Local Knowledge and Economic Realities Affecting Soil Erosion in the Rach Rat Catchment,Vietnam

Several parts of Binh Phuóc Province, southern Vietnam, suffer from degraded soils and vegetation as a result of both natural erosion of weak mud rocks and sandstones and intensive human activity, especially through land clearing for agriculture on unstable slopes, deforestation, and abandonment of poor farmland. The underlying cause of this land degradation has been the farming habits of migrants of varying ethnic groups who have settled in the area since 1980. The indigenous farming knowledge of these people and the role of that knowledge in soil erosion were examined by a series of household surveys. They enabled farming practices to be related to ground cover established from a 2002 Landsat 7 ETM (Enhanced Thematic Mapper), and erosion data from a series of erosion bridge measurements. A GIS (Geographical Information System) approach was piloted as a means of identifying areas vulnerable to erosion. This could then be combined with the understanding of farming practices to reveal the relative roles of farmer behaviour, crop cover, and slope and soil characteristics in the erosion process. Land use, local people's knowledge and economic realities are the main factors, as well as natural conditions, that drive this land degradation.     

Early farming in hordaland,western Norway. Problems and approaches in archaeology and pollen analysis

This article discusses the evidence of farming settlements in Neolithic times in the county of Hordaland, in western Norway, and possible ways for future research to establish the introduction of a farming economy, with its cultural and ecological implications.

Using distribution maps, Bakka demonstrates how the people of the mainly hunting and fishing sub‐Neolithic dwelling‐place culture of the Middle Neolithic period preferred a coastal area of habitation, while the find groups of Neolithic artifacts are generally to be found in those areas more suitable for farming. This change of habitat is interpreted as evidence of a general change in economic structure, with a greatly increased emphasis on agriculture.

Kaland discusses the Sub‐Boreal history of vegetation in Hordaland as revealed by pollen analysis. The earliest phase of agriculture in the pollen diagrams is dated in relation to the pollenanalytical leading horizons, the shore‐line displacement, radiocarbon measurements and the archaeological chronology. He puts forward the working hypothesis that in the sub‐Neolithic culture of the Middle Neolithic period some animal husbandry may have been practised in zone VIII b as a supplementary means of livelihood, and that this was followed by a phase of cereal growing in zone VIII c. The Late Neolithic culture appears to be responsible for this more intensive mixed farming, and this corresponds to the archaeological evidence of the introduction of cereal cultivation, which demands the better‐soils of the later farming land.     

Norfolk livestock farming 1250–1740: a comparative study of manorial accounts and probate inventories

This paper examines developments in Norfolk livestock husbandry over a period of five centuries. It breaks new ground by combining evidence from manorial accounts and probate inventories and the methodological difficulties of using the two sources are examined in some detail. Despite these difficulties the evidence of accounts and inventories reveals the continuity of developed and dynamic pastoral farming systems in Norfolk. From an early date the distinctive feature of livestock farming was its close integration with arable farming, producing mixed-farming systems of remarkable productivity. By substituting horses for oxen and cultivating fodder crops, Norfolk farmers succeeded in maximizing the ratio of non-working to working animals, thereby permitting the development of specialized sheep farming, cattle-based dairying, and later, fattening. Sheep farming was transformed from a peasant to a landlord activity and dairying shifted in its spatial focus, gradually giving way to fattening, rendering Norfolk farmers increasingly dependent upon the import of young stock from outside the county. The most difficult comparison between accounts and inventories yields the most remarkable finding: between the fourteenth and the seventeenth centuries stocking densities approximately doubled. This implies significant gains in pastoral output per unit area, reinforcing the view that developments in livestock husbandry may well have been of greater importance in increasing agricultural production than the more heavily studied arable sector.     

The Nice Musical Chairs Model: Exploring the Role of Competition and Cooperation Between Farming and Herding in the Formation of Land Use Patterns in Arid Afro-Eurasia

Following a strictly theory-building approach, we developed an agent-based simulation model, the Nice Musical Chairs model, to represent the competition between groups of stakeholders of farming and herding activities in the arid Afro-Eurasia. The model deepens the questions raised by the results of our former model, the Musical Chairs model, and further introduces three socio-economic mechanisms, which modulate the behavior and performance of stakeholders and their groups. First, we define land use pairing as the awarding, regarding productivity, of any direct cooperation between farming and herding within a group. Second, group management is modeled as the prerogative of a group leadership to manage stakeholders to pursue a particular proportion between farming and herding. Third, we introduce restricted access to pasture as the engagement in territorial control of rangelands in opposition to an open access regime. An exhaustive exploration of scenarios and parameters placed the control over rangelands as the most significant factor in the formation of land use patterns, followed by land use management. While the effect of land use pairing is mild in comparison, it is still a significant factor in group selection and thus in the persistence of particular land use patterns in the long run.     

