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This study evaluated the environmental conditions of two watersheds selected on the basis of similarities in land use. The environmental conditions of the watersheds were analyzed using two geoprocessing methods and in situ evaluations by applying the rapid assessment protocol (RAP). Geospatial image processing was used to analyze land use, slope, soil classification, and rainfall, while RAP was used to evaluate the connectivity and size of riparian corridors. The results revealed varied uses of land with the landscape matrix in both watersheds, composed of agriculture, pasture, and urban centers. Urban centers were defined as spots and riparian zones as corridors. The analysis of environmental fragility considering all the geospatial variables, classified both watersheds as having medium fragility. The most fragile sites were the urban centers, which had a high slope and degraded riparian zone. Onsite assessments have shown that corridors do not have the size required by legislation; they are fragmented and unstructured, and they contain exotic species. We also propose that a multi-factorial approach be used to evaluate watersheds, associating geospatial assessments and onsite analyses that consider the limitations pointed out in each protocol. This reduces sampling errors and shows the actual state of conservation in riparian zones.

Exploring the sensitivity of rural households’ livelihood strategies to livelihood capital is of great significance for improving rural households’ livelihood levels. This paper selects 23 livelihood capital measurement indicators and conducts an in-depth survey of rural households. In addition, the entropy method and a weighted comprehensive model are used to explore the basic characteristics of rural households’ livelihood capital in the upper reaches of the Min River, China, in 2017. Furthermore, econometric models are used to analyze the sensitivity of rural households’ livelihood strategies to livelihood capital. As indicated from the research, the livelihood capital levels of different types of rural households in the study area are not equivalent. The types of rural households with different livelihood strategies can be ordered in terms of quantity as follows: non-agricultural type > non-agricultural dominant type > agricultural dominant type > pure agricultural type. Livelihood strategies have different sensitivities to different livelihood capital measurement indicators. Among these indicators, cash income, the number of relatives and friends available for financial assistance, and the number of civil servants have positive effects on the livelihood strategy selection of non-agricultural dominant rural households and non-agricultural rural households. However, the average age of laborers, area of cultivated land and gardens, number of livestock and poultry, and present value of production tools have negative effects. These evaluation results can provide a scientific decision-making basis for the formulation of poverty alleviation policies by relevant government departments.

Urban vacant lots are often a contentious feature in cities, seen as overgrown, messy eyesores that plague neighborhoods. We propose a shift in this perception to locations of urban potential, because vacant lots may serve as informal greenspaces that maximize urban biodiversity while satisfying residents’ preferences for their design and use. Our goal was to assess what kind of vacant lots are ecologically valuable by assessing their biotic contents and residents’ preferences within a variety of settings. We surveyed 150 vacant lots throughout Baltimore, Maryland for their plant and bird communities, classified the lot’s setting within the urban matrix, and surveyed residents. Remnant vacant lots had greater vegetative structure and bird species richness as compared to other lot origins, while vacant lot settings had limited effects on their contents. Residents preferred well-maintained lots with more trees and less artificial cover, support of which may increase local biodiversity in vacant lots. Collectively, we propose that vacant lots with a mixture of remnant and planted vegetation can act as sustainable urban greenspaces with the potential for some locations to enhance urban tree cover and bird habitat, while balancing the needs and preferences of city residents.

Composting is an environment-friendly and sustainable way to transform grape branches (GBs) into a useful product. Different parameters can differently affect fertilizer quality. Here, the compost product nutrient content was evaluated using an L9 orthogonal array (parameters, nitrogen source: chicken manure, sheep manure, urea; stirring temperature: 50, 60, 70 °C; initial pH: 6, 7, 8; conditioning agent: calcium superphosphate, zeolite, and copper sulfate). Among the treatments, the T3 (chicken manure, 70 °C, pH = 8, copper sulfate), T2 (chicken manure, 60 °C, pH = 7, zeolite), and T9 (urea, 70 °C, pH = 7, calcium superphosphate) had high gray relational grades (0.7424, 0.7132, 0.7110, respectively). The nitrogen source type (R = 0.1140) had the greatest influence on the nutrient content of the final product, followed by the stirring temperature (R = 0.1104), the conditioning agent (R = 0.0522), and the initial pH (R = 0.0408). Finally, the best nitrogen source of the grape branch compost was chicken manure, the best stirring temperature was 70 °C, the best initial pH was 7, and the best conditioning agent was zeolite. An experimental verification showed that the weighted correlation degree of the optimal treatment predicted by the orthogonal experiment increased by 3.63%.

Can shrinking cities harness population decline to improve their sustainability by repurposing land use, for example, for localizing food production? Whether such a transition is feasible depends on the pre-shrinkage state of urban agricultural land use, including ongoing trends in local land use change. This study examined agricultural land use from 2007–2017 in Kyoto City, Japan. Kyoto is on the brink of a large projected population decline (~190,000 or ~13% until 2040) and serves as a representative for a large number of regional Japanese cities in a similar situation. Analysis was based on a public 2007 land use data set, aerial and satellite imagery and ground truthing. Results showed a decline of 209 ha or 10% in agricultural land use over ten years, but also highlight the diversity of ongoing agricultural land use types not captured by standard categories. The main post-agricultural land uses were residential (40%) and vacant land (28%). These results have implications for planning and policy. Kyoto City is currently not set to benefit from the projected shrinking process through localizing food production, despite a tradition of vegetable production. Future research should analyze drivers of change for observed agricultural land use.

The geography of Kazakhstan is characterized by a diverse landscape and a small population. Therefore, certain automobile roads pass through unpopulated mountain regions, where physical road diagnostics are rare or almost absent, while landscape factors continue to affect the road. However, modern geo-information approaches and remote sensing could effectively provide the road diagnostics necessary to make timely control decisions regarding a road’s design, construction, and maintenance. To justify this assumption, we researched the deformation of a mountain road near Almaty city. Open access satellite images of and meteorological archival data for the region were processed. The resulting data were compared to validate the road’s deformation triggers. Extreme weather conditions’ impacts could be identified via road destruction (nearly 40 m longitudinal cracks, 15 m short transversal cracks, and two crack networks along a 50 m road section). The remotely sensed parameters (vertical displacement velocity, slope exposure, dissections, topographic wetness index, aspect, solar radiation, SAVI, and snow melting) show the complexity of triggers of extensive road deformations. The article focuses only on open access data from remote sensing images and meteorological archives. All the resulting data are available and open for all interested parties to use.

Since the 1970s but with greater intensity in the 1980s, strong, social, economic, and cultural transformations have led to the post-Fordist or post-productivist countryside determining what researchers identify as “rural restructuring” [...]

From the comparison of regulations and/or standards for the organic, conventional and/or integrated citrus production method and a voluntary certification, it emerges that farms certified with voluntary non-regulated certification systems, such as the IFA FV GLOBALG.A.P, are obliged to take into account the highest number of aspects, reported in a more complete register, than the organic ones. Moreover, this is also supported by a continuous-time planned process of revision and updating of the applicable versions of the standard. The environmental impact of the food production, the safety aspects of food products, as well as the health, ethics, and safety aspects of workers, are largely considered and inspected in the GLOBALG.A.P., while the organic system, despite the IFOAM suggestions and indications, is only considered partially. This means that, from a practical point of view, the organic product can be considered “clean and safe”, but not more environmentally friendly than the GLOBALG.A.P. products.