Primary Industry Research Articles

Modelling Climate Change Impacts on Location Suitability and Spatial Footprint of Apple and Kiwifruit

The threats and opportunities faced by primary production industries from future climate changes can be adequately prepared for only with the guidance of model projections that can assist the development of robust policy and climate adaptation plans by governments and industries. We used continuous suitability models capable of reflecting incremental changes to project the suitability of locations across New Zealand for cultivating apple and kiwifruit in the mid- and late-century. These projections used future weather data from climate model simulations for two contrasting greenhouse gas (GHG) pathways: stringent GHG mitigation and unabated GHG emissions. To improve the suitability of the modelled temperature data, specifically for use with biologically driven, crop suitability models, we developed new bias-variance adjustments that preserved climate change signals within the data. Preliminary projections of land use across a range of alternative primary industries were obtained from a multinomial logit model incorporating continuous suitability scores as predictors. We refined the preliminary land-use projections by providing them as inputs into a simulation model of land use incorporating other drivers and constraints. This methodology provides a means for projecting future land use and the spatial footprints of primary industries, based on biological and econometric considerations, under different modelled climate change scenarios.

Pathways for municipalities to achieve carbon emission peak and carbon neutrality: A study based on the LEAP model

China has played an active and constructive role in the global combat against climate change. Municipalities play a leading role in tackling global climate change. However, despite the global efforts to push for carbon neutrality, the pathway is not yet clear. Using the municipality of Bengbu as a case, this paper explores pathways for achieving carbon emission peak and carbon neutrality in order to reach a CO2 emission peak before 2030 in four Scenarios and develops a low emission framework taking into consideration the local economy, population, renewable resources, as well as the transport and energy sectors based on the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) model. Meanwhile, the energy demand, the structure of the electric power generation, the CO2 emission, and the total cost in different Scenarios are simulated respectively. The result of this study provides insight on options for energy transformation for the period of 2020–2060. The results show that the industrial sector is the largest energy consumer. The growth rate of energy demand in the primary industry and industrial sector shows downward trends. The increasement of industrial electrification rate and coal generation phasing out are crucial to CO2 emission reduction. The large-scale deployment of renewable energy and the deployment of thermal power generation with CCUS are important for the electric power industry to achieve carbon reduction goals. Last but not the least, recommendations on energy planning for municipals to realize carbon emission peak and achieve carbon neutrality are provided.

Observation of juvenile Eastern Blue Groper (Achoerodus viridis) on remnant oyster reefs in New South Wales, Australia.

Observation of juvenile Eastern Blue Groper (Achoerodus viridis) on remnant oyster reefs in New South Wales, Australia.

Big Data Mining and Analysis of Agricultural Products Based on e-Commerce Platform

Solve the problem of agricultural product big data mining based on e-commerce platform, meet the needs of e-commerce development to agricultural products, meet the diversified needs of e-commerce platforms, and improve people’s living standards and convenience. According to 1000 online questionnaires, 866 people believe that e-commerce can bring them convenience, and 134 people believe that the convenience is insufficient. Even agricultural products, as a traditional primary industry, have begun to be “involved” in the sales mode of e-commerce platforms. In the face of the increasingly huge online consumer demand market, the agricultural product economy has redisplayed a strong market vitality. Of course, the huge market base also makes the e-commerce model of agricultural products pay attention to big data mining and analysis. This paper focuses on how to carry out big data mining and analysis of agricultural products more efficiently from the technical level. Therefore, the agricultural product user data mining technology of e-commerce platform based on Hadoop is proposed. Through the intervention of association rule analysis and algorithm, the improvement of relevant algorithms and agricultural products user behavior analysis system under e-commerce platform based on Hadoop is proposed. The results show that the system can realize the analysis of commodity association degree under various agricultural products user behavior modes and can better help the e-commerce platform of agricultural products realize precision marketing.

