The paper analyses the current ecological consequences of agricultural growth in Russia’s main regions (
oblast
level) during 2011–2019. Our main hypothesis was that local environmental risks, like ...waste concentration, would be closely related to global climate risks such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the production of crops, meat, milk, eggs, and from land use change (LUC) activities leading to a larger carbon footprint. We first analyze official data for agricultural waste and find that 30% of it is concentrated in just two regions (Belgorod and Kursk), while they produce only 10% of agricultural value of Russia. Next, we find that manure nutrients have a high concentration in regions where the livestock production is not balanced with appropriate nutrient use on croplands (Dagestan, Astrakhan, Leningrad, and Pskov regions) which might lead to the pollution of soils and local waters. Next, we test the GLOBIOM partial equilibrium model to evaluate proper agricultural protein production quantities in Russian regions and respective GHG emissions from crop, livestock and land use change activities. We find that 21% of the GHG emission in 2019 came from the conversion of former abandoned agricultural land into cropland (starting from 2011). While some regions such as Krasnodar, Rostov, and Stavropol increase productivity with low carbon footprint, others, like Amur and Bryansk, increase production by cropland expansion without respective productivity growth which leads to higher carbon footprint. Our results for livestock operations show that the main hypothesis did not hold up because regions which increase meat production, like Belgorod, Kursk, Pskov, and Leningrad, have a lower carbon footprint due to the production of pork meat and poultry which have lower GHG emissions due to specific digestion. On the other hand, these regions experience a higher environmental footprint due to the large concentration of waste which could be harmful for local ecosystems. Finally, we use the model to project possible future development up to 2030. Our results show the possible growth of crop and livestock products in most of the regions driven by external demand for food. The extensive scenario shows additional GHG emissions from cropland expansion, while the intensive scenario reveals a larger growth rate accompanied by productivity growth and lower carbon footprint, which is essential in harmonizing the current agricultural and climate policy of Russia.
Within the framework of the existing concepts of land degradation assessment, the main ideas about its causes and consequences are formulated, methodological provisions for studying the intensity of ...degradation processes are defined, and specific methods for assessing the economic component of degradation are developed. The problem of economic assessment of land degradation is complicated by differences in understanding of the nature of degradation processes and the role of soils in them. Soil indicators play the most significant role in the economic assessment of damage from land degradation. However, this methodology does not actually involve the use of modern concepts of ecosystem services. On the contrary, the methodology of land degradation economics, which uses a wide range of ecosystem services, largely ignores the need to take into account the dynamics of soil properties. The development of a unified methodology will solve many problems, among which an important place is occupied by the need to avoid legally regulated formulaic assessments of degradation.
A photon spectrum of undulator radiation (UR) is calculated in the semi-classical approach. The UR intensity spectrum is determined by an electron trajectory in the undulator neglecting by energy ...losses for radiation. Using the Planck's law, the UR photon spectrum can be calculated from the classical intensity spectrum both for linear and nonlinear regimes. The radiation of an electron in a field of strong electromagnetic wave (radiation in the "light" undulator) is considered in the quantum electromagnetic frame. Comparison of results obtained by both approaches has been shown that UR spectra in the whole cone coincide with high accuracy for the case x<<1. Characteristics of the collimated UR beam were simulated with taking into account the discrete process of photon emission along an electron trajectory in both kinds of undulators.
As a development of the ideas of ecological and economic assessment of land degradation, the notion of societal land value is suggested as a characteristic that simplifies the consideration of the ...environmental factor, including, in particular, ecosystem services in the final valuation indicators. An integral part of the societal value of agricultural land is the value of the basic properties of soil associated with agricultural production. To convert soil indicators into monetary values, the cost of an analogous artificial product available on the market and related to the given soil property (e.g., vermicompost as an analogue of soil humus) is taken into account. The assessment of societal land value for Belgorod oblast attests to a high contribution (up to 62%) of soil component to it. It is proposed that the category of societal land value can be used as the basis for calculation of indicators of the ecological and economic damage from land degradation.
The environmental consequences of crop production are analyzed, including those manifested in the form of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from sources such as chemical and organic fertilizers applied ...to arable land, soil cultivation processes, rice fields, plant residues, and burning of crop residues. The quantitative indicators of GHG emissions for 1992 and 2017 of six countries with developed agriculture and vast territories—Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Russia, and the United States—are compared. The results of calculations carried out using the database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO UN) show that all these countries have to a degree reduced GHG emissions per unit of production over 25 years. The largest reduction from 1992 to 2017 was achieved by Russia (49%), and the smallest, by Canada (8%). In 2017, in Australia, Brazil, Russia, and the United States, GHG emissions per unit of crop production amounted to 0.06–0.07 t of CO
2
equivalent per Mcal, while in Canada and China, it was 0.09–0.10 t of CO
2
-equivalent per Mcal. The results of a comparative study show that Russia is able to implement a competitive advantage in the world agri-food markets, since it is currently a leading exporter of grain and oilseeds.
The paper analyzes the problems of carbon stocks variation in the pool of cropland mineral soils at the regional scale of the Russian Federation. The carbon stock balance of cropland soils was ...evaluated by estimating carbon gains and losses, and then the components of the carbon footprint were measured as a ratio of soil organic carbon balance to crop production quantity in terms of grain equivalent (t C/t grain eq.). The estimates for the period 2011–2020 have revealed that there is generally a small net gain of carbon on cropland in Russia, mainly due to the intake of carbon from plant residues. Most of the steppe region of Russia suffers from net losses of carbon at levels from –0.15 t C/t grain eq. up to –0.69 t C/t grain eq. In other regions, such as the Central Chernozem and Black Sea Coast regions, net carbon gain is observed in the range of 0.1–0.3 t C/t grain eq. due to the intake of significant biomass of crop and root residues as a consequence of intensive crop production.
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The article analyzes the methodological and practical problems of assessing the effectiveness of agricultural land use. The model used is the integration of the method of assessing the damage from ...inefficient soil cultivation into the algorithm for assessing the economic efficiency of soil restoration through investment and diversification of agricultural activities. Damage was assessed taking into account the economic loss of soil fertility, and economic efficiency, by comparing the cost estimate of “action/inaction” on degraded lands, taking into account discounted future income. The model has been tested at three levels: Kaliningrad oblast, Ozersky district, and one of the farms of this municipality, where typical soil depletion processes characteristic of the region are presented. Calculations have shown that the transition to a reference farm with higher revenues and profitability is economically justified over a nine-year forecast period only at the level of the district and farm. The restoration of all degraded lands in the Kaliningrad oblast will not pay off. Recommendations for the agrarian policy of the region have been developed, taking into account additional measures to restore soil fertility while maintaining the profitability of agricultural organizations or withdrawing unproductive lands from circulation.
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