scholarly journals Impact of projected land conversion on water balance of boreal soils in western Newfoundland

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 613-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Altdorff ◽  
Lakshman Galagedara ◽  
Adrian Unc

Abstract Conversion of boreal forest into agricultural land is likely to occur due to the shift of climatic zones and increasing food demand. However, any land conversion will affect the water balance and hence solute fluxes within the soil column and connected ecosystems. Understanding the consequences of land conversion on soil hydrology is essential to support an economically viable agriculture while minimizing its environmental footprint. Hydrological models can simulate these effects based on regionally adjusted climate scenarios. Here, we combined a local climate analysis with hydrological simulations (Hydrus-1D) of boreal soils before and after agricultural conversion. Historical climate analysis showed increasing temperatures and growing degree days while precipitation remains stable. Hydrological simulations revealed lower saturation and higher infiltration rates for unconverted soils, indicating lower runoff and increased infiltration and deep percolation. In contrast, agricultural soils have slower infiltration rates, particularly in the upper horizon. Over the long term, agricultural conversion consequently increases erosion risk and nutrient loss by runoff. This might further progressively limit groundwater recharge, affect hydrological processes and functions and future drought/flood conditions at catchment levels. Hence, conversion of boreal soils demands a primary identification of suitable areas to minimize its impacts.

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 441
Author(s):  
Philipp Grabenweger ◽  
Branislava Lalic ◽  
Miroslav Trnka ◽  
Jan Balek ◽  
Erwin Murer ◽  
...  

A one-dimensional simulation model that simulates daily mean soil temperature on a daily time-step basis, named AGRISOTES (AGRIcultural SOil TEmperature Simulation), is described. It considers ground coverage by biomass or a snow layer and accounts for the freeze/thaw effect of soil water. The model is designed for use on agricultural land with limited (and mostly easily available) input data, for estimating soil temperature spatial patterns, for single sites (as a stand-alone version), or in context with agrometeorological and agronomic models. The calibration and validation of the model are carried out on measured soil temperatures in experimental fields and other measurement sites with various climates, agricultural land uses and soil conditions in Europe. The model validation shows good results, but they are determined strongly by the quality and representativeness of the measured or estimated input parameters to which the model is most sensitive, particularly soil cover dynamics (biomass and snow cover), soil pore volume, soil texture and water content over the soil column.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2002
Author(s):  
Ke Huang ◽  
Martin Dallimer ◽  
Lindsay C. Stringer ◽  
Anlu Zhang ◽  
Ting Zhang

Urbanization involves expansion of the amount of land covered by urban uses. Rural to urban land conversion (RULC) can satisfy demand for the additional space that growing cities require. However, there can be negative consequences, such as the loss of productive agricultural land and/or the destruction of natural habitats. Considerable interest therefore exists among policy makers and researchers regarding how the efficiency of RULC can be maximized. We used the Gini index and a data envelopment analysis to quantify the relationship between RULC and economic development for 17 metropolitan areas in China. We did this from two perspectives: (i) coordination; and (ii) efficiency. We found that economic agglomeration fosters the coordination of the amount of rural land that is allocated to be converted to urban uses. Similarly, economic agglomeration increases the efficiency of RULC in terms of the processes of socio-economic production. Through production technology innovation and readjustment in the scale of input factors, the productive efficiency of RULC can be promoted. Our findings suggest a need to strictly limit the amount of RULC, design differential land management policies according to location and development level, and adjust RULC allocation between different cities. Further, in harnessing the potential of intensive urban land use and restructuring, production factors, including land, can be enhanced through technological innovation. Research presented in this paper provides insights for areas of the world which are yet to undergo the rapid urbanization that China has experienced, but where it is projected to occur over the coming decades.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 312
Author(s):  
Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag ◽  
Hamid Rastegari Kopaei ◽  
Dacinia Crina Petrescu

Foreign land grabbing is acknowledged as a phenomenon that generates disempowerment and dispossession of local farmers, human rights violations. Previous studies have revealed the lack of ethical benchmarks in foreign large-scale land transactions that raise moral concerns. It is evident that when resources are scarce and people depend on them, the balance between values and interests transforms itself into a dilemma. Within this context, the aims of the paper were to bring to the fore critical reflection on a more ethical perspective of large-scale land acquisitions and to extend the scant information on what factors determine landowners not to sell their land to foreigners to limit land grabbing. This context justifies the need for a critical reflection on a more ethical perspective of large-scale land acquisitions. Therefore, two objectives were set. The first one is to document the role of ethics in large-scale land transactions. Based on the land grabbing literature, authors selected a set of eight land grabbing narratives, most often interrelated and overlapping, that pose ethical considerations. The second objective is to reveal how well a set of variables can predict the “Resistance to sell” the land to foreigners even when an attractive price is offered. As ethics is a social construct, the analysis captured the stakeholders’ perspective on land grabbing. Therefore, a questionnaire was applied to a sample of 332 Romanian landowners from twelve randomly selected counties to reveal their perceptions. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to observe how well a set of seven variables could predict landowners’ “Resistance to sell” their land to foreign buyers. The use of PLS-SEM was justified by the existence of single items and the need to examine many structural model relations. Results showed that the variables with the strongest contribution to the prediction of the dependent variable are the “Probability to join an association for farmers rights defense”, the “Importance of the land price offered by the potential foreign buyer”, and the “Perceived effect of agricultural land conversion to urban land”. Raising awareness on the importance of buyer attributes, increasing people’s perception of the negative effect of agricultural land conversion to urban land, or strengthening the state’s image as a necessary actor to limit land grabbing will increase landowners’ resistance to sell their land to foreigners. Finally, it can be inferred that, within this frame of discussion, ethics should be valued as a means to create economically viable and morally justifiable solutions for foreign large-scale land transactions.


