Promoting grain production through high-standard farmland construction:Evidence in China

Food security is a strategic priority for a country’s economic development.In China,high-standard farmland construction(HSFC)is an important initiative to stabilize grain production and increase grain production capacity.Based on panel data from 31 sample provinces,autonomous regions,and municipalities in China from 2005–2017,this study explored the impact of HSFC on grain yield using the difference-in-differences(DID)method.The results showed that HSFC significantly increased total grain production,which is robust to various checks.HSFC increased grain yield through three potential mechanisms.First,it could increase the grain replanting index.Second,it could effectively reduce yield loss due to droughts and floods.Last,HSFC could strengthen the cultivated land by renovating the low-and medium-yielding fields.Heterogeneity analysis found that the HSFC farmland showed a significant increase in grain yield only in the main grain-producing areas and balanced areas.In addition,HSFC significantly increased the yields of rice,wheat,and maize while leading to a reduction in soybean yields.The findings suggest the government should continue to promote HSFC,improve construction standards,and strictly control the“non-agriculturalization”and“non-coordination”of farmland to increase grain production further.At the same time,market mechanisms should be used to incentivize soybean farming,improve returns and stabilize soybean yields.

List of 85 typical catastrophic landslides from March 2004 to February 2024

Landslides are one of the most dangerous natural hazards that cause significant property damage and loss of life.Landslides often destroy farmland,villages,houses,factories,schools,roads and other facilities,injuring humans and livestock.Sometimes,entire towns are devastated by landslides.Due to their pervasiveness,varied triggering factors,and sudden occurrence,landslides are currently one of the most challenging natural disasters to prevent and mitigate.

Structure and functional heterogeneity of soil microbial communities in different farmland types on the Loess Plateau

Background,aim,and scope Soil microbes are important drivers of nutrient transformation and energy f low.Reclaiming forest land for agricultural use may have profound effects on soil properties and microbial communities.However,the response of soil microbial communities to soil reclamation in the dryland agroecosystem is less understood.Therefore,it is necessary to investigate the changes of soil microbial communities driven by land use conversion to promote nutrient cycling in reclaimed farmland.Materials and methods Based on the metagenomic technique,we evaluated the microbial composition and function of the newly created farmland(NF)after reclamation with two types of traditional farmland(slope farmland(SF),checkdam farmland(CF))on the Loess Plateau,and explored the response of nutrient cycling function to dominant genera and soil properties.Results The results showed that Proteobacteria,Actinobacteria,and Acidobacteria were prevalent in the three types of farmlands.Compared with SF and CF,NF increased the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Nocardioides,as well as genes related to amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism.The relative abundance of functional genes related to carbon and nitrogen cycling in the NF was higher than that in the traditional farmland(SF and CF).The relative abundance of nutrient cycling functional genes was positively correlated with dominant genera in the three types of farmlands.Except for pH,soil physicochemical factors were negatively correlated with genes related to amino acid metabolism and carbon cycle.Discussion Previous studies have shown that the nutrient conditions of the soil may intensify the competition between the eutrophic and oligotrophic microbial populations.After long-term cultivation and fertilization,the soil properties of traditional farmland were significantly different from those of NF,leading to the differentiation of dominant microbial groups.Microbes usually have functional redundancy to cope with changing environments.Soil microbes in traditional farmland may contain more genes related to replication and repair,cell growth and death,and environmental adaptation in response to disturbances caused by agricultural practices.On the contrary,the NF was less disturbed by agricultural activities,and the soil properties were more similar to forest land,so the carbon and nitrogen cycle function genes were more abundant.The nutrient cycling function was affected by the abundance of microbial dominant groups and soil properties,which may be related to the availability of soil nutrients and agricultural disturbance in different farmlands.Aspects of soil microbial-driven nutrient cycling in agriculture could be regulated in sustainable method.Conclusions The change from forest land to farmland kept more carbon and nitrogen cycling function in the newly created farmland,while long-term agricultural activities have drastically changed the functional structure of traditional farmland,resulting in the nutrient cycling function more concentrated to meet the needs of crop growth.Recommendations and perspectives Hence,it is necessary to apply sustainable agricultural method to regulate microbial-driven nutrient cycling.The insights are meaningful for sustainable agricultural development and land management in arid areas.

