Demand For Arable Land Research Articles

Landscape ecological risk assessment study of the Yunnan section of the Tropic of Cancer

Natural landscapes constitute a vital component of ecosystems, and their stability and diversity are essential in maintaining regional ecosystem functions. The scientific and rational assessment of ecological risks in regional landscapes is crucial for activities such as ecosystem security evaluation, optimization of ecosystem function zoning, and establishment of landscape security patterns. We focused on the Yunnan section of the Tropic of Cancer, employing Landsat 8 remote sensing data to categorize landscape types and construct ecological risk indices. Using software platforms such as ArcGIS, GEE, and Fragstats4.2, an evaluation and spatial characteristics analysis of the ecological risk in the Yunnan section of the Tropic of Cancer was conducted, yielding the following findings: ① The overall level of ecological risk within the Yunnan section of the Tropic of Cancer is relatively low. The lower ecological risk zone covers an area of 19,100.35 km2, accounting for 34.09 % of the total study area, while the higher ecological risk zone spans 2,032.91 km2, constituting only 3.63 % of the total study area. ② Landscape types in areas of lower and low ecological risk are predominantly characterized by woodland landscapes, comprising 90.93 % and 62.19 %, respectively. Conversely, areas with high ecological risk and higher ecological risk are dominated by cultivated land, representing 67.75 % and 95.61 %, respectively. This underscores the importance of strengthening forestry development and controlling the expansion of cultivated land to mitigate regional landscape ecological risks. ③Regions with higher ecological risks in the landscape are primarily in the northwestern part of Yanshan County, the southern part of Gengma County, and the northern part of Wenshan city. These areas are susceptible to the impacts of intense farming, extreme weather, and the karst geological environment. In contrast, regions with high ecological risks are in the central and eastern parts of Mojiang County, the western part of Yanshan County, and the northern part of Wenshan city. These areas are mostly influenced by urban economic development, extensive construction projects leading to deforestation and grassland degradation, and the substantial demand for arable land due to a significant population increase. ④ The spatial pattern of ecological risk in the Yunnan section of the Tropic of Cancer, as indicated by Moran's I index, is positive and exceeds 0.6. The Z score significantly surpasses the reference value of 2.58, with p < 0.01. This indicates a strong degree of spatial autocorrelation and a high positive correlation in the spatial distribution characteristics.

Food Security and Land Use under Sustainable Development Goals: Insights from Food Supply to Demand Side and Limited Arable Land in China.

The conflict between economic growth and the arable land demand poses a significant challenge to maintaining food security and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Meanwhile, substantial regional disparities in food consumption contribute to variations in land demand, further exacerbating constraints on food security. However, few studies have delved into regional differences in land demand related to food consumption. To bridge these gaps, this study estimated the arable land demand and associated pressures, considering food consumption patterns and the land footprint across 31 provincial districts in China. The findings reveal that grains remain the primary crop consumed by Chinese residents. Notably, the food consumption pattern exhibits substantial disparities among provincial districts, particularly concerning livestock products. Given China's vast population and escalating consumption of livestock, the country demonstrates heightened land demands. While China does not face a national-level food security threat, regional disparities are evident, with eight provincial districts facing potential food security risks. This study explored the challenges and pathways in maintaining food security and the visions to achieve it, emphasizing the importance of sustaining a balanced food consumption pattern, reducing food waste, improving environmentally friendly agriculture practices, formulating effective and continuous laws and regulations, and exploring potential land resource development to alleviate the pressure on arable land and ensure food security.

Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Agroforestry Tree and Shrub Species Diversity on Small-Scale Farms in Kisumu County, Kenya

Kenya is one of the developing countries experiencing rise in demand for arable land and tree products. This has led to the scarcity of available land for productive agriculture. To improve this situation, agroforestry technologies have been assimilated in many regions in Kenya. However, at the local level in Kisumu County, agroforestry technologies are yet to be adopted effectively for agrobiodiversity improvement. This study therefore sought to determine the socio-economic factors influencing the diversity of tree and shrub species of agroforestry on the small-scale farms in Kisumu West Sub-county. Descriptive research was undertaken and respondents were selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. Use of questionnaire instruments together with Key Informant Interviews were employed to 404 household heads and forest officers respectively in Kisumu West Sub-county. Inventory data of tree species was conducted on each of the sampled farm plots and together with the questionnaire data; Microsoft Excel and SPSS software were used for exploratory statistics, tree diversity measurement, chi-square and regression analysis tests. Diversity of agroforestry tree species was analysed using Shannon-Wiener Index. The results showed that the most abundant tree species were Eucalyptus spp and Grevillea robusta. The overall Shannon-Wiener Index was 1.9311 which was regarded as very low. In the study, there was a significant positive relationship between gender, level of education completed by household head, household size and the species diversity. In addition, there was a significant positive relationship between farm size and species diversity. The study recommends that information on socio-cultural factors such as education and gender, in addition to economic factors such as the farm size, that influence diversity should be a priority to the development partners and even to the local communities

Detection of Land Use and Land Cover Change in Jammu District using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

Abstract: Jammu District has under gone a massive change in its land use and land cover in last 30 years. It has grown 2.5 times in its population in past 3 decades and simultaneously the infrastructure supporting the population growth has increased altering the overall land cover. With the growing population the demand for arable land, infrastructure development, land resource management becomes an obligation for effective optimization of resources and policy formulation and implementation. In this research the land use land cover change detection and analysis in last 30 years from 1993 to 2023 is attempted for the first time. The classification is achieved by supervised image classification of Landsat 5 and Landsat 9 Level 1 imagery acquired from USGS. The classification scheme is developed for five classes viz. Water Bodies, Built-Up Area, Agriculture, Barren Land and Forests. Change detected is -3% for water bodies, +5% for built-up area, +29 % for agricultural land, -22% for barren land, -9% for forest cover. The percentages are calculated of the total area. The overall accuracy is maintained at 87% for year 1993 and 78% for year 2023.

Archetypes of remnant West African forest patches, their main characteristics and geographical distribution

Remnant West African forest patches provide crucial ecosystem functions and services while contributing to sustaining the livelihoods of vast numbers of people. The vast majority lie outside of protected areas, although relatively few are managed as sacred forests, which limits their access and use. This lack of protection, together with a growing demand for arable land and forest resources, have accentuated their fragmentation, degradation, and deforestation. There is therefore an urgent need to generate knowledge on their social-ecological characteristics and change pressures to support their conservation. This study investigates what are i) the main biophysical and social-ecological characteristics of remnant forest patches, and ii) the potential change pressures and drivers. Within this scope, we apply archetype analysis to discern processes affecting remnant forest patches. Biophysical and socio-ecological indicators were selected from a published dataset via expert consultation, and nine archetypes were developed by applying a cluster analysis. Evaluating the results in relation to ecoregions and landscape features using high resolution imagery, we identify common underlying social-ecological change pressures and characteristics. The most common archetype (2) is characterized by being close to protected areas and having a low average annual precipitation and cluster along the northern fringe of the study area. The second most common archetype (5) is characterized by lying in highly disturbed landscapes, having undergone biomass losses, and widely distributed throughout central and western Nigeria. Patches of archetype 8 found predominantly in mangrove and swamp forests, exhibit positive above-ground biomass changes and greening trends; we propose that these vegetation changes could benefit conservation measures and carbon sequestration programs. In contrast, archetype 10 patches show both forest and biomass losses and gains and are often encompass fragmented forests in urban/arable landscapes. Identifying such common patterns of anthropogenic and ecological change provides a means of prioritizing regionalized strategies for their conservation and sustainable use.

