Plights and Outlet:Environmental Problem Analysis of Agricultural Eco-tourism

As agricultural eco-tourism development played a vital role in promoting rural economic and social development and constructing new harmonious countryside,the paper had analyzed environmental problem produced during its development,pointed out that blind development of agricultural eco-tourism had seriously destroyed resources and ecological environment and that tourist infrastructure construction and urbanization had ruined rural unique natural landscape.In view of current situation of environment,it also studied reasons causing environmental disruption,which lied in insufficient guidance and support of government,deficient scientific development planning and management system,and poor environmental consciousness of tourist operators and tourists.On this basis,it summarized that agricultural eco-tourism development should follow principles of sustainable development,synchronization between development and protection,and coordination between tourism development and environmental protection.It concluded proper ways to develop agricultural eco-tourism,and emphasized that it should draw up scientific and reasonable development planning,enhance government's macro-administration,establish and perfect ecological compensation mechanism,and strive to cultivate people's environmental awareness.

Study on Environmental Protection during Agricultural Eco-tourism Development in Guangzhou City——From the Perspective of Perfecting Environmental Responsibility System of Tourism Company

By taking Guangzhou City for example,a series of environmental problems brought by agricultural ecological tourism were analyzed from the perspective of environmental degradation caused by that tourism company failed to take environmental responsibility.Based on economic development and environmental protection,some suggestions on environmental protection were proposed from the perspective of perfecting environmental responsibility of tourism company in order to realize win-win of economic development and environmental protection.

Survey and Recommendations for Land Use of Agricultural Machinery Service Organization Facilities in Guizhou Province

With the advancement of agricultural modernization, agricultural machinery service organizations, as an important part of the rural operating entities, show an increasing trend year by year, and need new facilities land in the process of development and growth. Based on the written survey of 597 agricultural machinery service organizations in Guizhou Province, the demand and demand gap of various facilities land use in agricultural machinery service organizations were analyzed and compared. In addition, based on the field survey and policy background, the main practices and experiences of agricultural machinery service organizations in Guizhou Province in the approval and use of facility land were sorted out, and the problems and causes of large gap in facility agricultural land, lack of standards and difficulty in policy implementation were analyzed. Finally, it recommended that the site selection of agricultural machinery service organization facilities needs to be standardized, the land demand needs to be coordinated, the land scale needs to be scientifically demonstrated, and financial support should be sought to promote Guizhou agricultural machinery service organization to become bigger, better and stronger.

Brand Early Promotion Program for Fresh Agricultural Product"Longxuhuang"

This study focuses on"Longxuhuang",a fresh agricultural product from Longtian Town in Longmen County.By establishing the objectives of brand promotion and analyzing the appropriate promotional channels,we aim to effectively position the brand,cultivate a promotional atmosphere,identify suitable channels for promotion,anticipate potential risks,and propose corresponding countermeasures.Additionally,we assess the effectiveness of the promotional strategies employed.The findings of this research will contribute to the brand promotion of enterprises and offer insights for the brand promotion of agricultural products in other regions.

Biochar as a Climate-Smart Agricultural Practice: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Promoting Sustainable Farming

In recent years, the world has faced rising global temperatures, accumulative pollution, and energy crises, stimulating scientists worldwide to strive for eco-friendly and cost-effective solutions. Biochar has materialized as a favorable tool for environmental remediation, indicating efficacy as an efficient sorbent substance for both inorganic and organic pollutants in environmental field. These unique properties exclude improved surface functionality, porous morphology, large specific surface area (SSA), cation exchange capacity (CEC), robust adsorption capabilities, environmental stability, and embedded micronutrients. Biochar exhibited potential characteristics for environmental oversight, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction, and soil fertility improvement. This review explores the impact of fundamental factors such as retention time, pyrolysis temperature, gas flow rate, and reactor design on biochar yield and properties. Collected data revealed the various applications of biochar, ranging from waste management and construction materials to the adsorptive removal of hydrocarbon lubricants from aqueous media, contaminant immobilization, and carbon sequestration. It has played mostly a significant share in climate change mitigation and an important role in soil amendments. Biochar improves soil improvement by increasing water retention (10%–30%), carbon sequestration, soil surface functionality, and providing high surface area with chemical stability. The assessment also reports the prospects and contests associated with biochar application uses in various agriculture cropping ecosystems. Inclusive, this review highlights the multifaceted characteristics of biochar as an adjustable on top of a sustainable solution addressing greenhouse gas emission, carbon sequestration, and environmental stresses. However, further research is needed to understand its long-term impacts and optimal applications fully.