定居与近代蒙古族农业的变迁

清末放垦以前,蒙古族的农业种植业属于一种附属于游牧业的农业,带有明显的粗放经营特色。随着蒙地 的放垦,人口压力的增加,蒙族生态与社会发生了重大变化。 一个重要标志是定居的发生,从移动式蒙古包转向固定式蒙 古包或汉式土房子。在居住方式变化的同时,蒙族的产业也发 生变化。游牧业的萎缩使之逐渐接受农业,但一开始的农业仍 是传统的粗放农业,随着人口压力的进一步增加,种植业才逐 步集约化。     

农业文明与秦早期都邑考

考察秦人的发展史 ,多与农业文明有关 ,尤其在早期都邑的构建上最为突出。秦自非子发迹到二世亡国为止 ,先后建立过秦、犬丘、氵开、氵开渭之会、平阳、雍、泾阳、栎阳和咸阳 ,总计 9处都邑。其中秦与犬丘是公元前 890年——公元前 76 2年之间建立的两处最早的都邑 ,具体在今甘肃省东南部的渭水流域和西汉水流域 ,这里土地肥沃水草丰美 ,是中国旱作农业的发祥地之一 ,自新石器时代以来就一直是先民们繁衍生息的聚居区。秦人以此为中心建立都邑 ,发展农业经济和畜牧经济 ,为早期的生存与壮大提供了可靠的物质保障 ,为后来秦襄公保护周平王东迁的成功以及秦文公顺利地东进关中打下了坚实的基础     

STEPS TO THE STEPPE: OR, HOW THE NORTH PONTIC REGION WAS COLONISED

Summary.   The occupation of the steppe region north of the Black Sea by farming or herding groups in the fifth and fourth millennia BC has been a controversial question. At the core of the problem is the changing relationship between Cucuteni-Tripole farming groups in the forest-steppe zone and their neighbours in the true steppe zone. Three phases of this relationship are discussed, in the Early Copper Age, Late Copper Age and Early Bronze Age (c.5000–3000 BC), during which different forms of exchange and acculturation took place, each with its own social and economic characteristics. The role of environmental change, and the significance of burial monuments in the process of cultural convergence, are evaluated. The process is discussed both in terms of general models of social transformation, and by comparison with other areas of Europe where similar processes of interaction were taking place.     

The environment of northeast England during Roman times as shown by pollen analysis

Data from nine radiocarbon-dated pollen diagrams from the northeast of England are considered and it is argued that much of the area was deforested and used for farming during the late pre-Roman Iron Age. This farming continued throughout the Roman rule (approximately AD 80–AD 410) and lasted until at least the sixth century, implying a measure of political stability after the Roman withdrawal.     

江苏盱眙东阳军庄汉墓群出土人骨的稳定同位素分析

黄淮地区是传统粟稻混作区,西汉时麦作推广进入关键时期,但小麦在这一过程中对黄淮地区原有粟稻混作格局的影响并不明确。对江苏省盱眙县东阳军庄汉墓群出土人骨的稳定同位素分析结果显示,9例人骨骨胶原δ13C值的范围为-20.0‰~-18.4‰,均值-19.4±0.6‰(n=9),表明西汉时期盱眙先民主要以稻、麦等C3类植物为食,已经不再将粟作为主要粮食,结合该地区西汉以前的农业格局,可推测西汉时期苏北淮河流域已经开始由传统的稻粟混作模式向稻麦混作模式转变。将本文数据与我国同时期其他遗址的稳定同位素数据比较后发现,在原有稻粟混作区内,粟在先民饮食结构中的地位呈自西向东下降的趋势,反映了小麦种植在不同区域的不平衡发展,关中地区小麦的推广普及明显晚于东部近海地区。     

清代以来西辽河流域人地关系的演变

本文考察了清代以来 30 0余年间西辽河流域行政格局、人口、土地利用、动植物等人地关系要素的变化 ,并得出四个主要结论 :1行政交错格局的变化使流域农业人口增加并确立了以农业为主的生产方式 ;2清代以来政府实行的移民开垦政策是流域人地关系恶化的主导因素 ;3牧民游牧生活方式的转变是流域人地关系恶化的重要因素 ;4气候和土壤条件是区域农业开发后流域人地关系加速恶化的基本因素。     

