Crop Ecology: Productivity and Management in Agricultural Systems
Cambridge University Press
Edition: 2, 4/28/2011
EAN 9780521744034, ISBN10: 0521744032
Paperback, 576 pages, 24.4 x 17 x 3.3 cm
Language: English
Food security and environmental conservation are two of the greatest challenges facing the world today. It is predicted that food production must increase by at least 70% before 2050 to support continued population growth, though the size of the world's agricultural area will remain essentially unchanged. This updated and thoroughly revised second edition provides in-depth coverage of the impact of environmental conditions and management on crops, resource requirements for productivity and effects on soil resources. The approach is explanatory and integrative, with a firm basis in environmental physics, soils, physiology and morphology. System concepts are explored in detail throughout the book, giving emphasis to quantitative approaches, management strategies and tactics employed by farmers, and associated environmental issues. Drawing on key examples and highlighting the role of science, technology and economic conditions in determining management strategies, this book is suitable for agriculturalists, ecologists and environmental scientists.
Preface
Part I. Farming Systems and Their Biological Components
1. Agricultural systems
2. Trophic chains
3. Community concepts
4. Genetic resources
5. Development
Part II. Physical and Chemical Environments
6. Aerial environment
7. Soil resources
Part III. Production Processes
8. Nitrogen processes
9. Water relations
10. Photosynthesis
11. Respiration and partitioning
Part IV. Resource Management
12. Soil management
13. Strategies and tactics for rainfed agriculture
14. Water management in irrigated agriculture
15. Energy and labor
Part V. Farming, Then, Now and in the Future
16. Evolution of wheat farming systems in southern Australia
17. Technological change in high-yield agriculture
18. The future of agriculture
Species list
Conversions and constants useful in crop ecology
Index.