Impact of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP)implementation on agricultural sector in regional countries:A global value chain perspective

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP)has created favorable conditions for building deeply integrated agricultural value chains(AVC)in Asia-Pacific.Based on the RCEP agreement,this study employed the global trade analysis project(GTAP)model to evaluate the impact of RCEP on AVC of member countries in terms of time,tariff reduction,and reduction of non-tariff barriers(NTB).The results indicate that(1)the implementation of RCEP boosts the value-added to agricultural exports for most member countries,particularly in competitive industries;(2)the increase in domestic production and processing capacity,reflected in domestic value-added(DVA),is the primary factor driving the rise in the value-added of agricultural exports across various industries of member countries;(3)RCEP enhances the participation of most regional countries in AVC,with varying impacts on AVC positioning,thereby fostering regional AvC development;and(4)RCEP has a positive effect on AVC indicators both in the short and long term,with the effect becoming more pronounced over time.Additionally,reducing NTB enhances the positive effects of tariff reductions on AVC indicators.Based on the analyses,the following recommendations are proposed:(1)Leverage the development opportunities arising from RCEP implementation to enhance the agricultural DVA;(2)capitalize on cooperative opportunities created by RCEP to build cohesive regional AVC;and(3)prioritize the effective implementation of RCEP'shigh-qualityrules.

Distributions and risk assessment of heavy metals in solid waste in lead-zinc mining areas and across the soil, water body, sediment and agricultural product ecosystem in their surrounding areas

To identify the root causes of heavy metal contamination in soils as well as prevent and control such contamination from its sources,this study explored the accumulation patterns and ecological risks of heavy metals like Cd and Pb in solid waste in mining areas and across the water body,sediment,soil and agricultural product ecosystem surrounding the mining areas.Focusing on the residual solid waste samples in lead-zinc deposits in a certain area of Guizhou Province,along with samples of topsoils,irrigation water,river sediments,and crops from surrounding areas.This study analyzed the distributions of eight heavy metals,i.e.,Cd,As,Cr,Hg,Pb,Zn,Cu,and Ni,in the samples through field surveys and sample tests.Furthermore,this study assessed the contamination levels and ecological risks of heavy metals in soils,sediments,and agricultural products using methods such as the single-factor index,Nemerow composite index,and potential ecological risk assessment.The results indicate that heavy metals in the solid waste samples all exhibited concentrations exceeding their risk screening values,with 60%greater than their risk intervention values.The soils and sediments demonstrate slight and moderate comprehensive ecological risks of heavy metals.The single-factor potential ecological risks of heavy metals in both the soil and sediment samples decreased in the order of Hg,Cd,Pb,As,Cu,Zn,Cr,and Ni,suggesting the same sources of heavy metals in the soils and sediments.Most of the agricultural product samples exhibited over-limit concentrations of heavy metals dominated by Cd,Pb,Ni,and Cr,excluding Hg and As.The agricultural product assessment using the Nemerow composite index reveals that 35%of the agricultural product samples reached the heavy metal contamination level,implying that the agricultural products from farmland around the solid waste dumps have been contaminated with heavy metals.The eight heavy metals in the soil,sediment,and agricultural product samples manifested high coefficients of variation(CVs),indicating pronounced spatial variability.This suggests that their concentrations in soils,sediments,and agricultural products are significantly influenced by human mining activities.Additionally,the agricultural products exhibit strong transport and accumulation capacities for Cd,Cu,and Zn.

