Village Scale Research Articles

Spatiotemporal movement pattern of Asian Elephants Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758 in Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra, India

The extension of the Asian Elephant’s Elephas maximus range in the northern Western Ghats (Sahyadri) was observed since 2002. This colonization was marked by elephant crop raiding events in the newly colonized Sindhudurg District, where the local community had no experience of living with elephants. The present study was conducted to understand the spatiotemporal patterns of crop depredation (raiding) and to prioritize areas to inform future interventions on managing this ecological phenomenon turned conflict. Data on crop raiding between 2002 and 2015 was obtained from compensation records with the state forest department, and mapped at village scale. Subsequently, we used three indices of crop raiding, viz., Crop Raiding Frequency (CRF), Relative Crop Raiding Intensity (RCRI), and Crop Raiding Vulnerability Index (CRVI). Results show a gradual northern movement of elephants and of the crop raiding zone over the period of 2002–2015. The rankings provided by CRVI, identified villages in a narrow strip of foothills of the Sahyadri mountains as severely vulnerable. With sufficient long term data, CRVI would be a highly useful index for prioritization of villages for resolving human-elephant negative interactions; and other cases of human-wildlife interactions too.

Analisis Implementasi Kebijakan Perlindungan Lahan Gambut Untuk Tanaman Pangan Berkelanjutan

The massive expansion of oil palm plantations for the benefit of the palm oil industry and its derivatives has an impact on ecosystem and environmental damage as well as large demands for land conversion that threaten agricultural land for food crops, which also threatens food security on it. Jebus Village, Kumpeh District, Muaro Jambi Regency, Jambi Province which has peat soil type for most of its land, in this case is one of the villages facing the problem of oil palm plantation expansion and land conversion which is starting to threaten agricultural land for food crops. Therefore, the Jebus Village Regulation No.1 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Peatlands for Sustainable Food Crops and Plantations was made to protect food land in Jebus village. This study aims to analyze the implementation of peatland protection for sustainable food crops in Jebus village. This research uses descriptive qualitative methods. The collection of various data is carried out with a combination of in-depth interview and observation techniques and is supported by data from research results or reports. Data processing uses coding to obtain meaning which is presented in narrative form. This study found that the implementation of the Village Regulation was able to reduce the threat of damage to peatlands, restrain the rate of conversion of food agricultural land into plantations that were not environmentally friendly. However, the implementation of this policy has not been able to guarantee the availability of staple food (rice) for the Jebus village community. In addition, policy implementation faces challenges that cannot be resolved at the village scale.

Financial and economic feasibility of bio-digesters for rural residential demand-side management and sustainable development

This paper addresses the financial and economic feasibility of biogas production to meet energy demands at a household or village scale. To this effect, the potential cost and benefit of biogas digesters were explored. The biogas digesters were characterised under controlled conditions before being deployed to the KrwaKrwa and Upper Ncera villages in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. At the control site, meteorological weather parameters that influence biogas production were monitored continuously. Based on typical rural household electrical usage profile from 2-years of data observed at the sub-station level, assumptions about the cooking times and electrical demands were made. It was found that the bio-digesters are capable of supplying the energy required for cooking, provided the digesters are continuously fed at least every 5th day. Also, 1.0 m3 of CH4 is equivalent to 4.70 kWh of electricity. With reloading after every 5th day, the total biogas produced per day over 31 days is 2.93 m3. This is equivalent to demand-side avoidance of 13.77 kWh/day and monetary savings of R26,88/day or R833,43/month. A financial cost of approximately R 17 000,00 per digester, Net Present Value of R22 000,00 and a payback period of 22 months was obtained for the feasibility of the project. Based on the findings of the study, it can be said that biogas digesters are financially sound investments and economically feasible at both household and societal levels. These digesters can also ensure that the household remains above the poverty threshold.

