Geographical Point Research Articles

Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Agricultural Carbon Emissions in China, 2000–2020

Agricultural carbon mitigation is one of the most important components of China’s carbon mitigation goals. This paper calculates China’s agricultural carbon emissions (ACEs) from 2000 to 2020, studies the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of China’s ACEs, and aims to provide references for the development of China’s ACEs reduction policies. The results show that the total ACEs in China presented an inverted “W” trend, with a slight increase of 2.81% in total. China’s ACEs mainly came from livestock and poultry breeding and agricultural material inputs. Although the carbon emissions from rice cultivation and soil accounted for a relatively low proportion, they showed an uptrend of fluctuation during the study period. From a geographical point of view, ACEs in the regions of central China and western China were relatively high compared to those in eastern China. Carbon emissions decreased for crop farming and livestock and poultry breeding in most eastern provinces. Crop farming carbon emissions grew, while the emissions from livestock and poultry breeding declined in most of the central provinces. Carbon emissions increased for crop farming and livestock and poultry breeding in most western provinces. Therefore, the existing low-carbon agricultural policies should be optimized, crop farming technologies should be improved, and specific policies should be applied in the corresponding regions to support China’s ACEs reduction.

Integrated HBIM-GIS Models for Multi-Scale Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Historical Buildings

The complexity of historical urban centres progressively needs a strategic improvement in methods and the scale of knowledge concerning the vulnerability aspect of seismic risk. A geographical multi-scale point of view is increasingly preferred in the scientific literature and in Italian regulation policies, that considers systemic behaviors of damage and vulnerability assessment from an urban perspective according to the scale of the data, rather than single building damage analysis. In this sense, a geospatial data sciences approach can contribute towards generating, integrating, and making virtuous relations between urban databases and emergency-related data, in order to constitute a multi-scale 3D database supporting strategies for conservation and risk assessment scenarios. The proposed approach developed a vulnerability-oriented GIS/HBIM integration in an urban 3D geodatabase, based on multi-scale data derived from urban cartography and emergency mapping 3D data. Integrated geometric and semantic information related to historical masonry buildings (specifically the churches) and structural data about architectural elements and damage were integrated in the approach. This contribution aimed to answer the research question supporting levels of knowledge required by directives and vulnerability assessment studies, both about the generative workflow phase, the role of HBIM models in GIS environments and toward user-oriented webGIS solutions for sharing and public use fruition, exploiting the database for expert operators involved in heritage preservation.

Uncovering Spatial Patterns and Temporal Trends in the Ageing of the Tokyo Metropolis Population

Urban populations are ageing, but the spatial and temporal distribution of the older adult population is highly heterogeneous, which has implications for resource allocation, service provision, and infrastructure needs. Based on the method proposed by Atkins & Tonts (2016), we used the interplay between changes in the number and proportion of the older adult population to identify population ageing types: accumulation (both the number and proportion of the older adult population increases); decline (both the number and the proportion of the older adult population decreases); dilution (the number of individuals in the older adult population increases while the proportion decreases); and concentration (the number of individuals in the older adult population decreases while the proportion increases). We investigated the spatial distribution and temporal trends of these types of population ageing in the Tokyo Metropolis during 2000–2015 in a 500-m grid using distance from the JR Yamanote Line and the nearest train station as geographic reference points. Accumulation and dilution occurred in east Tokyo, peaking at 10–40 km from the JR Yamanote Line and decreasing within 1 km of the nearest train station, respectively. Decline and concentration increased with distance in west Tokyo, and were more prevalent at distances of more than 40 km from the JR Yamanote Line and more than 8 km from the nearest train station. The allocation of urban resources should be optimised to meet the changing needs of the ageing population, particularly in suburbs and mountainous areas.

STUDIES REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION STAGE OF THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY LEADER AT THE "COLINELE OLTENIEI" LOCAL ACTION GROUP (LAG)

The Local Action Group (LAG) is represented by a form of partnership established in a rural territory that brings together representatives of the public, private and civil society sectors in that territory, created with the aim of implementing LEADER methods, receiving funding based on the Strategy of Local Development developed previously and authorized by the responsibleManagement Authority, the amount of the allocated amount being established according to the area of the LAG territory and the number of inhabitants. The Local Action Group "Colinele Oltenia" is located, from a geographical point of view, in the south-western part of Romania and is part, from an administrative point of view, of the South-West Oltenia Development Region and consists of a total of 17 localities. During the analyzed period, a number of 22 projects were submitted to the "Colinele Olteniei" LAG, with a total eligible value of 1,479,187.5 euros, of which only 16 projects were contracted with an eligible value a total of 993,944.14 euros, where the Agency for the Financing of Rural Investments paid to the beneficiaries 157,875 euros from the total sum of 993,944.14 euros, which represents the total support related to the projects declared eligible andfor which financing contracts were signed.

