Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Natural farming'

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to provide the first in depth description of the natuurboerdery farming system as developed and adopted by ZZ2, a privately-owned farming conglomerate in South Africa. Natuurboerdery aims to increase agricultural productivity and sustainability while maintaining environmental integrity to contribute to overall sustainability. A case study research design using multiple sources and techniques for data gathering was applied to investigate the reasons for and process of converting from conventional farming to natuurboerdery, describe the principles and practices of natuurboerdery farming and document the changes and benefits realised by conversion. It was established that ZZ2 converted to natuurboerdery farming due to the challenges associated with conventional methods of farming. The main challenges ZZ2 experienced were recurrent pests and diseases which were becoming difficult to control with inorganic pesticides, large decreases in yields and unsustainable production outputs or returns to support production costs mainly due to the escalating cost of inorganic pesticides and fertilisers. ZZ2 also became aware of the growing customer demand for healthy food produced by ethically accepted methods while minimising environmental degradation. A conceptual framework was developed to describe the natuurboerdery farming system, based on five principles or health aspects: agro-ecosystem health, soil health, plant health, food health and human health. All of the practices developed and adopted by ZZ2 were described and classified in terms of this framework. Natuurboerdery integrates the use of inorganic fertilisers and organic soil amendments for soil health and plant nutrition; inorganic pesticides, fermented plant extracts from herbal plants with insecticidal properties, EM products, compost teas and biological control agents for plant protection. The conversion to natuurboerdery resulted in changes and benefits which were described and classified under: strategic and technical, economic, social and ecological and environmental. The main findings were that soil health has improved, soil organic carbon levels have increased, the use of inorganic products for plant nutrition and protection has decreased with significant cost savings, yields have risen, water availability has increased and energy spending has been reduced. The conclusions drawn from the research findings indicate that natuurboerdery is neither organic nor conventional farming which indicates that inorganic and organic inputs are compatible in sustainable farming systems. The natuurboerdery farming approach is a potentially sustainable farming system which works with nature. Areas for further scholarship, research and recommendations have been identified to improve the sustainability of natuurboerdery.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie tesis was om die eerste in-diepte beskrywing van natuurboerdery saam te stel soos dit deur ZZ2 ontwikkel en gebruik is. ZZ2 is ‘n Suid Afrikaanse boerdery konglomoraat in privaatbesit. Natuurboerdery beoog om boerdery produktiwiteit en volhoubaarheid te verhoog, terwyl dit die integriteit van die natuuur in stand hou om tot algehele volhoubaarheid by te dra. ‘n Gevallestudie is as navosingsontwerp gebruik en verskeie bronne en metodes is toegepas om inligting in te samel. Die proses en redes vir die oorskakeling van konvensionele boerdery na natuurboerdery is ondersoek, terwyl die beginsels en praktyke van natuurboerdery beskryf is en die veranderings en voordele van die oorskakeling gedokumenteer is. Dit is vasgestel dat ZZ2 na natuurboerdery omgeskakel het as gevolg van uitdagings wat met konvensionele boerderymetodes gesassosieer word. Die hoof-uitdagings wat ZZ2 ondervind het was terugkerende peste en siektes wat moeilik beheerbaar was met onorganiese plaagdoders, groot afnames van oeste en onvolhoubare produksie uitkomste of winste om die produksiekostes te dra. Stygende pryse van onorganiese plaagdoders en kunsmis was die grootste oorsaak van hoë produksiekostes. ZZ2 het ook bewus geraak van die groeinde klante-aanvraag vir gesonde kos wat op eties-aanvaarbare metodes geproduseer is en skade aan die natuurlike omgewing verminder. ‘n Konsepsuele raamwerk is ontwikkel om natuurboerdery as ‘n boerdery-sisteem te beskryf en is gebasseer om vyf beginsels of gesondheidsaspekte: agroekosisteemgesondheid, grondgesondheid, plantgesondheid, voedselgesondheid en menslike gesondheid. Al hierdie praktyke wat deur ZZ2 ontwikkel en gebruik is word in hierdie tesis beskryf en geklassifisseer in terme van die konsepsuele raamwerk. Natuurbeordery integreer die gebruik van onorganiese kunsmis en organiese grondwysigings vir grondgesondheid en plantvoeding. Geïntegreerde praktyke sluit in: onorganieise plaagdoders, gefermenteerde kruieplant-ekstrakte met insek-bestrydende einskappe, EM produkte, kompos-tees en biologiese beheeragente vir plantbeskerming. Die oorskakeling na natuurboerdery het sekere veranderings en voordele gehad. Dit word geklassifiseer volgens die betrekking wat dit het op die strategiese en tegniese, ekonomiese, maatskaplike en ekologiese en omgewings-aspekte van ZZ2. Die hoofbevindings was verbeterde grondgesondheid, verhoogde organiese koolstofvlakke in die grond, laer gebruik van onorganiese produkte vir plantvoeding en beskerming met noemenswaardige koste-besparings, verhoodge oeste en waterbeskikbaarheid, en kleiner spandering op energie. Die navorsingsbevindings wys daarop dat natuurboerdery nie organies of konvensionele boerdery is nie en dat onorganiese en organiese insette dus verenigbaar is in volhoubare boerdery-sisteme. Die natuurboerdery uitkyk is ‘n potensiële volhoubare boerderysisteem wat in staat is om saam die natuur te werk. Areas vir verdere studie, navorsing en voorstelle is geïdentifiseer om die volhoubaarheid van natuurboerdery te verbeter.

Throughout this thesis I have laid out several factors that have contributed to the sustainability of shrimp farming in Thailand, and if sustainability whilst maintaining production can ever be achieved. To find out the current situation of shrimp farming in Thailand, the history of global and Thai shrimp farming is described. The social and environmental problems of the unsustainable history of shrimp farming in Thailand is then considered. Solutions to these effects conclude that it is up to the consumer to demand for better regulations from the government and the shrimp companies to ensure a sustainable future for shrimp farming both globally and in Thailand.

Farmland birds in Europe have declined as agriculture has intensified, with granivorous specialists disproportionately affected. Despite grassland based farming being widespread, farmland bird research to date has focussed on mixed and arable farms. Yellowhammers are a red-listed species in the UK. This study investigated year round habitat requirements, diet, and movements of yellowhammers at four grassland dominated farms in Ayrshire, Scotland. Data were obtained via field surveys and trials, radio-tracking and faecal analysis. Fine scale breeding season foraging habitat requirements were studied by comparing invertebrate and vegetation communities at foraging sites with paired controls across all four farms. A small scale winter supplementary feeding trial was conducted on one farm. Breeding yellowhammers were distributed throughout the study sites; average density was low at 0.11 pairs per hectare (range 0.06 to 0.15), half the densities reported in arable and mixed regions. Yellowhammers preferentially foraged within 10m of field margins. Grassland summer foraging sites contained significantly higher invertebrate diversity and more large invertebrates than control sites. Faecal analysis revealed that adults ate significantly more cereal than nestlings, with both including more invertebrate material than observed in previous studies. Diptera, Coleoptera and Araneae were key orders, with Lepidoptera larvae additionally important for nestlings. A low proportion of cereal was found in nestling diet, suggesting that the invertebrate dominated diet provided was of high quality. In contrast to summer diet, and despite grassland being the dominant habitat, cereal dominated winter diet; grass seeds and invertebrates accounted for <1% of diet in winter. Winter yellowhammer density at each farm was positively correlated with stubble availability. Radio-tracking found yellowhammers significantly selected stubble in early winter and game managed habitat in late winter. Supplementary feeding attracted an estimated 247 to 267 yellowhammers at a site where the previous year’s winter surveys recorded only 5 birds despite holding a good breeding population. Survival rates of 1st years at the supplementary fed site appeared higher than elsewhere in the landscape, and a small increase in breeding density was observed post feeding. As winter progressed, the use of the grain provided increased, suggesting that the late winter period was the most crucial time for the birds regarding food supply. Providing supplementary food represents a cheap and easy solution that could be utilised by agri-environment schemes to tackle late winter farmland bird food shortages. Alternatively, increasing winter stubble in grassland dominated regions should provide additional biodiversity benefits associated with increased landscape heterogeneity as well as increased winter food availability. This study highlights differences in breeding density, habitat selection, movements and diet of yellowhammers on grassland farms compared to arable and mixed farm populations. Restricted winter stubble habitat limits winter food availability, and hence the likely overall size of the population able to subsist in this habitat.

It has been argued that organic farming sustains a higher biodiversity than conventional farming. This might promote the ecosystem services that exist in agricultural landscapes such as pollination and pest control. Here, I examined the effect of farming system (organic vs. conventional) with respect to the time since farming system transition, landscape heterogeneity and plant richness on pollinating and predatory insects. In total, data from 30 farms were used, of which 20 were organic and 10 were conventional. The data were analyzed using general linear models and model averaging. The results show that insect groups responded differently to various factors. Pollinators were more sensitive to landscape complexity, showing an increase of abundance and species richness with an increased heterogeneity. Predators on the other hand reacted to farming system, where there was an increase in abundance and species richness on organic farms.

To eat or not to eat meat? That has become a central question in the sustainability conversation. There is growing scientific consensus that the global meat consumption issocially and ecologically unsustainable. Planetary and human health concerns aside, there is also a moral dimension to meat, that is, the rights and responsibilities we have towards the animals that make the meat. While there is, indeed, mounting ethical discomfort with meat consumption, scientific and public moral inquiries tend to omit on-farm perspectives.  This thesis zooms in on the moral sustainability of cattle farming and does so from the perspective of lived experience. Two Swedish cattle farms are selected as case studies and the question is how rearing animals for food is morally possible. Combining discursive and non-discursive methods of research, I uncover the narratives behind the farms’ different farming practices. For the analysis, I build an eclectic conceptual framework that draws on practice theory, the concept of morality, and human-animal studies. I show how human values, the physical environment of the farm, and understandings of animality interplay to create a specific farming practice. In these practices, certain human-animal relationships are possible while others are impossible. The nature of the human-animal relationships has implications for what is perceived as moral when animals are reared for human food.  By showing how ideas of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in our relationships with nonhumans form, the study broadens the meat discussion beyond concerns for human and planetary health. The aim is to equip the reader with tools to reflect over what human-animal relationship the meat we eat represents and, ultimately, what relationship we want it to represent.

