Cover illustration
The image serves as a powerful metaphor for the increasing unpredictability of weather patterns caused by climate change. It prominently features a machine adorned with various icons representing climatic phenomena, including storms, droughts, and extreme heat. Below, a desolate, cracked landscape illustrates the devastating impact of drought. Suspended above are spheres that depict diverse weather conditions, emphasizing the random and volatile nature of these events.
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Amid the escalating frequency of climate extremes, it is crucial to determine their impact on agricultural water scarcity to preserve agricultural development. Current research does not often examine how different spatial scales and compound climate extremes influence agricultural water scarcity. Using an agricultural water scarcity index (AWSI), this study examined the effects of precipitation and temperature extremes on AWSI across secondary and tertiary river basins in China from 1971 to 2010. The results indicated a marked increase in AWSI during dry years and elevated temperatures. The analysis underscores that precipitation had a greater impact on AWSI than temperature variation. In secondary basins, AWSI was about 26% higher than the long-term average during dry years, increasing to nearly 49% in exceptionally dry conditions. By comparison, in tertiary basins, the increases were 28% and 55%, respectively. In hot years, AWSI rose by about 6.8% (7.3% for tertiary basins) above the average, surging to about 19.1% (15.5% for tertiary basins) during extremely hot periods. These results show that AWSI assessment at the tertiary basin level better captured the influence of climate extremes on AWSI than assessments at the secondary basin level, which highlights the critical importance of a finer spatial scale for a more precise assessment and forecast of water scarcity within basin scales. Also, this study has highlighted the paramount urgency of implementing strategies to tackle water scarcity issues under compound extreme dry and hot conditions. Overall, this study offers an in-depth evaluation of the influence of both precipitation and temperature variation, and research scale on water scarcity, which will help formulate better water resource management strategies.
This study presents a new holistic framework for modeling farmer decision-making by integrating both top-down and bottom-up approaches. It uses three interlinked subsystems to evaluate how changes in water policies impact farmer decisions and profits: the first model simulates water balance, the second simulates farmer behavior, and the third assesses farmer profits. Two scenarios are explored: Scenario I introduces penalties for groundwater overexploitation, and Scenario II implements awareness raising and training to encourage using modern irrigation systems. The results show that penalties lead to reductions in water requests exceeding limits by 8%, 45%, and 68% for fines of 1000, 5000, and 10,000 IRR·m−3, with corresponding net profit decreases of 1.3%, 8.0%, and 11.6%. The ranges of farmer cooperation for groundwater management vary from 20% to 50% over the 10-year simulation period. In Scenario II, increasing the radius of awareness from 0.5 to 2 km substantially increases the adoption of modern irrigation from 1457 to 2057 farmers. These findings highlight how different policy measures impact various types of farmer based on their specific characteristics and preferences.
Different canopy resistance (rc) parameterization has been used in land surface models to simulate actual evapotranspiration (ETc) and soil hydraulic variable for crop fields. However, the influence of rc parameterization on evapotranspiration (ET) partitioning and soil water dynamics has not been fully investigated with consideration of the coupled soil water and vapor physics. This study investigated the influential mechanisms of five rc methods (viz., Jarvis, Katerji-Perrier, Massman, Kelliher-Leuning, and Farias) on ET partitioning and soil water contents in an irrigated maize field under a semiarid climate through a soil water and vapor transfer model. The Jarvis method presented the best ET results (R2 = 0.86 and RMSE = 0.71 mm·d–1). Different rc parameterization mainly altered the simulated amount of soil water contents, while not changed the response of soil water dynamics to irrigation events. By the integrated analysis of the ET partitioning and root-zone water budget, different rc methods varied in the choice of the optimum irrigation water use strategies. This study identified the direct and indirect impacts of rc on the ET partitioning and emphasizes the necessity of both the ET partitioning and water supply sources in the decision-making for irrigation water management in semiarid regions.
The investigation of the response mechanisms of Cyperus esculentus to water and salt stresses is crucial for the enhancement of the productivity of saline soils. Previous studies have indicated that plant hormones, antioxidant systems, and osmoregulation may contribute to the stabilization of yield. However, the contributions and interactions of these mechanisms remain poorly understood under combined water and salt stress in natural environments. A dual-factor (salt and water) orthogonal test was used to investigate the growth and biochemical responses of C. esculentus, under combined salt and water stress in a field experiment conducted on a typical saline area in northern China. The findings reveal that C. esculentus adjusted its biomass allocation strategies and activated hormone responses, antioxidant system, and osmoregulation mechanisms to maintain stable yield. Due to the negative synergism when salt and water stress coexist, the homogeneous limitations of both are weakened. Thus, the key to maintaining yields under combined water and salt stress may depend on indirectly enhancing tolerance to oxidative damage through abscisic acid, rather than focusing on accumulating low molecular weight osmoregulants and antioxidant enzymes to directly alleviate homogeneous limitations. Also, under combined salt and water stress, insufficient irrigation may have a greater impact on morphological characteristics than high salinity. The above results contribute to a deeper understanding of the process of adapting C. esculentus to combined salt and water stress.
