Search

Copyright of Southwest China Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of Editorial Department of Southwest China Journal of Agricultural Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Agricultural Outlook (1673-3908) is the property of Institute of Agricultural Information, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• The relation between urbanization and eco-environment in SREB was explored. • Coupling coordination degree model between UAEE of SREB was established. • The negative interaction effect of UAEE is mainly focused on the northwest regions. • Advocate sustainable development, realize the balance between UAEE. Rapid urbanization in China in recent decades has given rise to increasingly serious ecological and environmental problems. Specifically, the provinces along the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) in China have experienced rapid urbanization, and need to take pro-active action in balancing urbanization development with eco-environment conservation. This paper aims to develop comprehensive urbanization and eco-environment (UAEE) evaluation models to explore UAEE development of SREB in China from 2004 to 2018. In terms of methodology, these evaluation models are subsequently combined with CCDM (Coupling coordination degree model) and GTWR (Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression) models to measure and analyze coupling degree and spatio-temporal heterogeneity of UAEE. The results show that: Firstly, from 2004 to 2018 in all regions of the SREB, the urbanization showed a gradual upward trend. Among them, comprehensive urbanization index (CUI) of Guangxi increased by 3.067%. Secondly, the comprehensive eco-environment index (CEI) of Chongqing, Sichuan, Guangxi, Shaanxi and Gansu has improved; while the eco-environment quality of Yunnan, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang has deteriorated during this period, with the rate of decrease in Xinjiang reaching a significant 2%; Thirdly, in 2018, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guangxi, Shaanxi and Gansu are in a state of high coordination level with the eco-environment under the rapid urbanization process, while Yunnan, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang are at a moderate coordination level. Since 2011, these areas are in a state of lagging development of the eco-environment. Finally, the interactive relationship between UAEE tends to converge. There is heterogeneity in time and space among SREB regions. The negative interaction effect of UAEE is mainly focused on the northwest regions. In conclusion, this research will provide a basis of scientific evaluation for the coordinated degree of UAEE, promote regional urbanization vis-à-vis the improvement in environmental policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the challenges of water scarcity and climate change faced by cotton cultivation in the Xinjiang region of China. In response, a precise irrigation model based on reinforcement learning and the crop model DSSAT is proposed. The experimental site chosen for this study is Changji City in northwest China's Xinjiang province. Integrating the cotton model, CSM-CROPGRO, from the DSSAT model with reinforcement learning algorithms, a decision system was developed to provide accurate irrigation strategies that maximize cotton yield. The experimental results demonstrated that our approach significantly improved cotton yield and, compared to genetic algorithms, reduced water consumption while increasing production. This provides a better solution for developing cotton cultivation in the Xinjiang region. Additionally, we analyzed the differences in irrigation strategies among different decision scenarios, and the results showed that the reinforcement learning method achieved higher yields in water application trends during different periods. This research offers new ideas and methods for improving cotton-crop-management decisions. The study's focus on maximizing cotton yield while reducing water usage aligns with the sustainable management of water resources and the need for agricultural adaptation to changing climate conditions. It highlights the potential of reinforcement learning methods in improving irrigation decision-making and their applicability in addressing water scarcity challenges. This research contributes to the advancement of cotton crop management and provides valuable insights for agricultural decision-makers in the Xinjiang region and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substituting organic fertilizer for chemical fertilizer is widely viewed as an effective path to promoting sustainable agricultural development amidst the imminent threat of climate change. This paper investigates the effect of government intervention and market incentives on farmers' organic fertilizer application behavior (FOFAB), using survey data from Xinjiang, China. The results show that, first, three sub-dimensional variables of government intervention, namely policy publicity, fiscal subsidies, and regulation constraints, all have a significantly positive impact on FOFAB, and that fiscal subsidy ranks first in terms of influencing the degree of the effect. Second, there is a mediating effect of market incentives on the relationship between government