Establishment and Validation of an Amended Phosphorus Index: Refined Phosphorus Loss Assessment of an Agriculture Watershed in Northern China

International Journal of Environmental Studies

2016

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Section: Theory Methodology and Empirical Basismentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental values and attitudes among farmers in China – a case study in the watershed of Yuqiao reservoir of Tianjin Municipality, China

Orderud

International Journal of Environmental Studies

2016

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“…In addition, on a larger scale, mineral fertilisers have been introduced to Chinese agriculture. According to Zhou et al (2014), the local environmental protection bureau reported that the application of excessive amounts of inorganic P fertilisers and discarding of livestock manure are general practice in this region. With no idea of the soil's poor P sorption capacity, locals add approximately 9 g of P per square meter of agricultural land, which is about five times more than that commonly applied in countries such as Norway.…”

Section: The Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining and understanding environmental actions in Chinese agriculture: the case of Yuqiao watershed of Tianjin municipality

Orderud¹,

International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ec

Andersen

et al. 2015

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Most of China's surface waters are undergoing anthropogenic eutrophication, mainly due to leaching of phosphorus (P) from both sewage and agriculture. This is causing quality deterioration in their scarce water resources. The problem has been acknowledged by Chinese authorities and actions sought implemented, though expected ameliorations are on hold.This interdisciplinary study focuses on actions taken by farmers adjacent to Yuqiao reservoir; the raw water source for five million people in Tianjin City. As is often the case, these farmers apply excessive amounts of fertilisers. The leaching of P is aggravated by poor P sorption capacity of the soils and a practically impermeable clay layer below a shallow ploughing layer. During heavy rainfalls the soils become saturated, causing P to be flushed out through shallow-water flow paths. A low content of organic matter in the soils makes things worse.This study documents how farmers are taking action to improve crop yield, the environment, and health issues. Farmers taking more action than others consider themselves as having good farming competence, they are usually local members of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC), and have a relatively low family income. The study concludes with suggested policy measures. The main recommendation is to collect household sewage and most of their manure and use it as feedstock for large-scale biogas reactors, combined with returning the residual organic matter to the soil. Cooperating with well-respected farmers and drawing on local CPC members' willingness to take action may facilitate a successful implementation of the above measures.

“…The monsoon rain aggravates this problem by flushing pollutants 1 into watercourse systems, ending many places up in drinking water reservoirs (Zhou et al, 2014). Fluxes of nutrients are part of such flushes, leading to eutrophication, fueling algae growth and causing inferior water quality for people, as well as an impoverished biodiversity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We have documented that suppliers are an important information and instruction source, and aligning with Jin et al (2015) on retailers' role in farmers' excessive use of pesticides, overuse of fertilizers may not come as any surprise. Many farmers are adding heavy loads of fertilizers once or twice a year which easily causes losses of nutrients since the soil in the area has poor nutrient retention capacity (Zhou et al, 2014). They should instead be adding small quantities several times during the growing season.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Information and Knowledge in Achieving Environmentally Sound Farming: A Chinese Case

Orderud

Chn. J. Urb. Environ.Stud

Tan

et al. 2017

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The paper analyzes the role of information-knowledge for making farming environmentally friendly, using eutrophication of the main drinking water reservoir of Tianjin, China as a case. The analysis considers information and instruction sources used by farmers in relation to their farming and environmental issues, in particular application of fertilizers, and on this basis it discusses governance and policy measures. The study is interdisciplinary, covering both natural and social sciences, and it is based on quantitative methodology, employing descriptive and multivariate statistical methods. The main findings are: (i) farmers make use of a broad range of information and instruction sources, thereby confirming the claim that eutrophication and hence good farming practices are a "wicked" problem; (ii) the young and the members of the Communist Party are more active than others in using a broad range of information and instruction sources; (iii) different categories of farmers give priority to different information and instruction sources, providing a basis for tailor-made disseminations; (iv) the majority of farmers report receiving clear instructions for using fertilizers, yet half of them conceive using fertilizers correctly as difficult; (v) receiving instructions from other farmers and suppliers cater for high scores on clear instructions; and (vi) farmers are best seen as muddling through different pressures from * Corresponding author.Chinese Journal of Urban and Environmental Studies Vol. 5, No. 2 (2017) above and different knowledge bases, and not just willy-nilly responding to top-down policy instructions.