Sustainability Commons^™

Género Y Resiliencia En La Amazonía Peruana: Las Experiencias Y Respuestas De Agricultoras Indígenas Ante El Cambio Climático, Zoe Klausner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El cambio climático antropogénico está redefiniendo rápidamente las relaciones humano-ambientales, especialmente en la Amazonía peruana, donde más de 66 comunidades indígenas enfrentan mayores sequías y temperaturas, afectando profundamente sus medios de vida. Crucialmente, desde la visión ecofeminista central a esta investigación se subraya que las mujeres indígenas experimentan los impactos del cambio climático más severamente y son a menudo los líderes en el fomento de la resiliencia ambiental. Esta investigación explora cómo las agricultoras indígenas de la Amazonía peruana viven el cambio climático y sus estrategias de adaptación y resiliencia. El trabajo de campo se realizó en la comunidad Ese'Eja …

Exploring Cation Exchange: Unveiling Its Significance In Biochar And Bioenergetics Applications, Gyanendra Kharel

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Cation exchange, a cornerstone of soil chemistry and nutrient cycling, is a fundamental chemical process that occurs in soils, sediments, membranes, and other solid materials. It involves the interchange of positively charged ions, or cations, between a solid matrix and a surrounding solution. This process is crucial in various natural and engineered systems, leading to a range of applications across different fields.

This dissertation presents an extensive investigation into the applications of cation exchange in the fields of biochar and bioenergetics, encompassing three distinct aims. The first aim concentrates on the surface oxygenation of biochar through ozonization, aiming to achieve …

Pollinator Communities And Their Ecosystem Services At Conservation Grasslands And Adjacent Croplands, Araceli Gomez Villegas

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pollinators are intrinsically linked to the success of unmanaged and managed ecosystems by providing pollination services that aid in the reproduction of wildflowers and many crops. Land use change, habitat loss, fragmentation, and related landscape-level phenomena (for example, increased pesticide exposure) threaten pollinators and have been associated with population declines. In the Midwestern region of the United States, land conversion of native prairies and grasslands to row-crop agriculture has been one of the largest contributors to pollinator habitat loss. Conservation programs, such as the Conservation Reserve Program, have worked towards removing environmentally sensitive lands from agriculture production and enrolling them …

Procedures For Rangeland Condition Assessment In The Kimberley 2022, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development

Natural resources published reports

This report defines the procedures used in 2022 by DPIRD to complete rangeland condition assessment (RCA) in the Kimberley region which has grass-based pastures. For the rest of the pastoral estate, DPIRD uses the Procedures for RCA in the Pilbara and southern rangelands which have predominantly shrub pastures.

RCA is the process DPIRD uses to make systematic, lease-level assessment of rangeland. Rangeland condition considers both the condition of pastures (as defined in the 'Pasture condition guide for the Kimberley') and soils as determined by erosion, using the erosion assessment method on pastoral lands in Western Australia (WA). The methods have …

Lichen Ecosystem Services And A Study From The Nj Pine Barrens, Gregory Turner

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Professor Greg Turner of the WCU Biology Department presents Lichen Ecosystem Services and a Study from the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

The Fuxi Farm: Practice Exploration And Reflection On Integrated Innovation Of Smart Agriculture Technology, Yucheng Zhang, Xiaobo Zhang, Shuqin Gao, Congcong Zheng, Jingyao Zhang, Ya Wen, Lujun Li, Zhuo Wang, Tie Li, Honglong Zhao

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Smart agriculture plays a pivotal role in enhancing food security by optimizing resource use and improving crop yields through the application of AI technologies. The establishment of smart farms is critical to rapidly integrating AI into agricultural production, offering platforms for both the deployment and testing of AI solutions and equipment. This paper examines the development of smart farms, with a focus on practices from developed countries, and assesses the current status of smart farming in China. We then focus on exploring the content, pathways, and practices for constructing a smart agricultural production system in China through the establishment of …

Accelerate Innovation Of Forage Intelligent Breeding Technology: Reflection And Suggestions, Haichun Jing, Weijuan Hu, Jingbo Jin, Jingyu Zhang, Yao Zhou, Yue Gong, Gang Yao, Lei Wang, Kang Chong

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The world is facing unprecedented changes today, with continuous population growth intensifying the pressure on food demand. The shift towards diversified dietary structures has increased the demand for feed grains, while climate change further threatens China’s food security by affecting agricultural productivity and carbon sequestration economy. At present, China has entered a new era of food supply and feed. As the food supply for animals, forage is the core component of feed, and its industrial development has profound strategic significance for ensuring national food security. This study analyzes the current situation of China’s forage seed industry, summarizes the cutting-edge achievements …

