Agricultural Land Development Research Articles

Sustainable groundwater regulation in typical irrigation areas of inland river basins based on ecological indicators and the MIKE-SHE hydrological model

Study regionThe study area is located in the Nukus irrigation area on the lower reaches of the Amudarya River in Uzbekistan. Study focusThe extensive agricultural land development has introduced a substantial amount of water resources into the irrigation area, leading to a significant rise in regional groundwater levels. Quantifying regional groundwater resource issues and achieving sustainable groundwater management under conditions of high spatiotemporal heterogeneity are key scientific issues for regional ecological protection. Thus, this study used the concept of ecological water level to quantify groundwater issues, used the MIKE-SHE hydrological model to conduct scenario simulations, formulated and subsequently evaluated a groundwater regulation plan with spatiotemporal attributes. New hydrological insights for the regionRegional sustainable development groundwater level should be within the range of 1.78–2.78 m. During the irrigation and non-irrigation periods, the groundwater levels in approximately 84.3 % and 72.2 % of the study area respectively exceeded the upper and lower ecological water level limits. Under the background of gradually increasing groundwater fluctuations, it will pose a serious threat to regional ecology. Therefore, this paper established a monthly-scale groundwater zoning control plan, which can make the area of regional groundwater within the ecological water level reach 87.53 %. All research not only contributes to the protection of the local ecological environment but also provides valuable insights for water resources management in other regions.

The Impact of Farmers’ E-Commerce Adoption on Land Transfer: Evidence from Ten Provinces across China

Rural e-commerce is rapidly expanding in rural China, profoundly affecting the agricultural and rural development of China. This paper focuses on the impact of farmers’ e-commerce adoption on land transfer, aiming to reveal the role of farmers’ e-commerce adoption in promoting rural transformation. Based on the 2020 Comprehensive Survey of Rural Revitalization in China conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, this study employs the method of least squares and propensity score matching to evaluate the impact of farmers’ e-commerce adoption on land-transfer behaviors in China. The results indicate that farmers’ e-commerce adoption promotes farmers’ participation in land transfer, significantly facilitating farmers’ land transfer in and increasing the area of land acquired. Additionally, farmers’ e-commerce adoption also promotes the trend of standardization and contractualization in land transfer, significantly increasing the probability of farmers signing formal agreements, clarifying lease terms, and renting land to strangers when acquiring land. This study can provide some theoretical inputs for policies to promote the development of agricultural land markets in developing countries and for policy formulation to promote e-commerce development.

Identifying priority corridors and bottlenecks for three threatened large mammal species in the oil palm-dominated landscape of Peninsular Malaysia

Agricultural landscape expansion and land development have disrupted wildlife habitats and movement pathways, limiting species’ access to critical resources. Identifying multispecies corridors across human-dominated landscapes is crucial to facilitate safe and unobstructed movement while minimizing negative interactions between humans and wildlife. We conducted a spatial distribution analysis to delineate potential high conflict areas and assess connectivity for the movement of focal species across Peninsular Malaysia. Using conflict data for the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), and Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris) spanning an eight-year period (2013–2020), we predicted conflict risk distribution with MaxEnt. We then overlaid the resulting risk maps onto a unified resistance surface and predicted least-cost corridors between high conservation value (HCV) patches. We ranked these corridors by their ecological importance in a plantation landscape. We identified pinch point areas (bottlenecks) to denote locations most critical to species movement along the corridors. Our results suggested that potential high conflict areas were primarily located in eastern and southern Peninsular Malaysia. We identified 89 HCV core patches that were interconnected by 126 linkages. The mean length of the least-cost corridors was 13.41 km. Among the top 10 linkages ranked by centrality value, three crossed commercial plantations for <30 % of their length, and three were highly bottlenecked. This study underscores an ecological approach that considers human–wildlife conflict and habitat connectivity analysis for effective land use planning and critical zone designation.

