Data on humification is important to assessing the rate and magnitude of soil carbon (C) sequestration. Thus, this study assessed the humification degree (HLIF) of soil organic matter (SOM) and the changes in functional C groups (aromatic-C and aliphatic-C) for contrasting land use and management practices (native vegetation (NV), conventional plow-based tillage (CT) and no-till (NT) systems) in sub-tropical and tropical Brazilian environments. Experiments were conducted at Ponta Grossa (PG) in Paraná State and Lucas do Rio Verde (LRV) in Mato Grosso State of Brazil.

Land-use land-cover change is one of the most important and direct drivers of changes in ecosystem functions and services. Given the complexity of the decision-making, there is a need for Internet-based decision support systems with scenario evaluation capabilities to help planners, resource managers and communities visualize, compare and consider trade-offs among the many values at stake in land use planning.

The aim of this paper is to provide an analysis of tourists' preferences concerning oyster farming in Arcachon Bay (France). Considering that heritage is an important aspect of oyster production and also a factor of sustainable territorial governance issues – as Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) supposes–, we set out to establish which forms of oyster farming tourists in this coastal area value. The choice experiment method is applied in order to analyse individual preferences.

The ways society use and occupy space occur in multiple dimensions; however, the ways we manage and administer space relies on two-dimensional information representations (2D). The legal ambiguity and administrative limitations inherent in such practices are becoming increasingly pronounced within land administration especially for urban areas.

This study measures the public preferences for cultivated land protection as a case study of Wenling City, China, using the choice experiment (CE) approach. The estimation results indicate that the most important attribute for cultivated land protection in Wenling City was land facility, followed by land fertility and then by landscape improvement.

Land tenure and agricultural reforms are essential components of postwar development. The importance of land use and management systems to livelihood stability and economic growth is especially relevant in Rwanda, where eighty per cent of the population depends on subsistence agriculture in a rural system plagued by conflict over holdings and decreasing production.

Large rivers are particularly under pressure due to multiple uses which often have severe impacts on ecosystems, or water quality and flow. Conflicting aims and a lack of integration and cooperation in planning and management are not beneficial to sustainable management. Important elements of integrated river basin management (IRBM) include both water quality aspects and floodplain and flood risk management. On the other hand, land use and land use planning are also both of great importance for sustainable river management.

Agricultural practices should modify the diversity of soil microbes. However, the precise relationships between soil properties and microbial diversity are poorly known. Here, we study the effect of agricultural management on soil microbial diversity and C turnover in tropical grassland of north-eastern Laos. Three years after native grassland conversion into agricultural land, we compared soils from five land use management systems: one till versus two no-till rotational cropping systems, one no-till improved pasture and the natural grassland.

This work addresses increasing concerns about water management for rural productive activities in the vast dry regions of Latin America by assessing renewable energy technologies (RETs) that could be suitable for localized needs. Forecasted trends in climate change and variability make this analysis very relevant, in an area where very little published work exists. While Argentina is widely known for its fertile pampas, around 75 % of the country consists of dry lands. In addition, erosion is increasing by up to 650,000 hectares each year.

The article examines the use of the fertile layer of soil and its reproduction, shows the qualitative
composition of lands of Stavropol Territory. Some basics mechanism of reproduction of agricultural land are presented. The main methods of reproduction of fertility of the soil – agrotechnical actions (use of rational system of agriculture – optimum crop rotations, chemicalixation, melioration) are proved.

Incentive schemes are increasingly used to motivate the supply of ecosystem services from agro-ecosystems through changes in land use and management. Here, I synthesize the complex effects of incentives on ecosystem services through their influence on land use and management. Linkages between incentives and land use change, and between land use change and ecosystem services can be one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many. Change in land use and management can affect multiple ecosystem services, with both co-benefits and trade-offs.

Groundwater is widely used as a source of drinking water in North America. However, it can be contaminated by microbial or chemical agents potentially hazardous to human health. In recent decades, governments have developed better knowledge of groundwater and established measures to protect and preserve the resource. Several studies have shown that relevant information on groundwater might prove very useful for regional planning purposes.