Download or read book Private Farming Development in the Context of Preservation of Soil Ecosystem Services written by Wioletta Wrzaszcz and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The issue of ecosystem services is a relatively new concept in economic theory. This is the concept considered problematic, due to the difficulty of defining the benefits provided to people by ecosystems and their measurement and valuation. Some of these services are strongly associated with soil. Soil is one of the basic environmental resources necessary to conduct agricultural production. It fulfills many of non-production functions and provides services that are essential to human existence. Based on the crucial classification developed by the United Nations, we attribute providing the following ecosystem services to soil: basic/supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural. Variety of services which are produced by soil causes the need to pay more attention to its quality, which is to a large extent derived from agricultural practices. The assessment of agriculture in the context of the farms' organization allows to determine whether the present profile of agricultural production is conducive to maintaining environmental services or whether it destabilizes environmental processes. What seems especially important from this perspective is highlighting the changes in agriculture over the years, in the context of their impact on the condition of the natural environment. The aim of the paper is to indicate changes taking place in agriculture in Poland relevant to soil ecosystem services. The study was based on public data of 2005, 2007, 2016 from the Statistics Poland (GUS), gathered in the Farms Structure Survey. The research covered all private farms in Poland from 1 ha of agricultural land in good agricultural and environmental conditions. The results have shown the dynamic development of agriculture in Poland after accession to the EU, although many of the observed changes can threaten soil ecosystem services. The progressive crop diversification, including the cultivation of winter species, nitrogen fixing crops and catch crops were assessed positively. Problematic issues were, on the one hand, the process of farms' withdrawal from livestock production, on the other hand, increasing livestock production concentration.
Download or read book The Role of Ecosystem Services in Sustainable Food Systems written by Leonard Rusinamhodzi and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2019-11-12 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Role of Ecosystem Services in Sustainable Food Systems reveals, in simple terms, the operational definition, concepts and applications of ecosystem services with a focus on sustainable food systems. The book presents case studies on both geographical and production system-wide considerations. Initial chapters discuss concepts, methodologies and the tools needed to understand ecosystem services in the broader food system. Middle and later chapters present different perspectives from case studies of ecosystem services derived from some of the key sustainable food production systems used by farmers, along with discussions on the challenges of deriving full benefits and how they can be overcome. Researchers, students, scientists, development practitioners and policymakers will welcome this reference as they continue their work related to sustainable food systems. Introduces the concept of ecosystem services in simple terms for a wide readership Provides an explanation of sustainable food systems Contains the tools to identify and quantify ecosystem services in sustainable food systems Identifies ecosystem services in specific systems utilized for sustainable food systems Categorizes the challenges of deriving maximum benefits of ecosystem services
Download or read book Gendered opportunities for improving soil health A conceptual framework to help set the research agenda written by Zhang, Wei and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2019-04-10 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Healthy soils play a critical role in supporting agricultural productivity, climate change mitigation and resilience, and a range of ecosystem services. Degraded and poorly responsive soils cover large areas of Africa and represent the majority of poor farmers’ fields in certain regions. While there are hundreds of technical options for improving the sustainability of land management and preventing or reversing degradation, there are many sociocultural, institutional, economic, and policy barriers hindering their adoption at large scale. At the same time, there is an emerging consensus within the international development community that gender equality and women’s empowerment are both an end in themselves and an important means for achieving a range of economic and social development objectives such as improved food security, child nutrition and education, and women’s health. Yet, gender inequality remains a wicked problem, whose deep-seated socio-economic and ideological causes are difficult to recognize and address, and which require context- and culture-specific understandings and approaches, involving multiple stakeholders with different and sometimes conflicting interests and different positions within power hierarchies. There is an urgent need to make more rapid progress on restoring and sustaining soil productivity and ecosystem functions and also to leverage soil health management for progress on gender equality. While there are important interconnections between soil health and gender equality and empowerment, these are seldom recognized, and have not been addressed in a coherent or concerted manner. In this study, we have reviewed relevant gender literature and proposed a conceptual framework to help illuminate important gender considerations for soil health and land management. These considerations are essential for identifying gender-based constraints, opportunities, and unintended consequences in promoting soil management technologies. Moreover, the application of the framework can help guide in priority setting with respect to where gender-responsive interventions are essential. We make several recommendations for setting priorities for gender-soil health research.
