This collection features five peer-reviewed literature reviews on crop rotations in agriculture. The first chapter discusses the effects of crop rotation and intercropping management practices and their impact on soil health enhancement and stability. It also considers the importance of leguminous crops and soil organic matter in maintaining healthy soils, sustaining crop productivity and enhancing biodiversity. The second chapter examines the principles of crop rotation, precrop effects in crop rotations, and the nutrient effects of legumes and other rotation crops. It also reviews the role of rotation crops in suppressing weeds, diseases and pests and studies rotations and crop yields, as well as the challenge of designing a crop rotation. The third chapter illustrates how crop models account for the interactions between soil, genotypes, management, and climate, on crops grown in various rotations, and their effects on yield and environmental outcomes under current and future climate scenarios. The fourth chapter assesses the potential of decision support systems for crop rotations in improving soil health and agricultural sustainability. The final chapter reviews how crop rotations with non-cereal species can be implemented to substantially reduce inoculum sources for residue-borne cereal leaf diseases.

This book represents an introductory review of disturbance ecology and threat analysis, providing schematic concepts and approaches useful for work on sites that are affected by the impact of human actions. It is aimed at conservation and environmental practitioners, who will find tips for choosing methods and approaches when there are conflicts between the natural components and human activity. It is also addressed to students of applied ecology, ecosystem management, land-use planning and environmental impact assessment. It discusses a number of topics covered in the programs of many university courses related to basic ecology and ecology of disturbance, the latter constituting a field of great interest because of its implications and repercussions in applied territorial science. The book is divided into two parts: the first focuses on the theoretical and disciplinary framework of the ecology of disturbance, while the second is devoted to the analysis of anthropogenic threats. This, in particular, discusses the most recent approach, which uses a conventional nomenclature to allow a coarse-grained quantification and objective assessment of threat impact on different environmental components. Such an approach facilitates the comparison of hierarchically different events and, therefore, helps define the priorities for management and conservation strategies.

Tobin Mitnick, JewsLoveTrees creator and shameless tree lover, leads you, the tree-curious, through the wonderful world of North American trees with fact, opinion, and humor. In Must Love Trees, Mitnick invites you to share his deeply personal connection to our forest companions in ways that expand the storied genre of nature writing. From an imagined dialogue with the world’s oldest bristlecone pine, to the minutiae of tree huggability, to the emotional toll of taking up the practice of bonsai, this fresh take into the world of trees is divided into three equally humorous and insightful sections. The first section discusses Mitnick’s personal opinions and relationship with trees while the second section describes the science behind trees (from tree botany to tree biology to tree ecology). In the final section, Mitnick answers the question: Who would these trees be if they all attended high school together?  Tobin’s detailed description of a tree in action and his thorough run-down of our most-treasured North American trees (all 100 of whom happen to be classmates at “Tree High North America�), makes this compilation an original and occasionally outlandish guide for both the budding and seasoned tree-lover. Must Love Trees features beautiful drawings of a vast selection of North American trees, including:     Renowned icons like the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) Beloved favorites like the Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)   Historical tragedies like the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) Menacing creepers like Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) Unsung wonders like the Common Paw-Paw (Asimina triloba) Part textbook, part memoir, and part comedy, Must Love Trees is the most complete—and most unconventional—story of our forest pals ever told.

'Important and empowering' - BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH 'Get this great guide and be inspired' - STEPHEN FRY 'A handbook of hope ... Buy it, read it, start changing things right now' - JOANNA LUMLEY _______________ The enormity of climate change and biodiversity loss can leave us feeling overwhelmed. How can an individual ever make a difference? Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell know firsthand how spectacularly nature can bounce back if you give it the chance. And what comes is not just wildlife in super-abundance, but solutions to the other environmental crises we face. The Book of Wilding is a handbook for how we can all help restore nature. It is ambitious, visionary and pragmatic. The book has grown out of Isabella and Charlie’s mission to help rewild Britain, Europe and the rest of the world by sharing knowledge from their pioneering project at Knepp in Sussex. It is inspired by the requests they receive from people wanting to learn how to rewild everything from unprofitable farms, landed estates and rivers, to ponds, allotments, churchyards, urban parks, gardens, window boxes and public spaces.. The Book of Wilding has the answers. _______________ 'Brilliantly readable and incredibly hard-working' - HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL 'A deep, dazzling and indispensable guide to the most important task of all: the restoration of the living planet' - GEORGE MONBIOT