Exploring the Italian equine gene pool via high-throughput genotyping.

Introduction: The Italian peninsula is in the center of the Mediterranean area, and historically it has been a hub for numerous human populations, cultures, and also animal species that enriched the hosted biodiversity. Horses are no exception to this phenomenon, with the peculiarity that the gene pool has been impacted by warfare and subsequent "colonization". In this study, using a comprehensive dataset for almost the entire Italian equine population, in addition to the most influential cosmopolitan breeds, we describe the current status of the modern Italian gene pool. Materials and Methods: The Italian dataset comprised 1,308 individuals and 22 breeds genotyped at a 70k density that was merged with publicly available data to facilitate comparison with the global equine diversity. After quality control and supervised subsampling to ensure consistency among breeds, the merged dataset with the global equine diversity contained data for 1,333 individuals from 54 populations. Multidimensional scaling, admixture, gene flow, and effective population size were analyzed. Results and Discussion: The results show that some of the native Italian breeds preserve distinct gene pools, potentially because of adaptation to the different geographical contexts of the peninsula. Nevertheless, the comparison with international breeds highlights the presence of strong gene flow from renowned breeds into several Italian breeds, probably due to historical introgression. Coldblood breeds with stronger genetic identity were indeed well differentiated from warmblood breeds, which are highly admixed. Other breeds showed further peculiarities due to their breeding history. Finally, we observed some breeds that exist more on cultural, traditional, and geographical point of view than due to actual genetic distinctiveness.

Deep spatial-temporal graph modeling for efficient NDVI forecasting

Spatio-temporal graph modelling is a new, prominent predictive tool to use on datasets with complex spatial and temporal relationships. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a remote measure offering these complex relationships, used by agricultural producers and researchers due to its strong correlation with crop growth. Accurate periodic field-level NDVI forecasting helps project crop yield, crucial for planning agricultural production. This NDVI forecasting problem was previously studied, with best results obtained by Convolutional Long Short-Term Memory (ConvLSTM) architecture. We modify the ConvLSTM architecture, improving over the original paper. Additionally, we propose a new architecture based on Graph WaveNet (GWNN). GWNN captures spatial relationships in the non-tabular data with an adaptive dependency matrix and long-range temporal relationships with stacked spatial-temporal layers. We test each model (original ConvLSTM, new ConvLSTM, and GWNN) over the same geographical points. Under Root Mean Square Error metric, GWNN outperforms original ConvLSTM by 31% and our new one by 15%. Moreover, the GWNN is more than 170 times faster at training. We compare these models on other NDVI datasets, up to 50 times larger than the original set. The consistent results show the GWNN is most efficient in both quality and runtime for the NDVI forecasting problem.

Methodology for identifying promising areas for the development of bicycle sharing in urban space

Purpose: to present the author's methodology for locating perspective zones for bicycle sharing infrastructure development tested on the example of certain districts of the city of Moscow.Methods: the study is based on the application content-analysis of scientific publications and legal documents on bicycle sharing, analysis of statistical data and desk research of spatial location of urban point of attraction. The authors used visual observation and the method comparative analysis to choose the optimal zone for bicycle sharing development to test the proposed method.Results: the analysis of scientific research on the effective location points of bicycle sharing infrastructure is carried out. The research showed the need for the development of a methodology for locating perspective zones for bicycle sharing development in Moscow city. A method has been developed to identify the territories of the city that are most promising for the development of cycling infrastructure. The article offers the system of assessment of the level of development of infrastructure, which allows to perform a comparative analysis of the identified zones to make a conclusion on the prospect of development of the cycling infrastructure.Conclusions and Relevance: the proposed methodology for locating perspective zones for bicycle sharing infrastructure includes several stages: 1) identification of geographical points of attraction for bicycle-users, 2) selection of the most prospective areas containing maximum amount of point of attraction, 3) assessment of the cycling infrastructure development based on the simplified assessment system. It allows to locate perspective zones for cycling and for balancing the location organizing of the sharing infrastructure for cycling development in urban space.

