Characteristics and Development of Agricultural Soil in Hetao Irrigation District,Inner Mongolia

Hetao Irrigation District is located in the cold and arid region of Hetao Plain,Inner Mongolia,where the agricultural soil has unique characteristics.Although the agricultural soil properties in Hetao Irrigation Districts have been reported,the overall characteristics remain unclear.Through literature review and investigation,the overall characteristics,development patterns,and related reasons were explored,consequently providing theoretical support for enhancing soil utilization and formulating sustainable soil development strategies.The results showed that the agricultural soil in Hetao Irrigation District originated from the sedimentary layer and anthropogenic mellowing produced by the diversions of the Yellow River.The soil has periodic secondary salinization characteristics,accompanied by a slightly increasing pH value over time.It has low soil organic contents with a stable changing trend,low nitrogen,and phosphorus contents but high potassium and sulfur content,uneven nutrient distribution,diverse production performance,weak but stable ecological performance,and heterogeneous soil quality with a stable change trend.These findings indicate that this kind of soil can be used to plant diverse crops tolerant to different saline-alkali and requiring various nutrients.This agricultural soil is sustainable,but it is also faced with the problems of increased saline-alkali,nutrient loss,and pollution.

Evolution and future of urban ecological science:ecology in,of,and for the city

The contrast between ecology in cities and ecology of cities has emphasized the increasing scope of urban ecosystem research.Ecology in focuses on terrestrial and aquatic patches within cities,suburbs,and exurbs as analogs of non-urban habitats.Urban fabric outside analog patches is considered to be inhospi-table matrix.Ecology of the city differs from ecology in by treating entire urban mosaics as social-ecolog-ical systems.Ecology of urban ecosystems incorporates biological,social,and built components.Originally posed as a metaphor to visualize disciplinary evolution,this paper suggests that the contrast has conceptual,empirical,and methodological contents.That is,the contrast constitutes a disciplinary or“local”paradigm shift.The paradigm change between ecology in and ecology of represents increased complexity,moving from focus on biotic communities to holistic social-ecological systems.A third paradigm,ecology for the city,has emerged due to concern for urban sustainability.While ecology for includes the knowledge generated by both ecology in and ecology of,it considers researchers as a part of the system,and acknowledges that they may help envision and advance the social goals of urban sustainability.Using urban heterogeneity as a key urban feature,the three paradigms are shown to contrast in five important ways:disciplinary focus,the relevant theory of spatial heterogeneity,the technology for representing spatial structure,the resulting classification of urban mosaics,and the nature of application to sustainability.Ecology for the city encourages ecologists to engage with other specialists and urban dwellers to shape a more sustainable urban future.

Linking science and decision making to promote an ecology for the city:practices and opportunities

To promote urban sustainability and resilience,there is an increasing demand for actionable science that links science and decision making based on social-ecological knowledge.Approaches,frameworks,and practices for such actionable science are needed and have only begun to emerge.We propose that approaches based on the co-design and co-production of knowledge can play an essential role to meet this demand.Although the antecedents for approaches to the co-design and co-production of knowledge are decades old,the integration of science and practice to advance urban sustainability and resilience that we present is different in several ways.These differences include the disciplines needed,diversity and number of actors involved,and the technological infrastructures that facilitate local-to global connections.In this article,we discuss how the new requirements and possibilities for co-design,co-production,and practical use of social-ecological research can be used as an ecology for the city to promote urban sustainability and resilience.While new technologies are part of the solution,traditional approaches also remain important.Using our urban experiences with long-term,place-based research from several U.S.Long-Term Ecological Research sites and U.S.Department of Agriculture,Forest Service Urban Field Stations,we describe a dynamic framework for linking research with decisions.We posit that this framework,coupled with a user-defined,theory-based approach to science,is instrumental to advance both practice and science.Ultimately,cities are ideal places for integrating basic science and decision making,facilitating flows of information through networks,and developing sustainable and resilient solutions and futures.