000 04447nam a22005655i 4500
001 978-94-007-6790-4
003 DE-He213
005 20140220082944.0
007 cr nn 008mamaa
008 130518s2013 ne | s |||| 0|eng d
020 _a9789400767904
_9978-94-007-6790-4
024 7 _a10.1007/978-94-007-6790-4
_2doi
050 4 _aGE195-199
050 4 _aGE196
072 7 _aRNU
_2bicssc
072 7 _aSCI026000
_2bisacsh
082 0 4 _a338.927
_223
100 1 _aJordan, Carl F.
_eauthor.
245 1 3 _aAn Ecosystem Approach to Sustainable Agriculture
_h[electronic resource] :
_bEnergy Use Efficiency in the American South /
_cby Carl F. Jordan.
264 1 _aDordrecht :
_bSpringer Netherlands :
_bImprint: Springer,
_c2013.
300 _aXVI, 247 p. 36 illus., 24 illus. in color.
_bonline resource.
336 _atext
_btxt
_2rdacontent
337 _acomputer
_bc
_2rdamedia
338 _aonline resource
_bcr
_2rdacarrier
347 _atext file
_bPDF
_2rda
490 1 _aEnvironmental Challenges and Solutions,
_x2214-2827 ;
_v1
505 0 _aA Systems (Holistic) Approach to Sustainable Agriculture -- A History of Unsustainability in Agriculture -- Political and Economic Challenges to Creating a Sustainable Agriculture -- Energetic Services of  Nature That Increase Agricultural Sustainability -- Applied Tools and Practices For Sustainable Agriculture -- An Economic, Ecological, and Cultural Evaluation of Agriculture in The American South -- Case Studies of Contemporary, Sustainable Farms in the South -- Holism vs. Reductionism in Agricultural Science -- Appendices.
520 _aFor economic reasons, farmers generally strive to maximize short-term agricultural yield (energy output) through energy subsidies in the form of fertilizers and pesticides. When these subsidies are used inefficiently they result in water and air pollution, soil erosion, extinction of beneficial insects, spread of disease, and disappearance of ground water reservoirs.  The key to agricultural sustainability lies in understanding how the whole system – not just the parts – reacts to impacts resulting from energy subsidies. Because of the pollution (wasted energy) from excessive subsidies, and the increasing scarcity and cost of non-renewable energy subsidies, the most critical ecosystem property that affects sustainability is energy use efficiency, that is, energy output (yield) per unit energy input (subsidy). Increasing the energy use efficiency in agriculture may cause a decrease in gross energy output, but it results in greater net energy output. Any decline in yield from increasing energy efficiency is compensated for by decreased costs of energy inputs and pollution clean-up costs. The net result is greater long-term profit and greater agricultural sustainability.  The holistic approach to agricultural sustainability points the way toward techniques to manage farms more sustainably. It shows how substituting the services of nature – from nitrogen fixation to natural pest controls – for petroleum-based subsidies can help to achieve greater energy use efficiency. Framing solutions to agricultural problems in terms of ecosystem properties, and how solutions based on such an understanding have worked in the American South, are the basis for this book. While the focus is on this region, lessons learned from the Southern experience can be applied worldwide, thus providing alternatives to unsustainable practices. Concepts are reinforced by numerous case studies, applied tools, and examples.                            
650 0 _aEnvironmental sciences.
650 0 _aAgriculture.
650 0 _aApplied Ecology.
650 0 _aEndangered ecosystems.
650 0 _aConservation biology.
650 0 _aEnvironmental management.
650 0 _aSustainable development.
650 1 4 _aEnvironment.
650 2 4 _aSustainable Development.
650 2 4 _aAgriculture.
650 2 4 _aEnvironmental Management.
650 2 4 _aEcosystems.
650 2 4 _aApplied Ecology.
650 2 4 _aConservation Biology/Ecology.
710 2 _aSpringerLink (Online service)
773 0 _tSpringer eBooks
776 0 8 _iPrinted edition:
_z9789400767898
830 0 _aEnvironmental Challenges and Solutions,
_x2214-2827 ;
_v1
856 4 0 _uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6790-4
912 _aZDB-2-EES
999 _c99971
_d99971