Download or read book Factors Affecting Nitrogen Availability in Conventional and Alternative Agroecosystems written by Wendy Janette Rash and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Principles of Sustainable Soil Management in Agroecosystems written by Rattan Lal and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2013-06-10 with total page 571 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes the laws of sustainable soil management to enhance ecosystem services while restoring degraded soils and promoting sustainable use. With chapters contributed by world-class soil scientists, ecologists, and social scientists, the book outlines critical changes in management of agricultural soils necessary to address global issues of food security, climate change, water security, and energy needs. Topics covered include organic farming, soil fertility, crop-symbiotic soil microbiota, human-driven soil degradation, soil degradation and restoration, carbon sink capacity of soils, and soil renewal and sustainability.
Download or read book Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems written by Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2017-03-15 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems examines the climate, environmental, and human effects on agroecosystems and how the existing paradigms must be revised in order to establish sustainable production. The increased demand for food and fuel exerts tremendous stress on all aspects of natural resources and the environment to satisfy an ever increasing world population, which includes the use of agriculture products for energy and other uses in addition to human and animal food. The book presents options for ecological systems that mimic the natural diversity of the ecosystem and can have significant effect as the world faces a rapidly changing and volatile climate. The book explores the introduction of sustainable agroecosystems that promote biodiversity, sustain soil health, and enhance food production as ways to help mitigate some of these adverse effects. New agroecosystems will help define a resilient system that can potentially absorb some of the extreme shifts in climate. Changing the existing cropping system paradigm to utilize natural system attributes by promoting biodiversity within production agricultural systems, such as the integration of polycultures, will also enhance ecological resiliency and will likely increase carbon sequestration. - Focuses on the intensification and integration of agroecosystem and soil resiliency by presenting suggested modifications of the current cropping system paradigm - Examines climate, environment, and human effects on agroecosystems - Explores in depth the wide range of intercalated soil and plant interactions as they influence soil sustainability and, in particular, soil quality - Presents options for ecological systems that mimic the natural diversity of the ecosystem and can have significant effect as the world faces a rapidly changing and volatile climate
Download or read book A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-06-17 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How we produce and consume food has a bigger impact on Americans' well-being than any other human activity. The food industry is the largest sector of our economy; food touches everything from our health to the environment, climate change, economic inequality, and the federal budget. From the earliest developments of agriculture, a major goal has been to attain sufficient foods that provide the energy and the nutrients needed for a healthy, active life. Over time, food production, processing, marketing, and consumption have evolved and become highly complex. The challenges of improving the food system in the 21st century will require systemic approaches that take full account of social, economic, ecological, and evolutionary factors. Policy or business interventions involving a segment of the food system often have consequences beyond the original issue the intervention was meant to address. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System develops an analytical framework for assessing effects associated with the ways in which food is grown, processed, distributed, marketed, retailed, and consumed in the United States. The framework will allow users to recognize effects across the full food system, consider all domains and dimensions of effects, account for systems dynamics and complexities, and choose appropriate methods for analysis. This report provides example applications of the framework based on complex questions that are currently under debate: consumption of a healthy and safe diet, food security, animal welfare, and preserving the environment and its resources. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System describes the U.S. food system and provides a brief history of its evolution into the current system. This report identifies some of the real and potential implications of the current system in terms of its health, environmental, and socioeconomic effects along with a sense for the complexities of the system, potential metrics, and some of the data needs that are required to assess the effects. The overview of the food system and the framework described in this report will be an essential resource for decision makers, researchers, and others to examine the possible impacts of alternative policies or agricultural or food processing practices.
Download or read book Fertilizer Suggestions written by E. R. Flint and published by . This book was released on 1905 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Sustainable Agroecosystem Management written by Patrick J. Bohlen and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2009-03-24 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainable Agroecosystem Management: Integrating Ecology, Economics, and Society examines the challenges for developing integrated approaches to the management of agricultural ecosystems. Providing historical background of attempts to bridge the ecological and agricultural sciences, this book highlights recent efforts to integrate natural and social science perspectives. Through various case studies with global applications, the text explores practical innovative strategies, policies, and research needs for emphasizing whole system productivity, diversification of agricultural operations, and management of agricultural systems that sustain multiple functions including ecological integrity.
Download or read book Sustainable Intensification written by Jules N. Pretty and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-06-25 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.
Download or read book Agricultural Ecology written by H.D.Kumar and published by APH Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rooted firmly in the principles of econology, the agricultural enterprise, even though having been exposed to the impact of environmental problems arising from land degradation, soil erosion, groundwater depletion and pollution and loss of biological diversity, has so far stood firm and survived to meet the food requirements of the growing population, so much so that there have been some striking instances of food glut in several countires, including some that used to sufer famiens only half a century ago.
