Degradation Of Land Resources Research Articles

Spatial–Temporal Evolution Pattern of Soil Erosion and Its Dominant Factors on the Loess Plateau from 2000 to 2020

Global changes have led to significant changes in soil erosion on the Loess Plateau. Soil erosion leads to the degradation of land resources and a decline in soil fertility, adversely affecting agricultural production and the socioeconomic situation. Therefore, revealing the spatiotemporal evolution patterns of soil erosion in the Loess Plateau region and investigating the influencing factors that contribute to soil erosion are crucial for its management and restoration. In this study, the RUSLE monthly model and the Geodetector model were utilized to reveal the spatiotemporal trends of soil erosion in the Loess Plateau from 2000 to 2020 and to determine the dominant influencing factors in different periods. The main results are as follows: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the soil erosion in the Loess Plateau initially weakened and then intensified, indicating that precipitation and precipitation intensity have different effects on surface soil. (2) From 2000 to 2015, the area experiencing slight and mild erosion increased. This is attributed to the increase in vegetation coverage in the Loess Plateau region, which has alleviated soil erosion in the area. (3) From 2000 to 2020, zones of severe soil erosion were mainly located in the cities of Yan’an and Yulin and their surrounding areas. The gravity center of soil erosion shifted northwestward from Yan’an City overall, indicating an improvement in the soil erosion conditions in the Yan’an area. (4) The predominant level of soil erosion across different land-use types was slight erosion, accounting for over 40%. This may be a result of forestry ecological projects that effectively reduce soil loss. (5) In slope zones of 0–5°, slight erosion accounted for the largest area proportion. As the slope increased, the area proportion of severe and extremely severe erosion also increased. This is attributed to the protective role of vegetation on soil in gentle slope areas. (6) From 2000 to 2020, vegetation was the dominant single factor influencing the spatiotemporal changes in soil erosion, while the interactions between vegetation and land use had the largest explanatory power, indicating that changes in land-use types partially affect variations in vegetation coverage. Our research findings could provide important data support for soil erosion control and eco-environment restoration in the Loess Plateau region.

Tillage and Weed Management on Yield and Nutrient Uptake of Greengram under Maize-greengram Cropping System in Conservation Agriculture

Background: The cropping systems in any agro-ecological zone in the globe are driven by a number of critical issues, including rising food demands, the depletion of land and the degradation of land resources. The goal of traditional cropping methods has been to maximise crop yields. Cropping systems that take into account the new social, economic and ecological or environmental considerations are urgently needed nowadays. Due to their adaptability to diverse cropping patterns and capacity to fix nitrogen, legumes can offer prospects for continuous increases in productivity. Legume-based crop rotations help to maintain of organic matter, increase of soil nitrogen, nutrient balance, maintenance of soil physical qualities and disruption of soil-borne disease cycles. Conservation tillage is centered on minimum tillage, permanent raised beds, zero tillage with low soil disturbance and the preservation of protective plant cover or plant residues on the soil surface to prevent soil losses, stimulate microbial population and retain moisture and nutrients. Methods: Field experiment were conducted during 2019-20 and 2020-21 at the Main Research Station (MRS), GKVK, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore On sandy loam soil to study the performance of Weed management in maize-based cropping system in conservation agriculture. The experiment was laid out under split plot design with five main plots on different tillage treatments i.e., Conventional tillage, Zero Tillage, Minimum Tillage, Minimum Tillage and Permanent raised bed and three sub plots of different weed management practices i.e., Chemical weed management practices, Integrated weed management practices and Unweeded Control replicated thrice. Result: Among tillage practices, permanent raised bed recorded the least total weed density and weed dry weight at harvest when compared to other tillage practices and also high seed yield, haulm yield and B: C ratio due to less weed infestation, good root growth, adequate aeration and nutrient availability compared to other tillage practices. Permanent raised beds had significantly higher nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake than zero tillage. Among weed, management practices, Integrated weed management (Pendimethalin-750 g/ha (PE) + Hand weeding at 30 DAS) recorded the least total weed density and weed dry weight at harvest compared to unweeded treatment and also high seed yield, haulm yield and B: C ratio due to less weed infestation, compared to unweeded treatment. Integrated weed management resulted in significantly higher nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake compared to unweeded (control).

