Sustainability of Agroecosystem and Arctic Region

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 11650

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, 195251 St. Petersburg, Russia
Interests: economy; institutional economy; circular economy; environment; entrepreneurship; innovation; technology; Industry 4.0 development; rural area
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Guest Editor
Institute of Finance and Economics, University of Tyumen, 6 Volodarskogo Street, 625003 Tyumen, Russia
Interests: sociology; economic sociology; mathematical methods and models in economics; data analysis methods; food security; sociocultural development; human capital, behavior; agroecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

The current state of agricultural production and logistics, both within the industry and in the transportation of products, does not meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

In addition, the 2019 pandemic made it clear that in the interconnected world of disease, the consequences of containment measures spread rapidly across national borders. The pandemic is not the main theme of this Special Issue, but it will look at the close relationship between food production, its delivery to consumers, and environmental issues with a focus on the sustainable development goals of UN 2030 in today's environment. Environmental problems arise both in food production and in supply chains when products are delivered to consumers.

Logistics is widely interpreted as the doctrine of planning, management, and control of the movement of material, information, and financial resources in various systems.

Topics related to the Arctic are considered, including general issues of logistics in the Arctic, as well as providing the northern Arctic regions with food.

Digital technologies can improve agricultural production, markets, logistics, and logistics infrastructure. Innovations such as e-commerce in food can benefit both farmers and consumers. However, in order to benefit from the development of digital innovation, it is necessary to narrow the digital divide that exists today. The implications that digital technology can have on the way agriculture, logistics, and logistics infrastructure evolve are hard to foresee. So far, we know that the continued use of digital technology can help us make progress in this area. However, it is worth noting that some of the risks associated with the introduction of digital technologies have not yet been fully understood. We must intensify our efforts for the digital revolution to drive development.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect original research or review articles on the possibilities and limitations of sustainable agricultural development, including in the Arctic; logistics problems, both general and specific, related to the agro-industrial complex; environmental solutions for sustainable agricultural development and logistics infrastructure; digital technologies in agriculture; and digital technologies in logistics and infrastructure.

Prof. Dr. Djamilia Skripnuk
Prof. Dr. Gulnara Romashkina
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • agroecology
  • farmers
  • agricultural farms in the northern territories
  • rural area infrastructure (water disposal, real estate appraisal, transport infrastructure solutions)
  • remote area logistics hubs
  • Arctic logistics hubs
  • delivery of vaccines to remote areas
  • environmental assessment of the development of rural area infrastructure
  • digital technologies in agriculture
  • digital technologies in logistics and infrastructure