Bronze Age Field Systems in the Thames Valley

In the last two decades excavation along the River Thames has shown the remarkable survival of Bronze Age field systems. A managed farming landscape emerged in this lowland area during the Middle Bronze Age and continued to develop until the end of the Late Bronze Age. In the latter period the field systems were divided into several regional groups in each of which there was a high status settlement and a concentration of river metalwork. They provide evidence for a predominantly pastoral economy in the Thames Valley on a scale which may have supported an increasingly hierarchical society. Settlements and field systems were abandoned during the Late Bronze Age, and by the Bronze Age–Iron Age transition new sites were largely confined to the extreme upper reaches of the Thames, an area which had been peripheral to the alliance and exchange system that had operated downstream.     

Comparing Regional Biodiversity Benefits of Investment Strategies for Land‐Use Change

The need for public investment to address loss of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes is well recognised, yet there is little analysis of the likely benefits of land‐use change for regional biodiversity or the cost effectiveness of different investment options. We estimated benefits for biodiversity and cost effectiveness of different investment scenarios over 50 years for a farming area in south‐eastern Australia. Declines in biodiversity were predicted under status quo land use. Implementing actions in the investment scenarios improved biodiversity status only slightly, compared with status quo land use. Future biodiversity status differed little between biodiversity‐focused investment and salinity‐focused investment. Biodiversity status equalled or exceeded current status only for investment scenarios with much more extensive revegetation than in catchment targets. Cost effectiveness of biodiversity improvement varied greatly between investment strategies. Biodiversity improvement was more cost effective when investment to meet catchment targets was focused on revegetation for salinity management rather than on high conservation value areas, because of lower opportunity costs for salinity management. With enhanced investment, the cost effectiveness of biodiversity improvement was greater when actions were in high conservation areas. Although improvements in biodiversity were small under the changed farming system scenarios, their cost effectiveness was higher than the other investment scenarios. Regional scale improvements in biodiversity in farming areas will require increased stewardship payments or other economic incentives for landholders.     

日本中世末期兵农分离的原因

始于日本中世末期的“兵农分离”是日本历史上重要的阶层演变。然而“兵农分离”并非是靠丰臣秀吉的一纸命令所完成的。在战国初期,“兵”与“农”就由于其政治、经济、社会等原因开始分离。政治上,大名成长及农民斗争的加剧导致了武士与农民的分化;经济上,由于农业新技术使用、生产力提高使得庄园制解体,从而导致在地中小领主丧失独立性,成为大名家臣;军事上,枪的传入改变了日本战争模式,足轻武士被大量使用,步兵集团战、规模战为职业军人的产生提出要求,武士从而脱离生产。因此“兵”与“农”分离持续了战国时代的一个世纪左右,最终丰臣秀吉及德川家康政权分别用命令与法律形式固定下来,近世武士才得以产生。     

THE FERTILE DESERT: AGRICULTURE AND COPPER INDUSTRY IN EARLY ISLAMIC ARAVA (ARABAH)

Abstract

The Arava is an arid region in the Southern Levant. Archaeological excavations and surveys in the area revealed dense settlement and sophisticated technologies from the eighth to ninth centuries—qanat water technology and copper production. Differences between the data of the middle and southern Arava suggest two separated economic systems. While the Southern Arava seems to be primarily an industrial area of copper that delivered the raw material to Ayla, the middle Arava was mainly agricultural and may be connected to trade routes. Studying the farming conditions of this arid area points to date palms as the main crop of the agricultural settlement. However, it is not yet clear where the Arava's produce was exported.     

文明交往视阈下16世纪布哈拉汗国的经济发展

1500年布哈拉汗国的建立拉开了中亚近代史的序幕。乌兹别克人的南下加快了河中地区游牧文明与农耕文明的交往,促使汗国经济发展步入转折期。在继承和变革帖木儿王朝经济制度的前提下,16世纪汗国的农牧经济得到恢复和发展,手工业进一步完善,对外贸易重新活跃,从而对中亚近代文明交往产生了深远影响。乌兹别克人在与河中地区各民族频繁交往的过程中,其经济生活逐渐转向农业,并接受中亚传统的伊斯兰教,从而实现了中亚农耕文明和伊斯兰文化的传承与发展。     

The politics of wetlandscape: fishery heritage and natural conservation in Hong Kong