Time series land use/land cover mapping and change detection to support policies on sustainable environmental and economic management

The upper Tekeze River Basin is facing challenges of widespread deforestation and natural vegetation cover degradation that could exacerbate the water scarcity, food insecurity and extreme poverty in the region. Using remote sensing and GIS, this study quantified the land use land cover change trend in the last three decades and analyzed the current land use / cover statues in the basin. A hybrid classification technique is applied to obtain better classification accuracy. Moreover, for automated cloud and cloud shadow detection the newly developed Mountainous Fmask is used. Using post classification change detection technique, seven major land use/cover classes were identified. These classes remained the dominant classes during the study period, showing marked changes in the area coverage within them. Based on the error matrix statistical indices, the classification accuracies of each class are found to be strong. The overall accuracy and the kappa coefficient for the 2021 map are 91% and 89%, respectively. The techniques used have contributed to improving the accuracy of the classification process and helped the classified images to practically match the ground truths. The analysis revealed settlement expansion by 570.31% in parallel with the expansion of farmland by 52.32% during the period 1991–2021. In contrast, the forestland decreased significantly, by 75.55%. The environmental degradation and unplanned use of land resources could have contributed to why the upper Tekeze basin is experiencing worsening poverty, water scarcity and food insecurity. Thus, land use/cover time series modeling is essential for various purposes, including land use planning and, managing natural resources. In this regards this study provides basic information for implementing sustainable environmental conservation strategies in the area. Furthermore, the applied methodologies may have practical applications in other similar areas.

A comprehensive review of the impact of farmland property rights stability on farmers' land use and protection behaviors

AbstractThe stability of property rights is a key factor in incentivizing farmers to engage in land use and protection activities, which, in turn, serve to mitigate or prevent the degradation of land resources and enhance the effectiveness of agricultural management practices. This research uses Scientometric analysis according to PRISMA guidelines to thoroughly examine academic landscape related to the stability of farmland property rights and its impact on farmers' land utilization and protection behaviors. By examining 4165 publications from 2014 to 2023 in Web of Science and Scopus databases, the study conducts a comprehensive analysis. Theoretical frameworks elucidate three primary avenues through which property rights influence farmers' behavior: the assurance effect, collateral effect, and realizable effect. Through document co‐citation analysis 11 distinct thematic clusters were revealed, highlighting the prominence of land tenure security (Cluster #0). Notably, Ma X's publication experienced a significant 4‐year surge, indicating its key influence. Author co‐citation analysis outlined author clusters, emphasizing the increasing relevance of authors like Cotula L, Angelsen A, and De Schuttero during specific periods. Journal co‐citation analysis revealed cohesive journal clusters such as Development and Change and Journal of Peasant Studies, showcasing thematic boundaries within clusters. Keywords co‐citation analysis (CO‐DESC) identified thematic clusters around “China,” “agricultural land,” and “land use,” with keywords like “land degradation” exhibiting substantial bursts. This systematic analysis highlights influential publications, authors, journals, and thematic clusters, emphasizing the structured landscape within farmland property rights research and revealing critical aspects impacting farmers' behavior and land use.

Fostering environmental and resources management in Sudan through geo-information systems: A prospective approach for sustainability

Environmental and land resource degradation is a serious problem that poses significant challenges in Sudan and worldwide generally. Despite the fact that the physical environment components are the underlying economic resources and production assets in developing countries like Sudan, and they directly affect the nation’s socioeconomic aspects of income, health, water availability, food security, and many others. The interventions and protective measures were insufficient to meet the magnitude and extent of the ongoing degradation and resource wastage. Based on the analysis of the indicators and trends of the environmental and natural resources management ‘status quo’, this paper is an attempt to overview and investigate the state of environmental and natural resources management and governance in Sudan. Further discussion delves into the utilization of geo-information systems in Sudan’s environmental and resource management by analyzing and reviewing “some previous case studies” where GIS approaches and techniques were deployed. The paper further strives to explore and highlight the opportunities and potential contributions of GIS in the context of Sudan’s environmental and resource management. Lessons learned from the previous experiences were considered, and the recommendations for the future use of a tailored geo-information system in Sudan context were highlighted and suggested to support better practices and sustainability insights for environmental governance and resources management.

