Bioenergy production potential of global biomass plantations under environmental and agricultural constraints

We estimate the global bioenergy potential from dedicated biomass plantations in the 21st century under a range of sustainability requirements to safeguard food production, biodiversity and terrestrial carbon storage. We use a process‐based model of the land biosphere to simulate rainfed and irrigated biomass yields driven by data from different climate models and combine these simulations with a scenario‐based assessment of future land availability for energy crops. The resulting spatial patterns of large‐scale lignocellulosic energy crop cultivation are then investigated with regard to their impacts on land and water resources. Calculated bioenergy potentials are in the lower range of previous assessments but the combination of all biomass sources may still provide between 130 and 270 EJ yr^?1 in 2050, equivalent to 15–25% of the World's future energy demand. Energy crops account for 20–60% of the total potential depending on land availability and share of irrigated area. However, a full exploitation of these potentials will further increase the pressure on natural ecosystems with a doubling of current land use change and irrigation water demand. Despite the consideration of sustainability constraints on future agricultural expansion the large‐scale cultivation of energy crops is a threat to many areas that have already been fragmented and degraded, are rich in biodiversity and provide habitat for many endangered and endemic species.     

Watershed‐scale impacts of bioenergy crops on hydrology and water quality using improved SWAT model

Cellulosic bioenergy feedstock such as perennial grasses and crop residues are expected to play a significant role in meeting US biofuel production targets. We used an improved version of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to forecast impacts on watershed hydrology and water quality by implementing an array of plausible land‐use changes associated with commercial bioenergy crop production for two watersheds in the Midwest USA. Watershed‐scale impacts were estimated for 13 bioenergy crop production scenarios, including: production of Miscanthus × giganteus and upland Shawnee switchgrass on highly erodible landscape positions, agricultural marginal land areas and pastures, removal of corn stover and combinations of these options. Water quality, measured as erosion and sediment loading, was forecasted to improve compared to baseline when perennial grasses were used for bioenergy production, but not with stover removal scenarios. Erosion reduction with perennial energy crop production scenarios ranged between 0.2% and 59%. Stream flow at the watershed outlet was reduced between 0 and 8% across these bioenergy crop production scenarios compared to baseline across the study watersheds. Results indicate that bioenergy production scenarios that incorporate perennial grasses reduced the nonpoint source pollutant load at the watershed outlet compared to the baseline conditions (0–20% for nitrate‐nitrogen and 3–56% for mineral phosphorus); however, the reduction rates were specific to site characteristics and management practices.     

Water and energy footprints of bioenergy crop production on marginal lands

Water and energy demands associated with bioenergy crop production on marginal lands are inextricably linked with land quality and land use history. To illustrate the effect of land marginality on bioenergy crop yield and associated water and energy footprints, we analyzed seven large‐scale sites (9–21 ha) converted from either Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) or conventional agricultural land use to no‐till soybean for biofuel production. Unmanaged CRP grassland at the same location was used as a reference site. Sites were rated using a land marginality index (LMI) based on land capability classes, slope, soil erodibility, soil hydraulic conductivity, and soil tolerance factors extracted from a soil survey (SSURGO) database. Principal components analysis was used to develop a soil quality index (SQI) for the study sites based on 12 soil physical and chemical properties. The water and energy footprints on these sites were estimated using eddy‐covariance flux techniques. Aboveground net primary productivity was inversely related to LMI and positively related to SQI. Water and energy footprints increased with LMI and decreased with SQI. The water footprints for grain, biomass and energy production were higher on lands converted from agricultural land use compared with those converted from the CRP land. The sites which were previously in the CRP had higher SQI than those under agricultural land use, showing that land management affects water footprints through soil quality effects. The analysis of biophysical characteristics of the sites in relation to water and energy use suggests that crops and management systems similar to CRP grasslands may provide a potential strategy to grow biofuels that would minimize environmental degradation while improving the productivity of marginal lands.     

