Most habitat models developed for defining priority conservation sites target areas currently exhibiting suitable habitat conditions. For species whose habitats have been altered by land use practices, these models may fail to identify sites with the potential of producing suitable habitats, if management practices were modified. Using capercaillie Tetrao urogallus as an example, we propose a m...

In the hilly regions of China, developing sustainable agriculture requires implementing conservation management practices that prevent soil erosion and conserve soil and water resources. In the semiarid northwest Loess Plateau, the primary conservation management practice is terracing. Numerical simulation of soil water dynamics in terraces is potentially an efficient means of investigating the...

Organic farming has been identified as promoting soil quality even though tillage is used for weed suppression. Adopting zero tillage and other conservation tillage practices can enhance soil quality in cropping systems where synthetic agri-chemicals are relied on for crop nutrition and weed control. Attempts have been made to eliminate tillage completely when growing several field crops organi...

The study develops a conceptual framework for analyzing the allocation of conservation funds via selectively o ering incentive payments to farmers for enrolling in one of two mutually exclusive agricultural conservation programs: retiring land from production or changing farming practices on land that remains in production. We investigate how the existence of a prexed budget allocation between ...

a major concern of farmers is deterioration of the soil and water resources. soil management is the most direct way for mankind to interfere with natural processes that may either intensify or hinder soil degradation. fractal geometry has been widely used to describe heterogeneity in a wide range of natural processes, including physical systems of soil. in this study, the effects of different m...

the rate of soil erosion and sediment yield estimation in the catchment areas is considered as an important factor for soil and water conservation practices. due to difficulties and restrictions in common soil erosion methods, applying a high accuracy method with lowest cost and time consuming would be necessary. assessment of soil loss in hilly areas with capacity of rang land that has changed...

abstract in this study the effects of land use changes from pasturelands to croplands on soil microbiological and biochemical properties were studied in kangaver, dehno and soltanye regions. composite soil samples from 0-20 and 20-40 cm depths of pasture and cultivated lands were taken from kangaver, dehno and soltanye regions, and soil microbial respiration, microbial biomass c and n, and urea...

Tillage has long been an essential component of traditional agricultural systems. Broadly defined, tillage is the mechanical manipulation of the soil and plant residues to prepare a seedbed for crop planting. The benefits of tillage are many: it loosens soil, enhances the release of nutrients from the soil for crop growth, kills weeds, and regulates the circulation of water and air within the s...