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3277 KiB  
Article
Features of the Phytoremediation by Agricultural Crops of Heavy Metal Contaminated Soils
by Andrey Ilinskiy, Dmitriy Vinogradov, Natalia Politaeva, Vladimir Badenko and Igor Ilin
Agronomy 2023, 13(1), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13010127 - 30 Dec 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1986
Abstract
The novelty of the present research consisted in the study of the features of heavy metals accumulation in the phytomass of agricultural plants under the conditions of complex heavy metals contamination of podzolized chernozem (ashy soil) in the Ryazan region (Russia). Results of [...] Read more.
The novelty of the present research consisted in the study of the features of heavy metals accumulation in the phytomass of agricultural plants under the conditions of complex heavy metals contamination of podzolized chernozem (ashy soil) in the Ryazan region (Russia). Results of the vegetation experiments conducted on four crops—oats, black beans, buckwheat, and soybeans—were analyzed, which made it possible to assess the ability of these plants to accumulate heavy metals in their phytomass depending on the level of the heavy metals contamination of the soil. Results of the study showed that the removal of copper, zinc, and lead by beans was noticeably higher than that by oats, buckwheat and soy, due to their greater tolerance and ability to form a large phytomass, which must be taken into consideration when choosing phytoremediation for soil decontamination. This made it possible to evaluate the possibility of using the analyzed plants for the biological purification of polluted soil. The results are also planned to be used in the digitalization of agricultural production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Agroecosystem and Arctic Region)
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15 pages, 473 KiB  
Article
Research on the High-Quality Development Path of the Cross-Border Agricultural Product Supply Chain between China and Central Asia
by Kahaer Abula, Buwajian Abula, Qingjiang Hu, Xinyu Chen and Dezhen Wang
Agronomy 2022, 12(10), 2558; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12102558 - 19 Oct 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2805
Abstract
As a bridge and link between China and Central Asian countries, logistics infrastructure plays an important role in the process of forming a new development pattern of “dual circulation” and mutual promotion. Based on the panel data of Central Asian countries from 2010 [...] Read more.
As a bridge and link between China and Central Asian countries, logistics infrastructure plays an important role in the process of forming a new development pattern of “dual circulation” and mutual promotion. Based on the panel data of Central Asian countries from 2010 to 2019, this paper uses random effect model to analyze the impact on the cross-border agricultural product supply chain between China and Central Asian countries. The results show that the logistics development level, railway transport connectivity, road transport connectivity, economic development level, market size, and common border of Central Asian countries positively affect the development level of the supply chain at different significance levels. Among them, the degree of railway transport connectivity has the greatest impact on the supply chain, followed by the common border, and then the level of logistics development. Moreover, the geographical advantage cannot be underestimated and it plays a positive role in promoting the high-quality development of cross-border agricultural product supply chain. China borders Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and the agricultural product import and export trade quota is significantly greater than that of other Central Asian countries. Based on the analysis, we propose to strengthen efforts to build a high-quality logistics system, build an efficient land transport network, and break through cross-border logistics congestion and difficulties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Agroecosystem and Arctic Region)
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19 pages, 598 KiB  
Article
Environmental Challenges for Fragile Economies: Adaptation Opportunities on the Examples of the Arctic and Iraq
by Tatyana Semenova, Ali Al-Dirawi and Tahseen Al-Saadi
Agronomy 2022, 12(9), 2021; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12092021 - 26 Aug 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2358
Abstract
The impact of climate change in the Arctic, due to the nature of its ecosystem, the wealth of natural resources and the intensification of activities for their production, is becoming more and more significant and leads to an aggravation of environmental problems in [...] Read more.
The impact of climate change in the Arctic, due to the nature of its ecosystem, the wealth of natural resources and the intensification of activities for their production, is becoming more and more significant and leads to an aggravation of environmental problems in this territory. The situation is even more complicated by the imperfection of legislation and the lack of agreement between neighboring states. Despite the special location of the Arctic zone, similar problems can be found in other states. The purpose of this work is to consider environmental challenges for unstable economies on the example of the Arctic zone and the state of Iraq, to determine the possibilities of adapting similar methods to eliminate existing problems. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved in the article: 1. The environmental problems of the Arctic were identified and their similarity with the problems of Iraq was substantiated. 2. It is demonstrated that in order to solve environmental problems related to the impact of climate change, environmental protection and resource management in fragile economy states, it is necessary to create an effective management system at the global, regional and national levels; it is proved that there is a need to improve legal provisions for effective protection of fragile states from risks associated with human activities. The research methods used in this study include a systematic analysis of economic, social, and cultural conditions, including a review of statistical data and various sources. Emerging opportunities for Arctic exploration and exploitation pose a threat to the Arctic environment. Its protection is currently based on too many, often conflicting, international agreements, the domestic legislation of the Arctic states and the recommendations of the Arctic Council. It has been shown that the risk of irreparable damage is particularly high in the case of gas flaring or oil spills from an oil rig or tanker. The problems identified in this article are applicable not only to the Arctic but also to other territories with “fragile” economies such as Iraq, where the oil and gas industry is a strategic factor. Despite the obvious differences, in particular, in climatic conditions, territorial development management has common methodological approaches. The political aspects of such research are the development of unified approaches that enable territories with challenging conditions to adopt the best-integrated practices in the field of management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Agroecosystem and Arctic Region)
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23 pages, 1161 KiB  
Article
Post-Soviet Transformations in Russian Rural Areas: The Role of Institutions
by Vladimir A. Davydenko, Gulnara F. Romashkina, Djamilia F. Skripnuk and Marina V. Khudyakova
Agronomy 2022, 12(7), 1607; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12071607 - 3 Jul 2022
Viewed by 3309
Abstract
This article examines the role played by institutions in the post-Soviet transformation of rural areas of Russia and the development of agriculture. It is shown that the main goal of transformations—the transition to market relations—has been achieved. The relevance of the article lies [...] Read more.
This article examines the role played by institutions in the post-Soviet transformation of rural areas of Russia and the development of agriculture. It is shown that the main goal of transformations—the transition to market relations—has been achieved. The relevance of the article lies in the analysis of the process of incomplete institutional transfer, unique on a global scale: the transition from full state ownership and state regulation to market relations was replaced by the dominance of large forms of business organization with prevailing governmental control. The article aims to study the impact of institutional reforms on the structure and dynamics of market agents in rural areas of Russia from 1990 to 2020. Institutional, statistical and sociological methods were applied. Materials from 59 expert interviews were used. The informants represented the categories “public” and “business” of three different agricultural territories. Statistical data and official reports of agricultural holdings were analyzed. Changes in the structure of land ownership and other production factors were considered. The historical stages of the institutional dynamics of agriculture are shown. It is proved that the emergence of a class of owners in agriculture was the main result of institutional changes in Russia; the formation of many institutions for the support and development of agriculture and rural areas is also significant. The observed obstacles to the growth of the segment of small and medium-sized businesses are due to the incomplete legitimacy of the ongoing processes, the strong volatility of the regulatory framework and insufficient transparency of state support. In Russia, after 1990, the total area of agricultural land decreased and was consolidated by large owners—Agricultural holdings. By 2020, the estimated share of agricultural holdings in revenue was 31% for crop production, 37% for livestock, and 70% for meat. Experts noted the excessive dependence of market actors on state support and the deepening of social inequality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Agroecosystem and Arctic Region)
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