Long-term yield trends of insect-pollinated crops vary regionally and are linked to neonicotinoid use,landscape complexity,and availability of pollinators

Time series data on crop yields for two main wind-pollinated crops (barley and wheat) and for three crops benefitting from insect pollination (turnip rapeseed, caraway, and black currant), were compiled from official agricultural statistics. In Finland, these statistics are available at aggregate national level, and at the level of each of the 15 provinces of the country. Yields of wind-pollinated crops have steadily increased in Finland, while yields of insect-pollinated crops have been highly variable. The largest crop benefitting from insect pollination is turnip rapeseed, which shows first a clear tendency to increased yields from 1980 to 1993, after which there has been a continuous decline in yields at the national average level. Regionally, the trends in turnip rapeseed yield show large variation, so that in six provinces of Finland, the trend has been significantly decreasing; in five provinces, there has been no significant trend; and in two provinces, there has been a significant linear increase in yields. Yield trends in the two other insect-pollinated crops, caraway and black currants, show similar trend variations. However, at the national average level, caraway yields show no significant trend, while black currant yields have increased during the past 6 years. The possible impact on the trends of insect-pollinated crops of three explanatory variables was analyzed. Significant linear correlation was found between the yield trends (slope of the trends) in rapeseed, and the extent of using neonicotinoid seed dressing in the provinces; the magnitude of yield decline in turnip rapeseed increased, as the use of neonicotinoid seed dressing increased. Similar significant linear correlation was found for the magnitude of yield decline in turnip rapeseed and the complexity of the agricultural landscape in each province; yield trend changed from negative to positive as the proportion of agricultural land of the total terrestrial land area declined from 28% to below 10%. The availability of honey bee colonies with respect to the growing area of crops benefitting from insect pollination also had a linear, significant impact on turnip rapeseed yield trends: yields tended to decline in provinces, where the supply of managed pollinators with respect to demand was low, but tended to increase in provinces, where the number of honey bee colonies were over 30% of the estimated demand. As neither the landscape complexity (proportion of arable land of total terrestrial land area), nor the number of honey bee colonies for pollination have changed significantly over the past 10–20 years, these factors cannot explain the observed differences in the yield trends of the examined insect-pollinated crops. It appears that only the uptake of neonicotinoid insecticide seed dressing about 15 years ago can explain the crop yield declines in several provinces, and at the national level for turnip rapeseed, most likely via disruption of pollination services by wild pollinators.     

Land use policies and their effects on Brazilian farming production

For decades Brazil has faced a dilemma based on a perceived dichotomy between natural preservation and economic progress. Since 1988, more than 446,000 km² of native land has been cleared by clearcutting in Brazilian Legal Amazon alone, an area comparable to Sweden. In addition to the biodiversity loss associated with this activity, it is a significant global warming source since more than 72% of gross CO_2e emissions of Brazil come from land use, land-use change, forestry, and agriculture. As such, the national commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 37% by 2025 and 43% by 2030, with respect to 2005 levels, is likely to be at risk. Here, a simulation model has been created to provide decision-makers with knowledge about the future of Brazilian farming production in deforestation, neutral net land-use change, and reforestation scenarios. It has been found that farming demand and capital supply impact farming production significantly more than land availability. If reforestation policies to 2005 natural coverage levels were to be implemented, there would be no significant differences in Brazilian major farming crop production to a reference scenario of continuous deforestation. However, this would be at the expense of secondary crops usually earmarked for the domestic market. For Brazil to preserve its natural coverage, it must also inevitably improve crop productivity, especially in the Northeast region, while also being cognizant of the impact on domestic food prices. Lastly, Brazil needs to have incentives to foster intensive livestock farming. These results provide evidence that can support policies towards the profitable and sustainable scenarios described in the simulations.     

The barbados vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaens): Changes in population size and crop damage, 1980–1994

We investigated changes in population size and crop damage for the vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) in Barbados over the period 1980–1994. In both 1980 and 1994, we obtained data primarily via a survey of farmers islandwide to obtain estimates of group size and number of groups on agricultural land. We assessed the farmers’ estimates independently for reliability by counting number of groups and group size on a subsample of farms. We surveyed approximately 20% of the total land area in Barbados and extrapolated the results to the whole island. The estimate of population size of monkeys in 1994 is 4% greater than for 1980, but the difference is not statistically significant. This suggests that, despite the removal of over 10,000 vervets via humane trapping and through hunting over the 14-year period, population size has remained the same. Over the same time period, the percentage of crops damaged by vervets was reported by farmers to have increased almost 30%. The increase in crop damage relative to the increase in vervet abundance may best be explained by a decrease in the availability of crops to vervets, since substantial amounts of agricultural land were taken out of crop production between 1980 and 1994.     

