In this work it is address the question of how certain climatic variables may be significant related to alterations of avian biodiversity in a semi-agricultural Natura wetland side in Northern Greece. Particularly, the current research highlights the effects of climate and land cover intensity on the Thermaikos gulf bird biodiversity and its importance for healthy ecosystem functioning. Also, the maintenance of a good state of conservation in the Thermaikos gulf has direct impacts on a larger scale since it benefits the rest of the Natura wetlands network considering the connectivity related to migratory birds. Furthermore, the methodology which is used is essential to help inform the science-based management of environments that support threatened and endangered wildlife and can be further applied to other wetlands in the Mediterranean with similar weather conditions and agricultural land use. The alteration in compositional diversity of bird abundances has been studied at the species level from 2012 to 2017 in one of the most important wetland Natura sites in Northern Greece and by using different biodiversity indices. Shannon Entropy was lower during 2012 (DH = 1.509) albeit remained in similar levels from 2013 and afterwards. The highest values of Shannon Entropy were recorded in 2014 (DH = 2.927) and 2016 (DH = 2.888) suggesting that there is a higher diversity compared to the other observation years and especially 2012. The yearly trends of the Simpson dominance index and the Gini-Simpson Index had quite similar patterns. The Berger-Parker index, DD, which represents the maximum proportion of any species estimated in the sample assemblage, had its highest values in 2012 (DD = 0.58) and 2017 (DD = 0.39) and its lowest in 2014 (DD = 0.13) and 2016 (DD = 0.15). A complete characterization of diversity was possible through the projection of Hill numbers and the Rényi entropy, parameterized by the order q in terms of an empirical curve. According to the Hills numbers pooled over the years, the mean species abundance (q = 0) was estimated at 31 species, the mean biodiversity (q = 1) was 13 species and the most dominant species (q = 2) were 8 species. The quantification of bird biodiversity in the particular research area patterns is a fundamental task to evaluate current management actions, improve conservation and design future management strategies. Moreover, the interplay between temperature, relative humidity and three different bird biodiversity indexes, including Shannon Entropy, Simpson’s dominance (evenness) index and the Berger-Parker index has been also examined. By using different modeling approaches, parametric and non- parametric multivariate models, we make effort to get a consensus on the interrelationships between climate and avian biodiversity. In particular, it is been shown that in most cases nonlinear models and surface-plot analysis methodology, are able to capture the relation of a considerable increase in the estimated biodiversity indexes with increased temperatures and rain levels. Thus, biodiversity is to a significant extent affected by the aforementioned climate factors at a proximate level involving synergies between the different climate factors. Finally, the combined effect of climate variables and remote sensing land cover indicators on bird richness has been also explored to detect any influence on bird diversity due to agricultural intensification. In particular the association between bird richness and environmental drivers, as well as remote sensed land cover indices was explored for seven successive seasons using correlation analysis and a Cox-Box transformed multivariate linear model. Three climate variables were tested: mean temperature, rain level and mean relative humidity and three land cover indices: the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Atmospheric Resistance Vegetation Index (ARVI) and an Agricultural Band Combination Index (ABCI). Among the environmental drivers explored, temperature, rain levels and ABCI were significantly correlated to bird richness in contrast to NDVI and ARVI which showed a lower correlation, while relative humidity displayed the poorest correlation. Additionally, the multivariable linear model indicates that temperature, rain levels and ABCI have a statistically significant effect (p<0.05) on bird species richness accounting for 73,02% of data variability. Based on the overall model results and the related 3D contour plot model simulations, we conclude that bird species richness increases with an increase in temperature and rain levels, as well as with a decrease in agricultural intensity (ABCI). Concluding, in most cases temperature, rain levels and agricultural intensity significantly influenced bird richness in a combined manner. Furthermore, agricultural intensification has resulted in most cases in the loss of bird richness. Understanding the factors that can affect the biodiversity is of great importance for rational land use planning and conservation management of semi-Natural areas. Agriculture is the main driving force that influences the topographic and biological diversity of Europe, shaping the natural landscape of the European countryside for thousands of years. Revealing potential interrelationship between biodiversity, climate drivers and landscape indicators, although is a complex—even though challenging—task, contributing to our understanding of the mechanisms connecting climate change with ecosystem functioning. Moreover, a better understanding of biodiversity functioning in relation to human activities in natural protected areas as well as climate is essential for biodiversity awareness and the design of effective biodiversity-related conservation management policies.

