Download or read book Methods for Measuring Greenhouse Gas Balances and Evaluating Mitigation Options in Smallholder Agriculture written by Todd S. Rosenstock and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-08-23 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides standards and guidelines for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions and removals in smallholder agricultural systems and comparing options for climate change mitigation based on emission reductions and livelihood trade-offs. Globally, agriculture is directly responsible for about 11% of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and induces an additional 17% through land use change, mostly in developing countries. Farms in the developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are predominately managed by smallholders, with 80% of land holdings smaller than ten hectares. However, little to no information exists on greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation potentials in smallholder agriculture. Greenhouse gas measurements in agriculture are expensive, time consuming, and error prone, challenges only exacerbated by the heterogeneity of smallholder systems and landscapes. Concerns over methodological rigor, measurement costs, and the diversity of approaches, coupled with the demand for robust information suggest it is germane for the scientific community to establish standards of measurements for quantifying GHG emissions from smallholder agriculture. Standard guidelines for use by scientists, development organizations will help generate reliable data on emissions baselines and allow rigorous comparisons of mitigation options. The guidelines described in this book, developed by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) and partners, are intended to inform anyone conducting field measurements of agricultural greenhouse gas sources and sinks, especially to develop IPCC Tier 2 emission factors or to compare mitigation options in smallholder systems.
Download or read book Ecosystems and Human Well Being written by Stephen R. Carpenter and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scenarios are an invaluable tool for analyzing complex systems and understanding possible outcomes. This second volume of the MA series explores the implications of four different approaches for managing ecosystem services in the face of growing human demand for them: The Global Orchestration approach, in which we emphasize equity, economic growth, and public goods, reacting to ecosystem problems when they reach critical stages. Order from Strength, which emphasizes security and economic growth. Adapting Mosaic, which emphasizes proactive management of ecosystems, local adaptation, and flexible governance. TechnoGarden, a globalized approach with an emphasis on green technology and a proactive approach to managing ecosystems. The Scenarios volume will help decision-makers and managers identify development paths that better maintain the resilience of ecosystems, and can reduce the risk of damage to human well-being and the environment.
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 Agroecosystem Diversity written by Gilles Lemaire and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2018-10-08 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agro-Ecosystem Diversity: Impact on Food Security and Environmental Quality presents cutting-edge exploration of developing novel farming systems and introduces landscape ecology to agronomy. It encompasses the broad range of links between agricultural development and ecological impact and how to limit the potential negative results. Presented in seven sections, each focusing on a specific challenge to sustaining diversity, the book provides insights toward the argument that by re-introducing diversity, it should be possible to maintain a high level of productivity of agro-ecosystems while also maintaining and/or restoring a satisfactory level of environment quality and biodiversity. - Demonstrates that diversified agro-ecosystems can be intensified with environmental quality preserved, restored and enhanced - Includes analysis of economic constraints leading to specialization of farms and regions and the social locking forces resisting to diversification of agro-ecosystems - Presents a global vision of world agriculture and the tradeoff between a necessary increase in food production and restoring environment quality
Download or read book Synergies and trade offs in climate smart agriculture written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2021-07-13 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication analyses of the synergies and trade-offs that can occur within climate-smart agriculture (CSA), more specifically between its three pillars: (i) sustainably increasing productivity and incomes in agriculture, (ii) building resilience of and adapting food and agriculture systems to climate change, (iii) reducing/removing greenhouse gas emissions, where possible. The aim of this analysis is to develop a systematic characterization of possible synergies and trade-offs in CSA, as well as provide a tool to guide CSA practitioners through the assessment of synergies and trade-offs during the design and planning of CSA strategies or interventions. The ultimate objective is to support strategic decisions that enhance synergies and reduce trade-offs to achieve better results for investments in CSA.
Download or read book Tropical dry forests written by Reuben Blackie and published by CIFOR. This book was released on 2014-08-01 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This discussion paper assesses the state of knowledge on tropical dry forests as it relates to CIFORs strategy and identifies research opportunities that align with CIFORs strategic goals. Over the past two decades, CIFOR has accumulated a substantial body of work on dry forests, with a particular focus on African dry forests. This paper is intended to build on that work, by gathering wider research from around the world, as CIFOR seeks to widen the geographic scope of its research on dry forests. The present assessment explores five themes: climate change mitigation and adaptation; food security and livelihoods; demand for energy; sustainable management of dry forests; and policies and institutional support for sustainable management. These themes emerged as priority areas during discussions on dry forest research priorities held at CIFORs Dry Forests Symposium in South Africa in 2011. Research on these themes should be considered a priority, given the importance of dry forests to people and ecosystems around the world and the threats posed to them.