Influence of farmers’ socio-economic characteristics on nutrient flow and implications for system sustainability in smallholdings: a review

The rise in global human population, coupled with the effects of climate change, has increased the demand for arable land. Soil fertility has been the most affected, among other things. Many approaches to soil fertility management have been proposed by studies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA); however, the question of sustainability remains. Nutrient monitoring (NUTMON), which combines biophysical and socio-economic features for soil fertility management, gives an in-situ soil fertility status of a given land use system, which ultimately provides guidance in proposing appropriate soil management techniques in a given land use system. In this review, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) approach was deployed for a systematic search of the literature materials. The review evaluated various studies on nutrient monitoring in SSA soils in order to understand the socioeconomic attributes and their influence on farming systems, as well as nutrient flow and balances. The review identified two dominant smallholder farming systems in SSA: mixed crop-livestock and mixed crop farming systems. Also, this review revealed that most nutrient balance studies in SSA have been done in mixed crop and livestock farming systems. However, regardless of the farming systems, the overall mean nutrient balances in all studies, particularly those of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K), were negative, indicating significant nutrient mining. The review further revealed a vast range of biophysical soil fertility management technologies; however, their adoption has been limited by socio-economic aspects including land ownership, gender, financial position, literacy level, and access to inputs. Therefore, in view of this situation, integrating biophysical and socioeconomic disciplines could address the problem of soil nutrient depletion holistically, thus decreasing the existing negative nutrient balances in the SSA region.

Analysis of the Balance between Supply and Demand of Arable Land in China Based on Food Security

Arable land is the natural resource of food production, plays a key role in safe guarding people’s livelihood, maintaining social stability, and ecological balance. In the context of the great challenge of rapid loss of arable land and rapid growth of food demand due to rapid socio-economic development, scientific forecasting of arable land demand and supply, can clarify the conservation pressure of regional arable land, provide a reference for formulating effective arable land policies, and ensuring regional food security and sustainable development. Therefore, with the help of system dynamics model and Gray-Markov model, this study predicts and analyzes the balance of arable land supply and demand in China, and reached the following conclusions. (1) During the projection period, with the continuous development of living standards and agricultural technology, both per capita food demand and food production show an upward trend. However, the combined effects of changes in diet structure and grain yields on changes in arable land demand are smaller than those brought about by population changes. Therefore, the trend of arable land demand is similar to that of population change, and the arable land demand in China reaches a peak of 112.78 million hm2 in 2026. (2) The amount of arable land possession is always greater than the amount of arable land replenishment, and the arable land supply area shows a continuous decreasing trend, and the arable land supply in China is 127.16 million hm2 in 2035. (3) China’s supply holdings are all able to meet the demand of China’s arable land, but combined with existing studies, it is insufficient to meet the demand of crop rotation fallow between 2023 and 2030, which is not conducive to sustainable development. In the future, arable land protection policies should be comprehensively improved and strictly implemented to ensure national food security and achieve sustainable use of arable land.

The new abnormal: Identifying and ranking anomalies in the land trade market.

Large-scale national and transnational commercial land transactions, or Large-Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs), have been gaining a lot of academic attention since the late 2000s and since the reported rush for land, resulting in turn from an increase in demand for arable land. If many data exist to characterize land deals, the analysis of investment networks remain limited and predominantly portrays power asymmetries between countries from the Global North investing in the Global South. The aim of this work is to perform a deeper investigation on the land trade market, specifically focusing on cases that do not follow such narratives. For instance, almost 25% of the countries included in the transnational land trade network do not follow a strict investor/target dichotomy, thus being characterized by a double role, i.e., they both acquire and cede land in the transnational context. In order to globally acknowledge for what was currently considered as abnormal cases, we model open access data about LSLAs extracted from the Land Matrix Initiative (LMI) open-access database into a network graph, and adapt an eigenvector based centrality method originally conceived for online social networks, namely LurkerRank, to identify and rank anomalous profiles in the land trade market. We take into account three different network snapshots: a multi-sector network (including all the transnational deals in the LMI database), and three networks referring to specific investment sectors (agriculture,mines and biofuels). Experimental results show that emerging economies (e.g., China and Malaysia) play a central role in the land trade market, by creating alternative dynamics that escape the classic North/South one. Our analyses also show how African countries that are often seen as targets of land trade transactions in a specific sector, may often acquire foreign land in the context of investments in the same sector (i.e., Zimbabwe for biofuels and the Democratic Republic of Congo for the mining sector).

