Tourism: an alternative to development?: reconsidering farming, tourism and conservation incentives in Northwest Yunnan mountainous communities

In the last decade, tourism has developed rapidly in the mountainous areas of northwest Yunnan. This growth has led to substantial economic and social changes, with resulting environmental consequences. This article uses a case study to illustrate how local farmers involved in tourism changed their agricultural practices as a result of the transformations that took place in the area. The aim was to examine tourism's expected benefits of poverty alleviation and conservation incentives. Tourism investments were found to have been adopted only by households with available cash and labor, whereas they remained inaccessible for the poor, small landowners who most needed a new source of income and used their land more exhaustively. Relatively rich, large landowners did not take the opportunity to reduce their agricultural activities. Instead, they used supplementary incomes earned from tourism to hire external labor to cultivate their land more intensely. Tourism development failed to generate real incentives for mountain farmers to adopt more conservation measures and prevent soil erosion and nonpoint source agricultural water pollution, which currently constitute serious environmental problems for mountain environments in Yunnan. This article presents recommendations based on the conclusions of the study

Long-term impact of wheat-based cropping systems on soil biological activity

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Weeds in wheat - response to fallow frequency, legume green manure, and wheat class

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Effects of crop rotation and fertilization on soil carbon sequestration in the semiarid region

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Effect of fallow frequency on soil water conservation in the semi-arid region of Saskatchewan

Non-Peer ReviewedThe effects of fallow frequency on soil water conservation were quantified for a 40 yr (1967-2006) field experiment conducted on a medium textured Orthic Brown Chernozem (Aridic Haploboroll) in semiarid southwestern Saskatchewan, in which soil water contents were measured each year in early spring, shortly after harvest, and again just prior to freeze-up in the fall. The three treatments examined were continuous wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (Cont W) and fallow-wheat (F-W), each receiving N and P fertilizer and Cont W receiving only P. On average, 36 % of the precipitation received during the fall and winter months for Cont W (N+P) was conserved in the soil. In the summer fallow system (F-W (N+P)) a greater proportion (42 %) of the precipitation was conserved during the first fall and winter. During the second overwinter period, only 6 % of the precipitation received was conserved in the F-W system compared to 44 % in the first overwinter period. Compared to the 36% of fall and wither precipitation conserved in Cont W (N+P), inadequate N fertility (Cont W (+P)) resulted in only 27 % of the precipitation being conserved during this period. We developed equations that will allow estimation of water conserved as a function of precipitation received between harvest and seeding for F-W and Cont W (N+P. Trends in grain yield were fairly closely correlated with growing season precipitation and potential evapotranspiration

Management strategies/practices for increasing storage of organic C and N in soil in cropping systems in the Northern Great Plains of North America

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Effect of cropping frequency on C storage in Canadian prairie soils

Non-Peer ReviewedAvailable water is the main constraint to crop production on the Canadian prairies. Summerfallow has been used to counter this problem, but frequent summerfallowing promotes soil organic matter (SOC) loss. Although summerfallow use has decreased substantially over the past 20 years, there is still considerable land devoted to this practice each year. This paper reviews research literature and assesses the influence of cropping frequency on SOC and discusses how this is influenced by ecoregion, tillage, fertility, and crop type. Results from 17 studies in the Canadian prairies were analyzed. In most soils, SOC increased with cropping frequency, but this relationship was not linear. In semiarid regions, SOC gains under no-till management were about 250 kg ha-1 yr-1 greater than for tilled systems at any specified cropping frequency; in subhumid environments, this advantage ranged from 50 kg ha-1 yr-1 for fallowcrop- crop rotations to 250 kg ha-1 yr-1 for continuously cropped rotations. In tilled systems, SOC gains were unaffected by soil zone. SOC gains in wheat-lentil rotations were similar to those in continuous wheat, but when low yielding flax replaced wheat in the rotation, SOC gains were substantially lower. Replacing wheat with fall rye increased SOC gains significantly, because of greater N efficiency and erosion control with the latter. Cropping frequency had no effect on SOC gains in unfertilized systems, but in systems fertilized according to soil tests, SOC gains were directly proportional to cropping frequency (except in the high SOC thick Black Chernozems such as at Melfort)

Effect of cropping frequency, crop type, and fertilization on nitrate leaching in a semi-arid environment

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Understanding microbially mediated processes involved in N, P and C cycling in wheat-based cropping systems

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