A Study on "Internet +" Eco-production and Eco-tourism Mode for Agricultural Enterprises

"Internet +" eco-production and eco-tourism carried out by agricultural enterprises is one of ways to increase income.Urban economic development index evaluation value(u_1),agricultural enterprises' eco-production and eco-tourism index evaluation value(u_2) and Internet popularity index evaluation value(u_3) constitute the ternary coupling system.The ternary coupling coordination degree(D_3) combined with u_2 can be used to judge whether the agricultural enterprises practise eco-production and eco-tourism mode.When u_2≥ 0.5000,D3≥0.6000,the autonomous mode for agricultural enterprises can be used; when 0.4000≤u_2< 0.5000,0.5000≤D_3< 0.6000,the mode of cooperation with travel agency can be used; when 0.3000 ≤u_2< 0.4000,0.4000 ≤D < 0.5000,the tourism business transfer mode can be used; when u_2< 0.3000,D < 0.4000,the tourism business should not be carried out.All the above four modes require "Internet +".

Global Change in Agricultural Flash Drought over the 21st Century

Agricultural flash droughts are high-impact phenomena, characterized by rapid soil moisture dry down. The ensuing dry conditions can persist for weeks to months, with detrimental effects on natural ecosystems and crop cultivation. Increases in the frequency of these rare events in a future warmer climate would have significant societal impact. This study uses an ensemble of 10 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project(CMIP) models to investigate the projected change in agricultural flash drought during the 21st century. Comparison across geographical regions and climatic zones indicates that individual events are preceded by anomalously low relative humidity and precipitation, with long-term trends governed by changes in temperature, relative humidity, and soil moisture. As a result of these processes, the frequency of both upperlevel and root-zone flash drought is projected to more than double in the mid-and high latitudes over the 21st century, with hot spots developing in the temperate regions of Europe, and humid regions of South America, Europe, and southern Africa.

Health risk assessment of trace metal(loid)s in agricultural soils based on Monte Carlo simulation coupled with positive matrix factorization model in Chongqing, southwest China

This study aimed to investigate the pollution characteristics, source apportionment, and health risks associated with trace metal(loid)s(TMs) in the major agricultural producing areas in Chongqing, China. We analyzed the source apportionment and assessed the health risk of TMs in agricultural soils by using positive matrix factorization(PMF) model and health risk assessment(HRA) model based on Monte Carlo simulation. Meanwhile, we combined PMF and HRA models to explore the health risks of TMs in agricultural soils by different pollution sources to determine the priority control factors. Results showed that the average contents of cadmium(Cd), arsenic (As), lead(Pb), chromium(Cr), copper(Cu), nickel(Ni), and zinc(Zn) in the soil were found to be 0.26, 5.93, 27.14, 61.32, 23.81, 32.45, and 78.65 mg/kg, respectively. Spatial analysis and source apportionment analysis revealed that urban and industrial sources, agricultural sources, and natural sources accounted for 33.0%, 27.7%, and 39.3% of TM accumulation in the soil, respectively. In the HRA model based on Monte Carlo simulation, noncarcinogenic risks were deemed negligible(hazard index <1), the carcinogenic risks were at acceptable level(10^(-6)<total carcinogenic risk ≤ 10^(-4)), with higher risks observed for children compared to adults. The relationship between TMs, their sources, and health risks indicated that urban and industrial sources were primarily associated with As, contributing to 75.1% of carcinogenic risks and 55.7% of non-carcinogenic risks, making them the primary control factors. Meanwhile, agricultural sources were primarily linked to Cd and Pb, contributing to 13.1% of carcinogenic risks and 21.8% of non-carcinogenic risks, designating them as secondary control factors.