Dead zones are on the rise... Human activity has caused an increase in uninhabitable, oxygen-poor zones-also known as "dead zones"-in our waters. Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe, and it is a necessity for nearly all life on Earth. Yet many rivers, estuaries, coastal waters, and parts of the open ocean lack enough of it. In this book, David L. Kirchman explains the impacts of dead zones and provides an in-depth history of oxygen loss in water. He details the role the agricultural industry plays in water pollution, showcasing how fertilizers contaminate water supplies and kickstart harmful algal blooms in local lakes, reservoirs, and coastal oceans. Algae decomposition requires so much oxygen that levels drop low enough to kill fish, destroy bottom-dwelling biota, reduce biological diversity, and rearrange food webs. We can't undo the damage completely, but we can work together to reduce the size and intensity of dead zones in places like the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, and the Baltic Sea. Not only does Kirchman clearly outline what dead zones mean for humanity, he also supplies ways we can reduce their deadly impact on human and aquatic life. Nutrient pollution in some regions has already begun to decline because of wastewater treatment, buffer zones, cover crops, and precision agriculture. More needs to be done, though, to reduce the harmful impact of existing dead zones and to stop the thousands of new ones from cropping up in our waters. Kirchman provides insight into the ways changing our diet can reduce nutrient pollution while also lowering greenhouse gasses emitted by the agricultural industry. Individuals can do something positive for their health and the world around them. The resulting book allows readers interested in the environment-whether students, policymakers, ecosystem managers, or science buffs-to dive into these deadly zones and discover how they can help mitigate the harmful effects of oxygen-poor waters today.

Redefining Diversity and Dynamics of Natural Resources Management in Southeast Asia, Volumes 1-4 brings together scientific research and policy issues across various topographical area in Asia to provide a comprehensive overview of the issues facing the region. The Reciprocal Relationship between Governance of Natural Resources and Socio-Ecological Systems Dynamics in West Sumatra Indonesia, Volume 4, covers a diverse range of issues related to natural resources and its management in West Sumatra Indonesia. The chapters cover issues with livelihood dependence, rights and access to natural resources, natural resources management practices, socio-ecological systems, and governance. Shared experiences and lessons learned from the case studies examined serve as a basis for policy makers and environmental practitioners to recognize the potential of West Sumatra's natural resources for ecological, social and economic development, food security, poverty alleviation, and natural resource sustainability.

Redefining Diversity and Dynamics of Natural Resources Management in Southeast Asia, Volumes 1-4 brings together scientific research and policy issues across various topographical areas in Asia to provide a comprehensive overview of the issues facing this region. Natural Resource Dynamics and Social Ecological Systems in Central Vietnam: Development, Resource Changes and Conservation Issues, Volume 3, focuses on the issues specific to Central Vietnam that are also found globally. War had significantly impacted both land and water resources, from which it had to recover environmentally. Additionally, this is an area with growing urbanization pressures and industrial development, both of which are known for stretching resources beyond their limits. The introduction of several hydro-electric power projects have even further eroded the local agricultural and forest ecosystems. This volume looks at Central Vietnam holistically, from management and use to policy and data-driven solutions.

The Emerging Role of Geomedia in the Environmental Humanities, edited by Mark Terry and Michael Hewson, provides the latest scholarship on the various methods and approaches being used by environmental humanists to incorporate geomedia into their research and analyses. Chapters in the book examine such applications as geographic information systems, global positioning systems, geo-doc filmmaking, and related geo-locative systems all being used as new technologies of research and analysis in investigations in the environmental humanities. The contributors also explore how these new methodologies impact the production of knowledge in this field of study as well as promote the impact of First Nation people perspectives.

