Impact of rainfed and irrigated agriculture systems on soil carbon stock under different climate scenarios in the semi-arid region of Brazil

Understanding the dynamics of soil organic carbon(SOC) is of fundamental importance in land use and management, whether in the current researches or in future scenarios of agriculture systems considering climate change. In order to evaluate SOC stock of the three districts(Delmiro Gouveia, Pariconha, and Inhapi districts) in the semi-arid region of Brazil in rainfed and irrigated agriculture systems under different climate scenarios using the Century model, we obtained RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios derived from the Eta Regional Climate Model(Eta-Had GEM2-ES and Eta-MIROC5) from the National Institute for Space Research, and then input the data of bulk density, p H, soil texture, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and rainfall into the soil and climate files of the Century model. The results of this study showed that the Eta-Had GEM2-ES model was effective in estimating air temperature in the future period. In rainfed agriculture system, SOC stock under the baseline scenario was lower than that under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios, while in irrigated agriculture system, SOC stock in the almost all climate scenarios(RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and models(Eta-Had GEM2-ES and Eta-MIROC5) will increase by 2100. The results of this study will help producers in the semi-arid region of Brazil adopt specific agriculture systems aimed at mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

Construction of Energy Diagram of Ecological High-value Agriculture System and Emergry Evaluation Index System

Ecological high-value agriculture research, ecological high-value agricultural is the future of agriculture in China. In the emergy diagram was constructed based on emergy theory, and the mechanism and realization approach were well described. In addition, a set of evaluation index system of emergy was established to deter- mine contribution made by different resources of the system, providing references for further exploration of ecological high-value agricultural production system.

An Interpretable Artificial Intelligence Based Smart Agriculture System

With increasing world population the demand of food production has increased exponentially.Internet of Things(IoT)based smart agriculture system can play a vital role in optimising crop yield by managing crop requirements in real-time.Interpretability can be an important factor to make such systems trusted and easily adopted by farmers.In this paper,we propose a novel artificial intelligence-based agriculture system that uses IoT data to monitor the environment and alerts farmers to take the required actions for maintaining ideal conditions for crop production.The strength of the proposed system is in its interpretability which makes it easy for farmers to understand,trust and use it.The use of fuzzy logic makes the system customisable in terms of types/number of sensors,type of crop,and adaptable for any soil types and weather conditions.The proposed system can identify anomalous data due to security breaches or hardware malfunction using machine learning algorithms.To ensure the viability of the system we have conducted thorough research related to agricultural factors such as soil type,soil moisture,soil temperature,plant life cycle,irrigation requirement and water application timing for Maize as our target crop.The experimental results show that our proposed system is interpretable,can detect anomalous data,and triggers actions accurately based on crop requirements.

Sustainable tourism development of globally important agricultural heritage sites:a case study of "traditional rice-fish agriculture system"

Traditional rice-fish agricultural heritage site in Qingtian County, China, one of the pilot sites of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems （GIAHS）, is of great value in tourism development. This paper aims to explore how to realize sustainable tourism development in agricultural heritage site through identifying current problems in GIAHS site. and making constructive recommendations for coupled development of heritage preservation and economic development. Field survey was carried out and data was collected through field questionnaire surveys of tourists and residents in Longxian Village of Qingtian County, as well as interviews of residents with semi. structured questionnaires for their perceptions and attitudes to tourism development. The following results are got： （1） the tourism industry is still at its early state of Non, tale tourism （enjoy and experience authentic country life- style）, under very limited administrative management; （2） what attracts visitors most are delicious.fish and beautiful natural environment, but not agricultural heritage itself; （3） most tourists eome from adjacent areas and stay. only half day, many of whom pay their visits twice or more; （4） a few local residents take part in the activities of tourism industry, but in very limited manners even if they do. Current patterns of tourism development are casting negative impacts on agricultural heritage. Conservatton of agricultural heritage should be put in the first place for sustainable tourism development.Agricultural heritage, as a key attraction, should be taken as the focus for tourism development. The important thing is to change the present Nongjiale tourism into real heritage tourism, to establish a cooperative mechanism among different stakeholders. and to increase local residents＇ income through engaging in tourism industry.