Spatio-Temporal Agricultural Drought Quantification in a Rainfed Agriculture, Athi-Galana-Sabaki River Basin

This study employs a quantitative approach to comprehensively investigate the full propagation process of agricultural drought, focusing on pigeon peas (the most grown crop in the AGS Basin) planting seasonal variations. The study modelled seasonal variabilities in the seasonal Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Agricultural Drought Index (SADI). To necessitate comparison, SADI and SPI were Normalized (from −1 to 1) as they had different ranges and hence could not be compared. From the seasonal indices, the pigeon peas planting season (July to September) was singled out as the most important season to study agricultural droughts. The planting season analysis selected all years with severe conditions (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017 and 2022) for spatial analysis. Spatial analysis revealed that most areas in the upstream part of the Basin and Coastal region in the lowlands experienced severe to extreme agricultural droughts in highlighted drought years. The modelled agricultural drought results were validated using yield data from two stations in the Basin. The results show that the model performed well with a Pearson Coefficient of 0.87 and a Root Mean Square Error of 0.29. This proactive approach aims to ensure food security, especially in scenarios where the Basin anticipates significantly reduced precipitation affecting water available for agriculture, enabling policymakers, water resource managers and agricultural sector stakeholders to equitably allocate resources and mitigate the effects of droughts in the most affected areas to significantly reduce the socioeconomic drought that is amplified by agricultural drought in rainfed agriculture river basins.

Evolving patterns of agricultural production space in China:A network-based approach

The agricultural production space,as where and how much each agricultural product grows,plays a vital role in meeting the increasing and diverse food demands.Previous studies on agricultural production patterns have predominantly centered on individual or specific crop types,using methods such as remote sensing or statistical metrological analysis.In this study,we characterize the agricultural production space(APS)by bipartite network connecting agricultural products and provinces,to reveal the relatedness between diverse agricultural products and the spatiotemporal characteristic of provincial production capabilities in China.The results show that core products are cereal,pork,melon,and pome fruit;meanwhile the milk,grape,and fiber crop show an upward trend in centrality,which is in line with diet structure changes in China over the past decades.The little changes in community components and structures of agricultural products and provinces reveal that agricultural production patterns in China are relatively stable.Additionally,identified provincial communities closely resemble China's agricultural natural zones.Furthermore,the observed growth in production capabilities in North and Northeast China implies their potential focus areas for future agricultural production.Despite the superior production capa-bilities of southern provinces,recent years have witnessed a notable decline,warranting special attentions.The findings provide a comprehensive perspective for understanding the complex relationship of agricultural prod-ucts'relatedness,production capabilities and production patterns,which serve as a reference for the agricultural spatial optimization and agricultural sustainable development.

Agricultural intensity for sustainable regional development:A case study in peri-urban areas of Karawang Regency,Indonesia

Peri-urban areas are playing an increasingly crucial role in the agricultural development and intensification in Indonesia.Peri-urban agriculture is highly vulnerable to change compared with urban and rural agriculture,due to its location in transitional areas.Indicators of peri-urban agricultural intensity can help guide regional development.In this study,we assessed the sustainability of peri-urban areas based on agricultural intensity in Karawang Regency,Indonesia.We developed a village-based index to assess the region’s agricultural intensity by rescaling the village agriculture index(VAI)and combining the local sustainability index(LSI)with factor analysis.Since the unit of analysis is the village,we modified the LSI to the village sustainability index(VSI).In addition,we also developed a logical matrix analysis to determine the level of agricultural sustainability(LoAS)of each village.The combined results of the three indices(VAI,VSI,and LoAS)generated information about agricultural sustainability.The results indicated that peri-urban villages with high agricultural intensity tended to exhibit low levels of social welfare,economic development,and disaster risk.Moreover,high agricultural intensity did not necessarily ensure the prosperity of the people.Instead,there was the economic disparity among the villages in the study area.Encouraging diversity of agricultural intensity seems to be more critical than promoting agricultural intensity itself.Overall,this study highlights the distinctive characteristics and dynamic of peri-urban areas.New approaches,variables,and information regarding the combination of agricultural intensity and sustainability need to be developed as valuable tools for regional planning.

Unveiling the impact and mechanism of digital technology on agricultural economic resilience

Enhancing the economic resilience of agriculture is essential for promoting sustainable and high-quality agricultural development.The emergence of digital technology has created new opportunities in this field.However,existing research predominantly focuses on traditional agricultural factors and technologies.Therefore,the impact of digital technology on agricultural economic resilience within the broader context of the“production-operation-industry”system in agriculture has not been comprehensively explored.To bridge this gap,this study analyzes panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2020.It employs the static Van Dorn’s law and a dynamic spatial panel model to examine how digital technology empowers agricultural resilience.The findings indicate a continuous strengthening of digital technology development in China,albeit with significant polarization and spatial imbalances.Moreover,the resilience of the agricultural economy undergoes notable fluctuations,initially narrowing and subsequently displaying an upward trend.Digital technology clearly plays a pivotal role in empowering resilience through agricultural scale operation,industrial transformation,and technological progress.Its impact,particularly on the promotion of resilience in the eastern region and non-grain-producing areas and on high-level agricultural economies,also shows regional and technological variations.

