Search

This research examines global issues concerning the development of mountain areas considered as territories difficult to manage. The case study area is part of the sub-region of High Alpine Steppes belonging to the Tunisian Ridge and reaching Tebessa Mountains in Algeria. The central question of this article is based on the analysis of the links between the representations produced by mountain landscapes and the construction of a border line that must meet the requirements of sustainable development. Eco-landscape determinants and the role of public authorities and population must be better defined so that the products of this space provide a better quality of life endowed with the alternatives of local and sustainable development. Our hypothesis is that the mountain areas of West Central Tunisia still have a real ecological potential little disturbed by a chimerical development, and can constitute assets for the territorial development of the area. The approach adopted by this work is a scoping audit based on the floristic richness and the monitoring of its spatiotemporal dynamics. The results of this research allowed us to draw rich conclusions; the phyto-ecology approach has shown a relative floristic richness that remains highly dependent on the climatic cycles and intervention of human action; this area must be considered as a priority of the public planning policies aimed at improving the quality of lives in these fragile zones in the context of sustainable development.

Phosphorus (P) runoff from agricultural sources is a recognized environmental problem, particularly in regions draining into Lake Erie. This problem may well be exacerbated particularly through increased magnitude and frequency of extreme climatic events (e.g., excessive precipitation and droughts). On the physical sciences side, the recent extensive literature focuses on structural Best Management Practices (BMPs) which have the potential to mitigate both surface and sub-subsurface P losses. Modeling studies show that there is still a lack of adoption of these P-related voluntary BMPs by the farmers. At the same time, and while the social sciences side of the literature on structural BMPs adoption weakly affirms the latter, this paper argues that the literature on resilience and on agricultural innovation can better inform our understanding of the limited adoption of phosphorus related structural BMPs by farmers in the Lake Erie Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Important pressures still increase the vulnerability of peri-urban farming despite initiatives to protect agricultural land and activities since the mid-1960s in several jurisdictions in the USA and Canada. Often, farmland is still removed from agricultural reserves for the 'good of society' (for example, creating industrial parks). In 2008, an action research project was initiated to attempt to reduce agricultural vulnerability in several peri-urban and rural areas near Montreal by emphasising the importance of the appropriation of the value of these farmlands by non-farm citizens and actors. The action research roles involved accompanying the farmers, facilitating meetings, mobilising non-farm actors, and informing farmers of possibilities when asked to do so. In this article, one specific project is analysed in Senneville (in the west of Montreal Island). While the project was initiated by the farmers to guarantee their long-term future, they also sought to involve other, mostly non-agricultural, actors. In a colloquium, a collective vision for the project was constructed, integrating other functions of farmland such as conservation and leisure activities. Many meetings were organised over a three-year period and formal presentations were made to the municipality. The project is ongoing, including new farm operations and the reinforcement of local markets for marketing mainly organic produce. The area is now an integral part of an emerging 'green belt' of the Montreal agglomeration and is already part of a 'green coalition' of both urban and peri-urban actors (farmers and non-farmers), and an emerging food system movement which represents a more holistic approach to food production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most studies on the responsiveness of maize production to various variables have dwelled on the responsiveness of maize production to variations in precipitation or temperature. This study seeks to verify the response of maize production in Cameroon to both climate trends and land use change. Therefore, for the first time, our study presents findings on the relative influence of both climate and land use change on maize production in Cameroon. The data used in this analysis are essentially time series data spanning the period 1961–2006. The data on quantity of maize produced, area of maize harvested and number of maize seeds planted was taken from (http://faostat.fao.org). The mean maize growing season temperature and precipitation data were collected from the 0.5° × 0.5° gridded collaborative datasets of the UNEP and the School of Geography and Environment at Oxford University and from the global crop calendar dataset. The data were analyzed using the average rate of change, detrended simulations, the multiple linear regression technique, correlation coefficient and the coefficient of determination. The results show that maize production in Cameroon is more likely responsive to land use change (forest area change) than rainfall and temperature. However, for the climatic variables, maize production is more responsive to temperature variations than precipitation. In other words, the greater the land use change (forest area loss) the more likely the long run losses in the current maize production gains while rising temperatures were found to be more suitable for maize production. Even though the 1990s marked the period of recovering rainfall levels in most of the Sahel, large fluctuations were still recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When adolescents go overseas to study, they have to face the challenge of adapting to local cultures, homesickness, and dealing with the stress. This study aimed to investigate the socio-cultural adaptation, homesickness, and perceived stress among international students in relation to social sustainability in a public university in Sabah, Malaysia. This research also related how international students manage both positive and negative impacts on their social life in university. The study included all international students in that university except Bruneian and Indonesian students. The sample group comprised 100 male and 100 female students. This study used four questionnaires: (i) Perceived Stress Scale, (ii) Homesickness Scale, (iii) Socio-cultural Adaptation Scale, and (iv) Revised Sociocultural Adaptation Scale. The results indicated that the socio-cultural adaptation and perceived stress levels were significantly correlated, r (198) = 0.354, p < 0.05. The level of homesickness and perceived stress were also significantly correlated, r (198) = 0.314, p < 0.05. The outcome of this study can help overseas students lead better lives abroad, while the university can arrange relevant activities to help them better adapt to local cultures and perceive less stress. The present study underlined the importance of increasing socio-cultural adaptation and social sustainability and decreasing homesickness among international students studying at the public university in Sabah. