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PubMed2005

Abrupt biological response to hydrologic and land-use changes in Lake Apopka, Florida, USA.

Lake Apopka is a shallow, hypereutrophic lake in north-central Florida that experienced an abrupt shift in primary producer community structure (PPCS) in 1947. The PPCS shift was so abrupt anecdotal accounts report that dominant, submersed aquatic vegetation was uprooted by a hurricane in 1947 and replaced by phytoplankton within weeks. Here we propose two hypotheses to explain the sudden shift to phytoplankton. First, hydrologic modification of the drainage basin in the late 1800s lowered the lake level ca. 1.0 m, allowing the ecosystem to accommodate moderate, anthropogenic nutrient enrichment through enhanced production in the macrophyte community. Second, additional hydrologic changes and large-scale agricultural development of floodplain wetlands began in 1942 and altered the pattern and scale of phosphorus loading to the lake that triggered the rapid shift to phytoplankton dominance in 1947. Historic land-use changes and paleolimnological data on biological responses to nutrient loading support these hypotheses.

Agriculture↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Extension of the transmission area of kala-azar caused by Leishmania infantum (Nicolle 1908) to the center and south of Tunisia].

Seventeen (17) parasitologically confirmed cases of infantile kala azar (KA) are reported from 1982 to 1991 in Tunisia, in areas (Gouvernorates of Sidi Bouzid, Kasserine, Sfax, Gafsa and Tozeur) where the disease has never (or exceptionally) been reported before. This tendency to the extension of the KA areas from Northern Tunisia to the Central and Southern parts could be explained by the ecological modifications that occurred in these zones following agriculture development programs that included an important increase of water resources (wells, dams etc...). These modifications probably contributed to the enhancement of the Leishmania infantum vector population densities making it possible for transmission cycles to be implemented and maintained in these areas; the parasite could have been brought with dogs from the North of the country.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1992

[The contribution of overseas health and medical services in food and nutrition].

This article reminds the contribution of Health and Medical Services in overseas territories and other developing countries. Seconded to Health Services, Pasteur Institutes, other scientific research Organisations, and International Organisations (FAO, WHO), medical doctors and pharmacists, properly trained in nutrition, have studied under-nutrition and malnutrition, and their effects on the health of the populations and the economy of their countries. Later, in cooperation with all departments concerned, they have realised a number of applied programmes, aiming at a real improvement in the situation or even the eradication of nutritional deficiencies. However the article deals mainly with actions related to food production and distribution, from the establishment of a national food policy to agriculture planning and evaluation, including specific, applied nutrition programmes in agriculture development and supplementary feeding programmes.

Developing Countries↗
PubMed2003

Inherited burden of disease: agricultural dams and the persistence of bloody urine (Schistosomiasis hematobium) in the Upper East Region of Ghana, 1959-1997.

A major agricultural development project was commissioned to celebrate Ghana's independence in 1957. In the Upper Region along the border with Upper Volta now named Burkina Faso, a total of 185 clay-core dams were constructed in 15 years to enhance village water supplies during the 6-month dry season. In a concentrated area of N.E. Ghana (now the Upper East Region) no fewer than 104 dams were erected in only 3 years. The beneficial impacts of the dams are indisputable, and life today would be unthinkable without them, despite severe problems of neglect of maintenance. Equally undeniable has been a negative disease impact whereby the regional rate of schistosomiasis tripled in 1 or 2 years from 17% to 51% prevalence. Thus, an agriculturally induced hyperendemicity of "red water" or "bloody urine" disease was established. To test the longevity of community disease impact, a survey of hematuria (bloody urine) was conducted in the same areas in 1997. It showed a 40-year ecological entrenchment of elevated levels of schistosomiasis, that is, seemingly permanent alteration of regional disease ecology. The consequences of planning negligence have left a generational impact in that hematuria has become a "rite of passage" for young boys and girls. Unprepared and overburdened rural health care systems are ill-equipped in the face of competing demands to respond to the presence of schistosomiasis. Yet excellent medication is available to break the transmission cycle provided that there is a sufficiency of political will, accompanied by effective, inter-sectoral campaign coordination.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

The Triticeae genetic resources of central Italy: collection, evaluation and conservation.