The influence of agroforestry on the formation of the structure of forest ecosystems

The functional load of forests necessitates the activation of meliorative measures to optimize the functioning of agrolandscape complexes. These measures contribute to improving the environmental situation and advancing towards sustainable functioning of forest ecosystems. Therefore, the study of the structural and species formation of forest ecosystems is of significant scientific interest. The aim of the article was to analyse the impact of agroforestry measures on the process of forming the structure of forest ecosystems through a comprehensive examination of interrelationships. The research utilized general scientific methods, including specification, deduction, systemic analysis, synthesis, and abstraction, as well as formalization. During the study, vectors of organizing optimized systems of protective forest plantations were analysed, and environmental protection priorities for the development of agroforestry ecosystems were substantiated. Basic principles of managing the agroforestry complex based on sustainable land use were identified, including a comprehensive approach, ecologization of the process, and continuous monitoring. The study revealed current ecological consequences of irrational melioration for forest plantations, such as increased erosion processes and land resource degradation. Risks and challenges requiring preventive solutions were identified. It was proven that increasing the share of agroforestry plantations would allow optimizing the environmental situation in Ukraine, promoting the regeneration of the natural resource base, restoring landscapes, and minimizing land resource degradation processes. The article proposed key measures to optimize the environmental situation at the local level of forest ecosystems, as well as preventive measures to prevent destructive impacts, including the improvement of legal support and the implementation of strict measures of responsibility for irrational resource use. The value of the conclusions lies in their practical application for monitoring the state and the process of forming the structure of forest ecosystems under the influence of agroforestry measures. They also contribute to the effective development of preventive and regenerative protective measures and the formation of balanced forest ecosystems

Современные экологические проблемы эксплуатации коллекторно-дренажной сети и пути их решения

Purpose: to determine the environmental issues that arose during the operation of irrigation and drainage systems, and the basic principles of managing the quality of drainage water from irrigated lands. Discussion. Analytical data on the condition of reclaimed lands, changes in groundwater levels during the operation of irrigation systems, the use of water resources, the results of theoretical and experimental studies of the collector-drainage flow quality in the irrigation system diversion collectors in the south of Russia are considered. The main problems are identified: land resources degradation, rising groundwater levels, resalinization and salt accumulation during irrigation, especially with irrigation water with increased mineralization, changes in the hydrological and hydrochemical regime of water bodies – collector-drainage runoff intakes. Legal problems associated with the classification of irrigation and drainage systems as objects of category III are highlighted. Ways to solve environmental problems, methods for managing the quality of drainage runoff, including the creation of local treatment facilities based on routing the collector-drainage network to irrigated areas suspended from the drainage system, in the range of 10–200 ha with construction of storage drainage sumps as places for metering flow and regulating the chemical composition of drainage flow. Conclusions. Pollution problems are regional in nature and are determined not only by economic activities, but also by natural factors. The set of irrigation canals, collector-drainage networks and water intakes of drainage-discharge waters participates in the inter-basin redistribution of surface and underground runoff. In the process of managing the quality of drainage water from irrigated lands and the environmentally safe operation of hydro-reclamation systems, three parties must certainly participate: reclamation departments, agricultural producers and government agencies.

Brantas watershed sustainability analysis: Water quality aspects

Watersheds are complex natural-human systems because they involve various interacting biogeophysical and socio-economic-cultural components. Degradation of forest, land, and water resources and population pressure have caused a decline in watershed sustainability, which is the biggest obstacle to sustainable watershed management in most developing countries in the humid tropics. The purpose of this study was to analyze the sustainability of the Brantas Watershed. Secondary data collection includes water quality. Data collection was carried out at Perum Jasa Tirta 1. Data analysis was carried out based on a sustainability index that included aspects of water quality. The study showed that the water quality of the Brantas River has decreased and is currently at class 4 (lowest) quality. The sustainability of the Brantas River Basin has decreased and, in 2023, will be in the low category.

