Managing Water and Agroecosystems for Food Security

Managing Water and Agroecosystems for Food Security PDF Author: Eline Boelee
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 1780640889
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Water protection, food production and ecosystem health are worldwide issues. Changes in the global water cycle are affecting human well-being in many places, while widespread land and ecosystem degradation, driven by poor agricultural practices, is seriously limiting food production. Understanding the links between ecosystems, water, and food production is important to the health of all three, and sustainably managing these connections is becoming increasingly necessary. This book shows how sustainable ecosystems, especially agroecosystems, are essential for water management and food production.

Managing Water and Agroecosystems for Food Security

Managing Water and Agroecosystems for Food Security PDF Author: Eline Boelee
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 1780640889
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Water protection, food production and ecosystem health are worldwide issues. Changes in the global water cycle are affecting human well-being in many places, while widespread land and ecosystem degradation, driven by poor agricultural practices, is seriously limiting food production. Understanding the links between ecosystems, water, and food production is important to the health of all three, and sustainably managing these connections is becoming increasingly necessary. This book shows how sustainable ecosystems, especially agroecosystems, are essential for water management and food production.

Adaptive Agricultural Practices

Adaptive Agricultural Practices PDF Author: Pradeep Kumar Dubey
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030155196
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Book Description
This brief explores several adaptive agricultural practices from around the world to fulfill current and future agricultural demands for food security due to the challenges posed by climate change and growing global population. Readers will discover how farmers adapt to environmental changes by adopting various agronomic practices at crop, farm and landscape levels. Particular attention is given to systemic and transformational adaptation strategies employed by farmers such as mulching, organic farming and crop diversification. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book that provides insights on how crops can build up resilience against periods of drought, high salinity, disasters such as floods, and diseases. The policy implications and future prospects of these adaptation strategies are also addressed. Environmental and plant scientists, agronomists and researchers in climate sciences will find this book interesting.

Nature-Based Solutions for agricultural water management and food security

Nature-Based Solutions for agricultural water management and food security PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251311250
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 69

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Book Description
Accessibility to clean and sufficient water resources for agriculture is key in feeding the steadily increasing world population in a sustainable manner. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) offer a promising contribution to enhance availability and quality of water for productive purposes and human consumption, while simultaneously striving to preserve the integrity and intrinsic value of the ecosystems. Implementing successful NBS for water management, however, is not an easy task, since many ecosystems are already severely degraded and exploited beyond their regenerative capacity. Furthermore, ecosystems are large and complex and the many stakeholders involved may have conflicting interests. Hence, implementation of NBS requires a structured and comprehensive approach that starts with the valuation of the services provided by the ecosystem. The whole set of use and non-use values, in monetary terms, provides a factual basis to guide the implementation of NBS, which is ideally based on transdisciplinary principles, i.e. complemented with scientific and case-specific knowledge of the ecosystem in an adaptive decision-making process that involves the relevant stakeholders. This discussion paper evaluated twenty-one NBS case studies using a non-representative sample, to learn from successful and failed experiences and to identify possible causalities among factors that characterize the implementation of NBS. The case studies give a minor role to valuation of ecosystem services, an area for which the literature is still developing guidance. Less successful water management projects tend to suffer from inadequate factual and scientific basis and uncoordinated or insufficient stakeholder involvement and lack of long term planning. Successful case studies point to satisfactory understanding of the functioning of ecosystems and importance of multi-stakeholder platforms, well-identified funding schemes, realistic monitoring and evaluation systems and endurance of its promoters.

Managing Water and Agroecosystems for Food Security

Managing Water and Agroecosystems for Food Security PDF Author: Eline Boelee
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781789244182
Category : Agricultural ecology
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
This book is the 10th volume in the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture Series. The book is structured to systematically show the relationships between ecosystems, water and food security, and to elaborate an ecosystem approach to sustainable agriculture. It contains chapters on the drivers of food security (Chapter 2) and provides analyses on ecosystems, agroecosystems, ecosystem services and their valuation (Chapters 3 and 4). Next, there is an analysis of the role of water in agriculture as well as analyses of water use and scarcity (Chapter 5). This is followed by discussions of the specific challenges in drylands (Chapter 6) and wetlands (Chapter 7); each of these chapters provides more insight into the reasons why an integrated ecosystem approach is required and what this should entail, giving practical recommendations for those vulnerable ecosystems. A discussion of the contributions that can be made by increased water productivity to a better joint management of agroecosystems and water follows in the next chapter (Chapter 8). Subsequently, Chapter 9 presents various approaches to the enhancement of ecosystem services in agriculture, with many concrete examples, while Chapter 10 provides more detail of the ecosystem approach to water management. Finally, the last chapter (Chapter 11) ends the book with a synthesis that embeds the key recommendations into a landscape approach, links this to ongoing initiatives and identifies knowledge gaps for further research.