Download or read book Resource Environmental Management written by Bruce Mitchell and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book does an exceptional job in giving an understanding of change, complexity, uncertainty and conflict as well as their linkages, including awareness of strategies, methods and techniques to handle them relative to resource and environmental management. The text enhances the reader's capacity to conduct practice and conduct research in resource and environmental management.
Download or read book Economic Environmental and Health Tradeoffs in Agriculture written by Charles C. Crissman and published by International Potato Center. This book was released on 1998 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today the goal of designing highly productive, sustainable agricultural production systems is at the forefront of agricultural research agendas around the world. The key to designing sustainable agricultural production technologies is in understanding their economic, environmental, and human health impacts. This volume presents a methodology designed to quantify such impacts and to represent them as tradeoffs. This tradeoff methodology is proposed as an approach to accomplish two essential elements in achieving agricultural sustainability. First, the tradeoffs method is a key to the design of successful interdisciplinary research projects for assessing sustainability of production systems. Second, the tradeoffs method provides a successful means of communicating research findings to policy makers and the public.
Download or read book Giannini Reporter written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
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 Agroecological Transitions From Theory to Practice in Local Participatory Design written by Jacques-Eric Bergez and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-02-28 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Open Access book presents feedback from the ‘Territorial Agroecological Transition in Action’- TATA-BOX research project, which was devoted to these specific issues. The multidisciplinary and multi-organisation research team steered a four-year action-research process in two territories of France. It also presents: i) the key dimensions to be considered when dealing with agroecological transition: diversity of agriculture models, management of uncertainties, polycentric governance, autonomies, and role of actors’ networks; ii) an operational and original participatory process and associated boundary tools to support local stakeholders in shifting from a shared diagnosis to a shared action plan for transition, and in so doing developing mutual understanding and involvement; iii) an analysis of the main effects of the methodology on research organisation and on stakeholders’ development and application; iv) critical analysis and foresights on the main outcomes of TATA-BOX, provided by external researchers.
Download or read book A P Giannini and the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics written by Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics and published by Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics University of California. This book was released on 2009 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Time and Tradeoffs in Agroecosystem Environments written by Craig Andrew Bond and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Exploring Synergies and Trade offs between Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals written by V. Venkatramanan and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-11-16 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The existential environmental crisis prompted the United Nations to formulate the Millennium Development Goals at the turn of the 21st century in order to embark on an era of sustainable development. The progress and deficiencies in achieving the Millennium Development Goals provided impetus to the intelligentsia and policymakers to map out the pertinent goals for a sustainable growth trajectory for humanity and the planet. The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted in September 2015, took the shape of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. In effect, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals focus on protecting the earth's life support systems for intra- and inter-generational equity and for development that is rooted in sustainability science. Attaining these goals is an uphill task; nevertheless, scientific knowledge, trans and interdisciplinary inquiries, concerted global action and capacity building would provide an enabling environment for achieving the SDGs. This book explores the synergies and trade-offs between climate change management and other SDGs. It highlights the policy imperatives as well as the interrelations between combating climate change and its impacts (SDG 13) and food and nutritional security (SDG 2), water security (SDG 6), soil security (SDG 15), energy security (SDG 7), poverty eradication (SDG 1), gender equality (SDG 5), resilient infrastructure (SDG 9), and sustainable and resilient cities (SDG 11).
Download or read book Handbook of Climate Change and Agroecosystems written by Daniel Hillel and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2011 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The portending process of climate change, induced by the anthropogenic accumulations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, is likely to generate effects that will cascade through the biosphere, impacting all life on earth and bearing upon human endeavors. Of special concern is the potential effect on agriculture and global food security. Anticipating these effects demands that scientists widen their field of vision and cooperate across disciplines to encompass increasingly complex interactions. Trans-disciplinary cooperation should aim to generate effective responses to the portending changes, including actions to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases and to adapt to those climate changes that cannot be avoided. This handbook presents an exposition of current research on the impacts, adaptation, and mitigation of climate change in relation to agroecosystems. It is offered as the first volume in what is intended to be an ongoing series dedicated to elucidating the interactions of climate change with a broad range of sectors and systems, and to developing and spurring effective responses to this global challenge. As the collective scientific and practical knowledge of the processes and responses involved continues to grow, future volumes in the series will address important aspects of the topic periodically over the coming years.
Download or read book Ant Plant Interactions written by Paulo S. Oliveira and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-17 with total page 461 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first volume devoted to anthropogenic effects on interactions between ants and flowering plants, considered major parts of terrestrial ecosystems.
Download or read book Microbial Ecology in Sustainable Agroecosystems written by Tanya E. Cheeke and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2012-07-17 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While soil ecologists continue to be on the forefront of research on biodiversity and ecosystem function, there are few interdisciplinary studies that incorporate ecological knowledge into sustainable land management practices. Conventional, high fossil-fuel input-based agricultural systems can reduce soil biodiversity, alter soil community structu