Presenting a thorough examination of the sacred forests of Asia, this volume engages with dynamic new scholarly dialogues on the nature of sacred space, place, landscape, and ecology in the context of the sharply contested ideas of the Anthropocene. Given the vast geographic range of sacred groves in Asia, this volume discusses the diversity of associated cosmologies, ecologies, traditional local resource management practices, and environmental governance systems developed during the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods. Adopting theoretical perspectives from political ecology, the book views ecology and polity as constitutive elements interacting within local, regional, and global networks. Readers will find the very first systematic comparative analysis of sacred forests that include the karchall mabhuy of the Katu people of Central Vietnam, the leuweng kolot of the Baduy people of West Java, the fengshui forests of southern China, the groves to the goddess Sarna Mata worshiped by the Oraon people of Jharkhand India, the mauelsoop and bibosoop of Korea, and many more. Comprising in-depth, field-based case studies, each chapter shows how the forest's sacrality must not be conceptually delinked from its roles in common property regimes, resource security, spiritual matters of ultimate concern, and cultural identity. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of indigenous studies, environmental anthropology, political ecology, geography, religion and heritage, nature conservation, environmental protection, and Asian studies.

This edited volume focuses on how we can protect our environment and enhance environmental sustainability when faced with changes and pressures imposed by our expansive needs. The volume unites multiple subject areas within sustainability, enabling the techniques and philosophy in the chapters to be applied to research areas in environmental science, plant sciences, energy, biodiversity and conservation. The chapters from expert contributors cover topics such as mathematical modelling tools used to monitor diversity of plant species, and the stability of ecosystem services such as biogeochemical cycling. Empirical research presented here also brings together mathematical developments in the important fields of robotics including kinematics, dynamics, path planning, control, vision, and swarmanoids. Through this book readers will also discover about rainfall-runoff modelling which will give them a better idea of the effects of climate change on the sustainability of water resources at the watershed scale. Modelling approaches will also be examined that maximize readers insights into the global problem of energy transition, i.e. the switch to an energy production system using renewable resources only. Collective and discrete insights are made to assist with synergy which should progress well beyond this book. Insight is also given to assist policy formations, development and implementations. The book has a strong multi-disciplinary nature at its core, and will appeal to both generalist readers and specialists in information technology, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry and environmental sciences.

The environmental crisis, one of the great challenges of our time, tends to disenfranchise those who come after us. Arguing that as temporary inhabitants of the earth, we cannot be indifferent to future generations, this book draws on the resources of phenomenology and poststructuralism to help us conceive of moral relations in connection with human temporality. Demonstrating that moral and political normativity emerge with generational time, the time of birth and death, this book proposes two related models of intergenerational and environmental justice. The first entails a form of indirect reciprocity, in which we owe future people both because of their needs and interests and because we ourselves have been the beneficiaries of peoples past; the second posits a generational taking of turns that Matthias Fritsch applies to both our institutions and our natural environment, in other words, to the earth as a whole. Offering new readings of key philosophers, and emphasizing the work of Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida in particular, Taking Turns with the Earth disrupts human-centered notions of terrestrial appropriation and sharing to give us a new continental philosophical account of future-oriented justice.

Iconic urbanist Lewis Mumford stressed the role of a well-constructed city in the development of the good life, championing pedestrian-scaled, sustainable cities. In Portland's Good Life, R. Bruce Stephenson examines how Portland, the one city in America that adopted Mumford's vision, became a model city for living the good life. Stephenson traces Portland's success to its grass roots governing system, its housing and climate protection initiatives, and most of all, its citizens devoted to the public good; all of which have resulted in the construction of a city that honors the humanity of its people.