МОДЕЛЮВАННЯ РЕЖИМІВ РОБОТИ ВІТРОВИХ ЕНЕРГЕТИЧНИХ УСТАНОВОК У ГІБРИДНИХ СИСТЕМАХ ЕЛЕКТРОПОСТАЧАННЯ

The article presents modern schemes for the organization of wind-solar power supply systems. Available approaches to managing the energy-dynamic process of operation of wind power plants as part of hybrid power supply systems are given, and modern research on this topic is given. The results of the development of a mathematical model of the energy-dynamic processes of the hybrid wind-solar power supply system, which includes wind power plants, solar panels, and a battery energy storage system. The universal structural diagram of such a system is substantiated. A set of production rules for the implementation of management of the hybrid power supply system and a simulation model of energy-dynamic processes for possible modes of operation of the system have been developed. The simulation model was developed in the IntelliJ IDEA programming environment using the Java programming language, the Spring framework, and the PostgresDB relational database. A simulated simulation of the system's operation was carried out in order to determine the optimal operating modes depending on the restrictions on the number of switchings of each wind power plant, the structure of the system and the parameters of its elements. The input data for the study of operating modes are the wind energy potential, the solar energy potential at a given geographical point, the number and technical parameters of wind electric installations and solar panels, as well as the energy parameters of the storage element. In order to reduce the number of switching (switching on/exclusion) of wind electrical installations in the hybrid power supply system, the parameter "Minimum interval between consecutive changes in the active composition of the wind farm" was introduced. The result of simulation modelling is the establishment of the following dependencies: customer support time from the deficiency of power supply probability (DPSP); the minimum interval between determinations of the active set of the wind power plant based on the number of switchings; the minimum interval between determinations of the active composition of wind turbines from the average deviation of the generation capacity. The obtained results will make it possible to optimize the parameters and modes of operation of hybrid wind-solar systems, as well as algorithms for managing energy-dynamic modes in the design and operation of systems.

ПЕДАГОГИКА ТВОРЧЕСТВА: ОРЕНБУРГ И РЯЗАНЬ — ТОЧКИ НА КАРТЕ

Creativity as a phenomenon has always been of great interest to people, however it has gained relevance since the middle of the twentieth century. Moreover, in the conditions of uncertainty, unpredictability, rapid transformation, penetration, and sometimes the dominance of technology in all spheres of life, creativity is becoming one of the most essential qualities of a modern person. An analysis of the array of domestic and foreign studies conducted gives grounds to assert that creativity, as a personality trait, being inherent in everyone to a greater or lesser extent, can be developed both individually and in a team, can lead to non-standard solution of complex problems and can contribute to the creation of original products of practical value. Creativity is not a chaotic, unpredictable feature of a person’s behavior, so its development becomes the goal of education and pedagogy of creativity. The creative paradigm of education determines the mechanisms for transforming one’s personality through self-determination, freedom of self-expression and the choice of life path strategies. By the example of two geographical points quite distant from each other: Ryazan and Orenburg, the authors argue that they are united by their interest in the problem of the creativity development in educational space. The review of studies conducted in these cities and aimed at studying various aspects of creativity is not exhaustive and final. The authors emphasize that the pedagogy of creativity, combining innovations and traditions, theory and practice, the latest technologies and time-tested methods, contributes to the potential development of both the individual and the team, the enrichment of the values of creativity and knowledge, the formation of readiness for the implementation of creative activity and the creation of a new significant product.