Lithium in drinking water and Alzheimer's dementia: Epidemiological Findings from National Data Base of Japan.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between lithium levels in drinking water and prevalence of Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Lithium levels in the drinking water of 808 cities and wards (i.e., 785 Japanese cities of 46 prefectures and 23 wards of Tokyo) in Japan were examined in relation to the prevalence of AD during the 5 years from 2010 to 2014, which was calculated on the basis of the national data base of Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare of Japan. Multiple regression analyses were used to investigate the association of lithium levels with the prevalence of AD with adjustment for relevant factors (proportions of one-person households as a family factor and people in primary industry employment as a job factor, annual total sunshine hours as a meteorological factor, and total number of beds of psychiatric hospitals as a medical factor) in total, male, and female elderly populations. The adjusted model showed a significant inverse association of lithium levels with female, but not with male, or total prevalence of AD. These findings suggest that higher lithium levels in drinking water may be associated with lower prevalence of AD in female, but not male, populations.

Selection and Optimization of Regional Economic Industrial Structure Based on Fuzzy k-Means Clustering Algorithm.

Learning about the regional business model is essential for the sustainable development of the regional economy. From the perspective of urban renewable energy, city A is the product of energy development. This paper analyzes the current situation and existing problems of the industrial model of city A through fuzzy k-means clustering algorithm. The results show that although the optimization of industrial structure in city A has achieved some results, the more intuitive problems mainly include low labor productivity of the primary industry, strong resource dependence, insufficient extension of industrial chain, and slow development of technology intensive industries. This paper uses fuzzy k-means clustering algorithm to select the leading industries from the perspective of the current situation of leading industries, urban development pattern, and regional policies in city A. The results show that, as a renewable resource-based city, the leading industries suitable for the current development of city A include manufacturing, power, alkali gas and water production and supply, transportation, warehousing and postal industry, leasing, and business services. The results of fuzzy k-means clustering algorithm are quite excellent, and the accuracy rate is 93.3%. This paper uses the grey dynamic linear programming model to predict the future development of the Urban A business model and combines the selection of key functions to obtain the best business model: deep and efficient technical equipment as a good goal, achieved through regional logistics, transportation, new services, etc., to enhance the output value of the tertiary industry in city A and optimize the internal structure of the secondary industry in city A.

The Upgrading of Fishery Industrial Structure and Its Influencing Factors: Evidence from China

Aquatic products have made an increasingly important contribution to ensuring food security and nutrition. The huge and dynamic aquatic product consumption market in China has created a new consumption pattern, and the transformation and upgrading of the aquatic industry is essential. Using system generalized method of moments (GMM) and fishery industry data from 2003 to 2019 in 31 provinces and regions, this paper constructs the upgrading index of fishery industrial structure and finds that: (1) In general, the upgrading level of China’s fishery industrial structure is on the rise, but it is still in its infancy. (2) The upgrading level of the fishery industrial structure in coastal areas is greater than that of inland areas. (3) The level of economic development and the labor productivity of primary fishery industry are the key influencing factors of China’s fishery industrial upgrading. (4) By comparing the heterogeneity of the impact of various factors on the upgrading of fishery industrial structure in coastal and inland areas, the impact is mainly in coastal areas. To promote the upgrading of China’s fishery industrial structure, this paper puts forward some suggestions.

Effects of ICT diffusion on environmental pollution: analysis of industrial reallocation effects in China.

The development of information and communication technology (ICT) has brought about fundamental changes in social progress worldwide. Using panel data from 288 Chinese cities for the period from 1999 to 2019, this study evaluates the effect of the pilot Broadband China Strategy (BCS) program on environmental pollution. We find that BCS significantly reduces environmental pollution, and that this effect is stronger in eastern China and in Chinese cities with higher financial progress or broadband development. Interestingly, the negative effect of BCS on environmental pollution decreases with the improvement of human capital in the cities. We further discuss industrial efficiency and reallocation mechanisms and ascertain that BCS affects environmental pollution in pilot cities not only through the efficiency mechanism as established in the existing literature but also through the industrial scale change and labor transfer between different industries, which we refer to as the industrial reallocation mechanism in this study. Specifically, via the industrial efficiency and reallocation mechanisms, the implementation of the BCS increases the scale and efficiency of the primary and tertiary industries but decreases the scale and efficiency of the secondary industry. This reduction in the secondary industry results in a decline in environmental pollution. It indicates that promoting the balanced development of a country's ICT infrastructure and pushing forward ICT diffusion can help alleviate environmental pollution by industrial reallocation and efficiency improvement, especially in nations with significant regional economic and technological differences.

Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Specialized Villages in Henan Province

The implementation of the rural revitalization strategy is a major decision-making arrangement of the Party Central Committee and a new carrier to promote the integrated development of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries. Specialized villages are a field that has received widespread attention in academic circles in recent years, and they play an important role in promoting the economic development of rural areas. This paper comprehensively uses buffer analysis, kernel density estimation, spatial autocorrelation analysis, Ripley's K function and other methods to describe the spatial distribution characteristics of specialized villages in Henan province, identify the influencing factors of the spatial differentiation of specialized villages, and reveal the spatial distribution of specialized villages. The results show that: (1) The distribution density of specialized villages in Henan province is 0.2784/km2, which shows the characteristics of "more in the north and less in the south, gathering in the north and scattered in the south". (2) The core density of specialized villages at the district and county scale in Henan province is worth the Moran index of 0.128, showing the characteristics of spatial agglomeration.

‘The day I killed my cows was the day I walked away’: Mycoplasma bovis, moral economy and moral capital

We explore the impact of a recent Mycoplasma bovis outbreak on affected farms in southern NZ through the lenses of moral economy and moral capital. Qualitative interviews were conducted with farmers impacted by M. bovis, local veterinarians, rural business advisors, Ministry for Primary Industries staff, and Rural Support Trust staff. In addition to economic capital associated with the business of farming, our research identified several forms of moral capital that were accrued, lost and exchanged across the many layers of the farming moral economy. Reputational moral capital, moral capital associated with productivity of stock, decision-making around killing livestock, and contested compensation claims concerning the value of breeding livestock were evident within participants' accounts of the M. bovis outbreak and its management. We suggest that livestock strongly embody these forms of moral capital in the farming moral economy because animals require care in order to survive and thrive, and the care invested in livestock is paid forward to be realized as economic dividends in the forms of milk, progeny, and meat. This analysis adds depth to understanding farmers' responses to the M. bovis outbreak, the eradication program as it was implemented, and the longer-term impacts during the recovery phase.

The Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on Industrial Output: The Regulatory Role of Technological Progress

Since the 2008 financial crisis, EPU has become an important issue for the stable and healthy development of the economy and society. The existing research has not analyzed the nonlinear impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on output at the industrial level, and it has also ignored the regulatory role of technological progress in the impact of EPU on economic growth. Based on panel data of China’s industry from 2005 to 2017, this paper makes an empirical analysis on the nonlinear impact of EPU on industry output. The results show that: (1) Different from the existing research, this paper finds that EPU has a significant inverted “U”-type nonlinear effect on industrial output, and when the EPU index is close to 221, this is best for output growth. This paper firstly finds that technological progress has a positive regulatory effect in the impact of EPU on industrial output. Technological progress can promote industrial output when EPU is low, and it can reduce the adverse impact of economic policy fluctuations when the EPU index is high. (2) The regulatory effect of technological progress only exists in the industries dominated by state-owned enterprises, and the impact of EPU on the output of non-state-owned enterprises’ leading industries is greater than that of state-owned enterprises. (3) The impact of EPU on the output of cyclical industries shows a significant inverted “U” shape, but there is no regulatory effect of technological progress. Its impact on the output of noncyclical industries is not significant, but it will work together with technological progress. (4) The influence of EPU on the output of the tertiary industry is characterized by an inverted “U” shape, in which technological progress can play a positive regulatory role. However, its impact on the output of primary and secondary industries is not significant.

