Agricultural Landscapes I

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Agricultural Landscapes I

• HO Pui-sing

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Contents

• Introduction
• Agricultural Systems
• Impacts of Urbanization and Industrialization on
  Agricultural Landscapes

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Introduction

• Importance of Agriculture
• The Landscapes of Medium Human Impact

Film 2
Film 1
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Importance of Agriculture

• Agriculture refers to the raising of crops and
  livestock by man to produce useful commodities.
• It is a economic activity and the most basic of
  all.
• Food supply, raw materials for industry
• 2/3 people are engaged in various forms of
  agriculture all over the world.
• It is a way of life.
• Agricultural land occupies 33 of the earths
  land surface. (11 cropland, 22 pasture)
• Farms products are very important elements in
  world trade. (many countries cannot produce
  enough food for their own needs)

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Influence of the Environment

• Physical factors set outer limits to farming
  (temperature, rainfall, landforms, soil
  types,growing season.)
• Physical factors determine the outer boundaries
  for the production of particular crops or animals
  and the areas of optimum yields. (rice, wheat,
  sugar cane, dairying, .)

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Impacts on the Environment

• Farmer is constantly modifying the natural
  environment.
• Clear the forest, planting, plough land, sow
  crops, adding fertilizers.. New
  landscape
• Use a unsuitable farming method in the
  environment and causes serious consequences
• Over-cropping and over-grazing cause soil erosion
• Using chemical fertilizers and pesticides gain
  enormous benefits and environment
  pollution (Eutrophication)

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Impacts on the Environment contd

• Man is increasingly trying various methods of
  overcoming the physical environment
• Modified soil terrace, wet lowlands drained,
  coastlands reclaimed, adding chemicals
  (fertilizers, pesticides, weedicides)
• New varieties of plants and animals
• Requirement large input of capital and labour
  (extremely high cost)
• Developed countries can lessen to some extent the
  influence of physical environment.

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Agricultural systems

• Human organized system
• Ecological system
• Economic system
• Classification of World Agriculture
• Physical components affecting agriculture
• Cultural components affecting agriculture

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Human organized system

• Agriculture is a organized system is which man
  applies his skills to the natural environment for
  economic gain.
• Inputs (organized natural and human inputs)
• Natural elements
• Landforms, climate, soil, .
• Human elements
• Level of civilization, social organization,
  technological and management skills, political
  organization

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Human organized system - contd

• Outputs
• Crops and animal products
• Arable farming
• Plant crops rice, wheat, rubber,..
• Livestock farming
• Animal products meat, wool, milk,..
• (Herding, grazing, ranching, pastoralism)
• Mixed farming
• Both plant and animal products
• Eg. Australias wheat-sheep farming

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Human organized system contd

• Man-land combinations vary considerably from
  place to place and forms various agricultural
  systems
• Commercial agricultural system
• Human inputs gt natural inputs
• For food, manufacturing and urban
• Developed countries
• Subsistence agricultural system
• Natural inputs gt human inputs
• For local tribal or village communities
• Developing countries

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Human organized system contd

• Dynamics
• Man can alter the human inputs and natural
  inputs.
• Human inputs
• cultural inputs, fertilizers, pesticides
• His activities will modify the natural
  environment (natural inputs)
• Consciousirrigation, greenhouse,.
• Unconscious climate changes

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Ecological system

• Farm is a manipulated ecosystem
• For yields (desired products)
• Provide the most favourable conditions for the
  plants and animals he wishes to produce.

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Ecological system contd
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Ecological system Energy Flow

• Natural ecosystem
• Only source of energy from the sun
• Living plant tissues use up about 0.02 of the
  total energy input
• Energy transfer
• Start from photosynthesis and passed along food
  chains, released in the form of heat to
  environment
• Agricultural ecosystem
• Energy sources sun various energy inputs
• Subsistence farming system animate energy
• Commercial farming system fossil fuel energy

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Ecological system - Energy Flow

• Energy from human environment greatly depend on
  the culture of societies
• Developing countries
• Simple hand tools (shifting cultivators)
• Developed countries
• Petrol oil for vehicles, tractors,
  combined-harvesters and chemicals

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Ecological system Energy Flow

• Energy efficiency
• Energy Yield Ratioenergy output / energy input

Source of Energy Example Energy Yield Ratio
High Energy system Solar energy, Vast inputs of fossil fuels Farms in USA, Western Europe. 0.381 Low
Medium Energy system Energy input from the sun, wind use of animals Wet rice cultivation in Asia 41 Medium
Low Energy System Solar energy mostly Shifting cultivation in SE Asia, Pastoral nomads 161 High
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Ecological system Nutrient Cycle

• Natural
• Nutrients circulate within the ecosystem.
• Nutrients are replaced again and again within
  different parts of the ecosystem.
• Agricultural system
• Nutrients may be removed entirely by prolonged
  cropping without compensating fertilizer input.
• Nutrients may be heavily subsidized by input of
  chemical fertilizers.
• Nutrients can be unavailable or accumulate to
  toxic level.