Assessing Post-Conflict Challenges and Opportunities of the Animal-Agriculture System in the Alpine Region of Uvira District in Sud-Kivu Province, D. R. Congo

The Alpine region of Uvira District in South-Kivu Province faces low agricultural productivity challenges largely due to human population pressure on the natural resource base. During the dry season, conflicts between crop farmers and livestock breeders are common. This region is located 2500 - 3020 m a.s.l. and is almost inaccessible due to poor road infrastructure. To understand the interactions between natural resources (forests, pastures, soils) and sedentary agriculture, and to propose solutions for sustainable natural resource management, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) sessions covering three farmer group interviews were conducted in July 2010 in Marungu, Kitembe and Kahololo location. The livelihoods of the Banyamulenge have been transformed from pastoralism to a sedentary system with the introduction of crop cultivation after 1980. Maize, bush beans and Irish potatoes are cultivated with limited success because of late crop maturity under the prevailing climatic conditions. Livestock, mainly cattle, sheep and goats is managed under extensive system, relying on natural pasture far from the human settlements. Livestock plays an important role to define people’s wealth and is mainly managed by men. There is a real need of forages during the dry season;however, cultivation of forages is unknown. On the other hand, pastures appear to be degenerating due to overgrazing. Access by farmers to efficient and effective agricultural extension services is fundamental in order to promote locally adapted and profitable crop and livestock production while at the same time, sustaining the productive resource base and security.

Security Analysis in Smart Agriculture: Insights from a Cyber-Physical System Application

Smart agriculture modifies traditional farming practices,and offers innovative approaches to boost production and sustainability by leveraging contemporary technologies.In today’s world where technology is everything,these technologies are utilized to streamline regular tasks and procedures in agriculture,one of the largest and most significant industries in every nation.This research paper stands out from existing literature on smart agriculture security by providing a comprehensive analysis and examination of security issues within smart agriculture systems.Divided into three main sections-security analysis,system architecture and design and risk assessment of Cyber-Physical Systems(CPS)applications-the study delves into various elements crucial for smart farming,such as data sources,infrastructure components,communication protocols,and the roles of different stakeholders such as farmers,agricultural scientists and researchers,technology providers,government agencies,consumers and many others.In contrast to earlier research,this work analyzes the resilience of smart agriculture systems using approaches such as threat modeling,penetration testing,and vulnerability assessments.Important discoveries highlight the concerns connected to unsecured communication protocols,possible threats from malevolent actors,and vulnerabilities in IoT devices.Furthermore,the study suggests enhancements for CPS applications,such as strong access controls,intrusion detection systems,and encryption protocols.In addition,risk assessment techniques are applied to prioritize mitigation tactics and detect potential hazards,addressing issues like data breaches,system outages,and automated farming process sabotage.The research sets itself apart even more by presenting a prototype CPS application that makes use of a digital temperature sensor.This application was first created using a Tinkercad simulator and then using actual hardware with Arduino boards.The CPS application’s defenses against potential threats and vulnerabilities are strengthened by this integrated approach,which distinguishes this research for its depth and usefulness in the field of smart agriculture security.

Fertilization and Soil Ploughing Practices under Changing Physical Environment Lead to Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics under Conservation Agriculture in Rice-Wheat Cropping System: A Scoping Review

Ploughing and fertilization practices in rice-wheat system have deteriorated the soil carbon (C) pools. Conservation agriculture (CA) based management approaches have proven to enhance C sequestration and reverse the loss of soil-organic-carbon (SOC), which further enhances soil fertility. Different fractions of SOC pools react to the alterations in management practices and indicate changes in SOC dynamics as compared to total C in the soil. Higher SOC levels in soil have been observed in case of reduced/no-till (NT) practices than conventional tillage (CT). However, between CT and zero tillage/NT, total SOC stocks diminished with an increase in soil depth, which demonstrated that the benefits of SOC are more pronounced in the topsoil under NT. Soil aggregation provides physical protection to C associated with different-sized particles, thus, the improvement in soil aggregation through CA is an effective way to mitigate soil C loss. Along with less soil disturbance, residual management, suitable crop rotation, rational application of manures and fertilizers, and integrated nutrient management have been found to be effective in not only improving soil C stock but also enhancing the soil health and productivity. Thus, CA can be considered as a potential method in the build-up of SOC of soil in rice-wheat system.