Two Challenges for U.S. Irrigation Due to Climate Change: Increasing Irrigated Area in Wet States and Increasing Irrigation Rates in Dry States

Agricultural irrigation practices will likely be affected by climate change. In this paper, we use a statistical model relating observed water use by U.S. producers to the moisture deficit, and then use this statistical model to project climate changes impact on both the fraction of agricultural land irrigated and the irrigation rate (m³ha⁻¹). Data on water withdrawals for US states (1985–2005) show that both quantities are highly positively correlated with moisture deficit (precipitation – PET). If current trends hold, climate change would increase agricultural demand for irrigation in 2090 by 4.5–21.9 million ha (B1 scenario demand: 4.5–8.7 million ha, A2 scenario demand: 9.1–21.9 million ha). Much of this new irrigated area would occur in states that currently have a wet climate and a small fraction of their agricultural land currently irrigated, posing a challenge to policymakers in states with less experience with strict regulation of agriculture water use. Moreover, most of this expansion will occur in states where current agricultural production has relatively low market value per hectare, which may make installation of irrigation uneconomical without significant changes in crops or practices by producers. Without significant increases in irrigation efficiency, climate change would also increase the average irrigation rate from 7,963 to 8,400–10,415 m³ha⁻¹ (B1 rate: 8,400–9,145 m³ha⁻¹, A2 rate: 9,380–10,415 m³ha⁻¹). The irrigation rate will increase the most in states that already have dry climates and large irrigation rates, posing a challenge for water supply systems in these states. Accounting for both the increase in irrigated area and irrigation rate, total withdrawals might increase by 47.7–283.4 billion m³ (B1 withdrawal: 47.7–106.0 billion m³, A2 withdrawal: 117.4–283.4 billion m³). Increases in irrigation water-use efficiency, particularly by reducing the prevalence of surface irrigation, could eliminate the increase in total irrigation withdrawals in many states.     

Cultivating the climate: socio-economic prospects and consequences of climate-friendly peat land management in Germany

About 30% of the world’s soil carbon is stored in peat soils. Peat land’s functional principle of carbon storage greatly depends on management strategies. Therefore, agricultural peat land use becomes a focal point of interest in the current debate on climate protection. Agricultural management demands a drawdown of the water-level that causes degradation of the soils, as well as trace-gas emissions which have a negative impact on greenhouse-gas balance. Climate-friendly peat land management strategies, however, demand enhanced groundwater tables and decreased land-use intensity. Against this background, we analyse ways of re-organising agricultural peat land use within a case study located in Germany, where intensive peat land use accounts for 2.3–5.1% of the country’s overall greenhouse-gas emission. The study takes place in six regions which represent all possible socio-economic and natural conditions with regard to the range of existing peat land types, range of management and cultivation types, as well as the range of land-use intensity. To analyse potentials and effects of re-organising peat land use, stakeholder workshops and extensive farm surveys were carried out. The results indicate that reservations exist as regards a re-organisation of peat land management. Financial compensation for farmers appears necessary. The results also show that the potential of rearrangement throughout the regions varies significantly, mainly according to the existing level of interconnection and cooperation between local stakeholders, the technical feasibility of restoration and water logging and the level of agricultural profitability of peat land cultivation with regard to income, capital commitment and the share of affected peat land area.     

黄淮海多熟种植农业区作物历遥感检测与时空特征

多熟种植是高强度农业土地利用的重要特征,但由于缺乏在空间和时间上清晰描述农业多熟种植和作物种植历时空分布的数据,使得区域尺度农田生态系统碳动态估计、农田生产力监测与模拟等有很大的不确定性。黄淮海农业区是以冬小麦-夏玉米二熟制为主的我国粮食主产区,冬小麦和夏玉米分别为光合作用途径为C3和C4的作物,已有研究证明如果在估算生态系统生产力时不考虑一年两季作物及其光能利用率的差异则会导致生产力估算结果过低。研究结合农业气象站点地面作物物候观测数据和空间分辨率500m、8d合成的MOD IS时间序列数据,分析研究区二熟制作物的生长过程、物候特征和作物历的空间差异,发展基于EVI和LSWI时间序列曲线检测多熟区各季作物种植历的方法,获取黄淮海农业区空间表述清晰的熟制和各季作物的生长开始与结束时间数据,并应用农业气象站点数据对方法和所获取的作物历数据进行了比较验证。论述的方法和提取的各季作物的作物历时空数据将能够应用于区域尺度农田生产力估算、生物地球化学循环模拟和农业生态系统监测。     

