Untangling the Integral Impact of Land Use Change, Economic, Ecological and Social Factors on the Development of Burabay District (Kazakhstan) during the Period 1999–2021

Long-term spatiotemporal Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) analysis is an objective tool for assessing patterns of sustainable development (SD). The basic purpose of this research is to define the Driving Mechanisms (DM) and assess the trend of SD in the Burabay district (Kazakhstan), which includes a city, an agro-industrial complex, and a national natural park, based on the integrated use of spatiotemporal data (STD), economic, environmental, and social (EES) indicators. The research was performed on the GEE platform using Landsat and Random Forest. The DM were studied by Multiple Linear Regression and Principal Component Analysis. SD trend was assessed through sequential transformations, aggregations, and integrations of 36 original STD and EES indicators. The overall classification accuracy was 0.85–0.97. Over the past 23 years, pasture area has changed the most (−16.69%), followed by arable land (+14.72%), forest area increased slightly (+1.81%), and built-up land—only +0.16%. The DM of development of the AOI are mainly economic components. There has been a noticeable drop in the development growth of the study area in 2021, which is apparently a consequence of the COVID-19. The upshots of the research can serve as a foundation for evaluating SD and LULC policy.

Positive Matrix Factorization as Source Apportionment of Paddy Soil Heavy Metals in Black Shale Areas in Western Zhejiang Province, China

The source apportionment of pollutants is the key to preventing and controlling the pollution caused by heavy metals in soils. The aim of this study was to investigate the main sources of heavy metals in the soils of black shale areas in western Zhejiang, China. Based on geostatistical spatial analysis, this research employed positive matrix factorization (PMF) for the source apportionment of heavy metals in paddy soil. The results showed that contaminated arable soils were concentrated in the western and southern study areas. At least five major sources of heavy metals were screened in this study: natural sources (39.66%), traffic emissions (32.85%), industrial emissions (9.23%), agricultural activities (9.17%), and mining (9.10%). To be specific, Cd was mainly from mining;As originated from agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides;and Hg, as an industrial pollutant, was transported by atmospheric deposition in the study area. The accumulation of Pb, Zn, and Cu was mainly influenced by natural sources and anthropogenic sources, i.e., traffic emissions, while that of Cr and Ni was controlled by natural sources.

Invest in research to save Africa’s agriculture

Enock Chikava, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation It became clear to me that COVID-19 containment measures such as stay-at-home decrees, slowed down agricultural extension services, reduced household incomes against the rising cost of cultivation, led to unavailability of agricultural input materials and uncertainty about the marketing of the products, among others. Speakers at the event were particularly concerned with how the region can find innovative solutions to increase agricultural production that can address the challenges of shrinking arable land caused by population growth and other shocks such as climate change and COVID-19. Ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit next week, it is critical that African governments and development partners clearly outline the need to address the continent’s food systems challenges with commitments to invest in research and strengthen local research organisations for home-grown innovations that support food systems and increase uptake at the grassroots level.

Resilience of Agri-Food Systems

In considering resilience of agri-food systems, we need to take a holistic perspective of many factors that can influence supply chains and their logistics: declining availability of arable land, water and healthy soils;pests and diseases of crop plants and livestock;unpredictability of weather and changing climate;growth in emerging economies;aging and increasingly urbanized populations;greater demand for convenience foods;consumer interest in provenance and ethical values in food production. To look to the future, we should consider how far agri-food systems have progressed in recent times. Since 1971 (a year chosen because of its personal significance of submitting my PhD thesis and celebrating my wedding) the world’s population has doubled from four to nearly eight billion, yet the global average daily energy and protein consumption per person have increased by about 20–25% [8], indicating a significant boost to food production. On farms, real-time sensing technologies are used for: monitoring weather, soil conditions and water availability;the growth and health of crops and livestock;outbreaks of pests, diseases and weeds;spoilage in grain storage;and to provide decision support and land-use mapping tools. Interest in alternative food sources and obtaining more dietary protein from alternative sources such as plants or insects is generating important research questions on “green” methods for processing of raw materials and developing flavoursome and nutritious products attractive to consumers, and how such systems can add value to the agri-food chain, given that a significant amount of food production currently comes from livestock grazing on marginal lands unsuited to cropping.

Unveiling the Bioactive Potential of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Waste in Human Health from a Consumer Perspective

Food supply disruption and shortage verified during the current pandemic events are a scenario that many anticipate for the near future. The impact of climate changes on food production, the continuous decrease in arable land, and the exponential growth of the human population are important drivers for this problem. In this context, adding value to food waste is an obvious strategy to mitigate food shortages, but there is a long way to go in this field. Globally, it is estimated that one-third of all food produced is lost. This is certainly due to many different factors, but the lack of awareness of the consumer about the nutritional value of certain foods parts, namely peels and seeds, is certainly among them. In this review, we will unveil the nutritional and bioactive value of the waste discarded from the most important fresh fruit and vegetables consumed worldwide as a strategy to decrease food waste. This will span the characterization of the bioactive composition of selected waste from fruits and vegetables, particularly their seeds and peels, and their possible uses, whether in our diet or recycled to other ends.

Regional Disparities and Influencing Factors of Eco-Efficiency of Arable Land Utilization in China

Eco-efficiency of arable land utilization (EALU) emphasizes efficient coordination between land use systems and ecosystems. It is therefore of great significance for agricultural sustainability based on the systematic assessment of EALU. This study took carbon emissions and non-point source pollution resulting from arable land utilization into the measurement system of EALU, and a super-SBM model, kernel density estimation and Tobit regression model were used to analyze regional differences and influencing factors of EALU for 31 provinces in China from 2000 to 2019. The results showed that there was an upward trend in EALU in China from 0.4393 in 2000 to 0.8929 in 2019, with an average annual growth rate of 4.01%. At the regional level, the EALU of three categories of grain functional areas generally maintains an increasing trend, with the highest average value of EALU in main grain marketing areas (MGMAs), followed by grain producing and marketing balance areas (GPMBAs) and main grain producing areas (MGPAs). There are obvious differences in EALU among provinces, and the number of provinces with high eco-efficiency has increased significantly, showing a spatial distribution pattern of “block” clustering. In terms of dynamic evolution, kernel density curves reflect the evolution of EALU in China and grain functional areas with different degrees of polarization characteristics. The results of Tobit regression show that natural conditions, financial support for agriculture, science and technology inputs, level of industrialization, agricultural mechanization, and the living standards of farmers are significant factors resulting in regional disparities of EALU. Therefore, this study proposes the implementation of differentiated arable land use/agricultural management strategies to improve the sustainable utilization of arable land.

Design of sustainable intelligent food information system through computer dynamic system model

Since COVID-19, the already fragile food system has become even more overburdened, and food security has become an urgent issue. Due to the excessive pursuit of efficiency and profit, the food system in the past has created various problems, the most prominent problem is the inability to find a balance between profit and ecological environment. Therefore, this article focuses on how to build a model that includes both aspects. In order to analyse the existing food system and introduce new ones, firstly, divide the food system into four subsystems of profitability, efficiency, sustainability, and equity, and set up several secondary indicators under each subsystem, and select appropriate countries as samples. Use the AHP, EWM, and CEM to calculate the corresponding index of each subsystem to form a new comprehensive evaluation model for the food system. © 2021 ACM.