Download or read book Farming Systems Development and Soil Conservation written by David Norman and published by Daya Books. This book was released on 2007 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication provides a reasoned discussion on why it is desirable to incorporate elements of farming systems development (FSD) in handling issues related to the new approach to soil conservation and land husbandry. A conceptual framework is developed for the incorporation of the FSD approach, and FSD techniques are outlined that could be useful in identifying, designing, testing and implementing relevent soil conservation strategies. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction; The problem of soil erosion, Changes in thinking about soil conservative or land husbandry, Implications concerning the new approach to soil conservation; Objectives and contents of the publication; Chapter 2: Sustainability and the Farming Systems Research Approach; Introduction, Sustainability, Farming systems development (FSD); Chapter 3: Using PSD for Soil Conservation Initiatives; Introduction, Possible soil conservation strategies, Interactive linkages, Involving the farmer, Studying the farm-household system, Studying the problems and causes of soil degradation, Short-term needs and long-run payoff, Preventing rather than curing soil erosion through improved land husbandry, Sustainability criteria; Chapter 4: Implementing the New Soil Conservation Approach: The Conceptual Framework; Introduction, Description/diagnoisis, Start-up activities, Definition of recommendation domains, Description of the degradation processes, Assessment of causes, effects and risks of degradation; Ranking of constraints (problems) to be addressed, Design, Preliminary selection of potentially suitable solutions, Ex ante evaluation of proposed strategies, Assessment of the need for policy adjustments, Final selection of strategies for testing/implementation, Testing/implementation, Introduction, Testing, Implementation (ie, dissemination), Implementation/dissemination impact, Monitoring degree of adoption, Proposed modifications; Chapter 5: Implementing The New Soil Conservation Approach: Steps,Tools and Techniques; Introduction, Specific steps in addressing the new approach to soil conservation, General background on data collection methods, The descriptive/diagnostic phase, Preparatory planning, Collection and review of secondary data, Field reconnaissance, Preliminary characterisation of farm household circumstances, Primary data collection to assess household circumstances and problem identification: informal exlploratory survey and analysis, Primary data collection to assess household circumstances and problem identification: verification activities, Analysis and description, Broad scale consideration for development of solutions, The design phase, Review of land use enterprise/farm management options, Selection of potential land use enterprises/farm management options, Development of technical and policy action proposals, Ex ante appraisal and possible revision, The testing/implementation phase, Determine the research needs, Research and extension planning, Implementation of research and extension activities, Dissemination impact phase, Monitoring and evaluation, Revision of research and extension activities and policy/support systems; Chapter 6: Implementing The New Soil Conservation Approach; The institutional setting for implementation, Concluding comments.
Download or read book Global Soil Security written by Damien J. Field and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-01 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces the concept of soil security and its five dimensions: Capability, Capital, Condition, Connectivity and Codification. These five dimensions make it possible to understand soil's role in delivering ecosystem services and to quantify soil resource by measuring, mapping, modeling and managing it. Each dimension refers to a specific aspect: contribution to global challenges (Capability), value of the soil (Capital), current state of the soil (Condition), how people are connected to the soil (Connectivity) and development of good policy (Codification). This book considers soil security as an integral part of meeting the ongoing challenge to maintain human health and secure our planet's sustainability. The concept of soil security helps to achieve the need to maintain and improve the world’s soil for the purpose of producing food, fiber and freshwater, and contributing to energy and climate sustainability. At the same time it helps to maintain biodiversity and protects ecosystem goods and services.
Download or read book Integrated Land and Water Management for Food and Environmental Security written by and published by IWMI. This book was released on 2003 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Better Land Husbandry written by Jon Hellin and published by Science Publishers. This book was released on 2006-01-04 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a timely contribution towards the debate on the most effective way to bring about sustainable farming in marginal areas. It offers a detailed analysis of the social, economic, and agro-ecological characteristic of both Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) and Better Land Husbandry (BLH) and an analysis of case studies of BLH from Central and South America, Africa, and Asia.