Thoughts on Pairing Assistance to Tibet for Promoting Agricultural High-quality Development in Southern Tibet from the Perspective of Agricultural Power

In the new era,there is an urgent need to further promote pairing assistance to Tibet,promote the simultaneous construction of a strong agriculture in Tibet and the China's Mainland,and compose a Chinese-style modernization.Southern Tibet,located in the southeastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region,includes Shannan City and Nyingchi City,is a region assisted by four provincial partners including Hubei Province.This paper introduces the agricultural environment in southern Tibet,studies its agricultural characteristics,and analyzes the main issues of its pairing assistance.Taking forging the strong consciousness of the Chinese national community as the main line,the paper explores strategies for promoting agricultural high-quality development in southern Tibet through pairing assistance to Tibet from the perspective of agricultural power,and proposes some strategies,such as inheriting agricultural cultural heritage,promoting the upgrading of modern seed industry,enhancing the characteristic advantages of highland barley(naked barley)and animal husbandry industries,and developing edible fungi and cold water fish industries.

Continual Reinforcement Learning for Intelligent Agricultural Management under Climate Changes

Climate change poses significant challenges to agricultural management,particularly in adapting to extreme weather conditions that impact agricultural production.Existing works with traditional Reinforcement Learning(RL)methods often falter under such extreme conditions.To address this challenge,our study introduces a novel approach by integrating Continual Learning(CL)with RL to form Continual Reinforcement Learning(CRL),enhancing the adaptability of agricultural management strategies.Leveraging the Gym-DSSAT simulation environment,our research enables RL agents to learn optimal fertilization strategies based on variable weather conditions.By incorporating CL algorithms,such as Elastic Weight Consolidation(EWC),with established RL techniques like Deep Q-Networks(DQN),we developed a framework in which agents can learn and retain knowledge across diverse weather scenarios.The CRL approach was tested under climate variability to assess the robustness and adaptability of the induced policies,particularly under extreme weather events like severe droughts.Our results showed that continually learned policies exhibited superior adaptability and performance compared to optimal policies learned through the conventional RL methods,especially in challenging conditions of reduced rainfall and increased temperatures.This pioneering work,which combines CL with RL to generate adaptive policies for agricultural management,is expected to make significant advancements in precision agriculture in the era of climate change.

Demography and Socio-Economic Aspects on Irrigated Smallholder Agricultural Enterprises and Their Association with the Cultivation of Maize (Zea mays L.) as a Selected Field Crop

The purpose of this study is to correlate demography and socio-economic aspects at Irrigated Smallholder Agricultural Enterprises and their association with the Cultivation of Maize in order to determine its positive impacts at irrigated smallholders’ agricultural entrepreneurs’ household. Chi-square test was used as descriptive analysis method. The Fischer Exact tests were employed to test demography (gender, age, education, and income) in winter and summer production season of irrigated smallholder agricultural enterprises and their association with the cultivation of selected field crop (i.e. maize). The results show that gender results were not being statistically significant, as measured by the Phi measure of effect size, φ = 0.149, p = 0.011, and φ = 0.05, p = 0.392 in summer. As far as age is concern, it appears to be a statistically significant association between cultivating maize and age in winter, φ = 0.046, p = 0.730 in winter and φ = 0.172, p = 0.013. Education winter result not being statistically significant, the effect size showed a weak association, as measured by the Phi measure of effect size, φ = 0.112, p = 0.305 and φ = 0.035, p = 0.948 in summer. Income result not being statistically significant, as measured by the Phi measure of effect size, φ = 0.049, p = 0.399 and φ = 0.081, p = 0.166 in summer. In conclusion, the study shows that the development of best management practices must be based on a comprehensive analysis of the livelihoods and irrigated smallholder agricultural enterprise farming styles of participating irrigated smallholder agricultural entrepreneurs.

