Land Stock Research Articles

Productividad, capacidad tecnológica y de innovación, y difusión tecnológica en la agricultura comercial moderna en el Perú: un análisis exploratorio regional

This paper, exploratory in nature, analyzes and estimates the relationships between the technological and innovation capacity (CTI), diffusion of good technological practices and labor productivity of productive units of the agricultural sector undertaken by family chiefs selling their production to (domestic and external markets) and of legal conditions of ‘natural persons’ of Peru. The main source of information is the National Agricultural Census of 2012. The three main results of the estimations point out that unit sizes, family chiefs’ human capital accumulation and the geographic distance between the location of the productive unit and the capital of the district of that location were key statistical factors that determined the producer technological and innovation capacity. This CTI together with the spillover effects coming from producers associations determined the diffusion and use of technological good practices. Finally, the stock of land per workers was the key determinant of labor productivity in all the regions of Peru.

A Static CGE Model of the Mongolian Economy

The Mongolian economy has experienced unprecedented growth rates driven by the booming mining sector. At the same time, it has become increasingly dependent on the mining sector to the extent that movements in the international price of mining commodities could have disturbing effects on the economy. In this research, we examine the short-run effects of the developments occurring in the mining sector on the economy by calibrating a PEP standard static CGE model to a 2010 Mongolian social accounting matrix. In particular, we consider two scenarios: an increase in the stock of capital and land possessed by the coal sector and a drop in the world price of metal ores. In the former scenario, we find that the shock leads to increased value added, production, employment and exports in the coal sector, resulting in higher real GDP, exports and investment. Moreover, we do not find the associated Dutch disease effects on the other sectors. In the second scenario, we find that the effects on the productions, value added, employment, real GDP and investment are all negative while real exports and government expenditure increase slightly.

Empty urbanism: the bursting of the Spanish housing bubble

The depth of the Spanish housing crisis manifests itself in the collapse of construction activity and in the amount of housing and land stocks. The geography of the crisis shows its widespread nature, and the intensity of the previous bubble explains spatial differences. Resulting from this collapse are some problematic areas of ‘empty urbanism’. An enormous land bubble, emerging from the peculiar Spanish urban development model, was a key factor in the impacts – caused by the crisis – on the territory and land-use plans. The crisis has demonstrated the unsustainability of this and the urgency of change in the existing land-use plans.

Biodiversity and carbon stocks in different land use types in the Sudanian Zone of Burkina Faso, West Africa

Lack of data on carbon stocks hampers implementation of emission reduction mechanisms (e.g., REDD+). Addressing this issue is relevant, especially when combined with other challenges such as preserving biodiversity. The present study assessed tree diversity (Shannon–Wiener’s index) and carbon stocks of different land uses in Balé and Ziro sites in Sudanian zone of Burkina Faso. Aboveground carbon stock was evaluated using generalized equation. Belowground carbon was assessed by excavating plant parts in samples of soil in each plot. Regarding soil sampling for C-content assessment, four locations were selected in each plot and soil was sampled at the depths of 0–20cm and 20–50cm, using an auger. The four soil samples from each depth were pooled, thoroughly mixed and a composite soil sample taken to the laboratory for carbon content measurement using the Black and Walkley method. The C-content was then used for calculating SOC. In Balé and Ziro, 85 and 106 species, 63 and 82 genera, 29 and 35 families were identified, respectively, with the Leguminosae family as most dominant. Natural vegetation stands (NV) and fallows showed high richness and diversity compared to parklands. Soil was found the most important carbon pool. Highest values of aboveground, belowground and soil C-stocks in Ziro (13.9, 14.71 and 67.1Mg/ha) were recorded in community managed forests (CMF) logged 12 years ago, while equivalent values for Balé (25.76, 14.96 and 53.02Mg/ha) were recorded in the dense NV. However, irrespective of C pool, the difference between CMFs and the 100trees/ha Vitellaria parkland was not significant. Correlations were found between species richness and above and belowground C-stocks (R2=0.22, p<0.0001; R2=0.33, p<0.0001). Overall, dense Vitellaria parklands, apart from allowing tree-crop integration, have real potentials for C sequestration. Also, C-sequestration and biodiversity conservation are likely not conflicting targets.