Download or read book Wetlands written by Committee on Characterization of Wetlands and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1995-09-20 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Wetlands" has become a hot word in the current environmental debate. But what does it signify? In 1991, proposed changes in the legal definities of wetlands stirred controversy and focused attention on the scientific and economic aspects of their management. This volume explores how to define wetlands. The committee--whose members were drawn from academia, government, business, and the environmental community--builds a rational, scientific basis for delineating wetlands in the landscape and offers recommendations for further action. Wetlands also discusses the diverse hydrological and ecological functions of wetlands, and makes recommendations concerning so-called controversial areas such as permafrost wetlands, riparian ecosystems, irregularly flooded sites, and agricultural wetlands. It presents criteria for identifying wetlands and explores the problems of applying those criteria when there are seasonal changes in water levels. This comprehensive and practical volume will be of interest to environmental scientists and advocates, hydrologists, policymakers, regulators, faculty, researchers, and students of environmental studies.
Download or read book Ecosystem Services from Agriculture and Agroforestry written by Bruno Rapidel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-06-25 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agricultural systems are no longer evaluated solely on the basis of the food they provide, but also on their capacity to limit impacts on the environment, such as soil conservation, water quality and biodiversity conservation, as well as their contribution to mitigating and adapting to climate change. In order to cope with these multiple service functions, they must internalize the costs and benefits of their environmental impact. Payments for ecosystem services are hoped to encourage and promote sustainable practices via financial incentives. The authors show that while the principle is straightforward, the practice is much more complicated. Whereas scenic beauty and protection of water sources provide benefits to the local population, carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation can be considered international public goods, rendering potential payment schemes more complex. Few examples exist where national or international bodies have been able to set up viable mechanisms that compensate agricultural systems for the environmental services they provide. However this book provides several examples of successful programs, and aims to transfer them to other regions of the world. The authors show that a product can be sold if it is clearly quantified, there exists a means to determine the service's values, and there is a willing buyer. The first two sections of the book present methodological issues related to the quantification and marketing of ecosystem services from agriculture, including agroforestry. The third and final section presents case studies of practical payments for ecosystem services and experiences in Central and South America, and draws some lessons learnt for effective and sustainable development of ecosystem services compensation mechanisms.
Download or read book An Ecosystem Services Approach to Assessing the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-12-20 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the Gulf of Mexico recovers from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, natural resource managers face the challenge of understanding the impacts of the spill and setting priorities for restoration work. The full value of losses resulting from the spill cannot be captured, however, without consideration of changes in ecosystem services-the benefits delivered to society through natural processes. An Ecosystem Services Approach to Assessing the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico discusses the benefits and challenges associated with using an ecosystem services approach to damage assessment, describing potential impacts of response technologies, exploring the role of resilience, and offering suggestions for areas of future research. This report illustrates how this approach might be applied to coastal wetlands, fisheries, marine mammals, and the deep sea-each of which provide key ecosystem services in the Gulf-and identifies substantial differences among these case studies. The report also discusses the suite of technologies used in the spill response, including burning, skimming, and chemical dispersants, and their possible long-term impacts on ecosystem services.
Download or read book Urban Soils written by Rattan Lal and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-10-18 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Globally, 30% of the world population lived in urban areas in 1950, 54% in 2016 and 66% projected by 2050. The most urbanized regions include North America, Latin America, and Europe. Urban encroachment depletes soil carbon and the aboveground biomass carbon pools, enhancing the flux of carbon from soil and vegetation into the atmosphere. Thus, urbanization has exacerbated ecological and environmental problems. Urban soils are composed of geological material that has been drastically disturbed by anthropogenic activities and compromised their role in the production of food, aesthetics of residential areas, and pollutant dynamics. Properties of urban soils are normally not favorable to plant growth—the soils are contaminated by heavy metals and are compacted and sealed. Therefore, the quality of urban soils must be restored to make use of this valuable resource for delivery of essential ecosystem services (e.g., food, water and air quality, carbon sequestration, temperature moderation, biodiversity). Part of the Advances in Soil Sciences Series, Urban Soils explains properties of urban soils; assesses the effects of urbanization on the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and water and the impacts of management of urban soils, soil restoration, urban agriculture, and food security; evaluates ecosystem services provisioned by urban soils, and describes synthetic and artificial soils.