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research examines the news on climate change in different media, through the analysis of agenda setting and framing, in the context of a construction of media discourse. The role of the media has been relevant in the symbolic struggle of climate change images. The polarized public opinion on climate change in the USA, which has led the Trump government to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, as well as the revocation of environmental policies, is analyzed by the coverage that media with Republican and Democratic political tendencies gave to the climate crisis during the 12 days of the 2019 Climate Summit. The 189 news articles broadcast by Fox News, Breitbart, CNN, and the New York Times were identified, analyzed, and contrasted. The results reveal that media with a Republican political tendency were the only ones that broadcast denial news of climate change. Breitbart reported the largest number of news items throughout the sample, mostly denialists, at 71%, using tactics related to the spectacularization of the climate phenomenon, ad hominem attacks on ecologists and politicians, the connection between environmental initiatives and "eco-fascism" or the "radical left", as well as use of the half-truth fallacy and questionable sources associated with the fossil fuel industry. Fox News practically did not address the issue during the summit. The Democratic political tendency media did not report any kind of denial news; their information and opinions communicated environmental initiatives and climate change consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Baltic Sea is considered the marine water body most severely affected by eutrophication within Europe. Due to its limited water exchange nutrients have a particularly long residence time in the sea. While several studies have analysed the costs of reducing current nutrient emissions, the costs for remediating legacy nutrient loads of past emissions remain unknown. Although the Baltic Sea is a comparatively well-monitored region, current data and knowledge is insufficient to provide a sound quantification of legacy nutrient loads and much less their abatement costs. A first rough estimation of agricultural legacy nutrient loads yields an accumulation of 0.5–4.0 Mt N and 0.3–1.2 Mt P in the Baltic Sea and 0.4–0.5 Mt P in agricultural soils within the catchment. The costs for removing or immobilising this amount of nutrients via deep water oxygenation, mussel farming and soil gypsum amendment are in the range of few tens to over 100 billion €. These preliminary results are meant as a basis for future studies and show that while requiring serious commitment to funding and implementation, remediating agricultural legacy loads is not infeasible and may even provide economic benefits to local communities in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A community is the basic organization and living unit of a city. During COVID-19, China's epidemic prevention and isolation measures against COVID-19 based on the community as the basic unit achieved excellent results and strengthened the impact of non-contact interaction activities on the lifestyles of resident communities. We surveyed and interviewed 1610 respondents on how the epidemic changed residents' lifestyle habits "before, during, and after COVID-19" in 12 communities in Hangzhou, China. Then, we undertook a comparative analysis and found that, under the stimulus of COVID-19, the frequency of residents using non-contact interaction had increased to varying degrees, community lifestyles had undergone significant changes, and the impact of non-contact interaction on community service facilities was complicated. Our conclusions are as following: (1) under COVID-19, the community space had become a composite space—that is, a new type of community space formed by the fusion of community physical space and community virtual space; (2) non-contact interactive activities were the main content in the community composite space, which differently influenced people's habits of using existing community service facilities; (3) the influence mechanism was manifested in significant differences and spatial scale effects. Therefore, based on the research results, we propose a model for the configuration of service facilities in community composite spaces. It is necessary to build communities into a healthy, safe, and convenient urban space governance unit to ensure the sustainable development of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural production methods in Europe are increasingly subject to public criticism from which many farmers suffer. This applies, among other areas, to the widespread use of pesticides. Autonomous field robots (AFR), as the next stage of agricultural automation, have the potential to farm more intensively and, at the same time, in a more environmentally friendly way. However, a certain skepticism towards autonomous systems is suspected among farmers. Whether farmers adopt a technology depends largely on their uncertainty about the consequences of its use and the resulting attitude on the adoption. In order to quantify the attitude on adopting AFR in Germany and to identify possible group differences within the population, 490 German farmers were surveyed using an online questionnaire, which is based on an extended version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). In the subsequent cluster analysis, the statements inquiring the intention to use AFR served as cluster-forming variables. As a result, three groups ("open-minded AFR supporters", "convinced AFR adopters", "reserved AFR