One of the most evident elements of the agricultural crisis is farm abandonment in many marginal rural areas, such as mountains. Some traits of mountain agriculture such as remoteness, low productivity, extreme weather and small farm size, can limit the adaptation and the competitiveness of this branch. The analysis aims to assess the consumers’ Willingness to Pay (WTP) for permanence of the up...

Livestock grazing, which has a large influence on habitat structure, is associated with the widespread decline of various bird species across the world, yet there are few experimental studies that investigate how grazing pressure influences avian reproduction. We manipulated grazing pressure using a replicated field experiment, and found that the offspring sex ratio of a common upland passerine...

In recent years growing human pressure on agricultural land in the north of the Lao PDR has led to accelerated degradation processes along hillslopes, and higher sediment delivery rates to streams. Furthermore, high demand from urban centres is attracting farmers to cultivate vegetables in riparian areas. These land-use changes may have negative affects on stream water quality. The aims of this...

[1] Soil carbon dioxide efflux (soil respiration, SR) was measured with eight autochambers at two locations along a wetland to upland slope at Harvard Forest over a 4 year period, 2003–2007. SR was consistently higher in the upland plots than at the wetland margin during the late summer/early fall. Seasonal and diel hystereses with respect to soil temperatures were of sufficient magnitude to pr...

Playa wetlands are important areas of soil organic carbon and nutrient storage in drylands. We conducted this study to assess how catchment biophysical variables control soil organic carbon and nitrogen in playas and how playas function differently than upland ecosystems. We found that playa organic carbon and nitrogen corresponded primarily with catchment vegetation cover and secondarily with ...

macroeconomic policies lead to changes in farming system. these changes are accompanied by some most prominent factors that affect soil erosion. change in relative prices and its impact on soil erosion, via induced changes in crop patterns and agricultural practices, are related to policies implemented. one of the major goals of the present study is to emphasize on the flow of trade policies in...