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1 – 10 of over 8000Li Xi‐can, Yu Tao, Wang Xiao, Yuan Zheng and Shang Xiao‐dong
The purpose of this paper is to establish the grey‐weighted relationship prediction pattern of the soil organic matter content spectral inversion under the uncertainties between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish the grey‐weighted relationship prediction pattern of the soil organic matter content spectral inversion under the uncertainties between soil organic matter contents and spectral characteristics and the theory of grey system.
Design/methodology/approach
At first, according to grey‐weighted distance, a new grey relationship model is presented. Second, in order to make full use of the information of grey relationship sequences, the maximum grey relationship discrimination principle is improved and then the soil organic matter content spectral inversion pattern is put forward based on weighted grey recognition theory. A numeric example of Hengshan County in Shanxi Province is also computed in the last part of the paper.
Findings
The results are convincing: not only that soil organic matter content spectral inversion pattern based on the weighted grey recognition theory is valid, but also the model's prediction accuracy is higher; the sample's average prediction accuracy is 94.917 per cent.
Practical implications
The method exposed in the paper can be used at soil organic matter content hyper‐spectral inversion and even for other similar forecast problems.
Originality/value
The paper succeeds in realising both prediction pattern and application of soil organic matter content hyper‐spectral inversion by using the newest developed theories: weighted grey recognition theory.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of traditional Māori horticultural and ethnopedological practices in New Zealand whereby an inclusive “whole of landscape”…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of traditional Māori horticultural and ethnopedological practices in New Zealand whereby an inclusive “whole of landscape” approach known as “ki uta ki tai” – literally from “the source to the oceans” – is applied in a contemporary landscape.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the traditional knowledge and practices around Māori horticulture and pedology was undertaken through interviews within Māori communities, including practitioners of this knowledge, and a literature review.
Findings
Traditional Māori practices contribute to a cultural management tool known as kaitiakitanga – literally the act of stewardship – which requires practitioners to contribute to the “landscape management” continuum based on a holistic approach reflecting the traditional and contemporary management needs. Examples of cultural praxis applied under these systems include the local knowledge aligned to soil origin, type and manageable characteristics and crop management praxis such as site selection, crop variety selection and rotation, or land and soil amendments.
Research limitations/implications
Traditional Māori knowledge is primarily transmitted orally and retained within the community itself. Through colonisation this knowledge has been marginalised and is now retained by only a few experts across tribal regions. There is considerably more knowledge still held within communities, especially relative to the practical application of kaitiakitanga in the modern world.
Practical implications
Through political processes of the previous 170 years in New Zealand, Māori horticulturists are now restricted to pockets of lands in a discontinuous landscape over which they have a limited involvement. Urbanisation of the Māori community and ongoing marginalisation of traditional knowledge have further exasperated customary land and resource management approaches. Recent legislation includes reference to some traditional practices; however, there is limited statutory obligation on resource managers to practically apply them.
Originality/value
The specialist traditional knowledge aligned to horticulture and pedology has been relegated to only a few practitioners. None‐the‐less Māori continue to manage their crops with a wider, localised understanding of the landscape and of how decisions are likely to impinge on other sites within their traditional boundaries, drawn from the traditional knowledge of their forebears.
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JOHN MARTYN and MARGARET SLATER
The amount of scientific and technical information published annually in the form of journal articles, conference papers, reports, theses, patents, and books now greatly exceeds…
Abstract
The amount of scientific and technical information published annually in the form of journal articles, conference papers, reports, theses, patents, and books now greatly exceeds, in every field of interest, the amount which may be scanned by a scientist wishing to keep himself completely up to date in his own subject. For a scientist wishing to inform himself of new developments in neighbouring subject‐fields the problem is even greater. Consequently, either the scientist reconciles himself to the knowledge that he is not aware of all relevant information in his field or he places increasingly more reliance on such bibliographic tools as are available to guide him towards the relevant literature.
Bingjun Li, Shuhua Zhang, Wenyan Li and Yifan Zhang
Grey modeling technique is an important element of grey system theory, and academic articles applied to agricultural science research have been published since 1985, proving the…
Abstract
Purpose
Grey modeling technique is an important element of grey system theory, and academic articles applied to agricultural science research have been published since 1985, proving the broad applicability and effectiveness of the technique from different aspects and providing a new means to solve agricultural science problems. The analysis of the connotation and trend of the application of grey modeling technique in agricultural science research contributes to the enrichment of grey technique and the development of agricultural science in multiple dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the relevant literature selected from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Web of Science, SpiScholar and other databases in the past 37 years (1985–2021), this paper firstly applied the bibliometric method to quantitatively visualize and systematically analyze the trend of publication, productive author, productive institution, and highly cited literature. Then, the literature is combed by the application of different grey modeling techniques in agricultural science research, and the literature research progress is systematically analyzed.