The distribution of rainfall in areas suitable for sugarcane farming in Blitar Regency, East Java

Abstract Expansion of sugarcane in East Java continue to be implemented in addition to intensification to increase sugarcane production in East Java, including expansion to Blitar Regency. This study aims to determine the rainfall distribution in areas suitable for sugarcane cultivation in Blitar Regency, East Java. This study was done in 2022 by combining a sugarcane land suitability map in Blitar Regency from the Indonesian Center for Agricultural Land Resources Research and Development and an annual isohyet map. Maps showing the rainfall distribution that the further north in Blitar the more elevation and rainfall and decreasing to the south. Annual rainfall distribution of 1500-2000 mm and 2000-2500 mm in the areas of moderately and marginally suitable for sugarcane covered total area of 25,918.59 ha and 22,689.90 ha or 15.83% and 13.86% of the total existing land area, respectively. When expanding sugarcane development, it is essential to consider the rainfall distribution along with the spatial distribution of land. Therefore, field trials are needed in each zoning to determine the productivity level of sugarcane and sugar. Complementing the spatial distribution of land for sugarcane with the rainfall distribution in each zone is important to identify yield potential for each suitability class.

Planowanie terenów rolniczych w Bułgarii - obecna funkcjonalność prawodawstwa i perspektywy

Development Planning for the Agricultural Territory is a problematic activity in Bulgaria in terms of the existing legal requirements. Bulgarian legislation contains certain gaps in regulating and technically ensuring the agricultural land planning. This is well settled in relation to the other types of territories like the Urban, Forest, and Protected ones, which planning rules and activities are regulated in details. The purpose of the paper is firstly to justify the necessity of improving and detailing the legal regulations for the agricultural land development planning, and secondly to suggest some expert approaches for improving and harmonization of legislation in connection with registration of the agricultural property by Agricultural Territory Development Plan (ATDP), Restored Property Map (RPM) and Cadastral Map (CM). The current legal grounds for planning development of the agricultural land in Bulgaria are presented and analysed. Lack of detailed regulations on their scope, content and operation have been found. It is also a matter of applicability of the newly created municipal CMs in settling land relations such as purchases and sales of land, inheritances, divisions, and changing the primary purpose of use of Agricultural Territory for construction. The completeness of CM with information about the quality of agricultural lands is still not regulated by Cadaster and Property Register Act. The paper contains specific proposals for amendments in Spatial Planning Act, Cadastral and Property Registry Act and Agricultural Land Ownership and Use Act.

Integrated Waqf Farm: A Contemporary Model for Waqf Land Development

The important role of waqf is felt to have been greatly reduced recently, due to various problems faced in developing waqf land. The lack of nazhir competence, limited development capital, and management that is not yet professional are some of the many problems in waqf. Various approaches are needed to close this problem, such as changing the form of waqf, cooperation between lines, and other alternative innovations. This research aims to reveal contemporary innovation models in integrated agricultural waqf land development and analyze the benefits, opportunities, costs and risks using the analytic network process approach-Benefit, Opportunity, Cost and Risk (BOCR). This research design uses an interpretative paradigm with a qualitative approach in the form of a case study. Through content analysis, data obtained from interviews is then interpreted according to the research objectives. This research reveals that there are two types of innovation developed through the integration of agriculture in waqf development. �Bersamamu sadar ternak� is a livestock-based innovation, this innovation is the result of collaboration with farmers to produce sheep without costs being charged to partners. To strengthen the existence of tourism on this waqf land, "Kopi Bersamamu" is the next caf�-based innovation. Through BOCR analysis among waqf experts, "waqf land becomes productive" is the benefit element that is considered the most important with an average of 0.34. "Business development opportunities" is the most important element in the opportunity elements with a mean of 0.38. Meanwhile, "high costs for technology, management and maintenance" is considered the highest element in the cost aspect. Finally, "Shariah compliance risk" is the greatest risk in developing agricultural-based waqf land with an average of 0.45

IMPACT OF FADAMA III ADDITIONAL FINANCE II ON YIELD AND INCOME OF FARO-44 RICE FARMERS BENEFICIARIES IN TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