interested") could be identified according to their response behavior. Despite existing group differences, an overall attitude in favor of autonomous field robots was observed. The results complement the existing research with a further empirical study and provide interesting starting points for further analysis, field robot manufacturers, and political decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have acknowledged the importance of resilience in enabling individuals to cope and bounce back from crises and unexpected situations like the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study advances conservation of resources theory by investigating the job, social, and personal resources underlying employees' resilience, and the impact of resilience in stimulating job engagement amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The model was tested using data collected from 259 employees in Malaysia. Results of path modeling analysis revealed significant impacts of self-efficacy, facilitating conditions, and family and friends' support on employees' resilience. Besides, resilience was significantly associated with job engagement. Our findings suggest that management concerns for employees may not enhance employees' resilience amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, management could stimulate their employees' resilience by providing them with the flexibility to spend quality time with their loved ones and adequate support for enabling working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to understand the vision and the reaction of the population towards tourism and holidays during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also investigates the tourist needs of the Algerian population after the closure of international borders. Methods: The data were collected using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods through a questionnaire applied to 203 people in different regions of Algeria (a North African country) from 1 June to 13 July 2020. Results: The needs of Algerian tourists were characterized by a great need for leisure to relieve psychological stress caused by COVID-19 (M = 25.33) among the study sample (p < 0.05). The results also show an average need to rationalize the costs of tourist services (M = 5.26) according to the respondents (p < 0.01). This is in addition to the great need (M = 7.75) among respondents (p < 0.05) of the awareness that the tourism sector can contribute to the economic recovery in Algeria after the confinement period. About 75.86% of respondents requested the cleanliness of tourist sites, while 69.95% recommended improving safety because of the size of tourist sites in the Algerian territory as well as measures related to social distancing. The results show that 53.69% of respondents preferred the month of August to go on vacation, 29.06% chose the month of September, and 17.25% would prefer the months of October, November, and December since they expected a reduction in the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the tourism needs of the Algerian population, which has become increasingly aware of the consequences of the pandemic in relation to their health and in relation to the country's economy. These results can help the authorities of the tourism sector to better understand and identify the tourism needs of this population in the current period and after the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing temperatures, greater carbon dioxide concentrations, and changes in related climatic variables will continue to affect the growth and yields of agricultural crops. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is extremely vulnerable to these climatic changes. Therefore, investigating the degree to which climate changes could influence rice yields and what effective adaptive strategies could be taken to mitigate the potential adverse impacts is of vital importance. In this article, the impacts of climate change on rice yields in Zhejiang province, China, were simulated under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. The impacts of climate change, with and without CO2 fertilization effects, were evaluated and the three most effective adaptive measures were examined. Compared with the yield for the baseline time of 1981–2010, the simulated average yields of all cultivars were inevitably projected to decrease under both RCPs when the CO2 fertilization effects were not considered during the three periods of the 2020s (2011–2040), 2050s (2041–2070), and 2080s (2071–2099), respectively. Declines in rice yields were able to be alleviated when the CO2 fertilization effects were accounted for, but the yields were still lower than those of the baseline. Therefore, the three adaptive measures of advancing planting dates, switching to high-temperature-tolerant cultivars, and breeding new cultivars were simulated. The results indicated that adaptive measures could effectively mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. Although the simulation had uncertainties and limitations, the results provide useful insights into the potential impacts of climate change in Zhejiang province while also proposing adaptive measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying the contributing and limiting factors of yield potential is of vital importance, and the closure of existing yield gaps on currently available agricultural land is regarded as the most effective measure to meet future food demands. In this study, the CERES-Rice model and long-term rice yield records of 12 sites from 1981 to 2010 were combined together to investigate the spatial and temporal distributions of yield potential, yield attainable, yield actual, and yield gaps for double cropping rice in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China. The evaluated yield potential of all the sites ranged from 7500 to 14,900 kg/ha, while yield attainable was from 6400 to 12,665 kg/ha, and yield actual was from 4000 to 7000 kg/ha. The yield gaps between yield potential and yield actual, yield potential and yield attainable, and yield attainable and yield actual were projected to be 3500 kg/ha, 1400 kg/ha, and 2100 kg/ha, respectively. The decrease of yield potential was due to the increasing temperature for early mature rice and the prolonged sunshine hours for the yield potential of late mature rice, respectively. The social–economic impacts of yield actual were also assessed, and adaptive measures were simulated so that the yield would certainly increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]