intervention and FOFAB via three paths, namely the market price of organic fertilizer, the cost of applying organic fertilizer, and market demand for organic food. The most significant mechanism is that fiscal subsidies have a positive influence on FOFAB by activating market demand for organic food, reducing the cost of applying organic fertilizer, and promoting the market price of organic food. In addition, the variables of family endowments have a steady and significant effect on FOFAB. Social networks did not exert a positive effect on FOFAB. Therefore, the local government should incentivize governmental intervention measures to improve the market competition mechanism, encourage more farmers to join agricultural cooperatives, and expand social networks to facilitate FOFAB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government has launched the Rural Living Environment Improvement Initiative (RLEII) to solve the poor living conditions in rural areas. The initiative enhances rural greenery; provides sanitary toilets; and promotes proper disposal of animal manure, sewage, and household waste in rural areas. We collected data using in‐person interviews with 938 rural residents in Xinjiang, China, to elicit their preference, preference intensity, and preference heterogeneity for RLEII. Results indicated that rural residents prefer to see shortcomings of the RLEII addressed. Rural greening construction is identified with the highest preference intensity. We also find significant heterogeneity in rural residents' preferences for each attribute of RLEII. The preference heterogeneity is rooted in the region's economic condition (poor vs. nonpoor region). It is essential to understand rural residents' choice for rural public goods supply and to respect their preference intensity, sequence, and heterogeneity for RLEII to enhance the implementation performance. We discuss the implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The involvement of business actors in gross human rights abuses and international crimes is not a new phenomenon, as exemplified by the Holocaust or the Rwandan genocide. Nowadays, many European and US-based companies doing business in China, specifically in the Xinjiang province where Uyghurs are persecuted, may be connected to severe human rights abuses. The current business and human rights legal framework, which has developed to include human rights due diligence laws and civil litigation, may not be robust enough for preventing companies from doing business in the region, and punishing them when they do and become connected to abuse. We contend that this framework could be strengthened so as to enhance corporate accountability in the face of gross, state-orchestrated human rights abuses in the region. We consider specific laws that the United States and the European Union have adopted to address this situation, namely the 2022 US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and the EU Proposal for a regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overgrazing is the key factor that has exacerbated grassland degradation in China's pastoral regions. Herder's grazing-based livestock production behavior becomes important to grassland conservation. Several formal environmental institutions and policies exist to improve grassland degradation; however, there remain contradicting conclusions regarding the contribution of these policies. Informal institutions become major instruments that might encourage herder's behavior on overgrazing. Using village rules and conventions (VRC) as a proxy for informal institutions, the article attempts to scrutinize whether the VRC emerge to respond to herders' willingness to reduce grazing intensity for grassland conservation and elicit factors affecting their reduction behavior using a Double-Hurdle model. Based on a survey of 193 respondents in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Autonomous regions of China, the empirical results provide evidence that VRC is effective in reducing herders' grazing intensity. In detail, the VRC in written form and an unchanging context within five years could significantly improve herders' willingness to reduce grazing intensity. Herders who consider the VRC as an important impact to their livestock production observe an increased reduction degree of grazing intensity. Additionally, variables referring to herder's education and religious belief play a significant role in the reduction degree of grazing intensity. Our findings highlight the importance of VRC in controlling herders' overgrazing behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planting with non-film mulching is the fundamental means to eliminate the pollution of residual film in cotton fields. However, this planting approach should have regional adaptability. Therefore, the calibrated WOFOST model and an early mature cultivar CRI619 (Gossypium hirsutum Linn) were employed to simulate the cotton growth, and regions were then evaluated for planting in Xinjiang. A field experiment was conducted in 2019–2020 at the experimental irrigation station of Alar City, and the data were used to calibrate and validate the WOFOST model. The field validation results showed that the errors of the WOFOST simulation for emergence, flowering, and maturity were +1 day, +2 