Findings
The results show that grey model technology has broad prospects in the field of agricultural science research. Agricultural universities and research institutes are the main research forces in the application of grey model technology in agricultural science research, and have certain inheritance. The application of grey model technology in agricultural science research has wide applicability and precise practicability.
Originality/value
By analyzing and summarizing the application trend of grey model technology in agricultural science research, the research hotspot, research frontier and valuable research directions of grey model technology in agricultural science research can be more clearly grasped.
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Elkhtab Mohamed Abdalla, Sulieman Hammad Nasser Ali, Sarra Ahmed Mohamed Saad and Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of two decomposition processes, namely, composting and vermicomposting, on the chemical composition of the finished…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of two decomposition processes, namely, composting and vermicomposting, on the chemical composition of the finished products of a mixture of: cotton residues; soil and cotton residues; farmyard; soil.
Design/methodology/approach
Composting experiments were done over six months to prepare four different mixtures as follows: cotton residues+soil (C); cotton residues+soil+earthworms (C+E); cotton residues+soil+farmyard manure (C+F); and cotton residues+soil+farmyard manure+earthworms (C+F+E). Electrical conductivity, pH, nitrate-N, ammonium-N, ash, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, total organic carbon, carbon: nitrogen ratio, total potassium and trace elements (Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn) were determined on monthly-based samples.
Findings
Significant differences (p < 0.05) in organic carbon, nitrate-N, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content were recorded in vermicompost compared to compost. In general, results indicated that vermicompost had a significant effect compared to compost and a positive effect on the chemical properties of the finished products.
Originality/value
This research work was carried out by four researchers from two institutions concerned with agricultural production and environmental aspects related to soil productivity. The paper emphasizes on production of organic fertilizers with good quality and monitoring of composting process for better management practices of agricultural wastes in Sudan.
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Among others, the resuspension of fine and ultrafine particulate matters (PMs) on air due by land take effect is an uncovered issue. The relation between land use change and…
Abstract
Purpose
Among others, the resuspension of fine and ultrafine particulate matters (PMs) on air due by land take effect is an uncovered issue. The relation between land use change and fluxes of PM is not systematically observed even if the common classification of ecosystem services (ESs) clearly shows relationship between soil and aerosol concentrations. Soil does not act only as carbon pool, but it is also a crucial variable for the resuspension dynamic of particulates. If key policies of sustainable urban development is focused on “quality of life,” it is necessary to map and evaluate the effect of land take on airborne fluxes in metropolitan areas. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper allows to introduce pioneer studies on air quality in large urban areas outling a methodology of particulate field measurement. It introduces newer quantitative/qualitative assessment of environmental effect due to urbanization ensuring a major efficiency on ES degradation.
Findings
Expected results are the estimation of resuspension dynamics of aerosol for typical land cover pattern.
Research limitations/implications
Implications are mainly destinated to increase significant knowledge and general awareness of the environmental effect caused by urban growth: urban areas act as a hotspot for health risk as both particle sources and human population are concentrated in these areas.
Originality/value
Considering that cardiovascular diseases are significantly caused by air quality, the paper aims to support sustainable planning policies aimed to achieve a better quality of environment on urban areas.
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Deirdre Hogan and Joanne O'Flaherty
Goal 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly frames education as an enabler of change and a means to achieve all SDGs. This study aims to explore the nature and…
Abstract
Purpose
Goal 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly frames education as an enabler of change and a means to achieve all SDGs. This study aims to explore the nature and culture of science as an academic discipline and its capacity for the integration of education for sustainable development (ESD).
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon interviews with academics working in a Life Sciences Department (n = 11), focus groups with students (n = 21) and observations from lectures, laboratory sessions and field trips, the study advances a number of recommendations for the integration of ESD in Science Education programs.
Findings
Findings point to the nature and structure of scientific knowledge and the culture of science as articulated by study participants. The study provides a number of recommendations for the integration of ESD in Science Education programs including a greater emphasis on inquiry-based learning, enhancing ESD themes in science-related modules to teach for sustainability and adopting a department wide strategy that promotes ESD.
Originality/value
This study argues that ESD practitioners need to be cognizant of the nature and culture of the discipline area – as a particular discipline propagates a specific culture – encapsulating ways of being, thinking, acting and communicating, which can have implications for the integration of ESD.
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