INSTITUTIONAL ASPECT INNOVATIVE MODERNIZATION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

The institutional determinants of innovative modernization of agricultural production are substantiated.
 It is established that the transformational features domestic agricultural production are monoculture agricultural production, its structural deformation, increased degradation of land and water resources, growing dependence of agricultural producers on imported inputs for the production process, and a reduction in the number of rural workers and the population of rural communities.
 It is argued that transformational changes in agro-industrial production should be focused on large-scale modernization changes in the production process in terms of restoring land fertility, improving the quality characteristics of food products, expanding the existing export potential of agricultural products and the share competitive products. 
 It is established that the threats to the recovery of agricultural production are the narrowing of the domestic consumer market; reduction of the purchasing power of the population with a decrease in its number; reduction and blocking of exports of agricultural products; rising costs of material resources and rising costs of agricultural products and food prices.
 It is substantiated that institutional support for the innovative modernization of agro-industrial production should be accompanied by the formation of effective basic and special institutions and institutions that meet the criteria of systematicity when they are included in the hierarchical structure of norms and institutions of innovation.
 It is emphasized that the institutional support for innovative modernization should implement the following key tasks: ensuring a favorable investment climate for attracting financial resources to processing enterprises and the formation of local regional structures with low capacity for processing agricultural raw materials; creating conditions for the inclusion of agricultural producers in global value chains.
 Institutional interventions should be aimed at stimulating the diffusion and development of product innovations; supporting and shaping organizational structures for vertical and horizontal integration; supporting and shaping organizational frameworks for vertical and horizontal integration; and restructuring forms of state support for agricultural production.
 The strategic guidelines for the innovative modernization of agro-industrial production are defined: introduction of motives and incentives for structural changes in agricultural production, intensification of the development of small forms of management, integration of production processes, and use of competitive advantages.

The Implementation of Resilience Engineering to Deal with Climate Change Impact

Climate change is a very interesting subject, because it has been compelling us to review our thinking, our development concepts, practices, paradigms, models, and so on from the view of the environment. In such introspections, we may identify the mistakes, weaknesses and unintended consequences of our development concepts, practices; and we may try to overcome those mistakes and will be conscious to avoid such shortcomings in the future. Land and water resources degradation are the major problems in the world. Poor land use practices and improper management systems have played a significant role in causing high soil erosion rates, sediment transport, and loss of agricultural nutrients. This causes various effects on resource bases like deforestation, expansion of residential areas, and agricultural land. The watershed is also facing high erosion due to the effects of intense rainfall of the watershed which aggravates the land cover change of the watershed. This continuous change in land cover has influenced the water balance of the watershed by changing the magnitude and pattern of the components of stream flow between surface runoff and groundwater flow in increasing the extent of the water management problem. In this study, the assessments of resilience engineering and its function as a framework for the environmental issues, such as resilience and management of water and public infrastructure has been done. After risk assessment, we obtained five risk levels and their corresponding resilience levels. The two can be regarded as negatively correlated. And at the same time, four corresponding adaptions are also proposed according to the resilience levels.

Vegetation restoration restrains rill erosion on slag heaps in high-altitude goldfields

Soil erosion leads to soil degradation and depletion of land resources, posing a significant threat to industrial production and ecological sustainability. In high-altitude regions, rill erosion is the main form of soil erosion in mining areas, however, our understanding of morphology and developmental characteristics of rills and the mechanisms influencing them remains limited. In this study, data were collected from 96 rill plots across two gold mines in the eastern Tibetan Plateau according to vegetation restoration modes (natural restoration (CK) and planted with Elymus dahuricus (ED), Medicago sativa (MS), and multi-plant mixed (Avena fatua L. + Elymus dahuricus + Medicago sativa + Oxytropis coerulea, MM)) and restoration periods (1 year, 3 years, 4 years, and 6 years). We investigated the variations of 7 indicators that can reveal rill morphological and developmental characteristics across different restoration modes and restoration periods, and utilized a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) to analyze the effects of 15 indicators from topography, soil, and vegetation on rill erosion modulus (REM). The results indicated that artificial vegetation restoration effectively restrained rill development, notably by decreasing the frequency of wider (>15 cm) and deeper (>10 cm) rills when compared to CK plots. Planting MM and ED exhibited greater efficacy in controlling rill erosion than planting MS. However, the effectiveness of planting ED in controlling rill erosion gradually weakened with time, while MM consistently maintained a strong inhibitory effect. Topographic features, soil texture, and vegetation significantly influenced the REM through direct or indirect effects. Plant root functional traits were the main driving factors in reducing REM, affecting not only REM directly but also influencing vegetation-induced soil properties to indirectly effect REM.

