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Wednesday, 26 April 2017

Land degradation, economic growth and structural change: evidences from Italy

Author
Piero Esposito (pesposito@luiss.it), Fabrzio Patriarca (fapatri@hotmail.com), Luigi Perini and Luca Salvati (luca.salvati@entecra.it)
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Abstract: Abstract The present study investigates the relationship between land degradation and the evolution of the productive structure in Italy during the last 50 years (1960–2010). The objectives of the study are twofold: (i) to present and discuss an original analysis of the income–environment relationship in an economic-convergent and environmental–divergent country and (ii) to evaluate the impact of the (changing) productive structure and selected socio-demographic characteristics on the level of land vulnerability. The econometric analysis indicates that the relationship between GDP and land degradation across Italian provinces is completely reverted once we move from a cross-sectional analysis to panel estimates. While economic and environmental disparities between provinces go in the same direction, with richer provinces having lower levels of LD, over time the growth process increases LD with the economic structure acting as a significant variable.
Keywords: Environmental quality; Economic growth; Land degradation; Regional disparities; Italy; Panel data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 Q24 Q56 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Cost implications of agricultural land degradation in Ghana: An economywide, multimarket model assessment

Author
Xinshen Diao (x.diao@cgiar.org) and Daniel Bruce Sarpong

Abstract: ""An economywide, multimarket model is constructed for Ghana and the effects of agricultural soil erosion on crop yields are explicitly modeled at the subnational regional level for eight main staple crops. The model is used to evaluate the aggregate economic costs of soil erosion by taking into account economywide linkages between production and consumption, across sectors and agricultural subsectors... Sustainable land management (SLM) is the key to reducing agricultural soil loss. The present findings indicate that through the adoption of conventional SLM practices, the declining trend in land productivity can be reversed, and that use of a combination of conventional and modern SLM practices would generate an aggregate economic benefit of US$6.4 billion over the period 2006–2015. SLM practices would therefore significantly reduce poverty in Ghana, particularly in the three northern regions."" from Authors' Abstract
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Footprints on the prairies: Degradation and sustainability of Canadian agricultural land in a globalizing world

Author
Meidad Kissinger and William E. Rees
Ecological Economics, 2009, vol. 68, issue 8-9, pages 2309-2315

Abstract: The 'Canadian prairies' represent one of the world's great breadbaskets, supplying people all over the world with agricultural commodities ranging from various grains, through legumes and oilseeds, to both grain and grass-fed meat products. However, the expansion and intensification of Canadian agriculture in the last century has significantly altered the structure and degraded the function of prairie ecosystems. This, combined with climate change, has put the ecological sustainability of the region at risk and raises questions about the region's ability to continue supporting millions of distant consumers. We use variants of two existing sustainability assessment tools, material flows analysis (MFA) and ecological footprint analysis (EFA) to estimate the terrestrial ecosystem area and other physical inputs used on the Canadian prairies to satisfy export demand and to link this production to documented processes of ecological degradation. We discuss the implications of this interregional framework for impact analysis and conclude that, in a globalizing, ecologically full-world, trade-dependence implies previously-ignored risks to both importers and exporters. The results underscore the importance for all countries to protect or restore their own natural capital assets and enhance their self-reliance. Citizens and their governments, particularly of countries that have become irreversibly import-dependent, have a direct interest in ensuring that the ecosystems that support them are sustainably managed, wherever in the world the latter may be located.
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Prevention of Tibetan eco-environmental degradation caused by traditional use of biomass

Author
Qiang Wang
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2009, vol. 13, issue 9, pages 2562-2570

Abstract: Tibet is short in fossil energy, but rich in renewable energy sources, such as biomass, hydro, solar, geothermal, and wind power. This potential energy supply in Tibet can be juxtaposed to what drives Tibetan energy consumption its economic motivation and its cultural traditions. Currently, biomass heavily dominates Tibet's energy consumption. In 2003, total energy consumption was about 2 million tce (ton coal equivalent), traditional biomass accounting for nearly 70%. The rarified atmosphere and use of outdated stoves, make for a very low combustion efficiency, utilizing 10-15% of the potential energy of biomass. With population and economic growth, traditional use of biomass has become the principal factor responsible for deforestation, grassland degradation, desertification, and soil erosion. To eradicate the negative impact of the traditional use of biomass on the eco-environment in Tibet, a series of effective countermeasures are investigated. Among these are improved efficiency of stoves, widespread use of solar energy, hydroelectricity as a substitute for traditional biomass, and the development of biogas.
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An analytical framework for soil degradation, farming practices, institutions and policy responses

