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%.

Moderate scale and realization potential of new citrus-planting business entities in hilly and mountainous areas in China

The natural and economic conditions of agricultural resources vary greatly in China,especially in hilly and mountainous areas.The phenomenon of land fragmentation has become increasingly prominent,so that large-scale operations cannot be fully achieved in a short period of time,and the centralized and continuous scale of operations cannot be realized in China.In addition,with increasingly strict farmland protection and agricultural land use control systems,the issues of nongrain production and nonagricultural cultivated land use have become increasingly restricted.Thus,it is quite necessary to determine the appropriate scale of operations and the means to achieve moderately scaled operations for the new business entities.On the basis of microsurvey data for 108 new citrus-planting business entities in the modern agricultural park in the Chongqing's Jiangjin District,an area with long citrus-planting history,we measured the moderate scale of new citrus-planting business entities to maximize profit using a translog growth model.According to the projection pursuit model,we evaluated the suitability conditions of citrus planting in garden land,woodland,grassland,and general cultivated land in the study area.We then explored the potential for new moderate-scale business entities within different farming radii.The results showed that large-scale planting conditions of citrus in garden land,forest land,grassland,and general cultivated land in the study area were suitable,and the proportion of high-suitable and mediumsuitable land was 73.42%.Under the existing social and economic conditions,the moderate scale of new citrus-planting business entities in the study area was 1.8–2.7 hm^(2).In particular,its rankings from large to small were agricultural enterprises(17.19–25.78 hm^(2)),farmer cooperatives(16.88–25.33 hm^(2)),big growers and breeders(6.39–9.59 hm^(2)),and family farms(5.02–7.53 hm^(2)).In the sample of 108 households,only 47.22%of the entities achieved moderate-scale operation,of which 25%of the entities achieved a scale greater than moderate operation.However,52.78%of the entities achieved a scale of less than moderate operation.These entities would have to transfer the surrounding adjacent garden land,forest land,grassland,or general cultivated land to achieve largescale land management.The land area of the adjacent gardens in a 1000 m farming radius could meet the moderate-scale operation demand of the vast majority of new business entities.For the vast majority of new business entities,the land area of the adjacent woodland,grassland,and general cultivated land could supplement the garden land to achieve moderate-scale operation in a 500 m farming radius.If the land area with moderate suitability and high suitability is prioritized,the land area in the adjacent gardens in the 1000 m farming radius could meet the moderate-scale operation demand for the vast majority of new business entities.Within the 500 m farming radius,the vast majority of new business entities have achieved moderate-scale operations if the land area adjacent to forest land,grassland,and general arable land was supplemented by gardens;however,a few entities could not achieve moderate-scale operations.From the village perspective,gardens were prioritized.Sixteen villages had planting areas and planting suitability that exceeded the average level of the study area,accounting for 23.53%.If combined with the reserve potential of the garden land,eight villages could improve their potential,accounting for 11.76%.Therefore,the conditions of large-scale citrus planting in the study area should be further improved,and the scale expansion of new citrus-planting business entities should receive additional scientific guidance.

The status and distribution characteristics of residual mulching film in Xinjiang, China

Pollution of residual plastic film in arable lands is a severe problem in China. In this study, the status of residual film and influential factors were investigated using the methods of farm survey in combination with questionnaires and quadrat sampling at a large number of field sites in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The results showed that the amount of film utilization increased largely and reached to 1.8×10~5 t in 2013. Similarly, the mulching area also substantially increased in recent decades, and reached to 2.7×10~5 ha in the same year. According to the current survey, 60.7% of the sites presented a greater mulch residue than the national film residue standard（75 kg ha^（–1））, and the maximum residual amount reached 502.2 kg ha^（–1） in Turpan, Xinjiang. The film thickness, the mulching time and the crop type all influenced mulch residue. The thickness of the film had significantly negative correlation with the amount of residual film（P0.05）, while the mulching years had significantly positive correlation with it（P0.05）. The total amount of residual film in Xinjiang was 3.43×105 t in 2011, which accounted for 15.3% of the cumulative dosage of mulching. Among all the crops, the cotton fields had the largest residual amount of mulch film（158.4 kg ha^（–1））, and also the largest contribution（2.6×10~5 tons） to the total amount of residual film in Xinjiang.