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Ecological system - Stability

• Natural
• Solar energy drive energy flow and nutrients
  cycle.
• Complex ecological linkages with a great variety
  of plants and animal species.(biodiversity)
• It is self-maintained and stable.
• Agricultural system
• Energy flow and nutrients cycle are drive by
  solar energy and human energy inputs
• Fewer crops and animals or even monoculture
• It is maintained by much human effort so it is
  unstable comparatively.

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Economic system

• Inputs as capital and human effort
• Investment (inputs)
• Form of money
• Form of labour
• Outputs as financial gain
• Farmers need to make decision about how much they
  are going to invest and in what aspects they are
  going to invest.

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Economic system decision making

• Key questions?
• What to produce?
• How much to produce?
• How to produce?
• How much to invest?
• What to hire or lease?
• How much to hire or lease?
• Where and how to buy?
• Where and how to sell?

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Economic system decision making

• Differences in land use, cropping, use of
  biological inputs, total outputs and farming
  methodsetc. are the result of decision by
  farmers.
• Agricultural patterns are the sum of total
  millions of individual decisions taken by
  farmers.
• Decision making is a process which is influenced
  by
• Behavioural elements
• Chance elements
• Perception level of the decision makers
• Personal background (social, cultural,
  educational..)
• Information and ability
• Past experience
• Perception of the environment will affect the
  decision they make. But the final goal is profit
  satisfaction.

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Economic system decision making

• Decisions result in action which may result in
  land use patterns, wealth or poverty.
• Wealth economic surplus innovation
• Poverty stagnation

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Economic system decision making

• Australia
• Commercial economy
• Entrepreneurs
• Heavy investment (human and cultural inputs)
• For sale (foodstuff, industry, urban)
• Globalize
• Response to markets

• Papua New Guinea
• Subsistence economy
• Farmers
• Minimum investment (human and cultural inputs)
• For tribal or village consumption
• Localize
• Response to natural conditions

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Economic system decision making

• We have general assumption that all farmers aim
  at maximizing their outputs.
• In fact, they very often do not
• Reasons
• They havent knowledge to make the best use of
  land
• They havent enough information and ability to
  use info.
• They cannot afford fertilizers or machinery
• Social customs may work against improvement
• Personal characteristics
• Farmers are satisfiers
• Farmers may be conservative and consider a low
  degree of risk
• Farmers dont want the extra work and they want
  to have more leisure time.
• Others

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Classification of World Agriculture

• Arable farming Growing crops
• Pastoral farming Rearing animals
• Mixed farming Growing crops and rearing animals
• Commercial farming For sale and exchange
• Subsistence farming For farmers own family
• Cash-cropping Growing cash-crops
• Large-scale farming Undertake on large farms
• Small-scale farming undertake on small farms
• Intensive and Extensive farming
• Refer to the amount of combined labour and
  capital inputs per unit of area farmland

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Classification of World Agriculture

• Extensive Farming
• Low volume of inputs per hectare (both natural
  and human)
• Low man-land ratio
• Low density of rural population
• Farmland is plentiful or land is cheap
• Remote to markets
• Small output per hectare
• Eg. N. American and Australia

• Intensive Farming
• High volume of inputs per hectare (both natural
  and human)
• High man-land ratio
• High density of rural population
• Small farmland or land is very expensive
• Farmland close to market
• Large output per hectare
• Eg. SE Asia, China, Japan Netherlands, New
  Zealand

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Physical components affecting agriculture

• Physical environment affects the location and
  intensity of farming system
• It may limit the range of farming systems that
  can be carried out at a given site.
• Physical components
• Climate
• Precipitation, snow, temperature, frost, wind,
  light and cloud cover
• Relief
• Soil

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Climate - precipitation

• Annual total rainfall It determines types of
  crops
• gt2000mm (rice, rubber..)
• 400800mm (wheat)
• Seasonal distribution It determines types of
  crops
• Rice (heavy rain for quick growth, but dry season
  for harvesting)
• Excess water soil erosion
• Heavy rain or flood wash away young
  seedlings
• Waterlogged soil damages plant roots
• Deficient rain or drought seasons need irrigation
  and other forms of water supply

