> Agricultural biodiversity is used by rural communities worldwide in many time-tested practices that can confer increased resilience to farms, communities and landscapes. Using it more effectively and more sustainably can help to maintain and increase the flow of services and benefits agricultural biodiversity provides to communities. Using biodiversity to provide multiple services in sustaina...

The world population is expected to reach 9.1 billion by year 2050 says FAO (World Food and Agriculture Organization) and to feed this population food production should be increased by at least 70%. Developing countries have to double their food production. The traditional methods of farming and ever decreasing farm labour availability is making agriculture economically unviable and inefficient...

The Scops Owl Otus scops is the most endangered and least studied owl in Europe, with widespread declines reported throughout Europe. The species is qualitatively associated with two threats: changes in agricultural practices and predation by Tawny Owls Strix aluco. We investigated these two threats to a population in the Alps, where land abandonment is causing widespread woodland expansion wit...

Agriculture has been a cornerstone of human civilization for thousands years, providing food and other essential resources to sustain our societies. However, as we enter the 21st century, face unprecedented challenges that threaten very foundations agricultural systems. Climate change, resource depletion, population growth are just few issues demand urgent attention from policymakers practition...

Agricultural systems are embedded in wider social-ecological processes that must be considered in any complete discussion of sustainable agriculture. Just as climatic profiles will influence the future viability of crops, institutions, i.e., governance agreements, rural household and community norms, local associations, markets, and agricultural ministries, to name but a few, create the conditi...

PURPOSE: Information on agricultural practices has been obtained by questionnaire in several epidemiologic investigations. This project evaluated the reliability of self-reported information on pesticide use and various demographic and lifestyle factors among a group of farmers from Iowa.METHODS: 2,921 Iowa farmers participating in the Agricultural Health Study completed enrollment questionnair...

Farmers’ practices in the management of agricultural landscapes influence biodiversity with implications for livelihoods, ecosystem service provision, and biodiversity conservation. In this study, we examined how smallholding farmers in an agricultureforest mosaic landscape in southwestern Ethiopia manage trees and forests with regard to a few selected ecosystem services and disservices that th...

Maintaining drinking water quality is essential to water companies and their customers. However, agricultural non-point source pollution of waterways is a major cause of water quality degradation. In this paper we examine the feasibility of using payments financed by a water company to pay farmers to adjust agricultural land management practices to protect water quality. We use the choice exper...