Sustainability of Agropastoral Household Eco-Economic Systems: Integrated Assessment and Adaptive Management in Altay
Agropastoral household eco-economic system (AEES) sustainability is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals in rural areas, particularly in drylands. However, household-scale sustainability assessments that integrate multidimensions remain scarce. Studying AEES sustainability in post-sed...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Ecosystem Health and Sustainability |
| Online Access: | https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/ehs.0383 |
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| Summary: | Agropastoral household eco-economic system (AEES) sustainability is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals in rural areas, particularly in drylands. However, household-scale sustainability assessments that integrate multidimensions remain scarce. Studying AEES sustainability in post-sedentarization addresses research gaps and supports policy formulation. An integrated sustainability assessment framework is proposed for assessing 405 AEESs in Altay Prefecture, a typical dryland region in northwestern China, and key factors influencing agropastoralist production choices are identified. The AEESs were categorized into 5 types, with substantial trade-offs among emergy use, carbon footprint, and economic performance across different types. Four-season grazing with artificial forage cultivation (FA) and summer grazing with artificial forage cultivation (SA) demonstrated high resource efficiency but produced substantial carbon emissions. Cash crop cultivation with substitute grazing (CS) achieved the highest profitability but imposed severe environmental costs. Artificial forage cultivation with nonagricultural activities and substitute grazing (ANS) produced high unit productivity but inefficient resource utilization. Captive breeding with artificial forage cultivation and nonagricultural activities (CAN) maintained the lowest carbon footprint but exhibited weaker overall sustainability. From an integrated sustainability standpoint, CS ranked highest, followed by SA and ANS, with FA and CAN exhibiting lower sustainability. The key determinants of production choices included agropastoralist characteristics, land use structure, livestock numbers, and the labor force. Adaptive management strategies that optimize production scales, regulate grazing intensity, promote high-yield forage cultivation, and adopt intensive production techniques are recommended. Research findings offer insights for enhancing AEES sustainability and guiding policy efforts that balance ecological conservation and agropastoral livelihoods in global drylands. |
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| ISSN: | 2332-8878 |