Agriculture is the basis of national economy. Through science and technology and the intensive utilization of land, great achievements have been made in agriculture. However, some agro-ecological and environmental problems are rising. Because of this, people have begun to reflect on agricultural developmental policy, patterns and technologies, and put forward new thoughts for agricultural development. In the late 20th century, China's ecologists and agronomists co-sponsored the concept of ecological agriculture with Chinese characteristics. Its essence includes a series of concepts such as integration, coordination, circulation and regeneration within agroecosystems or within systems of agriculture production, processing and marketing. After nearly 30 years of practice and development, ecological agriculture in China has achieved remarkable outcomes. However, current eco-agriculture development is unsatisfactory due to the following two factors: (i) A lack of research and accounting across a variety of agro-ecosystem service functions; (ii) It is difficult to obtain remarkable economic benefits because of the lack of market-oriented guidance, scale management, specialized production and brand popularization for the traditional autarkic peasant economy. In order to further promote the development of ecological agriculture it is necessary to engage in serious reflection on ecological agriculture in China and arrive at new understandings about circular economy, multifunctional agriculture, high-quality agriculture, industrial development, integration of the traditional essence and modern technology, and finally, the sustainable development of rural areas.

Ecoagriculture in China began in the late 1970's/early 1980's. This system aims to bring about the most effective coordination of social, economic and ecological factors in agricultural practices. Key approaches include ecological planning at the landscape level, cycling system design at the ecosystem level, and the re—establishment of the importance of biodiversity. The social and economic environment favoured for ecoagriculture is important in order to enable its development. For the social environment, it is important to set up the necessary moral standards involved through educational, legislative and evaluation systems. For the economic environment, efficient government subsidy policies, an effective market system to deal with pollutant discharge, and efficient markets for the sale of ecologically—friendly products.

One of the legacies of the time honored agricultural development in China has been varied farming practices that adapt well to different natural conditions. These old but still functioning farming systems continue to inspire us to find solutions to various environmental problems caused by so—called modern agriculture. This paper reviewed the studies on agricultural heritage in China, including two categories: document—based researches and practice—oriented researches on dynamic conservation and adaptive management of these traditional agricultural heritages. Studies on the history and archaeological findings about the Chinese traditional agricultural heritage have laid a solid foundation for any further study. Dynamic conservation and adaptive management of agricultural heritage was promoted by the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) project initiated by FAO in 2002. Until now, researches on the conservation and adaptive management of agricultural heritages have touched on many aspects of the issue, including theoretical consideration of agricultural heritage, agrobiodiversity characteristics of agricultural heritage, multi—values of agricultural heritage dynamic conservation, substitutive industries, legislation and institutionalization for the conservation of agricultural heritage. We conclude the paper with an agenda for future studies on agricultural heritages, including the broadening of the research scope, innovative research methodologies and methods and the development of strategies that combine conservation and utilization of agricultural heritages.

Worldwide specific agricultural systems and landscapes have been created, shaped and maintained by generations of farmers and herders based on diverse natural resources using locally adapted management practices. Building on local knowledge and experience these ingenious agricultural systems reflect the evolution of humankind, the diversity of its knowledge and its profound relationship with nature. These systems have resulted not only in outstanding landscapes maintenance and adaptation of globally significant agricultural biodiversity indigenous knowledge systems and resilient ecosystems, but above all, in the sustained provision of multiple goods and services, food and livelihood security and quality of life. However, many of these systems are facing severe threats from various sources including globalization. In 2002 FAO initiated an international partnership initiative: “conservation and adaptive management of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)”. The global GIAHS initiative aims to establish the basis for the international recognition, dynamic conservation and sustainable management of such systems, agricultural biodiversity and their associated biodiversity knowledge systems, food and livelihood security, landscapes and cultures.

A milestone in the Year of Biodiversity is that the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted in the 10th Conference of Parties (COP 10) held in Nagoya, Japan, Oct 18–29, 2010. Traditional knowledge (TK) is a key issue in the Protocol's text and its negotiating period. This paper aimed to protect TK by defining its concepts and categories and promoting benefit—sharing with TK's holders. Based on the analysis for the TK concepts of relevant international organizations and conventions, in particularly on the author's current years' research work on TK in the ethnic areas of China, this paper proposes the categories and the classification system for the TK associated with biological resources, i.e. (i) the knowledge for traditional use of agricultural bio-species and genetic resources; (ii) the knowledge for traditional use of medicinal bio-species; (iii) traditional technical innovations for bio— resource use and traditional practices for farming and living styles; (iv) traditional cultures such as customary laws and community protocols that are related to conservation and sustainable use of bio—resources; and (v) traditional geographically biological indicators. Furthermore, this paper introduced the provisions for access and benefit—sharing of TK and proposed to share fairly and equitably the benefits produced from use of TK with indigenous people, local communities and other kinds of holders such as a country for the ancient documented TK. In addition, aimed to the existing problems for traditional knowledge protection, the national strategy for TK protection was introduced and measures for TK inheritance, development, utilization and protection measures were put forward, which are significant for TK's popularization and beneficial to local communities of the ethnic groups in China.

