Search results for "Sustainable agriculture"
showing 10 items of 86 documents
Sustainable Innovation: A Competitive Advantage for Innovation Ecosystems
2015
In this article, we elaborate the emerging concept of sustainable innovation and analyze the relevance of innovation as a means to solve wicked problems and enhancing sustainable well-being. We also examine the changing conditions for innovation creation: building global knowledge hubs and local innovation ecosystems. As a result, the drivers of innovation and opportunities to utilize the untapped innovation potential of people outside traditional innovation contexts are expanded and diversified. Ultimately, the success of sustainable innovation constitutes its impact on the well-being of people and vice versa: sustainable well-being is an important source of innovation and growth. The arti…
Cultivating cultural sustainability in farming practices
2018
The aim of this chapter is to explore agricultural practices and their sustainability, in order to analyse the essence and dynamics of culture in relation to sustainable development. We ask, what should sustain in culture and what does culturally sustainable development entail? We identified three core qualities of sustainability in farming: fertility, diversity and continuity. They are bound together and shaped by rationalization related to the feasible functioning of the farming system and appreciation judging the desirability and quality of the practices. We discuss the ways the model explaining the sustainability of agricultural practices can be used to inform the essence of culture in …
Soil Mapping and Processes Modeling for Sustainable Land Management
2017
Soil maps and models are indispensable tools in sustainable land management. The sustainable land use of our territory is fundamental to providing long-term socio-economic and environmental benefits. The risk of land degradation and corresponding declines in ecosystem services depends on the type of land use. Soil restoration can be extremely expensive, more than the implementation of sustainable land use practices. This is especially important in the context of climate change and the increasing pressure that a growing population places on soil resources, which is a global phenomenon. The objective of this chapter is to show the advantages of using soil mapping and modeling in sustainable l…
Soil Mapping and Processes Models for Sustainable Land Management Applied to Modern Challenges
2017
Abstract In the context of growing population and global change, increasing demands for food production are an enormous challenge that we face in the modern world. At the same time the need to prevent land degradation, restore lands that are already degraded, and maintain soil quality and health is critical to a sustainable use of land resources. Accurate maps and adequate models are indispensable tools to assist managers, scientists, and decision makers in addressing these challenges. In this chapter, we outline the main impacts of climate change on soils, key adaptation, and mitigation strategies and provide an overview of key issues in sustainable agricultural production as well as land …
Sustainable Food vs. Unsustainable Politics in the City of Palermo: The Case of an Organic Farmers' Market
2011
The island of Sicily, Italy, and its main city, Palermo, appear an ideal scenario for sustainable food provisioning: the former being the first region in Italy for organically cultivated land, the latter Italy's fifth largest city. This article explores ideals and practices of sustainable urban food systems through an example of environmental consumer activism in Palermo. It does this by narrating the story of an organic farmers' market created by citizens and producers. The article reflects critically on understandings of food-related ‘sustainability’ held by the actors involved, showing the difficulties of operationalizing the concept for qualitative, socio-cultural research. It also high…
Assessment of vine development according to available water resources by using remote sensing in La Mancha, Spain
1999
Abstract The relevance of growing vines under semiarid conditions is universally accepted because of its impacts on social, economic and environmental aspects. Improving the knowledge of the soil–plant–atmosphere system related to the expression of vine growth allows the study of vine cover in wide areas. Several aspects of vine growing under semiarid conditions, related to weather, soil, and plant cover are analysed in this paper. Once the ground truth is achieved, multitemporal studies by remote sensing are especially useful for vine growth monitoring. The purpose of this work is focussed on determining changes of vine cover development according to available water resources in relation t…
Agroecology and Strategies for Climate Change
2012
; Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. Sustainable agriculture is a discipline that addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control, and biodiversity depletion.Novel, environmentally-friendly solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from sciences as diverse as agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, and social sciences. Indeed, sustainable agriculture decipher mechanisms of processes that occur fro…
BioVine project - Increase plant health through mycorrhizal fungi
2021
National audience; Organic vineyards still rely on large external inputs to control harmful organisms. BIOVINEwill develop natural solutions based on plant diversity to control pests and reduce pesticidedependence. The capacity of plants of increasing the ecosystem resistance to pests and invasivespecies is a well-known ecosystem service. However, monocultures like vineyards do notexploit the potential of plant diversity. BIOVINE aims to develop new viticultural systemsbased on increased plant diversity within (e.g. cover crops) and/or around vineyards by plantingselected plant species for the control of arthropods, soil-borne pests (oomycetes, fungi,nematodes), and foliar pathogens. Candid…
Soil DNA evidence for altered microbial diversity after long-term application of municipal wastewater
2010
International audience; Water resources constitute a social, agricultural and economic problem in most countries of the southern Mediterranean Basin. Alternative strategies have been developed such as the reuse of municipal wastewater for irrigation in agriculture. Despite numerous advantages for soil fertility and crop productivity, recycling wastewater in soils also has several ecotoxicological and sanitary problems. Few investigations have assessed the risk by evaluating the impact of wastewater irrigation on soil microbes. Here, we report for the first time the short- and long-term effects of treated municipal wastewater irrigation on the density and genetic structure of bacterial and f…
Légumineuses et prairies temporaires : des fournitures d'azote pour les rotations
2015
Intervention présentée aux Journées de l'AFPF, "La fertilité des sols dans les systèmes fourragers", les 8 et 9 avril 2015; Les atouts des légumineuses (fixation symbiotique, diversité fonctionnelle...) leur permettent de contribuer à la fertilité des sols, à l'amélioration de la durabilité de l'agriculture et de l'autonomie protéique des systèmes alimentaires. Il convient donc de mieux connaître leurs rôles, directs et indirects, dans les flux d'azote des rotations.Les légumineuses fourragères (en culture pure ou dans des couverts multispécifiques) représentent une grande part des apports azotés symbiotiques. Il existe une grande diversité d'implication des légumineuses dans les rotations.…