Rapid Soil Detection Technology Aids In Assessing Soil Nutrients In China, Wei Wu, Xiaoyong Liao, Xiaopeng Li, Yuntao Wu, Huixian Lu, Yucheng Zhang, Jiabao Zhang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Soil quality is the core issue for ensuring China’s food security, and soil health is the top priority of soil quality. Comprehensive, rapid and accurate acquisition of soil background data is the prerequisite for achieving homogeneous soil management and formulating balanced fertilization strategies, which will play a key role in improving non-point source pollution caused by unreasonable fertilization and achieving balanced grain yield increase. This study reviews rapid soil testing methods both domestically and internationally. Based on previous research, it proposes a technical approach to rapidly detect soil nutrient concentrations by calculating the gamma quanta released during the decay of …

Hillside Agricultural Machinery And Agricultural Intelligence Driven By New Technologies, Hong Qiao, Yanfeng Lyu, Enhao Zheng

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Hilly and mountainous areas play a crucial role in China’s agricultural production. However, the low level of comprehensive mechanization for crop cultivation, planting, and harvesting in these regions severely hampers the modernization of agriculture. The complex terrain and diverse cropping patterns in hilly areas necessitate the development of specialized agricultural machinery and robots tailored to these unique landscapes. To advance this process, the Chinese government has introduced a series of policies in recent years to support the research and development of agricultural machinery for hilly regions, providing strong backing for the advancement of agricultural technology in these areas. Against this …

Artificial Intelligence Innovation For Smart Plant Factory To Diversify Its Big Food Production Functions, Huaqin Gong, Haichun Jing, Xin Tan, Xianhui Wang, Yucheng Zhang, Rongcheng Lin, Mingyu Yang, Shuang Lin, Hualing Xie, Yanping Yang, Shitang Ye, Peng Li, Tingyun Kuang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

China’s food security is facing more and more severe and complex challenges, such as tight balance between food demand and supply, the upgrading of consumption structure, and resource constraints. The plant factory is an advanced scenario in agricultural production, a diversified food production system that gets rid of the constraints of “ask for food from the mother nature” and respond to disasters and wars, and is oriented to space. Nevertheless, the high cost greatly limits the application and development of plant factories. The rapid development of artificial intelligence will bring new opportunities for the innovative development and expansion of plant …

Improve Governance System Of National Parks, Build The World‘S Largest National Park System With High Quality, Baorong Huang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Improving the governance system of national parks is an inevitable requirement for China’s high-quality construction of the world’s largest national park system. This study analyzes the main challenges and problems faced by China’s national park governance based on long-term investigation on national parks and national park system pilot areas. Under the overall logic of modernization of China’s national governance system and governance capabilities, drawing on international experiences in sound governance of regional and watershed public goods and national parks, this study proposes a theoretical framework for establishing a “four in one” national park governance system in China, including a comprehensive …

Regime Of National Park Group Based On Protected Area System In Tibetan Plateau, Dong Chen, Yafei Wang, Dengsheng Wu, Jie Fan

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

China’s national park reform has entered a new stage of promoting reform based on the protected area system. The national park team of the second comprehensive scientific investigation and research on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) took the lead in putting forward the construction plan of the TP protected area, which is dominated by national park in area and function. The TP national park group, including “small group” which refer to national park, and “large group” which refer to different protected areas, innovates the long-term mechanism for the construction of national ecological security barriers on TP. The national park group requires …

Experience And Enlightenment Of Eu Natura 2000 Protected Area Network, Ling Tang, Baorong Huang, Tong Jin, Xuetian Hu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The EU Natura 2000 protected area network, covering nearly 19% of the land and 10% of the sea in the EU, has played an important role in protecting biodiversity and enhancing regional socio-economic well-being, and is regarded as the most successful protected area network in the world. Its successful experience is mainly reflected in five aspects. (1) The adoption of regional biodiversity conservation legislation and the promotion of compliance with the law by member countries to promote the construction of the protected area network. (2) The establishment of a decision-making and implementation mechanism that combines the EU resolution process and …

Problems And Suggestions Of Building Scientific Decision-Making And Advisory Mechanism Of National Parks—Governance-Based Perspective, Yu Wei, Duowei Cheng, Yi Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

National parks are multi-factor, multi-functional and multi-dimensional complexes, which makes them difficult to follow the traditional administration and management modes, and need to explore the construction of a modernized governance system. An important step in enhancing the effectiveness of governance is to establish a reasonable, and efficient scientific decision-making and consultation mechanism. China has made remarkable progress in scientific decision-making and consultation in national parks. However, there are still some problems with the national parks’ decision-making process and effectiveness due to vague definition of authority and responsibility, dependence on departmentalized management paths, and inadequate upward and downward transmission of information …

