Agricultural Cropland Research Articles

Conflict bear translocation: investigating population genetics and fate of bear translocation in Dachigam National Park, Jammu and Kashmir, India.

The Asiatic black bear population in Dachigam landscape, Jammu and Kashmir is well recognized as one of the highest density bear populations in India. Increasing incidences of bear-human interactions and the resultant retaliatory killings by locals have become a serious threat to the survivorship of black bears in the Dachigam landscape. The Department of Wildlife Protection in Jammu and Kashmir has been translocating bears involved in conflicts, henceforth ‘conflict bears’ from different sites in Dachigam landscape to Dachigam National Park as a flagship activity to mitigate conflicts. We undertook this study to investigate the population genetics and the fate of bear translocation in Dachigam National Park. We identified 109 unique genotypes in an area of ca. 650 km2 and observed bear population under panmixia that showed sound genetic variability. Molecular tracking of translocated bears revealed that mostly bears (7 out of 11 bears) returned to their capture sites, possibly due to homing instincts or habituation to the high quality food available in agricultural croplands and orchards, while only four bears remained in Dachigam National Park after translocation. Results indicated that translocation success was most likely to be season dependent as bears translocated during spring and late autumn returned to their capture sites, perhaps due to the scarcity of food inside Dachigam National Park while bears translocated in summer remained in Dachigam National Park due to availability of surplus food resources. Thus, the current management practices of translocating conflict bears, without taking into account spatio-temporal variability of food resources in Dachigam landscape seemed to be ineffective in mitigating conflicts on a long-term basis. However, the study highlighted the importance of molecular tracking of bears to understand their movement patterns and socio-biology in tough terrains like Dachigam landscape.

Building of geo-spatial data model for tea agricultural crop-lands compliance with LPIS Core Model (LCM) based land administration domain standards

In the worldwide within the context of the agricultural development policies some agricultural crops are qualified as specialty agricultural crops having important leading effects on (i) food security, (ii) livelihood security and (iii) agricultural and rural development. So, in this paper, based on these criterias and because of having strategic position on national and regional agricultural development and growing under state guarantee in related countries tea agricultural crop is expected to specify as specialty agricultural crop in agricultural world today. But there is no more initiative for development of well-designed sustainable cropping systems and also for infrastructure of geo-spatial data management and tools for tea agricultural crop and cropping process as well. Thus, firstly, there is an increasing need and growing interest through providing insights in underlying drivers for tea agriculture with all facilities and actions. One of these drivers is to enable management framework of tea agricultural croplands and cropping assessment. Secondly, to determination and registration of land use rights, restrictions and responsibilities (RRR) on these croplands in a legal framework, the spatial data or spatial data management collaboration with land administration domains is required as a major tool for enabling both sustainable land management and spatial data infrastructure to enable spatial land use planning for tea agricultural crop-lands. At the last, it is also sounded as development the production to consumption management schema for tea agricultural cropping with all applications and practices. So, in this paper, it is built geo-spatial data model for tea agricultural crops and crop-lands both as a specialization of Specialty Agricultural Model and also as component of Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) Core Model (LCM) based on Land Administration Domain Model (LADM). As a result for sustainable global tea agricultural croplands management, it is expected to integrate this model with the standards of Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) and Turkey National Geographical Information System (TUCBS) as well.

Soil organic carbon as a factor in passive microwave retrievals of soil water content over agricultural croplands

Remote sensing has the potential to deliver global soil water content (SWC) on vast scales with frequent revisit times for progress in the fields of climate, weather forecasting, agriculture and hydrology. Although surface roughness, vegetation and soil texture have been established as sources of variability in passive microwave interpretation, soil organic carbon (SOC) has not typically been considered as a factor that affects SWC estimation during field sampling campaigns. SOC was observed along with soil texture and bulk density during the Soil Moisture Active Passive Validation Experiment in 2012 (SMAPVEX12), the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite algorithm development field sampling campaign held June 6 to July 19 in Southern Manitoba, Canada. Aerial measurements from the PALS (Passive Active L-band System) instrument were recorded over agricultural fields and forest areas from aircraft while SWC was measured simultaneously on the ground with resistance probes on 17 sampling dates. Additionally, fields were sampled for surface roughness, vegetation growth and water content, soil and vegetation temperature and soil physical characteristics. A soil core was collected on each field each sampling time to assess bulk density, soil particle size and SOC. SOC accounted for more variability in the anomalies between PALS and ground sampled SWC than sand, clay or bulk density, although all soil variables explained significant variability. With analysis by partial least squares multiple regression over 11 sampling dates and 39 fields where both ground and PALS data were well represented, only SOC contributed significantly to the regression of SWC beyond the variance all soil variables had in common. The significance of SOC in the relative SWC anomalies was highest in very wet and very dry conditions and in loam soil over all sampling dates, while bulk density was more significant in sand soils. This analysis suggests SOC is a simple variable that incorporates multiple aspects of soil hydrology and may improve the algorithms for remotely sensing estimation of SWC in various landscapes.

