Oliver, D. M., Zheng, Y., Naylor, L. A. , Murtagh, M., Waldron, S. and Peng, T. (2020) How does smallholder farming practice and environmental awareness vary across village communities in the karst terrain of southwest China? Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 288, 106715. (doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2019.106715)
|
Text
211035.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. 1MB |
Abstract
Worldwide, karst terrain is highly sensitive to human activity due to extensive areas of thin soil and rapid water flow to groundwater. In the southwest China karst region, poor farming decisions can promote land degradation and reduce water quality with negative consequences for livelihoods in a region where farmers already suffer from the highest national poverty rates. Targeting management advice to farmers through knowledge exchange and decision support can help alleviate land use impacts on the karst environment but first requires baseline knowledge of how local farming communities understand and approach soil and water management. We used a catchment-wide survey (n = 312 individuals in seven villages) to investigate differences in environmental awareness, catchment understanding, and farming practices amongst farmers and community leaders in a typical karst catchment in southwest China. Age, gender and village of residence of farmers showed an association with the type of challenges perceived to be most serious. Access to labour, issues of water quantity and/or quality affecting irrigation, and fertiliser costs were recognised as being particularly problematic for the viability of farming. Sources of information used to learn about farming practices, the environment and fertiliser use were more diverse for younger (< 40 yr old) farmers and levels of training and acquired knowledge regarding land management practices varied significantly between villages in the catchment. The identification of significant associations between villages or sample demographics, and a variety of questions designed to understand farmer attitudes and their environmental awareness, provide clearer insight upon which knowledge exchange and training programmes can be co-designed with catchment stakeholders. This has the potential to lead to improved farming practices with co-benefits for farmers and the environment; helping sustain ecosystem services for impoverished communities in fragile karst ecosystems.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | This research was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Concil (NERC) [NE/N007425/1]. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Waldron, Professor Susan and Naylor, Dr Larissa and Zheng, Dr Ying |
| Authors: | Oliver, D. M., Zheng, Y., Naylor, L. A., Murtagh, M., Waldron, S., and Peng, T. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences |
| Journal Name: | Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment |
| Publisher: | Elsevier |
| ISSN: | 0167-8809 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1873-2305 |
| Published Online: | 30 October 2019 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2019 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 288:106715 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record
Funder and Project Information
Funder and Project Information