Agriculture Information Retrieval System Based on Comprehensive Information Theory

Through analyzing syntactic,semantic,pragmatic information,the retrieval system ACIS based on comprehensive information was established,which could achieve personalized information exaction to guide user s information retrieval.

Construction of the Evaluation Index System and Assessment on the Modern Agriculture Development of Bohai Rim

[Objetive] To make clear the regional agricultural development level.[Method] To accelerate the process of modern agricultural development of Bohai Rim,the assessment index system of modern agriculture was established preliminarily and the data of provinces and cities in Bohai Rim was evaluated and analyzed,regarding the comprehensive development level of modern agriculture as general target and the input level of modern agriculture,the output level of modern agriculture,the social development level of countryside and the sustainable development level of agriculture as grading index.[Result] The results showed that Bohai Rim just entered the developmental stage of modern agriculture,with the integrated index of 0.585.Viewed from regional perspective,Beijing topped the others with the index of 0.798,which was followed by 0.694 of Tianjin,0.644 of Shandong,0.606 of Liaoning and Hebei province had the lowest value of 0.595.[Conclusion] Among all cities in this region,none of them reached at the developed level of modern agriculture.There were ten cities,which were mainly located in Shandong Province,were at the primary stage while the most of others were at the preliminary or initial stage.

Pesticide Deinsectization System in Precision Agriculture Based on ARM-Linux

With precision agriculture as the base line, using embedded system as technical support, a set of ideas is proposed for solving the serious pesticide poisoning problem, including farmland information collection, experts database analysis and variable pesticide spraying, etc.

Dynamic Evolvement of Agricultural System and Typical Patterns of Modern Agriculture in Coastal China:A Case of Suzhou

Based on dynamic theory of system, agriculture is a complex system composed by element, structure, function and development. Firstly, this paper analyzes their connotation and relationship, which could be simply described that in virtue of element integrating and structure optimizing, agricultural system may achieve multifunctionality to meet increasingly diverse demands. As a case study of Suzhou, it concludes that Suzhou has a LP-dependence on agricultural element, and the growth extent of agricultural productivity correlates to the ratio of agricultural labor reduc- ing rate to farmland reducing rate. Agricultural structure of Suzhou changed with time, and in the early 1980s and 2000s it was most notable. Correspondingly, agricultural function has experienced a succession process: 'production', 'production-living', and 'production-living-ecology'. At last, based on questionnaires and interviews, some new characteristics and problems of agricultural development in coastal developed region of China have been put forward. Meanwhile, some typical patterns of modern agriculture in Suzhou which adapt to system evolving are also brought up such as export-oriented agriculture, enterprises-leading agriculture, agricultural science and technology parks, characteristic and stereoscopic agriculture, tourism and sightseeing agriculture.

STUDY ON THE FRAMEWORK SYSTEM OF DIGITAL AGRICULTURE

China is a great agricultural country with large population, limited soilresources and traditional farming mode, so the central government has been attaching greatimportance to the development of agriculture and put forward a new agricultural technologyrevolution ― the transformation from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture and fromextensive farming to intensive farming. Digital agriculture is the core of agriculturalinformatization. The enforcement of digital agriculture will greatly promote agricultural technologyrevolution, two agricultural transformations and its rapid development, and enhance China'scompetitive power after the entrance of WTO. To carry out digital agriculture, the frame system ofdigital agriculture is required to be studied in the first place. In accordance with the theory andtechnology of digital earth and in combination with the agricultural reality of China, this articleoutlines the frame system of digital agriculture and its main content arid technology support.

Climate change adaptation, greenhouse gas mitigation and economic profitability of conservation agriculture: Some examples from cereal systems of Indo-Gangetic Plains

Achieving sustainability of the cereal system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains（IGP）of India under progressive climate change and variability necessitates adoption of practices and technologies that increase food production,adaptation and mitigation in a sustainable way.This paper examines conservation agriculture（CA）from the perspective of：（i）increased yield and farm income,（ii）adaptation to heat and water stresses,and（iii）reduction in greenhouse gas（GHGs）emissions.The analyses and conclusions are based on the literature and evidences from a large number of on-station as well as farmers’field trials on CA in the cereal systems of IGP.Our analyses show that CA-based system substantially reduces the production cost（up to 23%）but produces equal or even higher than conventional system;thereby increasing economic profitability of production system.CA-based production systems also moderated the effect of high temperature（reduced canopy temperature by 1–4°C）and increased irrigation water productivity by 66–100%compared to traditional production systems thus well adapting to water and heat stress situations of IGP.Our continuous monitoring of soil flux of CO2,N2O and CH4 revealed that CA-based rice-wheat systems emit 10–15%less GHGs than conventional systems.This is the first time that CA and its components are synthesized and analyzed from food security-climate change nexus.From this holistic analysis,we suggest that wide-scale promotion of suitable CA practices by integrating into national agriculture development strategy is a way forward to address food security,climate change adaptation and mitigation challenges faced by present agriculture.

