World Soil Resources and Food Security PDF Download

Author: Rattan Lal
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1439844518
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 574

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Book Description
Soil-The Basis of All Terrestrial LifeAncient civilizations and cultures-Mayan, Aztec, Mesopotamian, Indus, and Yangtze-were built on good soils, surviving only as long as soils had the capacity to support them. In the twenty-first century, productive soil is still the engine of economic development and essential to human well-being. The quality of

Author: Rattan Lal
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1439800588
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description
Just five years ago, it was generally believed that the number of food insecure people in the world was on continuous decline. Unfortunately, widespread soil degradation along with resistance to recommended agronomic practices, and little attempt to restore degraded soils have conspired with significant droughts (in regions that could least tolerate them) to swell the ranks of the food insecure to over a billion people. The U.N. Millennium Development Goals’ intent to halve hunger by 2015 will not be realized. Food Security and Soil Quality brings together leading experts from across the world to provide a concise and factually supported exploration of the problem at hand and the critical steps needed to reverse it. Edited by Rattan Lal, and B.A. Stewart, two of the world’s most respected soil scientists, this important work — Assesses farming systems and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa, with special emphasis on land degradation Examines concerns with and approaches to soil quality management in Brazil and China Details achievable methods for improving soil quality for sustainable production Provides an insightful comparison of temporal changes in agricultural systems productivity in Punjab, India and Ohio Discusses the human dimension of the crisis including the influence of culture and spiritual beliefs Dr. Lal himself writes that despite the existence of scientific data on sustainable management of soil and water resources, problems of soil and environmental degradation have persisted and have been aggravated. And that these problems are rooted in land misuse and soil mismanagement. This book does provide policymakers and others with an understanding of the depth, complexity, and immediacy of this crisis, but more than a call to action, it also offers soil scientists working in this area with an understanding of what is being done and what needs to be done. Most importantly, this book helps us understand that the situation is not beyond remediation were we to act with great resolve and a sense of urgency. A tree's leaves may be ever so good, So may its bark, so may its wood; But unless you put the right thing to its root, It never will show much flower or fruit. — from Leaves Compared With Flowers, by Robert Frost

Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264183787
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description
This report, prepared by FAO and the OECD with inputs from IFPRI, IFAD, the World Bank and WTO, has been submitted to the G20 Presidency of the Argentine Republic in response to the Presidency’s request for information on future trends and challenges faced by global agriculture, with a special ...

Author: Sara J. Scherr
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896296318
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 77

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Book Description
Evaluating the impact of soil degradation o food security. Past and present effects of soil degradation. Future effects of soil degradation and threats to developing-country food security. Policy and research priorities.

Author: Rattan Lal
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420028618
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 808

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Book Description
In order to feed their burgeoning populations, developing nations will need to double cereal production by the year 2050. This increase will have to come from existing land, as little potential exists for bringing new land under cultivation -- a daunting prospect when one realizes that increased use and significantly higher concentrations of carbon dioxide have led to a severe depletion of the carbon pool in the world's soils. This is especially telling in developing countries where tropical climates further compromise the soil's ability to recover. In Climate Change and Global Food Security, bestselling editor Rattan Lal heads up a team of the world's top soil scientists and ecologists to document the history of this impending agricultural crisis and explore possible solutions. Throughout this timely text, the authors address six complex themes: 1. The impact of projected climate change on soil quality, water resources, temperature regime, and growing season duration on net primary productivity of different biomes 2. Soil carbon dynamics under changing climate 3. The impact of changes in carbon dioxide and ecological environments on agronomic yields and food production in different regions of the world 4. World food demands and supply during the 21st century 5. Policy and economic issues related to carbon trading and enhancing agricultural production 6. Research and development priorities for enhancing soil carbon pool and food security This hard-hitting text is essential reading for anyone involved with soil and crop sciences as well as policy makers and change agents who need to come to the forefront of this issue armed with the latest information and viable solutions.