Soy Solace

Suffering from adverse weather conditions,Malawi’s farmers savour the prospect of exporting soya beans to the lucrative Chinese market.Like many farmers,Monica Haraba wakes up at 5:00 a.m.to get ready to harvest her soya bean crop at her farmland located on the outskirts of Lilongwe,Malawi’s capital.But like last year,she is expecting lower output due to adverse weather,especially draught.

A Fruitful Exchange

In the heart of South Africa’s rugged Swartberg and Koue Bokkeveld mountains lies the alps towering majestically above fertile citrus farmland,forming a wall that sustains enough rainfall to attract farmers to the south.Siabonga Mbete,34,grows tangerine-a small seedless fruit of the citrus family that is turning South African farmers into millionaires.

水上太阳能电池板能否引发关注?

Some 6300 km of canals crisscross the US state of California to funnel water to its rich farmland and cities such as Los Angeles[1].But visitors who travel through California’s Central Valley starting in 2024 will see something unusual near the city of Modesto:Solar panel arrays up to 33 m across covering more than 3 km of the canals snaking through the agricultural area(Fig.1)[2].

Impact of slope farmland use change on ecosystem services value in China,2000-2020

Slope farmland is an important component of farmland resources in China.The utilization and change of slope farmland have significant effects on ecosystems,and understanding the impact of slope farmland change on ecosystem services(ESs)is critical for effective land utilization and ecosystem protection.This study aims to analyze slope farmland changes in China between 2000 and 2020 and quantify the impact of these changes on ESs by the use of a land use dynamic attitude study,and an ecosystem services value(ESV)equivalent.Results show that the area of slope farmland in China was mainly concentrated on slopes of 2°-6°,and exhibited a downward trend between 2000 and 2020.There were significant differences in the spatial distribution of the farmland,which was mainly located in the Taihang,Qinling,Wushan,and Xuefeng mountains.ESV increased by$179.235 million due to the conversion between slope farmland and forest,grassland,and construction land from 2000-2010.Conversely,from 2010 to 2020,ESV decreased by$2613.919 million due to the conversion of forest and grassland to slope farmland as well as the conversion of slope farmland to construction land.

Abandoned land identification in karst mountain area based on time series SAR characteristics at geo-parcels scale

Mapping abandoned land is very important for accurate agricultural management.However,in karst mountainous areas,continuous high-resolution optical images are difficult to obtain in rainy weather,and the land is fragmented,which poses a great challenge for remote sensing monitoring of agriculture activities.In this study,a new method for identifying abandoned land is proposed:firstly,a few Google Earth images are used to transform arable land into accurate vectorized geo-parcels;secondly,a time-series data set was constructed using Sentinel-1A Alpha parameters for 2020 on each farmland geoparcel;thirdly,the semi-variation function(SVF)was used to analyze the spatial-temporal characteristics,then identify abandoned land.The results show:(1)On the basis of accurate spatial information and boundary of farmland land,the SAR time-series dataset reflects the structure and time-series response.abandoned land with an accuracy of 80.25%.The problem of remote sensing monitoring in rainy regions and complex surface areas is well-resolved.(2)The spatial heterogeneity of abandoned land is more obvious than that of cultivated land within geoparcels.The step size for significant changes in the SVF of abandoned land is shorter than that of cultivated land.(3)The SVF time sequence curve presented a strong peak feature when farmland was abandoned.This reveals that the internal spatial structure of abandoned land is more disordered and complex.It showed that time-series variations of spatial structure within cultivated land have broader applications in remote sensing monitoring of agriculture in complex imaging environments.