Soil evaporation (SE) is a key component of regional hydrological balance, especially in arid areas. China has the largest area of apple orchards in the world, but the effects of mulching practices on SE dynamics and their controlling factors remain poorly understood in orchards using drip irrigation (DI). This study was conducted to address these issues by measuring SE, meteorological factors, soil temperature (ST), and soil water content (SWC) in young apple orchard under two mulching treatments during the growing season. Field experiments, which included three treatments—film mulching (FM) and maize straw mulching (SM), and clean tillage (TL) as a comparator—were conducted in 3-year-old apple orchard with DI in arid northwestern China. The results revealed that mulching significantly affected the daily SE dynamics of the young orchard (p < 0.05), and the daily mean SE under FM, SM, and TL treatments was about 1.3 ± 0.5, 1.3 ± 0.4, and 1.7 ± 0.4 mm·d−1, respectively. No significant differences were detected in the daily SE between FM and SM treatments (p > 0.05), whereas the daily SWC in the four soil layers to 120 cm were consistently greater under SM treatment than under FM and TL treatments (p < 0.05). Compared to the TL treatment, the daily SE under FM and SM treatments was more susceptible to meteorological factors. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the daily SE of the young orchard was mainly controlled by the vapor pressure deficit, reference evapotranspiration and solar radiation, regardless of the treatment. However, there was no significant relationship between the daily SE and wind speed under TL treatment (p > 0.05). This study highlighted the significant differences in SE losses and SWC dynamics of the mulching treatments. Overall, SM is considered to be a more effective mulching practice for reducing unproductive SE and improving SWC status in young apple orchards with DI in arid and similar climatic regions.
Fisheries in coastal and lakeside regions are increasingly facing sustainability challenges. This predicament has compelled these regions to shift toward economic diversification, with tourism emerging as a feasible alternative economic activity. This study focuses on a rural community adjacent to Erhai Lake in Dali City, Yunnan Province, China, examining its shift from a fishing-based economy to tourism over several decades. Employing an adaptive sustainable livelihood framework, this study assessed the livelihood transformation across various stages over an extended period, from both institutional and action-oriented perspectives, analyzing factors influencing sustainable livelihood transformation in lakeside communities and their subsequent effects. This research revealed several key insights. Firstly, tourism, as an alternative industry to fishing, not only faces increasingly stringent environmental protection policies but also confronts multiple challenges from the community level. Secondly, the improvement of the physical assets of locals within the tourism development, which can increase property-based income, has the potential to facilitate a sustainable transformation of their livelihoods. Thirdly, analysis identifies the pivotal role of human capital in the current transition process, with the influence of talent and innovative livelihood industry management models gaining prominence to ensure sustainability of this transformation.
Organic inputs are key to increasing soil organic carbon in agricultural soils. This study aimed to unravel the process of mineralization and humification of chicken manure (CM) and composted kitchen waste (KW) using an in situ litter-bag incubation experiment. The results indicated that over 50%, 64% to 72%, and 62% to 85% of the initial mass, carbon and nitrogen, respectively, were lost through incubation with a marked loss occurring during the first 28 days. Increased humic acids (HAs), humus (HS) and degree of humification, along with a decrease in the level of fulvic acids and precursors for humic substances were observed through incubation. By comparison, CM demonstrated higher carbon and nitrogen conservation efficiencies and greater humification compared to KW. Additionally, a higher degree of humifaction and larger quantities of HAs and HS were not favorable for carbon and nitrogen conservation. Further structural equation modeling indicated that microbial community had a strong effect on carbon loss and nitrogen release, while stoichiometric properties of organic inputs were the main determinant of the mineralization and humification processes. These findings will enhance understanding of litter decomposition in soils and provide valuable references for soil carbon sequestration with organic inputs.
