ECOL 8440: Agroecology/Agroforestry
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چکیده
Industrial or “Green Revolution” agriculture depends upon petroleum to manufacture and spread fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides and to power irrigation systems that act upon crops selected to increase agricultural yield. It has been criticized on the grounds that it has favored mainly rich farmers and caused serious environmental pollution. Now a second “Green Revolution” is being proposed that uses genetically engineered crops to boost agricultural yields even higher. The rationale is that such a new revolution is necessary to feed the world. However, the rising costs of petroleum may preclude this approach to feed the world.
منابع مشابه
Agroecology and Ecological Restoration: Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes with Resilience
Background: Conventional cattle ranching and agricultural practices have severely degraded and fragmented tropical forests in Latin America. This trend has resulted in the loss of a range of ecosystem services upon which humans depend, especially those that support agricultural production, such as biodiversity, the provision of water and soil fertility. Consequently, conventional cattle ranchin...
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Ecological impacts of industrial agriculture include significant greenhouse gas emissions, loss of biodiversity, widespread pollution by fertilizers and pesticides, soil loss and degradation, declining pollinators, and human health risks, among many others. A rapidly growing body of scientific research, however, suggests that farming systems designed and managed according to ecological principl...
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After briefly describing the origins and recent history of agroecology, the author critically reflects on what makes agroecology fundamentally different from climate smart agriculture (CSA). This article focuses in particular on the more transformative elements of the agroecology and food sovereignty paradigm to clearly identify overlaps and divergences with CSA and explore its incommensurable ...
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Shifting agriculture in the tropics has been replaced by sedentary smallholder farming on a few hectares of degraded land. To address low yields and low income both, the soil fertility, the agroecosystem functions, and the source of income can be restored by diversification with nitrogen-fixing trees and the cultivation of indigenous tree species that produce nutritious and marketable products....
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The concept of agroecology in the United States is born out of a dialectical process of co-production of knowledge whereby the science of agroecology has shaped and been shaped by alternative agri-food movements, policy, and local practice. This article examines the relationship between agroecology and alternative agri-food movements and identifies opportunities for greater engagement. The arti...
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