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Climate - temperature

• It determines various type of crops from
  equatorial (eg. Rice and rubber) to cool
  temperate regions (eg. Sugar beet)
• Germination and ripening of seeds require at
  least 5.7oC
• Different crops need different accumulated
  temperature (Wheat needs a threshold temperature
  5oC for 1300 days)
• Each type of crop has its own hot and cold limit
• Frost is especially damaging for vegetables and
  fruit
• Frost free days (growing days between last spring
  frost and the first winter frost
• Different crops need different frost free days
• Spring wheat 90 days
• Corn 150 days
• Cotton 200 days
• Rubber hot climate for all year

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Climate snow and light

• Snow
• Light snow cover can protects the soil from
  erosion by wind and rain.
• It has insulating effects for some crops (winter
  wheat)
• Spring thaw gives moisture to soil
• Light
• Different crops need different amount of light
  for photosynthesis
• Sunlight is particularly significant for fruit
  ripening
• Low humidity enable drying of fruit
• Some tropical crops (coffee) require high
  temperature but cannot grow under direct strong
  sunlight. Then cover crops (banana) are planted
  to give shade.

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Climate - Wind

• Wind erosion is severe in semi-arid and arid
  regions
• Typhoons bring serious damages to crops
• Constant strong winds make the crops difficult to
  get hold of soil.
• Local winds bring sudden change in temperature
  and humidity.
• Light wind helps pollination and seed dispersion
• Light wind helps to lower relative humidity and
  increase transpiration

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Relief

• Temperate regions lowland is suitable for crops
  growing for too short growing season in Mts.
• Tropical regions the best farming areas are in
  upland for too hot and wet in lowland.
• Aspect
• Affect temperature and water availability
• Slope
• Too steep cannot cultivated
• Tree crops and tea can be grown on hillside
• Paddy, wheat and sugar should be grown in
  lowland.
• Relief directly and indirectly affects other
  factors (soil and climate)

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Soil

• Different soils support different crops
• Rice clay with much water
• Tea acid soil and well-drained
• Sugar very fertile soil
• Sweet potato and yam poor soil is OK.
• Application of fertilizer (natural manure or
  artificial) would change the soil water, texture,
  chemical composition and fertility

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Cultural components affecting agriculture

• Socio-economic environment may determines the
  possible farming system and the input intensity.
• Cultural components
• Transport
• Capital
• Market
• Labour
• Technology
• Social Factors

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Transport

• Transport networks link up farm and market
• Farm products market
  (cities)
• Cities (machines, artificial fertilizers)
  farm
• Transport cost includes delivery cost, freight
  rate, insurance and customs charges
• Rural poverty of developing countries is partly
  the result of insufficient linkage with the
  cities
• Means of transport
• Land, sea and air
• Transport has greatly been improved in
• Speed and facilities (packing and refrigeration)
• The importance of transport is increasing with
  technology improvement

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Capital

• Buy seeds, animals, farming machines, fertilizers
  and other farming materials..
• Govt. loan (low interest rate) and grants may
  help the productivity of farms
• Lack of saving of farmer in developing countries
  is one of the important drawback for improvement
• Capital in developed countries not only allows
  farm improvement, but also saves them in times of
  bad harvest.

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Market

• Places for selling farm products
• Some advanced nations have carried out
  co-operative groups for processing and marketing
  of their products. (eg. Sunkist)
• Promoting sales,
• standardize price and quality of products
• Linkup with supermarket, large scale freezing and
  canning factories

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Labour

• Different types of crops need different amount of
  farm workers
• Wheat less workers
• Tea more workers
• Some general farm work can be replaced by
  machines
• Harvesting period needs more labour
• Farm workers are tight in thinly populated rural
  area.

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Technology

• Modify the physical environment by
• Irrigation on dry fields
• To drain swamps
• To build terraces on steep slopes
• To produce artificial rain
• New strains of plants (Bio-technology, Genetic
  engineering)
• Eg. Miracle rice, drought-resistant plants,
  cloning
• Adding artificial fertilizers
• Spraying insecticides
• Mechanization
• Technology is increasing the importance in
  farming.

