Spatial and temporal variations of soil moisture in three types of agroforestry boundaries in the Loess Plateau, China

Agroforestry is a ubiquitous landscape on the slopes in Loess Plateau, where soil moisture is a limiting factor for plant growth and development. The spatial and temporal characteristics of soil moisture were studied in three types of agroforestry boundaries： forest-grassland, forest-cropland and shelterbelt-cropland. The result shows that soil moisture content decreased with soil depth increasing from the surface to 110 cm. Soil moisture content differed significantly among the three boundaries all in the rainy season （July-September）, dry season （May-June） and spring （March-April）. The horizontal distribution of soil moisture in different soil layers in the three types of boundaries showed different patterns with line form, wave form, scoop form or ＂W＂ form. The distance of edge influence （DEI） of soil moisture in different types of landscape boundaries was estimated by variance analysis and multiple comparisons. In dry season the DEI in 0-10 cm soil layer was 0.4 H （H, average height of trees）, which ranged from 0.2 H in grassland or in cropland to 0.2 H in forest field for both forest-grassland and forest-cropland boundaries, and 0.7 H （ranged from 0.2 H in cropland to 0.5 H in forest field） for shelterbelt-cropland boundary. In rainy season the DEI at soil depth of 0-110 cm was 0.7 H for the three boundaries. The results indicated that agroforestry type should be carefully selected to maintain soil moisture in land management, especially in restoring degraded land in Loess Plateau.

试释“引婴儿”之“引”

《吕氏春秋·察今篇》有这么一句话:“见人方引婴儿而欲投之江中。”其中,“引婴儿”之“引”是怎样一种动作?旧注本原无解释。中华书局出版的王范之《吕氏春秋选注》释此“引”为“牵”,而中学语文课本选入此文时,亦把此“引”字注为“牵引”。

Establishment of Optimized Eco-productive Paradigm in the Farming-Pastoral Zone of Northern China

The farming-pastoral zone of northern China plays a dual role in ecological conditions and production and occupies an important position in the national economy. In this paper, the methodology of system engineering is introduced to construct and optimize an eco-productive paradigm system for the typical areas of the farming-pastoral zone. The system was constructed in the following steps: (1) design the framework of the paradigm system based on the data of physical site characteristics, biocommunities, production and economy, social culture and historical changes; (2) analyze the vegetation patterns, the interactions between vegetation and environmental factors (natural, social, economic, etc.) and the contributions of vegetation to the area, including the synthesis of the existing researches; and (3) provide the spatial arrangements of ecosystems and planning of each area, raise a comprehensive indicators of evaluation, evaluate the feasibility and soundness, and determine the optimum eco-productive paradigms for policy-makers which were land-use patterns within the threshold of ecological conservation. Three primitive paradigms of Maowusu (Mu Us) Ssandy Land, Loess Plateau and Huailai Basin in the farming-pastoral zone of northern China were proposed according to this paradigm system.

“中石器时代”侈议

一般认为,“中石器时代”是指“处于旧石器时代和新石器时代之间的过渡阶段,……其基本特征是:这时的人类依然过着采集渔猎的经济生活,农业和畜牧还没有出现.工具以打制石器为主,用间接打击法制作的典型细石器尤为盛行,仅有个别的磨制石器,陶器还没有产生.”(见《中国大百科全书·考古学》第720页)显然,这个概念,除了“用间接打击法制作的典型细石器尤为盛行”外,它所表述的实体基本上与旧石器时代无异,因此,有人称其为“续旧石器时代”(同上书第476页).显然,“中石器时代”只是旧石器时代的一个组成部分,即是它的末期阶段.

Circulation Technology and Model of Agroforestry and Animal Husbandry

On basis of analysis on agroforestry-animal husbandry ecosystem characters, the research explored nutrient flow model of material cycle and carbon cycle and agroforestry-animal husbandry mutualism model and supporting technology in Yangtze-Huaihe Region, taking Robinia pseudoacacia stand and rubber garden as an example.