The study was carried out to examine the impact of fadama III additional finance II on yield and income of faro-44 rice farmers beneficiaries in Taraba State, Nigeria. A Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 500 respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, frequency distribution and percentages) and inferential statistics (Gini coefficient). The findings of the study revealed that more days was expended in faro-44 rice weeding days per hectare with mean of 5.0 and 8.0 hours worked/day. The average number of tractors owned by the fadama users’ association (FUA) farmers was 2 with value of N3,129,079.63. The major inputs intervention received by the respondents were 5 kg seeds, wet season = 10 kg seeds all at N10,000/20 kg bag ((dry season), 2 bags of NPK fertilizer and 4 bags of NPK fertilizer at N7,000/50 kg bag in dry and wet season respectively, followed by a bag of Urea fertilizer in dry season and 2 bag of Urea fertilizer at N9,000/50 kg bag in wet season. Similarly, the respondents also received 4 liters of herbicides each in dry season and wet season. The result further revealed that the yield (kg/ha) in dry season increased from 3,675 kg before intervention to 6,156 kg after intervention representing 59.69% increase and with mean difference of 2,481 kg significant at P&lt;0.01. Similarly, yields in wet season by the faro-44 rice farmers has a mean difference of 1,679 kg compared to mean difference of 2,481 yield in dry season. Consequently, income from dry season harvest (N/ha) increased by 40.77% representing Naira value from N787,375.00 to N1,720,400.00 for before and after fadama AF-II intervention. Similarly, income from wet season harvest only increased by 4.63% with wet season mean income difference of N315,189 compared to the dry season mean income difference of N933,025 implying that the respondents realized more income in dry season faro-44 rice farming than wet season in Taraba State, Nigeria. The study concluded that fadama III additional finance II project intervention had positive impact on yield and income of the respondents and faro-44 rice farming yielded more in dry season than wet season. It is recommended that farm inputs at subsidized rate should be made timely available, there should be further collaboration through the State fadama office with National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) to clear more land, rice promotion programmes like training on modern rice production techniques, new varieties of seeds in order to be technically efficient should also be promoted and farmers should be encouraged to form cooperatives to benefit more from such laudable fadama AF-II intervention and enjoy economies of scale.

Piezometric depth modeling of groundwater using monthly variables of precipitation and water consumption (case study: Sarab Plain aquifer)

The growth of the world population and the problem of food supply have led to the development of agricultural land, particularly in the Third World and in Iran, and thus to a sharp increase in water consumption regardless of the existing water resources. On the other hand, the ever-increasing growth of industries and factories, regardless of the impact on the environment, together with the increase in water consumption, has disturbed the balance of the environment and caused climate change with rising temperatures and increasing pollution. Unfortunately, the management of water resources and the environment is incompatible with the development of agricultural land and the development of industries, and therefore in most countries of the world a situation has arisen in which surface and groundwater resources are at risk. The two main variables, precipitation and water consumption, control groundwater levels. The area studied in this research is the Sarab Plain aquifer located in East Azerbaijan province, Iran. In the Sarab Plain and other plains of Iran, indiscriminate harvesting has led to a significant decline in the groundwater level (in other words, piezometric depth) and subsidence of the plain. The area under cultivation of various agricultural crops such as beans, cucumbers and alfalfa and gardens is about 38,176 ha, irrigated by 739 licensed wells. Agricultural uses on the one hand and industrial and animal uses on the other led to a progressive lowering of the piezometric level of the plain. The average water consumption from the table is currently 53 million cubic meters per year, while the amount of renewable water is 35.81 million cubic meters per year. The data used in the study are monthly precipitation from 19 rain gauge stations, monthly piezometric codes from 78 piezometers converted to piezometric depth, and monthly water consumption from 1886 consumable wells between 2007 and 2022. Individual regression relationships were created between the piezometric depth variable and consumption and precipitation variables. In the first step, a general hybrid exponential relationship between piezometric depth, consumption and precipitation was found. The correlation coefficient value between the calculated and observed piezometric depth was 0.69. Furthermore, the root mean square error and Kling-Gupta were 2 m and 0.57, respectively. In order to apply the hybrid exponential relationship to predict piezometric depth in the coming years, it was necessary to predict precipitation and consumption. To predict monthly precipitation based on its periodicity, the Thomas and Fiering (T&F) consumption forecasting method was used. 20% of the data was compared with calculated data. The result showed, R = 0.815 and RMSE = 0.07 mm between calculated and observed data. Additionally, to predict consumption in the coming years, a suitable regression relationship between consumption and time was constructed, showing a correlation of 0.97 and a root mean square error of 0.0008 mcm with observations. In the second step, precipitation and consumption were predicted for the next 3 years (2023–2025) and piezometric depth were determined for this period by applying them in the hybrid model. The forecast for the next three years shows that the upward trend of the piezometric level will continue. The application of the regression method resulted in a final equation, which is particularly important in view of the stabilization of the piezometric level of the reservoir. This method has no particular limitations and is an appropriate method when accurate consumption water and precipitation statistics are available. The only limitation that can be considered with this method is the movement around the average values and does not take into account the positional fluctuations. This work is new because it calculates groundwater simultaneously using two parameters: precipitation and water consumption. Other similar studies did not use groundwater consumption data.