Методика визначення кліматичних навантажень за даними регіональної мережі метеостанцій

The work is devoted to the adaptation of the planar approximation method to determine the characteristic values of snow cover weight and wind pressure at a given design point based on the data of a local network of weather stations. Important elements of the research are the provision of specified reserves for the determination of characteristic values, as well as the analysis of the possibility of using a single equation for the entire territory of each of the administrative regions of Ukraine. The initial data are characteristic values of snow cover weight and maximum wind pressure with a recurrence period of 50 years at 171 plain weather stations of Ukraine. According to the data of the weather stations of the region, the equation of the Euclidean plane is established by the method of least squares, which generally reflects the trend of territorial changes in the characteristic value of the load. Calculations for three project points from different geographical regions of Ukraine showed that the equations of the approximating Euclidean plane should be made taking into account the data of the local network of weather stations located within a radius of 100...150 km from the project point. Based on the obtained equation and the geographical coordinates of the design point, the desired characteristic value of the load is calculated. The necessary reserves in determining the characteristic values of the loads are provided taking into account the statistical distribution of the data of individual weather stations relative to the obtained Euclidean plane. In order to substantiate the possibility of describing the trends of territorial changes in the characteristic values of snow and wind loads within the entire territory of the administrative region with a single equation of the Euclidean plane, calculations were made for five regions of Ukraine. The deviations obtained by this equation of the characteristic values of the loads from the actual data of individual weather stations are basically close to the similar deviations of the territorial zoning maps of the current DBN B.1.2-2:2006 "Loads and influences". The results of the study confirmed the possibility of determining the characteristic values of climatic loads at a given geographic (design) point with a given level of security according to the equation of the Euclidean plane, which was established by the method of least squares based on the data of the local network of weather stations in the region. In most cases, this equation can be the same for the entire territory of the administrative region. The division of the territory of the region into parts with significantly different climatic conditions contributes to the reduction of probable errors in determining the characteristic values of loads.

Quantifying a stopover of killer whales preying on gray whales rounding the Alaska Peninsula

Predation by killer whales Orcinus orca on recovering populations of baleen whales is being increasingly reported, but there have been no direct quantitative assessments of its importance, for either the predators or prey. We used photographic mark-recapture and satellite telemetry to assess the abundance and behavior of killer whales gathering to feed on gray whale Eschrichtius robustus calves and juveniles that were migrating around the Alaska Peninsula into the Bering Sea. We quantitatively describe this aggregation as a stopover, used in May and early June 2003-2008 by at least 197 different killer whales. Estimates of average stopover duration (1.8-3.6 wk) and annual abundance (89-128 killer whales) were variable and correlated with annual gray whale calf production (404-1528 calves). In years with more gray whale calves, killer whales spent more time at this geographic pinch point where they could presumably access adequate prey. In years with fewer calves, more killer whales used the study area but remained for a shorter time, presumably searching more widely when calves were scarcer. The presence of killer whales increased through May into early June, when satellite tags tracked northerly movements into the Bering Sea, and as far as 1620 km into the Chukchi Sea, likely following migrating gray whales. These data indicate focused and prolonged predation by killer whales on a recovered population of baleen whales and provide the first evidence of the importance of such predation in structuring killer whale populations and influencing their dynamics.

The complexity of gerrymandering over graphs: Paths and trees

Roughly speaking, gerrymandering is the systematic manipulation of the boundaries of electoral districts to make a specific (political) party win as many districts as possible. While typically studied from a geographical point of view, addressing social network structures, the investigation of gerrymandering over graphs was recently initiated by Cohen-Zemach et al. (2018). Settling three open questions of Ito et al. (2021), we classify the computational complexity of the NP-hard problem Gerrymandering over Graphs when restricted to paths and trees. Our results, which are mostly of negative nature (that is, worst-case hardness), in particular yield two complexity dichotomies for trees. For instance, the problem is polynomial-time solvable for two parties but becomes weakly NP-hard for three. Moreover, we show that the problem remains NP-hard even when the input graph is a path.

Модели кооперации в Восточной Азии на примере Японии

Limitations of the World Trade Organization system have pushed countries to intensify an independent cooperation agenda through development of bilateral relations outside the WTO. In the international economic space, from the geographical point of view, three basic trade blocs can be identified: the European bloc, the North American bloc and the East Asian bloc, with each having its own way of creating cooperation ties. In East Asia, the Big Three of Northeast Asia (the Republic of Korea, Japan and China) as well as Singapore play leading roles in intensification of cooperative ties. At the same time, Japan was one of the first states in the region that based its cooperation policy on several models that became a template for other East Asian countries. Thus, since 2003 the Republic of Korea has been implementing an FTA strategy and has been applying models of cooperation tested by Japan. Major models include: the «North-South» model, the «Flying Geese» paradigm, the «Core-Periphery» model and the «Hub-and-Spokes» model. It is important to note that models do not function separately, but form integration architecture for the countries, based on the objectives and specifics of cooperative ties. At the same time, the initiator in these forms of cooperation is the corporate sector: for example, keiretsu in Japan and chaebols in the Republic of Korea. Business needs are carried to the state/interstate level and can act as a trigger for establishment of regional trade agreements that allow create vertical and horizontal links determining stability of the international economic structure