Mountain Pastures and Grasslands in the SW Tien Shan,Kyrgyzstan-Floristic Patterns,Environmental Gradients,Phytogeography,and Grazing Impact

Vast grasslands are found in the walnut-fruit forest region of southern Kyrgyzstan,Middle Asia.Located above the worldwide unique walnutfruit forests and used for grazing,they play a pivotal role in the mixed mountain agriculture of local farmers.Accordingly,these pastures are subject to an increasing utilization pressure reflecting the changing political and social conditions in the transformation process from a Soviet republic to an independent state.A first detailed analysis of mountain pasture vegetation in the Ferghana Range answers the following questions:What are the main plant community types among Kyrgyzstan's mountain pastures? What are the main environmental gradients that shape their species composition? Which phytogeographical distribution types are predominant? How does grazing affect community composition and species richness in these grasslands? Species composition was classified by cluster analysis;underlying environmental gradients were explored using DCA.A dataset of 395 relevés was used for classification,and a subset of 79 relevés was used in a DCA to analyze the correlation between vegetation,environment,and grazing impact.The investigated pastures were classified into four distinctive plant communities.The site factors altitude,heat load,inclination and grazing impact were found to be the major determinants of the vegetation pattern.A significant overlap between floristic composition and structural and spatial properties was shown.The majority of the species pool consisted of Middle Asian endemics and Eurosiberian species.However,disturbance-tolerant species played a significant role with respect to species composition and coverage of the herbaceous layer in vast areas of southern Kyrgyzstan's mountain pastures.In general,an intense grazing impact is clearly reflected by both species composition and structural variables of plant communities.The highly diverse and unique ecosystem is modified by an increasing utilization pressure.In order to maintain vital processes and functioning of this valuable ecosystem-in both economical and ecological terms-,it is indispensable to adopt appropriate pasture management strategies.

Influence of Sulphur Fertilizer on Sulphur Cycling and Its Implications on Sulphur Fertilizer Requirement of Grazed Pasture in Warm Seasonal Rangeland of Nei Monggol Steppe of China

Sulphur (S) cycling and implications on S fertilizer requirement in sheep-grazed pastures receiving three levels of S fertilizer at rates of 0, 30 and 60 kg S/hm 2 in 1995 and 1996 were studied using a mass-balance approach which accounted both for S inputs to and outputs from the soil-plant-animal system. Results indicated that S fertilizer increased by 50% of herbage S uptake and 15% or more of S bio-cycling rate in grazing system. The total S recovery of 30 and 60 kg S/hm 2 treatments from 1995 to 1996 was 74.0% and 37.6% respectively. Mineralization of organic S may be an important source of S for pasture when other S sources are low, accounted for 70% of the total S inputs without S fertilizer. The grazing sheep has an important ecological function, the feature of S cycling in grazed pastures was that 90% of herbage S ingested by grazing sheep was returned to soils as excreta. The amount of S released by sheep excreta accounted about 30% of the total released S through S bio-recycling. Loss from soil S leaching beyond the major plant rooting zone was the main S output from grazing system. However, urinary and fecal S losses, including transfer and leaching losses, also affected S budgets of grazing system. It is therefore important to investigate the recycling rate of both urinary and fecal S under field conditions. Based on the mass-balance principle, at least 10 kg S/hm 2 per year may be necessary for sustainable development of grazing system.

Measuring Herbage Mass by Non-Destructive Methods： A Review

Accurate assessment of herbage mass （HM） in pasture is a key to budgeting forage in grazing systems worldwide. Different non-destructive techniques to measuring pasture yield are commented. The methods compared include visual estimations, manual and electronic pasture meters and remote sensing. All methods are associated with a moderate to high error, showing that some indirect methods of yield estimation are appropriate under most appropriate because many factors as climate variations, soil certain conditions. In general terms, no method was found as the characteristics, plant phenology, pasture management and species composition must be taken into account to make local calibrations from a general model. Best results were found modifying general methods under local calibrations and under local conditions. In order to give farmers the best method to manage adequately their own grazing systems, researchers must select the most suitable technique considering the scale of operation, the desired accuracy and the resources available.

