Poor People's Medicine

Poor People's Medicine

Medicaid and American Charity Care since 1965

  • Author: Engel, Jonathan
  • Publisher: Duke University Press
  • ISBN: 9780822336839
  • eISBN Pdf: 9780822387633
  • Place of publication:  Durham , United States
  • Year of digital publication: 2007
  • Month: May
  • Language: English

Published in three other languages and growing, Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems takes a look at how farmers manage, maintain, and benefit from biodiversity in agricultural production systems. The volume includes the most recent research and developments in the maintenance of local diversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. Chapters cover the assessment and farmer management practices for crop, livestock, aquatic, and associated diversity (such as pollinators and soil microorganisms) in agricultural ecosystems; examine the potential role of diversity in minimizing pest and disease pressures; and present studies that exemplify the potential nutritional, ecosystem service, and financial values of this diversity under changing economic and environmental conditions. The volume contains perspectives that combine the thinking of social and biological scientists.

Inappropriate or excessive use of inputs can cause damage to biodiversity within agricultural ecosystems and compromise future productivity. This book features numerous case studies that show how farmers have used alternative approaches to manage biodiversity to enhance the stability, resilience, and productivity of their farms, pointing the way toward improved biodiversity on a global scale. As custodians of the world's agricultural biodiversity, farmers are fully invested in ways to create, sustain, and assist in the evolution and adaptation of a variety of plant and animal species. Thus this text is mandatory reading for conservationists, environmentalists, botanists, zoologists, geneticists, and anyone interested in the health of our ecosystem.

  • Contents
  • Acknowledgments
  • Contributors
  • 1. Biodiversity, Agriculture, and Ecosystem Services
  • 2. Measuring, Managing, and Maintaining Crop Genetic Diversity On Farm
  • 3. Variety Names
  • 4. Seed Systems and Crop Genetic Diversity in Agroecosystems
  • 5. Measures of Diversity as Inputs for Decisions in Conservation of Livestock Genetic Resources
  • 6. Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources: Change and Interaction
  • 7. Aquatic Biodiversity in Rice- Based Ecosystems
  • 8. Pollinator Services
  • 9. Management of Soil Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems
  • 10. Diversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems
  • 11. Managing Crop Disease in Traditional Agroecosystems
  • 12. Crop Variety Diversification for Disease Control
  • 13. Managing Biodiversity in Spatially and Temporally Complex Agricultural Landscapes
  • 14. Diversity and Innovation in Smallholder Systems in Response to Environmental and Economic Changes
  • 15. Agrobiodiversity, Diet, and Human Health
  • 16. Comparing the Choices of Farmers and Breeders
  • 17. Economics of Livestock Genetic Resources Conservation and Sustainable Use
  • 18. Ecological and Economic Roles of Biodiversity in Agroecosystems
  • Index