Environmental costs and benefits of growing Miscanthus for bioenergy in the UK

Planting the perennial biomass crop Miscanthus in the UK could offset 2–13 Mt oil eq. yr^?1, contributing up to 10% of current energy use. Policymakers need assurance that upscaling Miscanthus production can be performed sustainably without negatively impacting essential food production or the wider environment. This study reviews a large body of Miscanthus relevant literature into concise summary statements. Perennial Miscanthus has energy output/input ratios 10 times higher (47.3 ± 2.2) than annual crops used for energy (4.7 ± 0.2 to 5.5 ± 0.2), and the total carbon cost of energy production (1.12 g CO₂‐C eq. MJ^?1) is 20–30 times lower than fossil fuels. Planting on former arable land generally increases soil organic carbon (SOC) with Miscanthus sequestering 0.7–2.2 Mg C4‐C ha^?1 yr^?1. Cultivation on grassland can cause a disturbance loss of SOC which is likely to be recovered during the lifetime of the crop and is potentially mitigated by fossil fuel offset. N₂O emissions can be five times lower under unfertilized Miscanthus than annual crops and up to 100 times lower than intensive pasture. Nitrogen fertilizer is generally unnecessary except in low fertility soils. Herbicide is essential during the establishment years after which natural weed suppression by shading is sufficient. Pesticides are unnecessary. Water‐use efficiency is high (e.g. 5.5–9.2 g aerial DM (kg H₂O)^?1, but high biomass productivity means increased water demand compared to cereal crops. The perennial nature and belowground biomass improves soil structure, increases water‐holding capacity (up by 100–150 mm), and reduces run‐off and erosion. Overwinter ripening increases landscape structural resources for wildlife. Reduced management intensity promotes earthworm diversity and abundance although poor litter palatability may reduce individual biomass. Chemical leaching into field boundaries is lower than comparable agriculture, improving soil and water habitat quality.     

Implications of land class and environmental factors on life cycle GHG emissions of Miscanthus as a bioenergy feedstock

Replacement of fossil fuels with sustainably produced biomass crops for energy purposes has the potential to make progress in addressing climate change concerns, nonrenewable resource use, and energy security. The perennial grass Miscanthus is a dedicated energy crop candidate being field tested in Ontario, Canada, and elsewhere. Miscanthus could potentially be grown in areas of the province that differ substantially in terms of agricultural land class, environmental factors and current land use. These differences could significantly affect Miscanthus yields, input requirements, production practices, and the types of crops being displaced by Miscanthus establishment. This study assesses implications on life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of these differences through evaluating five Miscanthus production scenarios within the Ontario context. Emissions associated with electricity generation with Miscanthus pellets in a hypothetically retrofitted coal generating station are examined. Indirect land use change impacts are not quantified but are discussed. The net life cycle emissions for Miscanthus production varied greatly among scenarios (?90–170 kg CO₂eq per oven dry tonne of Miscanthus bales at the farm gate). In some cases, the carbon stock dynamics of the agricultural system offset the combined emissions of all other life cycle stages (i.e., production, harvest, transport, and processing of biomass). Yield and soil C of the displaced agricultural systems are key parameters affecting emissions. The systems with the highest potential to provide reductions in GHG emissions are those with high yields, or systems established on land with low soil carbon. All scenarios have substantially lower life cycle emissions (?20–190 g CO₂eq kWh^?1) compared with coal‐generated electricity (1130 g CO₂eq kWh^?1). Policy development should consider the implication of land class, environmental factors, and current land use on Miscanthus production.     