2009 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoyoshi HIROTA ◽  
Yukiyoshi IWATA ◽  
Manabu NEMOTO ◽  
Takahiro HAMASAKI ◽  
Ryoji SAMESHIMA ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-226
Author(s):  
Yasfir Ma'arif ◽  
Teuku Fauzi ◽  
Safrida Safrida

Abstrak  Pertumbuhan  penduduk dan dinamika pembangunan telah menggeser pemanfaatan lahan yang akhirnya menimbulkan kompleksitas permasalahan lahan yang semula berfungsi sebagai media bercocok tanam (pertanian), berangsur-angsur berubah menjadi multifungsi pemanfaatan. Berubahnya pemanfaatan lahan pertanian ke non pertanian dapat disebut juga sebagai alih fungsi lahan. Kabupaten Aceh Besar adalah salah satu kabupaten yang terus menghadapi permasalahan alih fungsi lahan, khususnya lahan sawah. Alih fungsi lahan ini mengakibatkan luas lahan sawah di Aceh Besar terus menurun. Lahan yang paling banyak mengalami alih fungsi lahan adalah jenis lahan sawah yang menjadi lahan non pertanian. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi faktor-faktor yang menyebabkan terjadinya alih fungsi lahan sawah dan mengidentifikasi dampak sosial dan ekonomi yang dialami petani mantan pemilik lahan akibat alih fungsi lahan sawah menjadi lahan non pertanian. Berdasarkan hasil regresi secara parsial dari analisis regresi faktor harga jual, kebutuhan hidup dan kondisi lahan berpengaruh nyata terhadap konversi lahan sawah di  Kecamatan Baitussalam Kabupaten Aceh Besar. Bedasarkan hasil regresi secara serempak dari hasil regresi didapatkan bahwa harga jual, kebutuhan hidup dan kondisi lahan secara serempak mempengaruhi konversi lahan sawah di Kecamatan Baitussalam Kabupaten Aceh Besar. Berdasarkan isu dampak sosial sebagai akibat alih fungsi lahan di lihat dari keinginan kondisi lama, meningkatkan rasa kerjasama dan kekeluargaan, serta kemampuan memenuhi kebutuhan keluarga mendapatkan hasil yang positif dengan nilai ≥ 50%. Berdasarkan isu dampak ekonomi sebagai akibat alih fungsi lahan di lihat dari peningkatan pendapatan mendapatkan hasil yang positif dengan nilai ≥ 50%.Impact Of Paddy Fields Function  On Community Socio-Economic Conditions Of Baitussalam District, Aceh Besar RegencyAbstract  Population growth and the dynamics of development have shifted land use which eventually led to the complexity of the problem of land that used to function as a farming medium (agriculture), gradually becoming a multifunctional use. Changing the use of agricultural land to non-agriculture can also be referred to as land conversion. Aceh Besar District is one of the districts that continues to face the problem of land conversion, especially rice fields. The conversion of this land function has caused the area of paddy fields in Aceh Besar to continue to decline. The land that has experienced the most land use change is the type of rice field that becomes non-agricultural land. This study aims to identify the factors that cause the conversion of paddy fields and identify the social and economic impacts experienced by farmers former landowners due to the conversion of paddy fields to non-agricultural land. Based on the partial regression results from the regression analysis, the factors of selling price, life necessity and land conditions have a significant effect on the conversion of paddy fields in Baitussalam District, Aceh Besar District. Based on the simultaneous regression results from the regression results, it was found that the selling price, life needs and land conditions simultaneously affected the conversion of paddy fields in Baitussalam District, Aceh Besar District. Based on the issue of social impacts as a result of land use change seen from the desires of the old conditions, increasing the sense of cooperation and kinship, as well as the ability to meet family needs get positive results with a value of ≥ 50%. Based on the issue of economic impact as a result of the transfer of land functions, it can be seen from the increase in income that has a positive result with a value of ≥ 50%.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susvia Delta Kusdiane ◽  
Endriatmo Soetarto ◽  
Satyawan Sunito

Cimanuk Subdistrict is known with rice brand called “beras cimanuk”, which is a quality rice-producing area in Pandeglang Regency, but land use due to regional development has affected the lives of farmers, especially the younger generation of local farmers. This study aims to see how the conversion of agricultural land has a significant impact on social change in society, especially in the survival of generations of farmers. Data collection was conducted from April to June 2016 with interview techniques involving 21 informants consisting of tenants, landowners, surrounding communities, and agricultural extension agents. Data analysis was carried out descriptively. The results of the study concluded that land use change affected the declining role of agriculture in the socio-economic life of the community. the fading of the meaning of agricultural land became a driver in the difficulty of realizing the regeneration of farmers in Cimanuk subdistrict


Oryx ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Alice Biedzicki de Marques ◽  
Carlos A. Peres

AbstractBrazil safeguards a vast network of parks and reserves, termed conservation units. The creation of conservation units follows a rigorous legal protocol that grants them long-term stability under varying degrees of formal protection against land-use change. Degazettement, downsizing or downgrading any conservation unit requires a law to be passed. Recent shifts in Brazilian conservation policy have, however, favoured infrastructure projects and agricultural land conversion, even when these initiatives are in direct conflict with established conservation units. Several bills have been proposed by the National Congress, threatening 27 conservation units and bringing the long-term political stability and legal immunity of hitherto sacrosanct reserves into serious question.


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