Search results for ""Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing Limited""

Soils are known to be an enormous reservoir of carbon and represent an important and dynamic part of the global carbon cycle. However, this reservoir is under constant threat due to a combination of issues, including mismanagement, climate change and intensive agricultural production which has led to depletion of soil organic carbon.Understanding and fostering soil carbon sequestration reviews the wealth of research on important aspects of soil carbon sequestration, including its potential in mitigating and adapting to climate change and improving global food security. The collection explores our understanding of carbon sequestration in soils, detailing the mechanisms and abiotic factors that can affect the process, as well as the socioeconomic, legal and policy issues that can arise as a result of this use.In its extensive exploration of soil carbon cycling and capture, the book highlights how an informed understanding of carbon sequestration in a variety of soil types can contribute to achieving a more sustainable agriculture, as well as the methods which can be implemented by farmers to optimise the process of fostering carbon in soils.

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"What Dr Samuel Johnson did for English, Professor Amir Kassam has done for Conservation Agriculture (CA). He is eminently well qualified and has enlisted more than a hundred battle-hardened champions to contribute 26 chapters amounting to over a thousand scholarly pages. The content is formidable. Volume one, Systems and Science, embraces: the need for CA; global developments; soil health and landscape management; the roles of minimum soil disturbance, mulch and cover crops; crops and cropping systems, vegetable systems, perennial systems; integration of cropping and livestock; mechanization; certification; institutional and policy support. Volume two, Practice and Benefits, includes management of crops and cropping systems, soil, weeds, insect pests and disease, nutrients, carbon, and biodiversity; climate change mitigation and adaptation; benefits to farmers and society; ecosystem services; and rehabilitation of degraded farmland…This book can change the future."review by David Dent in International Journal of Environmental StudiesThis collection reviews ways of optimising Conservation Agricultural (CA) practices and their benefits. Chapters summarise research on optimising soil management, crop nutrition and irrigation, as well as weed, insect pest and disease management. The book also reviews ways of optimising the environmental and social benefits of adopting CA practices. Chapters discuss carbon and biodiversity management, the ways CA can promote ecosystem services as well as the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques to monitor and improve CA. There are also chapters on improving the economic and broader social benefits of CA for farming communities.

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As populations in many developed countries age and the burden of chronic disease increases, there remains a need to establish effective preventative measures. Fruit and vegetables are a natural source of vitamins and minerals which can contribute to good health.Understanding and optimising the nutraceutical properties of fruit and vegetables reviews the associated health benefits of key horticultural crops, including apples, broccoli and cranberries. The book provides authoritative discussions on the nutraceutical properties of the major phytochemical compounds, including antioxidants and flavonoids, and how these properties can be optimised to prevent the onset of chronic diseases.By providing a comprehensive insight into the human health benefits of fruit and vegetables, the book highlights the emergence of a more sustainable, alternative method to preventing the onset of disease with less reliance on overburdened healthcare systems.

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This collection considers current challenges facing irrigated agriculture and reviews the wealth of research on the range of interventions which can be applied to address these challenges, from understanding and managing water flows at the watershed scale, through to improved use of water resources.

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This collection reviews the range of research on understanding the mechanisms of soil erosion, as well as advances in techniques for measuring erosion. The book also addresses recent developments in mitigation strategies to reduce soil erosion such as zero/no-tillage, buffer strips and soil stabilisers.

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Drought remains the biggest single threat from climate change to the production of key cereal crops, such as wheat and barley. Cereals also respond in complex ways to drought stress, making improved drought tolerance a challenging trait to achieve. With many cereals recognised as staple food crops due to their nutritional value, more research is required into improving drought tolerance as a means of ensuring the future food security of millions.Developing drought-resistant cereals reviews the wealth of research which addresses how to overcome this challenge in order to mitigate climate change effects in cereal production. This collection details our understanding of the mechanisms of drought tolerance, as well as developments in techniques for improving resistance, including phenotyping, identifying genes relating to root and photosynthetic function and the use of genomic selection and genome editing.

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With the agricultural sector facing mounting pressure to reduce their carbon footprint, greater emphasis has been placed on improving existing components and practices, such as soil health and biodiversity, which have since emerged as key components to achieving regenerative agriculture. Sensors provide the opportunity to measure crop and soil health at unparalleled scales and resolution. Key developments in sensor technology will help improve our current understanding and optimisation of the complex agricultural systems that make up our global ecosystem. Advances in sensor technology for sustainable crop production provides a comprehensive review of the wealth of research on key developments in sensor technology to improve monitoring and management of crop health, soil health, weeds and diseases. This collection also reviews advances in proximal and remote sensing techniques to monitor soil health, such as spectroscopy and radiometrics, as well as how sensor technology can be optimised for more targeted irrigation, site-specific nutrient and weed management.

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This collection features three peer-reviewed literature reviews on reducing antibiotic use in dairy production.The first chapter describes the regulatory control of medicines in the United Kingdom and European Union and discusses the wider implications of antimicrobial use in dairy production and the need for change in the way we view and use medicines. The chapter also proposes how medicine prescribing practices in the dairy industry may undergo a series of changes in the near future.The second chapter considers recent advances of disease prevention in dairy cattle. Using bovine respiratory disease as a model, the chapter investigates key interactions between the host, environment and pathogen. These interactions can provide beneficial information that can be utilised to develop a prevention platform for multiple syndromes of bacterial disease in dairy cattle.The final chapter begins by assessing the need to promote digestive efficiency and productivity whilst maintaining animal health and welfare. It considers the role of probiotics in achieving this and reviews the range of research undertaken on the benefits and modes of action of probiotics. The chapter also details the role of probiotics in reducing antibiotic use in dairy production through improvements in areas such as pathogen control, feed efficiency and methane production.

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Turfgrass is required to meet a challenging range of aesthetic, functional and environmental requirements, whilst also adapting to the threat of abiotic and biotic stresses which are being accentuated by climate change. The turfgrass industry is also facing increasing pressure to reduce its environmental impact and advance more sustainable maintenance practices that utilise and/or optimise fewer agronomic-related resources.Achieving sustainable turfgrass management summarises the wealth of recent research that addresses these challenges, whilst also identifying potential mitigation strategies to reduce the sector’s contribution to climate change, such as reduced fertilizer use and water conservation. This collection also highlights developments in breeding for improved cultivars of turfgrass with enhanced abiotic and biotic stress responses, as well as climate resilience.In its extensive exploration of turfgrass physiology, breeding and cultivation, the book showcases how the turfgrass industry can adopt more sustainable management practices and reduce its environmental impact.

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