The effects of climate and land use change on the potential distribution and nesting habitat of the Lesser Adjutant in Nepal

Climate change and land use change pose a threat to the world’s biodiversity and have significant impacts on the geographic distribution and composition of many bird species,but little is known about how they affect threatened large-sized waterbird species that rely on agricultural landscapes.To address this gap,we investigated how climate and land use changes influence the distribution and nesting habitats of the globally vulnerable Lesser Adjutant(Leptoptilos javanicus) in Nepal.Between 2012 and 2023,we collected distribution data from 24 districts and nesting site information from 18 districts.In a nation-wide breeding survey conducted in 2020,we documented a total of 581 fledglings from 346 nests in 109 colonies.The ensemble model predicted a current potential distribution of 15%(21,637 km2) and a potential nesting habitat of 13%(19,651 km2) for the species in Nepal.The highest predicted current suitable distribution and nesting habitat was in Madhesh Province,while none was predicted in Karnali Province.The majority of this predicted distributional and nesting habitat falls on agricultural landscapes(>70%).Our model showed a likely range expansion of up to 15%(21,573 km2) for the distribution and up to 12%(17,482 km2) for the nesting habitat under SSP5-8.5 scenarios for the 2070s.The range expansion is expected to occur mainly within the current distribution and breeding range(Tarai and some regions of Siwalk),particularly in Lumbini and Sudurpashchim provinces,and extend to the northern portions(Siwalik and Mid-hill regions) in other provinces.However,the current Protected Areas and Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas are inadequate for providing optimal habitats for the species.Although the model suggests range expansion,the use of such novel habitats is primarily contingent on the availability and protection of large-sized trees(particularly Bombax ceiba,observed in 65% of colonies) in agricultural regions where nesting occurs.Therefore,our research suggests that agricultural landscapes should be prioritized in management plans for the conservation of the Lesser Adjutant in Nepal.

An Improved Farmland Fertility Algorithm with Hyper-Heuristic Approach for Solving Travelling Salesman Problem

Travelling Salesman Problem(TSP)is a discrete hybrid optimization problem considered NP-hard.TSP aims to discover the shortest Hamilton route that visits each city precisely once and then returns to the starting point,making it the shortest route feasible.This paper employed a Farmland Fertility Algorithm(FFA)inspired by agricultural land fertility and a hyper-heuristic technique based on the Modified Choice Function(MCF).The neighborhood search operator can use this strategy to automatically select the best heuristic method formaking the best decision.Lin-Kernighan(LK)local search has been incorporated to increase the efficiency and performance of this suggested approach.71 TSPLIB datasets have been compared with different algorithms to prove the proposed algorithm’s performance and efficiency.Simulation results indicated that the proposed algorithm outperforms comparable methods of average mean computation time,average percentage deviation(PDav),and tour length.

Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus additions on soil microbial community structure and ecological processes in the farmland of Chinese Loess Plateau

Microorganisms regulate the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to anthropogenic nutrient inputs.The escalation of anthropogenic activities has resulted in a rise in the primary terrestrial constraining elements,namely nitrogen(N)and phosphorus(P).Nevertheless,the specific mechanisms governing the influence of soil microbial community structure and ecological processes in ecologically vulnerable and delicate semi-arid loess agroecosystems remain inadequately understood.Therefore,we explored the effects of different N and P additions on soil microbial community structure and its associated ecological processes in the farmland of Chinese Loess Plateau based on a 36-a long-term experiment.Nine fertilization treatments with complete interactions of high,medium,and low N and P gradients were set up.Soil physical and chemical properties,along with the microbial community structure were measured in this study.Additionally,relevant ecological processes such as microbial biomass,respiration,N mineralization,and enzyme activity were quantified.To elucidate the relationships between these variables,we examined correlation-mediated processes using statistical techniques,including redundancy analysis(RDA)and structural equation modeling(SEM).The results showed that the addition of N alone had a detrimental effect on soil microbial biomass,mineralized N accumulation,andβ-1,4-glucosidase activity.Conversely,the addition of P exhibited an opposing effect,leading to positive influences on these soil parameters.The interactive addition of N and P significantly changed the microbial community structure,increasing microbial activity(microbial biomass and soil respiration),but decreasing the accumulation of mineralized N.Among them,N24P12 treatment showed the greatest increase in the soil nutrient content and respiration.N12P12 treatment increased the overall enzyme activity and total phospholipid fatty acid(PLFA)content by 70.93%.N and P nutrient contents of the soil dominate the microbial community structure and the corresponding changes in hydrolytic enzymes.Soil microbial biomass,respiration,and overall enzyme activity are driven by mineralized N.Our study provides a theoretical basis for exploring energy conversion processes of soil microbial community and environmental sustainability under long-term N and P additions in semi-arid loess areas.