COMPLEX ECOLOGIC－ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF AFFORESTATION－AN EXAMPLE OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

The paper deals with a transformation model of a backward distric into a prosperous one. The district is geographically located in Lixiahe region, Jiangsu Province. The region had long ben known as one of the poorest area in China, and had been alternatively attacked by flood, waterlogging, drought, salinzation, and plague of insect. Since the seventies of this centruy efforts to open up trenches on lowland and to level up the shoaly land have been made. A kind of tree, which is tolerable to high watertable, was used to afforest the land. Cereal crop, vegetable and beaus are grown. In some cases, the shoaly land is used for sheep grazing and fishery. A favorable combination of forestry, agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery has been set up in the region. There are five type of managements in the system: 1) forestry-agriculture comPlex management. 2) forestry-fishery complex management, 3) forestry-aquatic plan-fishery complex management, 4) forestry-animal husbandry complex management, and 5) forestry-edible mushroom complex management. The principles and ecological benefits of this system can be identitied: 1) Increase soil fertility by piling mud from marsh land on top soil, and thicken the arable layer. 2) Enhance the utilization rate of sunlight and energy, due to the change of microclimate in field. 3) As a result of multiple layer cultivation and multi-cropping, the production has been greatly increased. 4) Accelerate the cycling of matter and conversion of energy and nutrient of the system. 5) Decrease the consUmption of soil fertility and increase the capability of controlling insect pests. 6) Improve ecological environment by afforestationl. 7) Raise income and provide jobs for local peasants, even some ones from other part of this province.

Research on Supply Chain Operation of Connecting Agriculture with Supermarkets Based on Agricultural Brokers System

On the basis of expounding the research results of using relevant knowledge about Game Theory for supply chain of agricultural products at home and abroad,we use principal-agent model in Game Theory to research the new function that the supermarkets entrust supervision and control over quality of agricultural products to agricultural brokers in the circulation model of connecting agriculture with supermarkets;then design the optimal incentive contract and influencing factors between agricultural broker and supermarket,and explain the fundamental role of agricultural brokers in the process of circulation;finally in light of the role of government in promoting development and application of agricultural brokers,put forward corresponding policy suggestions:establish government support policy;set relevant standard of industry;establish cooperative organizations of agricultural brokers.

Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in Rainfed Farming Systems: A Modeling Framework for Scaling-Out Climate Smart Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa

Improving agricultural water productivity, under rainfed or irrigated conditions, holds significant scope for addressing climate change vulnerability. It also offers adaptation capacity needs as well as water and food security in the southern African region. In this study, evidence for climate change impacts and adaptation strategies in rainfed agricultural systems is explored through modeling predictions of crop yield, soil moisture and excess water for potential harvesting. The study specifically presents the results of climate change impacts under rainfed conditions for maize, sorghum and sunflower using soil-water-crop model simulations, integrated based on daily inputs of rainfall and evapotranspiration disaggregated from GCM scenarios. The research targets a vast farming region dominated by heavy clay soils where rainfed agriculture is a dominant practice. The potential for improving soil water productivity and improved water harvesting have been explored as ways of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. This can be utilized to explore and design appropriate conservation agriculture and adaptation practices in similar agro-ecological environments, and create opportunities for outscaling for much wider areas. The results of this study can suggest the need for possible policy refinements towards reducing vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in rainfed farming systems.