There are many branches of the Miao people in China, one of which is the Mashan Miao, who have been living in karst mountainous areas in southwest Guizhou Province. The Mashan Miao have adopted various measures for the conservation and effective utilization of the local ecological system and have made great achievements in this area. From the 1950s, their social environment has changed a lot due to political and economic movements. The rocky desertification in the Mashan area has gradually expanded. After the 1990s, relief work was carried out to address the desertification problem, but it was not very effective. We have been doing fieldwork in this area for more than 20 years and from our fieldwork records, we have found that the local Miao people have traditional ecological knowledge and skills that are of irreplaceable valuable for finding a solution for rocky desertification. Using the Miao knowledge we think a feasible way to control this disaster can be found.

Three rice landraces that have been continuously cultivated in Yuanyang County for hundreds of years by the local Hani people and three modern varieties cultivated in this area for 3–5 years were comparative tested on seven major agronomic characteristics at six different altitudes in the Yuanyang paddy field. The results indicated that agronomic characteristics of the landrace varieties, such as plant height, panicle length and number of effective panicles of landraces had no significant difference at different altitudes, whereas, those agronomic traits fluctuated in the modern varieties. In the Yuanyang terrace area, the Yuanyang landraces showed greater diversity in phenotype and better adaptation compared to the modern varieties.

There are currently several problems that exist in the rice processing industry, including a low amount of deep processing and low resource utilization. Using a rice processing enterprise as a study case, we propose the construction of a new rice industrial chain guided by the circular economy concept and we analyzed the economic returns, ecological effectiveness, and social benefits from the extension of circular economy. This paper aims to provide beneficial information that agricultural enterprises can use to develop the circular economy method.

Traditional agricultural systems are under severe threat from modernization, technological and economic changes, while substitution of traditional agriculture with so—called modern agriculture has caused serious non—point source pollution. Ecological footprint, though an approach to measure ecological sustainability, fails to reveal the true environmental condition of the traditional agricultural areas. This paper attempted to establish an enhanced emergy—based ecological footprint (EEF) which could include all the flows of ecosystem services that the local inhabitants had consumed, thus making EEF a better indicator of the regional sustainability. This new approach was then applied to evaluate the sustainability of Congjiang County in Guizhou Province, a typically traditional agricultural area in China. Results showed that the local biocapacity could only meet 64% of the total consumption needed by the local inhabitants, leaving an ecological deficit of 5.2327 gha per capita. This analysis was contrary to earlier findings obtained through the conventional method that Congjiang County was characterized by a small ecological reserve. Disaggregated analysis revealed that the consumption of waste treatment and erosion control services occupied a considerable proportion of the local ecological footprint, indicating that regional sustainability was under serious threat from waste discharge and soil erosion.

The frequent occurrence of extreme flood events in the late 1990s and the past decade has brought about an ongoing debate on the relationships between wetland resources, wetland ecosystem services, and human development and livelihoods of communities in the Dongting Lake area. This paper is prepared for analysing the best practices in wise-use and sustainable management of wetland and their socioeconomic benefits in Polder Xipanshanzhou in Dongting Lake. The quantitative (monetary values) and qualitative socioeconomic data of 1683 samples from questionnaire surveys during 2000 to 2008 were used for this study, of which 1173 were obtained in Polder Xipanshanzhou. Five conclusions are drawn from the study: (i) the community-based alternative activities and wise-use in Polder Xipanshanzhou after “Returning Farmland to Lake” (RFL) resulted in more income, increased well-being, reduced vulnerability to food shortage, poverty and flooding, and more sustainable use of the natural resource base; (ii) women, elder farmers, and low-income groups benefited much more from these activities; (iii) livelihood continued to improve as compared with that when the project started in 2000, and project participating households earned more income and owned more properties than non-project households. Even after the external funding stopped in 2001, its positive accumulated effects have still been significantly contributing to the improvement of livelihoods of this community; (iv) social structures within Polder Xipanshanzhou have been evolving in a positive way, community-based grass-roots organizations have emerged and developed well, and the capacities of community-based participatory co-management, self-governing and self-development, as well as local awareness of environmental issues have been improving, which attract more local people to be interested in such wise-use activities; and (v) the success can be attributed to the mobilization of local communities, favorable national policies, Public-Private Partnership (PPP), institutional arrangements in local communities, and adaptive management and innovative approaches.