Arable land and water footprints for food consumption in China: From the perspective of urban and rural dietary change.

Since the adoption of the open-door policy, the Chinese dietary pattern has changed greatly. Based on the dietary changes, this study analyzed the arable land and water footprints (WFs) for the food consumption of urban and rural residents in China. The results showed that the arable land demand and WFs for meat, vegetable oil, soybeans and liquor exceeded those for other foods, and the per capita arable land and WFs for food consumption of urban residents were higher than those of rural residents. The total arable land and WFs for the food consumption of residents increased by 16.9 million ha (from 91.1 to 108 million ha) and 214.5 billion m3 (from 457.9 to 672.4 billion m3), respectively, from 1983 to 2017. Specifically, the total arable land and WFs for the food consumption of urban residents increased by 45.9 million hm2 (from 22.6 to 68.5 million hm2) and 318.3 billion m3 (from 113.2 to 431.5 billion m3), respectively. Additionally, those of rural residents decreased by 29.7 million hm2 (from 69.2 to 39.5 million hm2) and 103.9 billion m3 (344.8 to 240.9 billion m3), respectively, mainly due to the migration of the rural population to cities and the reductions in per capita arable land and WFs due to increased crop yields. The arable land and blue WFs required for food consumption will reach 127.7 million hm2 and 221.1 billion m3, respectively, in 2030. However, these values will be reduced by approximately 23% and 20%, respectively, to 98.9 million hm2 and 177.8 billion m3 under a balanced dietary pattern. Measures such as improving the investment in agricultural research and development, advocating a balanced diet, and increasing the import of resource-intensive foods could alleviate the pressure on land and water resources.

Transforming the Future of Marine Aquaculture: A Circular Economy Approach

By mid-century, society will need to significantly intensify the output of its food production system while simultaneously reducing that system’s detrimental impacts on climate, land use, freshwater resources, and biodiversity. This will require finding alternatives to carbon emissions-intensive agriculture, which provides the backbone of today’s global food production system. Here, we explore the hypothesis that marine algae-based aquaculture can help close the projected gap in society’s future nutritional demands while simultaneously improving environmental sustainability. Food production from marine algae-based aquaculture has the potential to contribute more than the total global protein demand projected for 2050, which ranges from 263.8 Mt/yr to 286.5 Mt/yr. It also offers important nutritional and environmental sustainability advantages relative to terrestrial agriculture. Marine algae can provide a better source of high-quality nutritional protein, essential amino acids, and other micronutrients relative to terrestrial plants. In addition, because marine algae do not require soil, irrigation, and the open application of fertilizer, their cultivation does not need to compete with agriculture for arable land and freshwater nor does it lead to fertilizer runoff and downstream eutrophication. Furthermore, by reducing agriculture’s demand for arable land and freshwater, marine algae-based aquaculture can reduce the pressure for deforestation, potentially leading to globally significant reductions in carbon emissions and biodiversity loss.

Tracking the Performance of Soyabean Production in Nigeria

The present research empirically examined the growth performance of soyabean production in Nigeria using time series data which spanned from 1961 to 2017, sourced from FAO database. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, growth model, instability index, Hazell decomposition model, Nerlovian’s model and ARIMA model. Empirical evidence showed that the growth in the production trend of soyabean in Nigeria is majorly driven by an increase in the area and not yield which is not favorable for sustainable soyabean food security in the country. Furthermore, risk and uncertainty were observed to be the major source of instability in the production of soyabean in the country. Therein, the risk impacted negatively on the area allocation decision of the soyabean farmers in the studied area. The forecasted production trend showed that the country’s soyabean production will observe a paradigm shift from the area as the major driver of production to yield. Thus, technology will be the major driver of soyabean production in Nigeria. The trend if sustained will be a breakthrough for the country’s soyabean food security and will curtail the incessant farmers/herders clashes and tenurial conflicts owing to high pressure and competing demand for arable land for other purposes. Therefore, policies which will convert one-quarter of the arable land to other agricultural uses should be welcome as the future production trend of soyabean will be driven by technological advancement. In addition, the government should do more in subsidizing farm inputs in order to enhance farmers’ term of trade, thereby wading-off the risks that negatively impacted on the acreage allocation decision of the producers.

