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The sub-prime mortgage debacle. The Great Recession. Derivatives and hedge funds. The effective bankruptcy of Greece and the subsequent collapse of the euro. China’s imminent bubble. The catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Weeds resistant to glyphosate. Bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Global climate change. The common factor? Humans want too much. We are addicted to growth. The problem...
Many factors enforce the intensification of grassland utilization which is associated with significant environmental impacts subjected to various legislative constraints. Nevertheless, the need for diversification in agricultural production and the sustainability in energy within the European Union have advanced the role of grassland as a renewable source of energy in grass biomethane production with...
Biodiversity is essential for an evolving ecosystem and as a resource for further development of natural products by breeding. At present agriculture is under pressure by the demand for increased crop production and the public anticipation for sustainable cultivation practices. Undeniably, the prerequisite for adaptation of an organism to changing environmental conditions is genetic variability. The...
The integration of aquaculture within wider farming systems has been promoted as a way of increasing food production, conserving the environment and ensuring food security. Such systems are known as integrated agri-aquaculture systems (IAAS), which are characterized by their capacity to generate synergies between farm enterprises. Agri-aquaculture systems are generally family farming systems, comprised...
Agriculture is the backbone of economy for most countries, especially the developing countries with high population density. However, the change in climate and its influence on the environment has led to low productivity of several staple crops that can be attributable to prevailing biotic and abiotic factors. In the long run, these factors are likely to have more adverse effects on the crop yield...
The new challenges that will be faced by agriculture in the twenty-first century impose the adoption of strategies able to increase food production without further increase the area of arable land and with low environmental impact. Soil microorganisms are a major component of the natural fertility of soils. They can promote plant growth, increase crop productivity and contribute significantly to the...
Agriculture is both a “producer” and a “consumer” of energy. Since useful energy is in ever shorter supply and energy use is a pollution factor solutions are needed for enhancing production while reducing inputs. To this end it is necessary to get accurate data and adopt unequivocal analytic procedures permitting to compare and rank contrasting agricultural systems. In this report we show that two...
Climate change has moved to the top of the world’s environmental agenda. Agriculture is an economic activity that is highly dependent on climate in order to produce the food and fiber necessary to sustain human life. The agriculture in India is highly sensitive to variations of weather and climate. The history of Indian agriculture reflect a series of adaptation. Soil, water, terrain, climate, technological...
Wetlands are some of the most biologically productive and dynamic natural ecosystems with multiple value for man and nature. Indeed wetlands provide goods and service such as water storing, floodwater trapping, and trapping of sediment and pollutants. Wetlands also affect climate change by absorbing CO2, storing and releasing heat, and harnessing sunlight using a rich variety of vegetation that supports...
The tea beverages processed from the young tender shoots of Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze, are claimed to be the most widely consumed fluids after water. The tea plant originates from the point of confluence of Northeast India, North Burma, Southwest China and Tibet. Its production has spread and economic production has been reported in between 49 ∘ N in Outer Carpathians to 33 ∘ S in Natal, South...
Agroforestry evolved with agriculture to make the best use of the land and to maintain equilibrium between man, land, livestock and plants. In recent years, agroforestry has been developed as an autonomous science that can help farmers to increase profitability and land sustainability. Tree growing in combination with agriculture, including individual farms, watersheds and regional landscape can be...
Carefully designed intercropping systems can have many advantages in comparison to monocropping such as increased forage yield, enhanced weed control, reduced soil erosion and, in the case of legumes, improved soil fertility due to their symbiosis with nitrogen-fixating bacteria. In addition the use of forage legumes is increasing for the rations of ruminants because legumes supply animal husbandry...
Sustainability and food security are the major challenges faced by third world countries for the past several decades. Most of the third world countries are also facing problems of climate change, increasing population, overexploitation of natural resources and resource degradation associated with rapid economic growth. Among the scientific and policy circles there are controversies in using inorganic...
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