Search

Interventions to connect humans with nature at system leverage points are crucial for sustainability transformations. Identifying hotspots of deep leverage points can help provide guidance and managerial suggestions. Contemporary research on sustainability encourages public participation amongst stakeholders and the production and use of scientific knowledge. This study argues that hillside rural activities connect humans with nature but alters the natural landscape. Therefore, to determine hillside rural activity hotspots is to identify leverage points for interventions to promote human–nature reconnection. To elucidate the status of hillside rural activities in rural areas as leverage points in sustainability transformations, this study used a public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) to inventory and verify the complex and diverse relationships between hillside rural activity and land use. Using the Zhuoshui River Basin as a case study, this study hosted PPGIS workshops to collect data on stakeholders' perceptions of hillside rural activities and their spatial locations. The analysis revealed that the respondents mostly identified shallow leverage points involving facility maintenance and agricultural production, and sales. Agricultural land use and water conservancy were closely associated with deep leverage points, indicating the necessity to maintain a foundation of continuous agricultural production. Entropic land use was also associated with deep leverage points. This study found that interventions at deep leverage points can highlight the need for proper land use management and the multitude of services it provides. Land use management interventions may facilitate sustainability transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red Lady' papaya (Carica papaya L.) seedlings were grown for 7 weeksin one experiment and 17 weeks in a second experiment on a 60% to 70% sloped hillside. Depth and lateral root developmental characteristics were determined to establish a more informed basis for developing management procedures during hillside production of papaya. A trench was dug perpendicular to the contour line, and positioned 10 cm from the stem base of each plant. A 1 cm layer of soil was removed from the profile wall, and the roots on the trench profile were mapped. Thereafter, the intact half of each root system was excavated to determine the dry mass and length distribution. Roots were separated into thetaproot system, and the lateral roots of the uphill and downhill sides. The downhill portion of lateral roots accounted for 56% of total length and 64% of total mass after 7 weeks, and 71% of total length and 69% of total mass after 17 weeks. Some lateral roots on the uphillside of the plants developed with a negative gravitropic orientationto maintain a portion of the root system, close to the surface of the slope. After 17 weeks, 34% of the roots on the uphill side of the trench profile walls were located above a horizontal plane positioned at the stem base. Root growth of 'Red Lady' papaya plants growing on hillsides was maintained in all directions, including up the slope. The results signify that there may be no need to modify fertilizer placement practices for hillside production of papaya. However, the higher concentration of roots on the downhill side of these plants indicates a need for placement of soil moisture sensors for irrigation scheduling in uphill and downhill sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]