Historic and Simulated Desert-Oasis Ecotone Changes in the Arid Tarim River Basin, China

The desert-oasis ecotone, as a crucial natural barrier, maintains the stability of oasis agricultural production and protects oasis habitat security. This paper investigates the dynamic evolution of the desert-oasis ecotone in the Tarim River Basin and predicts the near-future land-use change in the desert-oasis ecotone using the cellular automata–Markov (CA-Markov) model. Results indicate that the overall area of the desert-oasis ecotone shows a shrinking trend (from 67,642 km2 in 1990 to 46,613 km2 in 2015) and the land-use change within the desert-oasis ecotone is mainly manifested by the conversion of a large amount of forest and grass area into arable land. The increasing demand for arable land for groundwater has led to a decline in the groundwater level, which is an important reason for the habitat deterioration in the desert-oasis ecotone. The rising temperature and drought have further exacerbated this trend. Assuming the current trend in development without intervention, the CA-Markov model predicts that by 2030, there will be an additional 1566 km2 of arable land and a reduction of 1151 km2 in forested area and grassland within the desert-oasis ecotone, which will inevitably further weaken the ecological barrier role of the desert-oasis ecotone and trigger a growing ecological crisis.

Towards sustainable agriculture with carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas mitigation using algal biochar

With the increase in the world’s population, demand for food and other products is continuously rising. This has put a lot of pressure on the agricultural sector. To fulfill these demands, the utilization of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has also increased. Consequently, to overcome the adverse effects of agrochemicals on our environment and health, there has been a shift towards organic fertilizers or other substitutes, which are ecofriendly and help to maintain a sustainable environment. Microalgae have a very high potential of carbon dioxide (CO2) capturing and thus, help in mitigating the greenhouse effect. It is the most productive biological system for generating biomass. The high growth rate and higher photosynthetic efficiency of the algal species compared to the terrestrial plants make them a wonderful alternative towards a sustainable environment. Moreover, they could be cultivated in photobioreactors or open ponds, which in turn reduce the demand for arable land. Biochar derived from algae is high in nutrients and exhibits the property of ion exchange. Therefore, it can be utilized for sustainable agriculture by partial substituting the chemical fertilizers that degrade the fertility of the soil in the long run. This review provides a detailed insight on the properties of algal biochar as a potential fertilizer for sustainable agriculture. Application of algal biochar in bio-refinery and its economic aspects, challenges faced and future perspective are also discusses in this study.

Territorial features of the land market in rural areas

The qualitative peculiarity of the existing land market in rural areas requires constant assessment of both the mechanisms that control its development and the direction of changes in its segments. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to analyze the territorial features of the development of the agricultural land market in modern conditions of the implementation of the import substitution policy. The research was carried out across the constituent entities of the Russian Federation of the Northwestern Federal District (NWFD) and in more detail on the example of the municipal districts of the Leningrad region using data from Rosstat, Rosreestr, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation and other sources. Statistical methods of information processing were used. Based on the analysis of the dynamics of changes in the size of the cultivated areas, it was concluded that there were unfavorable tendencies as to the demand for arable land in the conditions of the Northwestern Federal District. Due to it, the reduction in the area under crops occurs in regions with more favorable conditions for agricultural activities. As the result, the growth in the number of transactions for the sale and purchase of agricultural land in the regions of the Northwestern Federal District is not sustainable. On the example of the municipal districts of the Leningrad region, the features of the primary and secondary market for agricultural land were revealed: the supply of land plots exceeds demand and is localized in the suburban area, such types of land turnover as the purchase and sale and lease of land plots have limited development. Depending on the location and other rental characteristics, the level of land prices, even within the boundaries of one municipal district, varies from 2.5 to 15 times. It has been established that the development of subsystems of market turnover of agricultural land is closely related to the conditions and results of economic activity in rural areas.