This volume offers a holistic understanding of the environmental and societal challenges that affect reindeer husbandry in Fennoscandia today. Reindeer husbandry is a livelihood with a long traditional heritage and cultural importance. Like many other pastoral societies, reindeer herders are confronted with significant challenges. Covering Norway, Sweden and Finland - three countries with many differences and similarities - this volume examines how reindeer husbandry is affected by and responds to global environmental change and resource extraction in boreal and arctic social-ecological systems. Beginning with an historical overview of reindeer husbandry, the volume analyses the realities of the present from different perspectives and disciplines. Genetics, behavioural ecology of reindeer, other forms of land use, pastoralists' norms and knowledge, bio-economy and governance structures all set the stage for the complex internal and externally imposed dynamics within reindeer husbandry. In-depth analyses are devoted to particularly urgent challenges, such as land-use conflicts, climate change and predation, identified as having a high potential to shape the future pathways of the pastoral identity and productivity. These futures, with their risks and opportunities, are explored in the final section, offering a synthesis of the comparative approach between the three countries that runs as a recurring theme through the book. With its richness and depth, this volume contributes significantly to the understanding of the substantial impacts on pastoralist communities in northernmost Europe today, while highlighting viable pathways to maintaining reindeer husbandry for the future. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of both the natural and social sciences who work on natural resource management, global environmental change, pastoralism, ecology, social-ecological systems, rangeland management and Indigenous studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution- Non Commercial- No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Habitat loss and degradation are currently the main anthropogenic causes of species extinctions. The root cause is human overpopulation. This unique volume provides, for the very first time, a comprehensive overview of all threatened and recently extinct mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes within the context of their locations and habitats. The approach takes a systematic examination of each biogeographic realm and region of the world, both terrestrial and marine, but with a particular emphasis on geographic features such as mountains, islands, and coral reefs. It reveals patterns useful in biodiversity conservation, helps to put it all into perspective, and ultimately serves as both a baseline from which to compare subsequent developments as well as a standardization of the way threatened species are studied.

The sixth mass extinction or Anthropocene extinction is one of the most pervasive issues of our time. Animals, Plants and Afterimages brings together leading scholars in the humanities and life sciences to explore how extinct species are represented in art and visual culture, with a special emphasis on museums. Engaging with celebrated cases of vanished species such as the quagga and the thylacine as well as less well-known examples of animals and plants, these essays explore how representations of recent and ancient extinctions help advance scientific understanding and speak to contemporary ecological and environmental concerns.

In the Name of the Goddess: A Biophilic Ethic explores a dynamic, holistic ethic of interconnections, ecological sustainability, and eco-justice through goddess worship and eco-feminism. Donna Giancola proposes principles to establish social harmony and ecological balance through moral, political, and spiritual values and practices that provide a comprehensive foundation for integrating wisdom and action in daily life, communities, and international policies.

Bats have long been the focus of fascination, and sometimes fear: they move faultlessly through the darkness and spend the day hanging upside down in gloomy caverns and cracks – most at home where humans are least comfortable. Bats also represent a hugely important, numerous and varied group, accounting for 20% of all mammal species worldwide. Covering their biodiversity, ecology and natural history, A Miscellany of Bats offers a hoard of insights into the lives of these creatures. For over a quarter of a century Brock Fenton and the late Jens Rydell collaborated on projects involving bats. Here they bring together a collection of stories and anecdotes about bat research, brought to life by stunning photographs of these animals in action. Key topics include flight and echolocation, diet and roosting habits, and the complex social lives of bats. Jens and Brock also address issues of conservation and the interactions between bats and people, ranging from matters of disease to bats’ role as symbols, and our fixation with vampire bats. They explore how echolocation and flight shape batkind, from their appearance to where they go and why. Overall, this book is an entertaining and personal vision of bats’ central place in the universe. More than 150 species are covered.

Cultural landscapes are created by people, and used by people, but still decidedly rich in biodiversity, and in harmony with nature. The landscapes of fairy tales, without dragons. Socio-economic complexity on top of biological diversity is the challenge nature conservation faces in the context of cultural landscape.

This book is an attempt to approach this complexity and provide a theoretical background as well as guidelines and examples for hands-on solutions. It draws on inputs from scientists, administrators, independent consultants and politicians from Europe and the United States. With a particular emphasis on agriculture it attempts to merge disciplines such as philosophy, law, planning, economics and conservation biology toward a common goal: nature conservation and the preservation of biological diversity in landscapes under the pressure of human usage.