Author
Katrin Prager, Johannes Schuler, Katharina Helming, Peter Zander, Tomas Ratinger and Konrad Hagedorn

Abstract: There is a lack of knowledge about the effectiveness and efficiency of soil conservation policies in agriculture and little understanding of how policy measures should be designed to encourage farmers to adopt soil conservation practices. This paper analyzes institutional settings surrounding agricultural soil management in ten European countries based on the Institutions of Sustainability framework. This framework considers the interdependencies between ecological and social systems, taking into account environmental conditions, farming practices impacting on soil conservation, different types of actors, policies, institutions and governance structures. The purpose of this paper is to describe the analytical framework and the methodology that all case studies are based on, present and discuss compared findings, outline implications for successful soil conservation policy, and draw conclusions on the methodological approach. The case studies focused on the main soil degradation types occurring across Europe which are addressed by a broad range of mandatory and incentive policies. The findings highlight the following issues: i) the need to design policies that target the locally most common soil threats and processes in the light of agricultural management; ii) the need to take farming management constraints into consideration, (iii) the need for good communication and cooperation both between agricultural and environmental authorities as well as between governmental and non-governmental stakeholders; iv) the necessary mix of mandatory and incentive instruments; and v) the need for data and monitoring systems allowing the evaluation of the effectiveness of policies and soil conservation practices.
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History of East European Chernozem Soil Degradation; Protection and Restoration by Tree Windbreaks in the Russian Steppe

Author
Yury G. Chendev (chendev@bsu.edu.ru), Thomas J. Sauer (tom.sauer@ars.usda.gov), Guillermo Hernandez Ramirez (ghernand@ualberta.ca) andCharles Lee Burras (lburras@iastate.edu)
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Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 1, pages 1-20

Abstract: The physiographic region of the Central Russian Upland, situated in the Central part of Eastern Europe, is characterized by very fertile grassland soils—Chernozems (Mollisols in the USDA taxonomy). However, over the last several centuries this region has experienced intense land-use conversion. The most widespread and significant land-use change is the extensive cultivation of these soils. As a result, Chernozems of the region that were some of the most naturally fertile soils in the world with thick A horizons had become, by the second half of the 19th century, weakly productive, with decreased stocks of organic matter. When not protected by plant cover, water and wind erosion degraded the open fields. The investigation of methods for rehabilitation and restoration of Chernozems resulted in the practice of afforestation of agricultural lands (mainly by windbreak planting). Preferences of agroforestry practices were initially connected with protection of cropland from wind and water erosion, improvement of microclimate for crop growth, and providing new refugia for wild animal and plant habitats. During the last several decades, tree windbreaks have begun to be viewed as ecosystems with great potential for atmospheric carbon sequestration, which plays a positive role in climate change mitigation. For the evaluation of windbreak influence on Chernozem soils, a study was developed with three field study areas across a climatic gradient from cool and wet in the north of the region to warm and dry in the south. Windbreak age ranged from 55–57 years. At each site, soil pits were prepared within the windbreak, the adjacent crop fields of 150 years of cultivation, and nearby undisturbed grassland. Profile descriptions were completed to a depth of 1.5 m. A linear relationship was detected between the difference in organic-rich surface layer (A + AB horizon) thickness of soils beneath windbreaks and undisturbed grasslands and a climate index, the hydrothermal coefficient (HTC). These results indicate that windbreaks under relatively cooler and wetter climate conditions are more favorable for organic matter accumulation in the surface soil. For the 0–100 cm layer of the Chernozems beneath windbreaks, an increase in organic C stocks comparable with undisturbed grassland soils (15–63 Mg·ha −1 ) was detected. Significant growth of soil organic matter stocks was identified not only for the upper 30 cm, but also for the deeper layer (30–100 cm) of afforested Chernozems. These findings illustrate that, in the central part of Eastern Europe, tree windbreaks improve soil quality by enhancing soil organic matter while providing a sink for atmospheric carbon in tree biomass and soil organic matter.
Keywords: Russian Chernozems; soil organic carbon; degradation of soils; restoration of soils; afforestation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 O13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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From wood pellets to wood chips, risks of degradation and emissions from the storage of woody biomass – A short review

Author
Esa Alakoski, Miia Jämsén, David Agar, Elina Tampio and Margareta Wihersaari
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016, vol. 54, issue C, pages 376-383