The objectives of this study were to determine the characteristics of water consumption of seven forage cultivars, ryegrass (Secale cereale L.), triticale (xTriticosecale Wittmack), sorghum hybrid sudangrass (Sorghum biolor × Sorghum Sudanense c.v.), ensilage corn (Zea mays L.), prince's feather (Amaranthus paniculatus L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), and cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum L.), in response to climate variability (especially precipitation). Field experiments were conducted at Yucheng Integrated Experiment Station from 2005 to 2009. Fifteen irrigated lysimeters were used to measure evapotranspiration (ET) and crop coefficient (K_c) of these seven forage varieties under ample water supply. The mean Kc for alfalfa is 1.08, and the mean Kc for other forage varieties ranges from 0.79 to 0.94. Kc for hibernating forage is higher in wet years than that in dry years, followed by normal years, while for annual forage, Kc is higher in dry years than in normal years, and is the lowest in wet years. For perennial varieties the order is normal years, dry years, and wet years. Among the annual varieties, ensilage corn is the first choice due to its highest average forage N yield and water use efficiency (WUE). Sorghum hybrid sudangrass is another forage cultivar that grows well under all climatic conditions. It can achieve 1.08–2.31 t ha^-1 y^_1 N yield under all circumstances. Prince's feather is sensitive to climate change and its N yield dropped below half even when ample water was applied in dry and normal years. Ryegrass and triticale have the advantage of growing in the fallow phase after cotton is harvested in the North China Plain (NCP) and the latter performed better. For perennial varieties, alfalfa performed better than cup plant in dry years. With ample irrigation, alfalfa can achieve higher biomass and WUE under arid climate condition, but excessive rain caused reduction in production.

Based on the forming mechanism of seismic hazard risk, we established a seismic vulnerability curve on population and determined earthquake occurrence parameters. We then assessed the risk of seismic hazard mortality at the county level across China using the assessment model, and analyzed spatial patterns. We adopted past, present, and future disaster-breeding materials to assess the probability of earthquakes. In order to determine the earthquake parameters of 2355 counties accurately, we integrated history seismic intensities, seismic activity fault belts distributions and seismic peak ground acceleration. Based on data of seismic disasters from 1990 to 2009 in China, linear fitting between seismic intensities and mortalities was performed. And a vulnerability curve of seismic mortality, which was appropriate for seismic risk assessment, was established. Seismic mortality risks were assessed quantitatively at the county level using the model and the spatial patterns were analyzed. Seismic mortality risks of 2355 counties with intensities from V to XI were analyzed thoroughly. This study indicates that under different seismic intensities, China's eastern and central regions are generally confronted with higher risk than western regions. High-risk areas are scattered in Shandong and Jiangsu, northern Anhui and eastern Heilongjiang and Jilin, where populations are dense and the environment is conducive to disasters. Risk-free areas displayed patchy distributions nationwide, and patterns were mostly unchanged.

A total of 224 animal manures and feeds, randomly sampled from different sizes of intensive farms in three northeastern provinces, were analyzed to determine Cu concentration. At the same time, the load of animal manure Cu on farmlands and loss to rivers in sewage irrigation areas of Liaoning Province was estimated. The results showed that the mean Cu concentrations in pig, cattle, and chicken feeds were 179.8, 16.6 and 20.8 mg kg^-1, respectively. Cu concentrations in manures ranged from 1.5 to 1521.2 mg kg^-1. The mean value of 642.1 mg kg^-1 in pig manure was higher than the mean values of 65.6 mg kg^-1 and 31.1 mg kg^-1 in chicken and cattle manures, respectively. The load of animal manure Cu on farmland in the study area ranged from 12.3–35.4 kg km^-2 annually. In particular, the Xiaolinghe area received a higher level than the other areas. The possible amount of manure Cu entering river water as a result of soil erosion was lower than 0.76 kg km^-2. The highest loss rates were found in the south of Anshan and the west of Jinzhou. It is suggested that animal manures contain a high level of Cu. Long-term agricultural application of animal manure may increase the potential risk of Cu pollution in soil and surface water.