Quantifying the completeness of and correspondence between two historical maps: a case study from nineteenth-century Palestine

ABSTRACTReconstructing past landscapes from historical maps requires quantifying the accuracy and completeness of these sources. The accuracy and completeness of two historical maps of the same period covering the same area in Israel were examined: the 1:63,360 British Palestine Exploration Fund map (1871–1877) and the 1:100,000 French Levés en Galilée (LG) map (1870). These maps cover the mountainous area of the Galilee (northern Israel), a region with significant natural and topographical diversity, and a long history of human presence. Land-cover features from both maps, as well as the contours drawn on the LG map, were digitized. The overall correspondence between land-cover features shown on both maps was 59% and we found that the geo-referencing method employed (transformation type and source of control points) did not significantly affect these correspondence measures. Both maps show that in the 1870s, 35% of the Galilee was covered by Mediterranean maquis, with less than 8% of the area used for permanent agricultural cropland (e.g., plantations). This article presents how the reliability of the maps was assessed by using two spatial historical sources, and how land-cover classes that were mapped with lower certainty and completeness are identified. Some of the causes that led to observed differences between the maps, including mapping scale, time of year, and the interests of the surveyors, are also identified.

Cropland expansion outpaces agricultural and biofuel policies in the United States

Cultivation of corn and soybeans in the United States reached record high levels following the biofuels boom of the late 2000s. Debate exists about whether the expansion of these crops caused conversion of grasslands and other carbon-rich ecosystems to cropland or instead replaced other crops on existing agricultural land. We tracked crop-specific expansion pathways across the conterminous US and identified the types, amount, and locations of all land converted to and from cropland, 2008–2012. We found that crop expansion resulted in substantial transformation of the landscape, including conversion of long-term unimproved grasslands and land that had not been previously used for agriculture (cropland or pasture) dating back to at least the early 1970s. Corn was the most common crop planted directly on new land, as well as the largest indirect contributor to change through its displacement of other crops. Cropland expansion occurred most rapidly on land that is less suitable for cultivation, raising concerns about adverse environmental and economic costs of conversion. Our results reveal opportunities to increase the efficacy of current federal policy conservation measures by modifying coverage of the 2014 US Farm Bill Sodsaver provision and improving enforcement of the US Renewable Fuels Standard.

Cropland/pastureland dynamics and the slowdown of deforestation in Latin America

Latin America has the planet’s largest land reserves for agriculture and had the most rapid agricultural expansion during the twenty-first century. A large portion of the expansion replaced forests, as shown by many local and regional studies. However, expansion varied regionally and also replaced other land covers. Further, it is important to distinguish between changes in cropland and pastureland as they produce food at different levels of efficiency and intensity. We used thirteen years (2001–2013) of MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer satellite imagery to characterize cropland and pastureland expansion at multiple scales across Latin America. From 2001 to 2013, 17% of new cropland and 57% of new pastureland replaced forests throughout Latin America. Cropland expansion from 2001 to 2013 was less (44.27 Mha) than pastureland (96.9 Mha), but 44% of the 2013 cropland total was new cropland, versus 27% of the 2013 pastureland total, revealing higher regional expansion rates of row crop agriculture. The majority of cropland expansion was into pastureland within core agricultural regions of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. On the contrary, pastureland largely expanded at frontiers, such as central Brazil, western Paraguay, and northern Guatemala. As others have suggested, regional agriculture is strongly influenced by globalization. Indeed, we find an overall decrease in agricultural expansion after 2007, coinciding with the global economic slowdown. The results illustrate agricultural cropland and pastureland expansion across Latin America is largely segregated, and emphasize the importance of distinguishing between the two agricultural systems, as they vary in land use intensity and efficiency.

