Organic animal production has increased rapidly in recent years to keep up with the increasing consumer demand for organic meats. There are many guidelines and restrictions on what should go into the feedstuffs of organically farmed animals, from which difficulties arise when trying to ensure a well-balanced, nutritious diet without the use of any supplements. The book has been completely updated and revised to address how to formulate organic diets in situations where there is a declining supply of organic feed, as well as the feasibility of utilizing novel feedstuffs and their acceptability by consumers of organic meat products. Including the experiences of producers in relation to appropriate breeds and production systems for forage-based organic production, this book is an important read for researchers and students of organic food animal production, veterinary sciences and food; as well as food industry personnel and organic farmers.

This volume comprises a selection of original contributions presented at a workshop held in Montpellier, France, in June 1997. The two main objectives of the workshop were, firstly, to bring together what is understood about the processes underlying agroforestry practice, and, secondly, to provide a forum to explore relevant models and modelling approaches. The workshop was also able to play a role in examining the agroforestry systems encountered in temperate and Mediterranean areas, including both traditional and more innovative agroforestry practices. The main aspects discussed were: ecological interactions amongst components, environmental impact, economics and policy modelling.

Learn how the principles and practices of landscape agroecology can help to overcome drought, flooding, poor soil, damaging winds, plant diseases, plant-eating insects, and more! Examining the concepts, conventions, and components that underlie the ecology of human-managed landscapes, this is the first book to address landscape agroecology. Incorporating ideas from agroecology, forestry, agronomy, agroforestry, landscape ecology, and environmental science, Landscape Agroecology is a comprehensive look at a cutting-edge topic. From the author: “Farm or forestry landscapes can be designed to address any number of objectives. Commonly, the focus is entirely on production with few, if any, secondary goals. These landscapes typically achieve their purpose but are not entirely in harmony with nature. Landscape agroecology offers the same potential for productivity, but also focuses on sustainability and environmental friendliness as strong secondary objectives.” While the idea of formulating landscapes for specific purposes is comparatively new, countless examples exist where landscape modifications have been made to inhospitable areas in order to overcome the natural obstacles that hamper crop growth. This book illuminates the principles behind these triumphs, bringing this local knowledge into the mainstream. Landscape Agroecology will familiarize you with the concepts and terminology needed to understand this exciting new field: complementarity—usually defined in terms of plant-plant growth—expanded to include the rural countryside desirable agroecosystems properties—what an agroecosystem needs in order to overcome landscape stresses such as drought, flooding, insect infestation, etc. agrotechnologies—the classification of agroecosystems based on visual characteristics and the land-use problems addressed cultural agroecology—what we can learn from the superior land-use techniques of various societies and cultures, and how these ideas can be brought into the mainstream cultural motif—culturally related land-use patterns that are openly manifested in the landscape Essential for university/college libraries and for research stations as well as professors and students of agroecology, this book will be referred to again and again. In addition to basic agroecological concepts, chapters in this essential book address the management of wind, water, and pests; biodiversity; physical and temporal patterns; principal, auxiliary, and temporal agrotechnologies, and much more. For professors and students in environmental science, this book offers many previously un-dicussed alternatives for resolving the earth's environmental dilemmas. Photographs, tables, figures, and illustrations help make important points easy to access and understand.

Agroforestry has come of age during the past three decades. The age-old practice of growing trees and crops and sometimes animals in interacting combinations – that has been ignored in the single-commodity-oriented agricultural and forestry development paradigms – has been brought into the realm of modern land-use. Today agroforestry is well on its way to becoming a specialized science at a level similar to those of crop science and forestry science. To most land-use experts, however, agroforestry has a tropical connotation. They consider agroforestry as something that can and can only be identified with the tropics. That is a wrong perception. While it is true that the tropics, compared to the temperate regions, have a wider array of agroforestry systems and hold greater promise for potential agroforestry interventions, it is also true that agroforestry has several opportunities in the temperate regions too. Indeed, the role of agroforestry is now recognized in Europe as exemplified by this book, North America, and elsewhere in the temperate zone. Current interest in ecosystem management in industrialized countries strongly suggests that there is a need to embrace and apply agroforestry principles to help mitigate the environmental problems caused or exacerbated by commercial agricultural and forestry production enterprises.

This book is about the resilience of silvo-pastoral systems now, and in the future. As such, it is about people. The goal is to fill the gap in the knowledge on silvo-pastoral systems and their changing trends, by adding the human dimension, with enough detail to draw inferences about the new governance solutions that are needed to address the multiple challenges faced by silvo-pastoral systems. As such, the book provides knowledge applicable to current and future silvo-pastoral territories in other regions across the world. The volume is divided into three sections: people and institutions, the institutional framework, and governance models. Each section, composed of several chapters, draws on empirical work about the Iberian montado and dehesa as well as from other similar systems in the Mediterranean, both on the northern and on the southern sides, in order to broaden its scope and cover a wider range of situations and examples. Some of the chapters rely more strongly on empirical findings and current experiences, others on a literature review and reflection by the authors over many years working with these systems. The conclusion sums up the most relevant findings from each chapter and discusses how research can progress so that new scientific approaches and evidence can support better adapted governance models of silvopastoral systems to face future challenges. This text will be highly valuable to university and research institute libraries, academics, policy officials, and stakeholder groups, such as NGOs and sectoral organizations, who wish to better understand the relevance of the human factor and use this knowledge to find sustainable solutions. It will be a central reading for postgraduate students enrolled in rural planning, landscape management and governance, agronomy and forestry, as well as geography and socio-ecology programmes, that have a focus on sustainable land use management and supporting mixed farming systems.

Whether in a small backyard or a larger farm or forest, trees are vital to the web of life. Protecting and planting trees can restore wildlife habitat, heal degraded land, conserve soil, protect watersheds, diversify farm or garden products, beautify landscapes, and enhance the economic and ecological viability of land use systems. Careful planning and sound information is needed to reach these goals. The Overstory Book distills essential information about working with trees into 134 short, easy-to-read, single-subject chapters. Each chapter shares key concepts and useful information, so readers can get back to planting and protecting more trees, gardens, and forests, more effectively. * Discover time-tested agricultural and conservation techniques from indigenous and traditional peoples * Work with beneficial microorganisms, from mycorrhizal fungi to nitrogen-fixing bacteria and more * Create abundance with fruit trees, timber trees, vine crops, vegetables, mushrooms, and more * Form alliances with animals, from wildlife, birds, and insects to integrated, free-range livestock * Design effective tree-based windbreaks, noise barriers, live fences, and erosion buffers * Understand how to grow or obtain the highest quality seeds, seedlings, and plant materials * Restore fertility, productivity, and biodiversity with trees * Work with multipurpose plants including trees, palms, bamboos, and more * Market products effectively to improve economic returns sustainably * Locate helpful internet sites, organizations, people, and publications * And much more!