Global Consequences of Land Use

Abstract

Abstract.The new idea of functional regions has been interpreted in alignment with the idea of functional urban areas in the Serbian planning discourse and practice. The new Spatial Plan of Serbia introduced the idea in compliance with the Law on Regional Development and statistical nomenclature of regions NUTS2 and districts NUTS3 in Serbia. The functional region is understood and presented as a cluster of municipalities organized flexibly around some important project(s) with a proper (sub) regional institution in charge of spurring and realizing the same. The problem is with clustering municipalities i.e. understanding the role and meaning of it for their joint interest, with some political reasons and lack of awareness as the main reasons for that. On the other hand the list of strategic priorities has been prepared for all functional regions. The list contains projects for economic, social and ecological development. Eco-services are among the high priority issues but asking for intensive horizontal coordination and clustering a group of interested municipalities. Regional landfills, waste water purification, protected nature (high mountains) use, small rivers cleaning, are among such projects with some hot spots eliminating as paramount ones. Activating all stakeholders in the implementation phase is permanent duty of planners and administration, with possible economic measures to be pursued by the state. Eco-services are under intensive surveillance of the state administration in the phase of adapting its legislative to EU membership with an expected transfer of duties and jurisdiction to local communities (municipalities and cities). Vertical coordination with regions and the state is therefore a must for municipalities in this phase of development of Serbia. The illustrations will be presented for better understanding the initial position of functional regions in Serbia and the position of eco-services in the future of local communities clustering.

Allelic variation at a single gene increases food value in a drought-tolerant staple cereal

“…Overall, this study clearly demonstrates that naturally occurring allelic variation in starch metabolic genes can increase caloric value without pleiotropic effects. These results underscore the key role that starch-biosynthesis genes, which are conserved across all cereals, can have in addressing food security while minimizing agricultural expansion 3,21 .…”

A safe operating space for humanity

“…Land system change, driven primarily by agricultural expansion and intensification, contributes to global environmental change, with the risk of undermining human well-being and long-term sustainability (Foley et al, 2005;MEA, 2005a). Conversion of forests and other ecosystems to agricultural land, has occurred at an average rate of 0.8 % yr -1 over the past 40-50 years, and is the major global driver behind loss of ecosystem functioning and services (MEA, 2005a).…”

“…About 12 % of the global land surface is currently under crop cultivation (Foley et al, 2005;Ramankutty et al 2008). The allowed 3 % expansion (approximately 400 Mha) to the level we propose as a land system boundary will most likely be reached over the coming decades, and includes suitable land that is not either currently cultivated or is under forest cover -e.g., abandoned cropland in Europe, North America and the former Soviet Union and some areas of Africa's savannas and South America's cerrado.…”

Spatial diversification of agroecosystems to enhance biological control and other regulating services: An agroecological perspective

“…These external inputs also decrease the flow of regulating services (e.g. pest control, pollination, water flow regulation, carbon storage) (Foley et al, 2005;Robinson and Sutherland, 2002). The challenge remains in mobilising functional agrobiodiversity able to provide regulating services for producing resources with fewer external inputs and with a limited provision of disservices (Power, 2010;Zhang et al, 2007).…”