Increase in surface albedo caused by agricultural plastic film

AbstractThe area of agricultural greenhouses and cropland covered by plastic film has increased in China over the past three decades. Construction of large‐area plastic greenhouse potentially changes the physical and radiative properties of the surface and its albedo, thereby potentially affecting the surface energy budget and climate change. This study aims to investigate the effect of the plastic‐film cover on surface albedo based on computations with a simplified model and several field observation experiments. The results showed that surface albedo increased by ∼23.5 and ∼33.9% on clear and overcast days, respectively, if grassland was covered by plastic film. Surface albedo of bare soil covered by plastic film increased by ∼16.6% under clear sky conditions. A larger increase in surface albedo was derived for surface types with smaller surface albedo. Model calculations were in good agreement with field observations.

Agro-hydrologic landscapes in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River basins.

A critical part of increasing conservation effectiveness is targeting the "right practice" to the "right place" where it can intercept pollutant flowpaths. Conceptually, these flowpaths can be inferred from soil and slope characteristics, and in this study, we developed an agro-hydrologic classification to identify N and P loss pathways and priority conservation practices in small watersheds in the U.S. Midwest. We developed a GIS framework to classify 11,010 small watersheds in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River basins based on soil permeability and slope characteristics of agricultural cropland areas in each watershed. The amount of cropland in any given watershed varied from <10 to >60 %. Cropland areas were classified into five main categories, with slope classes of <2, 2-5, and >5 %, and soil drainage classes of poorly and well drained. Watersheds in the Upper Mississippi River basin (UMRB) were dominated by cropland areas in low slopes and poorly drained soils, whereas less-intensively cropped watersheds in Wisconsin and Minnesota (in the UMRB) and throughout the Ohio River basin were overwhelmingly well drained. Hydrologic differences in cropped systems indicate that a one-size-fits-all approach to conservation selection will not work. Consulting the classification scheme proposed herein may be an appropriate first-step in identifying those conservation practices that might be most appropriate for small watersheds in the basin.

Sediment source apportionment in Laurel Hill Creek, PA, using Bayesian chemical mass balance and isotope fingerprinting

AbstractA Bayesian chemical mass balance (CMB) approach was used to assess the contribution of potential sources for fluvial samples from Laurel Hill Creek in southwest Pennsylvania. The Bayesian approach provides joint probability density functions of the sources' contributions considering the uncertainties due to source and fluvial sample heterogeneity and measurement error. Both elemental profiles of sources and fluvial samples and13C and15N isotopes were used for source apportionment. The sources considered include stream bank erosion, forest, roads and agriculture (pasture and cropland). Agriculture was found to have the largest contribution, followed by stream bank erosion. Also, road erosion was found to have a significant contribution in three of the samples collected during lower‐intensity rain events. The source apportionment was performed with and without isotopes. The results were largely consistent; however, the use of isotopes was found to slightly increase the uncertainty in most of the cases. The correlation analysis between the contributions of sources shows strong correlations between stream bank and agriculture, whereas roads and forest seem to be less correlated to other sources. Thus, the method was better able to estimate road and forest contributions independently. The hypothesis that the contributions of sources are not seasonally changing was tested by assuming that all ten fluvial samples had the same source contributions. This hypothesis was rejected, demonstrating a significant seasonal variation in the sources of sediments in the stream. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Maize yield response to a phosphorus-solubilizing microbial inoculant in field trials.

