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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2013, Vol. 12 Issue (7): 1292-1299    DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(13)60434-7
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Assessing Agricultural Sustainable Development Based on the DPSIR Approach: Case Study in Jiangsu, China
 ZHOU Shu-dong, Felix Mueller, Benjamin Burkhard, CAO Xing-jin , HOU Ying
1.Jiangsu Research Base of Rural Development and Land Policy, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R.China
2.Institute for Natural Resource Conservation, Department of Ecosystem Management, University of Kiel, Kiel D-24118, Germany
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摘要  According to the contemporary ecosystem approach, the linkages of human actions with their environment have to be assessed in an integrative manner. The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model is applied to identify and describe processes and interactions in human-environmental systems. An example application from a research project dealing with the development of sustainable management strategies for the agriculture in Jiangsu, China, illustrates the potentials and limitations of its sustainable development. The concept and indicators of ecological integrity are used to assess the indicators in the dimensions of DPSIR between 2003 and 2006. The main drivers included population growth which caused increasing demand for food, growing environmental demands, and rapidly decreasing of land and other natural resources. The main environmental problem was water pollution. The results show that in the dimension of driver, total grain output and agricultural land productivity both increased. Labor intensive agriculture has been promoted to increase agricultural land productivity. In the dimension of pressure, on the positive side, infrastructure got greatly improved, the input level such as total power of machinery, and level of fertilizer use increased, and level of pesticides use decreased, but on the negative side, cultivated land per capita and irrigation rate decreased, natural resources keep decreased. Environmental pollution indicators such as industrial wastewater discharge and acid rain rate increased in Jiangsu Province. In the aspect of state, ecosystem state was improved, plant coverage index increased, biological abundance index increased, fertilizer productivity increased, eco-environmental quality index increased, but land degradation index also increased. In the aspect of impact, output level increased, output efficiency enhanced, farmer’s social economic benefit improved. In the aspect of response, social support was greatly improved, input for environmental governance increased. To assess the effects of environmental governance, Jiangsu government was successful to increase compliance rate of sulfur dioxide emissions, but not so efficient in compliance rate of industrial wastewater discharge.

Abstract  According to the contemporary ecosystem approach, the linkages of human actions with their environment have to be assessed in an integrative manner. The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model is applied to identify and describe processes and interactions in human-environmental systems. An example application from a research project dealing with the development of sustainable management strategies for the agriculture in Jiangsu, China, illustrates the potentials and limitations of its sustainable development. The concept and indicators of ecological integrity are used to assess the indicators in the dimensions of DPSIR between 2003 and 2006. The main drivers included population growth which caused increasing demand for food, growing environmental demands, and rapidly decreasing of land and other natural resources. The main environmental problem was water pollution. The results show that in the dimension of driver, total grain output and agricultural land productivity both increased. Labor intensive agriculture has been promoted to increase agricultural land productivity. In the dimension of pressure, on the positive side, infrastructure got greatly improved, the input level such as total power of machinery, and level of fertilizer use increased, and level of pesticides use decreased, but on the negative side, cultivated land per capita and irrigation rate decreased, natural resources keep decreased. Environmental pollution indicators such as industrial wastewater discharge and acid rain rate increased in Jiangsu Province. In the aspect of state, ecosystem state was improved, plant coverage index increased, biological abundance index increased, fertilizer productivity increased, eco-environmental quality index increased, but land degradation index also increased. In the aspect of impact, output level increased, output efficiency enhanced, farmer’s social economic benefit improved. In the aspect of response, social support was greatly improved, input for environmental governance increased. To assess the effects of environmental governance, Jiangsu government was successful to increase compliance rate of sulfur dioxide emissions, but not so efficient in compliance rate of industrial wastewater discharge.
Keywords:  agricultural sustainable development       DPSIR       ecosystem       China  
Received: 29 January 2013   Accepted:
Fund: 

This study was supported by the Key Projects of National Philosophy and Social Science Foundation of China (11&ZD046), The Key Projects of National Natural Science Foundation of China (70833001), China Agricultural Research System (CARS-14-10B), Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education of China (20120097110034), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (6J0546).

Corresponding Authors:  ZHOU Shu-dong, Tel: +86-25-84396289, Fax: +86-25-84396289, E-mail: sdzhou@njau.edu.cn     E-mail:  sdzhou@njau.edu.cn
About author:  ZHOU Shu-dong, Tel: +86-25-84396289, Fax: +86-25-84396289, E-mail: sdzhou@njau.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

ZHOU Shu-dong, Felix Mueller, Benjamin Burkhard, CAO Xing-jin , HOU Ying. 2013. Assessing Agricultural Sustainable Development Based on the DPSIR Approach: Case Study in Jiangsu, China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 12(7): 1292-1299.

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