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Eutrofieringen i Östersjön har länge varit ett omfattande miljöproblem, med ökad algblomning, syrebrist och döda bottnar som följd. Dessa problem uppstår då det tillförs ett överskott av närsalterna kväve och fosfor. Detta närsaltsläckage kommer till stor del från mänsklig aktivitet, varav stora mängder kommer från jordbruket.  Syftet med detta projekt är för det första att kartlägga dagens kunskapsläge kring vilka åtgärder som kan implementeras för att minska närsaltstransporten i vattendrag. Vidare syftar projektet till att undersöka hur den rumsliga placeringen av dessa åtgärder påverkar närsaltsretentionen samt hur närsaltsläckagets fördelning påverkar detta. Detta har gjorts genom att bygga upp en modell där åtgärdernas placering, storlek och antal såväl som kväveläckagets fördelning varieras för att studera hur näringsbelastningen till nedströms recipient påverkas. Modelleringen har avgränsats till att endast undersöka våtmarker och kväve.  Resultatet av modelleringen visar att en stor våtmark placerad nära utloppet ger högst total näringsretention. Vidare visar resultatet att både kvävekoncentrationer i vattendragen och retentioner i enskilda våtmarker inom området påverkas av kväveläckagets rumsliga fördelning, vilket tyder på att även detta behöver beaktas för att kunna skydda vattenförekomster inom landskapet. Resultatet visar också på att den bästa våtmarksplaceringen är strax uppströms om den recipient som ska skyddas. / The Baltic Sea suffers from eutrophication, which leads to increased algae growth, affecting the water quality and the surrounding ecosystems. This has been an extensive environmental problem for a long time and the main cause of this problem is excessive inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus. These nutrient inputs occur in great parts due to human activities and a significant proportion originates from agriculture. Non-point sources, such as nutrients lost from agricultural soils, are difficult to locate and consequently it’s hard to implement the right measure in the right place.  One of the objectives of this report is to map out which measures that can be implemented in watercourses to increase the nutrient retention. The report also aims to analyze how the spatial distribution of these measures, as well as the nutrient input, affects the nutrient retention. This has been done by creating a model, where wetlands can be positioned in different places within a catchment area. The model has been limited to only analyze wetlands and nitrogen. The positioning, area and number of the wetlands as well as the nitrogen input was varied in order to analyze how the retention was affected.  The result of this modelling showed that the highest nutrient retention in total was achieved by placing one big wetland close to the outlet of the studied area. Furthermore, the concentration and retention of nitrogen within the area varied when the distribution of the nitrogen input was altered, which indicates that it’s important to analyze this in order to improve the water quality within the landscape. Finally, to obtain the highest efficiency of a wetland, the wetland should be placed just above the recipient it’s intended to protect.

<p dir="ltr">The expected rapid development of renewable energy in the United States has raised concerns about its effects on farmland prices, yet there is little empirical evidence on the impact of solar energy development on farmland prices. This study aims to examine the heterogenous impact of commercial and utility-scale solar energy on farmland prices in Indi- ana. Drawing on farmland transactions from 2015 to 2020, we employ quantile and expectile hedonic price regressions to estimate the heterogeneous impact of proximity to solar energy facilities across the conditional price distribution. This study finds an inverse, non-linear relation between the proximity to solar energy and per acre land prices. We find that solar farms provide a premium to neighboring farmland parcels. However, this premium is heterogenous, with higher premiums on parcels with higher conditional prices. As we move across the higher conditional expectiles, we observe a price drop ranging from 0.8% (0.1 expectile) to 1.8% (0.9 expectile) for an additional mile increase from neighboring solar farms. Similarly, price premium for a proximity to solar energy is as high as 2.1% for 99th expectile farmland price. Thus, policymakers should consider the effect of solar energy to avoid potential damage on agricultural production and land price movements.</p>