Factors Influencing Farmland Abandonment at the Village Scale: Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)

As a global issue, farmland abandonment is considered to be one of the most crucial fields in the study of land use change. The clarification of its driving factors plays a vital role in improving the efficiency of rural cultivated land use and ensuring national food security. This paper aims to study the factors influencing farmland abandonment in 49 villages of Ganzhou City by adopting the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). The results show that: (1) Farmland abandonment is the outcome of synergism among many factors, among which the low–level of agricultural mechanization is definitely a necessary condition in Ganzhou, and it contributes a material effect to the abandonment. (2) The path leading to farmland abandonment is not unique to the study area, and can be attributed to five different combinations. These combinations can be enumerated as: A1 (a combination of convenient transportation, complete agricultural facilities, low-level agricultural mechanization, low-level land circulation, and no industrial policy support), A2 (a combination of complete agricultural facilities, low-level agricultural mechanization, low-level land circulation, sufficient agricultural labor, and no industrial policy support), A3 (a combination of convenient transportation, complete agricultural facilities, low-level agricultural mechanization, sufficient agricultural labor, and no industrial policy support), A4 (a combination of convenient transportation, low-level agricultural mechanization, low-level land circulation, sufficient agricultural labor, and industrial policy support), and A5 (a combination of inconvenient transportation, complete agricultural facilities, low-level agricultural mechanization, high-level land circulation, sufficient agricultural labor, and industrial policy support). (3) In the above-mentioned combinations, the core conditions and peripheral conditions conjointly impact on farmland abandonment. Finally, corresponding policy implications are proposed in order to further reveal the mechanism of farmland abandonment. These recommendations provide new ideas and methods for policy makers to use in making decisions and will promote the effective use of farmland.

Lessons from the Malaria Vector Control Program Based on Indoors Residual Spraying with DDT or Dieldrin in the Pilot Zone of Bobo-Dioulasso: Failure or Success?

RésuméPendant cinq ans, à partir de 1953, un grand programme d'aspersions pariétales intradomiciliaires s'est déroulé dans la zone pilote de Bobo-Dioulasso avec du DDT ou de la dieldrine (DLN) avec une évaluation conceptuellement entomologique et parasitologique [18].Par rapport à la zone témoin, le DDT a induit une réduction d'environ 95% et 67% du taux de piqûres d'Anopheles gambiae, respectivement à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur des maisons. Mais du fait de son action irritante, le DDT a augmenté de cinq fois le coefficient d'exophagie de ce vecteur. La DLN n'a eu aucun impact sur le taux de piqûres d'An. gambiae aussi bien à l'intérieur qu'à l'extérieur, vu la résistance de l'espèce anophélienne à cet insecticide. L'indice sporozoïtique d'An. gambiae a été réduit de 96% dans les zones traitées au DDT et de 70% dans le secteur traité à la DLN.Le DDT a réduit de 98% et de 91% le taux de piqûres d'Anopheles funestus, respectivement dans les maisons traitées et à l'extérieur. Avec la DLN, ces réductions ont été respectivement de 98% et 97%. L'indice sporozoïtique d'An. funestus a été réduit de 95% dans les zones traitées au DDT.La lutte antivectorielle a permis de réduire la transmission due à An. gambiae et An. funestus de quelques 99,8% dans les villages traités au DDT par rapport aux villages témoins. La DLN a permis de réduire de 99,9% la transmission due à An. funestus, mais quasiment pas celle due à An. gambiae . La lutte antivectorielle basée sur les aspersions intradomiciliaires de DDT ou de DLN a permis de réduire de 99,9% la transmission des Plasmodium humains assurée par les deux vecteurs majeurs, An. gambiae et An. funestus dans les villages de la zone pilote.Chez les enfants de 2–9 ans l'indice splénique a été de 84,3% (n= 979) en zone témoin et 44,4% (n = 8920) en zones traitées (différence: -47,3%), la prévalence plasmodiale a été de 60,6% (n = 946) en zone témoin et 38,0% (n = 7242) en zones traitées (différence: – 37%) mais les indices gamétocytiques sont restés aux mêmes niveaux (3,28%, n = 946 en zone témoin et 3,04%, n = 7242 en zones traitées) indiquant le maintien du « réservoir de virus » et des possibilités de transmission.Par rapport à la zone témoin, « l'indice de contamination nouvelle » a été significativement moindre chez les nourrissons de 0-3 mois et de 4 à 6 mois dans les villages traités au DDT mais pas chez les nourrissons 7 à 12 mois démontrant que la lutte antivectorielle avait eu une certaine efficacité dans la prévention de l'infection plasmodiale mais « tous les nouveau-nés étaient infectés dans l'année », donc la transmission de P. falciparum n'avait pas été complètement stoppée.Les aspersions intradomiciliaires avec le DDT ont été d'une grande efficacité dans la réduction de la transmission mais les vecteurs sont restés présents et la transmission, même fortement réduite, s'est maintenue de sorte que dans l'optique de l'éradication, le programme avait été considéré comme un « semi–échec » avec la décision d'adopter un changement complet de stratégie de lutte contre le paludisme et de se centrer sur la chimiothérapie de masse plutôt que sur la lutte antivectorielle.Ces opérations de lutte antivectorielle d'aspersions pariétales de DDT peuvent être considérées comme un succès entomologique, avec ses limites indiquées par le maintien d'un certain niveau de transmission et des indices spléniques et plasmodiques ainsi que d'une incidence observée chez les nourrissons. Cinquante ans après, en l'absence de vaccins, cette recommandation de lutte intégrée et coordonnée contre les vecteurs et les Plasmodium est toujours d'actualité en bénéficiant, entre autres, des moustiquaires imprégnées et des traitements à base d'artémisine.

