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Inclusion of legumes in cropping systems can play an increasingly important role to maintain soil fertility and sustain crop production. Legumes are an important source of nutrition to both humans and livestock by providing the much needed protein, minerals, fiber and vitamins. The sale of legumes seed, leaves and fiber generates income for the marginalized communities especially women in the dryland areas. Cultivation of legumes is essential for the regeneration of nutrient-deficient soils. Legumes can be incorporated into cropping systems as green manure, intercropped or rotated with cereals and as leguminous shrubs in improved fallow systems. By biologically fixing nitrogen (BNF) in the soil, legumes provide a relatively low-cost method of replacing otherwise expensive inorganic nitrogen in the soil. Legumes also improve other soil physical properties, provide ground cover and reduce soil erosion, increase soil organic matter, cation exchange capacity, microbial activity and lowers soil temperature and suppress weeds and pests. All these beneficial effects result in enhanced soil fertility and boosts subsequent cereal crop yields. Legumes therefore play an important role of improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers around the world.  Despite the above benefits, production of legumes in SSA is hampered by a number of constraints. Most soils in SSA are deficient in key nutrients especially phosphorus that is essential for proper legume establishment. Other limitations include low soil pH, high salinity, drought and flooding. Legume production is also hindered by new diseases, pests, and weeds, which farmers need to learn how to control if the full benefits of legumes are to be gained. Beyond the abiotic factors are issues of access to inputs (improved seed and fertilizers), markets and access to relevant production information. This book presents a synthesis of research work on legumes and draws attention to the importance of legumes in integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) and poverty alleviation in SSA.

Agriculture. Animal husbandry. Hunting. Fishery --- landbouw --- armoede

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Irrigated agriculture, a vital component of general agriculture, supplies fruits, vegetables, and cereals consumed by humans and grains fed to animals. Consequently, agriculture is the largest user of fresh water globally, and irrigation practices in many parts of the world are biologically, economically, and socially unsustainable. Water management should balance the need for agricultural water and the need for a sustainable environment. Water-use efficiency is the prime challenge in worldwide farming practices where problems of water shortages are widespread. Currently, agriculture is undergoing significant changes in innovative irrigation, fertilizer technology, and agronomic expertise. These elements constitute a vital platform for sustainable agricultural success and for preventing environmental damage. This review presents several processes linked to environmental irrigation, balancing environmental protection with improved agricultural production.

Agriculture. Animal husbandry. Hunting. Fishery --- landbouw

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Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. Sustainable agriculture is a discipline that addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control, and biodiversity depletion. Novel, environmentally-friendly solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from sciences as diverse as agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, and social sciences. Indeed, sustainable agriculture decipher mechanisms of processes that occur from the molecular level to the farming system to the global level at time scales ranging from seconds to centuries. For that, scientists use the system approach that involves studying components and interactions of a whole system to address scientific, economic and social issues. In that respect, sustainable agriculture is not a classical, narrow science. Instead of solving problems using the classical painkiller approach that treats only negative impacts, sustainable agriculture treats problem sources. Because most actual society issues are now intertwined, global, and fast-developing, sustainable agriculture will bring solutions to build a safer world. This book series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then propose alternative solutions. It will therefore help all scientists, decision-makers, professors, farmers and politicians who wish to build a safe agriculture, energy and food system for future generations.

Agriculture. Animal husbandry. Hunting. Fishery --- landbouw

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Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. Sustainable agriculture is a discipline that addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control, and biodiversity depletion. Novel, environmentally-friendly solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from sciences as diverse as agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, and social sciences. Indeed, sustainable agriculture decipher mechanisms of processes that occur from the molecular level to the farming system to the global level at time scales ranging from seconds to centuries. For that, scientists use the system approach that involves studying components and interactions of a whole system to address scientific, economic and social issues. In that respect, sustainable agriculture is not a classical, narrow science. Instead of solving problems using the classical painkiller approach that treats only negative impacts, sustainable agriculture treats problem sources. Because most actual society issues are now intertwined, global, and fast-developing, sustainable agriculture will bring solutions to build a safer world. This book series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then propose alternative solutions. It will therefore help all scientists, decision-makers, professors, farmers and politicians who wish to build a safe agriculture, energy and food system for future generations.

Agriculture. Animal husbandry. Hunting. Fishery --- biobrandstoffen --- landbouw

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This book reviews the extent of resource debasement in China's pastoral zones and offers solutions for their sustainable use. This book draws upon the large body of Chinese language literature that is generally inaccessible to the English language audience. By having joint editors/contributors who are Chinese specialists of high repute we can unlock  much useful data and synthesize the current thinking in China of government agencies and academic circles toward the notion of a systems approach to environmental management. This book reviews the extent of resource debasement in China's pastoral zones and offers solutions for their sustainable use. The 5-parts deal with rangelands, and the people who manage them, and assess the prospects for rehabilitation. Topics include Livestock husbandry development and agro-pastoral integration in NW China; Ecological restoration and control of rangeland degradation. Despite widespread degradation, the book reveals the possibilities for rehabilitation and the implementation of sustainable use and for reclamation of degraded lands. There are fifteen chapters on subjects that include: Livestock management, Rangeland management interventions, Agro-pastoral integration, Improved animal husbandry practices as a basis for profitability. Land tenure and access, Environmental education, Ecological Restoration and New Management approaches for China's northwest pastoral areas. Two chapters are devoted to the achievement of global environmental objectives. Carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation in mountain grasslands are just a few of the covered subjects. This portion of the book pays special attention to the successful results in Gansu- a major region of China's pastoral lands. The final division addresses measures to improve the profitability and sustainability of herding and farming in the pastoral areas of north-west China. These and other innovative ideas make Towards Sustainable Use of Rangelands in China's North West a valuable addition to any environmental library. It is vitally important that a beginning is made on addressing the issues raised here. It is timely that the direction be set and the first steps taken in that direction. If this book can help in the process of achieving better resource management in NW China, we will feel truly rewarded.

Agriculture. Animal husbandry. Hunting. Fishery --- landbouw