Agricultural land management and rural financial development: coupling and coordinated relationship and temporal-spatial disparities in China

The integrated development of agricultural land and finance not only promotes rural financial innovation and breaks the bottleneck of agricultural financing but also facilitates agricultural land transfer and scaled operations. This leads to the advancement of the effective growth of contemporary agriculture. The reform of the 'separation of three rights' in agricultural land promotes land circulation, which, in turn, offers an institutional guarantee for the tandem development of rural finance and agricultural land management. This paper measures the comprehensive development index of agricultural land management and rural finance in 30 provinces of China from 2005 to 2020. In light of this, it calculates the degree of coupling and coordination between China's agricultural land management and rural financial development. The Dagum Gini coefficient, kernel density, and the Moran index were used to analyze regional differences and patterns of agglomeration. The study found that the degree of coupling coordination between China's agricultural land management and rural finance is increasing annually. However, there remains a significant gap in achieving high-quality coupling. Notably, the growth rate of rural financial development exceeds that of agricultural land management, and hypervariable density is a major source of regional variation. There is polarization in the coupled development of farmland management and rural finance. Provinces in the eastern and central regions tend to be located in the high–high agglomeration (H–H) in terms of the level of development of agricultural land and financial integration, while the western region tends to fall in low–low aggregation (L–L).

Application of NDVI Sentinel-2Ac Imagery for Agricultural Land Development in Food Buffer Area of New Capital City Indonesia

Paser Regency is one of the food buffer areas for the New Capital City (IKN) of Indonesia in East Kalimantan Province. The relocation of the capital to IKN increases the number of populations and food demand as well. To meet food needs in IKN in the future, the development of agricultural land is needed. This study aimed to identify the type and direction of land use in Paser Regency to ensure food self-sufficiency. Sentinel-2 satellite Imagery with the Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) method was used in this study. The sentinel data from 2018 to 2022 was analyzed to identify the existing land use types over the past five years. The land use direction was determined based on the existing land use type, soil type, and land slope class. The results with an accuracy value for the overall test of 91.68% and kappa accuracy of 0.86 showed a change in land use from 2018 to 2022. Eight types of main land used were identified such as non-swamp rice fields, swamp rice fields, oil palm plantations, moors, shrubs, forests, settlements, and water bodies. The application of NDVI Sentinel-2Ac Imagery can identify a potential area of 13,249.7 hectares for rice field development and can significantly increase rice production to ensure food self-sufficiency in IKN.

Implementation of the concept for forming sustainable development of agricultural land of the region

The problems of sustainable development of agricultural regions cover a number of unresolved issues in the field of land legislation; urban planning and environmental management, determining their purpose in planning the development of territories, preserving the natural re-source potential of agricultural lands. Forming sustainable agricultural land use and prospects for the development of the agro-industrial complex as the basis for ensuring food security of the Russian Federation. In the article, based on the materials of the Tyumen region, scientific approaches, methods and methods of implementing the concept for the formation of integrated sustainable development of the region, agricultural lands and agricultural land use are proposed. The article provides a geoinformation analysis of the distribution of the total area of unused arable land by municipal districts of the Tyumen region using cartodiagrams. The cartographic material shows the reasons for the non-use of arable land in the Tyumen region.