Spatiotemporal land use modelling to assess land availability for energy crops – illustrated for Mozambique

A method and tool have been developed to assess future developments in land availability for bioenergy crops in a spatially explicit way, while taking into account both the developments in other land use functions, such as land for food, livestock and material production, and the uncertainties in the key determinant factors of land use change (LUC). This spatiotemporal LUC model is demonstrated with a case study on the developments in the land availability for bioenergy crops in Mozambique in the timeframe 2005–2030. The developments in the main drivers for agricultural land use, demand for food, animal products and materials were assessed, based on the projected developments in population, diet, GDP and self‐sufficiency ratio. Two scenarios were developed: a business‐as‐usual (BAU) scenario and a progressive scenario. Land allocation was based on land use class‐specific sets of suitability factors. The LUC dynamics were mapped on a 1 km² grid level for each individual year up to 2030. In the BAU scenario, 7.7 Mha and in the progressive scenario 16.4 Mha could become available for bioenergy crop production in 2030. Based on the Monte Carlo analysis, a 95% confidence interval of the amount of land available and the spatially explicit probability of available land was found. The bottom‐up approach, the number of dynamic land uses, the diverse portfolio of LUC drivers and suitability factors, and the possibility to model uncertainty mean that this model is a step forward in modelling land availability for bioenergy potentials.     

基于RUSLE模型的中国土壤水蚀时空规律研究

RUSLE模型是计算土壤水蚀的经典模型,在大尺度研究时参数率定比较困难。基于气候、土地覆盖、地形特征等空间分异特征,对RUSLE模型的降雨侵蚀力(R)、植被覆盖与管理因子(C)、水土保持措施因子(P)进行了率定,估算了2000、2005、2010、2015年的中国的土壤侵蚀量。结果表明:(1)土壤侵蚀强度较大的地区集中在中国长江中下游平原区、云贵高原、黄土高原区、昆仑山山麓区域,占统计总面积的9.65%。(2)土壤侵蚀明显增大的区域面积达10.36×10~4km~2,分布于新疆农田区、四川盆地、云贵高原东南部、长江中下游平原和东北平原。(3)土壤侵蚀显著改善的区域分布于黄土高原南部、秦岭地区和东南沿海地区,面积约13.6×10~4km~2。通过对RUSLE模型参数的率定,阐明了全国尺度土壤水蚀的时空分异规律,可对不同地区制定相应的土壤修复措施提供依据。     

Do increases in agricultural yield spare land for nature?

Feeding a rapidly expanding human population will require a large increase in the supply of agricultural products during the coming decades. This may lead to the transformation of many landscapes from natural vegetation cover to agricultural land use, unless increases in crop yields reduce the need for new farmland. Here, we assess the evidence that past increases in agricultural yield have spared land for wild nature. We investigated the relationship between the change in the combined energy yield of the 23 most energetically important food crops over the period 1979–1999 and the change in per capita cropland area for 124 countries over the same period. Per capita area of the 23 staple crops tended to decrease in developing countries where large yield increases occurred. However, this was counteracted by a tendency for the area used to grow crops other than staples to increase in the countries where staple crop yields increased. There remained a weak tendency in developing countries for the per capita area of all cropland to decline as staple crop yield increased, a pattern that was most evident in developing countries with the highest per capita food supplies. In developed countries, there was no evidence that higher staple crop yields were associated with decreases in per capita cropland area. This may be because high agricultural subsidies in developed countries override any land-sparing pattern that might otherwise occur. Declines in the area of natural forest were smaller in countries where the yield of staple crops increased most, when the negative effects of human population increases on forest area were controlled for. Our results show that land-sparing is a weak process that occurs under a limited set of circumstances, but that it can have positive outcomes for the conservation of wild nature.     

黑河中下游绿洲生态安全评价

生态安全包括自然生态安全、经济生态安全和社会生态安全 ,尤指自然和半自然生态系统的安全 ,即生态系统完整性和健康的整体水平反映。生态安全是维护地区或国家乃至全球的生态环境不受威胁的状态 ,能为整个生态经济系统的持续发展提供生态保障。从水安全、土地安全、经济社会安全出发 ,选取水资源量供需比、地表水质量、地下水埋深和地下水矿化度 4种水安全评价指标 ;土地人口承载度、林地覆盖率、草地载畜度、绿洲面积变化率、绿洲土地沙化率、绿洲土地盐碱化率和抗灾度等 7种土地安全评价指标 ;人均 GDP产值、单位面积农业生产总值、农民人均纯收入、绿洲人口密度、城市化率和文明度等经济社会安全评价指标 ;共计 17项 ,建立了绿洲生态安全评价综合指标体系。然后 ,应用综合评价法、层次分析法和 GIS等多种方法与手段 ,在绿洲尺度上对黑河干流中下游地区的张掖、临泽、高台、鼎新和额济纳 5个绿洲进行绿洲生态安全综合评价。评价结果显示 :自黑河中游至下游 ,各个绿洲的生态安全状况依次降低 ,最下游的额济纳绿洲生态安全仅为 4级的差状态。其中 ,水安全是关键 ,土地安全是载体 ,经济社会安全是保障 ,以上几方面相互关联 ,共同作用导致绿洲的生态安全综合水平。     