Identifier les leviers permettant de stimuler la régulation naturelle des bioagresseurs tout en préservant la biodiversité est indispensable pour concevoir des paysages agricoles fonctionnels. A partir d’une méta-analyse et d’une étude empirique reposant sur 42 parcelles viticoles localisées dans Nouvelle Aquitaine (France), nous avons cherché à évaluer l’impact du déploiement de l’agriculture biologique à de large échelles spatiales sur 1) les communautés d’ennemis naturels, 2) les services de régulation naturelle, 3) les taux d’infestation par les bioagresseurs. Dans ce travail, nous avons montré que la proportion d’agriculture biologique est un facteur structurant plus les communautés d’ennemis naturels que la proportion d’habitats semi-naturels dans le paysage. De plus, nous avons montré que les communautés de bioagresseurs rencontrées dans les vignes ne sont pas influencées par la proportion d’agriculture biologique alors qu’elles répondent plutôt négativement à la proportion d’habitats semi-naturels. Par ailleurs, nous avons montré que l’agriculture biologique, à l’échelle globale et indépendamment du type de culture considérée est un système de culture stimulant la régulation naturelle des bioagresseurs. En viticulture, elle permet de réduire l’utilisation des produits phytosanitaires, comparé à l’agriculture conventionnelle. Enfin, nos analyses ont révélé qu’au-delà de la différence de systèmes de culture, un certain nombre de facteurs locaux (e.g., âge des parcelles, fréquence de traitements, productivité) permettent d’expliquer la structure des communautés d’ennemis naturels et des services de régulation naturelle des bioagresseurs. Tout en produisant des connaissances sur les processus permettant d’expliquer les assemblages des communautés d’ennemis naturels et les niveaux de services de régulation rendus, notre travail suggère des pistes pour l’aménagement des paysages viticoles permettant de concilier préservation de la biodiversité et maximisation des régulations naturelles
Identifying landscape context and farming systems that enhance natural pest control while maintaining biodiversity is crucial to design functional agricultural landscapes. Using a meta-analysis and an empiric study based on 42 vineyards in Nouvelle Aquitaine (France), we investigated the effect of the deployment of organic farming at a landscape scale on 1) natural enemy communities, 2) natural pest control and 3) pest infestation levels. Here, we showed that the proportion of organic farming structured more natural enemy communities than the proportion of semi-natural habitats. On the opposite, pest and pathogen infestations were never influenced by the proportion of organic farming while they were negatively influenced by the proportion of semi-natural habitats. Furthermore, at a global scale and for every crop types, organic farming, per se, enhances natural pest control. In viticulture, it is less dependent of synthetic agrochemicals than conventional farming. Moreover, local factors such as the treatment frequency index, the field age and the crop productivity had important effects on natural enemy communities and natural pest control. Finally, we yielded knowledge on processes that impact natural enemy assembly and natural pest control in agrosystems. For vineyards-dominated landscapes, our work suggests some tracks for landscape planning that support biodiversity conservation and natural pest control

This thesis studies symbolic power within Uruguay’s agricultural regime shiftbetween 2000 and 2010. This socio-ecological system (SES) has been changing froman agricultural-livestock farming system to one dominated by intensive cropagriculture. The aim is to understand the role of a natural resource managementprogram (NRMP) within the processes that are leading to a different state. The mainresearch method is a discursive analysis of actors’ position-taking regarding thechange in agriculture.The main results indicate that: 1) an interacting regime shift took place in Uruguaywhere a new type of agricultural producer was the main driver that generated multipledomain and scale effects; 2) soil erosion as technological and neutral problememerges as a consequence of the struggle between actors’ interpretations of theagricultural changes; 3) a reorganization cycle takes place in natural resourcemanagement program (NRMP); 4) NRMP promotes a further reorganization ofresources: development of new scientific research problems and 5) a regime shift isobservable in natural resource management: ecological knowledge is based on powerrelations rather than on historical experience.The study concludes that symbolic relations of power during a regime shift are ofgreat importance to understand how a society institutionalizes a management programand develops ecological knowledge. In turn, NRMP plays a fundamental role duringthat system reorganization phase, as it sustains certain exploitation of the naturalresources through the promotion of new ecological knowledge. The recommendation for RS theory is to situate natural resource management and ecological knowledge asparts of the dynamics of a social-ecological system.

This study examines whether aquaculture has the potential to reduce deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon. The natural resources of the Peruvian Amazon are subject to extreme pressures due to increases in subsistence farming, cattle ranching, and logging in the region. The resulting loss of biodiversity has affected the delicate soil balance that is characteristic of the Amazon, and has contributed to water pollution as well as erosion (Guerra et al. 2001). One of the highest rates of deforestation in the Amazon basin can be found at the foothills of the eastern Andes (Lepers et al. 2005), which includes the area in this study, located in the Peruvian state of Amazonas. In this part of the Amazon, deforestation is mainly caused by small-scale subsistence agriculture (Achard et al. 1998) such as that found in the communities of Condorcanqui. Fishing is an essential part of the socio-economic system that functions in the Peruvian Amazon. Fish meat is the most important source of animal protein in the Amazon, and the main generator of cash for indigenous people (McDaniel, 1997). However, freshwater Amazonian fisheries have been subject to extreme overexploitation in the past few decades (Rainforest Conservation Fund, 1999). Boats with technological equipment and large-scale capacities have threatened stocks in local rivers and oxbow lakes, which has affected the ability of small-scale, native fisherman to support themselves (Rainforest Conservation Fund, 1999). The Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP) has assisted the development of fish farming in the Condorcanqui region as a way to augment diets and decrease the ecological impact of subsistence farming. Fish farming can also be seen as a way to substitute for the loss of traditional river fishing. IIAP has become the leading governmental organization in fisheries research and aquaculture in the Peruvian Amazon, and works to provide native-species fingerlings, and educational courses to native aquaculturists. This study surveys the subsistence villages along road and river communities to determine the impact of fish farming on deforestation in the Condorcanqui region. This region is populated by small communities of indigenous Awajún and Wampí tribesmen, who practice subsistence agriculture. Data was collected from a sample of 184 families in ten different communities. Five of the villages were situated along the banks of the Nieva or Santiago river systems, while the other five were accessible by road, travelling southwest from the town of Santa Maria de Nieva. Data was collected with the assistance of the Research Institute of the Peruvian Amazon (IIAP), which provided a guide who had relations with all of the communities. All of the families in the sample practice subsistence agriculture, while 104 of the respondents supplement their agricultural crops with fish from aquaculture ponds integrated into their farmland. The participants answered a range of questions about the size of their farms, and the productivity of their land. We use a variety of regression-based approaches to determine how incorporating aquaculture into subsistence farmlands affects deforestation rates after controlling for socioeconomic and farm characteristics. Our study suggests that an extra square meter of aquaculture reduces the area deforested for crops on approximately a one for one basis. However, aquaculture should maintain its productivity for much longer than cropping, as it does not depend on soils whose fertility can be exhausted in a few years. Our simulations, based on our survey results, indicate that over time aquaculture should reduce deforestation significantly, especially in areas where soils provide only a few years of subsistence crops. These should be regarded as interesting but preliminary results. Because we used a convenience-based sampling approach, our results could be affected by selection bias. In addition, we do not have enough information to test whether selection bias in the implementation of fish farming affect our results. Therefore, these results suggest that aquaculture could be useful in limiting deforestation, but additional work should use experimental methods or more in-depth surveys to measure the effect of aquaculture on deforestation.

Globally, increasing land-use intensity has led to more intensive farming practices at the local scale and the loss of non-crop habitats at the landscape scale which may affect various ecosystem services. Insect pollination by wild pollinators is especially affected, but their relative impact and possible interactions have been relatively unexplored. There is also considerable evidence for the negative impacts of agricultural activities and agrochemical use on ecosystem services delivered by natural vegetation, but these impacts have not been assessed for the indigenous crop Aspalathus linearis (rooibos). The study was performed on 13 sites in Nieuwoudtville and Clanwilliam. I found evidence that rooibos pollination is dependent on flying pollinators and that the natural environment is an important provider of ecosystem services to rooibos farmers.

Världen står under en förändring med att en allt större andel av alla människor har flyttat eller flyttar in till städerna samtidigt finns en osäkerhet i hur klimatet kommer se ut i framtiden. Klimatet förväntas bli varmare, mer oförutsägbart samt få ett extremare väder. Detta ställer nya krav på framtidens matproduktion. FN har i Agenda2030 identifierat att jordbruket behöver bli mer motståndskraftigt mot dessa förändringar och samtidigt öka produktionen för att tillmötesgå den ökande efterfrågan på mat. Baserat på studiebesök på två odlingar i Stockholmsområdet (den ena en urban odling baserad under mark och den andra en kommersiell växthusodling ute på landet) samt på litteraturstudier jämförs odlingarna för att sedan diskutera hur de står sig med avseende på hållbarhet och hur de på ett hållbart sätt kan främja framtidens jordbruk och matförsörjning, framför allt med fokus på den urbana odlingen. Odlingen under mark uppfyller en del av FNs hållbarhetsmål men det finns stor potential för förbättring; bland annat med en ökad integration till byggnaden odlingen ligger i och med mer avancerad odlingsutrustning
The world is facing new challenges in the form of climate change and the fact that more and more people are moving to, and living in, cities. The climate is expected to become warmer, more unpredictable and trending towards more extreme weather conditions. These changes will undoubtedly have an effect on agriculture and food production all over the world which is one of the reasons that the UN has identified the need for more resilient agriculture and in Agenda2030 set goals for how to respond to these challenges and at the same time produce more food in order to meet the increasing demand. This study is looking at an urban farming project in Sweden and comparing it to a commercial greenhouse farm in order to identify similarities and differences between the farms and trying to relate them to sustainability. The urban farming project is based underground and relies solely on artificial light which sets it apart from its greenhouse counterpart. By analysing their different ways of producing crop, together with literature studies the sustainable opportunities of future food production is explored and related to the UN goals in Agenda2030. While the urban farm examined in this study might not be able to produce food in a sustainable way urban farming, especially in combination with an increased integration with buildings and industry, is identified as a farming method with great potential.