Assessment of military destruction in Ukraine and its consequences using remote sensing

The article raises the problem of using Earth remote sensing data to collect evidence of damages caused by the military actions of the Russian army in Ukraine. The core data set obtained by deciphering aerial photographs reflects the general current and operational situation in the affected area, reducing the subjectivity and uncertainty of damage characteristics on the ground. Earth remote sensing data visualize visible damage to the environment, which can be recognized and assessed using images of different spectral bands with appropriate resolution. Among the damage caused to the environment as a result of hostilities, according to the Earth remote sensing data, it is possible to study: degradation of land resources, destruction of natural ecosystems by fires, destruction of structures (buildings) and structures. Satellite images with a very high resolution (≤ 1 m) make it possible to quantify the degree of damage to the soil surface due to shell explosions: the amount of metal fragments and chemicals that have entered the soil, damage to the biological cover, etc. Images with a resolution of less than 30 meters in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) range allow to depict the devastating effects of forest and steppe fires caused by military actions. Using two different time frames, one before the fire and one after, will ensure the accuracy, objectivity and reliability of the evidence collected. These very high resolution Earth remote sensing images are used to investigate the destruction of structures (buildings) and constructions. The analysis of satellite images guarantees the diagnosis of the condition of the building in three degrees of destruction: completely destroyed, partially destroyed or not destroyed. In order to ensure the storage, quick search, analysis and visualization of all useful information obtained from the data of Earth remote sensing, it is necessary to use geoinformation systems.The proposed methodology for assessing military destruction is characterized by simplicity, accuracy and versatility, and does not require the use of expensive equipment.

Impact of Land Property Rights Security Cognition on Farmland Quality Protection: Evidence from Chinese Farmers

The stability or security of property rights plays an important role in stimulating the investment of economic entities, which can prevent or alleviate the degradation of land resources and improve the efficiency of agricultural management. This paper focuses on the perspective of land property rights security awareness, analyzes its impact on farmers’ cultivated land quality protection behavior, and, on the basis of a theoretical analysis framework linking the two, uses farmer survey data from southern Jiangxi Province and the probit model to empirically analyze the impact of farmers’ land property rights security awareness on their cultivated land quality protection behavior. The results show that the improvement in farmers’ awareness of land property rights security could significantly improve their probability of applying farmyard manure. This conclusion is proven to be robust by means of a replacement model and adjustment variables. Moreover, it is found that the influence of land property rights security cognition on farmyard manure application differs among farmers by age, degree of part-time work and land scale. Finally, we can draw inspiration for improving the effective implementation of public policies and increasing the publicity of legal knowledge of land property rights to improve farmers’ awareness and consideration of land property rights security.

Wastewater Reuse for Irrigation Agriculture in Morocco: Influence of Regulation on Feasible Implementation

Morocco is a water-scarce developing country with a growing marketable agro-food industry, where untreated or insufficiently treated wastewater represents less than 1% of the irrigation water and treated wastewater reuse is virtually nil. The Government of Morocco is planning to increase the volume of treated wastewater reuse for irrigation agriculture under the current permissive regulation to alleviate the pressure on conventional water sources. However, the reuse of insufficiently treated wastewater implies environmental and human health risks besides the degradation of land and renewable natural resources. This paper shows the feasibility of increasing wastewater reuse for irrigation agriculture in Morocco and how the existing permissive regulation must be improved to force more efficient technologies aimed at ensuring the export of agricultural goods to the most restrictive international markets. The results show how the quality standards of Moroccan regulation are below that of their equivalents in developed countries, as well as in most of the consulted developing countries. After verifying that tertiary treatment is financially feasible, the updated regulation must also consider climatic water scarcity and the locally low cultural perception of environmental and human health risks in order to design optimal solutions.