Selective Cropping as a Soil Conservation Practice: A Benefits Evaluation

HighlightsReplacing either a winter wheat or corn system with a spring wheat system improved soil retention by more than 19%.When grown for bioenergy production instead of forage hay, switchgrass improved soil retention by 40%.Replacement of field cropping systems with grassland systems improved soil retention by over 70%.Incorporating the environmental merits and demerits of cropping systems during on-farm and policy decision-making may go a long way toward ensuring food, feed, and energy security and environmental sustainability.Abstract. While policies that take land out of production provide a quick fix to erosion, the sustainability of such approaches has been questioned, particularly with the increasing demand for arable land. Policies that reconcile the needs for food, feed, fuel, and healthy ecosystems provide a more sustainable alternative approach to soil erosion management in agricultural lands. This study evaluates the impacts of such a policy that prioritizes the implementation of cropping systems with relatively high environmental benefits. The effectiveness of three field cropping systems and three grassland systems in reducing soil erosion is examined on a 6.6 ha field plot in central Texas over a 20-year period. Soil loss rates under each system are estimated using the Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model. A relational comparison of the simulated soil losses and water budget components is undertaken to determine the impact of alternative cropping and grassland systems on the landscape’s hydrologic and erosion processes. The results revealed that replacing a winter wheat system and a corn cropping system with a spring wheat system improved soil retention by 19% and 25%, respectively. Growing switchgrass for bioenergy production instead of forage hay improved soil retention considerably (by 40%). Irrespective of the grassland system adopted (restoration to native prairie or growing switchgrass for hay or bioenergy), the replacement of corn or wheat cropping systems with grassland systems increased soil retention by over 70%. This study shows that there is an opportunity to alleviate concerns about conservation programs that take cropland out of production and those that use food crops as fuel and feedstocks, while considerably reducing soil loss from agricultural lands. Incorporating the merits and demerits of cropping systems and why one system should be preferred over another during on-farm and policy decision-making may go a long way toward ensuring food, feed, and energy security and environmental sustainability. Keywords: Cropping systems, Soil retention, Sustainability, Switchgrass.

Optimal allocation of direct and embodied arable land associated to urban economy: Understanding the options deriving from economic globalization

Land resources do not flow directly but can be allocated as “embodied land” in goods and services during economic globalization. The term “embodied arable land” can help link local land allocation strategies to the global and national supply chains and trade activities, and suggest new lens in optimizing arable land allocation. China is facing a serious arable land shortage, especially in municipal administrative areas. Based on the nested input-output analysis (Nested IOA), this work takes Shanghai as an example, exploring the allocation of direct and embodied arable land of an urban economy within the process of economic globalization. The amount of embodied arable land associated with Shanghai economy is 6.09 Mha, broken down into local arable land use (0.20 Mha), domestic inflows (3.20 Mha) and foreign inflows (2.69 Mha). This area supports local final demand (4.32 Mha), domestic outflows (1.24 Mha) and foreign outflows (0.53 Mha). Land-related imbalances emerge in the study, namely the economy’s demand versus the city’s size, the arable land demand versus supply, and embodied arable land inflows versus outflows. Regarding the role of the urban economy in allocation of global arable land under economic globalization, on the one hand, Shanghai has intensively involved with a large amount of embodied foreign arable land resources, and has been heavy dependent on foreign embodied arable land; On the other hand, there is still large potential for Shanghai to take the opportunity of economic globalization for an optimal allocation of direct and embodied arable land. Policy suggestions on taking the opportunity of economic globalization for an optimal allocation of direct and embodied arable land are put forward.

A Study on the Arable Land Demand for Food Security in China

Food security is the basis of social stability and development. Maintaining sufficient amounts of arable land is essential for China’s food security. In this paper, we consider the relationship between arable land demand to grain demand and production capacity. The changes in national population, grain production, and consumption from 2000 to 2015 are analyzed. Then, we forecast the respective possible changes in the future and accordingly forecast the arable land demand in different possible situations. The results show that the pressure to maintain sufficient amounts of arable land in 2030 may be greater than that in 2040.The higher pressure is due to larger population and lower production capacity. To ensure food security in China, we insist on maintaining 120 million ha of arable land, the “red line” for food security, and improve the arable land productivity to ensure domestic production and self-sufficiency. In addition, residents should be guided to cultivate sound food consumption habits in order to control per capita grain demand. Lastly, we should also make full use of international resources and markets to relieve the pressure on domestic resources and environments.