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Social factor

• Social attitudes of people, traditions, level of
  educationare all determinants on farm
  production.
• Some are encouraging but other are negative
• Land tenure (land ownership)
• Tenant farming
• A cash tenant farmer
• Long lease will encourage further investment and
  cultivate more carefully
• Short lease will make him maximize profits by
  over-grazing and over-cropping, which lead to
  soil erosion
• A share cropper safeguard against fluctuating
  yield
• Freehold ownership
• Advantage incentives to manage their farms
  efficiently
• Disadvantage fragmentation of fields through
  inheritance law
• State ownership (communist countries)
• Advantage consolation of fields, mass team work
• Disadvantage lack of private ownership
  discourage incentive

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Impacts of Urbanization and Industrialization on
Agricultural Landscapes

• Impacts on agriculture production pattern
• Agricultural land use patterns
• Economic influences on agricultural location
• Von Thunen Model
• Sinclair Theory

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Impacts on agriculture production pattern

• Impacts of Urban Expansion
• Loss of Farmland
• The anticipation of urban expansion
• Intensity of agricultural activities
• Farm Size and land ownership
• Case Study Hong Kong

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Impacts of Urban Expansion

• Urbanization and industrialization necessitate
  the expansion of urban areas and an inevitable
  infringement into the surrounding farmlands

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Loss of Farmland

• Especially good farmland in areas close to the
  urbanized areas
• Urbanization
• Increase urban population
• More houses, shops, factories, schools and other
  public works.
• UKs Green Belt Policy for checking the rapid
  expansion of urban sprawl.

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Anticipation of urban expansion

• Farmers within a few km of the city edge may have
  a opportunity to sell their farmland at very high
  prices
• This will influence the intensity of farmland
• Farmers are unlikely to start long-term
  improvements
• Fewer investment and become more extensive
• Insufficient labour force for intensive cropping
• Part-time farmers rarely farm intensively and
  part-time farming is very common.
• Plant orchards or other perennial crops
• Land is left idle for the building road, which
  cut off a field from the main part of the farm.

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Intensity of agricultural activities

• More intensive agricultural activities may be
  found in the large urban periphery.
• Reasons
• Large market for fresh and quality products of
  suburban orchards and nurseries
• Urban area provides fertilizers, machines and
  casual labourers, which help to cut down costs of
  agricultural inputs.
• Urban dwellers contribute to investment in
  agriculture.
• Specialized and intensive farming systems can be
  found in peri-urban regions
• Products high value products (fresh vegetables,
  fruits, flowers, nursery plants, milk, fish, pigs
  and poultry

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Farm size and land ownership

• In general, near the peri-urban
• Farm size become smaller
• Land is expensive
• Few farmers can increase their holding
• Part of the farm may be sold
• Farming may be intensive (horticulture, pigs,
  poultry or dairying)
• Farming may be extensive even abandon
• Relatively high proportion of tenants
• Must be use case studies for specific
  examinations

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Case Study Hong Kong (1970s)

• Urban population growth of Hong Kong start from
  1950 and the increase of urban areas and
  satellite towns.
• Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong, Shatin, Tuen Mun, Tai
  Po,..
• The impact of urbanization on farming is very
  strong

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Agricultural Zones in YL (1970s)
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Changes on Farming (1970s)

• Decrease of farmland and Increase of abandoned
  land along the hillside
• Urbanization and industrialization (Construction
  of roads, new towns,.)
• Swamps and fields were converted into residential
  areas
• Young farmers were attracted to urban area for
  better jobs and high wages (rural-urban
  migration)
• Labour shortage in the remote areas especially
• Increase of market gardening around the city core
  (Yuen Long) and along roads. Pigs and poultry
  farming replace paddy and tree crops. On the
  other hand, fish ponds were also increased
  Intensive farming
• Higher standard of living of urban people
• Large demand for high quality of fresh crops.
• Vegetables and flowers are more yields per year
  and more profitable.
• More investment, mechanization and specialization
• Improve transport system for export products to
  urban

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Change on Farming (1980s to 90s)

• Increase abandoned land around city core and
  along highways.
• Intensive farmlands became to extensive
  farmlands, left fallow or even abandoned
• Many farmlands near the city core and along
  highways were converted to other land use (cars
  repair, warehouses, residential.) or ready for
  sale.
• Farmland became more intensive further away from
  the city core and the highways.

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Change on Farming (21 Century --)

• Basically, there are no real agriculture in Hong
  Kong.
• Not only farmlands near the city core and along
  highways were erased, but also farmlands in
  remote area were abandoned, waiting for sale or
  even converted to residential area.
• Food stuffs import from outsides regions.
• Prefect internal and external transportation
  networks.
• Government Policies make against agricultural
  development (Code of Practice - Livestock Waste
  Management - 1987, Avian flu Event - 1997, SAR
  Event - 2002.)
• There are few fish ponds, horticultural gardens
  and very few farms (organic farmlands, leisure
  farmlands) exist in H.K. now.

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The End