Evaluation of Ecological Environment Effect of Villages Land Use and Cover Change: A Case Study of Some Villages in Yudian Town, Guangshui City, Hubei Province

Rapid economic development has a significant negative impact on the rural ecological environment. Evaluating the ecological environmental effect of land use and its change trend at the village scale has important practical significance for maintaining ecological functions and ensuring ecological safety. Taking a typical village in Yudian Town as an example, we applied a land-use ecological environment effect evaluation and the CA-Markov change trend prediction model and constructed an index of ecological environmental effect status. Based on the land use, resource environment, and social economic data from 2014 and 2019, we evaluated the ecological environmental effects of land use in each village, simulated the land-use change in each village in two different scenarios, i.e., the developmental orientation (DO) and ecological orientation (EO), in 2030, and analyzed the corresponding change trend of the land-use effect. The ecological environmental effect of land use showed obvious characteristic differentiation in villages with different development levels. For example, villages with poor natural geographic background conditions and slower economic development had a good level of ecological environmental effect, whereas villages with better resource and environmental endowments but faster economic development had lower levels of ecological environmental effect. Village land-use management methods have had a certain effect on improving ecological security, but the effect has been slow. In conclusion, the research results portray the relationship between rural land use and ecological environmental effects in low hilly areas in northern Hubei at a small scale and have reference value for land resource allocation and spatial pattern optimization in similar regions.

A multi‐scale approach to rural depopulation in Mexico

AbstractThis paper aims to sketch rural population decline in Mexico. A comprehensive multi‐scale documentation of Mexico's urban and rural fabric and its depopulation dynamics is undertaken. This paper does not identify the causes and effects of rural depopulation, but aims to detect its geographical presence in a manner which other approaches are unable to do. The granularity of rural depopulation is identified as manifested at four different scales: national, state, municipal, and local village scale. We use census data for the period 2000–2010. We relate rural depopulation to spatio‐geographical features found in the literature; the relationship of depopulating territories with urban ones and the altitude range in which they are located. We find that proximity to and remoteness from urban areas as well as that of altitude do not follow the typical patterns often observed elsewhere. Unlike that shown in other countries, in Mexico, rural depopulation is manifested mostly in lower‐lying areas and despite the fact that most of the country is at altitude. Rural depopulation and disappearance occur mainly in the areas of plains below 1,000 metres above sea level, regardless of the population density of the territories where they were located. Also, our multi‐scaling approach has allowed us to identify not just at what scale the phenomenon of rural depopulation is observed, but also, to identify the areas in which the phenomenon is manifested regionally or locally. As we see, much of the phenomenon is concentrated in different areas to what national narratives suggest.

Spatial differentiation and formation mechanism of tourism efficiency at village scale: A case study of 375 tourism villages in Luoyang

Spatial differentiation and formation mechanism of tourism efficiency at village scale: A case study of 375 tourism villages in Luoyang

Evaluation of multifunctionality on village scale using location-based big data: A case study of Suzhou

Evaluation of multifunctionality on village scale using location-based big data: A case study of Suzhou

Biomass flows in an agro-pastoral village in West-Africa: Who benefits from crop residue mulching?

