In many countries there has been a shift to intensive grassland livestock systems with higher environmental impact. There is also greater understanding of the wider role of grasslands in delivering ecosystem services. This collection review current research into the more sustainable use of agricultural grassland.
"Grasslands have long been used to raise livestock. Recently there has been a shift to more intensive livestock system with more pressure on grasslands. At the same time, there is a greater understanding of the role of grasslands in delivering a range of ecosystems services. This volume reviews the range of research focussing on more sustainable use of grasslands to optimise livestock nutrition whilst protecting biodiversity and delivering a range of broader environmental benefits. Part 1 assesses grassland functions and dynamics, including plant-soil and plant-animal interactions, nutrient cycling and carbon capture. Part 2 surveys grassland species such as ryegrass and legumes. Part 3 reviews key aspects of grassland management, including sowing, soil health, irrigation and weed control as well as monitoring. The final part of the book considers wider aspects of sustainability such as protecting biodiversity as well as silage processing. With its distinguished editors and international team of subject experts, this will be a standard reference for grassland and rangeland scientists, livestock producers, government and non-governmental organisations responsible for grassland management and conservation."--Provided by publisher.
This book discusses different strategies that can be adopted by agriculture and industry to enhance CO2 sequestration and reduce the impacts of global warming and climate change. Written by researchers from different fields, chapters cover such topics as the management of agricultural systems with the implementation of agronomic practices that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase soil carbon stocks, the technology of adsorption on activated carbon from low-cost raw material, and the effective methods of carbon capture and storage, among others. This volume is a useful reference for the general public, undergraduate and graduate students, and researchers who aim to deepen their knowledge of those topics.
Forages: The Science of Grassland Agriculture, 7th Edition, Volume II will extensively evaluate the current knowledge and information on forage agriculture. Chapters written by leading researchers and authorities in grassland agriculture are aggregated under section themes, each one representing a major topic within grassland science and agriculture. This 7th edition will include two new additional chapters covering all aspects of forage physiology in three separate chapters, instead of one in previous editions. Chapters will be updated throughout to include new information that has developed since the last edition. This new edition of the classic reference serves as a comprehensive supplement to An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, Volume I.
Funded by and written during theEuropean Multisward project, this open access ebook presents an inventory of grasslands and forage crops in Europe by placing them in the production system in which they are embedded, and studying the technical, economic and regulatory determinants of past and present trends. Profusely illustrated with maps, it also features many case studies in all European regions and interviews of farmers and key stakeholders.
This Research Topic is hosted in partnership with the "Grazing in Future Multi-Scapes" international workshop. The workshop will be held online, 30th May - 5th June 2021. Throughout different landscapes of the world, “grazing” herbivores fulfill essential roles in ecology, agriculture, economies and cultures including: families, farms, and communities. Not only do livestock provide food and wealth, they also deliver ecosystem services through the roles they play in environmental composition, structure and dynamics. Grazing, as a descriptive adjective, locates herbivores within a spatial and temporal pastoral context where they naturally graze or are grazed by farmers, ranchers, shepherds etc. In many cases, however, pastoralism with the single objective of maximizing animal production and/or profit has transformed landscapes, diminishing biodiversity, reducing water and air quality, accelerating loss of soil and plant biomass, and displacing indigenous animals and people. These degenerative landscape transformations have jeopardized present and future ecosystem and societal services, breaking the natural integration of land, water, air, health, society and culture. Land-users, policy makers and societies are calling for alternative approaches to pastoral systems; a call for diversified-adaptive and integrative agro-ecological and food-pastoral-systems designs that operate across multiple scales and ‘scapes’ (e.g. thought-, social-, land-, food-, health-, wild-scapes), simultaneously. There needs to be a paradigm shift in pastoral production systems and how grazing herbivores are managed –grazed- within them, derived initially from a change in perception of how they provide wealth. The thoughtscapes will include paradigm shifts where grazers move away from the actual archetype of pastoralism, future landscapes are re-imagined, and regenerative and sustainable management paradigms are put in place to achieve these visions. From this will come a change in collective thinking of how communities and cultures (socialscapes) perceive their relationships with pastoral lands. The landscapes are the biotic and abiotic four-dimensional domains or environments in need of nurture. Landscapes are the tables where humans and herbivores gain their nourishment, i.e. foodscapes. Foodscapes and dietary perceptions, dictate actions and reactions that are changing as developed countries grapple with diseases related to obesity, and people starve in developing countries. Societies are demanding healthscapes and nutraceutical foodscapes, and paradoxically, some are moving away from animal products. While indigenous species of animals, including humans (wildscapes), have been displaced from many of their lands by monotonic pastoralism, multifunctional pastoral systems can be designed in view of dynamic multi-scapes of the future. The purpose of this Research Topic is to influence future mental and practical models of pastoralism in continually evolving multi-scapes. We seek a collection of papers that will cultivate such a shift in thinking towards future models of sustainable multipurpose pastoralism. The contributions will be synthesized to establish how multifunctional pastoral systems can be re-imagined and then designed in view of the integrative dynamics of sustainable future multi-scapes.
Handbook of AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY The book provides a detailed examination of the application of nanobioherbicides that come from plants including information on the different metabolites derived from numerous plants that could become bioherbicides. The book gives attention to weed-plant physiology and chronicles the activities of nanobioherbicides on weeds during preliminary bioassays, pot assays, in-house screenings, and during field trials. Furthermore, deep data is provided on the commercial potential of these nanobioherbicides derived from plants, while toxicity assays are also highlighted. Other topics covered include: documented patents on nanobioherbicides; the process involved in the registration of these novel products as nanobioherbicides for both conventional and organic farming; relevant information on the application of molecular techniques for improvement of nanobioherbicides, such as genomics, proteomics, informatics, bioinformatics, and chemoinformatics; details about the non-target effect of the nanobioherbicides. Highlighted, too, is information on the biochemical, enzymatic, and ultrastructural effects of these nanobioherbicides, as well as detailed information on the nutritional qualities of agricultural crops after nanobioherbicidal application. Audience The book is a useful resource for a diverse audience, including industrialists, food industry professionals, agriculturists, agricultural microbiologists, plant pathologists, botanists, microbiologists, biotechnologists, nanotechnologists, microbial biotechnologists, farmers, policymakers, and extension workers.
Agronomy of Grassland Systems presents a broad overview of grasslands agronomy incorporating both grassland and animal productivity within the context of farming systems. The authors, both experienced in the field of agriculture, examine the generation, vegetative growth, flowering, and seed production of grasslands, as well as mineral nutrition, pasture quality, and animal intake. The management implications of forage-animal interactions are considered with respect to improving the efficiency of livestock production, together with a concluding chapter on grasslands management within the framework of farming systems.
In this how-to guide, ecologist and forest farmer Steve Gabriel explores the philosophy and techniques behind silvopasture - the integration of trees, animals, and forages in a whole-system approach that creates a number of benefits for livestock, farmers, and the environment. This system not only provides a sustainable farm income, but also holds the key to restoring land, building soil carbon, and creating climate resilience.--COVER.