There is a need of increasing fish production due to the rapidly growing population. The Amazon basin has around 1 million km2 of freshwater area, and a substantial part could be an ideal base for the development of the fish rearing industry. Currently, small-scale fish farming and fishery is commonly observed in the Amazon Basin, but these systems can negatively impact the environment, for example, via eutrophication and overfishing. Here I compare several fish production systems reported for the Amazon Basin to evaluate what is the most sustainable system that should be preferably implemented in that region. I also analyzed the potential of expanding fish farming at the Amazon basin, including a suggestion of the kind of the Amazonian water type and the fish species that should preferentially be recommended as the most appropriate for sustainable production. Blackwater and clearwater main tributaries have been pointed out as the most appropriate areas for fish farming and are recommended as the potential base of fish farming. As there is an existing market for the fishes Colossoma macropomum (Tambaqui); Arapaima gigas (Pirarucu) and Piaractus mesopotamicus (Pacu), these have been pointed out as the main species to start a sustainable fish production. The analysis of the fish production systems was performed in a way to allow a proper combination of the water self-purification mechanism and the fish culture industry. My main suggestion for sustainable fish production is that: a) fish rearing location should be changed on a yearly basis in order to decrease the local environmental impact. Water self-purification mechanisms are suggested as the main process to help to ameliorate the environmental impacts of fish farming. b) Tree seeds and fruits from 26 types of trees that naturally grow in the Amazon basin should be used for fish feeding, especially for tambaqui and pacu.

Nous explorons le lien entre partage d'information (PI) et gestion collective de ressources naturelles (GRN). Pour déterminer ce lien, nous nous sommes interessé aux ostréiculteurs, acteurs sensibles à la qualité de l'eau et touchés par un virulent virus. Ces acteurs ont développé et utilisent divers artéfacts de PI. Ces artifacts sont destinés à faire face à des menaces potentielles. L'identification de ce point fondamental a mené à développer le concept de menaces. Elles sont définies par le modèle (Acteurs, Caractéristiques, Infrastructure, Décisions, Environnement). Elles sont organisées le long de deux axes: l'internalité et l'exclusivité. Formuler la situation des ostréiculteurs en utilisant ce concept permet une caractérisation des enjeux pour les artéfacts de PI pour la lutte contre les menaces. Nous avons utilisé le cadre ENCORE pour une analyse qualitative et la SMA pour une quantitative de l’impact des artéfacts. La recherche montre qu'ils peuvent avoir des buts, media et contenus variés, améliorer la réflexivité, ou mener à peu, voire aucun changement. Ces améliorations sont liées au processus de création de l'artéfact
I explore how information sharing (IS) and natural resources management (NRM) are linked.To determine this link, I focused on oyster farmers, actors sensitive to water quality and impacted by a virulent virus. Those actors implemented and use diverse IS artifacts. Those artifacts are meant to face potential threats. Realizing this focal point led to develop the threat concept. They are defined by the (Actors, Characteristics, Infrastructure, Decisions, Environnement) model. They are organized along two axes: internality and excludability. Framing oyster farmers’ situation with this concept allow a characterization of stakes for IS artifacts to tackle threats.I used the ENCORE framework for qualitative assessment of IS artifacts impacts and a MAS for a quantitative one. The research shows that they have various goals, media and contents; can increase reflexivity or have little to no impact. Those changes are linked to artifact creation process

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: During the period 2006-2012, the Langkloof area, situated in the Eden District Municipality, suffered severely from environmental shocks and social stress including drought, flooding, hail, wildfire, heatwaves and reduced labour demand. These events negatively impacted many farmers and their livelihoods. In response to these external shocks and stressors, large-, medium- and small-scale farmers adopted numerous coping and adaptive strategies. This study performed a comprehensive livelihoods analysis of large-, medium- and small-scale farmers in the Langkloof area, using the widely recognized sustainable livelihoods framework developed by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, with a particular focus on coping and adaptive strategies against severe environmental shock and social stress. Variables used in the analysis were the vulnerability context in which farmers pursue a livelihood; livelihood assets (social, human, financial, natural and physical); the policies, institutions and processes in the external environment that influence the degree of ownership and access to assets; livelihood strategies pursued; and the various livelihood outcomes ultimately produced. The analysis of coping and adaptive strategies employed by farmers during these periods formed an integral part of this study. Sixteen livelihood asset indicators were identified to determine the total assets (human, social, physical, financial and natural) of the farmers. After scaling the indicators, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to assign weights to each indicator and to subsequently calculate the total assets of each household. Regarding the coping and adaptive strategies employed by farmers against environmental shock and social stress, the average number of strategies was calculated for each household. Spearman’s rank correlations were calculated for total assets achieved (capacity) and the number of strategies employed against environmental shock and social stress.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Langkloofgedied, geleë in die Eden Distriksmunisipalitiet, is gedurende die tydperk 2006-2012 geweldig geteister deur omgewings- en sosiale gebeure, wat droogte, vloede, hael, veldbrande, hittegolwe en ʼn gevolglike verlaagde arbeidsaanvraag sluit. Hierdie rampe het verreikende nadelige gevolge op boere se lewensbestaan gehad. Terwyl hulle lewensbestaan tot die uiterste uitgedaag is, is verskeie hanterings- en aanpassingstrategieë teen omgewingskok en sosiale stres geïmplementeer. Met die gebruik van die Verenigde Koninkryk se Departement van Internasionale Ontwikkeling se volhoubare lewensbestaansraamwerk is ʼn gedetailleerde en alomvattende analise van groot, medium- en kleinskaalboere in die Langkloof se lewensbestaan gedoen, met ʼn sterk skem op hul hanterings- en aanpassingstrategieë teen omgewingskok en sosiale stress. Die analise veranderlikes het die kwesbaarsheidskonteks waarin boere hul lewensbestaan aanpak; hul verskeie bates (menslik, sosiaal, finansieel, fisies en natuurlik); die beleide, instansies en prosesse in die eksterne omgewing wat toegang tot en eienaarskap van bates reguleer; hul lewensbestaanstrategieë; en die lewensbestaansuitkomste wat bereik word, behels. Die analise van die boere se hanterings- en aanpassingstrategieë geïmplementeer teen omgewingskok en sosiale stres gedurende hierdie tydperk was ʼn integrale rol van hierdie studie. Sestien aanwysers is geïdentifiseer om die totale lewensbestaansbates (menslik, sosiaal, fisies, finansieel en natuurlik) van die boere te bepaal. Nadat die aanwysers geskaal is, is ‘n Hoofkomponentanalise (PCA) uitgevoer om gewigte aan elke aanwyser toe te ken vir die berekening van totale bates van huishoudings. Die hanterings- en aanpassingstrategieë ingestel deur boere teen omgewingskok en sosiale stres, is die gemiddelde aantal strategieë per huishouding. Spearman se rangorde korrelasies is bereken vir die totale bates (kapasiteit) en die getal strategieë geïmplementeer teen omgewingskok en sosiale stres.

Agricultural landscapes have suffered drastic changes as a consequence of management intensification, leading to a decline in biodiversity, specially in Mediterranean olive farms. Among others, homogenization affects the activity levels of bats, an important component of agricultural ecosystems by acting as biocontrol agents against olive pests. To understand how seasonal variations affects bat occurrence and the biocontrol services they provide, we sampled olive groves with different structural complexities over three seasons, coinciding with the peak activity of Prays oleae, one of the major pests of olive production systems. We found strong differences in the response of bats to the structural complexity of olive production systems, being these species-specific and strongly season-dependent. Thus, our results suggest that habitat heterogeneity is of great importance for bat activity, implying that structurally-complex agricultural landscapes could promote higher natural pest control services provided by bats; Variações sazonais no efeito da complexidade estrutural em olivais com diferentes sistemas de produção na atividade de morcegos: implicações para os serviços de controlo natural de pragas Resumo: As paisagens agrícolas sofreram drásticas mudanças por consequência da intensificação da gestão, levando ao declínio da biodiversidade, especialmente em olivais mediterrânicos. Entre outros, a homogeneização afeta os níveis de atividade dos morcegos, os quais apresentam elevada importância nos ecossistemas agrícolas pela sua capacidade de controlo natural de pragas. Para compreender como as variações sazonais afetam a ocorrência destes nos olivais, amostrámos olivais com diferentes complexidades estruturais em três estações, coincidindo com o pico de atividade de Prays oleae, uma das principais pragas dos olivais, para investigar se morcegos poderão atuar no seu controlo. Foram encontradas diferenças nas respostas dos morcegos em relação à complexidade estrutural dos olivais, sendo estas dependentes de cada espécie e da estação. Assim, os resultados sugerem que a heterogeneidade do habitat apresenta grande importância na atividade dos morcegos, implicando que paisagens agrícolas estruturalmente complexas poderão promover serviços de controlo natural de pragas fornecidos pelos morcegos.

Tropical woodlands play a key role in the livelihoods of rural communities in southern Africa, but exist in contexts of constant ecological and socioeconomic change. With research into tropical woodlands neglected compared to tropical forests, it is important to improve understanding of the consequences of tropical woodland change for rural wellbeing. The aim of this thesis is to examine the dynamic interactions between woodland change and rural livelihoods through an interdisciplinary case study of a miombo woodland landscape on and around Wedza Mountain, Zimbabwe. The thesis is organised into three parts addressing: (1) the patterns of land use intensity and provisioning ecosystem service availability around Wedza Mountain; (2) the importance of environmental resources in rural income portfolios and hazard coping strategies; and (3) the adequacy of ecosystem service literature in representing the environmental values of rural African communities. The first part of this thesis explores patterns of land use and woodland structure on the woodland cover gradient around Wedza Mountain. In Chapter 2 I characterise land use intensity in the six study villages using a new method of calculating human appropriation of net primary productivity (HANPP) at the village scale. Use of this approach indicates that previous studies have underestimated land use intensity in African small-scale farming areas, with village-scale HANPP estimates in Wedza ranging from 48% to 113% of total potential annual NPP as compared to 18 to 38% in published studies. In Chapter 3 I combine woodland survey data with a quantitative ethnobotanical assessment of the use values of woody species and demonstrate that per-household availability of provisioning ecosystem services declines with declining relative tree cover. These findings also suggest that more deforested villages have reduced diversity of ethnospecies underlying service provision, with ramifications for service resilience and livelihood option values in response to future change. The focus of the second part of the thesis is on the role of woodland resources in rural livelihoods. In Chapter 4 I quantify the contribution of environmental income to the total income portfolios of 91 households and show that lower village woodland cover is not associated with reduced livelihood diversity, in part because a large proportion of environmental income is derived from degraded woodland or non-woodland environments. In Chapter 5 I assess the importance of environmental resources for coping with hazard exposures, drawing on recall of past exposure responses and a survey exercise weighting the elements of coping strategy portfolios in response to varying shock scenarios. Synthesis of these data sets indicates that environmental resources represent an important safety net in coping with interacting covariate and idiosyncratic hazard exposures. The third part of the thesis consists of critical reflection, firstly on the adequacy of current ecosystem services research in southern Africa landscapes and secondly on this specific research project. In Chapter 6 I identify the value discourses which are most dominant across 356 peer-reviewed papers adopting an ecosystem services approach to miombo landscape research, and contrast these with the environmental values of study communities in Wedza District. Through this I show that the current ecosystem service literature is failing to represent rural African social and spiritual imaginaries of landscapes, with potentially serious consequences for the efficacy and equity of landscape management interventions. In Chapter 7 I examine some of the methodological and ethical challenges encountered during this research project through a discussion of the relationships between researcher, research assistant and respondents in an interdisciplinary field research context. Finally, in Chapter 8 I synthesise the key messages from the thesis, and conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for understanding of how future change will impact the resilience and vulnerability of savanna woodland socioecological systems.