Download or read book Successes Limitations and Frontiers in Ecosystem Science written by Michael L. Pace and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 515 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecosystem research has emerged in recent decades as a vital, successful, and sometimes controversial approach to environmental science. This book emphasizes the idea that much of the progress in ecosystem research has been driven by the emergence of new environmental problems that could not be addressed by existing approaches. By focusing on successes and limitations of ecosystems studies, the book explores avenues for future ecosystem-level research.
Download or read book Case Studies in Food Policy for Developing Countries written by Per Pinstrup-Andersen and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2018-07-05 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The food problems now facing the world—scarcity and starvation, contamination and illness, overabundance and obesity—are both diverse and complex. What are their causes? How severe are they? Why do they persist? What are the solutions? In three volumes that serve as valuable teaching tools and have been designed to complement the textbook Food Policy for Developing Countries by Per Pinstrup-Andersen and Derrill D. Watson II, they call upon the wisdom of disciplines including economics, nutrition, sociology, anthropology, environmental science, medicine, and geography to create a holistic picture of the state of the world's food systems today. Volume II of the Case Studies addresses the issues of domestic policies for markets, production, and the environment.
Download or read book Management of Tourism Ecosystem Services in a Post Pandemic Context written by Vanessaa G. B. Gowreesunkar and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-09-30 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tourism and ecosystems services are interdependant and face unique challenges. This book explores the challenges faced by destinations regarding the management and restoration of their ecosystem services. Responding to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, this book offers unique management solutions based on best practices from Europe, America, Asia, Africa, Indonesia and island destinations. The management techniques and strategies proposed are adaptive in nature, and they are meant to protect and sustain natural and cultural ecosystem services utilized by the tourism industry. Drawing from a rich collection of international case studies, the book adopts a user-friendly pedagogic approach, while seeking to be an essential future reference to scholars, researchers, academics and industry practitioners, destination management organizations and restoration agencies.
Download or read book Pedometrics written by Alex. B. McBratney and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-04-24 with total page 715 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents the basic concepts of quantitative soil science and, within this framework, it seeks to construct a new body of knowledge. There is a growing need for quantitative approach in soil science, which arises from a general demand for improved economic production and environmental management. Pedometrics can be defined as the development and application of statistical and mathematical methods applicable to data analysis problems in soil science. This book shows how pedometrics can address key soil-related questions from a quantitative point of view. It addresses four main areas which are akin to the problems of conventional pedology: (i) Understanding the pattern of soil distribution in character space – soil classification, (ii) Understanding soil spatial and temporal variation, (iii) Evaluating the utility and quality of soil and ultimately, (iv) Understanding the genesis of soil. This is the first book that address these problems in a coherent quantitate approach.
Download or read book Soil erosion the greatest challenge for sustainable soil management written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-05-16 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite almost a century of research and extension efforts, soil erosion by water, wind and tillage continues to be the greatest threat to soil health and soil ecosystem services in many regions of the world. Our understanding of the physical processes of erosion and the controls on those processes has been firmly established. Nevertheless, some elements remain controversial. It is often these controversial questions that hamper efforts to implement sound erosion control measures in many areas of the world. This book, released in the framework of the Global Symposium on Soil Erosion (15-17 May 2019) reviews the state-of-the-art information related to all topics related to soil erosion.
Download or read book Ecosystem Services Derived from Wetland Conservation Practices in the United States Prairie Pothole Region with an Emphasis on the U S Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve Programs written by Robert A. Gleason and published by Geological Survey (USGS). This book was released on 2008 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
