The terrestrial export of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is associated with climate, geography and land use, and thus is influenced by geo-climatic variability, human interference, the farmland and woodland in soil, and hydrological connection levels to rivers. A data-set was presented including two catchments covering the major land use types and different hydrological connection levels to rivers within Eastern China: Middle Yangtze (river-isolated lakes) and Huai River (non-river-connected lakes).

The basic principle of sustainable agricultural production and natural resources is to utilize lands based on their current potentials. Therefore, the present soil sources should be determined firstly. Yesilırmak and Kızılırmak Deltas are the most important agricultural lands in Turkey. However, inappropriate use of agricultural lands and erosion threat these important agricultural centers. In this study, it was determined that 51.92 % of 957.900 ha land in Samsun are exposed to severe erosion, and the percentage of inappropriate use of potential agricultural soils is 18%.

The framework conditions surrounding agricultural production in Germany have changed dramatically due to the Renewable Energy Law (EEG) and a sustained increase in agricultural prices. The Common Agricultural Policy, substantially reformed in the Luxemburg Compromise, will be considered in the framework of the “Health Check”. Against this background, the regional developments anticipated in dairy production, beef cattle husbandry and agricultural land use by the year 2015 are analysed with the help of the regionalized agricultural sector model RAUMIS.

To document trends in land use and herbaceous production, 71 field sites sampled among cropped fields, fallow fields and rangelands in the Fakara region (Niger) were monitored from 1994 to 2006. The overall trend in land use confirmed the historical increase of the cropped areas since mid 20th century, at an annual rate of 2% from 1994 to 2006. This trend is the result of changes in the relative extent of fields permanently cropped and fields under shifting cultivation, and for the latter, the relative proportion of short (3 years) and long (10 years) duration fallows.

The ungauged wet semi-arid watershed cluster, Seethagondi, lies in the Adilabad district of Telangana in India and is prone to severe erosion and water scarcity. The runoff and soil loss data at watershed, catchment, and field level are necessary for planning soil and water conservation interventions. In this study, an attempt was made to develop a spatial soil loss estimation model for Seethagondi cluster using RUSLE coupled with ARCGIS and was used to estimate the soil loss spatially and temporally.

The main objective of the present work is to delineate the groundwater potential zones in Bilari watershed of district Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh. Remote Sensing data and GIS were used to delineate the groundwater potential zones of the area. IRS-1D (LISS III) data have been utilized to extract information on various themes such as geomorphology, structure, drainage and land use/land cover. Available lithology and soil maps have also been used.

Habitat banking and tradable development rights (TDR) have gained considerable currency as a way of achieving ‘no net loss’ of biodiversity and of reconciling nature conservation with economic development goals. This paper reviews the use of these instruments for biodiversity conservation and assesses their roles in the policy mix. The two instruments are compared in terms of effectiveness, cost effectiveness, social impact, institutional context and legal requirements.

The ionic composition of water in the vadose zone of the Salt River Valley in south central Arizona was studied for three different water regimes: desert, irrigated, and flooded by urban runoff. The desert area exhibited high salinity in the top 10 m, probably due to concentration of salts over several years. Below 15 m, the salinity decreased with depth and approached the salinity of the native ground water. For the irrigated area, the chemical composition of the soil water was similar to that of the applied water but concentrations were higher.

While edge microclimates are well described for closed forests, they remain under-examined in more sparse vegetation types like the temperate woodlands of south-eastern Australia. This limits predictions of edge effects on remnant vegetation in cleared agricultural landscapes, and of changes in these effects with reforestation.

An area suitability assessment for crop production requires a considerable effort, which can provide necessary information for optimum land use. Agricultural land use has benefited significantly from the use of suitability systems in recent years.

SUMMARYThis study analyses spatio-temporal patterns of wildfires in Greece using a multidimensional statistical framework based on non-parametric correlations, principal component analysis, clustering and stepwise discriminant analysis. Specifically, we assess the frequency, seasonal profile, severity and land-use type of 135 178 wildfires which occurred between 2000–2012 in Greece, one of the countries most affected by fire in Europe.