A Case Study on Environmental Evaluation and Planning for Range and Forest Management by Means of Geographic Information System （GIS）

The aim of this research is to identify the most suitable land for forestry, afforestation and rangeland management in Hamadan province. This research has been accomplished using Makhdoum＇s model. In this research 30 digital data layers are used. The Geographic Information System （GIS） has been used as main tool and overlay method has been used to implement the mentioned model. The results of this research revealed that the extent of favorite areas for fifth grade forestry, favorite areas for fourth grade afforestation, and favorite areas for third grade and fourth grade range management in the studied area. Based on the results of this research, the studied area has limited potentials for forestry and afforestation activities. The obtained results of evaluation also showed that the rangelands of Hamadan province are extremely poor. Since the rangelands have a substantial role in preservation of soil and water, therefore it is necessary to take appropriate measures for better exploitation of rangelands.

Acoustic Conditioning System Development and Conditioning Experiments on Black Seabreams in the Xiangshan Bay Sea Ranch

Attracting released hatchery-reared fish to designated areas during the growth process is vital to realize the objectives of sea ranching. Based on the bottom artificial reefs and surface kelp culture facilities in the Xiangshan Bay sea ranch, we proposed systematic techniques related to acoustic conditioning of the black seabream(Sparus macrocephalus). Experiments conducted in 12 m × 10 m × 1.6 m ponds on Xixuan Island showed that black seabream was positively sensitive to 500–600 Hz periodic signals. Conditioned responses were apparent after 8 d. Two to three days were required for recovery of the memory of a conditioned response after a 20-day interval. According to the practical application requirements in the open sea, unattended acoustic conditioning equipment was developed. The ranching equipment was used in 12 m × 12 m × 2.5 m cages, and the behavior of black seabream juveniles was successfully guided after 7 days. Of the 16000 released fish, 82.5% of them were conditioned with a flexible grading net. To avoid inducing a stress response, the juveniles were released into the sea ranch in situ from the net cage. The acoustic conditioning equipments were moved into the open sea and the aggregation phenomenon of the released fish was observed when the sound was played. After 6 months of investigation and based on Sr+ marking, only one acoustically conditioned fish was found outside the 3.5-km^2 sea ranch area, thereby reached the goal of guiding activity. The practical effect in the Xiangshan Bay sea ranch showed the validity of the acoustic conditioning system, which may contribute to improve the operation of the sea ranches in the East China Sea.

Degradation of High Mountain Ecosystems in Northern Europe

Data material of a long-term high mountain ecosystem research project was used to interpret thegrazing impact of reindeers. In central Norwayinvestigations were conducted to both, areas wherereindeer grazing is excluded, and areas whereintensive pasturing is present for a long period oftime. The comparative analysis of grazing impact was based on similar environmental conditions. Theresults were transposed to northern Norway wheredramatic overgrazing had been exceeding thecarrying capacity. Using landscape ecologicalmappings, especially of vegetation and soils, theimpact of reindeer grazing in different areas becameobvious. Non-grazed lichen-dominated ecosystems of the snow-free locations functioned sensitively nearthe limit of organism survival. These localities weremost influenced by grazing as they offer the winterforage to the reindeers. So, intensive grazing incentral Norway led to landscape degradation bydestruction of the vegetation and superinduced bysoil erosion. Those features were comparable to thesituation in northern Norway, where a broad-scale destruction of the environment combined with adepression of the altitudinal belts had occurred dueto overgrazing. Functioning principles of intact high mountain systems were explained and used to interpret theenvironmental background for the understanding ofdegradation phenomena. Finally, the use of a newmodel calculating the carrying capacity of high mountain landscape was discussed.