Die vorliegende Dissertation widmet sich methodischen und empirischen Forschungsfragen mit Bezug auf saisonale Arbeitsmärkte und Politiken zur nachhaltigen Nutzung natürlicher Ressourcen. Hierfür wird ein gesamtwirtschaftlicher Modellierungsansatz angewendet, für den das im südöstlichen Himalaya gelegene Königreich Bhutan als empirische Fallstudie dient. Das methodische Forschungsziel der Arbeit ist, die Relevanz der Darstellung von saisonalen Arbeitsmärkten innerhalb von allgemeinen Gleichgewichtsmodellen (sog. CGE Modelle) zu ergründen. Dies stellt eine Neuheit in der Literatur dar. Die Arbeit zeigt auf, dass Modelle ohne saisonale Arbeitsmärkte systematisch Ergebnisse, wie Angebotsreaktionen und Wohlstandseffekte, verzerren. Die Saisonalität von Arbeit hat eine hohe Relevanz für gesamtwirtschaftliche Analysen im Kontext landwirtschaftlich geprägter Volkswirtschaften, insbesondere für Untersuchungen des Strukturwandels und agrarpolitischer Interventionen. Empirisch wird die wechselseitige Abhängigkeit von Politiken zum nachhaltigen Management natürlicher Ressourcen mit Zielen des Umweltschutzes und der ländlichen Entwicklung untersucht. Basierend auf unterschiedlichen Modellierungsansätzen, konzentrieren sich drei Studien auf agrar- und forstpolitische Szenarien in Bhutan. Es wird gezeigt, dass Bhutans Ziel, seinen landwirtschaftlichen Sektor auf 100% ökologische Landwirtschaft umzustellen, zu substantiellen Wohlfahrtsverlusten und negativen Folgen für die Ernährungssicherung führen würde. Die Analyse verschiedener forstpolitischer Szenarien demonstriert, dass eine höhere Forstnutzung in Bhutan im Sinne der gesamtwirtschaftlichen und ländlichen Entwicklung nachhaltig möglich ist. Die Arbeit weist auf verschiedene zukünftige Forschungsfelder hin, wie zum Beispiel die Integration von Ökosystemdienstleistungen, was als eine der wesentlichen Einschränkungen bei der modellgestützten Analyse von Politiken zur Nutzung natürlicher Ressourcen identifiziert wurde.
Using an economy-wide modelling approach, this dissertation investigates methodological and empirical research questions related to seasonal labour markets and natural resource policies. The Kingdom of Bhutan, located in the south-eastern Himalayas, serves as a case study. The methodological research objective of this thesis is to gain an understanding of the relevance of seasonal labour markets in the context of economy-wide modelling. The depiction of seasonal labour markets at national scale using a seasonal social accounting matrix (SAM) and computable general equilibrium (CGE) model presents a novel development within the literature. It is demonstrated, that the absence of seasonal labour markets leads to systematic bias of model results. The consequences are distorted supply responses and biased welfare effects, underlining the pivotal implications of seasonality for economy-wide analysis in the context of agrarian economies, particularly for scenario analysis involving structural changes and agricultural policy interventions. The empirical research objective addresses the interdependence of natural resource policies with objectives of environmental conservation and rural development. Employing modelling techniques, three studies focus on specific agricultural and forest policy scenarios in Bhutan. Simulating Bhutan’s ambitious policy objective to convert to 100% organic agriculture demonstrates substantial welfare losses and adverse impacts on food security, causing trade-offs with objectives of rural development and food self-sufficiency. Analysing forest policy reforms shows that increased forest utilization contributes to economic development, particularly in rural areas, without jeopardizing the country’s forest conservation agenda. The dissertation points at numerous areas of future research, as for example the incorporation of ecosystem services, which is identified as one key limitation of economy-wide analysis of natural resource policies.

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This study addresses the issue of the mode of appropriation of nature, from the ethnoecological approach in the context of family farming. Aiming to analyze, especially the corpus (knowledge) and praxis (practice productive) family of farmers for cattle cutting Território do Alto Camaquã - Serra do Sudeste/RS. For this, the location of the study involved three counties Caçapava do Sul, Pinheiro Machado and Piratini that are part of the Território do Alto Camaquã and Bioma Pampa. The research method was qualitative /quantitative with descriptive approach and purposive sampling. As tools for the study were used literature, participant observation, field diary and semi-structured interview applied to family farmers. It was found that family farmers have extreme resemblance to the mode of appropriation of nature peasant. This is evident from the results in the use of energy, land size, self-sufficiency, use of workforce diversity, productivity, wishes and desires, forms and transmission of knowledge and vision on nature and the world. The knowledge that apply familiar farmers have much of their previous generations passed them, passed from generation to generation is closely linked with cultural values. Thus will they be shaping productive practices conducted by this audience, with some adjustments over the years to improve production in harmony with the natural resources available (deferment, improvement of native pastures with winter species, castration with burdizzo and breeding flock with european breeds). Natural resources that farmers take ownership to effectively produce the beef cattle grazing native pasture are threefold: sun (light), water (rainfall) and soil (pasture). Making us understand how the production cycle to take place using a small part of external inputs, which are to animal, proving that effect the broad relationship and dependence on environmental conditions of the farmers family. It appears that family farmers are not motivated primarily by factors of an economic, as economic profit and profitability, corroborating the thesis Chayanov. Noting that approximately 80% of the total area of the properties studied are formed by natural grassland and only 4.44% are destined for grazing. It is concluded from this study that family ranchers are integrated into Pampa, through historical, social and environmental, contribute to the preservation and characterization of the landscape within the Bioma Pampa.
Este estudo aborda a temática do modo de apropriação da natureza, a partir do enfoque etnoecológico, no contexto da pecuária familiar. Objetivando analisar, especialmente, o corpus (conhecimentos) e a práxis (práticas produtivas) dos pecuaristas familiares criadores de bovinos de corte do Território do Alto Camaquã Serra do Sudeste/RS. Para isso, o local do estudo compreendeu três municípios Caçapava do Sul, Pinheiro Machado e Piratini que fazem parte do Território do Alto Camaquã e do Bioma Pampa. O método de pesquisa foi o quali/quantitivo, com abordagem descritiva e amostragem intencional. Como instrumentos para o estudo foram utilizados pesquisa bibliográfica, observação participante, diário de campo e entrevista semi-estruturada aplicada aos pecuaristas familiares. Constatou-se que os pecuaristas familiares possuem extrema semelhança com o modo de apropriação da natureza camponês. Isto evidenciado a partir dos resultados quanto ao uso da energia, tamanho da terra, auto-suficiência, uso da força de trabalho, diversidade da produção, produtividade, desejos e anseios, formas e transmissão dos conhecimentos e visão frente à natureza e ao mundo. O conhecimento que os pecuaristas familiares aplicam tem muito do que suas gerações anteriores os passaram, passado de geração em geração está intimamente ligado com os valores culturais. Dessa forma é que vão se moldando as práticas produtivas realizadas por este público, com algumas adaptações no decorrer dos anos, para melhoria da produção em harmonia com os recursos naturais disponibilizados (diferimento, melhoramento da pastagem natural com espécies de inverno, castração com burdizzo e melhoramento rebanho com raças européias). Os recursos naturais que os pecuaristas se apropriam para efetivamente produzirem o bovino de corte extensivamente em pastagem natural são a tríplice: sol (luminosidade), água (chuva) e solo (pastagem natural). Fazendo-nos compreender assim que o ciclo de produção para acontecer utiliza uma pequena parte de insumos externos não renováveis, sendo estes para a sanidade animal, comprovando nesse sentido a ampla relação e dependência, das condições ambientais dos pecuaristas familiares. Constata-se que os pecuaristas familiares não são motivados prioritariamente por fatores de caráter econômico, como o lucro e a rentabilidade econômica, corroborando com a tese de Chayanov. Destaca-se que aproximadamente 80% da área total das propriedades estudadas são formadas por pastagem natural e apenas 4,44% são destinadas a pastagem cultivada. Conclui-se com este estudo que os pecuaristas familiares estão integrados ao Pampa, por meio de aspectos históricos, sociais e ambientais, contribuindo com a preservação e caracterização da paisagem no território do Bioma Pampa.

In Japan’s postwar era, agriculture has become highly industrialized, involving heavy machinery, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, all in the name of “progress.” Through employing such practices, humans have attempted to improve upon nature’s way of doing things, and in turn have degraded the soil’s fertility, natural ecosystems, and human health. In response to this, Shizen Nōhō has emerged in Japan as an alternative way of cultivating food. Shizen Nōhō practitioners challenge the notion that we need chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery to farm successfully. Rather, they advocate for a way of growing food that functions seamlessly with natural ecosystems. This thesis explores the value of Shizen Nōhō in sustaining the natural environment, providing food for communities, and catalyzing a shift towards a more harmonious relationship with nature. By drawing on the research I conducted in central Japan, I illustrate how Shizen Nōhō offers a solution that can reunite people to the ecosystems that sustain them. Placing Shizen Nōhō within the larger context of Japan’s food system, I detail ways in which the priorities of the Japanese government and agricultural industry are not compatible with Shizen Nōhō. Therefore, if Shizen Nōhō is to be more widely adopted in Japan, communities must drive this change, rather than governmental and industrial entities. If adopted, Shizen Nōhō may serve as a vehicle for transforming the way humans interact with and view themselves in relation to nature.

