Emergy analysis of paddy farming in Hunan Province, China： A new perspective on sustainable development of agriculture

The multi-functionality of paddy farming has become a hot issue recently. Paddy farming provides numerous ecosystem services that are crucial to human well-being. However, evaluation of the contribution of paddy farming to human well-being usually focus on its economic value, while its non-market services are usually ignored. Only evaluating the market profits or market relative benefits cannot reflect comprehensively the contribution of paddy farming to people＇s well-being. This will affect people＇s choices for or against paddy farming activities and people＇s opt for invest or not invest in it. A comprehensive evaluation of paddy farming can provide an important reference for the government and society to conserve the multi-functionality of paddy farming and achieve sustainable development. To this end, this paper reports a case evaluation of paddy farming in Hunan, the largest rice producing as well as rice yield province in China, and uses emergy theory to make a comprehensive evaluation for paddy farming. The emergy evaluation results of the paddy ecosystem in Hunan are as follows： in 2010, the input emergy of the paddy ecosystem in Hunan is 2.51E＋22 sej and the output emergy is 6.31E＋22sej. For the input emergy, the part from natural resources is 1.96E＋21 sej and the part from human society is 2.32E＋22sej; for the output emergy, the part from products is 2.22E＋22 sej, the part from impositive externality is 4.16E＋22 sej and the part from negative externality is –7.41E＋20 sej. Taking the non-market outputs into consideration, the gains from the human economic society＇s 1 $ input in paddy farming, emergy sustainability index（ESI） and emergy profit rate are respectively 2.73 $, 3.53 and 151.31%. If the evaluation leave out the non-market output, the three indexes are only 0.96 $,1.24 and 30.67%. The research results show that non-market services of paddy farming contribute significantly to human well-being. Therefore, in order to protect the multi-functionality of paddy farming and achieve the sustainable management,the government should take reasonable measures and make incentive plans.

The net ecosystem services value in China's Mainland

Protection of the ecological environment is an effective strategy for maintaining ecosystem health,improving provision of ecosystem services,and increasing human well-being.However,traditional calculations of the value of ecosystem services(VES)provide weak guidance because they ignore the costs of these services,leading to economically inefficient strategies.To understand the difference between VES and the net ecosystem services value(NES,after subtracting costs from VES)and to improve evaluations of ecosystem services,we estimated NES for China's Mainland(including farmland,grassland,forest,and wetland).NES totaled 10.0×10~3RMB ha^(-1)yr^(-1)in 2014,which is only 35.1%of the corresponding VES.Grassland NES was–0.7×10~3RMB ha^(-1)yr^(-1),in contrast with a positive grassland VES.NES of farmland,grassland,forest,and wetland in2014 totaled 7.2×10^(12)RMB,accounting for 27.0%of China’s GNP.Recent Chinese planning based on VES emphasizes forest conservation and ignores the conservation of other important ecosystems,such as grassland,leading to a continuing loss of China’s natural capital.Due to regional differences in economic conditions,resource endowments,and geographical characteristics,VES and NES differ among regions.To maximize the ecological benefits from conservation,it is necessary to account for these differences by comparing strategies based on NES,thereby choosing projects that maximize both economic and ecological benefits.To maintain the ecological balance,ecological restoration and socioeconomic activities should account for the costs of providing ecosystem services.This is essential to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits of projects.

Ecosystem service tradeoff between traditional and modern agriculture： a case study in Congjiang County, Guizhou Province, China

Besides crops, agriculture supplies all three major categories of ecosystem services （ES）. However, agriculture also supplies an array of ecosystem dis-services （EDS） that may harm other ecosystems. The flows of ES and EDS are directly dependent on the management of agricultural ecosystems. The traditional method of Chinese agriculture, which supports sustainable agriculture, has been proven to increase ES and reduce EDS. However, there is a lack of a detailed understanding of the ES and EDS associated with traditional agriculture, and also of differences between traditional and modem agriculture. In this study, an investigation was conducted on the ecosystem services （ES） and ecosystem dis-services （EDS） of traditional and modem agriculture in Congjiang County, Guizhou Province, China. Afterwards, the economic values of ES and EDS were quantified experimentally and calculated based on the market price. The results show that： the net economic value of traditional rice-fish agriculture was 3.31 x 104 CNY.haI （6.83 CNY = 1 USD as of July, 2009） and that of rice monoculture was 1.99 x 104 CNY.ha ~. Significant differences existed between traditional rice-fish and rice monoculture fields for their economic values of some ES or EDS. A benefit and cost analysis （BCA） model was used to adjust the conflict between the economic income and environmental loss from traditional and modem agricul- ture. The BCA model not only calculates the net income but also monetizes the EDS of the agricultural systems. The results showed that the net income of rice-fish agriculture was 1.94x 104CNY.ha-1 higher than that of rice monoculture. However, the benefit to cost ratio （BCR） of rice-fish agriculture was lower than that of rice monoculture, indicating that the traditional agricultural model was not the most optimized choice for farmers. The value of the rice-fish agriculture was much higher than that of the rice monoculture. Thus, when considering the benefits that rice-fish agriculture contributes to the large- scale society, these agricultural methods needs to be utilized. Furthermore, the labor opportunity costs were calculated and the comprehensive value of rice mono- culture was negative. Finally, the compensation standard was calculated based on the comprehensive benefit analysis. The lowest level was 1.09×103 CNY.ha-1, and the highest level was 1.21 × 104 CNY.ha-1.

Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in Sediments of the Fenghe River by the Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation Model and Multivariate Statistical Methods

Concentrations of heavy metals in 74 sediment samples from the Fenghe River, which originates from the north of the Qinling Mountains and flows through Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, were characterized by employing geographic information system(GIS)mapping, fuzzy synthetic assessment, and multivariate statistical analysis to determine the enrichment characteristics of heavy metals as well as their potential risks of pollution to sediments. Al, Cd, and Co were the major pollutants, with a high enrichment factor(EF) value. Heavy metal concentrations from samples near the paper plant were maintained at a high level. Significant enrichment of Al, Ba, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Co was found in the midstream and downstream, while high concentration of Cu occurred in the headwater stream. Based on the cluster and principal component analyses, sediment metals mainly came from the paper plants, agronomic practices, natural sources, and tourism, with a contribution of 51.59%, 23.01%, 14.21%, and 9.88%, respectively. Sediment pollution assessment explored using fuzzy theory based on the entropy method and toxicity coefficient showed that 26, 32, and 11 sites fell into Class III(slightly polluted), Class IV(moderately polluted), and Class V(heavily polluted), respectively, and their scores of membership degree in the polluted level were on the rise, suggesting a relatively high degree of sediment metal pollution in the study area. Closely related to the excessive industrial and agricultural applications, metal pollution in sediment is necessary to be addressed in the Fenghe River.