Energetic and highly reliable photovoltaic power source assisted water pump control system design using IoT

The tools used in agriculture are evolving quickly. The advancement of farming technology, farm infrastructure, and manufacturing facilities is ongoing. Numerous photovoltaic (PV) systems may be used in agriculture. These use cases include both standalone installations and larger systems put in place by utilities when they determine that PV technology is the most cost-effective way to meet a specific remote agricultural demand, such water irrigation for fields or cattle. The heart and soul of a solar-powered water pumping system are two solar panels. The solar cell is the smallest component of a photovoltaic panel. Here, we connect the ESP module's outputs to those from sensors installed in the PV panels' controller and water pump. With the use of the GSM module, the main controller unit may show the status of each module, such as whether the motor is on or off, on the administrator's mobile phone. In the event of a motor failure, the malfunctioning component can be identified. Challenges to agricultural land development include transport and road conditions. In this study, we'll look at the numerous options open to the farmer. The primary goal of this study is to develop a solar-powered, Internet of Things (IoT) and GSM-controlled water pump. This reduces the need for human labour (from farmers) in outlying areas. The farmer's mobile device serves as the hub for all activities.

Landslide Susceptibility Mapping using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing Data in North Luwu, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia

Climate, topography, and rock conditions in Indonesia are relatively diverse, both physical and chemical, these conditions can cause adverse consequences such as floods, landslides, forest fires, and droughts. The Information from Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation on Monday, July 13, 2020, flash floods and flow of debris due to landslides have occurred in Masamba and Baebunta, North Luwu, South Sulawesi Province. The purpose of this paper is to map the distribution of landslide susceptibility area using remote sensing and GIS data. The Method used to analyze the landslide susceptibility estimation model refers to the Indonesian Center for Agricultural Land Resources Research and Development (ICALRD). The parameters used in this model are rainfall, soil type, rock type, slope, land use, and land movement. The ICALRD Landslide Susceptibility Estimation Model in study area shows that there are three classes of landslide susceptibility, such as low, medium, and high susceptibilities. There are six subdistricts which are in medium to high landslide susceptibility, and the others are low to medium landslide susceptibility. The locations of landslides and flash floods that occurred in Masamba and Baebunta indicate areas with medium to high landslide susceptibility.

Dry fruit shell‐derived biochar increases biosorption potential and detoxification of organic pollutants for land safety

AbstractThe increase in water pollution and land degradation ultimately reduces the supply of clean water for the growing population. Biochar produced from dry fruit shells is an effective adsorbent for organic pollutants. It can help reduce soil contamination and water pollution, making it an important option for land safety. For this experiment, dry fruit shell biochar was produced and activated chemically with 1 M KOH to increase the pollutants' removal efficiency. The efficiency of biochar as an adsorber of pollutants was assessed by characterizations of scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared, and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The peak of almond shell biochar was observed between 1033 and 1068 cm−1, while in pistachio, it was observed at 1458–1446 cm−1. Data extracted from XRD showed that most peaks were shifted after activation. For example, in walnut shell biochar, the peak shifted from 11° to 18° after biochar activation. The highest pollutant removal efficiency, such as 92%, 90%, and 87%, was observed in walnut shell biochar at 1, 2, and 3 mLL−1 adsorbate concentration, respectively. Pistachio shell biochar was most effective in the presence of the chemical activator to remove toluene and phenol organic contaminants. An increase in adsorbate concentration decreased the removal efficiency from 50% to 46% in activated almond shell biochar, 58% to 55% in activated pistachio shell biochar, and 55% to 54% in activated walnut shell biochar by 1 gL−1 of adsorbent. Kinetic and equilibrium data with different applied models established that the adsorption process was favorable, and models were fitted to the experimental setup. Biochar prepared from different dry fruit shells and their optimum activation can be used as bio‐sorbent for pollutants' removal and hence improved land development for agriculture and other industrial purposes.

