Agricultural impacts of longwall mine subsidence:the experience in Illinois,USA and Queensland,Australia

Unlike conventional room and pillar underground coal mining,where subsidence is designed to be prevented,subsidence is a planned outcome of other methodologies.These include high extraction retreat,where the roof supporting pillars are systematically removed,and longwall mining,which employs a machine that mines a continuous strip of coal,thus leaving no roof supports.Both types result in the surface dropping -70% of the mined-out thickness.In Illinois there was a concern that farm land thus subsided would be lost to productive agriculture.Consequently,the possibility that planned mine subsidence would be banned in Illinois lead to the creation of the Illinois Mine Subsidence Research Program in 1985 to investigate agricultural impacts of planned mine subsidence and the possibility of mitigating its impact.Its findings established that subsidence was not as detrimental as feared and that the impacts could be mitigated.The project was a successful collaboration of state and federal governments and local Universities.Similarly,in Queensland,longwall mining is opposed by some in the farming community.In response,Bandanna Energy,the company planning the mining,organized the Agricultural Coexistence Research Committee to oversee research into the mitigation of longwall mining impacts.Although the soils,climate,and regulatory regimes are different,concerns of the local communities are similar.

The Potential Scenarios of the Impacts of Climate Change on Egyptian Resources and Agricultural Plant Production

The emissions of greenhouse gasses in Egypt are about 0.58% of the total emissions of the world in the year 2015, although Egypt is one of the countries most affected by the impacts of climate change. By assessment and analysis of the expected economic impacts of climate change by the year 2030, the Egyptian cultivated area will be reduced to about 0.949 million acres, equal to about 8.22% of the Egyptian cultivated area compared with the case of no sinking part of the Delta land, thus reducing crop area in Egypt to about 1.406 million acres, approximately to about 6.25% of crop area compared with the case of no sinking part of the Delta land, in addition to surplus in the Egyptian balance water to about 2.48 billion m3. In this case value of the Egyptian agriculture production will decrease by about 6.19 billion dollars, equal to about 6.19% compared with presumably no sinking of the Delta land. In the case of sinking 15% of Delta lands, with the change of the productivity and water consumption of most crops, the result will be a reduction in the cultivated area to about 0.94 million acres. In addition to decreasing the Egyptian crop area to about 1.39 million acres, with a deficit in the Egyptian balance water to about 4.74 billion m3 compared to the case of no sinking part of the Delta land, the cultivated area will decrease to about 8.17%, and the crop area will decrease 6.18%. Also, the value of the Egyptian agriculture production will decrease by about 12.51%. While compared to sinking part of the Delta land to about 15% of the total Delta area without the other impacts of climate change, the cultivated area will increase by about 0.06%;the crop area will increase by about 0.08%;also, the value of the Egyptian agriculture production will decrease by about 5.57%.

Review on the Impact of Climate Change on Great Lakes Region’s Agriculture and Water Resources

This study investigates the multifaceted impacts of climate change on the Midwest region of the United States, particularly the rising temperatures and precipitation brought about by hot weather activities and technological advances since the 19th century. From 1900 to 2010, temperatures in the Midwest rose by an average of 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit, which would also lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Precipitation is also expected to increase due to increased storm activity and changes in regional weather patterns. This paper explores the impact of these changes on urban and agricultural areas. In urban areas such as the city of Chicago, runoff from the increasing impervious surface areas poses challenges to the drainage system, and agriculture areas are challenged by soil erosion, nutrient loss, and fewer planting days due to excessive rainfall. Sustainable solutions such as no-till agriculture and the creation of grassland zones are discussed. Using historical data, recent climate studies and projections, the paper Outlines ways to enhance the Midwest’s ecology and resilience to climate change.

A water quality analysis system to evaluate the impact of agricultural activities on N outflow in river basins in Japan

We have developed a personal-computer-based water quality analysis system for river basins. The system estimates potential N outflow by model and calculates actual N outflow from monitoring data. For the former it uses the potential load factor method to estimate annual nitrogen load from various sources and runoff potential from each area of land in a basin. For the latter it analyzes water quality monitoring data in relation to meteorological data. We used the system to analyze N outflow in basins around Lake Kasumigaura and the Yahagi River in central Honshu, Japan. The land around Lake Kasumigaura is rather flat, and about 25% is periodically flooded for rice and lotus cultivation. The land around the Yahagi River is mountainous, and much less land is flooded. In the Yahagi River basin the actual N outflow agreed closely with the potential. However, the actual N outflow in the basin around Lake Kasumigaura was much less than the potential, suggesting that a large part of the N load is denitrified in flooded soils. This further indicates that a sequence of different land uses including flooded rice fields is an important factor determining N outflow in basins in Japan. On the basis of the above analyses, we incorporated a denitrification model into the system that enables us to estimate N balance in a designated basin;this system may be helpful in the formulation of scenarios of land use andsoil management for improving water quality.

Energy-use pattern and carbon footprint of rain-fed watermelon production in Iran

The analysis of energy-use patterns and carbon footprint is useful in achieving sustainable development in agriculture.Energy-use indices and carbon footprint for rain-fed watermelon production were studied in the Kiashahr region of Northern Iran.Data were collected from 58 farmers using a self-structured questionnaire during the growing season of 2013.The Cobb–Douglas model and sensitivity analysis were used to evaluate the effects of energy input on rain-fed watermelon yield.The findings demonstrated that chemical fertilizers consumed the highest percentage of total energy input(75.2%),followed by diesel fuel(12.9%).The total energy input was 16594.74 MJ ha^-1 and total energy output was 36275.24 MJ ha^-1.The results showed that the energy-use ratio was 2.19,energy productivity was 1.15 kg MJ
1,energy intensity was 0.87 MJ kg
1,and net energy gain was 19680.60 MJ ha^-1.Direct and indirect energy for watermelon production were calculated as 2374.4 MJ ha^-1(14.3%)and 14220.3 MJ ha^-1(85.7%),respectively.The share of renewable energy was 1.4%.This highlights the need to reduce the share of non-renewable energy and improve the sustainability of rain-fed watermelon production in Northern Iran.The study of carbon footprint showed that the chemical fertilizer caused the highest percentage of greenhouse gas emissions(GHG)followed by machinery with 52.6%and 23.8%of total GHG emissions,respectively.The results of the Cobb–Douglas model and sensitivity analysis revealed that increasing one MJ of energy input of human labor,machinery,diesel fuel,chemical fertilizers,biocides,and seed changed the yield by 1.03,0.96,0.19,
0.97,0.16,and 0.22 kg,respectively,in the Kiashahr region of Northern Iran.Providing some of the nitrogen required for crop growth through biological alternatives,renewing old power tillers,and using conservation tillage machinery may enhance energy efficiency and mitigate GHG emissions for rain-fed watermelon production in Northern Iran.