Author: Humberto Blanco-Canqui
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402087098
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 617

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Book Description
“Principles of Soil Management and Conservation” comprehensively reviews the state-of-knowledge on soil erosion and management. It discusses in detail soil conservation topics in relation to soil productivity, environment quality, and agronomic production. It addresses the implications of soil erosion with emphasis on global hotspots and synthesizes available from developed and developing countries. It also critically reviews information on no-till management, organic farming, crop residue management for industrial uses, conservation buffers (e.g., grass buffers, agroforestry systems), and the problem of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and in other regions. This book uniquely addresses the global issues including carbon sequestration, net emissions of CO2, and erosion as a sink or source of C under different scenarios of soil management. It also deliberates the implications of the projected global warming on soil erosion and vice versa. The concern about global food security in relation to soil erosion and strategies for confronting the remaining problems in soil management and conservation are specifically addressed. This volume is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students interested in understanding the principles of soil conservation and management. The book is also useful for practitioners, extension agents, soil conservationists, and policymakers as an important reference material.

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9789251033944
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Fao
ISBN: 9789251044278
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Book Description
The purpose of the workshop was to promote Land Resources Information Systems (LRIS) and their application in the assessment, mapping and monitoring of land in relation to food security in the South African Development Community (SADC) countries. The workshop reviewed advances made both within and outside SADC. Experiences were discussed and a plan of action prepared to promote future reporting and exchange of information, data expertise and experiences in land information using technical cooperation among developing countries

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 26

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Book Description
The Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management (VGSSM) embody a framework for worldwide application addressing sustainable management of soils (SSM) in all type of land use systems. They promote the effective and viable maintenance and enhancement of the ecosystem services that soils provide such as food, feed, fiber production, climate regulation, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and the regulation of water quality and quantity. Their overarching goals are to achieve food security for all, improve nutrition and support the progressive realization of a judicious management of non-renewable natural resource in the context of sustainable development. They represent a key output for the Global Soil Partnership that demonstrate once again to be an effective global policy forum where global soil issues are discussed and addressed by multiple stakeholders. The Guidelines serve as both a complementary tool fostering the implementation of the revised World Soil Charter and as a reference for a wide range of committed stakeholders, such as government officials, policy makers, farmers, pastoralists, forest and land managers, extension specialists and agricultural advisors, development partners, civil society, private sector and, academia, etc. The VGSSM’s added value is in its principal aim: setting out established scientific principles and internationally acknowledged recommended management practices for the responsible governance of soils. By setting out these technical and policy recommendations, they provide guidance to all stakeholders on how sustainable soil management can be achieved.

Author: Somasundaram Jayaraman
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 981160827X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 626

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Book Description
Feeding the increasing global population, which is projected to reach ~10 billion by 2050, there has been increasing demands for more improved/sustainable agricultural management practices that can be followed by farmers to improve productivity without jeopardizing the environment and ecosystem. Indeed, about 95% of our food directly or indirectly comes from soil. It is a precious resource, and sustainable soil management is a critical socio–economic and environmental issue. Maintaining the environmental sustainability while the world is facing resource degradation, increasing climate change and population explosion is the current challenge of every food production sectors. Thus, there is an urgent need to evolve a holistic approach such as conservation agriculture to sustain higher crop productivity in the country without deteriorating soil health. Conservation Agriculture (CA), is a sustainable approach to manage agro–ecosystems in order to improve productivity, increase farm profitabilty and food security and also enhance the resource base and environment. Worldwide, it has been reported various benefits and prospects in adopting CA technologies in different agro-climatic conditions. Yet, CA in arid and semi-arid regions of India and parts of south Asia raises uncertainities due to its extreme climates, large scale residue burning, soil erosion and other constraints such as low water holding capacity, high potential evapotranspiration, etc . Thus, the proposed book has 30 chapters addressing all issues relevant to conservation agriculture/no-till farming system. The book also gives further strengthening existing knowledge in relation to soil physical, chemical and biological processes and health within close proximity of CA as well as machinery requirements. Moreover, the information on carbon (C) sequestration, C credits, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, mitigation of climate change effects and socio-economic view on CA under diverse ecologies namely rainfed, irrigated and hill eco-region is also deliberated. For large scale adoption of CA practices in South Asian region especially in India and other countries need dissemination of best-bet CA technologies for dominant soil types/cropping systems through participatory mode, strong linkages and institutional mechanism and public-private-policy support. We hope this book gives a comprehensive and clear picture about conservation agriculture/no-till farming and its associated problem, challenges, prospects and benefits. This book shall be highly useful reference material to researchers, scientists, students, farmers and land managers for efficient and sustainable management of natural resources.