Field and Laboratory Investigations in Agroecology

ISBN-13: 9781439895719 / Miękka / 2014 / 256 str.

Opis

Offering step-by-step guidance for structured investigation, Field and Laboratory Investigations in Agroecology, Third Edition reviews ecological concepts and principles in an agricultural setting and provides in-depth, practical experience. From background information to procedures and suggestions for writing up the results, the book covers 24 different agroecological investigations, each designed to provide all the information needed to plan and execute experimental or comparative studies.

Recenzje

"This excellent book accompanies Stephen Gliessman's Agroecology textbook. Its purpose is to give students opportunities to gain direct experience with the concepts that make up agroecology, its application, and its principles of design and management. ... This is a valuable manual, and vital for all concerned with learning and teaching in agricultural courses. It deserves to be widely used."
—Jules Pretty OBE, Experimental Agriculture

Spis treści

Studies of Environmental Factors. Effect of Microclimate on Seed. Light Transmission and the Vegetative Canopy. Soil Temperature. Soil Moisture Content. Soil Properties Analysis. Canopy Litterfall Analysis. Mulch System Comparison. Root System Response to Soil Type. Studies of Population Dynamics in Crop Systems. Intraspecific Interactions in a Crop Population. Management History and the Weed Seedbank. Comparison of Arthropod Populations. Census of Soil-Surface Fauna. Studies of Interspecific Interactions in Cropping Communities. Bioassay for Allelopathic Potential. Rhizobium Nodulation in Legumes. Effects of Agroecosystem Diversity on Herbivore Activity. Herbivore Feeding Preferences. Effects of a Weedy Border on Insect Populations. Studies of Farm and Field Systems. Mapping Agroecosystem Biodiversity. Overyielding in an Intercrop System. Grazing Intensity and Net Primary Productivity. Effects of Trees in an Agroecosystem. Food System Studies. On-Farm Energy Use. Farmer Interview. Local Food Market Analysis. Instructor’s Appendix. Appendix A: Planning the Field and Laboratory Course. General Appendices. Appendix B: Measurement Equivalents. Appendix C: Material and Equipment Suppliers.

O autorze

Stephen R. Gliessman is an agroecologist who integrates science, practice, and social activism. He helped establish agroecology in Mexico in the 1970’s and founded the first academic program in agroecology in the world at UCSC in 1982, where he is now Emeritus Professor of Agroecology. He co-founded the non-profit Community Agroecology Network (CAN). Professor Gliessman has published extensively on agroecology and the transformation of food systems to sustainability, including his textbook Agroecology: Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems. He teaches agroecology seminars and courses around the world and dry-farms sustainable wine grapes and olives with his family at their farm in California.