Nitrogen retention versus methane emission: Environmental benefits and risks of large-scale wetland creation

This paper examined dairy husbandry training impact on milk production and milk income under smallholder farmers’ management condition. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in two districts in Ethiopia and the data was collected from a total of 180 smallholder dairy farmers (60 of the participants were trained on dairy husbandry practices). Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique was employed to construct suitable comparable group and to calculate the average treatment effect on the treated sample. The average treatment effect on the treated shows that dairy husbandry training increased milk production, volume of milk processed and milk income by about 21.7%, 56.5% and 22.5% respectively. This study confirms that training on dairy husbandry plays great role to bring change in dairy technology adoption which further enhance milk production and milk income under smallholder farmers’ management condition.
Keywords: milk income; milk production; Ethiopia; propensity score matching; smallholder dairy farmers, training

/pdf/impact-of-training-of-small-scale-dairy-farmers-on-milk-4i3leiqbjp.pdf

Impact of Training of Small-Scale Dairy Farmers on Milk Production and Income in Ethiopia

Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (MAV) is one of the most important ecosystems in the United States, and bottomland hardwood forests (BLHs) are a major components of this ecosystem. The ecological and hydrological functions of BLHs can help maintain the diversity of species, groundwater balance, and nutrient removal etc. However, due to the increased human activities in the area, most of the BLHs were converted to agricultural land. Realizing the seriousness of the situation of the ecosystem, a series of programs have been carried out by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to restore the forested wetlands since several decades ago. However, the efficacy of these activities on denitrification is unclear. In this study, field and laboratory studies were carried out to determine the effects of hydrologic restoration (i.e. periodical flooding) on the denitrification capacity and denitrifying bacteria in a 30-year old restored BLH in the Red River Wildlife Management Area (RAWMA) of the MAV, and designed a better cultivation medium for denitrifying bacteria isolation from soils in this area. In-situ denitrification was estimated using the C2H2 block technique with a static chamber and potential denitrification rate was determined in the laboratory using a modification of the denitrification enzyme assay (DEA) method. Both in-situ and potential denitrification rates with amendment of nitrate (NO3-) were significantly (P < 0.05) higher at flooded, lower elevation sites than those of higher elevation sites where the hydrology was not restored. Without amendment of NO3-, no significant differences in potential and in situ denitrification rates were observed between low and high elevations. The population of denitrifying bacteria was measured by the most probable number (MPN) method, and denitrification gene nirK quantified by real-time quantitative PCR. The MPN and PCR results were consistent with each other, without significant differences between the high and low elevation sites. The isolation rates of denitrifying bacteria from the designed medium No. 1 and No. 2 were higher than the classic cultivation medium. The numbers of species isolated by these two media still need to be determined, and compared to the classic one. Further improvement of the medium will be based on the evaluation of this first generation of media. 

Denitrification capacity and denitrifying bacteria in a restored bottomland hardwood forest, Mississippi River Alluvial Valley: hydrological impacts

/pdf/denitrification-capacity-and-denitrifying-bacteria-in-a-271h2jdhs5.pdf

.......................................................................... vi CHAPTER

/pdf/denitrification-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-cultivated-3ifz3pw1mu.pdf

Denitrification and greenhouse gas emissions from cultivated and wetland alluvial soils

Agricultural development in the Mississippi River Basin has contributed to an 3-fold increase in NO3 loading of the river. Increased NO3 loading is a primary cause of eutrophication in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Identification of best management practices (BMPs) to reduce NO3 loss and wetlands restoration to remove NO3 through denitrification are critically needed. The objectives of this research were to determine factors controlling denitrification potential of different landscape units in an agricultural watershed and quantify the effects of BMPs and organic C amendments on denitrification rates of cultivated lands and restored forested wetlands. N2O, CH4 and CO2 emissions from restored and natural forested wetlands were measured to determine if restoration for NO3 removal will increase greenhouse gas emissions, thereby contributing to global warming and compromising the water quality benefits of restoration. Low-elevation, wetland clay soils exhibited 6.3 and 2.5 times greater denitrification potential than the high-elevation silt-loam and low-elevation clay soils under cultivation, respectively. Denitrification potentials of vegetated ditches were 1.3 to 4.2 times greater than the unvegetated ditches and cultivated soils, respectively. Soil cores collected from forested wetlands displayed 2.0 - 6.6 times greater denitrification rates than cultivated soils when incubated at 70 to 100% water-filled pore space (WFPS). Significantly lower N2O:N2 emission ratios were observed from wetlands than from cultivated soils. Denitrification rates in the cultivated and restored forested wetland soils increased 200% and 42%, respectively, when amended with cotton gin trash (CGT). BMPs increased denitrification rates of restored wetlands. Nitrate addition to forested wetlands led to a 48% increase in N2O emissions. Forested wetlands exhibited net CH4 sink of 438-1050 g CH4 ha-1 y-1. CO2 emission decreased as WFPS increased from 40 to100% in forested wetlands. Low-elevation clay soils in agricultural watersheds are the best candidates for wetland restoration for water quality improvement. CGT amendment of cultivated and restored soils in conjunction with BMPs can help reduce on-site NO3 loss. Wetland restoration in the Lower Mississippi valley will not significantly affect the global greenhouse gas emissions budget; however, increased N2O emissions due to NO3 additions merit consideration when establishing CO2 storage credits on restored wetlands. 