Sustainability of Transhumance Grazing Systems under Socio-economic Threats in Langtang,Nepal

The decline or loss of traditional social- ecological systems may induce adverse effects to the societies and ecosystems. Transhumance, the recurring and seasonal movement of grazing livestock, is increasingly constrained by a numbers of factors including policy, land use and soeio-economic changes in Nepal. To explore how these changes have affected the transhumance, this study investigated transhumance at the Langtang valley in central Nepal. The specific objectives of this study were to determine the herd size and composition, spatial-temporal patterns and to identify the major drivers of the system and the system changes. Data were collected from field study comprising semi-structured interviews with the herders, focus group discussions, key informants survey, and observations of rangeland and livestock management systems. The study revealed that the transhumanee system in the Langtang is influenced by two types of drivers. In one hand, traditional practices are contributing to the sustainability of the system. On the other hand, the grazing patterns and adaptive responses are strongly influenced by changes in government policies, socioeconomic and cultural transformation, livestock productivity, markets, rangeland conditions and climate change. The findings of this study help with the development and implementation of transhumance management policy for the sustainability.

Perspectives and Challenges of Italian Catalogue of Herbage Varieties

In Mediterranean countries forage crops and temporary grasslands are the most important supply even if severe moisture stress is common. In Italy, forage systems are various and differently located from North to South of the mainland due to strong influence by rainfall distribution. Grasses and grazing cover 3.4 million ha of Italian utilized agricultural area （UAA） while alternated grassland and grass meadows cover 1.9 million ha. Most of grasslands are located in hilly and mountainous areas and are important for reducing erosion. Italy has a great longitudinal extension which accounts for a great variety of climate systems and soils： the northern regions have a humid subtropical climate and differ greatly from the south part that fits the Mediterranean climate profile. During the last 100/150 years the Italian climate has become warmer and drier showing an increase of erratic precipitation intensity. The future of breeding of forage grasses and legumes should be focused on higher nutrient use efficiencies and increased sustainability. New applications of genomics and bioinformatics will allow advanced breeding strategies. Over the past 15 years breeders have displayed a constant interest in forage species while a greater interest has risen in turfgrass varieties. Seed production of Italian herbages does not cover the requirements of the market. More specific value for cultivation and use （VCU） tests might be an effective means to improve the screening of candidate varieties. The goal is the selection of varieties able to withstand the stress of climate change, have better water and nitrogen use efficiency and resilience of vegetation cover.

Livestock Feed Marketing in Ethiopia： Challenges and Opportunities for Livestock Development

This paper presents the feed marketing systems of Ethiopia in terms of feed demand and supply, feed quality issues, feed prices and price trends based on qualitative data generated through rapid market appraisal methodology. The results indicate that, the demand for roughages, agro-industrial by-products （AIBP） and compound feeds is showing increasing trend. The use of feed from commercial sources is, however, very limited due to shortage of feed supply and inefficient marketing system. The AIBP mainly from flour and grind mills, oil processing plants and breweries are in short supply and directly marketed to user or through traders. Consequently, most of the exiting feed mixers/processing enterprises are operating under capacity estimated at about 20%-30%. The main marketed roughages, which are mainly cereal straws and baled hay, are also in short supply. Feed prices are increasing from time to time and mainly exacerbated by the increasing trend in export market of AIBP and double taxation in mixed rations. There is no any feed quality control or assurance mechanism in Ethiopia. Precaution needs to be taken in the area of taxation in order to avoid double taxation. Implications to improve the feed marketing systems and opportunities for livestock development are drawn.

Performance and Adaptation of the Vallerani Mechanized Water Harvesting System in Degraded Badia Rangelands

Rainwater harvesting in micro-catchments such as contour ridges and semicircular bunds is an option for utilizing the limited rainfall, improving productivity and combating land degradation in dry rangeland areas （Badia）. However, implementation of this practice using manual labor or traditional machinery is slow, tedious and costly, and often impractical on a large scale. These limitations can be overcome using the ＂Vallerani＂ plow for quickly constructing continuous and intermittent ridges. The plow （model Delfino （50 MI/CM）, manufactured by Nardi, Italy） was tested and adapted to dry steppe （Badia） conditions in Jordan. The performance of the machine, its weaknesses and potential improvements were assessed in the 2006/07 season at three sites on 165 hectares of various terrain, slope and soil conditions. The performance parameters included effective field capacity （EFC）, machine efficiency （ME） and fuel consumption （FC）. Field tests were carried out at different tractor （134 HP） traveling speeds, pit sizes and contour spacings. Overall mean performance indicators gave an EFC of 1.2 ha/h, 51% ME and an average FC of 5.15 liter/ha. Increasing ridge spacing had a small effect on ME where, increasing traveling speed had a greater effect. A guide table was developed, relating performance parameters with ridge spacing, speed, and bund size setting. This could be a useful reference for the implementation and management of mechanized micro-catchment construction in the Badia. The system performed well in the construction of continuous ridges. However, it was unable to construct intermittent ridges at speeds over 4km/h; problems were encountered in properly staggering the bunds at successive contours.