One hundred and six landraces belonging to 7 species of the Triticeae tribe were collected in central Italy by DBVBA (Perugia University), DIBIAGA (Ancona University) and ARSSA (Abruzzo Region Agricultural Development Agency) in different individual and joint missions. A few accessions were supplied by private and other public organisations. Triticum dicoccum Schubler is the most widespread species, followed by T. aestivum L., T. monococcum L., T. spelta L., T. turgidum var. durum Desf., Secale cereale L. and Hordeum vulgare L. Besides the presence of landraces reproduced by farmers over generations, information related to on-farm management and to qualitative/organoleptic traits as well as information related to their local names, uses, traditions and social context was gathered during the missions. The majority of the accessions was characterised by morphological and phenological traits and molecular markers. This work shows the presence of morpho-phenologic and genetic differences among landraces and the importance of some species in the agricultural systems and food customs of the investigated area. Particularly for emmer three well distinct landraces are present, "Farro Italia Centrale", "Farro della Garfagnana" and "Farro Italia Meridionale". Other interesting and traditional landraces are the "Solina" common wheat in Abruzzo and the "Orzo mondo" naked barley in Marche. Most of the populations are still cultivated in marginal lands and under low input or organic agronomic conditions; nevertheless, in many cases, they are found near modern varieties in conventional agriculture systems. Moreover, the in situ (on-farm) conservation of Triticeae landraces in central Italy is strictly linked to elderly farmers.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗
PubMed1990

An appraisal of the epidemiologic situation of onchocerciasis in Ethiopia.

The existence of onchocerciasis in Ethiopia has been known since 1939 as a result of investigation by Italians in south-western Ethiopia. In the last fifty years onchocerciasis has been spreading to previously non-endemic regions of Ethiopia. Although comprehensive epidemiological surveys are lacking, it is estimated that 7.3 million people or 17.4% of the population of Ethiopia is at risk from this disease. The principal vectors are S. damnosum complex and S. woodi ethiopiense. The clinical picture is mainly dermal and ocular manifestations are rare. In view of agricultural development projects and resettlement of millions of people from the highlands into endemic areas in southern and north-western parts of Ethiopia, further spread of onchocerciasis is expected. Experience gained in the control of the disease in west Africa by WHO and the introduction of effective mass chemotherapeutic agents as well as primary health care programmes and activities currently underway in Ethiopia indicate the feasibility of starting control programmes. A plea is therefore made to consider the control of onchocerciasis in Ethiopia urgently.

Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗
PubMed2001

Nitrogen levels in the Tully River--a long-term view.

Enhanced run-off of nutrients from agricultural development in catchments bordering the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is regarded as a potential threat to inshore reefs. In an attempt to better understand the impact of river run-off, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) initiated a sampling program to measure nutrient concentrations in rivers draining to the GBR shelf. Our longest data set is from the Tully River in the wet tropics, sampled in collaboration with the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations (BSES). After thirteen years, we ask whether there has been any change in river nutrient levels. Water samples were collected at monthly intervals, with additional, wet-season samples. In recent years, a trend of increase in nitrate (at low flow) and particulate nitrogen concentrations has been observed. In this period, a significant increase in agricultural activity has occurred within the Tully basin. The area under sugarcane and bananas has doubled and fertiliser nitrogen use has increased by 130%. Increased concentrations of nitrogen in the river system may be a consequence of this increase in agricultural activity.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2000

Tropical environments, human activities, and the transmission of infectious diseases.