Conference and workshop on modelling global land use implications in the environmental assessment of biofuels

Background, Aims and Scope  On 4–5 June 2007, an international conference was held in Copenhagen. It provided an interdisciplinary forum where economists and geographers met with LCA experts to discuss the challenges of modelling the ultimate land use changes caused by an increased demand for biofuels. Main Features  The main feature of the conference was the cross-breeding of experience from the different approaches to land use modelling: The field of LCA could especially benefit from economic modelling in the identification of marginal crop production and the resulting expansion of the global agricultural area. Furthermore, the field of geography offers insights in the complexity behind new land cultivation and practical examples of where this is seen to occur on a regional scale. Results  Results presented at the conference showed that the magnitude and location of land use changes caused by biofuels demand depend on where the demand arises. For instance, mandatory blending in the EU will increase land use both within and outside of Europe, especially in South America. A key learning for the LCA society was that the response to a change in demand for a given crop is not presented by a single crop supplier or a single country, but rather by responses from a variety of suppliers of several different crops in several countries. Discussion  The intensification potential of current and future crop and biomass production was widely discussed. It was generally agreed that some parts of the third world hold large potentials for intensification, which are not realised due to a number of barriers resulting in so-called yield gaps. Conclusions  Modelling the global land use implications of biofuels requires an interdisciplinary approach optimally integrating economic, geographical, biophysical, social and possibly other aspects in the modelling. This interdisciplinary approach is necessary but also difficult due to different perspectives and mindsets in the different disciplines. Recommendations and Perspectives  The concept of a location dependent marginal land use composite should be introduced in LCA of biofuels and it should be acknowledged that the typical LCA assumption of linear substitution is not necessarily valid. Moreover, fertiliser restrictions/accessibility should be included in land use modelling and the relation between crop demand and intensification should be further explored. In addition, environmental impacts of land use intensification should be included in LCA, the powerful concept of land use curves should be further improved, and so should the modelling of diminishing returns in crop production.     

Pest-Suppression Potential of Midwestern Landscapes under Contrasting Bioenergy Scenarios

Biomass crops grown on marginal soils are expected to fuel an emerging bioenergy industry in the United States. Bioenergy crop choice and position in the landscape could have important impacts on a range of ecosystem services, including natural pest-suppression (biocontrol services) provided by predatory arthropods. In this study we use predation rates of three sentinel crop pests to develop a biocontrol index (BCI) summarizing pest-suppression potential in corn and perennial grass-based bioenergy crops in southern Wisconsin, lower Michigan, and northern Illinois. We show that BCI is higher in perennial grasslands than in corn, and increases with the amount of perennial grassland in the surrounding landscape. We develop an empirical model for predicting BCI from information on energy crop and landscape characteristics, and use the model in a qualitative assessment of changes in biocontrol services for annual croplands on prime agricultural soils under two contrasting bioenergy scenarios. Our analysis suggests that the expansion of annual energy crops onto 1.2 million ha of existing perennial grasslands on marginal soils could reduce BCI between -10 and -64% for nearly half of the annual cropland in the region. In contrast, replacement of the 1.1 million ha of existing annual crops on marginal land with perennial energy crops could increase BCI by 13 to 205% on over half of the annual cropland in the region. Through comparisons with other independent studies, we find that our biocontrol index is negatively related to insecticide use across the Midwest, suggesting that strategically positioned, perennial bioenergy crops could reduce insect damage and insecticide use on neighboring food and forage crops. We suggest that properly validated environmental indices can be used in decision support systems to facilitate integrated assessments of the environmental and economic impacts of different bioenergy policies.     