Animal Production Systems in Algeria： Transformation and Tendencies in the Setif Area

Algeria registers only 0.25 ha of agricultural surface per capita. This indicates very low agricultural capacities. Otherwise agricultural activities are concentrated in a narrow fringe of the Northern part of the country where the dominant climate is semi-arid with very irregular rainfalls. A majority of farms produces its main part of income from cereal crops--livestock association system. However, the diversity of the climate and the physical environment, on one hand, and the agricultural policies on the other hand, induce major transformations in this system. Transformations are also the result of a significant demographic growth in rural area. In this context, significant issues appear in term of resource＇s uses and systems＇ sustainability. To shed light in the actual situation, this study, based on a survey of 90 owners, shows that： the intensification can constitute a threat on the pastoral resources; the weakness of the farms encourages the generalization of practices characterised by a weak feed autonomy and a bad management of stock fodders; the animal interspecific integration and partial intensification are positive if they follow models which ensure autonomy, performance and optimal pastoral resource management.

Design and Validation of Strategy to Increasing the Rate Calving in Traditional Production System Livestock of Michoac^n M^xico Tropical Dry

Michoacan brings 2.1% of national GDP, which is 12.5% to agriculture, Livestock is the fourth activity in economic importance in the State and develops in 43% of the territory （58,643 km：） using 27% of the population economically active. Michoacfin ranks third in national cattle inventory （1,608,523 heads） with fifth place in meat production （145,221 ton/year）. The production model is extended cow-breed, subject to season and availability of food （few rains shortage of forage during drought）, with 0.60 production of breed/cow/year, and a marked traditionalism in the form of production; also a high dependency to food based on the grazing. The inadequate national public policy expressed in the paternalism has limited the adoption of strategies to contribute to the solution of this problem. Therefore this study objective was to design and validate a strategy to increase the number of cow breeding/cow/year to season reproduction program, based on the use of synthetic progesterone ＂melengestrol acetate＂ （MGA） as a technology available, secure, easy to use, low cost and likely to be adoptable to the traditional model of production. Work was done in the dry tropics in the municipalities of Churumuco and Tzitzio, Michoacfin State, Mdxico. Used 133 bovine females with crossbreeding Bos indicus, diagnosed as not pregnant, 6.7 and 6.38 years old respectively for each municipality. Oral doses of 0.05 rag/day/cow of MGA during nine days then exposed to the presence of male. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance of a single way. The results indicate that the delivery rate was 58.33% in Churumuco and 61.86% in Tzitzio. This delivery rate represents an increase of 14%-16% of born per year considering that treated females become pregnant with traditional production system management. We concluded that the MGA is an appropriate strategy to the traditional production of tropical dry in MichoacO, n system that increases the rate of births and is likely to be accepted despite the paternalistic public policy prevailing in the country.

Soil Attributes and Production of Eucalyptus in Monoculture and Silvopastoral Systems in the North of Minas Gerais, Brazil