Throughout recent history, the tropical regions of the world have been affected more severely by infectious diseases than the temperate world. Much of the success of infectious diseases in that region is due to both biological and environmental factors that encourage high levels of biodiversity in hosts, vectors, and pathogens, and social factors that compromise efforts to control diseases. Several of these factors are described. Discussion then shifts to specific types of host-pathogen relationships. The most important of these in the tropics is the relationship between humans, a pathogen, and a vector that carries the pathogen from one human to another. Mosquitoes are the vector responsible for the transmission of many vector-borne human diseases. Characteristics of mosquito-human interactions are described, including cultural behaviors humans have developed that both increase the chances of transmission and help to limit that transmission. The transmission of water-borne diseases, fecal-oral transmission, zoonotic diseases, respiratory illnesses, and sexually transmitted diseases are also discussed. Attention is paid to how diseases with these modes of transmission differ in characteristics and importance in tropical human populations compared to those in temperate regions. Following this general discussion, three case studies are presented in some detail. The diseases chosen for the case studies include cholera, lymphatic filariasis, and dracunculiasis (guinea worm). These three case studies taken together provide examples of the diversity of human host-pathogen interactions as well as ways that human activities have both promoted their spread and helped to control them. The transmission of all three diseases is related to the nature and quality of water sources. The transmission of cholera, a water-borne disease, is related to sanitation practices, physical characteristics of the environment such as temperature and humidity, and modern shipping practices. Lymphatic filariasis, a mosquito-borne disease, has increased in frequency in parts of Africa in recent decades as a consequence of large-scale agricultural development projects that have shifted the nature and quantity of water sources and potential mosquito breeding sites. Dracunculiasis is transmitted by a small crustacean that contaminates sources of drinking water. Because its transmission can be prevented by a simple change in human behavior, filtering all water with a small piece of cloth before using it, dracunculiasis has been the focus of a major eradication effort that is near success.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1976

[Pesticides in the tropical agricultural economy systems: Evaluation of present knowledge of the problem].

Man is an integral part of the ecosystem and any action of his against the environment has an effect against man himself. An Agro-ecosystem is a unit composed of the total complex of organisms in an area under cultivation, plus the totality of the physical environmental conditions and the modifications introduced by man, who manages the agro-ecosystem for his own benefit. The use of pesticides has been necessary for the agricultural development of some tropical areas. Unfortunately, the inadequate use of this input has caused many problems for himself. These include destruction of natural resources; intoxications; pesticide residues in water and foods; secondary pest outbreaks; increase in illnesses transmitted by certain arthropods; loss of foreign exchange; unemployment; malnutrition; disability; high infant mortality and poverty. A better use of agro-ecosystem management techniques can lead to a rational sustained utilization of land resources. Chemical pesticides can be considered as one of the factors in pest management, and not necessarily the only one available.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1996

Interrelationships of food, nutrition, diet and health: the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges White Paper.

Nutrition and food science have each enhanced the development of an abundant, nutritious, safe food supply. A healthy diet should contain all of the required nutrients and sufficient calories to balance energy expenditure and provide for growth and maintenance throughout the life cycle. Importantly, dietary factors are associated with 5 of the 10 leading causes of death, including coronary heart disease, certain types of cancer, stroke, noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis. National health care expenditures for 1990 totaled $666 billion of which 30% are related to inappropriate diet. Identification of external factors that contribute to premature death would aid preventive efforts, improve the quality of life, and reduce health care costs. Even though genetic predisposition increases susceptible people's risk for many of these chronic diseases, these conditions may be diminished or prevented by improvements in the American diet. Each stage of the life cycle has specific nutrient needs. Throughout infancy, childhood and adolescence nutrients are required to meet the growth processes as well as cognitive function. During pregnancy nutrients are required for both mother and developing infant needs. Adult nutrition focuses on tissue maintenance, nutrient and energy needs, and disease prevention. As the population of elderly increase in number and greater age, nutritional needs must be met to minimize certain disease states and assure the quality of life. Nutrition associated health risks have been identified for coronary heart disease, cancer and diabetes mellitus. Recommendations for each includes a decrease in dietary fat, awareness of caloric intake and enhancement of nutrient density including an increase in fruit and vegetables. These recommendations also impact obesity and diminish the compounding of other disease states affected by excessive body weight. Calcium intake at early ages affects development of bone density and manifestation of osteoporosis. Current gaps in knowledge are also identified that could improve health. Numerous nutrients are being examined for their regulation of specific gene expressions and in the processes of transcription and translation. To offer food products with greater nutrient density or improved functional health ingredients, modification of existing foods is needed to assure an improved diet. Policies to improve health require integration of nutrition needs with economic growth and development, agriculture and food production, processing, marketing, health care and education, and includes changing life styles and food choices. Increased research support is required to achieve national health goals with emphasis on nutrition and food sciences. Education methods must be improved to better inform consumers, to encourage food producers and manufactures to produce healthier foods, to assure training of future professionals and to provide legislators with the basis to make informed decisions. Recommendations to CFERR are identified. Improved quality and availability of nutritious foods will result in a healthier, more productive population. A decrease in the occurrence and duration of chronic disease should diminish the cost of health care and allow these resources to further benefit the nation. International concerns about undernutrition include 780 million people who are malnourished, lacking sufficient food to meet their basic nutritional needs for protein and energy, and 2 billion people who subsist on diets lacking essential nutrients needed for growth, development and physiological maintenance. National concerns about undernutrition exist based on incomplete data identified by indices of hunger and characterized by an increased demand for food assistance for women, children and the elderly. Major health problems in the US impacted by diet and nutrition include coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, some types of cancer, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, hypert