Findings from multi-year, multi-site field trial experiments measuring maize yield response to inoculation with the phosphorus-solubilizing fungus, Penicillium bilaiae Chalabuda are presented. The main objective was to evaluate representative data on crop response to the inoculant across a broad set of different soil, agronomic management and climate conditions. A statistical analysis of crop yield response and its variability was conducted to guide further implementation of a stratified trial and sampling plan. Field trials, analysed in the present study, were conducted across the major maize producing agricultural cropland of the United States (2005-11) comprising 92 small (with sampling replication) and 369 large (without replication) trials. The multi-plot design enabled both a determination of how sampling area affects the estimation of maize yield and yield variance and an estimation of the ability of inoculation with P. bilaiae to increase maize yield. Inoculation increased maize yield in 66 of the 92 small and 295 of the 369 large field trials (within the small plots, yield increased significantly at the 95% confidence level, by 0·17 ± 0·044 t/ha or 1·8%, while in the larger plots, yield increases were higher and less variable (i.e., 0·33 ± 0·026 t/ha or 3·5%). There was considerable inter-annual variability in maize yield response attributed to inoculation compared to the un-inoculated control, with yield increases varying from 0·7 ± 0·75 up to 3·7 ± 0·73%. No significant correlation between yield response and soil acidity (i.e., pH) was detected, and it appears that pH reduction (through organic acid or proton efflux) was unlikely to be the primary pathway for better phosphorus availability measured as increased yield. Seed treatment and granular or dribble band formulations of the inoculant were found to be equally effective. Inoculation was most effective at increasing maize yield in fields that had low or very low soil phosphorus status for both small and large plots. At higher levels of soil phosphorus, yield in the large plots increased more with inoculation than in the small plots, which could be explained by phosphorus fertilization histories for the different field locations, as well as transient (e.g., rainfall) and topographic effects.

Evaluating Abiotic Influences on Soil Salinity of Inland Managed Wetlands and Agricultural Croplands in a Semi-Arid Environment

Agriculture and moist-soil management are important management techniques used on wildlife refuges to provide adequate energy for migrant waterbirds. In semi-arid systems, the accumulation of soluble salts throughout the soil profile can limit total production of wetland plants and agronomic crops and thus jeopardize meeting waterbird energy needs. This study evaluates the effect of distinct hydrologic regimes associated with moist-soil management and agricultural production on salt accumulation in a semi-arid floodplain. We hypothesized that the frequency of flooding and quantity of floodwater in a moist-soil management hydroperiod results in a less saline soil profile compared to profiles under traditional agricultural management. Findings showed that agricultural croplands differed (p-value < 0.001, df = 9) in quantities of total soluble salts (TSS) compared to moist-soil impoundments and contained greater concentrations (TSS range = 1,160–1,750 (mg kg-1)) at depth greater than 55 cm below the surface of the profile, while moist-soil impoundments contained lower concentrations (TSS range = 307–531 (mg kg-1)) at the same depths. Increased salts in agricultural may be attributed to the lack of leaching afforded by smaller summer irrigations while larger periodic flooding events in winter and summer flood irrigations in moist-soil impoundments may serve as leaching events.

Cost-Effective Targeting for Reducing Soil Erosion in a Large Agricultural Watershed

Erosion of agricultural croplands is a significant contributor of sedimentation to reservoirs. Here, physiographic and economic models for a large agricultural watershed (2377 square miles with 27 subwatersheds) are integrated for the reduction of sedimentation of one Midwestern reservoir. Sediment reduction and the cost-effectiveness of three agricultural best management practices (no-till, filter strip, and permanent vegetation) implementation were considered under three modeling scenarios: random assignment; the globally most cost-effective approach; and a cost-effective targeting approach. This study demonstrates how physiographic and economic data can be harnessed to yield readily comprehendible cost-effective targeting maps. Cost-effective targeting may be preferable to watershed managers for its “user-friendliness” without too great a sacrifice of the globally most cost-efficient solution.

Agriculture's Contribution to Nitrate Contamination of Californian Groundwater (1945-2005).

Nitrogen (N) use in intensive agriculture can degrade groundwater resources. However, considerable time lags between groundwater recharge and extraction complicate source attribution and remedial responses. We construct a historic N mass balance of two agricultural regions of California to understand trends and drivers of past and present N loading to groundwater (1945-2005). Changes in groundwater N loading result from historic changes in three factors: the extent of agriculture (cropland area and livestock herd increased 120 and 800%, respectively), the intensity of agriculture (synthetic and manure waste effluent N input rates increased by 525 and 1500%, respectively), and the efficiency of agriculture (crop and milk production per unit of N input increased by 25 and 19%, respectively). The net consequence has been a greater-than-order-of-magnitude increase in nitrate (NO) loading over the time period, with 163 Gg N yr now being leached to groundwater from approximately 1.3 million ha of farmland (not including alfalfa [ L.]). Meeting safe drinking water standards would require NO leaching reductions of over 70% from current levels through reductions in excess manure applications, which accounts for nearly half of all groundwater N loading, and through synthetic N management improvements. This represents a broad challenge given current economic and technical conditions of California farming if farm productivity is to be maintained. The findings illustrate the growing tension-characteristic of agricultural regions globally-between intensifying food, feed, fiber, and biofuel production and preserving clean water.