Analizuojamo Plungės rajono žemės ūkio paskirties žemės plotas didėja, tačiau nepaisant to, kiekvienais metais žemės ūkio naudmenų yra vis mažiau. Atsiranda didesni miškų ir kitos žemės plotai dėl savaiminio miško užžėlimo, užpelkėjimo ir panašaus žemės naudojimo ne pagal paskirtį. Nustatyta, kad tam įtakos turi esančios nenašios žemės. Dėl nedidelių išmokų ūkininkai nebeinvestuoja į grūdinių augalų auginimą, o ariamąją žemę deklaruoja daugiametėmis žolėmis ar pievomis. Kiekvienais metais pievų ir ganyklų iki 5 m. deklaruojamų plotų skaičius auga. 2012-2013 metų laikotarpyje gerokai sumažėjo deklaruojamų daugiamečių ganyklų-pievų (5 m. ir daugiau), skirtų prekinei žolinės produkcijos gamybai. Tai paveikė ūkininkų ir šeimos ūkių naudojamų pievų ir ganyklų plotų sumažėjimas. Remiantis 2003-2010 metų surašymo duomenimis ūkininkų ūkių skaičius sumažėjo, tačiau vidutinis ūkio dydis tapo didesnis. Tam įtakos turėjo ūkių stambėjimas. Plungės rajone dominuoja augalininkystė ir galvijininkystė, 2010 metais buvo užregistruota 21602 galvijai. Plungės rajone didžiausią dalį sudaro melžiamos karvės (9598) ir kiaulės (4821). Labiausiai pienininkyste verčiasi Šateikių seniūnijos ūkininkai, čia užregistruotos 1639 melžiamos karvės. Iš viso Plungės rajone 100 ha žemės ūkio naudmenų tenka 20 melžiamų karvių. Pasėlių ir gyvulių bandų struktūra apskrityje ir savivaldybėse derinama prie gamtinių sąlygų. Per 2007-2013 metus Plungės rajone buvo parengta 207 Kaimo plėtros 2007-2013 priemonės... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / According to the analysis of Plunge region the area of agricultural land has been increasing; despite this increase, landed property areas has been shrinking from year to year. The enlargement of forest cover is related to the increase of the self-overgrown unused land, swampy areas and the use of the land for other purposes. It is often the case that unproductive lands with poor soils remain uncultivated. Moreover, due to insufficient payouts farmers are not interested on investment into crop growing. They tend to declare the arable land as grasslands and meadows. The number of declared areas of meadows and grasslands up to 5 years has been increasing every year. During 2012-2013, grasslands and pastures (5 years and more) covered in commercial grasses significantly decreased. Such decrease was caused by a decline in grasslands and pastures owned by the individual farmers and family farms. According to the census (2003-2010), the number of farms has decreased, but the average farm size has become larger, thus suggesting that small farms were incorporated within the bigger ones. Plungė district is engaged in both crop growing and cattle farming. In 2010, the district’s livestock population counted a total of 21602 heads with the largest number of dairy cows (9598) and pigs (4821). The largest number of dairy farms is in Šateikiai eldership which together keeps 1639 milking cows. On average 20 milking cows on 100 hectares of landed property are counted here. Crop growing and... [to full text]

This master thesis focuses on extensification of agricultural production and land use, and on driving forces and factors that influence this process. The research concentrates on land-use changes resulting from the extensification of agriculture (especially grassing-over and abandonment of agricultural land) in last twenty years. Emphasis is put on an analysis of driving forces of extensification processes that have an influence on land-use change. Factors with an impact on extensification are divided into natural and socio-economic ones. Natural factors are represented for example by air temperature, precipitation, altitude, slope, or soil productivity. As socio-economic ones we consider for instance the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, Gross Domestic Product, population density, spatial exposedness, or patterns of use and ownership of agricultural land. These factors are studied on European, Czech and local scales. Data for this research were collected from international and Czech databases; on the local level there was performed the author's own field research. Results of this thesis are obtained by quantitative research that demonstrate the main influence of natural driving forces on the process of extensification in Europe. Land-use changes related with extensification of agriculture...

This master degree thesis is focused on the rights and obligations of agricultural land owner from the perspective of right. Land belongs to most important sources of planet. Human being cannot alive and exist without agricultural land and cultivation of agricultural land helped to developed modern human civilization. Soil has been threatened on area and as well as quality especially by human, therefore is needed effective legal regulation with a balanced respect for property rights and the public interest in protecting of agriculture land and the environment. The main goal of thesis should be critically analyze on legislation (especially Laws, but also Government Regulations and Notices), regulating the ownerships of agricultural land. After general part of thesis, analyzing ownerships in general follows the interpretation of the ownership of land parcels, supplemented by the system and the development of land registration. The main part of thesis consists of a chapter entitled the rights and obligations of agriculture land owner, which is divided into modes of protection of agricultural land (in terms of area and quality), protection of larger area under Act on the protection of nature and landscape and other laws. The conditions of contemporary agricultural land are dealt in the last chapter of thesis....