Water Productivity in Agriculture

Water Productivity in Agriculture PDF Author: J. W. Kijne
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 1845933397
Category : Crops and water
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
First title in a major new seriesAddresses improving water productivity to relieve problems of scarcity and competition to provide for food and environmental securityDraws from scientists having a multitude of disciplines to approach this important problemIn a large number of developing countries, policy makers and researchers are increasingly aware of the conflicting demands on water, and look at agriculture to be more effective in its use of water. Focusing on both irrigated and rain-fed agriculture, this book gives a state of the art review of the limits and opportunities for improving water productivity in crop production. It demonstrates how efficiency of water use can be enhanced to maximize yields. The book represents the first in a new series of volumes resulting from the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, a research program conducted by the CGIAR's Future Harvest Centres, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and partners worldwide. It will be of significant interest to those working in areas of soil and crop science, water management, irrigation, and development studies.

The Oxford Handbook of Food, Water and Society

The Oxford Handbook of Food, Water and Society PDF Author: Tony Allan
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190881186
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 945

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Book Description
Food, water and society: what is managed by whom, and with what impacts? Our food supply chains are at risk. Water resources--sometimes scarce, often damaged, and always under-valued--are among the major reasons why food and water security rank high every year in the World Economic Forum's major global risk analysis. A stable and sustainable food system is critical to society's survival. This Handbook shows that keeping the food system stable comes at the expense of the environment, especially of water resources and those who consume and manage them. The way the food system operates reflects hard political realities. Rather than pay for the environmental costs of sustainable production, society expects food at ever lower prices. Governments reflect their electorates in this regard. Given that farm production may account for as little as 10% of the food value chain in wealthy economies, it is striking that governments have been unwilling (or unable) to put in place the essential laws and accountability that would enable famers to ensure both production and stewardship. Corporate food traders, food manufacturers, and retailers on the other hand operate in markets that make profits and pay taxes. But these corporations are not contractually bound to utilize highly nutritious, sustainably produced food commodities. The articles in this Oxford Handbook have been written by water and food system scientists and professionals, including farmers, rarely heard voices who understand the problems of food producers, food manufacturers, and regulating markets and public policy. The articles address the blind spots of society and its public policymakers, demonstrating the importance of informing society about the consequences of its food preferences and the heroic challenges it is beginning to face. The damage we are doing to our water and soil ecosystems is as important as the damage we do to the atmosphere. Impressed by the technical and organizational advances of the past two centuries, the contributors featured in this book also take note of where economic inefficiencies and cultural deadlock in a 4,000 year old system are putting our critical food supply chains at risk.

Environmental Sustainability in the Mediterranean Region

Environmental Sustainability in the Mediterranean Region PDF Author: Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031645030
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description


Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Food Systems

Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Food Systems PDF Author: Neal K. Van Alfen
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080931391
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 2745

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Book Description
Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Food Systems, Second Edition, Five Volume Set addresses important issues by examining topics of global agriculture and food systems that are key to understanding the challenges we face. Questions it addresses include: Will we be able to produce enough food to meet the increasing dietary needs and wants of the additional two billion people expected to inhabit our planet by 2050? Will we be able to meet the need for so much more food while simultaneously reducing adverse environmental effects of today’s agriculture practices? Will we be able to produce the additional food using less land and water than we use now? These are among the most important challenges that face our planet in the coming decades. The broad themes of food systems and people, agriculture and the environment, the science of agriculture, agricultural products, and agricultural production systems are covered in more than 200 separate chapters of this work. The book provides information that serves as the foundation for discussion of the food and environment challenges of the world. An international group of highly respected authors addresses these issues from a global perspective and provides the background, references, and linkages for further exploration of each of topics of this comprehensive work. Addresses important challenges of sustainability and efficiency from a global perspective. Takes a detailed look at the important issues affecting the agricultural and food industries today. Full colour throughout.

Principles of Sustainable Soil Management in Agroecosystems

Principles of Sustainable Soil Management in Agroecosystems PDF Author: Rattan Lal
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1466513470
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 571

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Book Description
This book describes the laws of sustainable soil management to enhance ecosystem services while restoring degraded soils and promoting sustainable use. With chapters contributed by world-class soil scientists, ecologists, and social scientists, the book outlines critical changes in management of agricultural soils necessary to address global issues of food security, climate change, water security, and energy needs. Topics covered include organic farming, soil fertility, crop-symbiotic soil microbiota, human-driven soil degradation, soil degradation and restoration, carbon sink capacity of soils, and soil renewal and sustainability.

Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems

Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems PDF Author: Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128054018
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
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