Potential land availability for agricultural expansion in the Brazilian Amazon

The Amazon hosts one of the largest stocks of arable land in the world. However, little is known about the available extent of agricultural land in conformity with legal, agronomical and environmental requirements. This study aims to identify and quantify potentially available areas for agricultural expansion in the Brazilian Amazon considering the extent of: (i) legally available forested lands, (ii) previously converted lands with suitable productive capacity and (iii) previously converted lands free of land use conflicts. This analysis was carried out by integrating georeferenced information on land use, soil fertility, terrain slope, biomass, protected areas and land use policies (e.g. Brazilian Forest Code) into a conditional decision support procedure, based on Boolean inference techniques. Our results showed that 11.69% (493,103.03km2) of the Brazilian Amazon would be potentially available for agricultural expansion in the year 2010. This area was essentially dominated by forests (59.37%), followed by previously converted lands (40.63%). The extent of this area was equivalent to 75.86% of the total cultivated area in Brazil in 2010. However, the effective usage of these areas would have direct political and environmental implications. First, it is expected that the effective usage of available forests would detract recent achievements of the Brazilian Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon, which has reduced deforestation by 79% from historical rates. Moreover, the conversion of these areas could result in a committed emission of 13±1Pg CO2eq to the atmosphere which is equivalent to the total emissions from land cover change registered in Brazil during the 2000–2010 period. Therefore, the compensation of environmental liabilities stands as the most consistent destination for the available forests mapped in this study. To minimize environmental impacts, agricultural expansion in the Brazilian Amazon should be restricted to already converted areas. This land cover class totalizes 200,000km2, which could support agricultural expansion without promoting the advance of deforestation.

Carbon stocks of different land uses in the Kumrat valley, Hindu Kush Region of Pakistan

Changes in land use cover, particularly from forest to agriculture, is a major contributing factor in increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) level in the atmosphere. Using satellite images of 1999 and 2011, land use and land use changes in the Kumrat valley KPK, Pakistan, were determined: a net decrease of 11.56 and 7.46 % occurred in forest and rangeland, while 100 % increase occurred in agriculture land (AL). Biomass in different land uses, forest land (FL), AL, and range land (RL) was determined by field inventory. From the biomass data, the amount of carbon was calculated, considering 50 % of the biomass as carbon. Soil carbon was also determined to a depth of 0–15 and 16–30 cm. The average carbon stocks (C stocks) in all land uses ranged from 28.62 ± 13.8 t ha−1 in AL to 486.6 ± 32.4 t ha−1 in pure Cedrus deodara forest. The results of the study confirmed that forest soil and vegetation stored the maximum amount of carbon followed by RL. Conversion of FL and RL to AL not only leads to total loss of about 56 % (from FL conversion) and 37 % (RL conversion) of soil carbon in the last decades but also the loss of a valuable carbon sink. In order to meet the emissions reduction obligations of the Kyoto Protocol, Conservation of forest and RL in the mountainous regions of the Hindu Kush will help Pakistan to meet its emissions reduction goals under the Kyoto Protocol.

Informal Housing in Greece: A Multinomial Logistic Regression Analysis at the Regional Level

This paper deals with the primary causes of informal housing in Greece as well as the observed differentiations in informal housing patterns across space. The spatial level of analysis is the prefectural administrative level. The results of the multinomial logistic regression analysis indicate that Greek prefectures differ in the way they experience the informal housing phenomenon. An explanation for the observed differences may be the separate development paths followed and the diverse range of economic activities in each prefecture. The Greek state has not made provisions for creating the necessary ‘urban land stock’ in each prefecture, so that everyone interested can find land parcels at an affordable price. On the contrary, the state encourages the informal housing activity by legalizing large areas of such activity sporadically and by introducing legislative initiatives of limited success in dealing with the problem.

Mass Appraisal of Land Value by Regression Model

Land is always an extremely important resource to all countries. In managing this limited natural resource, land valuation for the purpose of determining financial obligation for users of land is a crucial issue for governments. This paper presents a method of land valuation based on a regression model that allows approaching market prices of land in a region or district. The research uses data of a survey of 600 samples in HCMC, comprising 318 street-fronting real properties and 282 ones in alleys. Two regression models are developed to conduct valuation of those two kinds of land (street fronting and alley fronting pieces of land). The research results can be used for managing stocks of land and determining financial obligations of land users in HCMC.