An Overview of the Environmental Impact Assessment of Mining Projects in Chile

In accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the main management tool used to identify and prevent the impact of productive activities on the environment and human health and promote compensation measures. Metallic mining is the main productive sector in Chile. In 2021, Chile was the highest global producer of copper, the second-highest producer of molybdenum, and the third-highest producer of silver. Other types of non-metallic mining, such as siliceous aggregates, iodine, and hydrocarbons, are also notable. Mining activity requires robust and flexible environmental legislation. This paper analyzes the performance of the Chilean EIA system regarding mining projects entered into the system as Environmental Impact Declarations (EIDs) for low-incident projects and Environmental Impact Studies (EISs) for high-incident projects. The 2867 mining projects submitted to the Chilean EIA system as EIDs (91.8%) and EISs (8.2%) between 1994 and 2019 were compiled. For a proper performance evaluation, a representative sample of 68 projects (61 EID and 7 EIS) was studied through a principal coordinate analysis using eleven indicators widely used in the EIA scientific literature. The results do not show significant differences between the EID and EIS projects or remarkable differences regarding the increasing restrictions introduced by the successive regulatory periods SD30, SD95, and SD40. Based on the observed weaknesses, four opportunities for improvement are proposed focused on creating a simplified sanctioning procedure, upgrading the form of delivery of the project monitoring information, early citizen participation, and incorporating the climate change variable into the projects. This paper extends the methodology introduced in previous papers to evaluate the performance of the Chilean EIA system in mining projects, seeking also to offer a feasible methodology to other countries with a similar socio-economic context or other productive sectors potentially impacted by the degradation of land and renewable natural resources.

Simulation and Prediction of Land Use/Cover Changes Based on CLUE-S and CA-Markov Models: A Case Study of a Typical Pastoral Area in Mongolia

Modeling and predicting land use/cover change (LUCC) and identifying its drivers have been a focus of research over the past few decades. In order to solve the problem of land resource degradation in typical pastoral areas, reveal the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of LUCC, and the contradiction between man and land in sustainable development, we analyze the Gurvanbulag area of Bulgan province, Mongolia, where grassland degradation is relatively serious. The LUCC data in 2000, 2010 and 2019 were obtained through interpreting human-computer interaction. On this basis, the same binary logistic regression (BLR) results were input into the multi-criteria evaluation analytic hierarchy process (MCE_AHP) of CLUE-S and CA_Markov models. The Current Trends (CT) and Ecological Protection (EP) development scenarios were used to predict the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of LUCC in 2030 and 2040. The results show: (1) both models can effectively simulate the LUCC in 2019, and the CLUE-S model was significantly better than the CA_Markov model. (2) From 2000 to 2019, the LUCC in this region was dominated by a decrease in water and the growth of grassland and other land, indicating that the region is at the risk of land resource degradation. (3) In a multi-scenario development study, by 2030 and 2040, both models predicted that the EP development scenario is more effective in protecting the local ecological environment and it is easier to achieve the sustainability of land resources, than the CT development scenario. Combined with local policy demands and the prediction results of restraining land resource degradation, CLUE-S was significantly higher than the CA_Markov model, indicating that in typical pastoral areas, the former is more in line with the need for sustainable development of the local ecological environment than the latter.

Land Degradation Due to Jamuna Riverbank Erosion: A Case Study at Shahjadpur, Sirajganj District, Bangladesh

Climate Change in Bangladesh is an extremely crucial issue. Bangladesh is one of the worstly affected countries by the impacts of Climate Change in coming decades. The climate change in Bangladesh causes the degradation of land resources. High intensity and recurrence of floods are due to irregular rainfall and glacier melting of the Himalayas intensified river bank erosion throughout the year. High yielding land resources on the river bank are degraded each year. This study was conducted for riverbank shifting detection, morphodynamics assessment, and estimation of eroded and accreted land by the Jamuna river at Shahjadpurupazila, Sirajganj district, Bangladesh. The investigation is based on multispectral satellite imagery interpretations using ArcGIS software, followed by a field check. Interpretations show that the Jamuna river in the study area has continuously shifted its path from east to west from 1956 to 2020, resulting in a total loss of 51.68 km2 of landmass. The rate of engulfment was 0.95km2/year whereas the accretion rate was 0.15km2/year. The maximum rate of river shifting on the right bank of Jamuna river in the ShahjadpurUpazila is 84.38 meters/year and the minimum shifting is 31.25 meters/year. This study will help to understand the scenario of land degradation by river erosion in the study area. It may be also helpful to the decision-makers to take the proper mitigation measures regarding riverbank erosion and protection.