The contributors to Kin draw on the work of anthropologist Deborah Bird Rose (1946-2018), a foundational voice in environmental humanities, to examine the relationships of interdependence and obligation between human and nonhuman lives. Through a close engagement over many decades with the Aboriginal communities of Yarralin and Lingara in northern Australia, Rose's work explored possibilities for entangled forms of social and environmental justice. She sought to bring the insights of her Indigenous teachers into dialogue with the humanities and the natural sciences to describe and passionately advocate for a world of kin grounded in a profound sense of the connectivities and relationships that hold us together. Kin's contributors take up Rose's conceptual frameworks, often pushing academic fields beyond their traditional objects and methods of study. Together, the essays do more than pay tribute to Rose's scholarship; they extend her ideas and underscore her ongoing critical and ethical relevance for a world still enduring and resisting ecocide and genocide. Contributors. The Bawaka Collective, Matthew Chrulew, Colin Dayan, Linda Payi Ford, Donna Haraway, James Hatley, Owain Jones, Stephen Muecke, Kate Rigby, Catriona (Cate) Sandilands, Isabelle Stengers, Anna Tsing, Thom van Dooren, Kate Wright

My First Summer in the Sierra is the incredible true story of John Muir's iconic time spent working in the California mountain range of the Sierra Nevada's. In this republished edition, read about his experience that shaped so much of environmental stewardship today. In the summer of 1869, a young John Muir joined a crew of shepherds working in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada mountains. Spending countless hours working with the group, Muir also worked tirelessly to advocate for the land's protection. His efforts eventually transpired into the founding of Yosemite Valley as a national park, a landmark event in the history of United States environmentalism. A glimpse into Muir's private journals, My First Summer in the Sierra is the remarkable retelling of his time there. Full of humorous anecdotes and insightful prose, John Muir personal narrative will likely inspire you to pack up your belongings and head for the mountains.

Unstable Ground looks at the human impact of climate change and its potential to provoke some of the most troubling crimes against humanity-ethnic conflict, war, and genocide. Alex Alvarez provides an essential overview of what science has shown to be true about climate change and examines how our warming world will challenge and stress societies and heighten the risk of mass violence. Drawing on a number of recent and historic examples, including Darfur, Syria, and the current migration crisis, this book illustrates the thorny intersections of climate change and violence. The author doesn't claim causation but makes a compelling case that changing environmental circumstances can be a critical factor in facilitating violent conflict. As research suggests climate change will continue and accelerate, understanding how it might contribute to violence is essential in understanding how to prevent it.

Fred Rogers was an international celebrity. He was a pioneer in children's television, an advocate for families, and a multimedia artist and performer. He wrote the television scripts and music, performed puppetry, sang, hosted, and directed Mister Rogers' Neighborhood for more than thirty years. In his almost nine-hundred episodes, Rogers pursued dramatic topics: divorce, death, war, sibling rivalry, disabilities, racism. Rogers' direct, slow, gentle, and empathic approach is supported by his superior emotional strength, his intellectual and creative courage, and his joyful spiritual confidence. The Green Mister Rogers: Environmentalism in "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" centers on the show's environmentalism, primarily expressed through his themed week "Caring for the Environment," produced in 1990 in coordination with the twentieth anniversary of Earth Day. Unfolding against a trash catastrophe in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Rogers advances an environmentalism for children that secures children in their family homes while extending their perspective to faraway places, from the local recycling center to Florida's coral reef. Rogers depicts animal wisdom and uses puppets to voice anxiety and hope and shows an interconnected world where each part of creation is valued, and love is circulated in networks of care. Ultimately, Rogers cultivates a practical wisdom that provides a way for children to confront the environmental crisis through action and hope and, in doing so, develop into adults who possess greater care for the environment and a capacious imagination for solving the ecological problems we face.

The use of financial concepts and tools to shape development is hardly new, but their recent adoption by advocates of sustainable environmental management has created opportunities for innovation in business and regulatory groups. The Handbook of Environmental and Sustainable Finance summarizes the latest trends and attitudes in environmental finance, balancing empirical research with theory and applications. It captures the evolution of environmental finance from a niche scholarly field to a mainstream subdiscipline, and it provides glimpses of future directions for research. Covering implications from the Kyoto and Paris Protocols, it presents an intellectually cohesive examination of problems, opportunities, and metrics worldwide.