Gene editing pests and primary industries – legal considerations

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Do the National Key Ecological Function Zones Promote Green Development? Evidence from the Yanshan–Taihang Mountainous Area in Hebei Province, China

National key ecological function zones (NKEFZs) in China are critically important to maintain ecological security and accelerate the construction of the ecological civilization system. The quantitative impact of NKEFZs on green development at the county level has not received much attention. In this study, the county-level statistics of the Yanshan–Taihang Mountainous area in Hebei province from 2013 to 2018 were selected as samples. The symbiotic relationship between economy and ecology was measured and development patterns were identified using an improved Lotka–Volterra model. Then, a difference-in-differences (DID) model was used to empirically test the green development effects of establishing NKEFZs, as well as the dynamic changes of the effects and the heterogeneity of different development patterns. The results show that: (1) Green development in the sample area can be classified into four patterns: Low-High, High-Low, High-High, and Low-Low; (2) NKEFZs reduce the level of green development in the study interval and have a persistent negative effect on the level of green development; and (3) NKEFZs have a significant negative effect on areas of Low-High and High-Low development patterns, while the effect on areas of Low-Low development patterns is not significant. Overall, the results indicate that NKEFZs have a negative impact on the green development of the Yanshan–Taihang Mountainous area in Hebei Province. Finally, to promote green development in mountainous areas, the paper makes the following recommendations: Firstly, to improve the transfer payment system for NKEFZs and bring into play a long-term mechanism for the compensation effect of transfer payments. Secondly, to cultivate special industries to achieve the differentiated development of county economies. Thirdly, to accelerate the optimization and adjustment of industrial structures and promote the coordinated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries.

The influence of strategic innovation management on firm innovation performance in the Indonesian mid-size telecommunication industry

Background: The telecommunication industry was one of the Indonesian government's priorities in the national development plan 2015-2035. “Primary Industry” was the term for the priority industries with the central role as the prime mover in the future national economy. Various natural, human, technological, innovative, and creative resources were imperative in supporting the underlining national industry development plan. Strategic innovation management refers to the entire sequence of innovation practices, including competition mechanism analysis, such as creating an innovative vision, business strategy alignment, disseminating strategy at an entire organizational level, market tendency, technology, and competitor’s action. Firm innovation performance refers to the measurement of innovation efficiency (the number of new products, product novelty, new product development speed, and new product success rate) and innovation profitability (new product revenue proportion, quality enhancement, cost reduction, and value improvement) conducted by the firm. This study investigates the effect of Innovation Strategy, Organizational Structure, Innovation Culture, Technological Capability, and Customer-Supplier Relationship (these were the practice of Strategic Innovation Management mentioned in various literature) on Firm Innovation Performance. Methods: A quantitative method, from a practical perspective, was employed to investigate the causal relationship between strategic innovation management and firm innovation performance. Data was gathered through a validated and reliable questionnaire disseminated to 90 respondents. It included a representative from the four sub-sectors of the telecommunication industry, namely fixed networks, wireless networks, telecommunication services, and special telecommunication. Results: The survey found that firms within the telecommunication industry already employed Strategic Innovation Management practices. Moreover, this study also found that Innovation Culture, Technological Capability, and Customer-Suppler Relationship significantly influence Firm Innovation Performance. Conclusion: The implementation of Strategic Innovation Management in the mid-size companies within Indonesia's telecommunication industry appears to be relatively high. It indicates that firms within the industry were able to strategically compete by implementing Strategic Innovation Management.

