To investigate the effect of arable land protection policies in China, a practical framework that integrates geographic information systems (GIS), soil quality assessment and landscape metrics analysis was employed to track and analyze arable land transformations and landscape changes in response to rampant urbanization within the Ningbo region (China) from 2005 to 2013. The results showed that...

In this study, statistical data on the national economic and social development, including the year-end actual area of arable land, the crop yield per unit area and 10 factors, were obtained for the period between 1980 and 2010 and used to analyze the factors driving changes in the arable land of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi, China. The following areas of arable land, which represent d...

We investigated whether the proportion of remotely sensed arable fields increased along a tsetse eradication gradient in the Sebungwe region. We also investigated whether and to what extent this increase in arable fields affected the distribution of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) between the 1980s and 1990s. Results showed a relatively higher increase in the proportion of arable fiel...

Rapid urban land expansion and the resulting arable land loss have put food security in China at risk. This paper investigates the characteristics and mechanism of arable land conversion in Beijing using a logistic model based on land-use data for 2001 and 2010. The results suggest that (1) arable land conversion tends to occur near built-up areas, city centers and major roads; (2) arable land ...

Although arable landscapes have a long history, environmental problems have accelerated in recent decades. The effects of these changes are usually externalized, being greater for society as a whole than for the farms on which they operate, and incentives to correct them are therefore largely lacking. Arable landscapes are valued by society beyond the farming community, but increased mechanizat...

This study sets out to verify the key predictors of the dynamics of the arable production per capita index, the arable production and permanent crop land and forest area at a national scale in Cameroon. To achieve this objective, data for twelve time series data variables spanning the period 1961-2000 were collected from Oxford University, the United Nations Development program, the World Bank,...

Th e arable weeds (segetal fl ora) were explored on Plešivica hills (NW Croatia) during vegetational seasons 2002 and 2003 at 10 locations. Th e common methods of plant recording, collecting and identifi cation were applied in the research of the arable weeds. Th e nomenclature of plants was according to Tutin et al. (1964-1980, 1993). Th e total of 107 taxa of arable weeds that classifi ed to ...

The impact of ancient fertilization practices on the biogeochemistry of arable soils on the remote Scottish island of Hirta, St Kilda was investigated. The island was relatively unusual in that the inhabitants exploited seabird colonies for food, enabling high population densities to be sustained on a limited, and naturally poor, soil resource. A few other Scottish islands, the Faeroes and some...

Crop sequence patterns are considered as those schemes farmers apply within a single field to succeed crops over time, regardless of whether the same crop is grown continuously or a diverse rotation is used. This study aimed at identifying these patterns for a large and representative area in Northern Germany during a six-year period from 2005 to 2010. The analysis was carried out for the entir...

Arable cropping systems have developed and continue to change in response to economic and social pressures. Concern for the state of wildlife and the quality of soil and water has led to further pressures on the way that crops are farmed. There is therefore an ongoing debate about the future of arable farming. This review summarizes current information about the impacts of arable cropping syste...