days, and +1 day, respectively, with good simulation accuracy of phenological development time. The simulated WLV, WST, WSO, and TAGP agreed well with measured values, with R2 = 0.96, 0.97, 0.99, and 0.99, respectively. The RMSE values of simulated versus measured WLV, WST, WSO, and TAGP were 175, 210, 199, and 251 kg ha−1, and showed high accuracy. The simulated soil moisture (SM) agreed with the measured value, with R2 = 0.87. The calibration model also showed high SM simulation accuracy, with RMSE = 0.022 (cm3 cm−3). Under all treatments, the simulated TAGP and yield agreed well with the measured results, with R2 of 0.76 and 0.70, respectively. RMSE of simulated TAGP and yield was 465 and 200 kg ha−1, and showed high accuracy. The percentage RMSE values (ratio of RMSE to the average measured value, NRMSE) of E T a and WUE were 9.8% and 11.7%, indicating extremely high precision (NRMSE < 10%) and high precision (10% < NRMSE ≤ 20%), respectively. The simulated results for phenology length at the regional scales showed that the effective accumulation temperature in counties such as Yingjisha and Luntai was not enough for the phenological maturity of the studied cotton cultivar. The southern area of Xinjiang had a generally higher yield than the northern area but required more irrigation. This research can provide a method for evaluating the adaptability of filmless cultivation techniques for cotton in different counties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mineral Resources Management / Gospodarka Surowcami Mineralnymi is the property of Mineral & Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Environmental process assessment based on the environmental depletion index (EDI) is an important part of the long-term monitoring and early warning mechanism of China's resources and environmental carrying capacity. The EDI aims to realize the unified environmental impact assessment of economic and environmental systems through the ratio relationship between economic growth and pollutant emission growth. However, in terms of pollutant emissions, the EDI ignores the environmental capacity (EC), which means that the effectiveness and objectivity of environmental impact assessment must be verified. In this study, with Xinjiang as an example and based on the EDI, Sulfur dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen oxide (NOx), Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and Ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) were selected for calculation and assessment both without and with consideration of EC and for discussion of the suitability of the environmental depletion method for resources and environmental carrying capacity. The results indicated that ① the percentages of SO2, NOx, COD, NH3-N and CEDI in counties and cities that tend to be poor and lack EC were 32.98%, 29.79%, 30.85%, 28.72% and 38.30%, respectively, while the percentages in counties and cities with EC were 10.64%, 3.19%, 13.83%, 8.51% and 10.64%, respectively. ② When EC was included, the number of counties and cities where changes in SO2, NOx, COD, NH3-N and CEDI tended to be "poor → good" were 23, 26, 17, 21 and 28, respectively, and the number of counties and cities where such changes tended to be "good → poor" were 2, 1, 1, 2 and 2, respectively. ③ EC inclusion corrected overestimated or underestimated EDI results, making the evaluation results more objective and reasonable. This understanding provides a scientific reference for the coordinated development of the regional economy and environment in Xinjiang and worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located in the northwest of China, Xinjiang is a typical arid desert area and mineral resources development zone. The lack of water resources and a fragile ecological environment restricts the sustainable development of the region. Based on the industrial panel data of Xinjiang from 2001 to 2015, this paper uses the undesirable output SBM model, Malmquist index model, and Tobit regression model to comprehensively and systematically measure and evaluate the industrial eco-efficiency and its change characteristics from provincial, regional, and prefectural levels. The results show that (1) the industrial eco-efficiency level in Xinjiang is generally low, lower than the national average, but the development trend is good, and it has been steadily rising over time, from 2001 to 2015 and from the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period to the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period. (2) The spatial distribution of industrial ecological efficiency of Xinjiang is not balanced. Northern Xinjiang is larger than that of eastern Xinjiang and the southern Xinjiang. The developments of 14 prefectures are uneven and asynchronous, which can be divided into two development modes: industrial and agriculture and animal husbandry region. (3) Through the decomposition analysis of the Malmquist index, it has been found that the technological progress index is the restriction factor of the changing trend of TFP, while the technical efficiency index and the pure technical efficiency index are the promoting factors. (4) The main factors causing the decline in ecological efficiency are industrial sulfur dioxide emissions, industrial nitrogen oxide emissions, total