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A gestão em empreendimentos rurais é importante devido ao auxílio para o desenvolvimento sócio-econômico, possibilitando um crescimento e uma organização nas funções administrativas e produtivas, possibilitando que os agricultores consigam fazer uma gestão do seu negócio, definindo os custos gastos com a produção, podendo formular um preço de venda adequado, auxiliando-o no planejamento e na tomada de decisão. Este trabalho tem como objetivo determinar quais são os elementos utilizados para a formação da gestão de custos na agricultura familiar. Para realizar a pesquisa foram aplicados questionários em uma associação de agricultura ecológica e familiar, localizada na cidade de Ponta Grossa, composta por sete agricultores familiares produtores de orgânicos que possuem uma certificação por auditoria, emitida pela Associação de Certificação Instituto Biodinâmico - IBD. Como resultados, pode-se constatar que os canais de venda, mais utilizados pelos agricultores familiares produtores de orgânicos, são os programas do governo Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE), o Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA), e o Feira Verde, e que esses agricultores trabalham apenas com a produção de olerícolas e frutas. Metade dos agricultores familiares consideram os elementos da gestão de custos como as taxas envolvidas na certificação e associação, o valor gasto com energia elétrica, água, combustível, materiais indiretos e telefone. É importante destacar que os agricultores realizam um controle de produção em um caderno para apresentar ao IBD, e que também possuem uma caderneta para anotação dos gastos gerais, isso significa que estes agricultores familiares realizam uma forma de gestão na propriedade ainda que rústica. Embora os associados não possam negociar os preços dos alimentos entregues aos programas governamentais, estes programas são responsáveis pela compra de grande quantidade dos alimentos orgânicos produzidos, possibilitando que os agricultores possam formular um preço de venda mais adequado nos outros canais de comercialização, tal como a feira local, em que os agricultores podem obter maior lucro apesar das incertezas acerca do volume de alimentos que será negociado. Dessa maneira, conclui-se que a diversificação dos canais de produção é essencial para que os agricultores orgânicos associados da região avaliada consigam negociar toda a sua produção de alimentos orgânicos. Há também um potencial que pode ser explorado e com a aplicação da gestão de custos mais aprimorada essas famílias podem vir a ter um retorno financeiro maior.
The management in rural enterprises is important due to the aid for socio-economic development, enabling growth and an organization in the productive and administrative functions, allowing farmers can make a management of your business, defining the costs spent on production, and can deliver an appropriate selling price, assisting in planning and decision-making. This work aims to determine what are the elements used for the training of cost management in family agriculture. To conduct the survey questionnaires were applied in an Association of ecological agriculture, family, located in the city of Ponta Grossa, composed of seven producers of organic family farmers who have a certification audit, and mitida by the Association of Biodynamic Institute Certification-IBD. As a result, one can see that the sales channels, mostly used by organic farmers, family farmers are the programs of the Government National School Feeding Program (PNAE), food acquisition program (PAA), and the Fair Green, and that these farmers work only with the production of oleraceous and fruit. Half of the farmers consider the elements of cost management as the rates involved in the certification and membership, the amount spent with electricity, water, fuel, indirect materials and telephone. It is important to emphasize that farmers perform a production control in a notebook to present to the IBD, and who also have a notebook for note of overheads, this means that these farmers carry out a form of management in the property although rustic. Although members cannot negotiate food prices delivered to government programs, these programs are responsible for the purchase of large quantities of organic food produced, enabling farmers to be able to formulate a more appropriate selling price in other marketing channels, such as the local market, where farmers can get higher profit despite uncertainties about the volume of food that will be negotiated. In this way, it appears that the diversification of production is essential for organic farmers associated with the region evaluated can negotiate all your organic food production. There is also a potential that can be exploited and the implementation of cost management more enhanced these families may have a greater financial return.

Criar gado em campo nativo é uma prática que, historicamente, é desenvolvida no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Desde a preação do gado xucro distribuído pelas vastas planícies do bioma pampa até a produção de gado em estâncias, encontramos os elementos que configuraram a formação política e cultural do Estado. Anteriormente, em um passado ainda mais distante, povos de várias etnias passaram por esses ambientes, deixando costumes que, mesmo que se tenham passado séculos de intervenções culturais, ainda podem ser observados permeando a cultura do povo do Pampa. Em meio a esse ambiente, o presente estudo tem como objetivo identificar e visibilizar determinadas práticas, a relação com o ambiente e alguns dos aspectos simbólicos que envolvem os “pequenos produtores rurais” que criam gado em campo nativo, os quais são denominados de pecuaristas familiares. Para isso, foi realizado um resgate da formação do ambiente, até a chegada dos colonizadores, de modo a identificar os principais momentos históricos que se entremeiam para formar esse bioma como o conhecemos hoje. A história recente será contada com o apoio de uma família de pecuaristas familiares inserida na Serra do Caverá, localidade pertencente ao município de Rosário do Sul – RS. É em meio à singularidade da Serra do Caverá – entre cerros e coxilhas - que, fazendo uso da abordagem etnográfica, apresentarei a história de vida dessa família. Caracterizá-los, de modo a identificar valores intrínsecos à prática de criação de gado em campo nativo, suas relações com o entorno da propriedade e com o ambiente do qual fazem parte, permite reconhecer e valorizar uma prática secular de produção de gado. Percebe-se que esses pecuaristas familiares, com seu modo de fazer pecuária, mantêm uma relação estreita com os elementos da biodiversidade que o compõem, mas, por outro lado, nota-se que as políticas públicas de apoio à pecuária familiar, no contexto do bioma Pampa, são escassas, o que determinou, até pouco tempo, que estes tenham se tornado invisíveis ao Estado. Assim, somando a esses fatores a necessidade de identificar os valores simbólicos inerentes ao modo de se fazer pecuária na localidade e, sobretudo, à família pesquisada, concluímos que estes são indissociáveis ao ambiente que os cerca, ficando perceptível a premência de identificar e ampliar o conhecimento dessas práticas e sua aliança para a conservação da biodiversidade no bioma Pampa, para aí, sim, traçar estratégias de conservação que aliem o elemento humano com a conservação, pois, além de utilizar o campo nativo como insumo à produção, esse público de pecuaristas mantém a guarda do ambiente.
Raising cattle on natural pasture is a historical practice in Rio Grande do Sul. From the wild cattle hunt spread throughout the vast plains of Pampas biome to cattle production in ranches, we find elements that shaped the political and cultural structure of the state. In a remote past, people from various ethnic groups passed through these environments introducing traditions which, even after centuries of cultural interventions, can still be observed permeating the culture of people from Pampa. This study aims to identify and disclose some practices, their relation with the environment and some of the symbolic aspects regarding “small rural producers” that raise cattle on natural pasture, who are called family farmers. For this purpose, a research on the development of the environment up to the arrival of settlers was held in order to identify key historical moments that formed this biome as we know it today. The recent history will be narrated with the support of a family farmer from Serra do Caverá, a locality in Rosario do Sul county, Rio Grande do Sul. Amid the uniqueness of Serra do Caverá landscape I will present the life story of this family using the ethnographic approach. Characterizing this family in order to identify intrinsic values of livestock on natural pasture, their relation with the surroundings of the property and also with the environment to which they belong, enable us to value an ancient practice of livestock production. Family farmers keep a close relationship with the elements that constitute the environment biodiversity; on the other hand, public policies to support family farming of Pampa biome are limited, which led these families to become invisible to the state up until recently. Therefore, it is clear the urgency to identify and expand the knowledge of livestock practice and its role in the conservation of biodiversity in Pampa biome in order to design strategies that combine the human element and conservation, as these farmers use natural pasture as an input to production besides taking care of the environment.

Seagrasses constitute the basis for diverse and productive ecosystems worldwide. In East Africa, they provide important ecosystem services (e.g. fisheries) but are potentially threatened by increasing resource use and lack of enforced management regulations. The major aim of this PhD thesis was to investigate effects of anthropogenic distur-bances, primarily seaweed farming and coastal fishery, in East African seagrass beds. Seaweed farming, often depicted as a sustainable form of aquaculture, had short- and long-term effects on seagrass growth and abundance that cascaded up through the food web to the level of fishery catches. The coastal fishery, a major subsistence activity in the region, can by removing urchin predators indirectly increase densities of the sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla, which has overgrazed seagrasses in several areas. A study using simulated grazing showed that high magnitude leaf removal – typical of grazing urchins – affected seagrasses more than low magnitude removal, typical of fish grazing. Different responses in two co-occurring seagrass species furthermore indicate that high seagrass diversity in tropical seagrass beds could buffer overgrazing effects in the long run. Finally, a literature synthesis suggests that anthropogenic disturbances could drive shifts in seagrass ecosystems to an array of alternative regimes dominated by other or-ganisms (macroalgae, bivalves, burrowing shrimp, polychaetes, etc.). The formation of novel feedback mechanisms makes these regimes resilient to disturbances like seagrass recovery and transplantation projects. Overall, this suggests that resource use activities linked to seagrasses can have large-scale implications if the scale exceeds critical levels. This emphasizes the need for holistic and adaptive management at the seascape level, specifically involving improved techniques for seaweed farming and fisheries, protection of keystone species, and ecosystem-based management approaches.

