Product Description: Agroecology theory is not endless. A point is reached where the central elements become visible, equations distill, and a conceptual apex is reached. This is agroecology condensed into core concepts and theorems describing how crops relate to each other, the land, and their surroundings...read more

In the race to feed the world’s seven billion people, we are at a standstill. Over the past century, we have developed increasingly potent and sophisticated pesticides, yet in 2014, the average percentage of U.S. crops lost to agricultural pests was no less than in 1944. To use a metaphor the field of evolutionary biology borrowed from Alice in Wonderland, farmers must run ever faster to stay in the same place—i.e., produce the same yields. With Chasing the Red Queen, Andy Dyer offers the first book to apply the Red Queen Hypothesis to agriculture. He illustrates that when selection pressure increases, species evolve in response, creating a never-ending, perpetually-escalating competition between predator (us) and prey (bugs and weeds). The result is farmers are caught in a vicious cycle of chemical dependence, stuck using increasingly dangerous and expensive toxics to beat back progressively resistant pests. To break the cycle, we must learn the science behind it. Dyer examines one of the world’s most pressing problems as a biological case study. He presents key concepts, from Darwin’s principles of natural selection to genetic variation and adaptive phenotypes. Understanding the fundamentals of ecology and biology is the first step to “playing the Red Queen,” and escaping her unwinnable race. The book’s novel frame will help students, researchers, and policy-makers alike apply that knowledge to the critical task of achieving food security.

Product Description: Water protection, food production and ecosystem health are worldwide issues. Changes in the global water cycle are affecting human wellbeing in many places, while widespread land and ecosystem degradation, driven by poor agricultural practices, is seriously limiting food production...read more

Product Description: Stephen Gliessman's complementary volumes, Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems, Third Edition and Field and Laboratory Investigations in Agroecology, Third Edition are now available together for one low price. Completely revised, updated, and reworked, the third edition of Agroecology presents new data, material, case studies, and options, as well as more emphasis on topics such as the values, beliefs, and ethics of sustainable food systems...read more

***e FACHGEBIET*** Agriculture, Agronomy, Forestry, Horticulture, Soil Science, Environmental Science (esp. Plant Ecology), Agricultural Chemistry, Agricultural Economics, Natural Resource Economics, Sociology, and Anthropology ***INTERESSENTENGRUPPE*** Of interest to researchers, students, and professionals in the above fields.- Level: Technical Book, Monograph ***URHEBER*** S.R. Gliessman, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA (Ed.) ***TITEL*** Agroecology ***UNTERTITEL*** Researching the Ecological Basis for Sustainable Agriculture ***BIBLIOGRAPHISCHE-ANGABEN*** 1990. XIV, 380 pp. 87 figs. (Ecological Studies. Eds.: W.D. Billings, F. Golley, O.L. Lange, J.S. Olson, H. Remmert. Vol. 78) Hardcover DM 198,- ISBN 3-540-97028-2 ***CONTENTS*** Contents: Part I: Basic Ecological Concepts in Agroecosystems.- Part II: Agroecosystem Design and Management.- Index. ***LANGTEXT*** This book provides an introduction to research approaches in the emerging interdisciplinary field of agroecology. It demonstrates in a series of international case studies how to combine the more production-oriented focus of the agronomist with the more systems-oriented viewpoint of the ecologist. Different methodologies for quantifying and evaluating agroecosystem sustainability are presented and analyzed. Leading researchers in the field provide examples of the diversity and complexity of agroecological research, ranging from archeology to insect ecology, and examine design and management of agroecosystems that span from the humid tropics to temperate regions. This timely overview will be of great value to ecologists, agronomists, geographers, foresters, anthropologists, and others involved in developing a sustainable basis for land use, management, and conservation worldwide. ***RS-ENDE*** RS 11/89 PREX ***RS-NOTIZEN*** NY/Dr. Czeschlik

Product Description: The State of the World's Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture is FAO's first flagship publication on the global status of land and water resources. It is an 'advocacy' report, to be published every three to five years, and targeted at senior level decision makers in agriculture as well as in other sectors...read more

Product Description: This book examines commercial agriculture's strain on our natural resources, ecosystems, and the farmer. As a fourth-generation farmer, Eric Herm deals with the harsh economic realities and complicated legislation facing farmers, as well as the undeniable health impact of GMO crops and excessive chemicals...read more