Pakistan’s dairy sector has experienced a remarkable expansion over the past 25 years. This expansion is marked by increased milk production, an improvement in herd breed structure, enhanced extension services, and the expansion of milk collection channels. In comparison to the early 1980s when selling milk was a social taboo, more than 12 billion liters of milk are now marketed through different channels. This has led the dairy sector from subsistence farm-ing to a commercialised activity. The contribution of the dairy sector to Pakistan’s economy is enormous in terms of share in national GDP and share in the total labour force. However, de-spite all of the improvements, Pakistan is unable to meet its milk requirements and is a net importer of milk and milk based products. Agriculture in Pakistan is a combined activity of dairying and cropping, so we collected information from dairying-cropping mix farmers.
In this study, we start by analysing the productivity and efficiency of dairy farmers with a focus on the determinants of technical efficiency by employing the stochastic frontier function.Secondly, we estimate the efficiency of farmers within a multi-output framework and consider the factors affecting the efficiency of farmers by using the translog output distance function. Finally, we investigate the determinants of farmers’ participation in different milk supply channels by applying the binary logit model. We derive that extension services, rented land and credit are important factors in reducing the technical inefficiencies of farmers. Furthermore, distance to milk collection unit and quantity of milk sold are important variables for participation in different milk marketing channels.

Efficiency Measurement of Dairy Farmers under Integrated Cropping Sytems in Pakistan

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Salt marshes sequester large amounts of &amp;amp;#8220;blue carbon&amp;amp;#8221; helping to mitigate climate change. This negative climate feedback, however, may be partially offset by increases in emissions of the potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) CH&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;4&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt; and N&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;O from marsh soils, which some studies have shown to vary with temperature, nutrient availability and vegetation zones. Additionally, these ecosystems may have the capacity to remove reactive nitrogen potentially reducing nutrient pollution in coastal zones. Salt marshes of the northern Northwest Atlantic are typically vegetated by &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Spartina alterniflora&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; at the lowermost elevations and &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Spartina patens &amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;at higher elevations. On the Mississippi Delta, in the northern Gulf of Mexico, &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Spartina alterniflora&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; is typically found in the most saline marshes, whereas &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Spartina patens&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; is found at slightly lower salinities. We evaluated the response of GHG production and denitrification to elevated temperature and nutrients through laboratory incubations of intact soil cores. Cores were collected from &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Spartina patens&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; and &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Spartina alterniflora&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; zones in the St. Lawrence River estuary, Quebec and in the Barataria-Terrebonne Basin, Louisiana, areas with distinctly different climates. We used &amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;15&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;N-NO&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;3&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;-&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; and &amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;15&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;N-NH&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;4&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;+&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; tracers to partition the sources of N&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;O produced by denitrification and nitrification, respectively, &amp;amp;#160;as well as total N&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt; production by denitrification using the &amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;15&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;N-GAS Flux method. We also measured potential fluxes of CH&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;4&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;, N&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;O and CO&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;. Incubation experiments were performed under ambient conditions and with elevated temperature and nutrient conditions. Different environmental conditions between vegetation zones and climatic regions are expected to result in different fluxes of CH&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;4&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt; and N&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;O, and rates of denitrification. Elevated temperature and nutrients are expected to increase GHG fluxes, however, it is unclear how net N&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt; production, as a remedy for nitrate attenuation in marshes, will respond. Our aim is to increase our understanding of the impact of increased temperature and nitrogen loading on nitrogen removal capacity and the GHG climate feedback in different vegetation zones of salt marshes of two climatic regions.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt; 

The response of greenhouse gas fluxes and nutrient filtration potential to increases in temperature and nutrient loading from salt marsh soils across a climatic gradient

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;According to the Forest European Process, the recent Climate Change Conference (COP26), and EU policies, conservation of forest ecosystems is a critical step in mitigating climate change and combating deforestation; accordingly plantation forests will be critical in achieving these goals. While limitations in monoculture plantation are well established in silvicultural practices and documented in research studies, in the face of intensifying climate change and resources scarcity, the need for knowledge on mixed-species plantations has grown. There has been also a recent develop in innovative and sustainable forest management practices, including irrigation and fertilization (fertigation) that aim to improve the productivity of forestry plantations, and therefore their carbon sequestration capacity, as well as the ecosystem services associated with healthy forests. However, the exact effects of fertigation on forests plantation have yet to be established. This study examines the growth patterns, productivity, and carbon storage capacity of four&amp;amp;#8211;year-old mixed-species and monoculture plantations in response to an intensive fertigation management. Particularly, our findings highlight differences in tree growth patterns and their performance in paired experimental plots based on different soil types. Such differences are associated varying soil moisture conditions due the interaction of fertigation and the soil water holding capacity. In general, trees growth is higher in sandy soil, due to the positive relation between high soil water diffusivity and fertigation. On the other hand, no such tree growth has been observed in clay soil, most likely due to the high susceptibility to waterlogging, which requires careful fertigation management to avoid limiting conditions for the healthy development of young forest plantation. Our research provides important insights into how young plantation trees respond to different soil moisture conditions, which can aid to in the design and fertigation management of mixed-species plantations resulting in more productive, biodiverse, economically viable, and healthier forests than monocultures.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;&amp;amp;#160;&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;#160;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt; 

Fertigation management of mixed-species plantation versus monoculture in plantation forestry: key aspects and future perspective.

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Denitrification and greenhouse gas emissions from cultivated and wetland alluvial soils

Denitrification and greenhouse gas emissions from cultivated and wetland alluvial soils

Efficiency Measurement of Dairy Farmers under Integrated Cropping Sytems in Pakistan

The response of greenhouse gas fluxes and nutrient filtration potential to increases in temperature and nutrient loading from salt marsh soils across a climatic gradient

Fertigation management of mixed-species plantation versus monoculture in plantation forestry: key aspects and future perspective.