Topics in Sustainable Agronomy – serie

This book, based on research carried out at the Academia Sinica over the past 30 years, explains the basic difference between the variable charge soils of tropical and subtropical regions, and the constant charge soils of temperate regions. It focuses on the chemical properties of the variable charge soils - properties which have important bearing on soil management practices, including maximizing soil productivity and combatting soil pollution.

As human activities in the New World Tropics (Neotropics) increase in intensity and extent, so do the interactions between natural and human-dominated ecosystems. The essays in this book compare the sociocultural and biophysical aspects of managing the resource base in these regions. It describes the potential benefits--and liabilities--of the major food, fuel, and fibre production systems, each one exmined in terms of its potential impact upon resource preservation and utilization. The book is a departure from traditional treatments of agricultural sustainability or natural resources development in that it addresses the specific systems prevalent in the Neotropics, focusing on the flow between agricultural and natural ecosystems.

Since the 1960s the steadily increasing availability of food, arising from the application of new agricultural science, has exceeded the demands created by the growth in size of the human population of the world. However, the 1990 world population of 5.5 billion is projected to grow to 10 billion by 2050. Can the future demand for food be satisfied? This question is particularly difficult given that even in 1990 1.1 billion people in developing countries were living in poverty and more than 500 million in extreme poverty. This book, based on the proceedings of the 10th International Symposium sponsored by the Nutrition Committee and the Trustees of the Rank Prize Funds, in 1996, addresses the question of how to feed the projected population a generation from now and discusses the challenges this presents. The topics covered include land and crop nutrients and sustainability, natural resource management, water usage, applications of science to increase yield, the role of animal products in feeding people, and social aspects such as introducing new technology and the processes through which greater food security may be attained. The contributors are world authorities in their fields, and the book will benefit a wide range of professional workers in the agricultural sciences and in government agencies.

Agricultural ecology, or agroecology, deals in general with the structure and function of agroecosystems at different levels of resolution. In this text/reference, the authors describe in terms of agroecology the tropical environments of sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin and Central America, focusing on production and management systems unique to each region.