Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems

Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems

Author: Devra Ivy Jarvis

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 520

ISBN-13: 9780231136488

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Describes how farmers manage, maintain, and benefit from biodiversity in agricultural production systems. Includes the most recent research and developments in the maintenance of local diversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.


Agrobiodiversity - a training manual for farmer groups in East Africa

Agrobiodiversity - a training manual for farmer groups in East Africa

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2018-06-26

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9251305293

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Farmers play a crucial role in the preservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity. In fact, the diversity of species that support our current agricultural production systems has been carefully managed and shaped by farming communities, over the course of the history of humankind. Farmers act as custodian of the Earth’s agrobiodiversity resources, and play a big part in preserving traditional plant and animal varieties, and the knowledge associated with these. FAO has long been working on promoting approaches to agriculture that enable both the sustainable use of biodiversity resources for food and agriculture, and their conservation, and on supporting farmers to make informed decisions on their farm management and production practices. This training manual fits in this broader commitment, to support a shift towards a paradigm of agricultural production that can sustain food and nutrition security while at the same time cause the least harm to natural ecosystems. The manual is intended as an introduction to agricultural biodiversity, and to its relevance to different aspects of agricultural production and management for smallholder farmers in Kenya. It includes eight different training modules, each covering a specific aspect related to agrobiodiversity. The modules are standalone and can be used independently one from the other, depending on the user’s or project’s aim. The materials were originally prepared within the FAO- Netherlands Partnership Programme (FNPP) and have been updated, revised and published under the second phase of the European Union-funded project “Capacity-building related to multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries”.


Agro-biodiversity and Agri-ecosystem Management

Agro-biodiversity and Agri-ecosystem Management

Author: Pavan Kumar

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-07-15

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 9811909288

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This edited book collates latest findings in the field of agro-biodiversity and agri-ecosystem management across the globe through selected case studies. The primary aim of the book is to cover agro-biodiversity and agri-ecosystem advancements in the field of agricultural resource management. The book explores a range of technologies that support sustainable use of resources and facilities, such as Natural Resource Management (NRM), Resource Conservation Technologies (RCTs), Integrated Farming System (IFS), Integrated Crop Management (ICM), Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), use of solar energy, promotion of agro-ecological zone specific agricultural production, application of climate resilient technologies, secondary agricultural practices and post-harvest technologies. Agro-biodiversity and agri-ecosystem not only contributes to overall growth of the economy but also reduces poverty by providing employment and food security to the majority of the population in the continent and thus it is the most inclusive growth sectors of the economy of Asian and African countries. The book is relevant for researchers and policy makes in the field of agriculture, food system research, ecology, agricultural diversification, resource management etc.


Coffee Agroecology

Coffee Agroecology

Author: Ivette Perfecto

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-02-11

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13: 1134056141

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Based on principles of the conservation and optimization of biodiversity and of equity and sustainability, this book focuses on the ecology of the coffee agroecosystem as a model for a sustainable agricultural ecosystem. It draws on the authors' own research conducted over the last twenty years as well as incorporating the vast literature that has been generated on coffee agroecosystems from around the world. The book uses an integrated approach that weaves together various lines of research to understand the ecology of a very diverse tropical agroforestry system. Key concepts explored include biodiversity patterns, metapopulation dynamics and ecological networks. These are all set in a socioeconomic and political framework which relates them to the realities of farmers' livelihoods. The authors provide a novel synthesis that will generate new understanding and can be applied to other examples of sustainable agriculture and food production. This synthesis also explains the ecosystem services provided by the approach, including the economic, fair trade and political aspects surrounding this all-important global commodity.


Agrobiodiversity

Agrobiodiversity

Author: Karl S. Zimmerer

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2023-10-31

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 0262549697

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Experts discuss the challenges faced in agrobiodiversity and conservation, integrating disciplines that range from plant and biological sciences to economics and political science. Wide-ranging environmental phenomena—including climate change, extreme weather events, and soil and water availability—combine with such socioeconomic factors as food policies, dietary preferences, and market forces to affect agriculture and food production systems on local, national, and global scales. The increasing simplification of food systems, the continuing decline of plant species, and the ongoing spread of pests and disease threaten biodiversity in agriculture as well as the sustainability of food resources. Complicating the situation further, the multiple systems involved—cultural, economic, environmental, institutional, and technological—are driven by human decision making, which is inevitably informed by diverse knowledge systems. The interactions and linkages that emerge necessitate an integrated assessment if we are to make progress toward sustainable agriculture and food systems. This volume in the Strüngmann Forum Reports series offers insights into the challenges faced in agrobiodiversity and sustainability and proposes an integrative framework to guide future research, scholarship, policy, and practice. The contributors offer perspectives from a range of disciplines, including plant and biological sciences, food systems and nutrition, ecology, economics, plant and animal breeding, anthropology, political science, geography, law, and sociology. Topics covered include evolutionary ecology, food and human health, the governance of agrobiodiversity, and the interactions between agrobiodiversity and climate and demographic change.


Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems

Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems

Author: Miguel Altieri

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2018-10-03

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1351989405

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Explore the latest research on biological control! Completely updated for 2004, this new edition examines methods for making agricultural systems less susceptible to insect pests. Containing new findings and reports of strategies, Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems, Second Edition will show you how pests can be managed by enhancing beneficial biodiversity using agroecological diversification methods. Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems, Second Edition provides you with an essential overview of the role of biodiversity in agriculture and then gets specific, with new and updated information on: the agroecology of pest management plant diversity and pest outbreaks within agroecosystems diversification strategies for pest management how sustainable farming systems are designed You'll also explore: the role of plant diversity on the biology of beneficial insects insect regulation in diverse agroecosystems manipulation of plant diversity in agroecosystems ecological and socioeconomic implications The fact is, many modern agroecosystems are unstable as a consequence of constant human intervention in crop systems which ignore ecological principles. With case studies on a variety of crops and pests, Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems, Second Edition explores entomological aspects of agriculture and analyzes the ecological basis for the maintenance of biodiversity. It will familiarize you with the theory and practice of enhancing biological pest control in agricultural systems by managing vegetational diversity via multiple cropping, cover cropping, rotations, and other spatial and temporal designs. With studies on intercropping, cover cropping, weed management, and crop-field border vegetation manipulation, this book covers the effects of these diverse systems on pest population density and the mechanisms underlying pest reduction in polycultures. Make it a part of your reference/teaching collection today!


Routledge Handbook of Agricultural Biodiversity

Routledge Handbook of Agricultural Biodiversity

Author: Danny Hunter

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-10-03

Total Pages: 692

ISBN-13: 1317753291

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The world relies on very few crop and animal species for agriculture and to supply its food needs. In recent decades, there has been increased appreciation of the risk this implies for food security and quality, especially in times of environmental change. As a result, agricultural biodiversity has moved to the top of research and policy agendas. This Handbook presents a comprehensive overview of our current knowledge of agricultural biodiversity in a series of specially commissioned chapters. It draws on multiple disciplines including plant and animal genetics, ecology, crop and animal science, food studies and nutrition, as well as social science subjects which explore the socio-economic, cultural, institutional, legal and policy aspects of agricultural biodiversity. It focuses not only on the core requirements to deliver a sustainable agriculture and food supply, but also highlights the additional ecosystem services provided by a diverse and resilient agricultural landscape and farming practices. The book provides an indispensable reference textbook for a wide range of courses in agriculture, ecology, biodiversity conservation and environmental studies.


Nature and Farming

Nature and Farming

Author: David Andrew Norton

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 0643103252

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Explains why it is important to sustain native plants & animals in agricultural landscapes, outlines issues in developing & implementing practical approaches to safeguard native biodiversity in rural areas. Considers ecological & agricultural issues that determine what native biodiversity occurs in farmland.--


Land Use Intensification

Land Use Intensification

Author: Saul Cunningham

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2012-07-18

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 0643104097

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There can be little doubt that there are truly colossal challenges associated with providing food, fibre and energy for an expanding world population without further accelerating already rapid rates of biodiversity loss and undermining the ecosystem processes on which we all depend. These challenges are further complicated by rapid changes in climate and its additional direct impacts on agriculture, biodiversity and ecological processes. There are many different viewpoints about the best way to deal with the myriad issues associated with land use intensification and this book canvasses a number of these from different parts of the tropical and temperate world. Chapters focus on whether science can suggest new and improved approaches to reducing the conflict between productive land use and biodiversity conservation. Who should read this book? Policy makers in regional, state and federal governments, as well as scientists and the interested lay public.


The Ecology of Agroecosystems

The Ecology of Agroecosystems

Author: John Vandermeer

Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 0763771538

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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.