Plants of the Siberian flora exposition of the N.V. Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences, listed in the Red Data Books of Russia

Many years of experience in preserving species of Siberian flora listed in the Red Data Books of Russia in 2008 and 2023 are analyzed. In total, since 1947, 21 species from 13 families, the geographical points of origin of which are located mainly in Southern Siberia, have been tested on the territory of the botanical and geographical exhibition in the laboratory of natural flora of the GBS RAS. According to the degree of introduction resistance, 90% of species are resistant, weakly resistant and unstable - 10%. In terms of life expectancy under exposure conditions, species growing for more than 20 years predominate - 47.6%. The minimum lifespan of Oxytropis nitens is 2 years. The maximum life expectancy was reached by: Paeonia hybrida - 63 years, Anemonastrum baikalense - 53 years, Erythronium sibiricum - 50 years. The reliability and prospects of preserving rare species of Siberia in the conditions of Moscow are shown.

Political geography: a new look at the academic discipline

Based on the content analysis and comparative characteristics of the educational literature most in demand in the educational geographic space of the higher school in the discipline “Political Geography”, a review of a new educational complex based on an interdisciplinary approach (taking into account the interests of students studying in different areas of training: pedagogical education — geography), geography, political science, regional studies, international relations). The importance of discipline from the ideological point of view is emphasized. Distinctive features of the educational publication (complexity, consistency, accessibility of the presentation of the material, cartographic provision, scientific continuity) are singled out and argued. An analysis of the structure of the textbook and a brief description of its content are given, highlighting chapters containing traditional political and geographical knowledge used in the geographical educational process and chapters containing a new or expanded (for geographers) information base. The conclusion is made about the expediency of using the materials of the educational complex in teaching such disciplines (within the framework of geographical areas of training) as “Political map of the world” and “Modern political geography”, as well as when studying the relevant sections in the courses “General economic and social geography of the world”, “Economic and social geography of foreign countries”. A high level of information saturation from the political, historical and geographical points of view was noted.

Географічна компетентність та глобальні виклики сучасності

Geographical education is an important part of the present, and in order for it to be qualitative, it is necessary to master a number of competencies. This is especially true now, when the world is faced with many global challenges. Geographical competence plays an important role in the formation of an educated, globally oriented personality capable of understanding and responding to complex challenges that arise in the modern world. Having mastered geographical competencies, students and adults will not only have knowledge of this field, but will also be able to independently analyze world problems from a geographical point of view. The work analyzes the origin and concept of the general term "competence," and reveals the essence of the concept of "geographical competence." Particular attention in the work is paid to the formation of these competencies in students in geography lessons, and it is shown what role geographical competence plays in understanding global challenges on specific examples.

On the Allocation of Regional Geological Monuments of the Main Devonian Field

Abstract—Using the example of two particularly valuable geological objects of the Main Devonian Field (Ilmen glint and the valley of the Velikaya River in the area of the Vybuty rapids), the features of the allocation and protection of geological monuments of regional significance are considered. Ilmen glint is a complex (stratigraphic, paleontological, ore-litho-petrological, hydrogeological) geological monument of regional significance. The authors substantiate the paleogeographic value of the object, which consists in the possibility of studying various ecological complexes of the macrofauna of the Middle Frasnian Sea, reflecting both regressive and transgressive stages of its development. Also, for the Ilmen glint are recommended two new criteria: a historical criterion (reflection of information about a geological object in the classical geological literature) and (for the first time) the introduction of a new historical and geographical criterion (the relationship of geological and geographical features with the history of settlement and development of the region). As a unique geological object, Ilmen glint has been studied by outstanding Russian and foreign researchers. The sections of the glint and the near-glint region are stratotypic for a number of sub-regional and local subdivisions of the Middle Frasnian of the Main Devonian Field. The features of the geological structure (close occurrence to the surface of carbonate rocks of the Upper Devonian), proximity to Novgorod and convenient communication with it by water influenced the fact that this area became one of the areas of ancient mining back in the days of Veliky Novgorod. Due to the location at the crossroads of important roads, the surroundings of glint often turned out to be the scene of important historical events, so in the village of Korostyn, located at the western tip of glint, the famous Korostyn Peace was concluded. The Vybuty Rapids tract is not a protected area, although it also has a clear scientific value from the paleogeographic (interesting complexes of ichnofossils are observed in the outcrop and extremely valuable in the reconstruction of paleogeographic conditions of the hardground facies) and historical and geographical points of view (a large ford was the strategic place in the Middle Ages for Pskov). The article considers the influence of natural and anthropogenic hazards on the condition of the described geological objects. In the described unique outcrops, there is an active manifestation of landslide processes and weathering processes. At the same time, the terrain features (the presence of local plicative and disjunctive structures that contribute to the formation of zones of increased fracturing) are aggravated by the active traffic load in the areas adjacent to the coastal cliffs.

The beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera) of the southwest of Primorsky Krai, Russian Far East.

The article is based on the results of the authors' field studies on the fauna of Coleoptera in the southwest of Primorsky Krai, conducted in 1990, 1999, 2015 and 2017-2022. The collection of material was carried out in more than 150 geographical points in the territories of the Khasansky, Nadezhdensky and Ussuriysky raion of the Primorsky Krai of Russia. In addition, small collections materials stored at the Federal Scientific Center of East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity FEB RAS (Vladivostok, Russia) and Moscow Pedagogical State University (Moscow, Russia) were studied. This is the first generalised list of beetles for south-western Primorye and protected natural areas. A total of 13274 beetles belonging to 629 species from 311 genera and 44 families were studied. In addition to our own collections, the sample includes literature data on 10008 specimens belonging to 355 species from 142 genera and 16 families. This is the first dataset that provides data on the taxonomic composition and geographic distribution with precise coordinates for 47 families of Coleoptera in the southwest of Primorsky Krai, Russia.

Magnificent work on Swedish-Armenian relations (Ann Grönhammar, Drömmen om Armenien: Armenier och svenskar under tusen år, Medströms Bokförlag, Stockholm 2021)

The reviewer presents the content of the work of Ann Grönhammar on relations between Sweden and Armenia, beginning from cloudy – from the perspective of sources – times of Vikings who wandered as far as the Caucasus, through significantly better documented episodes from the 17th century, until the beginning of the 20th century. The reviewer indicates Polish threads, resulting from the existence of the Armenian diaspora in Poland as the nearest to Sweden from a geographical point of view. Furthermore, the reviewer emphasises the advantages of the work, i.e. usage of many sources, including unpublished ones, as well as iconographic material from different archival, library and museum collections.

Socioeconomic determinants of maize production among north western Ethiopia's small-scale farmers: Evidence from three agro-ecology zones

Knowing the primary maize production constraints that could lead to poor productivity which in turn lower farm income is essential to close the gap between desire and actual yield. As a result, this survey was conducted to assess the constraints on maize production across West Gojjam Zone in three districts: Jabi Tehnan, Bahir Dar Zuriya, and Mecha. Based on maize production potential, coverage, and the importance of maize in the livelihood of farmers in the study area, 10 km by 10 km X and Y geographical coordinate points as the main grid, and a quadrangle 1 km by 1km square grid was generated. Data were gathered from primary and secondary sources. We used both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques to gather primary data. A structured questionnaire was administered to 252 randomly selected sample farmers and their farms as part of the qualitative data collection. According to the findings, farmers in all three districts were dominantly married, of working age and with extensive farming experience. The smallest and most fragmented production land was located away from the house. The most common fertilizers were urea, DAP and NPS, from which a large proportion of the farmers used urea more than others and there was difficulty in getting fertilizers from regular sources and at the right time at all of the research sites. The majority of farmers in the research area utilized local seeds than improved seeds. Weed and insect pest attack in the maize field were very low. Furthermore, the largest portion of farmers had a very small production area which they plowed repeatedly. As a result of this study, it is possible to conclude that socioeconomic, fertilizer, seed and land preparation factors impact farmers in all three maize production systems. In this regard, it is suggested that more attention should be paid to these yield-limiting factors. Key words: Maize production, input, farming experience, Zea mays, land distributions, productivity, Ethiopia