Agricultural Groundcover Update January 2024, Justin Laycock

Natural resources published reports

Summary

• About 94% of the grainbelt had adequate (more than 50%) vegetative groundcover to prevent wind erosion in January 2024.
• In the northern half of the grainbelt, a larger-than-average area has 51–60% groundcover, which is expected to decrease to below 50% over the coming months.
• Just under 6% of the grainbelt (855,000 ha) had less than 50% groundcover, which is inadequate to prevent wind erosion. West Midlands Ag Soil Zone had the highest risk of wind erosion and 14.5% of this farmland had inadequate groundcover.
• Less than 0.5% of the grainbelt had a high to very high risk of wind …

Investigating The Mass Mortality Induced Factors Of Pearl Oyster (Pinctada Radiata) At Abu Dhabi Pearls Farm, Uae, Hamad Ahmed Almansoori

Theses

The aquaculture of shellfish plays a crucial role in enhancing maritime environments by mitigating algal blooms and improving water quality through the filtration of organic matter, nutrients, and bacteria. This study investigated the environmental factors influencing oyster (Pinctada radiata) mortalities through a comprehensive analysis of water quality in Al Mirfa and Al Mughirah farming sites of Abu Dhabi (UAE), from February 2021 to February 2022. To reach such understanding of the main factors led to mass mortalities of cultivated oysters, different monthly sampling and both chemical and biological analyses of the farm water, sediments as well as for both living …

Internal Logic And Policy Recommendations Of Big Data To Support High-Quality Development Of Modern Agricultural Industry, Yingming Li, Zitong Wang, Mingyue Wang, Shiyi Liu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Clarifying the internal logic of big data to support modern agricultural production is helpful to cultivate and develop new quality productive forces in agriculture. From the perspective of economics, this study proposes that the role of big data in modern agricultural production is mainly reflected in two levels. Firstly, it improves the total factor productivity of the traditional agricultural production function. Secondly, it changes the factor endowment structure of agricultural production and forms a new agricultural production function. Based on these, the realization form of big data to support modern agricultural production can be summarized as improving the efficiency of …

Redesign And De Novo Design Of Circular Blue Bioindustry, Wei Zhang, Shufeng Zhang, Hantao Zhou, Minhan Dai

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The future marine bioindustry, which features advanced green intelligent biomanufacturing and high-value marine bioproducts, is a strategically emerging marine industry. This study proposes a new industrial development model for the circular blue bioindustry, founded on simultaneously optimizing the sustainable utilization of marine bioresources and protecting the ecological environment. Through in-depth analysis of the current situation, challenges, and potential development opportunities of the global and Chinese marine bioindustries underpinning sustainable development, theoretical framework, approaches and implementation pathways have been established to redesign the existing marine bioindustry and de novo design of the emerging marine bioindustry. Future key development priorities are suggested …

Program Requirements For Beef Cattle Certified As Usda Organic, Carsten Loseke, Elliott James Dennis

Cornhusker Economics

This document provides an overview of the use and production of the USDA Certified Organic program for the beef cattle industry, with an emphasis on the state of Nebraska. We detail what cattle qualify, feed requirements, medical and health standards of cattle, and premiums paid by consumers for USDA certified organic products. All information is taken from the Organic Foods Production Act Provisions available in the Federal Register.

Fauna, Flora, And Land Cover Changes Over The Last Two Decades In The Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, Gabriel De Oliveria, Steven R. Schultze, Guilherme Mataveli

Technical Reports

A technical report documenting ecosystem changes to the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta region due to urban expansion over approximately two decades (2001-2019).

Perennializing Marginal Croplands: Going Back To The Future To Mitigate Climate Change With Resilient Biobased Feedstocks, Salvador Ramirez Ii, Marty R. Schmer, Virginia L. Jin, Robert B. Mitchell, Catherine E. Stewart, Jay Parsons, Daren D. Redfearn, John J. Quinn, Gary E. Varvel, Kenneth P. Vogel, Ronald F. Follett

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Managing annual row crops on marginally productive croplands can be environmentally unsustainable and result in variable economic returns. Incorporating perennial bioenergy feedstocks into marginally productive cropland can engender ecosystem services and enhance climate resiliency while also diversifying farm incomes. We use one of the oldest bioenergy-specific field experiments in North America to evaluate economically and environmentally sustainable management practices for growing perennial grasses on marginal cropland. This long-term field trial called 9804 was established in 1998 in eastern Nebraska and compared the productivity and sustainability of corn (Zea mays L.)—both corn grain and corn stover—and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum …

Outpatient Fall Prevention In Ambulatory Adults 65 Years Old And Over, Dorothy L. Osborne-White

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Background: In the United States (U.S.), falls are the leading cause of injury among adults 65 and over, resulting in 36 million falls yearly (Moreland et al., 2020). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2023), one in four older adults experiences a fall each year. Falls are the world's second most prominent cause of accidental deaths (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021). Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries among older adults (Moreland et al., 2020).