Mitigating Nitrate Concentration Using an Optimal Cropping Pattern Developed by Linking a Soil and Water Assessment Tool with Evolutionary Optimization

The unplanned development of agricultural land and urban areas poses threats to water quality, which can lead to the death of the aquatic species in rivers. The present study developed a novel framework by combining a soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) and evolutionary algorithms to optimize the cultivation pattern at the catchment scale in the Tajan River basin, with the aim of mitigating the environmental impacts of surface runoff from farms. This river basin is located in northern Iran, where quick agricultural development is one of the environmental challenges. We utilized a SWAT to simulate the nitrate concentrations for different crops at the river basin scale by applying the Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (NSE) as a measurement index. Then, a novel model was developed to optimize the cultivation pattern by applying different metaheuristic algorithms. Fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) was applied as a decision-making system to select the best optimization algorithm. The results demonstrated that using a SWAT in the optimization model structure is a robust method for the design of an optimal cultivation pattern. The Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (NSE) was 0.74, demonstrating the robust predictive skills of the water quality model. The decision-making system indicated that particle swarm optimization and shuffled complex evolution were the best evolutionary algorithms to optimize the cultivation pattern using the proposed method. The proposed method opens a new window regarding the optimization of cultivation patterns in agriculture and provides an environmental-based optimization to design cultivation patterns on the catchment scale.

Сохранение земли, плодородия почв и многолетних трав для рационального природопользования в сельском хозяйстве (к 160-летию со дня рождения Василия Робертовича Вильямса)

Vasily Robertovich Williams is an outstanding Russian scientist of global scale and responsible state approach to his work. He devoted his life to solving the most important problem of ensuring food and environmental security of the country. To achieve this goal, he set and solved the following tasks: scientific support of sustainable development and stability of domestic agriculture, agricultural lands and agricultural landscapes; balance of agriculture, crop production and animal husbandry; increasing soil fertility. His priority was the need to develop soil science in close connection with solving practical problems of obtaining high and sustainable yields of agricultural crops. V.R. Williams introduced many important elements into the Dokuchaev doctrine of soil and soil formation. He discovered new sides in understanding the soil, the importance of perennial grasses in the formation of soil fertility, created a new science about meadows, improved the basics of agricultural landscape management. His scientific works covered a wide range of issues of soil science, biology, geography, agriculture, meadow science, agricultural science. V.R. Williams founded the biological direction in the study of soils, developed the doctrine of the biological cycle of substances, about the essence of a single soil-forming process, about the organic matter of the soil. A significant contribution to the management and rational use of agricultural lands and agricultural landscapes is made by the grass-field farming system of V.R. Williams, which he named after his teachers — "Dokuchaev – Kostychev – Williams".

Effects of agricultural land use on soil nutrients and its variation along altitude gradients in the downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin, Tibetan Plateau

Agricultural development in alpine ecosystems can cause significant changes in soil nutrients. With large altitude spans, the combined effect of the two is still unclear in existing research. To answer this problem, this study took the downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin (YZRB) as the study area, and designed a comparative soil sampling scheme along the altitude gradient. We compared soil nutrient characteristics facility agricultural land (FA) and field cultivated land (FC), using grassland (GL), the main source of agriculture expansion, as a reference. A total of 44 sampling areas were designed within an altitude range of 800–3500 m to reveal the effects of agricultural land development along the altitude gradient on soil nutrients. Research found that the FA significantly improved soil nutrient levels, with most nutrient indicators higher than those of FC and GL (P < 0.05), while the above indicators of FC were only slightly higher than GL. Moreover, the effects of agricultural development decreased with soil depth, and mainly occurred within the 0–30 cm soil layer (P < 0.05). With increasing altitude, most of soil nutrients first decreased and then increased and differences in soil nutrients among different land use modes first expanded and then shrank. This may be related to differences in farmland management methods, vegetation coverage, and temperature under different altitude gradient constraints. Especially in middle-altitude areas, the FA not only breaks through the low-temperature limitations of the plateau, but also has the advantage of large-scale development, which is suggested for future agricultural intensification in the plateau.

