Structure and Function in Agroecosystem Design and Management
Features
Summary
Structure and Function in Agroecosystem Design and Management presents an advanced discussion of the need to design agricultural systems that 1) increase reliance on biological interactions in agroecosystems as a means of decreasing dependence on the use of large quantities of agrochemicals and the consumption of fossil fuel energy and 2) continue to produce optimal crop yields. Written by international experts, this book discusses biological interactions, matter circulation, and disturbance operating within the agroecosystems in question.
The book covers matter cycling and focuses on reducing practices that require the consumption of large quantities of agrochemicals and fossil fuels. The editors then explore the effects of environmental changes and how they will change the management of the next generation of agroecosystems.
Is it possible to replace current technologies based on fossil energy with proper interactions operating between crops, livestock, and other organisms to enhance production? If the answer is yes, then modern agriculture can be transformed into an integrated system in which the use of complex biotic interactions is the key technology. Structure and Function in Agroecosystem Design and Management focuses on how can work when designed according to sound ecological practices, and provides the foundation to manage them in an ecologically efficient manner.
Table of Contents
Introduction, M. Shiyomi and H. Koizumi
Biological Interactions in Agroecosystems
Biodiversity in Agroecosystems and Bioindicators of Environmental Health, M.G. Paoletti
Species Diversity in Grasslands, J. Mitchley
Ecological Management of Crop-Weed Interactions, C. Doyle, N. McRoberts, R. Kirkwood and G. Marshall Utilization of Biological Interactions and Matter Cycling in Agriculture, M. Shiyomi
Biological Interaction in Tropical Grassland Ecosystems, P. Singh and S.D. Upadhyaya
Agroecology of Arbuscular-Mycorrhizal Activity, J.C. Zak and B. McMichael
Species Structure and Abundance of Invertebrate Natural Enemies in Sustainable Agroecosystems, H. Amano
Plant Diseases and Plant Ecology, E. Malathrakis and D.G. Georgakopoulos
Matter Cycling in Agroecosystems
Carbon Cycling in Croplands, H. Koizumi
Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Temperate Zone Arable Lands, M. Simek and L. E. Cooper
Impacts of Grazing on the Ecosystems, D. Huang
Environmental Fate of Pesticides, M. Ueji and Y. Kobara
The Effect of Evolved Atmospheric CO2 on Grazed Grasslands, P.C.D. Newton, H. Clark, and G.R. Edwards
Effects of Environmental Changes on the Structure of Agroecosystems
Impact of Grazing on Soil Properties in Steppe Ecosystems, Z. Chen and X. Cui
Changing Soil Biological Health in Agroecosystems, J. Park
Nitrogen Cycle and Agriculture, H. Kawashima
Growth and Yield of Paddy Rice under Free-Air CO2 Enrichment, K. Kobayashi
Effects of Climatic Change in Finland on Growth and Yield Formation of Wheat and Meadow Fescue, K. Hakala