Abstract: The compounds in stored woody biomass degrade as a result of chemical and/or biological processes during storage. These processes produce gaseous emissions. Recent studies concerning gaseous emissions from wood pellet storages are reviewed herein. The applicability of the results from pellet research to wood chips is discussed. Thorough scientific understanding on the storage phenomena of wood chips is extremely important as the threat of climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have led to an increased need to large scale wood chip storage to ensure supply. Typically the gases produced from stored woody biomasses are carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and other volatile hydrocarbons e.g. aldehydes and terpenes. CO2 and CH4 are greenhouse gases with high global warming potential. Chemical degradation via auto-oxidation of fats and fatty-acids seems to be the dominant mechanism for off-gassing from stored wood pellets, whereas biological processes are mainly responsible for the gaseous emission from wood chips. In confined storage spaces gaseous emissions may lead to oxygen depletion. Oxygen depletion together with a high CO concentration poses a serious health risk for those working in such conditions. The degradation processes also result in dry matter losses and in spontaneous heating and in the worst case, especially in large piles, spontaneous ignition of the stored material. Thorough and systematic scientific studies on degradation processes and their effects are needed in order to understand and minimise risks from large scale wood chips storage to human health, environment and property.
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Storage degradation of palm-derived biodiesels: Its effects on chemical properties and engine performance

Author
C. Pattamaprom, W. Pakdee and S. Ngamjaroen
Renewable Energy, 2012, vol. 37, issue 1, pages 412-418

Abstract: Palm olein and palm stearin are co-products of palm oil refining processes having different melting point ranges. This study compares the storage degradation characteristics of biodiesels derived from these two palm products, which are palm olein and palm stearin, in terms of chemical properties, engine performance and exhaust emission. The degradation study was carried out by keeping biodiesels in dark closed-lid containers at room temperature for up to 6 months. It was found that the oxygen present in the container led to slow degradation of biodiesels through oxidative reaction with the double bonds in biodiesel. Within 6 months, the majority of oxidative products were composed of shorter hydroperoxide compounds and other short secondary products. These changes resulted in lower heating value and higher density of biodiesels, which in turn caused reductions in fuel combustion efficiency and fuel economy. In terms of emission, the degraded biodiesel produced more complete combustion as indicated by lower emissions of black smoke and carbon monoxide but with higher emission of NOx. In terms of palm oil type, even though palm olein biodiesel possessed higher degree of unsaturation and produced higher peroxide value and acid values from the degradation, its combustion efficiency and fuel economy were still superior to the biodiesel produced from palm stearin possibly due to its higher chain lengths.
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Economic and environmental efficiency of fertilizers use for enhance the fertility of degraded soils in the Republic of Moldova

Author
Tamara Leah and Nicolai Leah

Abstract: In recent decades, high fertility of soils in the Republic of Moldova are subjected to more intensive accelerated degradation due to anthropogenic activity. Situation created causing further intensive development of land desertification processes and leads to worsening of the ecological situation in the country. There are currently affected by degradation processes of different intensity 56.4 percent of agricultural land. One measure provides for local sources of organic fertilizers, along with the minerals. Agronomic, economic and ecological efficiency of fertilizers use in the agriculture of Moldova found that application of fertilizers has positive effects on soil fertility along with other measures to restore degraded soils.
Keywords: economic efficiency; organic fertilizers; degraded soils; soil fertility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-11-21
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Published in AGRARIAN ECONOMY AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT - REALITIES AND PERSPECTIVES FOR ROMANIA ISSN – 2285-6803; ISSN – L – 2285-6803.4(2013): pp. 85-90
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Biomass Productivity-Based Mapping of Global Land Degradation Hotspots