Healthy soil is crucial for sustainable agriculture with soil microbiomes being key to soil health. However, comprehensive assessments of soil health and microbial community structures under different wheat yields have not been made. Therefore, soil samples were collected from wheat fields with differing yields at depths of 0–15 and 15–30 cm. The yields were categorized as low (Y1, 3.75 t·ha−1), medium (Y2, 6.00 t·ha−1), high (Y3, 8.25 t·ha−1), and maximum (Y4, 10.1 t·ha−1), and soil health and microbial communities determined. The results showed that both yield category and soil depth significantly influenced SOC, TN, mineral nitrogen, AP and AK, enzyme activity, and soil bacterial communities. The soil health index in Y4 (0.51–0.87) was significantly higher than in Y3 (0.39–0.63), Y2 (0.27–0.45), and Y1 (0.21–0.52) at both 0–15 and 15–30 cm (expect Y1). Significant correlation was only found between soil health index at 0–15 cm and wheat yield, not at 15–30 cm. The bacterial and fungal network structure in Y4 was more complex and densely connected. Actinobacteria, Thaumarchaeota, and Ascomycota were identified as key drivers of soil health. Based on these results, the regulation of microbes has the potential to improve soil health and crop yields.
This study aimed to address the sowing quality problems commonly encountered in the mechanized process of sowing garlic seeds, such as a low single-seed rate. To rectify these types of issues, the symmetric seed-collection spoons and the seed-distribution plate structures were designed based on an existing finger clip plate garlic seed-metering device. First, the optimal installation angle of the seed-distribution plate and optimal number of seed-collection spoons were determined using single-factor simulation tests based on discrete element method-multibody dynamics (DEM-MBD) coupling, and the effects of different seed-collection spoon tapers, finger clip gradual closing angles, and seed tray rotation speeds on the performance of the seed-metering device were analyzed. Second, based on the single-factor simulation tests, a quadratic regression orthogonal rotary combination simulation test was conducted using the taper of the seed-collection spoon, finger clip gradual closing angle, and seed tray rotation speed as the test factors and the single-seed rate (1 seed per spoon), empty rate (0 seed per spoon), and multiple-seed rate (≥ 2 seeds per spoon) as the test indices. Parameter optimization was performed using an established regression model. Finally, bench tests were conducted to verify the reliability of the simulation results. The results showed that the optimal parameter combinations were a seed-collection spoon taper of 1.6, a finger clip gradual closing angle of 21.4°, and a seed tray rotation speed of 31.5 r·min−1. Also, the seed-metering device exhibited a single-seed rate of 94.2%, an empty rate of 2.1%, and a multiple-seed rate of 3.7%.
Seed aging adversely affects agricultural productivity by reducing germination rates and seedling vigor, leading to significant costs for seed banks and companies due to the need for frequent seed renewals. This study demonstrated the use of plasma-activated water (PAW), generated by a solar-powered corona dielectric barrier discharger, to enhance germination rates of spinach seeds that had been stored at 4 °C for 23 years. Treating seeds with PAW at 17 kV for 15 min improved germination (by 135%) and seedling growth compared to untreated seeds. Through detailed analysis, beneficial PAW properties for seed development were identified, and a molecular mechanism for this rejuvenation is proposed. The solar-powered microreactor used in this study is considered to represent a significant advancement in seed treatment technology, offering a sustainable solution to meet growing food demands while addressing environmental and resource sustainability challenges.
The escalating recognition of sustainable agriculture and food systems is a response to the multifaceted challenges of food insecurity, climate change, environmental deterioration and economic pressures. In this review, sustainable agriculture is characterized as an array of farming practices that effectively address immediate demands, while simultaneously safeguarding the potential of future generations to fulfill their needs. The primary objectives include sustained productivity, pollution reduction, and economic viability and sustainability. Sustainable food systems incorporate dimensions beyond production, including processing, distribution, consumption patterns, and waste management along the entire food supply chain. An abundance of research underscores the manifold benefits offered by sustainable agriculture and food systems to society at large. These advantages include fostering climate resilience, curbing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing water quality, promoting biodiversity, enriching soil fertility, fortifying rural livelihoods and nurturing community well-being. Nevertheless, the path toward sustainability is strewn with significant challenges. These include substantial costs involved in transitioning, conflicts in policy objectives, and the pervasive influence of traditional methods. Achieving sustainability requires the execution of holistic strategies that traverse various sectors and scales. Accelerating this progress can be facilitated through the adoption of diverse strategies, including agroforestry, agroecology, urban agriculture, farmer knowledge exchange, ecosystem service payments and supply chain shortening. However, the success of these strategies hinges on the provision of appropriate policies and incentives. Further research is vital to ascertain the ideal conditions for implementing specific interventions and to assess the comprehensive expenses and benefits linked to them. This review emphasizes the assertion that widespread adoption of sustainable practices in agriculture and interconnected food systems has positive impacts in terms of community nutrition, conservation of natural resources and long-term economic progress.