The north‐western part of Hong Kong is a marsh with traditional freshwater fish farming; however, this brackish area has been agriculturally diversified to include cultivation of red rice, reeds, shrimp and fish, and has only largely concentrated on freshwater fish farming starting from the 1960s. By looking into the geographical and social changes that have taken place in the brackish area, I will explain how the coastal landscape was changed in the 1910s through the introduction of large‐scale rice production in Tin Shui Wai which has turned into a high‐density residential new town, and the wetland conservation of Mai Po marshes. This article aims at understanding the meanings of intangible as well as agricultural/fishery heritage and the local politics among indigenous communities, conservation groups, the government and developers in post‐handover Hong Kong society. Inland freshwater pond cultivation was actually a major industry in the 1970s since it supplied most of the freshwater fish for the local market. Nowadays, the industry is shrinking because of lack of manpower and high operation costs compared to the mainland. With various kinds of social, economic and physical pressures, the local communities which are located at the buffer areas of the wetland in Mai Po are actually facing the tremendous dangers of losing those fishponds; most importantly, the fishponds have been serving not only as mitigation zone and source of a traditional local food but also as a major food supplier for migratory birds, adding to the conservation value of the Mai Po marshes and Inner Deep Bay in Hong Kong at large.     

Transport Infrastructure in the Mountains: Why and How to Protect Landscape with Human Activity as Part of its Heritage

In mountain areas without permanent settlements, human activity is entirely dependent on spatial interaction. For centuries, local and regional traffic has followed livestock trails and footpaths. Mainly during the 20th century, new public and private roads changed this situation significantly in large parts of Norway. While mountain summer farming decreased, hydropower development and leisure use became dominant. Protected areas have been established to preserve possibilities for outdoor recreation and ‘wilderness’. However, seasonal farming activity is still an important upholder of cultural heritage. In the investigated area in western Norway, parallels between accessibility and human activity on mountain summer farmsteads have been identified with the abandonment of dairy production between ca 1905 and 1973, recent use by landowners and hikers’ use of publicly accessible tourist cabins. Increased differences in accessibility and protection status have resulted in diversification of human activity in different locations. Custom and tradition represent different principles according to which cultural landscape can be maintained—with emphasis on dynamics or invariance, respectively. Recent landscape protection focuses primarily on tradition. The necessity of easy access to maintain the living cultural heritage in addition to ‘wilderness’ areas, however, requires taking both concepts into account, most probably treated as geographically separate.     

Explaining perceptions of a technological environmental hazard using comparative analysis

This study addresses one of the main research problems in the area of environmental hazard risk—to explain why perception of threat from the same hazard varies between groups. We argue that the cultural theory of risk, explicitly place-contingent ways of life and worldviews that support those ways of life, goes a long way towards explaining risk perception differences in the communities of Kinuso, Fort Assiniboine and Barrhead Alberta. Fifty-five in-depth interviews were conducted within these communities; three of the four communities are closest to the Alberta Special (hazardous) Waste Treatment Facility. A regional donut pattern of interviewee concern is partially explained as differential attachment to ways of life like farming, tourism and hunting for the concerned and amenity-proximate rural living for the unconcerned. These relationships are further supported by worldviews like distrust and sensitivity to equity for the concerned and the price of progress for the unconcerned. Though this study is not about siting process per se, detailed conversations about the siting process indicate that the perceptions of risk (as concern) in the operational phase of this hazard were solidified early on and are likely difficult to change.     

司马迁规划的农牧地区分界线在黄土高原上的推移及其影响

司马迁规划的由碣石至于龙门的农牧分界线,是适合于生态环境的。当时如此,后世亦然。在农耕操作尚稽留在粗放经营的时期,为农为牧都不能过分超越这条分界线。过分超越就会促成这条分界线的移动,从而影响到生态环境的平衡发展,引起不良的后果。这条分界线绝大段落经过黄土高原,黄土高原沟壑纵横,甚至于黄河的溃决泛滥,都与这条分界线的移动有关,是不应稍事忽视的。     

司马迁规划的农牧地区分界线在黄土高原上的推移及其影响

司马迁规划的由碣石至于龙门的农牧分界线,是适合于生态环境的。当时如此,后世亦然。在农耕操作尚稽留在粗放经营的时期,为农为牧都不能过分超越这条分界线。过分超越就会促成这条分界线的移动,从而影响到生态环境的平衡发展,引起不良的后果。这条分界线绝大段落经过黄土高原,黄土高原沟壑纵横,甚至于黄河的溃决泛滥,都与这条分界线的移动有关,是不应稍事忽视的。