Farmers’ environmental perception and adaptation of different livelihood strategies in ecotone: a case of Wanjigou village, Yanchi County, Ningxia
Environmental perception has been drowning more and more attention all over the world. Farmers’ accurate perception is the premise of reasonable environmental behavior. It is significant to study farmers' perception and adaptation to ecological-environment changes. Some international relevant r...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Zhejiang University Press
2014-03-01
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| Series: | 浙江大学学报. 农业与生命科学版 |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.academax.com/doi/10.3785/j.issn.1008-9209.2013.05.291 |
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| Summary: | Environmental perception has been drowning more and more attention all over the world. Farmers’ accurate perception is the premise of reasonable environmental behavior. It is significant to study farmers' perception and adaptation to ecological-environment changes. Some international relevant researches find that the farmers can change land use patterns and life strategies to reduce the impact of climatic fluctuation on crop yield and agricultural income. Some domestic relevant researches find that the farmers in different areas have different perceptions of ecological-environment changes. The farmers of same life strategies express strong space hierarchy for different ecological-environment problems. They pay close attention to the ecological-environment problems which are closely related to their subsistence activities. Farmers’ perceptions and memories of extreme climate changes are associated with the time series of events. Farmers are the main parts of economic activities and they are also the basic decision-making unit in ecotone. Farmers rely on grassland resource and cultivated land resource more and more, and the way that farmers use grassland resource and economic management behaviors has become primary and the most immediate factors which influence the region ecological-environment changes. Therefore, this study researched environmental effect caused by the ways of production and lifestyles of ecological-environment changes. The main aim is to research formation mechanism of farmer behavior caused by environmental effects. It will provide the scientific basis to eliminate the ecosystem excessive interference.Farmers’ perception and adaptation measures were studied using stratified random sampling survey, participatory rural appraisal and investigation of plots. First, the natural, social and economic statistical data from county government departments were collected. Second, five unincorporated villages, 121 farmer samples were investigated, and 109 valid questionnaires were obtained. The following items were investigated: 1) basic family details; 2) farmers' perception of ecological-environment changes; 3) farmers' cognition of factors which caused ecological-environment changes; 4) farmers' measures to extreme climate events; 5) farmers' ecological attention to ecological-environment changes; and 6) farmers' protection degree of ecological-environment changes. Third, the farmer households were classified three types according to the percentage of nonagricultural income, i. e. pure agricultural households, agriculture-dependent households and off-farm dependent households.The results showed that: 1) the farmers' livelihood diversification was low, and the livelihood diversification index of the farmers was 1.49. The livelihood diversification index of pure agricultural households, agriculture-dependent households and off-farm dependent households was 0.51, 0.52 and 0.54 respectively.2) Farmers perceived that the ecological-environment of study area became well. The perception index of environmental change declined from agriculture-dependent households to off-farm dependent households. Farmers’ cognition of climate change conformed to the tendency of climatic index nearly 50 years.3) Famers’ awareness of environment enhanced. They were sensitive to the environment changes. Pure agricultural households paid attention to all kinds of extreme climate events, and agriculture-dependent households and off-farm dependent households concerned more about drought. They took a variety of measures to adapt to ecological-environment changes, the main measures of which were to buy foods and fodder grass. When farmers encountered the extreme climate events, they took appropriate afterwards emergency measures, which basically was the passive adaptation.4) Through increasing the input to the grassland, reducing cultivated land and grazing without permission, farmers maintained the stability of their own household agr-i ecosystems.It is concluded that establishing the stabilizing mechanism between household ecosystem and ecosystem can eliminate excessive interference caused gradually by human activities. It is beneficial to ecological construction, resource utilization and wild plants and animals preservation. But farmers' behaviors of different life strategies have some kinds of effects on ecological environment. It is necessary to solve the ecological-environment degradation problem in ecotone based on farmers' life strategies. |
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| ISSN: | 1008-9209 2097-5155 |