Compatible package-based agriculture systems:an urgent need for agro-ecological balance and climate change adaptation

Besides contributing majorly in the growth of a country,agriculture is one of the severely affected sectors at present.Several modifications and adaptations are being made in agricultural practices to cope-up with the declining soil fertility and changing climate scenarios across the world.However,the development and adoption of a single agricultural practice may not help in the holistic mitigation of the impacts of climate change and may result in economic vulnerability to farmers.Therefore,it is high time to develop and recommend a group of agricultural practices i.e.,package-based agriculture system having some compatibility for one another in the long term.In this article,a viewpoint has been given on some emergent agronomic practices adopted in the tropical agroecosystems which have potential to be developed as compatible agricultural package in combination.Moreover,we also emphasized on exploring some key indicators/environmental factors to assess the compatibility of different agronomic practices.For identifying the research transition from single to combined agricultural practices,a bibliometric analysis was performed by using conservation agriculture(CA),the system of rice intensification(SRI),organic agriculture and soil(biochar)amendment as the major agronomic practices being used for improving agroecological services such as improving nutrient cycling,soil fertility and crop productivity as well as climate change mitigation.The results revealed that scientific communities are now paying attention to exploring the role of combined agricultural practices for agro-ecological balance and climate change adaptation.Moreover,the limitations of the adoption of agronomic packages under different agro-climatic zones have also been highlighted.The recommendations of the study would further help the environmental decision-makers to develop potential measures for climate change mitigation without compromising the agro-ecological balance.

Challenges of agriculture and food systems issues in China and the United States

China and the United States are the two most significant nations in the contemporary global food and agricultural network.In addition,they are two of the most important innovators with respect to the development of new crop varieties,agro-technologies,farm products,markets and consumer issues,such as consumer resistance to genetically modified foods,among others.In the face of an ever-complex web of interactions,technologies and products among producers and consumers in both nations,there are far more structural similarities than differences in the food and agriculture sectors of these two nations.This essay,adopting some of the themes of the Sino-American Symposium on Future Issues Affecting Quality of Life,presents a limited but representative comparative assessment of three of the most important shared challenges impacting the agricultural sectors of China and the United States for the period from 2000 to the present including 1)environmental challenges related to agricultural water supply,2)declines in farm labor and rural population,and 3)growing food-related concerns and challenges.For both nations,excessive and unsustainable groundwater consumption has lowered water tables and limited crop production.Rural populations and farm workforces in both nations are also declining,leading to labor challenges in both nations.Finally,concerns regarding food safety are also very similar with major challenges to the farm sector associated with consumer resistance to genetically modified food crops and sanitation issues linked to lengthening supply chains.All of these issues threaten the development of sustainable agricultural production systems.

Urbanization and Its Impacts to Food Systems and Environmental Sustainability in Urban Space: Evidence from Urban Agriculture Livelihoods in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Urbanisation is the key factor underpinning and catalysing changes in food systems, environmental quality, climate change and agriculture livelihoods in the overall urban ecosystem setting and its sustainability. The paper explores Dar es Salaam, a rapidly expanding city in Sub-Saharan Africa, and shows that urban agriculture provides urban ecosystem services and contributes to environmental sustainability. The interconnections of environmental justice, urban ecosystem services and climate change and variability found eminent feature that influence land governance, productivity and aesthetic value of the city. The study reaffirms the pivotal role urban agriculture which plays to enhance community health services and access to resources, with important implications on urban environmental sustainability and redistributive spatial land use planning policies and practices. The process of urbanisation, forms of urban agriculture and government strategies for enhanced urban food systems in the city economy have been highlighted. Equally, the process triggers the transformation of settlements from rural in character to modernity with an augmented land use conflicts. The results suggests that with increasing population, a clear spatial land use planning and management strategy is required to overcome the challenges and enhanced food systems and urban environmental sustainability in rapidly urbanizing cities like Dar es Salaam in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Impact of systems modelling on agronomic research and adoption of new practices in smallholder agriculture

An analysis of the impact of simulation modelling in three diverse crop-livestock improvement projects in Agricultural Research for Development（AR4D） reveals benefits across a range of aspects including identification of objectives, design and implementation of experimental programs, effectiveness of participatory research with smallholder farmers, implementation of system change and scaling-out of results.In planning change, farmers must consider complex interactions within both biophysical and socioeconomic aspects of their crop and animal production activities.For this, whole-farm models that include household models of food, workload and financial requirements have the most utility and impact.The analysis also proposes improvements in design and implementation of AR4 D projects to improve the utility of simulation modelling for securing positive agronomic and livestock outcomes and lasting legacies.