Distribution Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Soils of the Typical Karst and Non-Karst Areas

To investigate the distribution characteristics and hazard levels of eight heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn) in karst soil with a high geological background of heavy metals, 32 and 40 surface soil samples were collected from limestone and clastic rock areas, respectively, in the northern part of Mashan County, Guangxi Province, a typical mountainous county dominated by primary industries in China. Geostatistical methods, Pearson’s correlation analysis, the geo-accumulation index, and the potential ecological hazard index were applied to explore the influencing factors of those heavy metals and evaluate their potential contamination risks. The results show that (1) the levels of the eight heavy metal elements in the surface soils of karst areas exceeded the background values of soil for Mashan County, the background value of soil (layer A) in China, and abundance value of upper crust. According to the soil pollution risk screening values specified in the Soil Environmental Quality: Risk Control Standard for Contamination of Agricultural Land, the proportions of heavy metals in the soils of karst areas were ranked as Cd (100%) > As (90.6%) > Cr (84.4%) > Zn (68.8%) > Ni (37.5%). Meanwhile, the heavy metals in the soils of non-karst areas did not exceed the overall values for Mashan County, and Ni, Pb, and Zn did not exceed the overall national soil values. One-quarter of Cd in non-karst samples exceeded the risk-threshold screening value. There was a high degree of variation and a significant difference in the contents of heavy metal elements between karst and non-karst areas. (2) The element combinations of As-Cd-Cu-Hg-Ni-Pb-Zn and Cr in karst areas were characterized by the influence of carbonate rock parent material. The non-karst areas were characterized by Ni-Cu-Pb-Zn, As-Cr-Hg, and Cd assemblages, which were mainly influenced by the mixture of laterite parent materials, sand shale parent materials, and basic-rock residual materials, and that may be affected by element migration caused by soil erosion and anthropogenic activities. (3) Analysis of the geo-accumulation index showed that karst areas were generally found to be at the clean to light pollution level, except for in the areas whose samples exhibited medium/high pollution levels for Cd and Cr, with the Cd pollution being the more serious of the two. Small amounts of Cd and Cu were present in the non-karst areas at a light contamination level, while other elements were at the level of no pollution. (4) The results of the potential ecological risk index showed that Cd and Hg were the main ecologically hazardous heavy metal elements in the soils of the study areas. The potential ecological risk level in karst areas was much higher than in non-karst areas, especially for Cd, and was mainly influenced by the carbonate rock parent material.

Building a synthesis of economic costs of biological invasions in New Zealand.

Biological invasions are a major component of anthropogenic environmental change, incurring substantial economic costs across all sectors of society and ecosystems. There have been recent syntheses of costs for a number of countries using the newly compiled InvaCost database, but New Zealand—a country renowned for its approach to invasive species management—has so far not been examined. Here we analyse reported economic damage and management costs incurred by biological invasions in New Zealand from 1968 to 2020. In total, US$69 billion (NZ$97 billion) is currently reported over this ∼50-year period, with approximately US$9 billion of this considered highly reliable, observed (c.f. projected) costs. Most (82%) of these observed economic costs are associated with damage, with comparatively little invested in management (18%). Reported costs are increasing over time, with damage averaging US$120 million per year and exceeding management expenditure in all decades. Where specified, most reported costs are from terrestrial plants and animals, with damages principally borne by primary industries such as agriculture and forestry. Management costs are more often associated with interventions by authorities and stakeholders. Relative to other countries present in the InvaCost database, New Zealand was found to spend considerably more than expected from its Gross Domestic Product on pre- and post-invasion management costs. However, some known ecologically (c.f. economically) impactful invasive species are notably absent from estimated damage costs, and management costs are not reported for a number of game animals and agricultural pathogens. Given these gaps for known and potentially damaging invaders, we urge improved cost reporting at the national scale, including improving public accessibility through increased access and digitisation of records, particularly in overlooked socioeconomic sectors and habitats. This also further highlights the importance of investment in management to curtail future damages across all sectors.