The present study is one of the first attempts to analyze the societal importance of seagrasses (marine flowering plants) from a Natural Resource Management perspective, using a social-ecological systems (SES) approach. The interdisciplinary study takes place in East Africa (Western Indian Ocean, WIO) and includes in-depth studies in Chwaka Bay, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Natural and social sciences methods were used. The results are presented in six articles, showing that seagrass ecosystems are rich in seagrass species (13) and form an important part of the SES within the tropical seascape of the WIO. Seagrasses provide livelihoods opportunities and basic animal protein, in from of seagrass associated fish e.g. Siganidae and Scaridae. Research, management and education initiatives are, however, nearly non-existent. In Chwaka Bay, the goods and ecosystem services associated with the meadows and also appreciated by locals were fishing and collection grounds as well as substrate for seaweed cultivation. Seagrasses are used as medicines and fertilizers and associated with different beliefs and values. Dema (basket trap) fishery showed clear links to seagrass beds and provided the highest gross income per capita of all economic activities. All showing that the meadows provide social-ecological resilience. Drag-net fishery seems to damage the meadows. Two ecological studies show that artisanal seaweed farming of red algae, mainly done by women and pictured as sustainable in the WIO, has a thinning effect on seagrass beds, reduces associated macrofauna, affects sediments, changes fish catch composition and reduces diversity. Furthermore, it has a negative effect on i.a. women’s health. The two last papers are institutional analyses of the human-seagrass relationship. A broad approach was used to analyze regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive institutions. Cooperation and conflict take place between different institutions, interacting with their slow or fast moving characteristics, and are thus fundamental in directing the system into sustainable/unsustainable paths. Ecological knowledge was heterogeneous and situated. Due to the abundance of resources and high internal control, the SES seems to be entangled in a rigidity trap with the risk of falling into a poverty trap. Regulations were found insufficient to understand SES dynamics. “Well” designed organizational structures for management were found insufficient for “good” institutional performance. The dynamics between individuals embedded in different social and cultural structures showed to be crucial. Bwana Dikos, monitoring officials, placed in villages or landing sites in Zanzibar experienced four dilemmas – kinship, loyalty, poverty and control – which decrease efficiency and affect resilience. Mismatches between institutions themselves, and between institutions and cognitive capacities were identified. Some important practical implications are the need to include seagrass meadows in management and educational plans, addressing a seascape perspective, livelihood diversification, subsistence value, impacts, social-ecological resilience, and a broad institutional approach.

Biodiversity can be crucial for an ecosystem to uphold its’ functions. Thus, is population declines a major threat to biodiversity. One type of species-rich habitat linked to several ecosystem services is the Swedish pasture. Albeit during the latter half of the 20th-century observations could be made of many population declines in several species of farmland birds. The population decline is directly linked to intensification of arable lands due to method modernization, conversion of pastures to fields and pesticide use. This study focused on comparing the fauna of birds in pasture lands surrounded by forest-dominated or cropland-dominated areas within a 500 m radius of a semi-natural pasture. 100plots were extracted (50 of each land use) for analysis. Data was provided by voluntarily collected stocktaking from the environmental surveillance program Svensk Fågeltaxering. A CCA was made on the species composition with amounts of forest and amounts of fields as variables. The effect on species richness from land use was calculated using GLM. The result showed no difference between bird species richness or species composition between forest-dominated pastures and cropland dominated pastures. This could indicate that birds are no longer affected by the intensification of modern arable farming or that local habitat elements like hedges and ditches are structures more critical factors for nesting farmland birds than land use within a 500 m radius surrounding pastures.

Despite phenomenal success of the commercial agricultural sector in South Africa and significant progress in integrating smallholders since democratic reforms, food security concerns remain. Recent global increases in food prices have further exacerbated vulnerabilities and made it imperative to examine alternative food production questions in the country. Organic agriculture is identified as one of the sustainable approaches to farming and offers insights towards a paradigm shift in food and nutritional security. Notwithstanding, consumer awareness, knowledge and consumption of organic foods are significantly lower in developing than developed countries. Risks associated with adoption of organic practices need to be explored to address the supply and demand constraints. Similarly, while consumer awareness of organic foods is the first step in developing demand for organic products, it does not necessarily translate to consumption. Therefore it is important to investigate these issues. The objectives of this study were to: (i) describe the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of organic farmers and consumers; (ii) establish the determinants of farmers‘ decision to participate in organic farming distinguishing between the fully-certified organic, partially-certified organic and non-organic farmers; (iii) elicit farmers risk preferences and empirically analyse farmers sources of risk and risk management strategies; (iv) explore consumer awareness, perceptions and attitudes regarding organic products; and (v) identify the factors that influence consumer‘s preference and consumption of organic products. A total of 400 respondents were surveyed, consisting of 200 smallholder farmers in KwaZulu-Natal and 200 consumers in the Eastern Cape. The KwaZulu-Natal study was conducted earlier and identified the following as major sources of risk, lack of consumer awareness of organic products and lack of information among producers about consumer preferences for organic products. This informed the need to undertake a consumer awareness and preference study, in order to inform producers. The Eastern Cape is a bordering province to KwaZulu-Natal with similar socio economic conditions and a major consumer of produce from KwaZulu-Natal. It was also expected that in the intervening period there could have been awareness about the product. An vii indication of its appeal would not be in the consumption of the product by the people who grow it, but by consumers who reside in bordering regions. Producer and household questionnaires were used to record household activities, socio-economic and institutional data as well as household demographics through personal interviews. The Arrow Pratt Absolute Risk Aversion (APARA) coefficient was used to measure the farmer‘s degree of risk aversion and the experimental gambling approach to establish the risk classification. Consumers were also asked about their awareness and knowledge about organics, attitudes and perceptions towards organics, preference and consumption patterns. The ordered probit results indicate that older farmers, who are less risk averse and reside in the sub-ward Ogagwini, Ezigani, and Hwayi were more likely to be certified organic farmers. Similarly, the propensity to adopt organic farming is positively correlated to household size, livestock ownership, asset base and tenure security. The risk analysis indicates that at higher pay-offs most farmers are intermediate to moderately risk-averse, with little variation according to personal characteristics, and that non-organic farmers tend to be more risk averse than fully-certified and partially-certified farmers. In general, price, production and financial risks were perceived as the most important sources of risk. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), seven principal components (PCs) explaining 66.13% of the variation were extracted. Socio economic factors having a significant effect on the various sources of risk are age, gender, education, location, information access and risk taking ability. The most important traditional risk management strategies used by the surveyed farmers are crop diversification, precautionary savings and participating in social networks. There was general awareness of what constituted organic foods with many consumers associating organic foods with health and nutrition, chemical free and produced using indigenous methods of production. However, there was low awareness of organic products among consumers with little or no knowledge of organic certification and standards. According to the logit model the major factors influencing consumer awareness of organic products are: gender, education, employment status, and location of the respondents, person/household member responsible for shopping and the price perception of the decision maker. The discriminant analysis showed that the consumption of organic products is significantly affected by age of the consumer, viii location, person/household member responsible for shopping, consumer awareness of organics, price perception and label trust. The findings from this study provides useful practical insights for policy makers, farm advisers and researchers in the design of effective and efficient policies, programmes and projects which can affect the adoption of organic practices, increase smallholder farmers capacity to manage risk and drive growth in the organic food market.

The project examines the possibilities to develop a local and sustainable model for food production in Uppsala with focus on diet, farming methods and different types of greenhouse installations. With the simulation software VIP energy 3.1.1 the energy balance and temperature development of greenhouses of different materials were calculated for different operating cases. The results were also compared when the greenhouse was installed stand-alone or integrated to the wall of a small standard or passive house. With a starch based diet and biological farming methods research suggests it is possible to produce food efficiently without compromising the environment or our health. The yearly food needs for a family of four that follows the suggested diet was estimated to 4362 kg and the outdoor land required to produce it was calculated to 4676 m2 through organic yield statistics. The area could however be reduced to 2813 m2 if the only starch staple in production was potatoes. The tender growing season in a greenhouse constructed with a covering of 5 mm glass or 5-16Ar-5 mm was calculated to 85 and 148 days respectively. The energy use required for year round production of mushrooms in the respective greenhouses was calculated to 53 or 16 kWh/m2,year. Half hardy plants required 399 or 173 kWh/m2,year and tender plants 953 or 358 kWh/m2,year. When the greenhouses were connected to the wall of a small house the heating demand could be reduced by up to 22 % depending on the operating case.

Dans le contexte politique (réduction 50% de l'utilisation des pesticides à échéance de 2018 -Plan Ecophyto) et social actuel (mise en place de modes de production plus respectueux pour l'environnement), la sévérité des dommages causés par le puceron cendré du pommier, Dysaphis plantaginea Passerini (Hemiptera : Aphididae), surtout en agriculture biologique, rend nécessaire la mise au point de solutions alternatives s'appuyant sur le rôle des ennemis naturels. Nous avons donc essayé d'apporter des éléments nouveaux sur la connaissance des relations entre le puceron cendré et ses ennemis naturels et sur les conditions à même de favoriser leur action. Des suivis hebdomadaires des arthropodes présents sur les rameaux infestés par D. plantaginea, ont mis en évidence l'effet négatif des auxiliaires sur les populations de D. plantaginea, sans pour autant atteindre une véritable régulation à même d'éviter les dégâts économiques. Nous avons également montré l'action favorisante des fourmis sur la dynamique du puceron cendré et négative sur celle des auxiliaires. Nous avons pu identifier trois groupes d'auxiliaires dominants avec une arrivée séquentielle marquée : les syrphes, dont l'installation coïncide avec le début de l'infestation de D. plantaginea, puis les coccinelles et les forficules qui arrivent plus tardivement. Pour que les auxiliaires jouent un rôle plus important contre D. plantaginea, il faut d'autres pratiques permettant d'abaisser significativement le nombre de traitements pesticides. Une innovation très récente permet la réduction drastique des traitements insecticides : les filets Alt'Carpo. Malgré son influence négative sur l'abondance et la richesse du cortège des auxiliaires présents dans les colonies de D. plantaginea, surtout les coccinelles, cette technique freine le développement des populations de D. plantaginea à l'échelle du rameau ou de l'arbre lorsque les filets sont fermés après la floraison (en conformité avec les préconisations contre le carpocapse). Cependant, la réduction des populations de D. plantaginea sous les filets requiert la présence d'au moins un stade actif d'auxiliaire par rameau, ce qui interroge sur la réalité de la régulation de ce ravageur par le simple usage des filets. Sur la base de leur précocité, pour Episyrphus balteatus De Geer (Diptera : Syrphidae) et de leur abondance dans les colonies de D. plantaginea, pour Forficula auricularia Linnaeus (Dermaptera : Forficulidae) et E. balteatus, ces deux espèces apparaissent comme de bons candidats pour la régulation de D. plantaginea. Nos études en conditions contrôlées ont démontré leur potentiel régulateur sur D. plantaginea, en particulier aux stades les plus âgés. L'efficacité optimale intervient à 20°C pour les deux prédateurs, pour lesquels nous n'observons par ailleurs pas d'interaction négative lorsqu'ils sont associés en présence de fortes densités de D. plantaginea. Sur la base de ces résultats de laboratoire nous avons analysé les possibilités de lâchers printaniers de ces deux prédateurs sur de jeunes colonies de D. plantaginea. Dans nos conditions expérimentales en vergers de pommiers, des lâchers précoces de larves du 3ème stade de F. auricularia n'ont pas permis de limiter les populations de D. plantaginea, confirmant la difficulté des lâchers de prédateurs en cultures de plein champ. De la même manière, des lâchers précoces d'E. balteatus pourtant réalisés sous filets Alt'Carpo restent sans effet sur l'infestation par D. plantaginea. Cette thèse, en s'appuyant sur des essais en conditions contrôlées, semi contrôlées et de plein champ, constitue une étape dans un processus d'élaboration d'un modèle dynamique du développement de D. plantaginea à l'échelle du rameau, prenant en compte le rôle des fourmis et des auxiliaires et l'influence des pratiques de protection (par exemple, les filets Alt'Carpo et les lâchers d'auxiliaires). Elle confirme, si besoin en était, la complexité des phénomènes de régulation, des pucerons en particulier, et la nécessité d'études complémentaires pour définir les conditions d'application de la lutte biologique contre D. plantaginea