Influence of Straw Incorporation on Maize Yield,N Accumulation and Remobilization on Slope Farmland in Northeast China

Slope farmland is a main type of agricultural land throughout northeast China.Long-term high intensity utilization and unreasonable farming have caused the deterioration of soil resources and a decrease in crop production.Here,it was hypothesized that crop straw incorporation might help to reduce nutrient losses and increase maize yields across time and space.A field experiment for testing straw management practices on maize across three slope positions(top,back and bottom slopes)was conducted in Northeast China in 2018 and 2019.In this study,the dry matter accumulation(DMA),N accumulation(NA),N remobilization,postsilking N uptake and grain yield were measured under SI(straw incorporation)and NSI(no straw incorporation)across three slope positions of 100-m-long consecutive black soil slope farmland during the maize(Zea mays L.)growth stages.Compared with NSI,SI significantly increased DMA and NA at the silking and maturity stages.SI typically increased the N remobilization in all slope positions,and significantly increased N remobilization efficiency and contribution of N remobilization to grain on the back and bottom slopes.However,post-silking N uptake was only increased by SI on the top slope.SI generally increased the crop yield in three slope positions.In the SI treatments,the bottom slope was the highest yield position,followed by the top,and then the back slopes,suggesting that the bottom slope position of regularly incorporated straw might have increased the potential for boosting maize yield.Overall,the study demonstrated the outsized potential of straw incorporation to enhance maize NA and then increase the grain yield in black soil slope farmland.

Construction of Legal System of China's Farmland Protection under the Coexistence of Multiple Objectives:Historical Logic,Practical Problems and Optimization Paths

[Objectives]To explore the evolution of the legal system of farmland protection and explore the rules and characteristics of policy development based on the theory and logic of institutional change since China's reform and opening up,reveal the problems and deep-seated reasons of its legislation,clarify the direction of farmland protection in the new period,and solve the"non-agricultural""non-grain"and ecological problems of farmland.[Methods]Literature analysis and inductive deduction methods were used.[Results]The evolution of the farmland protection legal system has gone through the process of"national consciousness-policy guidelines-institutional system",the change from"single subject to multiple subjects";change from the use of"one-way administrative means to coordinated use of administrative,economic and technical means".The practical problems of the farmland protection legal system are mainly due to the insufficient systematization of the farmland protection legal system itself,the generalization of quantity protection,the transformation of quality protection,and the absence of ecological protection.[Conclusions]It is recommended to improve the existing farmland protection legal system from the establishment of the Farmland Protection Law,the improvement of the farmland protection public participation mechanism and supervision mechanism,the establishment of the farmland quality construction and improvement system,the differentiated farmland occupation and supplementation balance system,and the ecological restoration system.

Engineering Crops to Thrive on Sodic Lands

As the world struggles with the threats of climate change and freshwater shortages,a timely breakthrough by scientists from the CAS Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology(IGDB)and Huazhong Agricultural University provides a ray of optimism.The scientists have identified a genetic locus in sorghum,a droughttolerant cereal grain,that can be modified to enhance alkaline tolerance in various monocot crops.This pioneering work,which could transform millions of hectares of sodic lands into arable farmland,represents a significant stride towards ensuring global food security amidst environmental challenges.

Zoning Control of Health of Farmland System

In addition to the quality and quantity of farmland, the health of farmland has also become an important research direction in the field of farmland protection. In order to comprehensively evaluate the relationship and distribution of health and farmland production capacity, the depression area behind the Yellow River in Henan Province is taken as the research object. Using production capacity evaluation data and system health evaluation results, the health status and production capacity of farmland in the region are coupled. The results show that high productivity farmland is most distributed in areas with moderate health risks, while low productivity farmland is more distributed in areas with low health risks. Based on their coupling characteristics, the depression area behind the Yellow River can be divided into five types, and management and protection strategies can be formulated separately.

News-Clips(2023.02-2023.03)

February 2023Farmland conversion contributes to global greening China’s conversion of farmlands to forests and grasslands has contributed more than 4 percent to the growth of global green areas,according to a release from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration published on Feb.3.Since 1999,China has launched two projects returning 14.2 million hectares of farmland to forests and grasslands,with the central government investing more than570 billion yuan($84 billion)to the cause,the administration said.