Author
Quang Bao Le, Ephraim Nkonya and Alisher Mirzabaev

Abstract: Land degradation is a global problem affecting negatively the livelihoods and food security of billions of people, especially farmers and pastoralists in the developing countries. Eradicating extreme poverty without adequately addressing land degradation is highly unlikely. Given the importance and magnitude of the problem, there have been recurring efforts by the international community to identify the extent and severity of land degradation in global scale. As discussed in this paper, many previous studies were challenged by lack of appropriate data or shortcomings of their methodological approaches. In this paper, using global level remotely sensed vegetation index data, we identify the hotspots of land degradation in the world across major land cover types. In doing so, we use the long-term trend of inter-annual vegetation index as an indicator of biomass production decline or improvement. Besides the elimination of technical factors, confounding the relationship between the indicator and the biomass production of the land, we apply a methodology which accounts for masking effects of both inter-annual rainfall variation and atmospheric fertilization. We also delineate the areas where chemical fertilization could be hiding the inherent land degradation processes. Our findings show that land degradation hotpots cover about 29% of global land area and are happening in all agro-ecologies and land cover types. Land degradation is especially massive in grasslands. About 3.2 billion people reside in these degrading areas. However, the number of people affected by land degradation is likely to be higher as more people depend on the continuous flow of ecosystem goods and services from these affected areas. As we note in the paper, this figure, although, does not include all possible areas with degraded lands, it identifies those areas where land degradation is most acute and requires priority actions in both in-depth research and management measures to combat land degradation. Our findings indicate that, in fact, land improvement has also occurred in about 2.7% of global land area during the last three decades, providing a support that with appropriate actions land degradation trend could be reversed, and that the efforts to address land degradation need to be substantially increased, at least by a factor, to attain the vision of Zero Net Land Degradation. We also identify concrete aspects in which these results should be interpreted with caution, the limitations of this work and the key areas for future research.
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Understanding Grassland Degradation and Restoration from the Perspective of Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of the Xilin River Basin in Inner Mongolia, China

Author
Xuefeng Zhang (xfzhang2003@163.com), Jianming Niu (jmniu2005@163.com), Alexander Buyantuev (abuyantuev@albany.edu), Qing Zhang (qzhang82@163.com), Jianjun Dong (djj1978@163.com), Sarula Kang (srlkang@163.com) and Jing Zhang (zhangjing@dlnu.edu.cn)
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Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: Ecosystem services (ESs) and their transformations in northern China play a crucial role in regional sustainability. During the past several decades, grassland degradation has become one of the most important ecological and economic issues in this region. Therefore, understanding the impacts of grassland degradation and restoration on ESs is essential for maintaining ecological resilience and social security of Northern China. Our objective was to explore the relationship between ESs and grassland changes induced by vegetation succession in the Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia, China. Using vegetation maps derived from remotely sensed imagery collected in 1983, 1989, 2000, and 2011, we calculated the degree of grassland degradation using the Grassland Degradation Index (GDI). Aboveground biomass (AGB), soil conservation (SC), and water retention (WR) were also estimated to assess ESs for each year. Our results show that: (1) GDI increased during 1983–2000 and decreased during 2000–2011 indicating that after experiencing two decades of severe degradation the grassland has been restored since 2000. (2) AGB and SC were significantly negatively correlated with GDI. Changes in grassland conditions significantly affected WR and SC with both declining during 1983–2000 and increasing afterwards. The increase of SC, however, was slow compared to AGB and WR, which is an indication of time lag in soil restoration. (3) Grasslands in the middle and lower reaches experienced worse degradation than in the upper reaches. (4) AGB and SC exhibited a synergy, while trade-offs existed between AGB and WR and SC and WR. In summary, significant changes in grassland ecosystems in the Xilin River Basin over the past three decades affected the dynamics of ESs among which SC and WR require special attention in the future.
Keywords: grassland degradation; ecosystem services; grassland degradation index; Xilin River Basin; Inner Mongolia grassland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 O13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Polylactic Acid Improves the Rheological Properties, and Promotes the Degradation of Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose-Modified Alkali-Activated Cement

Author
Huijing Tan (thj0528@163.com), Xiuhua Zheng (xiuhuazh@cugb.edu.cn), Chenyang Duan (chyangd@sina.com) and Bairu Xia (boruxia@sina.com)
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Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 10, pages 1-17

Abstract: In consideration of the insolubility in water, sensitivity to heat and wide application in the oil and gas industry as a degradable additive, this paper introduces polylactic acid (PLA) to a self-degradable temporary sealing material (SDTSM) to investigate its effect on the SDTSM performance and evaluate its potential to improve the rheological properties and further promote the self-degradation of the material. The thermal degradation of PLA, the rheological properties, compressive strength, hydrated products and water absorption of SDTSMs with different PLA dosages were tested. The analysis showed that the addition of 2% PLA increased the fluidity by 13.18% and reduced the plastic viscosity by 38.04%, when compared to those of the SDTSM without PLA. PLA increased the water absorption of 200 °C-heated SDTSM and had small effect on the types but decreased the hydrate products of 85 °C-cured SDTSM, and created plenty of pores in 200 °C-heated SDTSM. PLA enhanced the self-degradation level of SDTSM by generating a large amount of pores in cement. These pores worked in two ways: one was such a large amount of pores led to a looser microstructure; the other was these pores made the water impregnate the cement more easily, and then made the dissolution of substances in the 200 °C-heated SDTSM progress faster to generate heat and to destruct the microstructure.
Keywords: self-degradable temporary sealing material; geothermal wells; polylactic acid; rheological properties; self-degradation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Soil degradation and agricultural sustainability: an overview from Iran