Combined use of multi-seasonal high and medium resolution satellite imagery for parcel-related mapping of cropland and grassland

A key factor in the implementation of productive and sustainable cultivation procedures is the frequent and area-wide monitoring of cropland and grassland. In particular, attention is focused on assessing the actual status, identifying basic trends and mitigating major threats with respect to land-use intensity and its changes in agricultural and semi-natural areas. Here, multi-seasonal analyses based on satellite Earth Observation (EO) data can provide area-wide, spatially detailed and up-to-date geo-information on the distribution and intensity of land use in agricultural and grassland areas. This study introduces an operational, application-oriented approach towards the categorization of agricultural cropland and grassland based on a novel scheme combining multi-resolution EO data with ancillary geo-information available from currently existing databases. In this context, multi-seasonal high (HR) and medium resolution (MR) satellite imagery is used for both a land parcel-based determination of crop types as well as a cropland and grassland differentiation, respectively. In our experimental analysis, two HR IRS-P6 LISS-3 images are first employed to delineate the field parcels in potential agricultural and grassland areas (determined according to the German Official Topographic Cartographic Information System – ATKIS). Next, a stack of seasonality indices is generated based on 5 image acquisitions (i.e., the two LISS scenes and three additional IRS-P6 AWiFS scenes). Finally, a C5.0 tree classifier is applied to identify main crop types and grassland based on the input imagery and the derived seasonality indices. The classifier is trained using sample points provided by the European Land Use/Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS). Experimental results for a test area in Germany assess the effectiveness of the proposed approach and demonstrate that a multi-scale and multi-temporal analysis of satellite data can provide spatially detailed and thematically accurate geo-information on crop types and the cropland-grassland distribution, respectively.

Wood Bioenergy and Land Use: A Challenge to the Searchinger Hypothesis

Abstract A concern of many environmentalists is that the use of biomass energy will decimate the forests. Searchinger et al. examined this issue related to corn ethanol and suggested that substituting corn ethanol for petroleum would increase carbon emissions associated with the land conversion abroad necessary to offset the decline in corn availability.1,2 Associated with these concerns is the overall issue of climate change.3 This issue is broader than simply corn. If agricultural croplands are drawn into the production of biofuel feedstocks, commodity prices are expected to rise, triggering land conversions overseas, releasing carbon emissions, and offsetting the carbon reductions expected from bioenergy. Using a general stylized forest sector management model, our study examines the economic potential of traditional industrial forests and supplemental dedicated fuelwood plantations to produce biomass on submarginal lands. It finds that these sources can economically produce large levels of biomass wit...

Wood Bioenergy and Land Use: A Challenge to the Searchinger Hypothesis

A concern of many environmentalists is that the use of biomass energy will decimate the forests. Searchinger et al. (2008, 2009) examined this issue related to corn ethanol and suggested that substituting corn ethanol for petroleum would increase carbon emissions associated with the land conversion abroad necessary to offset the decline in corn availability. Associated with these concerns is the overall issue of climate change (IPCC 2006). This issue is broader than simply corn. If agricultural croplands are drawn into the production of biofuel feedstocks, commodity prices are expected to rise, triggering land conversions overseas, releasing carbon emissions, and offsetting the carbon reductions expected from bioenergy. Using a general stylized forest sector management model, our study examines the economic potential of traditional industrial forests and supplemental dedicated fuelwood plantations to produce biomass on submarginal lands. It finds that these sources can economically produce large levels of biomass without compromising crop production, thereby mitigating the land conversion and carbon emissions effects posited by the Searchinger Hypothesis.