China's food security challenge: Effects of food habit changes on requirements for arable land and water

Ensuring adequate supply of food is the most important challenge facing China. With the dramatic change in food habits over the past few decades, the demand for arable land and irrigation water has also changed, undoubtedly increasing the uncertainty of ensuring China's food security. This study quantifies how China's food habits have influenced the requirements for arable land and water between 1981 and 2016 using data collected from multiple sources and projects the amount of arable land and irrigation water needed to ensure national food security. The results show that changes in food habit have led to increased demand for arable land and irrigation water during the past 30 years. In 1981, 124 million ha of arable land and 159 billion m³of irrigation water were needed for food consumption; however, these values increased to 137 million ha and 184 billion m³, respectively in 2016. Moreover, changes in food habit have exceeded the level of agricultural technology, becoming the main reason for increase in per capita demand of arable land and water after 1996. Under the current food habits, the demand for arable land and irrigation water will increase by 14% and 13%, respectively when the expected population peak occurs (in 2032), compared to those of 2016. However, if the food habits recommended by China's nutritionists are followed in the future, more arable land and irrigation water will be needed to meet China's demand compared to the current diet patterns. This study also proposes some measures to ensure China's food security based on the presented findings.

Advancement in Indoor Vertical Farming for Microgreen Production

With the growing global urban population and the emergence of megacities, there is a huge demand for arable land to meet the food demand and reduce malnutrition. Conventional agricultural practices lead to deforestation of the land for crop production and agricultural intensification to produce higher yield per unit area. These activities have been established to have negative impact on the environment thereby causing soil and water pollution. It is important to consider the use of vertical farming technology, which utilizes both horizontal and vertical space, and efficiently uses nutrients, water, and time (off season production with artificial lighting) more effectively to produce higher yield per unit volume of space than the conventional outdoor farming. Microgreens are taken into consideration to be grown under innovative vertical farming technology since they are rich in phytonutrients and they can be harvested in a short period of time. This paper reviews the current growing conditions of microgreens in vertical farming such as crop selection, media, light, nutrient solution, and containers while identifying knowledge gaps. Further, study in this area may lead to improved growing conditions to help solve the global issues and challenges surrounding food security, safety, and resource optimization.

The Use of Vanilla Plantations by Lemurs: Encouraging Findings for both Lemur Conservation and Sustainable Agroforestry in the Sava Region, Northeast Madagascar

Extensive areas of forest are cleared every year to establish new agricultural land in the tropics, resulting in a catastrophic loss in habitat for the world’s primates. A prominent example of this process is Madagascar, where an increasing demand for arable land has led to the once-forested landscape to be now dominated by agricultural areas used for the cultivation of food and cash crops. Despite the prominence of these plantations throughout Madagascar, their suitability as a habitat to support endemic lemur populations remains unclear. Here, we assessed lemur presence in vanilla plantations, Madagascar’s principal export crop, within the northeastern Sava region with the use of line transects. We confirmed the presence of five lemur species, four of which were nocturnal cheirogaleids, in these vanilla plantations. Intensively farmed vanilla plantations and those in existing stands of vegetation supported at least one species of lemur. Furthermore, lemurs were significantly more likely to be present in plantations grown close or adjacent to natural forest fragments, compared to more intensively farmed, anthropogenic sites. In comparison, we observed eight lemur species in natural forest fragment sites in close proximity to the vanilla plantation sites, four of which we did not observe in any of the plantation sites. Our results provide evidence of lemurs using vanilla plantations and show that vanilla plantations may act as extensions of suitable habitat for lemurs, suggesting that they may also function as matrices between isolated forest fragments through which gene flow can occur. These are important and encouraging findings for both lemur conservation and for sustainable agroforestry undertaken by local farming communities.