An Ecosystem Approach to Sustainable Agriculture - Energy Use Efficiency in the American South

Modern industrial agriculture is not sustainable because of its heavy reliance on petroleum, a non-renewable source of the energy used in farming, and because of pollution caused by petroleum products such as fertilizers and pesticides. A systems analysis of farming suggests that agriculture will be more sustainable when services of nature, such as nutrient recycling by soil micro-organisms and natural controls of insects, replace the services now provided by energy from petroleum. Examples are drawn from the Southeastern USA, but lessons learned can be applied worldwide.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

A Systems (Holistic) Approach to Sustainable Agriculture.- A History of Unsustainability in Agriculture.- Political and Economic Challenges to Creating a Sustainable Agriculture.- Energetic Services of Nature That Increase Agricultural Sustainability.- Applied Tools and Practices For Sustainable Agriculture.- An Economic, Ecological, and Cultural Evaluation of Agriculture in The American South.- Case Studies of Contemporary, Sustainable Farms in the South.- Holism vs. Reductionism in Agricultural Science.- Appendices.

Zusammenfassung

Modern industrial agriculture is not sustainable because of its heavy reliance on petroleum, a non-renewable source of the energy used in farming, and because of pollution caused by petroleum products such as fertilizers and pesticides. A systems analysis of farming suggests that agriculture will be more sustainable when services of nature, such as nutrient recycling by soil micro-organisms and natural controls of insects, replace the services now provided by energy from petroleum. Examples are drawn from the Southeastern USA, but lessons learned can be applied worldwide.      
  

Produktdetails

• Autoren: Carl F Jordan, Carl F. Jordan
• Verlag: Springer Netherlands
• Sprache: Englisch
• Produktform: Fester Einband
• Erschienen: 30.06.2013
• EAN: 9789400767898
• ISBN: 978-94-0-076789-8
• Seiten: 247
• Abmessung: 162 mm x 240 mm x 14 mm
• Gewicht: 508 g
• Illustration: XVI, 247 p.
• Serien: Environmental Challenges and Solutions; Environmental Challenges and Solutions
• Themen: Naturwissenschaften, Medizin, Informatik, Technik > Geowissenschaften; Sozialwissenschaften, Recht,Wirtschaft > Politikwissenschaft > Politische Wissenschaft und Politische Bildung; B, Sustainable Development, Ecology, Applied ecology, Agriculture, Environmental Social Sciences, Earth and Environmental Science, Conservation Biology, Conservation Biology/Ecology, Environmental Management, Conservation of the environment, Ecological science, the Biosphere, Environmental management,, Ecosystems, Agricultural science