Soil erodibility assessment of laterite dominant sub-basin watersheds in the humid tropical region of India

Sub-basin prioritization is an essential aspect of watershed development initiatives as a part of the sustainable management program for natural resources. The present work aims to analyse the soil erodibility at sub-basin scale in the Pathro River Basin area of Jharkhand, India. Degradation of land resources is multifaceted, and its severity leads to soil detachment, thus rendering it a complex and interlinked system. Sixteen closely correlated morphometric attributes of the erosion process are considered for prioritizing watersheds by applying the frequency ratio (FR) method. This work assigns Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm to evaluate the existing soil risk condition with the help of twelve soil erosion influencing geo-environmental factors at the sub-basin area. Soil samples were examined using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) to acquire the micro-graphic and physical condition of dominant soil forming minerals and their influences to develop susceptibility of peds to erode. The prioritisation results from both approaches show a reasonably similar output, identifying nine sub-watersheds as very high soil erosion-prone, while four sub-watersheds are recognised as low-risk. Field observation reveals that lowering of plunge pool and head retreat are dominant processes of gully extension in very high to high sub-basin prioritization areas. The final output provides a comprehensive platform for the urgency of policy interventions to minimize erosion risk and ecological damage in prioritized areas of Pathro River Basin, Jharkhand.

Environmentally Friendly Agricultural Development

<p class="JSDLKatakunci"><strong>Abstra</strong><strong>ct</strong><strong>.</strong> Environmentally friendly agriculture is an agricultural system that manages all resources and inputs of the agricultural system to achieve optimal productivity and economic benefits, but has a low risk of resource and environmental sustainability, as well as global warming/climate change. Environmentally friendly implementation strategies lead to synergy and integration between technologies, optimization of resources and production inputs which are carried out through three approaches, namely: (1) Anticipation, adaptation, and mitigation approaches in the context of global warming and climate change, (2) Mitigation approach, countermeasures, and remediation in the context of edhapik and biological environments, and (3) Land remediation approach in the context of degradation and pollution of land, air and ecosystem resources due to excessive use of agrochemicals. Support for research activities and development of adaptation, mitigation and remediation strategies for the restoration of polluted land is expected to increase the economy while producing healthy agricultural products and environment. Various regulations and policies for implementing a sustainable agricultural environment, socialization and implementation in the field must be supported by an agricultural environment information system that is easily accessed by users.</p>

Evaluating the Degradation of Natural Resources in the Mediterranean Environment Using the Water and Land Resources Degradation Index, the Case of Crete Island

Natural resources degradation poses multiple challenges particularly to environmental and economic processes. It is usually difficult to identify the degree of degradation and the critical vulnerability values in the affected systems. Thus, among other tools, indices (composite indicators) may also describe these complex systems or phenomena. In this approach, the Water and Land Resources Degradation Index was applied to the fifth largest Mediterranean island, Crete, for the 1999–2014 period. The Water and Land Resources Degradation Index uses 11 water and soil resources related indicators: Aridity Index, Water Demand, Drought Impacts, Drought Resistance Water Resources Infrastructure, Land Use Intensity, Soil Parent Material, Plant Cover, Rainfall, Slope, and Soil Texture. The aim is to identify the sensitive areas to degradation due to anthropogenic interventions and natural processes, as well as their vulnerability status. The results for Crete Island indicate that prolonged water resources shortages due to low average precipitation values or high water demand (especially in the agricultural sector), may significantly affect Water and Land degradation processes. Hence, Water and Land Resources Degradation Index could serve as an extra tool to assist policymakers to improve their decisions to combat Natural Resources degradation.