Diet↗
PubMed1997

Hindlimb deformities (ectromelia, ectrodactyly) in free-living anurans from agricultural habitats.

High prevalences of hindlimb deformities were recorded in wild-caught green frogs (Rana clamitans), northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens), American toads, (Bufo americanus), and bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) from agricultural sites exposed to pesticide runoff in the St. Lawrence River Valley of Québec, Canada, between July and September 1992 and 1993. Of 853 metamorphosing anurans examined in 14 farmland habitats, 106 (12%; range 0 to 69%) had severe degrees of ectromelia and ectrodactyly, compared to only two (0.7%; range 0 to 7.7%) of 271 in 12 control sites. However, the variation in the proportion of deformities among sites was too large to conclude that there was a significant difference between control and pesticide-exposed habitats. Clinical signs varied and were characterized by segmental hypoplasia or agenesis of affected limbs. Conspicuous abnormalities interfered with swimming and hopping, and likely constituted a survival handicap. Because of circumstances and the frequency of these malformations in nine distinct habitats, and in three different species from one of our study sites, we propose a teratogenic action of exogenous factors. Despite the fact that many biotic and abiotic agents are potentially harmful to limb development, agricultural contaminants were suspected as primary aggressors. Thus, clinical examination and frequency of deformities in anurans might be an economical screening tool to assess ecosystem health and the presence of environmental contaminants.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2004

Terrestrial discharge into the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon: nutrient behavior in coastal waters.

Pollution of coastal regions of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) is dominated by river discharge associated with agricultural development of the adjacent catchments. Runoff of sediment, nutrients and pesticides has sharply increased since European settlement. Since 1991 plumes from river discharge entering the GBRWHA have been mapped by aerial mapping of plume edges and concentrations of contaminants in plumes measured. Plume dispersion is governed primarily by wind speed and direction. Most plumes spread in a band up to 50 km from the coast. Particulate material discharged in the plumes is trapped within 10 km of the coast. Dissolved nutrients disperse much further and elevated nutrient concentrations are measurable at distances of hundreds of kilometres from river mouths. This differential transport of particulate versus dissolved nutrients is important for the potential effects of these materials and management of their generation on the Great Barrier Reef catchment.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2001

Agricultural colonization and malaria on the Amazon frontier.

The purpose of this paper is to characterize the interrelationships between macropolitical, social and economic policies, human migration, agricultural development, and malaria transmission on the Amazon frontier. We focus our analysis on a recent colonization project, POLONOROESTE, in the state of Rondonia. Employing data from field surveys in 1985-1987 and 1995, we use spatial statistical methodologies linked to a geographical information system (GIS) to describe the patterns of human settlement in the area, the ecological transformations induced by forest clearance practices, and the manner in which these factors determine gradations of malaria risk. Our findings show that land use patterns, linked to social organization of the community and the structure of the physical environment, played a key role in promoting malaria transmission. In addition, the location of each occupied area is itself an important determinant of the pattern of malaria risk. Based on lessons learned from our spatial and temporal characterization of malaria risk, we propose policies for malaria mitigation in the Brazilian Amazon.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Maximization of economic yield, minimum cost optimal diets and cultivation diversification for small scale farmers of the highland region of Guatemala].