In West Africa, new management practices such as conservation agriculture with crop residue mulching can improve crop yields for individual farmers. However, in a context of complex social interactions between farmers, the introduction of such practices can also lead to conflicts between private interests and communal use of resources, for example the free grazing of crop residues. The objective of this paper was to assess ex-ante the impacts of the practice of crop residue mulching on crop productivity in a village of central Burkina Faso using an agent-based model, AMBAWA, that simulates the flows of biomass and nutrients between crop and livestock systems at the village scale. The model considers the interactions between four types of farmers that were identified in the study site: subsistence-oriented crop farmers, market-oriented crop farmers, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists. The model simulated increased cattle migration outside the village due to increased crop residue scarcity during the dry season with increased proportions of cropland under the practice of conservation agriculture, decreasing the manure availability at village scale. Consequently, the assumed direct yield increases due to soil moisture conservation as a result of mulching did not compensate for the yield losses resulting from lesser amounts of manure available. This effect was felt most strongly by farmers who own relatively large numbers of cattle (agro-pastoralists and pastoralists). The total maize production at village level depended more on the proportion of cropping land that was available for grazing by cattle, and thus not mulched, than on a possible direct effect of mulching on yield per se. The AMBAWA model can support discussion among stakeholders (farmers, traditional and administrative authorities) who are involved in the private and communal management of crop residues and other biomass resources, in order to co-design effective arrangements and practices for their sustainable use.

Sustainability in Water Provision in Rural Communities: the Feasibility of a Village Scale Rainwater Harvesting Scheme

Groundwater resources are often the main source of drinking water for remote communities, but they are increasingly found to be unsuitable, and a source of ill health in many parts of the world. High annual rainfall in monsoonal regions makes rainwater harvesting an attractive alternative, but lack of infrastructure for capturing and storing sufficient quantities is often restrictive. This study focuses on the coastal region of Bangladesh where groundwater supplying tubewells are progressively found to contain arsenic and high salinity, and where cyclones are a common cause of damage to infrastructure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of a village scale rainwater harvesting scheme as a solution to water security concerns. Analysis of various size rainwater storage systems (RSS) is conducted using daily rainfall data from Khulna Station in Bangladesh. It was found that a village scale RSS with 3 m deep and 100 m by 100 m surface area could supply 100 L/p/d for 85% of the year. The reliability could feasibly be increased to 100% with seasonal water restrictions. The village scale RSS is compared with an individual household level RSS. Advantages of the village scale RSS include the opportunity for improved management and water quality monitoring, and the potential for public-private partnerships. The proposed methodology can be adapted to other monsoonal delta regions to enhance water supply.

Photons vs. firewood: female (dis)empowerment by solar power in India

Renewable energy transitions are accelerating in the Global South. Yet many large-scale renewable energy infrastructures are developed on public lands with unknown impacts on commons access and usage. A prime example of this is the Gujarat Solar Park (GSP) in India, which is one of the world’s largest solar photovoltaic facilities. The GSP is situated on 2,669 acres of previously common property, which has historically been used by female pastoralists for firewood collection. In this paper, we examine the following research questions: How do gender and caste power shape natural resource access in this region?; Does the Gujarat Solar Park exacerbate already gendered social-economic-political asymmetries? Our study utilizes a feminist political ecology framework to analyze the social dimensions of the GSP, drawing on recent work in this vein that uses a postcolonial and intersectional approach to examine the production of social difference through the spatial processes and political economy of solar energy generation. We find that the enclosure of public ‘wastelands’ to develop the Gujarat Solar Park has dispossessed resource-dependent women of access to firewood and grazing lands. This spatial dislocation is reinforcing asymmetrical social power relations at the village scale. Intersectional subject-positions are (re)produced vis-à-vis the exclusion of access to firewood in the land enclosed for the solar park. Affected women embody this dispossession through inter- and intra-village emotional geographies that cut across caste, class and gender boundaries.

