Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (May 21, 2013 vol. 110 no. 21 8387-8392; doi: 10.1073/pnas.1210590110) / byVirginie Boreux, Cheppudira G. Kushalappa, Philippe Vaast, and Jaboury Ghazoula http://www.pnas.org/content/110/21/8387.short Crop productivity is improved by ecosystem services, including pollination, but this should be set in the context of trade-offs among multiple management practices. We investigated the impact … Continue reading »
Tagged with Agriculture …
The Role of Forests in a Future Climate Agreement
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Kennedy School, Harvard Univ. / by Donna Lee http://hvrd.me/13RNof0 Forests can play a significant role in helping to avoid dangerous climate change, and a global agreement under the UNFCCC would be uniquely placed to support efforts in this regard. The rising global demand for agricultural and other land-based … Continue reading »
Stress Relief: Prescriptions for a Healthier Delta Ecosystem
Public Policy Institute of California / by Ellen Hanak et al. http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=1051 California is at a critical juncture on policy for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. This report summarizes the results of a wide-ranging study of cost-effective ways to improve the health of the Delta ecosystem. It highlights the need for science-based, integrated management of the … Continue reading »
Climate Change, Wine, and Conservation
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (April 23, 2013 , v110 n17 p6907-6912) / by Lee Hannaha, Patrick R. Roehrdanz, Makihiko Ikegami, Anderson V. Shepard, M. Rebecca Shaw, Gary Tabord, Lu Zhie, Pablo A. Marquet and Robert J. Hijmans http://www.pnas.org/content/110/17/6907.full.pdf+html Climate change is expected to impact ecosystems directly, such as through shifting climatic controls on species ranges, … Continue reading »
Globalization, Climate Change, and Human Health
New England Journal of Medicine (April 4, 2013; v368, p1335-1343; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1109341) / by Anthony J. McMichael http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1109341 The global scale, interconnectedness, and economic intensity of contemporary human activity are historically unprecedented, as are many of the consequent environmental and social changes. These global changes fundamentally influence patterns of human health, international health care, and … Continue reading »
Food, Water and Energy: Know the Nexus
GRACE Communications Foundation / by Peter Hanlon, Robin Madel, Kai Olson-Sawyer, Kyle Rabin and James Rose http://www.gracelinks.org/1802/issue-paper-know-the-nexus Food, water and energy systems are inextricably linked, and as recent events like droughts, oil spills and increasing food prices make clear, the United States can no longer view these systems in isolation. Our new paper… explains that … Continue reading »
Watershed Sediment Losses to Lakes Accelerating Despite Agricultural Soil Conservation Efforts
PLoS One (v8 n1 e53554; doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053554) / by Adam J. Heathcote, Christopher T. Filstrup and John A. Downing http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0053554 [Abstract] Agricultural soil loss and deposition in aquatic ecosystems is a problem that impairs water quality worldwide and is costly to agriculture and food supplies. In the US, for example, billions of dollars have subsidized soil and … Continue reading »
Emergency Assistance for Agricultural Land Rehabilitation
Congressional Research Service http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42854.pdf The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers several permanently authorized programs to help producers recover from natural disasters. Most of these programs offer financial assistance to producers for a loss in the production of crops or livestock. In addition to the production assistance programs, USDA also has several permanent disaster assistance … Continue reading »
Report to the President on the Agricultural Preparedness and the Agricultural Research Enterprise
Executive Office of the President | President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast_agriculture_20121207.pdf [From an E&E News PM article by Amanda Peterka] U.S. agricultural research is ill-equipped to meet several environmental challenges, including climate change, a White House report released today finds. The report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and … Continue reading »
Increasing Cropping System Diversity Balances Productivity, Profitability and Environmental Health
PLoS One (2012; v7 n10 : e47149. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0047149) / by AS Davis, JD Hill ,CA Chase, AM Johanns and M Liebman bit.ly/RRC6TI [Aguanomics] Very important USDA study: researchers set up three plots: one replicated the typical Midwestern cycle of planting corn one year and then soybeans the next, along with its routine mix of chemicals. On another, they planted a three-year cycle that included … Continue reading »