Soil Organic Carbon Stock and Crop Yields in Huang-Huai-Hai Plains, China

The Huang-Huai-Hai-plains (HHH) is the main wheat (Triticum aestivum)-maize(Zea mays) production area of China. Therefore, adoption of appropriate fertilizer management strategies of improving soil organic carbon (SOC) and crop yields is an important option in HHH. These studies included a total of 6 land use and management treatments including: (i) no fertilizer(CK); (ii) chemical nitrogen(N), phosphorus(P) and potassium(K) fertilizers separately(UF); (?) combined application of chemical fertilizer N,P and K(CF); (?) wheat and maize straw retention or manures including that from soybean (Glycine max) cake, chicken, horse and cow dung or manures only (O); (?) combined application N, P and K and organic fertilizers (CFO); (?) combined application of chemical fertilizer N,P or K separately and organic fertilizers (UFO). The data indicated the following: (i) The baseline SOC stock of arable land was 18.9±1.8 Mg ha-1 and the corresponding crop yield was 4.4±1.5 Mg ha-1; the highest SOC stock was 24.6±1.8 Mg ha-1 for CFO and the corresponding crop yield was 9.7±3.2 Mg ha-1; (ii) The rate of increase of SOC stock was in the order of CFO>UFO>CF>O>UF, while that of increase in crop yield was in the order of CFO>CF>UFO>UF>O; (?) Crop yield increased (Mg ha-1 yr-1) by 0.114 in UF and CF, by 0.039 in treatment O,CFO and UFO, and by 0.033 in CK by increase in SOC stock by 1 Mg ha-1; (?) Yield increased (Mg ha-1 yr-1) by 0.298, 0.119,0.065, and 0.022 by over 5, 10, 15, and over 25 years by increase in SOC stock by 1 Mg ha-1. Therefore, the combined application of chemical and organic fertilizers is the best choice for the developing countries to adapt to and mitigate climate change while advancing food security.

Analyses of technical efficiency using SDF and DEA models: evidence from Nepalese agriculture

Alleviation of poverty is a central issue in Nepal. Given the limited stock of land and the infant/unorganized manufacturing sector, increased demand for food has to be satisfied by improving production efficiency. This article examines how this could be achieved. Stochastic distance function and data envelopment analysis models identify the existence of a high degree of technical inefficiency in Nepalese agriculture, suggesting that there is a substantial prospect of increasing agricultural productivity using the existing level of inputs and resources more efficiently. Among the three farm sizes in the data set, medium size farmers achieve a higher technical efficiency than large and small farm sizes, suggesting that productive efficiency can be increased with the encouragement of creating medium size holdings. The observed decreasing returns to scale also implies that productivity gains could be achieved by breaking up of large farms into small family farms. The technical inefficiency model suggests the potential for shifting the production frontier upwards by providing ownership of land, increasing farmers’ education and knowledge, and increasing land quality, including irrigation facilities.

Spatial disintegration and arable land security in Egypt: A study of small- and moderate-sized urban areas

While commonly associated with regional ‘mega-cities’, rapid urbanization in the less-developed world has also begun to define growth in small- and moderate-sized settlements on the periphery of major metropolitan areas. The dispersal of population growth to these smaller areas holds significant implications for environmental, economic, and social health, and threatens local food security, increases congestions, and induces difficulty in service provision. This study examines the effects of spatial disintegration and rapid urbanization in the stock of arable land in Egypt. To assess this issue, the study will meet three objectives. First, we evaluate the relationship between population growth and urban land cover expansion in small- and moderate-sized settlements in Egypt. Second, we consider the role of selected geographic determinants in influencing the growth of these areas through the use of a regression model. The selection of an appropriate model type is a sub-objective and will be discussed further. Third, these drivers of growth will be assessed through their effects on the country’s stock of arable land. These objectives will be met through the development and application of the regression models, in order to examine the relationship between urban land expansion and several independent variables. An increase in population is found to have a positive and statistically significant effect on corresponding urban land cover area. Surprisingly, the variables commonly associated with urbanization in Egypt – proximity to major roads, the capital of Cairo, and the Nile River – though exhibiting a positive relationship with urban growth, are not statistically significant in the selected case studies. This research underlines the necessity for a combined approach to policy formation – with input from policy fields as varied as agriculture, urban planning, and land reclamation – to slow outward growth and maintain arable land stocks.