The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical and physical attributes of soil, and the productivity of Eucalyptus cultivated in monoculture and silvopastoral systems. The experiment started in 2009 and evaluated the following four systems： native vegetation system （Cerrado）, a degraded pasture, a Eucalyptus urograndis monoculture （E. urophylla x E. grandis） and a silvopastoral system （E. urograndis combined with Brachiaria brizantha cv. ＂Marandu＂）. The experimental design used was completely randomized. In each system, four soil samples were collected from the 0-20 cm depth layer, and the chemical and physical attributes of the soil were evaluated. The diameters of all Eucalyptus trees at 1.30 m above the ground as well as the total height were measured. Subsequently, the trees dimensions were measured and their individual volumes obtained by applying the Smalian formula. The correlation between the parameters for Eucalyptus production and soil attributes was established using the Pearson＇s correlation coefficient method. The planting of Eucalyptus in monoculture and silvopastoral systems contributed to the improvement of the soil＇s chemical and physical attributes, which indicates the potential of these systems for recovery of degraded pastures. The silvopastoral system yielded the highest average volume of wood per tree （0.2228 m^3）, with a productivity of 111.4 m^3/ha. The Eucalyptus monoculture yielded 0.1895 m^3 per tree and 315.71 m^3/ha due to the higher density of the crop. The growth and productivity of Eucalyptus showed highly correlation with the soil attributes, thus suggesting that well-managed crops are an indicator of the soil quality recovery.

Electronic Identification of Livestock to Improve Turkey＇s Animal Production System

Major disease outbreaks, increasing demand for animal food products, intensification of animal production systems, increased consumer awareness about food quality and safety, as well as heightened consciousness about animal welfare issues has seen the need for more reliable animal identification in Turkey＇s animal production system. Animal identification and traceability systems have seen rapid development in the world＇s main livestock producing nations and have been recognised by the main food, health and livestock trading authorities. The benefit of this system affects all the participants in the food chain （farm to fork） by limiting the spread of animal disease, assuring food safety and quality, minimizing the potential trade loss and minimizing government control. Electronic identification （EID） is one of the main technologies adopted, whereby each individual animal is identified and traced through a unique identification number saved on an electronic transponder （eartag or bolus）. The present animal identification and registration system in Turkey does not use an electronic identification tool and is administered manually which often causes unreliable and incorrect results. Concerns for animal and human health, as well as food safety assurance, have motivated efforts in Turkey to intensify animal identification system. This paper has provided the basis for how animals can be accurately traced and monitored from their birth until their slaughter, tracking every single parameter that could be of interest： animal health history, disease control, milk/meat/wool production and nutrition. This study summarizes information on EID available from around the world, discusses the advantages and challenges in its application in Turkey and provides recommendations as to the systems suitability to upgrade the present status of the Turkish National Livestock Identification System.

The Dynamics and Future Scenarios of the Animal Husbandry System in Khutag-Undur from 2015 to 2050

Under the conditions of climate warming,grassland degradation,frequent sandstorms,and fast increases in livestock numbers,coordinating animal husbandry and ecological protection is an important issue facing Mongolia.Using Khutag-Undur as an example,this study explores the dynamic process,future scenarios,and optimization strategies of the animal husbandry system in a typical Soum of Mongolia from 2015 to 2050 under three future climate socioeconomic scenarios of CMIP 6:SSP1-RCP2.6,SSP2-RCP4.5,and SSP5-RCP8.5.First,the animal husbandry system was deconstructed into three subsystems:grassland primary production,livestock secondary production,and herder consumption.Based on the negative feedback mechanism of forage-livestock balance,a system dynamics model for the Khutag-Undur Soum animal husbandry system was developed.This model integrates spatial data such as land cover and NPP,as well as statistical data on livestock,herder income and expenditures,sample plot surveys,and herder questionnaires.The model was used to simulate the historical changes(2015-2022)in forage production and carrying capacity,livestock stock,and livestock output of Khutag-Undur,and then to forecast the future scenarios of those variables for 2022-2050.Second,the most suitable future scenario for the Soum was identified by comparing the three future scenarios using a pastural system sustainability evaluation method.Finally,based on three indicators of livestock numbers,a two-step livestock reduction strategy was proposed.The main conclusions are that the rapid growth of livestock numbers in Khutag-Undur places considerable pressure on the grassland,and the SSP1-RCP2.6 scenario is the most suitable future scenario for the Soum.However,even in this suitable scenario,grassland overloading remains evident.The continuous implementation of a livestock reduction strategy is recommended to maintain the sustainable development of animal husbandry and grassland conservation.