Spatiotemporal pattern of the trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services after Grain for Green Program: a case study of the Loess Plateau, China

A vital approach for sustainable development is to achieve continuous synergies of ecosystem services (ESs). The implementation of Grain for Green Program (GFGP) in China has altered land use pattern and further affected ESs. The Loess Plateau, one of the crucial areas of GFGP, has a barren ecosystem. Thus, it is urgent to analyze trade-offs and synergies of ESs as it seeks to make rational use of natural resources. In this paper, three ESs (food supply (FS), water yield (WY), and habitat quality (HQ)) were selected to illustrate their relationships and changes during the implementation of GFGP. Accordingly, the correlation coefficient, the spatial autocorrelation, and the hotspot method were adopted to analyze the spatial agglomeration effect at the grid scale and the village scale. The obtained results indicated that the spatial distribution of the three ESs had their own characteristics. There is a synergy of WY and FS, and trade-offs of WY and HQ, and HQ and FS, respectively. Notably, the trade-offs and synergies of ESs were consistent at two scales, though the correlation coefficient was slightly different. Compared with the grid scale, the agglomeration effect on the village scale is more obvious. To promote region sustainable management, the interrelation of ESs should be taken into account in the eco-conservation policies.

Farmers’ Perceptions of Tree Shelterbelts on Agricultural Land in Rural Kyrgyzstan

The reestablishment of agroforestry systems in Central Asia, combining crop production with protective tree shelterbelts, provides significant potential to improve farming systems. This includes increasing crop yields, additional income from timber, as well as reducing soil degradation and wind erosion. Thus, adopting shelterbelts as a form of pro-environmental behavior provides a number of socio-economic benefits, although some trade-offs need to be considered as well. This paper investigates factors that shape the perception of—and attitude towards—the establishment of tree shelterbelts by farmers in two case study regions in Kyrgyzstan. Applying a conceptual framework distinguishing between extrinsic and intrinsic factors, research methods included semi-structured interviews with farmers and local policy makers. The results show spatial differences in the perception of shelterbelts, both on the regional and on the village scale. In general, shelterbelts were negatively perceived by more than half of the farmers. The main concern raised by farmers was the shading of crops by shelterbelts, resulting in a decrease of yield. In addition, small field sizes and potential conflicts with neighbors were key concerns. Furthermore, rules set by local self-government bodies were inconsistent with the legislative framework, posing significant restrictions to the adoption of sustainable land use practices.

Coupled Relationship between Rural Livelihoods and the Environment at a Village Scale: A Case Study in the Mongolian Plateau

Rural livelihoods, which are basic human activities, have long interacted with the environment. In light of the complexity of the human–environment system, more interdisciplinary analyses from geographical, environmental, and social sciences are needed. Using qualitative and quantitative methods from social, environmental, and geographical sciences, this study conducted a geographical regionalization and a comparative analysis of rural livelihoods in different zones in the Loess Plateau to explore the relationship between rural livelihoods and the environment. The results indicated that rural livelihoods are tightly coupled with the environment on a village scale, showing significant geographical regularity and spatial disparity. A combination of geographical location, resource endowment, and environmental sanitation affects rural livelihoods in terms of spatial patterns, development capacity, and quality of life in the context of the public ownership system, the utilization policy of land resources, and limited technical conditions. Coupling the relationship between rural livelihoods and a given environment on a village scale tends to lead to one of four types of relationships: “homeostatic”, “intense”, “transferred”, or “optimized”. Accordingly, governments and policymakers need to consider that countryside revitalization must be locally tailored and implemented through the four aspects of “rights revitalization”, “labor revitalization”, “industrial revitalization”, and “environmental revitalization”.

Thermal response to patch characteristics and configurations of industrial and mining land in a Chinese mining city