Challenges to the enforcement of development controls in the Wa municipality

The imposition and enforcement of a land-use regulation is extremely important if society is to reap the full benefits of its stock of land. Ghana has therefore enacted various statutes to regulate land development throughout the country. This paper examines development controls in the Wa Municipality. It finds out the challenges confronting the development control process in the municipality. The paper does these through a review of the development control literature. It also reviews the legal framework for development controls in Ghana. It used questionnaires to gather data from the officials of the Municipal Building Inspectorate Division (MBID), Wa. It used questionnaires to solicit the opinion, knowledge, experience and perception of land developers on the development control regime in the municipality. It revealed that development controls are not adequately enforced in the Wa Municipality. It notes that uncontrolled developments are a common sight in the municipality. It also established that socio-cultural reasons, political interferences, limited public knowledge on the essence of development controls, and an under-resourced building inspectorate division are responsible for this state of affairs. It recommends that the Wa Municipal Assembly strictly enforce its land-use regulations to ensure that the residents of the municipality fully benefit from the imposition of land-use regulations.

Strategy of Adaptable Renewal Planning on Culture-Led Existing-Blocks in the Main City of Chongqing

Culture-led urban regeneration is an influential planning strategy in Western countries, which is to maintain the city character while enhancing the overall competitiveness of the city through the construction of cultural development to meet the urban environment of the new cultural needs. For the moment, the rapid development of social economy of Chongqing has accelerated its urbanization process. As one of the available land stock resources of urban, existing-blocks need updating to meet the new environmental requirements immediately because of physical and functional decline. So it is essential to consider the strategy of culture-led urban regeneration synthetically. It can not only maintain the social network structure and neighborhood relationship of the existing-blocks to continue urban context while improving its image, but also provide a sustainable competitive city. Taking existing-blocks in Chongqing as the main research object, analyze the current characteristics of the existing-blocks, then put forward the culture-led planning strategy from macro, micro and mid-scale to adapt the development of Chongqing existing-blocks by drawing on the experience at home and abroad.

Land reform implementation in Estonia: comparison of land reform activity and land stock characteristics between municipalities

Land reform implementation in Estonia: comparison of land reform activity and land stock characteristics between municipalities

An assessment of carbon stock for various land use system in Aravally mountains, Western India

Reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries is of the central importance in efforts to combat climate change. A study was conducted to measure carbon stocks in various land-use systems including forms and reliably estimates the impact of land use on carbon (C) stocks in the forest of Rajasthan, western India (23°3′–30°12′N longitude and 69°30′–78°17′E). 22.8% of India is forested and 0.04% is the deforestation rate of India. In Indian forest sector of western India of Aravally mountain range covered large area of deciduous forest and it’s very helpful in carbon sequestration at global level. The carbon stocks of forest, plantation (reforestation) and agricultural land in aboveground, soil organic and fine root within forest were estimated through field data collection. Results revealed that the amount of total carbon stock of forests (533.64 ± 37.54 Mg·ha−1, simplified expression of Mg (carbon) ·ha−1) was significantly greater (P < 0.05) than the plantation (324.37 ± 15.0 Mg·ha−1) and the agricultural land (120.50 ± 2.17 Mg·ha−1). Soil organic carbon in the forests (172.84 ± 3.78 Mg·ha−1) was also significantly greater (P < 0.05) than the plantation (153.20 ± 7.48 Mg·ha−1) and the agricultural land (108.71 ± 1.68 Mg·ha−1). The differences in carbon stocks across land-use types are the primary consequence of variations in the vegetation biomass and the soil organic matter. Fine root carbon was a small fraction of carbon stocks in all land-use types. Most of the soil organic carbon and fine root carbon content was found in the upper 30-cm layer and decreased with soil depth. The aboveground carbon (ABGC): soil organic carbon (SOC): fine root carbon ratios (FRC), was 8:4:1, 4:5:1, and 3:37:1 for the forest, plantation and agricultural land, respectively. These results indicate that a relatively large proportion of the C loss is due to forest conversion to agricultural land.

