Agriculture
Agriculture is the practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock for human use. It involves various biological processes such as plant growth, soil fertility, and animal husbandry. Agriculture plays a crucial role in providing food, fiber, and other resources essential for human survival and economic development.
5 Key excerpts on "Agriculture"
eBook - ePub- Danny Hunter, Luigi Guarino, Charles Spillane, Peter C. McKeown, Danny Hunter, Luigi Guarino, Charles Spillane, Peter C. McKeown(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...However, we finally concluded that one cannot sensibly discuss the context in which agricultural biodiversity is used and conserved without appreciating what the term encompasses. Notably, the concept of agricultural biodiversity is broader than may typically be appreciated, and includes wild edible species, microbes, pollinating and seed-dispersing animals, as well as the livestock, fish and crops with which it is classically associated. The understanding of agricultural biodiversity embraces a range of disciplines across both the natural and social sciences: indeed, agricultural biodiversity is managed and governed by different sectors and actors, not all of whom necessarily speak to each other or work together as effectively as they could. The situation is further complicated by the broad range of organizations, agencies and institutions, both governmental and non-governmental, that work directly on agricultural biodiversity, from the local to the global level. Part 1 begins with considerations of crops by Robert Henry (Chapter 1), and livestock by Ceiridwen Edwards and colleagues (Chapter 2), respectively. The latter also including consideration of the processes by which genetic diversity arose via domestication using the authors’ work in cattle as a case study. These chapters both emphasize that current global food production is rooted in a very narrow genetic base, especially for livestock. Forest and tree genetic resources are then considered by David Boshier and colleagues (Chapter 3), and wild plants and animals by Verina Ingram and colleagues (Chapter 4). In Chapter 5, Devin Bartley and Matthias Halwart turn to aquatic genetic resources: this chapter also considers the issue of domestication, which has occurred in some fish species such as carp (but very minimally in other aquatic species)...
eBook - ePubAgrobiodiversity and the Law
Regulating Genetic Resources, Food Security and Cultural Diversity
- Juliana Santilli(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...These constitute the main units of production in Agriculture, including cultivated species, domesticated species, and managed wild plants and animals, as well as wild relatives of cultivated and domesticated species. 2 Components of agricultural biodiversity that provide ecological services. These include a diverse range of organisms in agricultural production systems that contribute, at various scales, to inter alia : (a) nutrient cycling, decomposition of organic matter and maintenance of soil fertility; (b) pest and disease regulation; (c) pollination; (d) maintenance and enhancement of local wildlife and habitats in their landscape; (e) maintenance of the hydrological cycle; (f) erosion control; and (g) climate regulation and carbon sequestration. 3 Abiotic factors which have a determining effect on these aspects of agricultural biodiversity. 4 Socioeconomic and cultural dimensions, since agricultural biodiversity is largely shaped by human activities and management practices. These include (a) traditional and local knowledge of agricultural biodiversity, cultural factors, and participatory processes; (b) tourism associated with agricultural landscapes; and (c) other socioeconomic factors. It is important to understand that a domesticated plant is not the same as a cultivated plant. Ethnobotanist Laure Emperaire (2004) explains that domestication is an evolutionary process through which a plant moves from its wild state – in which there is no human intervention – to a closer relation with humans and their agricultural activities. Domestication requires modification in the genetic heritage (composition) of the plant. As a result of selective cultivation by man, domesticated plants lose certain characteristics (which are not interesting for agricultural activities) and develop others...
eBook - ePub- Rattan Lal(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
...Sustainable Agriculture: Soil Quality John W. Doran U.S. Department of Agriculture—Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.A. Ed G. Gregorich Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Abstract Sustainable Agriculture is a way of farming that can be carried out for generations to come. This long-term approach to Agriculture combines efficient production with the wise stewardship of the earth’s resources, including land management to maintain or enhance the quality of agricultural soils. Over time, sustainable Agriculture is expected to meet human needs for food and fiber; protect the natural resource base, preventing the degradation of soil, water, and air quality and conserving biodiversity; use non-renewable resources efficiently; work with natural biological cycles and controls; and assure the economic survival of farming and the well-being of farmers and their families. Thus, the concept of sustainability embraces three distinct but overlapping areas of concern: social, economic, and environmental factors. Taking a holistic ecosystem approach to Agriculture is the key to integrating these components of sustainability. INTRODUCTION Growing human populations, diminishing non-renewable resources, social and political instability, and environmental degradation threaten the natural processes that sustain the global ecosphere and life on earth. [ 1, 2 ] With losses of farmland to degradation and urbanization and little new agricultural land to develop, meeting the needs of future populations for food, fiber, and other agricultural products depends on a significant increase in crop yields...
- Miguel Altieri, Clara Nicholls(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
...Economically, agricultural burdens include the need to supply crops with costly external inputs, since agroecosystems deprived of basic regulatory functional components lack the capacity to sponsor their own soil fertility and pest regulation. Often the costs also involve a reduction in the quality of life due to decreased soil, water, and food quality when pesticide, nitrate, or other type of contamination occurs. Clearly, the fates of Agriculture and biodiversity are intertwined. It is possible to intensify Agriculture in a sustainable manner in order to secure some of the remaining natural habitats, thus ensuring the provision of environmental services to Agriculture. Agroecological forms of intensification can also enhance the conservation and use of agro-biodiversity, which can lead to better use of natural resources and agroecosystem stability (Gliessman, 1999). THE NATURE OF BIODIVERSITY IN AGROECOSYSTEMS Biodiversity in agroecosystems can be as varied as the crops, weeds, arthropods, or microorganisms involved or the geographical location and climatic, edaphic, human, and socioeconomic factors. In general, the degree of biodiversity in agroecosystems depends on four main characteristics of the agroecosystem (Southwood and Way, 1970): • The diversity of vegetation within and around the agroecosystem • The permanence of the various crops within the agroecosystem • The intensity of management • The extent of the isolation of the agroecosystem from natural vegetation The biodiversity components of agroecosystems can be classified in relation to the roles they play in the functioning of cropping systems...
eBook - ePubClimate Change and Crop Production
Foundations for Agroecosystem Resilience
- Noureddine Benkeblia, Noureddine Benkeblia(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
...They demonstrate an integrative capacity to apply the skills to new and unique situations, moving beyond the methods of any single discipline to blend the methods of biophysical science with those of socioeconomic investigation in their thinking and their research. These are the types of capacities and competences needed to deal with issues related to climate change in Agriculture. 11.10 Conclusions and Outlook Education that prepares graduates to deal with seemingly intractable problems such as system resilience in the face of climate change must go beyond the artificial boundaries of individual disciplines and specializations. Students learn the challenges faced by diverse stakeholders in farming and food systems and understand their incommensurable goals that may appear unique to each player in the system. Short-term production and profits, meeting local food needs while maintaining exports, using renewable resources efficiently while preserving non-renewable resources for the future, maintaining a quality environment for survival of humans and other species are among the challenges not easily addressed in compartmentalized approaches to research and development. Agroecology provides a platform to guide the needed education. There are broad goals to which everyone should subscribe: producing adequate food for a growing human population, creating a level of equity in distribution of food so that everyone can achieve their potential, and preserving a livable environment and quality of life. As summarized in the Brundtland Report (WCED 1987), we need to use resources to meet the needs of our current human population while not reducing opportunities for future generations to make their own choices. More than twenty years of experience using an agroecology approach in education in MSc and PhD courses confirm that the methods work, in different countries and cultures, and in diverse agroecoregions and economic systems...