The present study was conducted as part of an evaluation of the economic and nutritional effects of a crop diversification program for small-scale farmers in the Western highlands of Guatemala. Linear programming models are employed in order to obtain optimal combinations of traditional and non-traditional food crops under different ecological conditions that: a) provide minimum cost diets for auto-consumption, and b) maximize net income and market availability of dietary energy. Data used were generated by means of an agroeconomic survey conducted in 1983 among 726 farming households. Food prices were obtained from the Institute of Agrarian Marketing; data on production costs, from the National Bank of Agricultural Development in Guatemala. The gestation periods for each crop were obtained from three different sources, and then averaged. The results indicated that the optimal cropping pattern for the minimum-cost diets for auto consumption include traditional foods (corn, beans, broad bean, wheat, potato), non-traditional foods (carrots, broccoli, beets) and foods of animal origin (milk, eggs). A significant number of farmers included in the sample did not have sufficient land availability to produce all foods included in the minimum-cost diet. Cropping patterns which maximize net incomes include only non-traditional foods: onions, carrots, broccoli and beets for farmers in the low highland areas, and raddish, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots for farmers in the higher parts. Optimal cropping patterns which maximize market availability of dietary energy include traditional and non-traditional foods; for farmers in the lower areas: wheat, corn, beets, carrots and onions; for farmers in the higher areas: potato, wheat, raddish, carrots and cabbage.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2004

Scale-dependence of land use effects on water quality of streams in agricultural catchments.

The influence of land use on water quality in streams is scale-dependent and varies in time and space. In this study, land cover patterns and stocking rates were used as measures of agricultural development in two pasture and one native grassland catchment in New Zealand and were related to water quality in streams of various orders. The amount of pasture per subcatchment correlated well to total nitrogen and nitrate in one catchment and turbidity and total phosphorous in the other catchment. Stocking rates were only correlated to total phosphorous in one pasture catchment but showed stronger correlations to ammonium, total phosphorous and total nitrogen in the other pasture catchment. Winter and spring floods were significant sources of nutrients and faecal coliforms from one of the pasture catchments into a wetland complex. Nutrient and faecal coliform concentrations were better predicted by pastural land cover in fourth-order than in second-order streams. This suggests that upstream land use is more influential in larger streams, while local land use and other factors may be more important in smaller streams. These temporal and spatial scale effects indicate that water-monitoring schemes need to be scale-sensitive.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2006

Long-term dynamics in land resource use and the driving forces in the Beressa watershed, highlands of Ethiopia.

Land degradation in the Ethiopian highlands is considered to be one of the major problems threatening agricultural development and food security in the country. However, knowledge about the forces driving the long-term dynamics in land resources use is limited. This research integrates biophysical information with socio-economic processes and policy changes to examine the dynamics of land resource use and farmers' livelihoods in the Beressa watershed for over 40 years during the second half of the 20th century. It was found that there have been substantial dynamics in land resource use in the area. The natural vegetation cover has been extensively cleared, although most of the cleared areas have since been replaced with plantations. Grazing land has expanded remarkably at the expense of cropland and bare land. However, the expansion of cropland was minimal over the 43-year period despite a quadrupling of the population density. Yields have not increased to compensate for the reduction in per capita cropland, and the soil quality appears to be not that good. Though the farmers perceived it otherwise, the long-term rainfall pattern has improved. In response to soil degradation, water shortage, socio-economic and policy changes, farmers have tended to gradually change from annual cropping to tree planting and livestock production to cope with the problems of soil degradation, water scarcity and smaller farms. Income diversification through the sale of wood and cattle dung is becoming a major livelihood strategy. Apparently, however, little attention has been paid to investments in soil and water conservation (SWC) and local soil fertility amendments. In particular, increased erosion and related high nutrient losses in sediments, as well as the removal of potentially available soil nutrients through the sale of manure threatens to damage agricultural sustainability in the area.

Agriculture↗