• Energy Research
• biological sciences close
• 15. Life on land close
• Sustainability close

Eucalyptus is the main fast-growing tree for biomass production in the tropics, providing resources for pulp and paper industries and bioenergy. The potential productivity of forest sites over an eight-year rotation in Brazil was evaluated by the Physiological Principles in Predicting Growth (3-PG) model for two soils, Acrisols and Arenosols, with high and low water storage, respectively, and distinct productive potential capacity. The model was parameterized by data-sets obtained in bimonthly forest inventories performed in stands with 33, 58 and 89 months-old trees, and edaphic surveys. The average volumetric productivity of wood and biomass of the main stem determined at the 89 months-old stand was 374 m3 ha−1 (177 Mg ha−1) for Acrisols and 272.3 m3 ha−1 (130.0 Mg ha−1) for Arenosols. The estimated volumetric production in the Arenosols had a high mean annual increment up to the age of 58 months, with a significant reduction in growth rates after this time. In Acrisols, high incremental rates in wood volume up to age of 89 months (MAIVW > 50 m3 ha−1 year−1) indicate that, under ideal soil conditions, the cutting cycle may exceed 8 years with no productivity impairment. The parameterized model matched well for forest yield (r2 > 0.9) and dendrometric variables (r2 > 0.78). The expected results of lower productivity in Arenosols occurred only after 58 months, while for Acrisols productivity remained high up to 89 months. The results showed the eucalyptus cycle should be shorter in Arenosols, since the lower cutting cycle can provide higher final productivity, when using the mean annual increment to evaluate productivity.

The joint impact of human activities and climate change on natural resources lead to biodiversity loss. Therefore, it is important to select protected areas through systematic conservation planning. The present study assessed how representative natural habitats are protected under the nature conservation network, and to identify new—but so far insufficiently—protected areas containing these habitats for sustainable management. We used the Marxan model to select the most valuable insufficiently protected natural habitats in the Czech Republic as a representative example for a conservation strategy for Central–Eastern European environments. We set three conservation targets (25%, 50%, and 75%), defining how much percent area of valuable representative natural habitats should be added to the area of the habitats already included in the Nature Protection Network. To implement these conservation targets it is necessary to preserve 22,932 ha, 72,429, ha and 124,363 ha respectively of the conservation targets occurring in the insufficiently protected areas, and 17,255 ha, 51,620 ha, and 84,993 ha respectively of the conservation features in the areas without protection status. Marxan was revealed to be an appropriate tool to select the most valuable and insufficiently protected natural habitats for sustainable management.

Cassava utilisation in Malawi is negatively affected by rapid deterioration of fresh roots, primarily caused by postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD). A study was conducted to assess farmers’ knowledge and approaches used to minimize losses from PPD. Multi-stage sampling was used to identify districts, Extension Planning Areas (EPA’s) and farmers. Data were collected from 519 farmers using a structured questionnaire. Results revealed that PPD (74.0%) was the major post-harvest constraint followed by pests and diseases (62.1%). Farmers had varying knowledge levels on signs and causes of PPD. They were knowledgeable on PPD signs with 91.5% ably identifying PPD through change of pulp colour. The farmers also had moderate knowledge on causes of PPD, citing high temperature (57.6%) and over-staying of roots (56.2%) as main causes of PPD. Key methods for preventing PPD are: storage (43.0%) and piece-meal harvesting (40.4%). Only 2.6% of the farmers exploited varietal difference in dealing with PPD as some varieties (Sauti, Mpuma, Ching’amba, and Kalasa) take three to five days before showing PPD signs. Farmers’ knowledge levels and PPD preventive methods could be strengthened through: provision of training on post-harvest handling, improvement in storage and processing technologies; and application of advanced breeding techniques to exploit genetic variation in cassava germplasm.

In the United States, today’s ranches are engaging in small-scale nature-based endeavors to diversify their income base. But the geographic boundary of the land they own creates a relatively small area within which to operate, and fragmented ownership diminishes the ability of any single landowner to produce nature-based income. Collective action among nearby landowners can produce a set of resources from which all members of the group can profit. Such action can enhance the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of grasslands and the populations that use them. This article shows that common-interest communities can be used to provide and allocate wildlife and other resources on ranchlands, enabling individual landowners to generate more income from selling nature-based experiences to customers. Common-interest communities are familiar in urban settings but they have not yet been used in this setting. Thus, the article proposes a new approach to ranchland management based upon a familiar set of largely private legal arrangements. More broadly, the article illustrates the relevance of private law and private property to sustainable development by explaining how property owners can use private law to engage in environmentally beneficial and economically profitable enterprises on the vast privately owned landscape of the U.S. Great Plains.

Since habitat fragmentation results in species losses worldwide, considering the influence of buffer zones on the maintenance of connectivity provides a new perspective for buffer delimitation. In our study, the implications of buffer zones around nature reserves were studied at four sites in Fuzhou from the perspective of landscape connectivity based on a distance threshold of 1 km. We applied Graph-based connectivity indices at the landscape level and patch level to reveal the overall connectivity and patterns of change in patch importance for maintaining connectivity with various buffer zones. Based on the results of these analyses, we showed the relationship between structural factors and changes in patch importance by Spearman correlation analysis and redundancy analysis. The results indicate that in the sites with smaller habitat proportion (HP), the connectivity is relatively lower, and the changes in patch importance will be greater when the buffer zone increases. Different buffer zone sizes are suggested in four sites to maximize its benefits. Relatively small patches with high shape complexity and close proximity to patches outside the boundary contribute greatly to connectivity by acting as stepping stones.

This study aims to compare the grain yield, gross return above fertilizer cost (GRAFC: (paddy sales)–(fertilizer cost)), and several parameters relating to the quality of white rice cultivated with different soil-specific nutrient management in 14 provinces where different soil types are distributed. The grain yield tended to increase with increased fertilizer application; however, the relationship between the fertilization rate and the yield was not linear in areas where clay soil dominates. In cases of popular varieties cultivated from the northern to southern province, the amount of fertilizer applied was up to 163 kg ha−1 (sum of N-P2O5-K2O), and the GRAFC and the fertilization rate showed a nonlinear relationship, with a peak of around 120 kg ha−1 fertilization. The nitrogen concentration recognized as a negative factor for the quality of rice tended to increase with an increasing fertilization rate, and the carbohydrate concentration and carbohydrate/protein ratio that are a positive factor for the quality were related negatively with the fertilizer rate. The amylopectin concentration in white rice was positively related with the carbohydrate concentration, which decreased with an increasing fertilization rate. The levels of fertilizer application required to achieve a higher yield, GRAFC, and the maintenance and improvement of parameters relating to grain quality were different.

In Mexico, dry forests are one of the ecosystems in major need of restoration intervention. Here, we explored the ecological and social limitations on the restoration of Mexican dry forests from the perspective of restoration practitioners and researchers. We included three data sources: (i) projects included in a national evaluation (1979–2016), (ii) a systematic review of scientific literature (1979–2021), and (iii) restoration projects included in two governmental programs. The national evaluation and the systematic review coincided in identifying the establishment of plantings as the most important ecological limitation and low social participation as the most important social limitation. There were three times more publications addressing ecological limitations than those addressing social limitations. We did not find research to resolve the problems faced by practitioners related to invasive species, unpredictable climate, and poor soil quality. Governmental programs promoting the restoration of ecosystems need to include measurable indicators to document the socioecological limitations faced by local practitioners to restore Mexican dry forests.