西藏高原经济高质量发展一线见闻

The construction sites of major projects are in full swing in the Tibet Autonomous Region,and the effects of the investments pouring in are only too obvious.Tourists cometo the highland in pursuit of seeing the"poetry of far-off wonderlands"cometo life.In the busyfarmlands and prairies,locals are casting their seeds as if they were wishing well coins bearing their hopes for bountiful agriculture and animal husbandry success in the spring as well as bumper harvests in the fall.Tibet is on the way toward the best economic advancement imaginable.

Effects of Land Use Patterns on Soil Heavy Metal Contents

Through sampling in farmland and analysis in laboratory,the contents and the pollution level of Cr,Cu,As,Pb,Zn in different soils were studied. The comparative result showed that the As in all soil samples are lower than the mean value of Shaanxi and whole nation,the Cr in lower half soil samples are higher than the mean value of Shaanxi and whole nation,the Cu and Zn in majority soil samples are higher than the mean value of Shaanxi and whole nation,and the Pb in all soil samples is higher than the mean value of Shaanxi and whole nation. The single factor pollution index and multi-factor pollution index method were used to evaluate the soil pollution. According to Soil Environmental Quality Standard,the studied soils were at unpolluted degrees,the soils were clear,the quality of soil adapt to the crop growth,and not affect the quality of agricultural product.

Research on the Species Diversity of Flower-visiting Syrphidae in the Farmland of Hanzhong Area

[Objective] The aim was to explore the species diversity of flower-visiting Syrphidae in the farmland of Hanzhong area.[Method] Based on the sample collection and the sorting and identification of collected specimens and literature,the species and their seasonal changes of flower-visiting Syrphidae in the agroecosystem of Hanzhong area were systematically analyzed.[Result] 5 015 specimens of Syrphidae were cheaked in this study,and 141 species of 53 genera of 16 families in three subfamilies of flower-visiting species of Syrphidae were identified in farmland of Hanzhong area,in which 65 species were Syrphinae;72 species were Milesiinae;while four species were Microdontinae.The species of Syrphidae in this region were active in April,May,June and July.There were two dominant species in this region,including Episyrphus balteatus and Eristalis tenax.[Conclusion] This study had provided theoretical basis for the studies on the flower-visiting habit and fecundation of insects of Syrphidae in this area.

Characteristics of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Losses in Different Crop Rotation Systems in the North of Erhai Lake Basin

[Objective] Nitrogen and phosphorus losses of surface runoff in various crop rotation systems in the north of Erhai Lake basin were studied with the objective to provide references for risk evaluation of environmental pollution and formulating countermeasures to control the nonpoint source pollution from agriculture.[Method] Water samples collected in four typical crop rotation systems distributed in seven towns（townships） in the north of Erhai Lake basin were investigated,as well as the fertilizer input,to explore the dynamic change of nitrogen and phosphorus content in surface water of farmland and ditch water,and the correlation between fertilizer input and the concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in the surface water of farmland and in the ditch water.[Result] The results showed that nitrogen loss in surface water of farmland in different crop rotation systems differed greatly,and the risk of nitrogen loss was 38% lower in broad bean-rice crop rotation than that in garlic-rice crop rotation.The water soluble nitrogen was the primary form of nitrogen loss.The content of water soluble nitrogen was significantly higher in garlic-rice crop rotation than that in the other rotation systems,and the concentrations of nitrogen in the surface water of farmland in different crop rotation systems followed the sequence below：garlic-rice crop rotationryegrass-rice crop rotationbroad bean-rice crop rotationrape-rice crop rotation.The loss of phosphorus in the surface water of farmland was relatively low and phosphorus combined with silt was the primary form for phosphorus loss.There was no significant difference of the loss of various forms of phosphorus in different crop rotation systems.The contents of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the surface water of farmland were higher than that in ditch water,with increasing rates of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in ditch water of 72% and 82%,respectively.Topdressing was the critical reason for the high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in the surface water,which also caused the increasing load to the ditch water.[Conclusion] Both the nitrogen and phosphorus loss were the highest in garlic-rice crop rotation.Reasonable crop rotation systems should be established based on both the environmental and economic benefits.This study provided references for controlling the nonpoint source pollution of farmland and improving the water quality of Erhai Lake.