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:50:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FREDERICO OLIVEIRA DA PAIXAO.pdf: 1377354 bytes, checksum: 69641e986bb710fd7e83db1aa2ff5f37 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-11-27 / This dissertation discusses the agrarian question and national development in a territorial perspective. Examines the alternative to family farming cooperatives and their importance for regional development through the establishment of agribusiness in Brazil and Goiás. Therefore, narrates the case of Cooperative Milk Producers in the city of Piracanjuba-Goiás- CPLP exemplifying how as cooperatives became an important and necessary option for the support of dairy farming in the county, but that by itself just does not solve the structural problem of agrarian question, which is the lack of efficient public policies for rural areas. According to important authors of development, as Celso Furtado and Florestan Fernandes, national, sustainable and effective development should happen with intermediation of the National State, through planned public policies. In turn, agriculture, especially the family farming is the fundamental element for territorial development, proven in several nations of the world by studies of Koning and Stringer and also in Brazil, by Ricardo Abramovay. Between agriculture and development, establishes a dialectic: the growth of agribusiness, mainly from 1960 and the maintaining the delayed field. The agricultural production expands while the rural exodus increases. The productivity sets a record whilst the economic and social conditions of workers worsened. Through historical analysis and case study, it is noticed that the national agricultural development does seem to be linked to the establishment of public policies on access to land, logistics and energy infrastructure, promotion to technical training field workers, and price regulation. / Esta dissertação discute sobre a questão agrária e o desenvolvimento nacional em uma perspectiva territorial. Analisa a alternativa do cooperativismo para agricultura familiar e de sua importância para o desenvolvimento territorial mediante o estabelecimento do agronegócio no Brasil e em Goiás. Para tanto, narra o caso da Cooperativa dos Produtores de Leite na cidade de Piracanjuba-Goiás- CPLP exemplificando como o cooperativismo se tornou uma opção importante e necessária para a sustentação da pecuária leiteira no município, mas que por si apenas não resolve o problema estrutural da questão agrária, que se encontra na carência de políticas públicas eficientes para o meio rural. Segundo importantes autores do desenvolvimento, como Celso Furtado e Florestan Fernandes, o desenvolvimento nacional, real e sustentável deve acontecer com intermediação do Estado Nacional, por meio de políticas públicas planejadas. Por sua vez, a agricultura, especialmente a familiar é o elemento fundamental para o desenvolvimento territorial, fato comprovado em várias nações do mundo pelos estudos de Koning e Stringer e também no Brasil, com Ricardo Abramovay. Nesse ínterim entre agricultura e desenvolvimento, uma dialética se estabelece: o crescimento do agribusiness, principalmente a partir de 1960 e a manutenção do atraso no campo. A produção agrária se expande enquanto o êxodo rural aumenta. A produtividade bate recorde enquanto as condições econômicas e sociais dos trabalhadores se agravam. Através de análises históricas e de estudo de caso, percebe-se que o desenvolvimento agrário nacional parece de fato estar ligado ao estabelecimento de políticas públicas de acesso à terra, infra-estrutura logística e energética, fomento e acesso à capacitação técnica do pessoal do campo e marco regulatório de preços.

<div>The demand for customized farm management prescription is increasing in order to maximize crop yield and minimize environmental risks under a changing climate. One great challenge to modeling crop growth and production is spatial and temporal variability. The goal of this dissertation research is to use publicly available Landsat imagery, ground samples and historical yield data to establish methodologies to spatially quantify cover crop growth and in-season maize yield. First, an investigation was conducted into the feasibility of using satellite remote sensing and spatial interpolation with minimal ground samples to rapidly estimate season-specific cover crop biomass and N uptake in the small watershed of Lake Bloomington in Illinois. Results from this study demonstrated that remote sensing indices could capture the spatial pattern of cover crop growth as affected by various cover crop and cash crop management systems. Soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and triangular vegetation index (TVI) were strongly correlated with cover crop biomass and N uptake for low and moderate biomass and N uptake ranges (0-3000 kg ha-1 and 0-100 kg N ha-1). The SAVI estimated cover crop biomass and N uptake were +/- 15% of observed value. Compared to commonly used spatial interpolation methods such as ordinary kriging (OK) and inverse distance weighting (IDW), using the SAVI method showed higher prediction R2 values than that of OK and IDW. An additional advantage for these remote sensing vegetation indices, especially in the context of diverse agronomic management practices, is their much lower labor requirements compared to the high density ground samples needed for a spatial interpolation analysis. </div><div>In the second study, a new approach using the multivariate spatial autoregressive (MSAR) model was developed at 10-m grid resolution to forecast maize yield using historical grain yield data collected at farmers’ fields in Central Indiana, publicly available Landsat