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Abstract: During the past six decades, agriculture as a main sector in Iran’s economy has been affected by economic development, land-use policies, and population growth and its pressures. From the 1940s until 2010, the percentage of the total urban population of Iran increased from about 21 % to around 72 %. Urbanization, industrialization, and intensive cultivation have dramatically affected soil and water resources. The exploitation of groundwater has been increased around fourfold from the 1970s to the mid-2000s. Total water resources per capita reduced around 23 % from 1956 to 2008. The average annual decrease in the groundwater table in Iran during the last two decades is 0.51 m. In 2008, the groundwater table fell around −1.14 m in average in Iran. The average use of chemical fertilizers increased from around 2.1 million tons in 1990s to about 3.7 million tons in 2009. During that period, fertilizer use efficiency decreased from around 28 % to around 21 %. Approximately 77 % of the agricultural land under irrigation suffers from different levels of salinity. According to the quantification of four indices, such as soil erosion, fall in groundwater levels, salinity, and use of chemical fertilizer, that are directly related to agricultural land use, the results show that agricultural management in Iran needs special attention to reach sustainable conditions. The total cost of soil and water degradation and use of fertilizers in agriculture are estimated around than US $12.8 billion (about 157,000 billion IRRials)—approximately 4 % of the total gross domestic product (GDP) and approximately 35 % of the GDP of the agricultural sector in Iran. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
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Soil Degradation in India: Challenges and Potential Solutions

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Ranjan Bhattacharyya (ranjan_vpkas@yahoo.com), Birendra Nath Ghosh (bnghosh62@rediffmail.com), Prasanta Kumar Mishra (pkmbellary@gmail.com), Biswapati Mandal (mandalbiswapati@gmail.com), Cherukumalli Srinivasa Rao (cherukumalli2011@gmail.com), Dibyendu Sarkar (dsarkar04@rediffmail.com), Krishnendu Das (das_krishnendu@hotmail.com), Kokkuvayil Sankaranarayanan Anil (anilsoils@yahoo.co.in),Manickam Lalitha (mslalit@yahoo.co.in), Kuntal Mouli Hati (kuntalmouli@gmail.com) and Alan Joseph Franzluebbers (alan.franzluebbers@ars.usda.gov)
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Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 4, pages 1-43

Abstract: Soil degradation in India is estimated to be occurring on 147 million hectares (Mha) of land, including 94 Mha from water erosion, 16 Mha from acidification, 14 Mha from flooding, 9 Mha from wind erosion, 6 Mha from salinity, and 7 Mha from a combination of factors. This is extremely serious because India supports 18% of the world’s human population and 15% of the world’s livestock population, but has only 2.4% of the world’s land area. Despite its low proportional land area, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries account for 17% of the gross domestic product and employs about 50% of the total workforce of the country. Causes of soil degradation are both natural and human-induced. Natural causes include earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, avalanches, landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods, tornadoes, and wildfires. Human-induced soil degradation results from land clearing and deforestation, inappropriate agricultural practices, improper management of industrial effluents and wastes, over-grazing, careless management of forests, surface mining, urban sprawl, and commercial/industrial development. Inappropriate agricultural practices include excessive tillage and use of heavy machinery, excessive and unbalanced use of inorganic fertilizers, poor irrigation and water management techniques, pesticide overuse, inadequate crop residue and/or organic carbon inputs, and poor crop cycle planning. Some underlying social causes of soil degradation in India are land shortage, decline in per capita land availability, economic pressure on land, land tenancy, poverty, and population increase. In this review of land degradation in India, we summarize (1) the main causes of soil degradation in different agro-climatic regions; (2) research results documenting both soil degradation and soil health improvement in various agricultural systems; and (3) potential solutions to improve soil health in different regions using a variety of conservation agricultural approaches.
Keywords: land degradation; soil erosion; conservation agriculture; agroforestry; nutrient management; sustainable crop intensification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 O13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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