Supply modes for renewable-based distributed energy systems and their applications:case studies in China

Distributed energy systems(DES),as an integrated energy system with coupled distributed energy resources,have great potential in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and improving energy efficiencies.Considering the background of urbanization and the energy revolution in China,the study investigates the renewable-based DESs supply modes and their application in China.A new method is proposed to classify DESs supply modes into three categories considering the renewable resource in domination,and their application domains are discussed.A comprehensive model is given for economic and environmental evaluation.Typical case studies show that the renewable-based DES systems can supply the energy in a cost-effective and environment-friendly way.Among them,the biomass waste dominated supply mode can not only achieve"zero"carbon emissions but also"zero"energy consumption,even though not yet economically attractive under the present policy and market conditions.Thus,recommendations are given to promote the further deployment of renewable-based DESs,regarding their supply modes,policy requirements,and issues to be addressed.

An Overview of Sustainable Agricultural Waste Practices of West Texas

This article returns to the topic of sustainability. West Texas, mainly known for its cotton and cattle production, is facing problems related to the dispensation of agricultural waste produced by these operations. The article looks at the ways of handling agricultural waste and the opportunities of dispensing it in West Texas. Since between 30 - 40 percent of food produced in the US is not consumed, reduction of food waste is another sustainability problem that, when solved, would lead to the reduction of agricultural production and, in turn, the reduction of agricultural waste. Waste reduction management practices of large food chain stores in West Texas are discussed, with a final goal of bringing waste to a zero level. Public sources of sustainable agricultural and non-agricultural waste handling are also mentioned. This research adds to the previous knowledge on sustainability by discussing agricultural waste practices of a specific local area, i.e. West Texas.

Evaluation of Agricultural Climatic Resource Utilization During Spring Maize Cultivation in Northeast China Under Climate Change

Agricultural climatic resources （such as light,temperature,and water） are environmental factors that affect crop productivity.Predicting the effects of climate change on agricultural climatic resource utilization can provide a theoretical basis for adapting agricultural practices and distributions of agricultural production.This study investigates these effects under the IPCC （Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change） scenario A1B using daily data from the high-resolution RegCM3 （0.25° ×0.25°） during 1951-2100.Model outputs are adjusted using corrections derived from daily observational data taken at 101 meteorological stations in Northeast China between 1971 and 2000.Agricultural climatic suitability theory is used to assess demand for agricultural climatic resources in Northeast China during the cultivation of spring maize.Three indices,i.e.,an average resource suitability index （Isr）,an average efficacy suitability index （Ise）,and an average resource utilization index （K）,are defined to quantitatively evaluate the effects of climate change on climatic resource utilization between 1951 and 2100.These indices change significantly in both temporal and spatial dimensions in Northeast China under global warming.All three indices are projected to decrease in Liaoning Province from 1951 to 2100,with particularly sharp declines in Isr,Ise,and K after 2030,2021,and 2011,respectively.In Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces,Isr is projected to increase slightly after 2011,while Ise increases slightly and K decreases slightly after 2030.The spatial maxima of all three indices are projected to shift northeastward.Overall,warming of the climate in Northeast China is expected to negatively impact spring maize production,especially in Liaoning Province.Spring maize cultivation will likely need to shift northward and expand eastward to make efficient use of future agricultural climatic resources.

中亚地区农业资源利用效率评估及挖掘潜力分析（英文）

This paper quantitatively analyzes the utilization efficiency of agricultural resources in Central Asia by calculating the consumption coefficient of the main resources, including arable land, water and fertilizers. The results of these investigations reveal the following： （1） The average consumption coefficients of cultivated land resources in Central Asia are much higher than the world average value of up to 7.74 m2/kg, which is 3.6 times that of China, suggesting that the cultivated land resource consumption coefficient of cultivated land re- source utilization efficiency is low in the Central Asian region. （2） Up to 80% of available water resources are used for agriculture irrigation. The average agricultural water consumption in Central Asia is about 9.43 m3/kg, or nearly 9.3 times the average value elsewhere in Asia, indicating that agricultural water use efficiency in this region is very low and water resources are wasted. （3） The fertilizer consumption coefficient in Central Asia is 0.035 kg/kg, which is close to the world average, but the utilization efficiency of fertilizer is relatively high. Therefore in the future development of agriculture, Central Asia should pay more attention to the man- agement of agricultural water resources in order to improve the utilization efficiency of these resources as well as that of arable land.