Thesis (Ph. D.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2007. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Philip L. Bruckner. Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

Agricultural products are indispensable components of daily life. Nowadays, most cities in China, food supply is already setup, however the whole food supply chain is quite long with low efficiency. After the harvest of agricultural products, they have been transported to multi-hierarchical markets and go through plurality sales links by simple vehicles before meeting consumer. Due to the existence of an imperfect agricultural product supply system, specifically the inadequate infrastructure for cold-chain transportation and low-level storage technology, agricultural products and aquatic products, among others, suffer huge loss rates ranging from 15% to 30% during picking, transportation, and storage as well as during processing in other logistics sectors. Thus, some unscrupulous producers or agents add preservatives to the agricultural products in order to keep them looks with good quality. Besides, for the producers, though they do their utmost for farming and cultivating，they still living at the bottom of the social ladder with low income. For the consumer, owing to the increasing standard of living, the improvement of the logistical system and the structural adjustment of modern agricultural products, more and more consumers no longer just pursue the goal of having sufficient food to eat. Instead, they hope to eat better and healthier and prefer fresher or more diverse food options with high quality and nutrition. This thesis aims to study the existing agricultural product system in Guangzhou, focusing on the agricultural products supply model and discusses ways to revolutionize the “farm-to-table” agricultural products channel by proposing a new supply model in a regional scale to narrow the gap between consumer and producer in two main methods. On one hand, establish Agricultural Association to coordinate the whole system and guide the local farmer cultivate agricultural product and deliver their product to the consumer with high efficiency. On the other hand, attract the costumer come to productive area that they not only get the product directly but also understand the process of production. In these ways can guarantee the safety, freshness, and nutritional value of agricultural products, improve farmer’s income and satisfied consumer’s requirement by achieving a high-efficiency, low-pollution and energy-saving “farm-to-table” channel for local agricultural products. / published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, March, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-79)

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, March, 2005. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-79)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Waikato, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Feb. 7, 2006). Includes bibliographical references (p. [349]-374).

Thesis (doctoral)--Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-200). Also available online.

Grazing by domestic livestock is one of the primary ways by which humans have modified landscapes. At low stocking rates livestock grazing can modify vegetation community composition, but at high stocking rates grazing can also reduce vegetation productivity and initiate soil erosion, leading to land degradation. The country of Iceland has undergone severe land degradation over the past 1100 years, with over half of the former vegetation cover being lost, and the remainder having depleted productivity. This work focuses upon the role that grazing by domestic livestock played in this degradation, and how the interactions between farm management, vegetation cover and climate affected grazing patterns in space and time. The aims of the research were achieved by constructing an environmental simulation model, called Búmodel, which allowed a cross-disciplinary approach that integrated landscape ecology, environmental archaeology and historical analysis. Búmodel was loosely coupled with GIS so that spatially based model inputs and outputs could be displayed and analysed in map form. The purpose of Búmodel was to predict spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation biomass production and utilisation (through grazing and hay-making) with a view to commenting on vegetation degradation in the pre-modern period (pre-1900 AD). The model was parameterised using contemporary and historical Icelandic agricultural data. Model validation was undertaken using sensitivity tests and comparison with data from an independent grazing experiment in the north of Iceland. Búmodel was then applied to two contrasting study areas: Vestur- Eyjafjallahreppur, a farming community on the south coast of Iceland, and Hofstaðir, a farm estate in the north east of the country, situated inland by Lake Mývatn. These applications demonstrated the importance of farm management in avoiding land degradation and in ameliorating the impact of climate. They also established the usefulness of Búmodel as a tool for the investigation of human and environmental interactions in Iceland.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, University of the Witwatersrand. September 2016. / The cause of the transformation of agricultural land to other land uses has been investigated, especially in the Northern Service Delivery of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality within Gauteng Province. This was achieved by evaluating the processes undertaken during the review of the land use applications and what was considered by the decision makers when making decisions on land use applications in order to determine the effectiveness of the legislations and policies in protecting agricultural land from been transformed to other uses such as residential and industrial activities. The literature review undertaken in this study showed that for South Africa, and particularly the Gauteng Province to be more successful in addressing the transformation of agricultural land to other land uses, different approaches are necessary. The review of literature showed that the South African legislations are fragmented and contribute to the transformation of agricultural land. In addition, it was highlighted that the South African government’s priority is on infrastructure development which is also considered the cause of the transformation of agricultural land, and this compels government to continuously amend the planning policies in order to accommodate pressure of development. Lastly, several studies highlighted that government is also focusing on the land reform programmes which are not sustainable hence failed due to lack of support from government. The results of the investigation confirmed that there is fragmentation of legislations and operational structure resulting in conflicting mandate and inconsistent decision making. This was pointed out through the experience of the participants during the questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. Data from the questionnaires, interviews and literature review was analysed to find information in order to address the research questions. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that legislations should be amended and ensures that the administration process is simple and aligned. Key words: Transformation of agricultural land, fragmented legislations, fragmented institutions and processes. / LG2017

There is growing evidence that the achievement of biodiversity conservation objectives at the regional scale will have to take into account not only habitats within reserves, but also the contribution of semi-natural habitats in production landscapes. This requires knowledge of the conditions that maintain or enhance biodiversity in these suboptimal habitats. I focused on a system of forest patches and hedgerows in an agricultural landscape as habitats for dispersal-limited native forest herbs to (1) identify species-specific traits that appear to either limit or facilitate survival or colonization of forest herbs in hedgerows compared to forest patches, and (2) to evaluate the relative contribution of landscape and local variables in explaining patterns of forest herb species richness, abundance, and diversity in hedgerows. A fourth-corner analysis revealed that traits such as early spring flowering, ant dispersal or a lack of vegetative propagation can reduce the likelihood of native forest species to benefit from hedgerows. Conditional autoregressive models showed that landscape variables, specifically hedgerow age and neighboring forest area, largely account for species diversity in hedgerows.