An drei Standorten wurde die schädlingsregulierende Wirkung einer Raps-Rübsen-Mischsaat (Verhältnis 9:1) gegenüber einer Raps-Reinsaat bewertet. Des Weiteren wurden naturstoffliche und nach § 6a PflSchG selbst hergestellte Pflanzenschutzmittel als auch eine Käfersammelmaschine zur Regulierung der Stängelrüssler (Ceutorhynchus spp.) und des Rapsglanzkäfers (Meligethes aeneus F.) in Labor- und Freilandversuchen angewandt. In der Mischsaat war die Schaderregerabundanz gegenüber der Reinsaat zumeist erhöht. Diese führte zu einem teils signifikant stärkeren Schaderregerbefall der Rapspflanzen in der Mischsaat. Die Mischsaat erbrachte zudem einen teils signifikant geringeren Kornertrag. Natur-Pyrethrum und Spinosad führten im Labor zu deutlich erhöhten Mortalitäten bei den Stängelrüsslern. Im Freiland war kein Effekt erkennbar. Bei der Regulierung der Rapsglanzkäfer wies Spinosad in Feld- und Laborversuchen Wirkungsgrade bis zu 100 % auf. Gespritztes Gesteinsmehl und SiO2 zeigten einen nur geringen Effekt. Für die gleichmäßige Benetzung der Pflanzen mit diesen Präparaten kommt der Formulierung der Pflanzenschutzbrühe und der wiederholten Applikation eine hohe Bedeutung zu. Ökonomisch sind mehrfache Applikationen jedoch abzulehnen. Gestäubtes Gesteinsmehl und die Käfersammelmaschine sind aus Praktikabilitätsgründen nicht geeignet zur Regulierung der Rapsglanzkäfer. Ebenso wenig geeignet sind Quassin, Azadirachtin oder ein Bacillus thuringiensis-Präparat (B.t.t.). Mit Ausnahme einer Spinosad Applikation erzielte keine Pflanzenschutzmaßnahme einen wirtschaftlichen Mehrertrag. Stickstoffmangel und Unkrautkonkurrenz scheinen im ökologischen Rapsanbau häufig stärker auf die Limitierung der Kornerträge zu wirken als ein leichter bis mittlerer Schädlingsbefall. Je besser die Nährstoffversorgung und je geringer die Unkrautkonkurrenz, desto eher kann durch Pflanzenschutz ein wirtschaftlicher Mehrertrag realisiert werden. Die nötigen Pflanzenschutzkonzepte fehlen jedoch weiterhin.
On three sites the pest-regulating effect of a rape-turnip rape mixed cropping system (ratio 9:1) in comparison to rape in pure stand was assessed. Further, natural and self-produced natural insecticide solutions (§ 6a Plant Protection Act) and a beetle collecting machine to regulate the stem weevils (Ceutorhynchus spp.) and the pollen beetles (Meligethes aeneus F.) were applied in laboratory and field experiments. Compared to the fields in pure stand the mixed crop showed a significantly greater abundance of pests. This resulted in a sometimes significantly greater pest infestation of the rape plants in the mixed crop. Furthermore, the mixed crop often had a significantly lower grain yield. The use of natural pyrethrum and Spinosad resulted in significantly higher mortality rates of the stem weevils in laboratory tests. Under field conditions no effect could be detected. In the regulation of the pollen beetles, Spinosad demonstrated under field and laboratory conditions efficiencies of up to 100 %. Sprayed mineral powder or SiO2 had only a slight effect. For a uniform wetting of the plants with these compounds the formulation of the phytosanitary broth and its repeated application are important factors. From an economic perspective, however, repeated applications are inefficient. For reasons of practicality rock-dusted flour and the beetle-collecting machine are not suitable for pollen beetle regulation. Quassin is just as inappropriate as Azadirachtin, or Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.t.) for the regulation of the pollen beetle. With the exception of one Spinosad application, no protection measure provided an economic surplus. Nitrogen deficiency and weeds seem to more frequently limit grain yield than slight to moderate pest infestation levels. The better the nutrient supply and the lower the weed competition, the more likely by crop protection can be realized an economic surplus. Adequate crop protection strategies, however, have not yet been developed.

New agricultural constructions in Czech Republic happen, in better case, privilege of civil engineer, in the worse case only privilege of the investor, in the past. While architects or enlightenment project architects with inventive and feeling for architecture, rarely interfered to their projection. In the practice, the preferred and implemented misconception, that it is a purely purpose-built buildings with economical advantageous solution type, when external design of the building and his effect in landscape plays just a minor role, meant a huge mistake, which disfeature face of a lot of villages. With the gradual development of organic and sustainable agriculture is obvious, that to the design of these buildings gets back the idea of invention and emotion of construction into the landscape. Essence of a dissertation is how to proceed with the draft of a new or completion of original organic farm in conditions of the Czech Republic and on which specific points to focus in the design. Objective of thesis is generalization of rules design new modern organic farm or new buildings on the existing organic farm, using the principles of organic architecture and architecture undemanding of energy, renewable source of energy and non-waste management and verification on the specific examples in the Czech Republic and neighboring Europa countries. Where else should apply the principles of organic architecture more than in the construction of organic farms. Moreover, organic farm offers a great number of functions and with related different operations with requirements for specific areas. This is an added bonus, diversity of construction and the possibility of building creativity in architectural solutions. It is then mainly limited functionality of the building, legislative, public health, fire and traffic regulations, with which any proposal must cope. Organic farms are a phenomenon, but also the future of sustainable agriculture in the Czech Republic, as well. Not only production side of organic farms, but also neglected building stock deserves the attention of experts. Only organic farm with the right comprehensive created building and energy concept on an ecological principle is becoming a well-functioning self-contained unit connected with the cycle of nature, the surrounding landscape and regional tradition.

As Áreas de Preservação Permanente (APPs) e a Reserva Legal (RL) foram estabelecidas por lei como alternativas mitigadoras dos impactos da ação antrópica, funcionando como reguladoras do fluxo da água, de sedimentos e nutrientes, formando ecossistemas estabilizados às margens de rios, lagos e nascentes; atuando na diminuição e filtragem do escoamento superficial e do carregamento de sedimentos para o sistema aquático. Nas pequenas propriedades rurais, onde a agricultura de susbsistência ainda é a regra, seus proprietários encontram dificuldades a uma convivência equilibrada entre a exploração racional da terra e o cumprimento da norma legal. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo confrontar essa situação fática vivenciada em algumas pequenas propriedades rurais economicamente sustentáveis, e que utilizam métodos de agricultura ecológica, e as alternativas encontradas no sentido de respeitar a legislação ambiental.
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Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs) and the Legal Reservation (RL) were established by law as mitigates alternatives of the impacts on the anthropotic action, functioning as regulators of the water flow, sediments and nutritious, forming ecosystems stabilized on the rivers bank, lakes and springs, acting in the decrease and strain of the superficial drainage and of the shipment of sediments of the aquatic system. In the small rural properties, where the susbsistence agriculture is still the rule, their owners have difficulties in a balanced coexistence between the rational land exploration and the legal norm execution. The present work had as objective confronts this fatidical situation lived in some small rural properties, economically maintainable and the use ofecological agriculture methodos, and the alternatives found on respecting the environmental sense legislation.

Orientador: Filipe Pereira Giardini Bonfim
Resumo: O Brasil possui grande potencial econômico no mercado de plantas condimentares, sendo o Estado de São Paulo o maior produtor e consumidor deste segmento, apresentando importância social na geração de empregos, de forma direta e indireta, em especial para agricultores familiares. Localizado no Estado de São Paulo, o município de Avaré possui 80% da sua área rural distribuída em médios e pequenos agricultores familiares, com grande potencial de produção e comercialização de espécies olerícolas. Assim, objetivou-se neste estudo caracterizar a produção de plantas condimentares in natura por agricultores familiares e a comercialização em estabelecimentos comerciais no município de Avaré, SP. As entrevistas presenciais realizadas nas propriedades rurais ocorreram durante o ano de 2018 e 2019, sendo realizadas através de questionário semiestruturado composto por tópicos que guiaram a entrevista acerca do sistema de cultivo utilizado pelo agricultor-produtor, além do levantamento socioeconômico dos envolvidos na cadeia de produção, totalizando dez propriedades visitadas. Em relação aos estabelecimentos comerciais foram feitas entrevistadas em dez sacolões, dez supermercados e duas feiras livres municipais. Os dados obtidos revelaram que os produtores rurais de plantas condimentares do município de Avaré, são da agricultura familiar e apresentam diversidade na produção dessas espécies, porém com predominância da produção de cebolinha e salsinha. Os estabelecimentos comerciais ofertam ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Mestre