Assessment and source analysis of heavy metal contamination in water and surface sediment in Dongping Lake, China

Dongping Lake is the only natural lake in the lower Yellow River and an important hub of South-North Water Diversion Project, its water quality is of vital importance to the environmental protection and the security of water supply. To assess the heavy metal (HM) contamination in Dongping Lake, samples in water and surface sediment were taken from 59 sampling sites over the entire lake. The statistical characteristics, pollution conditions, and source identifications were analyzed using coupling methods of entropy water quality index (EWQI), modified pollution index (mCd), enrichment coefficient (EF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), potential ecological risk index (PERI), and positive matrix factorization (PMF). In present study, the averaged concentrations of all studied HMs in water body of Dongping Lake were below the limit of drinking water quality standard recommended by WHO, and the EWQI and mCd of HM concentrations were identified to be in good and excellent conditions. The concentrations of almost all studied HMs in surface sediment of Dongping Lake exceeded the background values in the soil of Shandong Province, and Cd (cadmium) was the dominant pollutant. With EF > 2, Igeo > 1, and Er > 80, Cd in sediment was under moderate pollution. The outcomes of source analysis revealed that the HMs in surface sediment were mainly derived from the primary and secondary industries. Specifically, manufacturing industries contributed the most to the HM contaminations in sediment of Dongping Lake.

An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between the Prosperity of Tertiary Industry and Residents' Income and Employment -- A Case Study of 260 Samples in Jiangsu Province from 2000 to 2020

As the development of the tertiary industry has increasingly become an inevitable trend in the modern global economy, the impact of this industry on residents' income and employment pressure is worth exploring. Based on this, this paper analyzes the effects of the development of tertiary industry on residents' income and employment by building a fixed-effect model, then carries out a heterogeneity analysis of various cities in Jiangsu Province. The results show that: (1) The prosperity of the tertiary industry in Jiangsu province has a strong driving force on residents' income and employment, and has promoted the growth of both to some extent; (2) Jiangsu province has an equivalent positive effect on the prefecture-level cities, but there is still an imbalance in regional economic development among prefecture-level cities; (3) For this purpose, Jiangsu province puts forward the following countermeasures: Stabilize the primary industry and develop the tertiary industry; Strengthen policy adjustment, increase social employment; Strengthen regional cooperation and promote industrial integration

Study on Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emission Control and Reduction Potential in the Pesticide Industry in China

The pesticide industry is one of the primary industries with large and complex VOC emissions. The present study examined the emission characteristics and whole-process control of VOCs in the pesticide industry in China by reviewing pollutant discharge permits, questionnaires, and site investigations. After evaluating the effectiveness of current treatment technologies, the potential of VOC emission reduction in China was analyzed. The results indicate that there are 41 key VOC substances in the pesticide industry that should be given considerable attention. Among treatment facilities, incineration was found to be the most efficient technology, with a removal rate of 53–98% and coverage rate of 23.3%. Multistage absorption–adsorption is a universal technology that had a removal rate of 35–95% and coverage rate of 64.14%. Multistage absorption was used most frequently, with a coverage rate of 71.99%, but its removal rate was between 16 and 85%. Pesticide factories were divided into three levels according to their pollution control capability; the comprehensive removal rates of benchmark, moderate, and poor factories were 81%, 46%, and 8%, respectively, and the emission reduction ratios for high, moderate, and low targets were 41.55%, 32.12%, and 24.32% with corresponding emission reduction costs of $0.653, $0.505, and $0.038 billion/year. The results and prospects from this study will provide support for policy development in industrial VOC emission control in China during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period.

Collaborating for Community Regeneration: Facilitating Partnerships in, through, and for Place

Cross-sector partnerships (CSP) are increasingly recognized as essential for addressing our world’s mounting sustainability challenges. However, place is often considered merely as a contextual backdrop for these partnerships in CSP research. In this study, we focus on the ways in which place, including the natural, built, and cultural dimensions of geographic locations, is actively leveraged to facilitate cross-sector collaboration. Employing a qualitative and engaged research approach, we helped organize and studied two workshops held in small communities on the east coast of Canada whose goal was to build a cross-sector network of community leaders focused on revitalizing communities suffering from the collapse of their primary industry, the cod fishery. We show how the staging of place fostered deeper connections among participants by reducing barriers to participation, intensifying contact with others, and enabling participants to share local knowledge. In turn, connecting through place prompted participants to recognize a shared purpose and sense of belonging, two key elements for building cross-sector collaboration.