Methods: A quality improvement project that included a fall bundle was implemented in a primary clinic. A …

A “War” Over Lobster And Whales: The Issue-Attention Cycle, Media Discourse, And Political Ecology Of Right Whale Science And Conservation In Six Us Newspapers, Marcus Reamer, Catherine Macdonald, Julia Wester, Russell Fielding, Meryl Shriver-Rice

Honors College Faculty Publications

News organizations and journalists are important and influential actors in environmental politics. Their reporting on social and environmental issues often follows issue-attention cycles (IACs) that emphasize drama and problematization to maintain public interest. This study examined nearly 13 years of news coverage to understand the media discourse about the Critically Endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW) and its conservation. Content analysis and critical discourse analysis were used to analyze 356 texts published in six large US newspapers between January 1, 2010 and March 15, 2023. NARW conservation and management received increased public attention and an IAC began in 2017 after …

Agricultural Groundcover Update December 2023, Justin Laycock

Natural resources published reports

Summary

• About 96% of the grainbelt had adequate vegetative groundcover (more than 50%) to prevent wind erosion in December 2023.
• In the northern half of the grainbelt, a larger-than-average area has 51–60% groundcover, which is expected to decrease to below 50% over the summer.
• Just under 4% of the grainbelt (553,000 ha) had less than 50% groundcover, which is inadequate to prevent wind erosion. West Midlands Ag Soil Zone had the highest risk of wind erosion and 11.4% of this farmland had inadequate groundcover.
• Less than 0.5% of the grainbelt had a high to very high risk of wind erosion …

Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Maize No-Till Agroecosystems In Southern Brazil Based On A Long-Term Experiment, Guilherme Rosa Da Silva, Adam J. Liska, Cimelio Bayer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Brazilian agriculture is constantly questioned concerning its environmental impacts, particularly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This research study used data from a 34-year field experiment to estimate the life cycle GHG emissions intensity of maize production for grain in farming systems under no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) combined with Gramineae (oat) and legume (vetch) cover crops in southern Brazil. We applied the Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator for modeling the “field-to-farm gate” emissions with measured annual soil N₂O and CH₄ emissions data. For net CO₂ emissions, increases in soil organic C (SOC) were applied as a proxy, …

A Tale Of Two Working Landscapes, Sage C. Sutcliffe

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Innovation And Practice On Biodiversity Conservation In Sanjiangyuan National Park, Xinquan Zhao, Shixiao Xu, Liang Zhao, Tongzuo Zhang, Linyong Hu, Qi Li, Tongqing Guo

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Sanjiangyuan National Park, is one of the first batch of national parks in China, and serves as the largest national park in China. As an important ecological security barrier and a alpine biological germplasm resource base, it has significant conservation value in China and even in the world. Lots of protocols have been taken aiming at ecological tacking protection issues including loss of biodiversity and wildlife habitats, degradation of alpine grassland and overgrazing in Sanjiangyuan National Park. It promotes the implementation of major ecological restoration projects, and has formed the Sanjiangyuan National Park Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Protection Program with …

An Innovative Restoration Mode “Macrophytes–Fishes–Benthons–Birds” Implemented In Aesthetic Plateau Wetlands, Junxing Yang, Xiaoai Wang, Xiaofu Pan, Yuanwe Zhang, Heqi Wu, Anli Wu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Affected by both increasing human activities and climate change, Yunnan Plateau lakes were faced with threats such as water level decreasing, water-body reducing, and severe pollution. Many indigenous species were endangered or even disappeared. The ecological restorations implemented since 1980s almost all used alien species. As an inevitable result, severe negative impacts from alien species were observed on the Plateau wetland ecosystem and indigenous species. To solve these problems, with the support of relevant projects, an innovative restoration mode mainly with indigenous flag-species “macrophytes – fishes – benthons – birds” was proposed. This innovative mode was implemented respectively in Dianchi …

Conception On Asian Elephant Ecological Corridor Planning With Implications For Conservation, Xueyou Li, Qiupeng Yu, Zhechang Hu, Xuelong Jiang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In order to practice the concept of coordinated development of “Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains are Invaluable Assets” and “mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts are part of the community of life”, this study takes “pursuing green development and promoting harmony between humanity and nature” proposed in the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China as the theoretical guidance. With the goal of enhancing ecosystem integrity and connectivity, enhancing population communication, enhancing population viability, and providing a model for the construction of ecological corridors for flagship species, based on the current distribution and …