[ES] La materia prima es un elemento clave en cualquier proceso de transformación alimentaria, ya que de su composición y cualidades dependerá el producto final. En el caso del jamón, el origen de la materia prima, puede proceder de sistemas ganaderos convencionales, donde la producción es intensiva y la alimentación está basada en piensos comerciales. En el caso de cerdos procedentes de ganadería ecológica, los animales están sujetos a las condiciones marcadas por la normativa europea de producción ecológica, donde se respeta el medio ambiente y el bienestar animal. Para el caso de figuras de calidad, las explotaciones ganaderas también deben cumplir los requisitos indicados en los pliegos de condiciones. Otro elemento que define al jamón curado es el proceso de elaboración, que se inicia con la salazón con o sin sales nítricas. El tiempo de secado-maduración, el sistema de secado (natural o con ventana abierta versus cámara con condiciones controladas) y la temperatura son elementos clave en el desarrollo de las cualidades organolépticas. El principal objetivo del presente estudio es aportar resultados sobre la evolución en la composición de la carne, a lo largo del proceso de secado-maduración, en la elaboración de jamón curado, teniendo como variables del estudio, la procedencia del pernil (de granjas ganaderas convencionales, ecológicas o de la DOP Teruel), tecnología aplicada en el proceso de secado (cumpliendo los requisitos para la certificación ecológica), así como la influencia del sistema de secado (ventana abierta o cámara), evaluando los parámetros que permiten clasificar las diferentes variables. Para ello se analizan un total de 36 jamones de cerdo blanco (convencional, ecológico y DOP Teruel), destinando 6 jamones de cada una para el secado natural y otros 6 para el secado en cámara. Los parámetros analizados son humedad, minerales totales, sodio, hierro, proteína, grasa, perfil de ácidos grasos, nitratos y nitritos, detección de antibióticos y compuestos de la fracción volátil. Los resultados indican que los parámetros de color L*, b* y C* son mayores en los jamones procedentes de sistemas de producción convencional, en particular en los jamones DOP Teruel, donde además se incluye el parámetro a*. Los jamones de sistemas de producción convencional se caracterizan por presentar valores más elevados de humedad, grasa, proteína y cenizas, así como un contenido en ácidos grasos saturados mayor. Esto repercute en los valores de los índices de calidad de la grasa, con connotaciones negativas en el índice de aterogenicidad, de trombogenicidad o en la relación ω6/ω3, sobre todo si los jamones se secan en cámara. Los jamones ecológicos presentan valores más bajos de los componentes químicos analizados y niveles superiores de AGMI y AGPI, así como índices positivos de calidad de la grasa como el de ácidos grasos buenos para la salud o la relación AGPI/AGS, especialmente si se secan al natural. Generando jamones con una mayor presencia de compuestos volátiles. La clasificación de los jamones, en función de la procedencia y el sistema de secado, se alcanza con éxito tomando los parámetros de color, ácidos grasos y los componentes terpenoides de la fracción volátil. El estudio de componentes principales permite clasificar los jamones convencionales como aquellos con mayor contenido en proteína, L*, cenizas, Fe, Na, H*, humedad, grasa, nitratos y nitritos, así como por los ácidos grasos behénico, palmítico, esteárico y mirístico. Los jamones ecológicos se caracterizarían por sus valores de a*, b* y C*, así como por la presencia de linoleico y linolénico y los jamones DOP Teruel serían aquellos con altos valores de ácidos grasos heptadecenoico, palmitoleico y oleico.
[CA] La matèria primera és un element clau en qualsevol procés de transformació alimentària, ja que de la seua composició i qualitats dependrà el producte final. En el cas del pernil, l'origen de la matèria primera, pot procedir de sistemes ramaders convencionals, on la producció és intensiva i l'alimentació està basada en pinsos comercials. En el cas de porcs procedents de ramaderia ecològica, els animals estan subjectes a les condicions marcades per la normativa europea de producció ecològica, on es respecta el medi ambient i el benestar animal. Per al cas de figures de qualitat, les explotacions ramaderes també han de complir els requisits indicats en els plecs de condicions. Un altre element que defineix al pernil curat és el procés d'elaboració, que s'inicia amb la salaó, amb o sense sals nítriques. El temps de l'assecatge-maduració on la duració, el sistema d'assecatge (natural o amb finestra oberta versus cambra amb condicions controlades) i la temperatura són elements clau en el desenvolupament de les qualitats organolèptiques. El principal objectiu del present estudi és aportar resultats sobre l'evolució en la composició de la carn, al llarg del procés d'assecatge-maduració, en l'elaboració de pernil curat, tenint com a variables de l'estudi, la procedència del pernil (de granges ramaderes convencionals, ecològiques o de la DOP Teruel), tecnologia aplicada en el procés d'assecatge (complint els requisits per a la certificació ecològica), així com la influència del sistema d'assecatge (finestra oberta o cambra), avaluant els paràmetres que permeten classificar les diferents variables. Per a això s'analitzen un total de 36 pernils de porc blanc, prenent 12 de cadascuna de les procedències objecte d'estudi (convencional, ecològic i DOP Teruel), destinant 6 pernils de cadascuna per a l'assecatge natural i altres 6 per a l'assecatge en cambra. Els paràmetres analitzats són humitat, minerals totals, sodi, ferro, proteïna, greix, perfil d'àcids grassos, nitrats i nitrits, detecció d'antibiòtics i compostos de la fracció volàtil. Els resultats indiquen que els paràmetres de color L*, b* i C* són majors en els pernils procedents de sistemes de producció convencional, en particular en els pernils DOP Teruel, on a més s'inclou el paràmetre a*. Els pernils de sistemes de producció convencional es caracteritzen per presentar valors més elevats d'humitat, greix, proteïna i cendres, així com un contingut en àcids grassos saturats major. Això repercuteix en els valors dels índexs de qualitat del greix, amb connotacions negatives en l'índex de aterogenicitat, de trombogenicitat o en la relació ω6/ω3, sobretot si els pernils s'assequen en cambra. Els pernils ecològics presenten valors més baixos dels components químics analitzats i nivells superiors de AGMI i AGPI, així com índexs positius de qualitat del greix com el d'àcids grassos bons per a la salut o la relació AGPI/AGS, especialment si s'assequen al natural. Generant pernils amb una major presència de compostos volàtils. La classificació dels pernils, en funció de la procedència i el sistema d'assecatge, s'aconsegueix amb èxit prenent els paràmetres de color, àcids grassos i els components terpenoides de la fracció volàtil. L'estudi de components principals permet classificar els pernils convencionals com aquells amb major contingut en proteïna, L*, cendres, Fe, Na, H*, humitat, greix, nitrats i nitrits, així com pels àcids grassos behénic, palmític, esteàric i mirístic. Els pernils ecològics es caracteritzarien pels seus valors de a*, b* i C*, així com per la presència de linoleic i linolènic i els pernils DOP Teruel serien aquells amb alts valors d'àcids grassos heptadecenoic, palmitoleic i oleic.
[EN] The raw material is a key element in any food transformation process, since the final product will depend on its composition and qualities. In the case of ham, the origin of the raw material can come from conventional livestock systems, where production is intensive and food is based on commercial feed. In the case of pigs from organic farming, the animals are subject to the conditions set by the European organic production regulations where the environment and animal welfare is respected. In the case of quality figures, livestock farms must also meet the requirements indicated in the specifications. Another element that defines cured ham is the production process, which begins with salting, with or without nitric salts. The duration of the drying-maturing, the drying system (natural or with an open window versus chamber with controlled conditions) and temperature are key elements in the development of organoleptic qualities. The main objective of this study is to provide results on the evolution in the composition of the meat, throughout the drying-maturation process, in the elaboration of dry-cured ham, having as variables of the study, the origin of the leg (from cattle farms conventional, ecological or of the Teruel PDO), technology applied in the drying process (meeting the requirements for ecological certification), as well as the influence of the drying system (open window or chamber), evaluating the parameters that allow classifying the different variables. For this, a total of 36 white pig hams are analyzed (conventional, organic and PDO Teruel), allocating 6 hams of each for natural drying and another 6 for drying under controlled conditions. The parameters analyzed are moisture, total minerals, sodium, iron, protein, fat, profile of fatty acids, nitrates and nitrites, detection of antibiotics and compounds of the volatile fraction. The results indicate that the color parameters L *, b * and C * are higher in hams from conventional production systems, particularly in PDO Teruel hams, where the a * parameter is also included. Hams from conventional production systems are characterized by higher moisture, fat, protein and ash values, as well as a higher saturated fatty acid content. This affects the values of the fat quality indices, with negative connotations in the atherogenicity index, thrombogenicity or in the ω6/ω3 ratio, especially if the hams dried in controlled conditions. Organic hams present lower values of the chemical components analyzed and higher levels of MUFA and PUFA, as well as positive indices of fat quality such as fatty acids good for health or the PUFA / SFA ratio, especially in natural driying. Generating hams with a greater presence of volatile compounds. The classification of hams, depending on the origin and the drying system, is successfully achieved by taking the parameters of color, fatty acids and the terpenoid components of the volatile fraction. The study of main components makes it possible to classify conventional hams as those with the highest content in protein, L *, ashes, Fe, Na, H *, moisture, fat, nitrates and nitrites, as well as by behenic, palmitic, stearic and myristic. Organic hams would be characterized by their a *, b * and C * values, as well as by the presence of linoleic and linolenic levels, and DOP Teruel hams would be those with high levels of heptadecenoic, palmitoleic and oleic fatty acids.
Domínguez Gómez, MJ. (2020). Efectos de la materia prima y el proceso secado-maduración sobre la calidad del jamón curado [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/160042
TESIS

This thesis studies the role accounting plays in the monitoring and reporting of soil quality in one sector of the agricultural industry, broadacre farming. A survey was conducted with broadacre farmers in the Loddon Catchment, Victoria, Australia. The primary aim was to determine the effectiveness accounting plays in providing information to decision makers relative to the productive capacity in soil quality and not just on profits. The capital asset in this study was defined as soil quality. Soils and soil quality in particular, are major elements in determining land value. The concern is decisions are being made by potential buyers and other decision makers, particularly policy makers, with regards to soil quality on the basis of incomplete and often misleading information. It is proposed that a major reason is due to the fact that different participants in the agricultural and accounting industries require and use different information. The accounting systems used by farmers are those that have been developed for the manufacturing sector which may not be appropriate for managing long-term, complex resources such as soil. The farmers themselves did not find formal accounting reports useful for decision making because these reports are based on uniform standards and market prices. The topic of soil quality and land degradation is viewed from two perspectives. In one perspective, the proprietary view; the accounting emphasis is on the ownership of assets and the change, both in income and capital, in these assets over time. In this case the accounting equation is seen as assets - liabilities = equities. The proprietor takes all the risk. A more recent perspective in accounting, the entity view, emphasises the assets whether financed from equity or debt and where the accounting equation is seen as assets = equities. The emphasis changes to the income flow from these assets and more interest is shown in current market prices as a reflection of the future value of these assets Profit is not necessarily a good indicator of what farmers are doing for their capital asset. There needs to be greater emphasis on costs undertaken for the conservation of soil. Those costs should be considered an investment and put into the balance sheet and not the profit and loss statement. The major finding of study demonstrates that decision making groups have different