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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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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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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| author | Bo Nan Zihan Yang Chenchen Peng Zhilong Wu Ying Hou Bo Li Hongjie Wang |
| author_facet | Bo Nan Zihan Yang Chenchen Peng Zhilong Wu Ying Hou Bo Li Hongjie Wang |
| author_sort | Bo Nan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2ae9f96a45874b63aa2329b3d83c2105 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2332-8878 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecosystem Health and Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-2ae9f96a45874b63aa2329b3d83c21052025-08-20T03:51:13ZengAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Ecosystem Health and Sustainability2332-88782025-01-011110.34133/ehs.0383Sustainability of Agropastoral Household Eco-Economic Systems: Integrated Assessment and Adaptive Management in AltayBo Nan0Zihan Yang1Chenchen Peng2Zhilong Wu3Ying Hou4Bo Li5Hongjie Wang6Hebei Key Laboratory of Close-to-Nature Restoration Technology of Wetlands, School of Eco-Environment, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China.School of Urban and Planning, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng 224007, China.School of Urban and Planning, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng 224007, China.College of Public Administration, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330013, China.State Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.School of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.Hebei Key Laboratory of Close-to-Nature Restoration Technology of Wetlands, School of Eco-Environment, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China.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.https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/ehs.0383 |
| spellingShingle | Bo Nan Zihan Yang Chenchen Peng Zhilong Wu Ying Hou Bo Li Hongjie Wang Sustainability of Agropastoral Household Eco-Economic Systems: Integrated Assessment and Adaptive Management in Altay Ecosystem Health and Sustainability |
| title | Sustainability of Agropastoral Household Eco-Economic Systems: Integrated Assessment and Adaptive Management in Altay |
| title_full | Sustainability of Agropastoral Household Eco-Economic Systems: Integrated Assessment and Adaptive Management in Altay |
| title_fullStr | Sustainability of Agropastoral Household Eco-Economic Systems: Integrated Assessment and Adaptive Management in Altay |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustainability of Agropastoral Household Eco-Economic Systems: Integrated Assessment and Adaptive Management in Altay |
| title_short | Sustainability of Agropastoral Household Eco-Economic Systems: Integrated Assessment and Adaptive Management in Altay |
| title_sort | sustainability of agropastoral household eco economic systems integrated assessment and adaptive management in altay |
| url | https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/ehs.0383 |
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