Abstract Industrial and mining land is an important heat source in mining cities, however this heat has not been separated from that of built-up land in most studies of the thermal environment. This study measures the response of land surface temperature (LST) to patch characteristics and the configurations of four sub-classified industrial and mining land parcels in Wu’an, a mining city in China. We use Landsat-8 and ZY03 satellite imagery to obtain the LST and land use type. A heating rate index (Tm) is defined as the increase in LST per 1 ha increase in patch area. Multivariate regression analyses is used to analyse the relationship between thermal indicators and landscape metrics, both at the patch and village scales. Our results indicate that, at the patch scale, the mean LST (LSTm) can be described well by nonlinear binary functions of the area and landscape shape index (LSI), with different forms for each type of industrial and mining land patch. When the LSI does not vary, LSTm increases with increasing area, within area thresholds (0–50 ha for smelter or processing lands, and 5–30 ha for mining lands), while for a constant area, the LSTm decreased with increasing LSI. Below the critical LSI (~2.2), more complex patch shape had lower Tm values. Above the critical LSI, Tm do not increase or decrease as LSI increased. At the village scale, patch configuration of industrial and mining land has an effect on (LSTv). The landscape percentage and aggregation index are both directly correlated with the LST of villages that contained industrial and mining land. Our findings show that the degree of LSTv response to a land patch configuration metrics change is, in order, iron and smelter land > coal processing land > coal mining land > iron ore mining land. This study provides an improved understanding of the thermal environmental response to mining activities, and can serve as a reference for future industrial layouts and land use planning in mining cities.

Associations between Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and trachoma clustering at aggregate spatial scales, Amhara, Ethiopia

BackgroundTrachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness globally. The WHO has recommended the SAFE (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvements) strategy to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem. The F and E arms of the strategy will likely be important for sustained disease reductions, yet more evidence is needed detailing relationships between hygiene, sanitation and trachoma in areas with differing endemicity. This study addressed whether the regional differences in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) variables were associated with the spatial distribution of trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) among children aged 1 to 9 years in the Amhara National Regional State of Ethiopia.MethodsData from 152 multi-stage cluster random trachoma surveys were used to understand the degree of clustering of trachoma on two spatial scales (district and village) in Amhara using a geographical information system and the Getis-Ord Gi* (d) statistic for local clustering. Trained and certified graders examined children for the clinical signs of trachoma using the WHO simplified system. Socio-demographic, community, and geoclimatic factors thought to promote the clustering of the disease were included as covariates in a logistic regression model.ResultsThe mean district prevalence of TF among children aged 1 to 9 years in Amhara was 25.1% (standard deviation = 16.2%). The spatial distribution of TF was found to exhibit global spatial dependency with neighboring evaluation units at both district and village level. Specific clusters of high TF were identified at both the district and the village scale of analysis using weighted estimates of the prevalence of the disease. Increased prevalence of children without nasal and ocular discharge as well as increased prevalence of households with access to a water source within 30 minutes were statistically significantly negatively associated with clusters of high TF prevalence.ConclusionsWater access and facial cleanliness were important factors in the clustering of trachoma within this hyperendemic region. Intensified promotion of structural and behavioral interventions to increase WASH coverage may be necessary to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem in Amhara and perhaps other hyper-endemic settings.

In-Season Diagnosis of Winter Wheat Nitrogen Status in Smallholder Farmer Fields Across a Village Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based Remote Sensing

Improving nitrogen (N) management of small-scale farming systems in developing countries is crucially important for food security and sustainable development of world agriculture, but it is also very challenging. The N Nutrition Index (NNI) is a reliable indicator for crop N status, and there is an urgent need to develop an effective method to non-destructively estimate crop NNI in different smallholder farmer fields to guide in-season N management. The eBee fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based remote sensing system, a ready-to-deploy aircraft with a Parrot Sequoia+ multispectral camera onboard, has been used for applications in precision agriculture. The objectives of this study were to (i) determine the potential of using fixed-wing UAV-based multispectral remote sensing for non-destructive estimation of winter wheat NNI in different smallholder farmer fields across the study village in the North China Plain (NCP) and (ii) develop a practical strategy for village-scale winter wheat N status diagnosis in small scale farming systems. Four plot experiments were conducted within farmer fields in 2016 and 2017 in a village of Laoling County, Shandong Province in the NCP for evaluation of a published critical N dilution curve and for serving as reference plots. UAV remote sensing images were collected from all the fields across the village in 2017 and 2018. About 150 plant samples were collected from farmer fields and plot experiments each year for ground truthing. Two indirect and two direct approaches were evaluated for estimating NNI using vegetation indices (VIs). To facilitate practical applications, the performance of three commonly used normalized difference VIs were compared with the top performing VIs selected from 59 tested indices. The most practical and stable method was using VIs to calculate N sufficiency index (NSI) and then to estimate NNI non-destructively (R2 = 0.53–0.56). Using NSI thresholds to diagnose N status directly was quite stable, with a 57–59% diagnostic accuracy rate. This strategy is practical and least affected by the choice of VIs across fields, varieties, and years. This study demonstrates that fixed-wing UAV–based remote sensing is a promising technology for in-season diagnosis of winter wheat N status in smallholder farmer fields at village scale. The considerable variability in local soil conditions and crop management practices influenced the overall accuracy of N diagnosis, so more studies are needed to further validate and optimize the reported strategy and consecutively develop practical UAV remote sensing–based in-season N recommendation methods.