industrial water consumption, and general industrial solid waste. It can be seen that the emission of air pollutants and excessive industrial water are the main problems in the region. (5) Industrial ecological efficiency is positively correlated with industrial development level, scientific and technological innovations, industrial structure, and environmental planning, whereas negatively correlated with the degree of opening up and industrial agglomeration. (6) Xinjiang is an extremely arid and water-scarce region. These are the keys and prerequisites for saving water resources and strengthening the comprehensive utilization of water resources. Whether in the industrial areas or in the agricultural and animal husbandry areas, water conservation should be given top priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Man-machine efficacy evaluations of typical work in the safe mining of high-altitude alpine metal mines are associated with fuzziness, multiple indexes, and large subjective components. This results in difficulties in the prediction of the typical work efficiency in high-altitude alpine metal mining areas. In this study, ergonomic theory was applied to establish the evaluation index system of typical work efficiency in high-altitude alpine metal mining areas by studying the cooperative relationship between operators, working machines, working environment, and design variables. First, we investigated the collaborative relationship between workers, operating machinery, operating environment, and design variables in order to establish the evaluation index system of typical work efficiency in high-altitude alpine metal mining areas. Second, principal component analysis (PCA) was integrated with the fusion entropy weight method to (i) analyze the coupling correlation and overlapping effects between the factors influencing efficiency at different altitudes and (ii) to determine the key influencing factors. Third, a model based on the sequence generative adversarial network genetic algorithm backpropagation (SeqGAN-GABP) hybrid algorithm was established to predict the trends in the operating efficiency of typical work types in high-altitude alpine metal mining areas. Finally, three high-altitude alpine metal mines in Xinjiang were selected as representative examples to verify the proposed framework by comparing it with other state-of the art models (multiple linear regression prediction model, backpropagation (BP) neural network model, and genetic algorithm back propagation (GA-BP) neural network model). Results determine the average relative error of each model as 2.74%, 1.97%, 1.29%, and 1.02%, respectively, indicating the greater accuracy of our proposed method in predicting the efficiency of typical work types in high-altitude alpine mining areas. This study can provide a scientific basis for the establishment of mining safety judgment standards in high-altitude alpine areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located in the Eurasian continent's hinterland, Xinjiang is a typical arid and resource-developing region in China's northwest. Problems such as excessive resource consumption, environmental pollution, and ecological imbalance are becoming severe, which have become the bottleneck that further restricts Xinjiang's sustainable development. Due to its outstanding quantitative advantages, ecological efficiency has become a significant indicator and analytical tool for measuring the green economy and sustainable development. In this study, we analyzed ecological efficiency variation for Xinjiang's 14 prefectures between 2001 and 2015 using a super-efficient data envelopment model (DEA), Malmquist Index, and Tobit model. These analyses indicated that: (1) The overall ecological efficiency level of Xinjiang is low, and development among regions is unbalanced, out of sync, lacks sustainability. (2) From 2001 to 2015, Xinjiang's ecological efficiency showed a W-shaped rising trend and finally increased by 5.7%. It is due to the substantial improvement in environmental efficiency. (3) By analyzing the environmental efficiency and resource efficiency, 14 prefectures in Xinjiang consist of four development modes: low energy consumption and low emission, high energy consumption and low emission, low energy consumption and high emission, and high energy consumption and high emission. (4) Water resources are restricting factors of arid regions. In most prefectures, there exist excessive water resource investment, excessive COD, and NH3-N emissions. (5) By analyzing the Malmquist index, it shows that the technical progress index(TC) restricted ecological efficiency. In contrast, the technical efficiency index (EC) promoted ecological efficiency.