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In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), diets are largely based on cereal or root staple crops. Together with socio-cultural change, economic and demographic growth could boost the demand for meat, with significant environmental repercussions. We model meat consumption pathways to 2050 for SSA based on several scenarios calibrated on historical demand drivers. To assess the consequent environmental impact, we adopt an environmentally-extended input-output (EEIO) framework and apply it on the EXIOBASE 3.3 hybrid tables. We find that, depending on the interplay of resources efficiency and demand growth, by 2050 the growth in meat consumption in SSA could cause a growth in greenhouse gases emissions of 1.4 [0.9–1.9] Gt CO2e/yr (~175% of current regional agriculture-related emissions), which is an extension of cropping and grazing-related land of 15 [12.5–21] · 106 km2 (one quarter of today’s global agricultural land), the consumption of an additional 36 [29–47] Gm3/yr of blue water (nearly doubling the current regional agricultural consumption), an eutrophication potential growth of 7.6 [4.9–9.5] t PO4e/yr, and the consumption of additional 0.9 [0.5–1.4] EJ/yr of fossil fuels and 49 [32–73] TWh/yr of electricity. These results suggest that—in the absence of significant improvements in the regional sectoral resource efficiency—meat demand growth in SSA is bound to become a major global sustainability challenge. In addition, we show that a partial substitution of the protein intake from the expected growth in meat consumption with plant-based alternatives carries additional significant potential for mitigating environmental impacts. The policies affecting both farming practices and dietary choices will thus have a significant impact on the SSA and global environmental flows.

Little is understood on the interaction between irrigated agriculture and surface water quality in South African catchments. A case study was conducted on the Middle Olifants Catchment, which contains the second largest irrigation scheme in South Africa. Dams, rivers, irrigation canals, and drainage canals were sampled between the Loskop and Flag Boshielo Dams. Results were compared to historical water quality monitoring data from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). While DWS data indicate that phosphate-phosphorus (PO4-P) does not pose a eutrophication risk, our monitored data were above the eutrophication threshold for the majority of the sampling period. In general, phosphorus (P) pollution is a bigger issue than nitrogen (N), and concentrations of these nutrients tend to be higher during the summer rainfall months, potentially indicating a link to agriculture and fertilization events. We estimated that waste water treatment works (WWTW), which are currently systematically failing in South Africa, have the potential to pollute as much P as irrigated agriculture. Electrical conductivity levels increased downstream, moving from the acceptable towards the tolerable category, while the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) presents a moderate risk of infiltrability problems. The pH values were generally in the ideal range. This study has highlighted existing and looming water quality issues for irrigation and the environment in the Middle Olifants. Similar scoping studies are recommended for other intensively-irrigated catchments in the region to identify issues and allow timely intervention.

The theory about the impact of farm size, income and assets on the environmental approach of farmers is ambiguous. We contribute to the existing discussion in two ways. Firstly, we look for the determinants of the environmental approach. Secondly, we treat farm size as a heterogeneous factor, affected not only by the value of assets but also flows of incomes. The main objective of the article is, therefore, to recognize the impact of assets and income on the environmental approach of agricultural producers. We analyze the results of surveys carried out in 2020 on a group of 120 farms from the Wielkopolska region (Poland), using structural equation modelling (generalized structural equation modelling (GSEM)-multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) model). Our results indicate that both the income and assets of the agricultural producers have a positive impact on their approach to the environment. However, to a greater extent, the farmer&rsquo s approach to the environment is influenced more by income than by assets. This may be influenced by the capitalization of subsidies in the price of agricultural land, which makes this element of farm assets detached from real processes. It is easier for farms with a higher income and assets to realize the orientation towards sustainability.

The development of the social landscape of towns and villages at the county level in China currently lacks sustainability and urgently needs to be optimized. By developing a compound ecological capital system, the optimization of the social landscape will be an important process. Based on the dialectical relationship between landscape production and landscape sustainability, a theoretical framework is proposed as a paradigm of landscape structure. By highlighting the culture base and life proposed in ecosystem services (ES) described in the common international classification of ecosystem services (CICES) methodology, we propose a new social landscape order. We used Hequ County, Shanxi Province, China as the study case, evaluating the ecology level of social capital by gravity. In this paper, four types of optimization approaches for social landscape structure are proposed: completing urbanization (urbanized approach), shaping social landscape (prioritized development approach), protecting nature (scale-controlled approach), and increasing agricultural landscape (migrated and merged approach).

Scholars and experts in air transport generally assume the distance flown between airports is the shortest route (also known as the great-circle distance or the orthodromic route). Howev-er, in the real world, planes follow longer itineraries. This paper reviews the factors of de-tours, based on interviews with pilots and experts in air navigation. Factors relate to (1) technical constraints, (2) natural processes (including meteorological conditions) and obsta-cles, (3) geopolitical factors and (4) social factors, which are all explored in this paper. Their temporary vs. permanent and spatial impact (small vs. long detours) varies signifi-cantly among factors and among cases, as well as their avoidable nature. Appropriate poli-cies could lower detours. In addition, these results echo academic debates on the meaning of distance. info:eu-repo/semantics/published

attitudes on ES are highly complex, caused by characteristics of the farmers. Furthermore, the inflection points of the U-shaped curves, where priorities change from increasing income to paying more attention to waste assimilation and biological pest control, are identified at 17,091 and 25,071RMB, respectively. Initiatives that aim to achieve sustainable agricultural development by strengthening ES provisions should be sensitive to farmers&rsquo attitudes for ES will provide references for targeted agricultural environment management, which is critical to achieving the sustainable development of agriculture. The aim of this study is to identify the attitudes of farmers regarding ES, and to test whether and how annual household income and social demographic characteristics affect farmers&rsquo Agroecosystems are complex socio-ecological systems that are managed by farmers to achieve desired outcomes, including economic income and environmental benefits contributed by ecosystem services (ES). Therefore, understanding farmers&rsquo attitudes toward ES. Using face-to-face interviews to collect data and the hypothesis of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) to provide an analytical framework, the results reveal that, in general, the perceptions of farmers&rsquo educational attainment, concentrate fragmented cultivation area and create reasonable incentives for preserving and restoring of ES and increasing farmers&rsquo income together, which then can enhance the positive outcomes from income growth. perceptions. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen farmers&rsquo

Urban trees provide various important ecological services, the quantification of which is vital to sustainable urban development and requires accurate estimation of tree biomass. A limited number of allometric biomass equations, however, have been developed for urban species due to the prohibitive cost. Remote sensing has provided cost-effective means for estimating urban forest biomass, although the propagation of error in the estimation process is not well understood. This study aimed to offer a baseline assessment of the feasibility of estimating urban tree biomass with remote sensing-based general equations applicable to broad taxonomic groups by conducting a large urban tree inventory on a university campus. The biomasses of 191 trees of seven species from the inventory, separated into two categories (i.e., evergreen and deciduous), were calculated exclusively with urban-based species-specific allometric equations. WorldView-2 satellite imagery data were acquired to retrieve normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values at the location, crown, and stand levels. The results indicated that biomass correlated with NDVI in varying forms and degrees. The general equations at the crown level yielded the most accurate biomass estimates, while the location-level estimates were the least accurate. Crown-level spectral responses provided adequate information for delivering spatially explicit biomass estimation.