imagery, top 30 cm soil organic matter and elevation, while accounting for yield spatial autocorrelation. Relative mean error (RME) and relative mean absolute error (RMAE) were used to quantify the model prediction accuracy at the field level and 10-m grid level, respectively. The MSAR model performed reasonably well (absolute RME < 15%) for field overall yield predictions in 32 out of 35 site-years on the calibration dataset with an average absolute RME of 6.6%. The average RMAE of the MSAR model predictions was 13.1%. It was found that the MSAR model could result in large estimation error under an extreme stressed environment such as the 2012 drought, especially when grain yield under these stressed conditions was not included in the model calibration step. In the validation dataset (n=82), the MSAR model showed good prediction accuracy overall (± 15% of actual yield in 56 site-years) in new fields when extreme stress was not present. The novel approach developed in this study demonstrated its ability to use elevation and soil information to interpret satellite observations accurately in a fine spatial scale. </div><div>Then we incorporated the MSAR approach into a process-based N transformation model to predict field-scale maize yield in Indiana. Our results showed that the linear agreement of predicted yield (using the N Model in the Mapwindow GIS + MMP Tools) to actual yield improved as the spatial aggregation scale became broader. The proposed MSAR model used early vegetative precipitation, top 30 cm soil organic matter and elevation to adjust the N Model yield prediction in 10-m grids. The MSAR adjusted yield predictions resulted in more cases (77%) that fell within 15% of actual yield compared to the N Model alone using the calibration dataset (n=35). However, if the 2012 data was not included in the MSAR parameter training step, the MSAR adjusted yield predictions for 2012 were not improved from the N Model prediction (average RME of 24.1%). When extrapolating the MSAR parameters developed from 7 fields to a dataset containing 82 site-years on 30 different fields in the same region, the improvement from the MSAR adjustment was not significant. The lack of improvement from the MSAR adjustment could be because the relationship used in the MSAR model was location specific. Additionally, the uncertainty of precipitation data could also affect the relationship. </div><div>Through the sequence of these studies, the potential utility of big data routinely collected at farmers’ fields and publicly available satellite imagery has been greatly improved for field-specific management tools and on-farm decision-making. </div>

<p>Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are best known for their potential to help plants acquire nutrients, especially phosphorous. These microbes improve soil health by promoting soil aggregation and carbon sequestration, and further benefit plants by helping them withstand biotic and abiotic stress. Currently, there are 200 recognized species of AMF within the phylum Glomeromycota. Recent studies indicate that individual AMF species differ in the benefits they provide, with some even acting as parasites. Moreover, AMF community composition can be altered by soil and crop management practices, but the effect of these changes on the benefits conferred by AMF are still not well understood. Consequently, the goal of this study was to determine how two widely used crop management systems can alter the composition of AMF species, and affect the potential for these communities to promote the productivity and drought tolerance. To accomplish this goal, we collected AMF inoculum from a long-term crop systems trial comparing organic and conventional management for use in greenhouse trials where we subjected plants to drought. We collected AMF inoculum during mid-summer when differences between the two management systems were likely cause larger effects on AMF communities, and again in autumn after harvest to see if differences in AMF communities would persist. We determined AMF species composition using next generation sequencing. Results of this study confirm that soil-building practices commonly used in organic farming systems can improve soil health and increase the productivity of food-grade soybeans. They also demonstrate that AMF communities in Indiana croplands are highly diverse, and some of these taxa can improve soybean growth and help plants tolerate water stress. Although the overall diversity of AMF communities did not differ between the organic and conventional management systems in mid-summer, individual AMF taxa did differ between the systems, which were likely responsible for the greater tolerance to water stress observed when plants were amended with inoculum from the organic system. AMF communities present during autumn were significantly different between the two crop management systems, but did not result in differences in drought tolerance of soybeans, indicating that the loss of key AMF taxa in the organic system from the first relative to the second experiment was likely responsible. Finally, plants grown using inoculum from both crop management systems in autumn had greater tolerance to water stress than plants that received a AMF commercial inoculum. This provides further evidence that individual AMF species vary in the benefits they provide, and that the presence of a diverse consortium of AMF species is needed to optimize plant health and productivity in agricultural systems. Agricultural producers should consider incorporating soil-building practices that are commonly used in organic farming systems such as planting winter cover crops, to improve the health of their soil and enhance the productivity of their crops. <b></b></p> <br>