Water use by perennial plants in the transition zone between river oasis and desert in NW China

The study aimed at establishing the role of two possible water sources (inundation, ground water) for the water supply to the perennial plant species Alhagi sparsifolia, Calligonum caput-medusae, Populus euphratica and Tamarix ramosissima growing in the transition zone between a river oasis and the open desert at the southern fringe of the Taklamakan desert (Xinjiang province, NW China). The basic hypothesis was that inundations, which normally occur in summer when rivers from a nearby mountain range carry high water, contribute significantly to the plants’ water supply. When, in the first summer, inundations did not occur, four sites, each of which covered by a relatively dense stand of one species, were artificially flooded. Soil and plant water relations as well as meteorological variables were measured during two growing seasons. Water use efficiency of production (WUE_P) was calculated by relating biomass production, which was determined using allometric regressions, to water use.The effects of artificial flooding on the plant water relations were negligible. Water use was relatively high, especially in the A. sparsifolia and the P. euphratica stands and in a dense stand of T. ramosissima (up to approx. 500 kgH₂O m⁻² year⁻¹). Using the total above-ground biomass in the calculation, WUE_P was highest in C. caput-medusae and P. euphratica, and lowest, in A. sparsifolia. From soil and plant water relations, and against the background of the climate and the productivity of the vegetation, it is concluded that all perennial plants in the transition zone between oases and desert in that region must have sufficient access to ground water to ensure long-term survival. Management of ground water such that it remains continuously accessible to the perennial plants is a prerequisite for the conservation and sustainable use of the vegetation in the transition zone.     

黑河中游主要农作物灌溉制度优化

科学的灌溉制度是干旱半干旱地区农业生产的重要保障。黑河位于西北干旱区,是我国第二大内陆河,且当地中游农业灌溉和下游生态需水矛盾十分突出。利用DSSAT （Decision Support for Agro-technology Transfer）模型模拟了黑河中游地区玉米、小麦、油菜、马铃薯的生长情况,对比分析了四种作物生育期内需水量变化与当地降水条件、现行灌溉制度之间的差异。通过设置灌溉组合探究了四种作物最适宜的灌溉制度,并计算了优化灌溉制度下的节水潜力。结果表明：DSSAT模型通过参数校正与验证后,对四种作物生长过程模拟性能较好,产量标准化均方根误差（nRMSE）均低于15.0%,决定系数（R²）均达到0.65以上。缺水量模拟结果表明,四种作物生长季平均水分亏缺介于122.5-367.0 mm。通过调整灌溉制度,可使玉米、小麦、油菜、马铃薯的水分利用效率分别提高54.8%、25.0%、18.3%和51.3%,且产量变幅均低于5.0%,实现了高产节水的目的。在研究区实施最优灌溉制度,中游农业灌区每年可以节省8.1×10⁸ m³的水资源量,用于支持下游生态保护。     

基于水足迹的山东省农业水土资源匹配特征及短缺压力分析

高强度农业开发引起的农业水土资源生态问题日益增多,探究粮食及蔬菜（粮蔬）生产中水土资源空间配置及短缺压力对农业资源的可持续利用具有重要意义。从水足迹视角出发,分析了山东省3种主要粮食作物（冬小麦、玉米及大豆）和两种不同种植模式蔬菜（设施蔬菜和露地蔬菜）的生产水足迹空间特征;同时将资源数量及资源质量的概念纳入研究框架,分析了农业水土资源数量及质量匹配格局差异,并进一步探究了农业水土资源短缺压力及其影响因素。研究结果表明：（1）2019年,山东省粮食和蔬菜的生产总水足迹为811亿m³,其中粮食生产总水足迹占比78.50%,蔬菜生产总水足迹占比21.50%;粮蔬生产水足迹受地势影响明显,鲁西北及鲁西南平原地区的粮蔬生产水足迹占比较大。（2）考虑资源数量的水土资源匹配系数均值为0.622×10⁴ m³/hm²,考虑资源质量的匹配系数均值为0.416×10⁴ m³/hm²;水土资源数量及质量匹配系数在空间上呈现出一致性,表明山东省农业生产水土资源空间配置水平高的地区同时面临着较大的农业面源污染压力。（3）整体上,土地资源短缺压力略高于水资源短缺压力;基于生产视角的水土资源短缺压力受生产环境因素制约显著,受经济发展因素的影响具有差异性,社会因素对水土资源短缺压力无显著影响。研究可为农业资源可持续管理提供数据基础,为全面理解粮蔬生产所产生的水土资源短缺提供案例参考。