morphology and physiology, genetic source, and capacity to overcome limiting factors on outplanting sites. This article briefly summarizes the current knowledge drawn from existing literature for each component of the TPC framework, thereby helping land managers and scientists to meet objectives and accelerate reforestation and restoration trajectories.

The High Cost of the Low-Cost Polybag System: A Review of Nursery Seedling Production Systems

An important strategy for meeting global landscape restoration goals is nursery production of high-quality seedlings. Growing seedlings with attributes that promote post-planting survival and growth can be dramatically influenced by the nursery container system. In many countries, nurseries produce seedlings in polybags filled with excavated soil. These seedlings often develop deformed roots with limited fibrosity which can lead to poor survival and growth after outplanting. Polybags are initially inexpensive but using these single-use plastic containers accrues expenses that are often untracked. Comparisons among nursery production systems must account for factors such as container longevity, labor efficiency, and seedling field performance. A more holistic approach to account for environmental, economic, social, logistic, and cultural elements in the cost–benefit equation that influences nursery production systems is needed. Converting to a modern container system requires concomitant adjustments in nursery scheduling and culturing matched to the new stock type. Doing so provides an opportunity to align nursery production techniques and resulting seedling attributes with anticipated field conditions. This article describes and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of nursery production systems and provides recommendations and case studies to aid nurseries in improving seedling quality toward meeting restoration goals in a cost-effective and timely manner.

An accreditation program to produce native plant nursery stock free of Phytophthora for use in habitat restoration

Widespread Phytophthora infections have been discovered in nursery stock used in California restoration plantings. In response, nursery Phytophthora best management practices (NPBMPs) designed to exclude Phytophthora from nursery plants were developed to address the need for clean planting stock in restoration projects. A pilot program to implement the systematic use of the NPBMPs, Accreditation to Improve Restoration (AIR), was developed and started in 2018. As of 2020, 13 northern California restoration nurseries have been evaluated and five have met all the program requirements. In 564 tests conducted over four years with a sensitive leachate baiting protocol, no Phytophthora was detected from over 20,000 nursery plants produced in compliance with the NPBMPs. In comparison, Phytophthora was detected in 25% of tests conducted on partially-compliant stock, and in 71% of tests from nurseries following few or no NPBMPs. The AIR pilot program has demonstrated that container stock free of detectable Phytophthora can be reliably produced by adhering to an integrated program of clean nursery production practices. To obtain Phytophthora-free plants for habitat restoration, informed clients were willing to pay increased costs required to produce NPBMP-compliant nursery stock.

Compost and PGP-Based Biostimulant as Alternative to Peat and NPK Fertilization in Chestnut (Castanea Sativa Mill.) Nursery Production

In forest nurseries, intensive use of non-renewable substrates such as peat and high application rates of chemical synthesis fertilizers lead to environmental problems and high susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses. This work aims to seek more sustainable crop management to help mitigate these problems, combining the substitution of peat by compost and the use of growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPs) as a fertilization tool. For this purpose, a trial was carried out to test the effectiveness of an agricultural waste compost and a biostimulant based on PGP microorganisms in the production of Castanea sativa plants in a forest nursery. This trial assessed the growth of plants, with both inputs separately and combined, and then studied the tolerance of chestnut seedlings to water deficit. The results showed that partial substitution of peat by compost is possible, but not complete, as the high levels of conductivity and pH generated by a high proportion of compost negatively affected plant growth. It was also noted that the application of the biostimulant enables the complete substitution of mineral fertilization. Moreover, at the end of the nursery phase, chestnut seedlings treated with the biostimulant showed the same or even better quality than chestnut seedlings obtained with conventional fertilization, also resulting in greater resistance to water deficit, based on the increase in root volume and the improvement of the physiological status. Changes observed in both quantity and composition of microbiota associated with chestnut rhizosphere after inoculation with PGPs were related to the improvement observed. In relation to water deficit resistance, a positive synergy was also observed with the combination of both inputs, since plants with full substitution of peat by compost combined with PGP-based fertilization showed the greatest drought resistance.

Outplanting Performance of the Bornean Tropical Indigenous Species Shorea macrophylla (de Vriese) P. S. Ashton in relation to Seedling Age

Planting high-quality seedlings with desirable growth attributes are associated with successful survival and growth performance following outplanting. Considering that most tree species from the Dipterocarpaceae family are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, proper conservation of such species is necessary. Very little is known with no clear consensus regarding whether increasing the seedling production period enhances outplanting survival and growth potential of tropical dipterocarp species planted under enrichment planting in Malaysia. In this study, one potential Bornean tropical indigenous species, Shorea macrophylla (de Vriese) P.S. Ashton, was produced in the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak nursery and outplanted at Sampadi Forest Reserve, Sarawak. Different nursery production periods (3, 6, 9, and 24 months) were tested for the species at the time of planting as well as for the subsequent growth performance after 12, 24, and 42 months of outplanting. The findings revealed that older (9- and 24-month-old) S. macrophylla seedlings were morphologically larger from younger (3- and 6-month-old) seedlings. Nonetheless, the overall pooled mean survival rates declined from 61.7 to 44.6% after 12, 24, and 42 months of outplanting. For the 42-month period, the survival rate for the 9-month-old seedlings was significantly higher than that for the 3-, 6-, and 24-month-old seedlings. Notwithstanding, the relative growth rate of the stem diameter was higher for the 3- and 9-month-old seedlings than for the 6- and 24-month-old seedlings after 42 months of outplanting. Thus, maintaining plant material from the seedlings produced at 3, 6, and 9 months of age would be beneficial for the initiation of transplantation in restoration programmes in Sarawak. The 24-month-old seedlings will also be useful, especially during irregular flowering and unpredictable fruiting intervals. A further experimental study on other environmental factors that could influence the outplanting performance of the seedlings in the tropical forest restoration area of Sarawak, Malaysia, is necessary.