Nitrogen Cycling and Ecological Sustainability in Village Scale Ecosystems
in China
This project compared nitrogen (N) cycling in traditional,
N-limited village ecosystems with those of contemporary, N-saturated village
ecosystems to investigate the ecological basis for high long-term
productivity in China's Tai Lake Region. We integrate direct field
measurements with data from other sources to parameterize descriptive models
of village-scale N flow and storage at the landscape and trophic levels.
Using Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis we provide evidence for
ecologically-unsustainable changes in N cycling patterns caused by changes
in village land use, altered management of wastes and canal sediments, and
the overapplication of chemical fertilizers. By studying N cycling at
the village scale in systems with proven ecological sustainability, we can
observe long-term relationships between human population density,
productivity and pollution.
Supported
by the US National
Science Foundation under grant
DEB - 9303261 awarded in 1993 and grant
OISE - 9523944 awarded in 1995. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations are those of the
authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science
Foundation.
Note:
The original project website was on:
agroecology.org (deleted
in 2007)