An agent-based model of agricultural land expansion in the mountain forest of Timor Island,Indonesia

The Mutis-Timau Forest Complex,located on Timor Island,Indonesia,is a mountainous tropical forest area that gradually decreases due to deforestation and forest degradation.Previous modelling studies based on patterns indicate that deforestation primarily occurs at lower elevations and near the boundaries of forests and settlements,often associated with shifting cultivation by local farmers.This study adopts a process-based modelling approach,specifically the agent-based model,to simulate land changes,particularly farmers'expansion of agricultural land around the Mutis mountain forest.The underlying concept of this agent-based approach is the interaction between the human and environmental systems.Farmers,representing the human system,interact with the land,which represents the environmental system,through land use decision-making mechanisms.The research was conducted in the Community Forest of the Timor Tengah Utara District,one of the sites within the Mutis-Timau Forest Complex with the highest deforestation rate.Land use change simulations were performed using agent-based modelling from 1999 to 2030,considering the socio-economic conditions of farmers,spatial preferences,land use decisions,and natural transitions.The results revealed that the agricultural area increased by 14%under the Business as Usual scenario and 5%under the Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation scenario,compared to the initial agricultural area of 245 hectares.The probability of farmers deciding to extend agricultural activities was positively associated with the number of livestock maintained by farmers and the size of the village area.Conversely,the likelihood of farmers opting for agricultural extensification decreased with an increase in the area of private land and the farmer's age.These findings are crucial for the managers of the Mutis-Timau Forest Complex and other relevant stakeholders,as they aid in arranging actions to combat deforestation,designing proper forest-related policies,and providing support for initiatives such as reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation programs or further incentive schemes.

Evolutionary characteristics and influencing factors of agricultural regional system in the Loess Plateau of China under rapid urbanization

The rapid expansion of cities seriously threatens the sustainable development of agriculture in China.Exploring the evolution law and influencing mechanism of agricultural regional system in the process of urbanization is of great significance for promoting sustainable development of agriculture in China.This paper takes the Loess Plateau(LP)as an example,and constructs a research framework to study the effect of urbanization on agricultural regional system through the lens of human-earth interaction,aiming at elucidating the evolutionary characteristics of agricultural regional system and revealing the impact law of urbanization.The results show that:(1)The growth trend of the evolution index of the agricultural regional system in the LP was significant,gradually evolving into a spatial pattern of"high in the north and south,low in the east and west".(2)The hot spot and sub-hot spot zones of the agricultural regional system evolution index in the LP were mainly distributed in the south and north,while the cold spot and sub-cold spot zones were primarily located in the center,east and west.(3)The levels of agricultural mechanization,agricultural land productivity,cropland area,and agricultural labor productivity were the main internal influencing factors of the agricultural regional system in the LP.The obstacle degree of agricultural mechanization level,cropland area,and the proportion of agricultural employees increased over time,while the obstacle degree of agricultural land productivity and grain yield capacity decreased.(4)The impact of population urbanization in the LP showed a spatial pattern of"inhibition in the southeast and promotion in the northwest",the impact of economic urbanization was dominated by inhibition,and the impact of land urbanization showed a spatial pattern of"promotion in the whole and inhibition in the local".This study provides ideas for the comprehensive research on the evolution and influencing factors of agricultural regional system,and offers practical references for achieving sustainable agricultural development in LP.

About Asian Agricultural Research

Asian Agricultural Research(ISSN 1943-9903),founded in 2009,is a monthly comprehensive agricultural academic journal published and approved by the Library of Congress of the United States of America.Asian Agricultural Research is devoted to the study of Economic Management,Land Science,Resource and Environment,Agronomy and Horticulture,Animal Science,Biotechnology,Food Science,and Agro-product Processing,Agricultural Engineering,Agricultural Information Science,Rural Tourism,Agricultural Education,and Agricultural History.