http://wwwscas.cit.cornell.edu/Ellis/intro.htm -- Lawrence F. London, Jr. - Venaura Farm - Chapel Hill, NC, USA mailto:london@sunSITE.unc.edu http://sunSITE.unc.edu/InterGarden mailto:llondon@nuteknet.com http:nuteknet.com/london Venaura FarmTitle: Erle C. Ellis, Sustainable Agriculture in China- Homepage
Project Overview
For more than one thousand years, China's Tai lake region has
sustained remarkably high levels of agricultural productivity.
By analyzing nitrogen cycling in contemporary and traditional
villages of the region, the ecological basis for this long-sustained
productivity is being investigated. Whole-village N budgets are
being developed from data gathered during more than two years
of field work in Wujin and Wuxi counties of Jiangsu Province.
Methods used include: analysis of agricultural materials, experiments
in farmer's fields, household surveys, GIS land-use analysis,
collection of archival data, and consultation with local experts.
Nitrogen cycling indices derived from whole-village N budgets
are being developed to differentiate N-cycling patterns in traditional
and contemporary agroecosystems and to detect relationships between
N-cycling patterns and ecologically-sustainable productivity.
KEYWORDS: Sustainable agriculture, traditional agriculture,
agroecology, village scale agroecosystems, wetland rice, agriculture
history, nitrogen cycling, nutrient limitation, China.
MAP: The Tai Lake Region of Jiangsu Province (Research sites circled in red)
NOTE: The Jiangsu Province cities of Changzhou (capital
of Wujin County), Wuxi and Suzhou are labeled to the right of
their urban areas, as is Jiaxing city of Zhejiang Province. Black
lines show county and city boundaries, thin blue lines mark county-level
canals in Wujin and Wuxi counties.
To learn more about the project:
As seen in Science magazine: Science On-Line: Mervis, Science 270(5239)1145
Contact: Dr. Erle C. Ellis, e-mail: ece3@cornell.edu
Address: Center for the Environment, Rice Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853 USAThis material is based upon work supported by NSF grant DEB-9303261 awarded in 1993 and grant INT-9523944 awarded in 1995.