Impacts of Cultivated Land Conversion on Environmental Sustainability and Grain Self‐sufficiency in China

AbstractUsing provincial data, the present paper examines the impact of cultivated land conversion on agriculture and the environment. It is found that the grain production center is gradually moving towards more fragile and water scarce areas, putting more pressure on the environment. Land conversion caused large losses in ecosystem service values in the 1990s, but large scale ecological restoration programs have been implemented since 2000 to compensate for such losses. The ecological restoration programs are concentrated in regions with relatively low land productivity, whereas cultivated land conversion usually takes place in areas with relatively high land productivity. Newly‐cultivated land, especially that in areas marginally suit for agricultural production, is likely to have much lower productivity levels than the original cultivated land. Because the stock of potentially cultivable land is almost exhausted, China's grain self‐sufficiency policy can only be maintained by preserving the available stock of arable land and increasing its productivity in a sustainable way.

Capital as a factor of production in OECD agriculture: measurement and data

This article provides a farm sector comparison of levels of capital input for fourteen OECD countries for the period 1973 to 2002. The starting point for construction of a measure of capital input is the measurement of capital stock. Estimates of depreciable capital are derived by representing capital stock at each point of time as a weighted sum of past investments. The weights correspond to the relative efficiencies of capital goods of different ages, so that the weighted components of capital stock have the same efficiency. Estimates of the stock of land are derived from balance sheet data. We convert estimates of capital stock into estimates of capital service flows by means of capital rental prices. Comparisons of levels of capital input among countries require data on relative prices of capital input. We obtain relative price levels for capital input via relative investment goods prices, taking into account the flow of capital input per unit of capital stock in each country.

The price and quantity of residential land in the United States

One can conceptualize a house as a bundle comprising a reproducible tangible structure and a non-reproducible plot of land. When the value of a home is decomposed this way, land capitalizes the market value of a home's location. We develop a formal relationship between the dynamics of house prices, structures costs and land prices, and thereby construct the first constant-quality price and quantity indexes for the aggregate stock of residential land in the United States. In a range of applications we show that these series can shed light on trends, fluctuations and regional variation in the price of housing.

The Price and Quantity of Residential Land in the United States

A house is a bundle comprising a physical structure and the plot of land upon which the house is built. Thus changes in house prices reflect changes in the cost of structures and value of land. In this paper we apply this insight to construct the first constant-quality price and quantity indexes for the aggregate stock of residential land in the United States. We document that the value of residential land exceeds annual GDP, and that the dynamics for the prices of residential land and residential structures are quite different. For example, the real price index for residential land almost tripled between 1975 and 2005, while the real price of structures increased by only 24 percent. Fluctuations in house prices at business cycle frequencies, including the recent boom, are primarily driven by changes in the price of land.

Modelling the evolution of regional carbon stocks in Belgian cropland soils

In long-term experiments, it has been demonstrated that management of cropland influences the evolution of soil organic carbon (SOC ) stocks. National inventories of SOC stocks in Belgium have recently been compiled, and show an evolution of SOC stocks of arable land from 1960 to 1990 and 2000. In order to analyse the driving forces of these changes, we concentrate on the SOC evolution in the soil associations of three of the 13 Belgian agricultural regions (Dunes-Polders, Loam belt and Condroz). The small confidence limits around the mean SOC values within some soil associations (0.412.7 t C ha-1) allow us to compare the observed values with the results of the RothC soil carbon model and hence quantify the most important driving forces. After estimating the local parameters by fitting the model to SOC values from a longterm experiment in central Belgium, the model was run from 1960 to 2000 for typical soil profiles of soil associations in the three agricultural regions. The main factors inducing changes in SOC stocks are the increase in plough depth as a result of continued mechanisation in the 1960s and the sustained input of organic amendments in the form of farmyard manure and slurry. In contrast to earlier publications on CO2 emissions from agricultural soils, the model did not predict a decrease in SOC stocks for the period 1990-2000. A slight increase was observed, although this increase is not significant for most soil associations. The comparison between modelled and observed SOC data at two time slices allows the uncertainty of the model results to be estimated. This uncertainty ranges from 7.5 to 14.4% of the SOC stock and is in the same order of magnitude as the uncertainty around SOC modelling for the long-term experiments both in Belgium and elsewhere in Europe. The organic matter concentration in the topsoil, an indicator for soil quality, was in the range of 1.5 to 3.3%. Organic matter content increased in the Dunes-Polders and decreased in the Loam belt and the Condroz from 1960 to 2000. Many soils in the Loam belt are now close to the critical level of 2% under which the soils are vulnerable to compaction and erosion. Key words: Soil organic carbon, regional modelling, soil-land-unit, Belgium