(6)The ecological efficiency was positively correlated with the utilization of foreign capital, urbanization rate, and average education degree but negatively correlated with the marketization degree. The study has guidance and reference function for the sustainable development of Xinjiang—a vital corridor of the Silk Road Economic Belt, and also provides a reference to the research work of other arid resource-based regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's government is now promoting the Nomad Sedentarization Project (NSP) in large areas of grassland as a solution for ecological restoration and poverty alleviation. To examine the effects of this policy, we conducted in-depth interviews at two of the project's sites and examined the social and ecological systems at village, county, and catchment scales in Jinghe County of Xinjiang. We found that (1) the NSP in one village greatly improved the household standard of living and changed their resource utilization modes; (2) the success in this village can be attributed to resources imported from the social and ecological systems at larger scales, and could not be repeated in a second nearby village with different constraints; and (3) the NSP is poorly adapted to local ecosystem characteristics, and may therefore have negative impacts at larger scales. To avoid these problems, holistic assessments are necessary to judge the NSP's impacts on social and ecological systems at multiple scales, and the program must be implemented cautiously to account for the potential risks in ecologically vulnerable areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subjective risk perceptions give rise to unique policy implications as they reflect both the expectation of risk exposure and the ability to mitigate or cope with the adverse impacts. Based on data collected from semistructured interviews and iterative ranking exercises with 159 households in the Altay and Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, China, this study investigates and explains the risks with respect to a seriously understudied population and location. Using both geostatistical and econometric methods, we show that although fear of environmental crisis is prevalent among our respondents, recently implemented pastoral conservation, sedentarization, and development projects are more likely to be ranked as the top concerns among affected households. In order to reduce these concerns, future pastoral policy must be built on the livestock economy, and intervention priority should be given to the geographic areas identified as risk hot spots. In cases where pastoralists have to give up their pastures, the transition to other comparable livelihood strategies must be enabled by creating new opportunities and training pastoralists to acquire the needed skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1949 the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China has experienced massive in-migration from other parts of China. Under a strong ideology of 'opening up wasteland' (kaihuang), large areas of desert, pastureland and wetlands have been converted to cropland. This process has increased the competition over scarce water resources and created problems for many traditional oasis settlements that are increasingly lacing problems of water shortages and water pollution. This article sets out to give a general overview of some of the changes in population, land use, and water use that have taken place in the region in the last 50 years. Some key environmental effects of this development will also be documented. The conclusion is that past and present policies and management practices related in land and water resources in Xinjiang are not sustainable in the long run and urgently need to be revised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As water scarcity intensifies worldwide, the equitable allocation of water resources has emerged as a critical challenge. This research investigates the intricate issue of allocating responsibility for virtual water, a concept that quantifies the water embedded in traded commodities. In pursuit of an effective allocation mechanism, we refine an innovative accounting scheme grounded in economic welfare gains arising from externalities. The results show that water-stressed areas in China, such as Xinjiang, significantly contribute to exporting virtual water and is responsible for 70%–85% of the virtual water outflow. Furthermore, more than 50% of virtual water imported from water-rich regions is attributed to these water-stressed areas while their trade partners bear the rest water responsibility. In contrast, southern China's abundant water resources reduce dependence on virtual water trade, leading to fewer responsibilities. Globally, the allocated responsibility for the new accounting mechanism reaches up to 7.5 times higher than for production-based accounting (PBA) and consumption-based accounting (CBA). Our study also reveals that the degree of dependency (price elasticities) plays a pivotal role in shaping the allocation outcomes. The implications of this research are significant for establishing a transparent and accountable framework for sustainable water resource management and facilitating seamless transitions toward sustainability. As global water scarcity intensifies, the redefined responsibility accounting according to the economic welfare is indispensable in addressing immediate and long-term water-related challenges. • We refine a mechanism to reallocate responsibility based on economic welfare gains. • Notable differences exist between results of the new mechanism and current production, consumption, and income-based methods. • Water-stressed areas bear higher proportions of virtual water responsibility. • Price elasticities play a crucial role in determining responsibility allocations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]