Administrative village-based spatial distribution specificity of Oncomelania hupensis and its relationship with water systems in Hubei Province

To investigate the spatial distribution of Oncomelania hupensis snail habitats at the administrative village scale in schistosomiasis-endemic areas of Hubei Province, so as to provide scientific bases for precise control of O. hupensis snails in the province. Data regarding snail distribution at the village level in Hubei Province in 2017 were collected to create a spatial analysis database of snail distribution in Hubei Province. The spatial aggregations of O. hupensis distribution were analyzed using Moran's I index and Local Moran's I index. In addition, the distances from schistosomiasis-endemic villages to the Yangtze River were captured using the software ArcGIS 13.0, and their correlations with area of snail habitats were examined with the Spearman correlation method. O. hupensis snails were mainly distributed in 5 450 endemic villages from 63 counties of 13 cities in Hubei Province in 2017. The global spatial autocorrelation analysis showed spatial aggregations in the areas of historically accumulated snail habitats, current areas of snail habitats, areas of snail habitats outside the embankment and snail habitats inside the embankment (all Z Scores > 0, all P values < 0.05), and no spatial aggregation was seen in the areas of snail habitats in hilly areas (Z Score > 0, P > 0.05). There were four types of spatial distribution of historically accumulated areas of snail habitats, areas of current snail habitats, areas of snail habitats outside the embankment and snail habitats inside the embankment, including the high-high type (H-H type), high-low type (H-L type), low-high type (L-H type) and random distribution type, and a high percentage of the H-H type was found. There were 340, 125 and 110 endemic villages with the H-H type of areas of historically accumulated snail habitats, current areas of snail habitats and areas of snail habitats outside the embankment, and these villages were mainly concentrated in Wuhan and Jingzhou cities, with almost consistent spatial aggregation locations. There were 319 endemic villages with the H-H type of distribution of snail habitats inside the embankment, which were mainly distributed in Jingzhou, Xiaogan and Huangshi cities. In addition, the areas of historically accumulated snail habitats, current areas of snail habitats and areas of snail habitats outside the embankment negatively correlated with the distance from the endemic villages to the Yangtze River (r = -0.094, P < 0.01; r = -0.225, P < 0.01; r = -0.177, P < 0.01). The clustering areas of snail habitats along the Yangtze River Basin, notably the villages near the Yangtze River are key regions for snail monitoring and control in Hubei Province.

Integration and Decentralized Control of Standalone Solar Home Systems for Off-Grid Community Applications

Photovoltaic solar home systems (SHSs) provide a cost-effective solution for the limited electrification of remote off-grid communities. However, due to their standalone nature, the benefit of usage diversity cannot be extracted. In this paper, we present the power electronic interface along with the decentralized control scheme for the integration of standalone SHSs for driving community load applications. Power electronic interface consists of an isolated boost converter capable support dc bus integration, thereby it formulates a dc microgrid through the interconnection of multiple standalone SHSs. Power aggregation is achieved through decentralized controlled resource sharing based upon the resource availability and installed capacity in the individual solar home system. To ensure cost affordability and to avoid the deployment of any communication infrastructure, modified I–V droop control is designed for the intended application. Thereby, power aggregation through the proposed power electronic interface and its decentralized control allows us to extract the benefit of usage diversity and drive high power community power loads at a village scale. The overall schematic is simulated using MATLAB and scaled down model is implemented on hardware. Results of power aggregation from various resource sharing scenarios are illustrated.