Download or read book The European Nitrogen Assessment written by Mark A. Sutton and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-04-14 with total page 665 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting the first continental-scale assessment of reactive nitrogen in the environment, this book sets the related environmental problems in context by providing a multidisciplinary introduction to the nitrogen cycle processes. Issues of upscaling from farm plot and city to national and continental scales are addressed in detail with emphasis on opportunities for better management at local to global levels. The five key societal threats posed by reactive nitrogen are assessed, providing a framework for joined-up management of the nitrogen cycle in Europe, including the first cost-benefit analysis for different reactive nitrogen forms and future scenarios. Incorporating comprehensive maps, a handy technical synopsis and a summary for policy makers, this landmark volume is an essential reference for academic researchers across a wide range of disciplines, as well as stakeholders and policy makers. It is also a valuable tool in communicating the key environmental issues and future challenges to the wider public.
Download or read book Sustainable Agroecosystem Management written by Patrick J. Bohlen and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2009-03-24 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emphasizes Centrality of the Ecosystem PerspectiveSustainable management of agroecosystems in the 21st century faces unprecedented challenges. Protecting the environment while feeding a burgeoning population that could reach nine billion by mid-century, preserving the world's biodiversity, and sustaining agriculture in an increasingly urban world i
Download or read book National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program written by and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Agroecosystems Facing Global Climate Change The Search for Sustainability written by José M. Mirás-Avalos and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2019-02-05 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global change is posing new threats to agroecosystems. First, climate modifications in the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall increase the risks of severe droughts during the growing season of most crops. Second, conventional agriculture has led to the extension of mono-crop fields that decreased biodiversity in agroecosystems; it is possible that these fields will lack resilience when faced with changing climate. In addition, a new conscience has arisen and consumers tend to look for healthy products that, sometimes, do not match the objectives of conventional agriculture. In this context, sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices that can cope with the new global change scenario are needed. This eBook compiles state-of-the-art research on the agroecosystems response to global change and on how to manage these new scenarios. Despite the broad scope of the topic, this Research Topic covers a wide range of subjects, including biodiversity, crop performance, novel agricultural practices and soil properties.
Download or read book Viruses of Microorganisms written by Paul Hyman and published by Caister Academic Press Limited. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Viruses of microorganisms (VoMs) are the world's most abundant viruses. There are viruses for every known microbe and VoMs are usually described in terms of their hosts as algal viruses, archaeal viruses, bacteriophages, virophages, fungal viruses and protozoan viruses. A key feature of infection by VoMs is that they often kill the host. This allows VoMs to play a key role in modifying microbial communities and in nutrient cycling in various environments. When the host is itself a pathogen then VoMs may be exploited to create novel antimicrobial strategies. In fact phage therapy for a variety of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens is currently at the clinical trial stage. When they don't kill the host, VoMs can still play important roles in the ecology and evolution of their hosts via various forms of virus-mediated horizontal gene transfer. Important in nature, these processes have also been used in the laboratory in genetic engineering techniques. In this multi-authored volume, international experts review the genomics, ecology, comparative biology and biotechnological applications of these fascinating viruses. Chapters have extensive reference sections that should encourage readers to pursue each subject in greater detail. This unique reference volume is a must-read for everyone working with VoMs, from the PhD student to the experienced scientist, in academia, the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries and working in clinical environments.
Download or read book Nitrogen in Agricultural Systems written by James Stuart Schepers and published by ASA-CSSA-SSSA. This book was released on 2008 with total page 994 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Review of the principles and management implications related to nitrogen in the soil-plant-water system.
Download or read book Integrated Soil Fertility Management in Africa written by Nteranya Sanginga and published by CIAT. This book was released on 2009 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forward. A call for integrated soil fertility management in Africa. Introduction. ISFM and the African farmer. Part I. The principles of ISFM: ISFM as a strategic goal, Fertilizer management within ISFM, Agro-minerals in ISFM, Organic resource management, ISFM, soil biota and soil health. Part II. ISFM practices: ISFM products and fields practices, ISFM practice in drylands, ISFM practice in savannas and woodlands, ISFM practice in the humid forest zone, Conservation Agriculture. Part III. The process of implementing ISFM: soil fertility diagnosis, soil fertility management advice, Dissemination of ISFM technologies, Designing an ISFM adoption project, ISFM at farm and landscape scales. Part IV. The social dimensions of ISFM: The role of ISFM in gender empowerment, ISFM and household nutrition, Capacity building in ISFM, ISFM in the policy arena, Marketing support for ISFM, Advancing ISFM in Africa. Appendices: Mineral nutrient contents of some common organic resources.
Download or read book The Ecology of Agroecosystems written by John Vandermeer and published by Jones & Bartlett Learning. This book was released on 2011 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agroecology is the science of applying ecological concepts and principles to the design, development, and management of sustainable agricultural systems. The Ecology of Agroecosystems highlights a collection of alternative agricultural methodologies and philosophies and provides an interdisciplinary approach that bridges the sociopolitical and historical context of agriculture. It includes the technical issues in a serious and ecological fashion and captures the complex merging of ecology, agriculture, politics and economics in both a historical and contemporary context. Readers will learn not only about the ethical and moral elements related to producing food of questionable quality while possibly impairing the environment, but also about the soil chemistry involved.
Download or read book 4R Plant Nutrition written by and published by . This book was released on 2012-02-03 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