Exurban Development and Landscape Diversification in a Mediterranean Suburban Area

This study explores the relationship between landscape diversification and exurban development in a mono-centric compact urban region in transition toward a more diffused (and possibly polycentric) form. Based on the spatial distribution of seven land-use classes derived from comparable digital maps for 1975, 1990, 2000 and 2009, a spatial analysis integrated with correlation and multivariate statistical techniques was developed to verify if exurban development influenced landscape composition and structure in Attica, the region where Athens, the capital of Greece, is located. Results showed the different land-use distributions before and after dispersed urban expansion. Both urban areas and bare land increased rapidly during the last 35 years with implications for landscape quality and diversity. To the contrary, rainfed cropland and sparsely vegetated areas experienced the highest probability to edification. At the regional scale, the landscape diversification index decreased weakly over time while increasing the positive correlation with the distance from the city center. As an indirect effect of dispersed urbanization, the highest contribution to landscape diversity came from forests and natural areas and from the agricultural mosaic and cropland respectively in 1975 and 2009. The analysis illustrates how containing changes in land-use can be a target for policies mitigating landscape fragmentation in expanding urban regions.

Cropland management versus dredging: An economic analysis of reservoir sediment management

Erosion of agricultural cropland has been identified as a major source of sediment accumulating in water reservoirs. Emphasis is increasingly on finding the most cost-effective ways to control soil erosion to reduce reservoir sedimentation. In this study, biophysical and economic models for the Tuttle Creek Lake watershed in northeastern Kansas were integrated to determine if implementation of alternative cropland management strategies to reduce reservoir sediment are more cost-effective than dredging. In the Tuttle Creek Lake watershed, we found that if the marginal costs of agricultural best management practices (BMP) implementation become >$6.90/t of sediment reduction, then dredging becomes the economically preferred alternative. Meeting this cost requires that BMP in the form of filter strips and no-till cultivation are implemented in a targeted, cost-effective manner, not in a random pattern of voluntary adoption that may characterize BMP adoption in some watersheds. Although reservoir dredging is clearly expensive, our results show that it is not entirely cost-prohibitive on an annualized per unit basis.

A multistage irrigation water allocation model for agricultural land-use planning under uncertainty

In practical agricultural water management problems, fluctuating water availabilities and demands, varying crop yields and economic profits, as well as changing irrigation patterns in both temporal and spatial scales are challenged decision makers. These challenges are being further compounded by rapid socioeconomic development associated with increased food requirement and decreased resources accessibility. A multistage irrigation water allocation (MIWA) model is developed for agricultural water management and cropland use planning in response to such complexities. The MIWA model is derived from incorporating interval parameters within a multistage stochastic programming (MSP) framework, such that uncertainties expressed as interval parameters and probability distributions can be tackled, and the real-time dynamic irrigation water management can be conducted. It can also support the analysis of various policy scenarios that are associated with different levels of economic consequences when the pre-regulated crop targets are violated over a multistage context. The MIWA model is then applied to a real case of planning agricultural water management and cropland use pattern in Zhangweinan River Basin, which is one of the driest regions in China and faces serious water scarcity. Solutions of irrigation targets for multiple crops as well as actual water-allocation patterns in different growth stages can help determine optimized water and land use in agricultural system, which could hedge appropriately against future available water levels in more profitable and sustainable ways.

The Habitat Use and Home Range Analysis of Dunlin (Calidris alpina) in Chongming Dongtan, China and their Conservation Implications

Natural coastal wetlands are important habitats for shorebirds while flooded agricultural croplands, may also be useful habitats. Shorebirds in East Asia utilize an often highly developed coastal landscape, which may be dissected by seawalls with intertidal flats on the seaward side, and aquaculture ponds and agricultural croplands on the landward side. Little is known about the value of aquaculture ponds to shorebirds. We investigated the habitat use, preference and home range of wintering Dunlin (Calidris alpina) in Chongming Dongtan, east China, through radio tracking and field observations in 2006–2007. Our results indicated that Dunlins preferred tidal flats, avoided agricultural croplands, and used aquaculture ponds in proportion to their availability. The probability of Dunlin usage of aquacultural ponds decreased with increasing size of unflooded area in the aquaculture ponds. Dunlins foraging in aquaculture ponds had lower feeding success rate than those in tidal flats. Thus, tidal flats may provide important foraging habitats for wintering Dunlins, while aquaculture ponds may provide alternative roosting and supplemental foraging habitat. Conserving the natural wetlands on tidal flats is vital for shorebird conservation in East Asia but at the same time, the aquaculture ponds also could play an important role if managed properly.