Forest Restoration in an Abandoned Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest in the Mae Klong Watershed, Western Thailand

Deforestation for the development of agricultural land is a critical driver of biodiversity loss. We examined the relationships between tree species and environments after the abandonment of a plot of land at the Mae Klong Watershed Research Station, Western Thailand. Vegetation monitoring was conducted every two years on a 16-ha permanent plot established in 2011 until 2019. All trees with diameter at breast height (DBH)≤1 cm were measured. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was performed to investigate the relationships between tree species and environments. We found a total of 199 tree species in the plot, which comprised both pioneer and climax species. The high tree density and low basal area were 1,280 stem/ha and 7.30 m2/ha, respectively. During 2011-2019, the species richness and total tree density were decreased by nine species (from 206 to 197 species) and 83 stem/ha (from 1,120 to 1,037 stem/ha). In contrast, the total basal area increased from 6.41 to 7.26 stem/ha. According to the measured environmental variables, mixed deciduous species such as Pterocarpus macrocarpus and Xylia xylocarpa var. kerrii preferred higher elevations and drier sites compared to dry evergreen species such as Dipterocarpus alatus. Early colonizing species such as Trema orientalis and Ficus species exhibited rapid population decreases, whereas climax species such as Lagerstroemia tomentosa exhibited highly successful regeneration under natural conditions. Artificial reforestation efforts may be required in areas with large disturbance, including the planting of mixed tree species to promote natural regeneration and reduce the recovery period.

Assessing Artificial Recharge on Groundwater Quantity Using Wells Recharge

In arid and semi-arid countries like Iraq, which suffer from water scarcity due to the effects of climate change and decreased surface water flow, groundwater is considered a vital source of irrigation water. This study is concerned with the influence of artificial recharge on the rehabilitation of the unconfined aquifer called Al-Dibdibba, located between the cities of Najaf and Kerbala in central Iraq around 31°550′ N and 32°450′ N and 43°300′ E and 44°300′ E. Due to excessive groundwater pumping rates for irrigation, this aquifer has suffered from groundwater decline and increased salinization during the previous 20 years. By establishing a conceptual model in the groundwater modeling system software (GMS), a numerical model was made to simulate groundwater flow. Artificial recharge using recycled water (tertiary treatment) from Kerbala's primary WWTP was carried out using 25 injection wells. The model was calibrated against historical and observed water level data for periods from 2016 to 2017. Three scenarios to predict how the aquifer would act with artificial recharge of 5%, 8%, and 10% from the total daily outflow of the WWTP in Kerbala (100000 m3/day) were studied. The calibration model met the observed values of groundwater levels with R2 = 0.989 for steady-state simulations and R2 = 0.987 for transient simulations. In the final analysis of the simulation, the results show that the maximum predicted groundwater level was raised by the injection of treated water through 25 wells by 1.05 m for 5000 m3/day, 2 m for 8000 m3/day, and 3 m for 10,000 m3/day recharge pumping rates. In addition, if water were pumped into the aquifer, it might support the development of agricultural lands covering more than 93 km2. So, artificial recharge can be considered one of the important solutions to adaptation to the effects of climate change and desertification in Iraq. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-09-010 Full Text: PDF

Estimation of Carbon Stocks and Carbon Sequestration Rates in Abandoned Agricultural Soils of Northwest Russia

The fallow agricultural soils of Northwest Russia represent an evolutionary model of the development of ecosystem components in time and space with multidirectional dynamics of agrogenic impact during the long history of agricultural land development. There has been both large-scale land development and uncontrolled conversion of arable lands to a fallow state along with their removal in recent times. All this has led to the formation of a chrono-series of different-age soils with varying degrees of exposure of agrogenic factors. This paper presents a current review of the humus state of fallow soils in Northwest Russia, and examines the main factors (self-restoration, humus transformation, acidification) influencing the transformation of the soil cover under the process of post-agrogenesis. Effective farming techniques aimed at fixing carbon in soils as part of increasing the sequestration potential to mitigate the impact of climate change are considered. The ongoing process of the transition of lands into a fallow state could lead to organic carbon losses and changes in the main physical and chemical parameters, which negatively affects the self-restoration of fallow lands. We offer some recommendations for the effective rewetting of fallow lands in Northwest Russia with the purpose of carbon sequestration in the soil cover.