Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems

Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosytems examines the climate, environmental, and human effects on agroecosystems and how the existing paradigms must be revised in order to establish sustainable production. The increased demand for food and fuel exerts tremendous stress on all aspects of natural resources and the environment to satisfy such demand of an ever increasing world population, which include the use of agriculture products for energy and other uses in addition to human and animal food. By exploring the introduction of sustainable agroecosystems that promote biodiversity, sustain soil health, and enhance food production can mitigate some of these adverse effects, Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems presents options for ecological systems that mimic the natural diversity of the ecosystem can have significant effect as the world face a rapid changing and volatility climate. New agroecosystems will help define a resilient system that can potentially absorb some of the extreme shifts in climate. Changing the existing cropping system paradigm to utilize natural system attributes by promoting biodiversity within production agricultural systems, such as the integration of polycultures, will also enhance ecological resiliency and resources services and likely increase carbon sequestration. Focuses on the intensification and integration of agroecosystem and soil resiliency by presenting suggested modifications of the current cropping system paradigmExamines climate, environment, and human effects on agroecosystemsExplores in depth the wide range of intercalated soil and plant interactions as they influence soil sustainability and in particular soil quality