soil biodiversity News
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Where carbon credits meet Agroforestry: a partnership between ALLCOT and reNature
ALLCOT Group and reNature Foundation signed an agreement to generate carbon credits from Agroforestry projects located above all in Brazil, Colombia, and Indonesia. Carbon credits have always been dialoguing mainly with reforestation programs, but now it’s time to give Agroforestry a chance. Since Agriculture is the major driver of depletion of natural resources worldwide, ALLCOT & ...
By ALLCOT
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Increasing diversity through crop rotation boosts soil microbial biodiversity and productivity
Planting a variety of crop species in rotation in agricultural fields increases the diversity of soil microbes below ground, recent research has found. This in turn positively affects soil organic matter, soil structure and aids the healthy functioning of the soil. The researchers say that rotational diversity can help farmers to grow crops in a more sustainable way that promotes soil stability. ...
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High levels of glyphosate in agricultural soil: ‘Extension of approval not prudent.’
There has been a great deal of discussion about the use and extension of the approval of use of glyphosate as a herbicide. Glyphosate is the most used herbicide in Europe. In 2016 the approval by the European Commission for the use of this agent expired. However, an extension of approval of use is currently being discussed. One of the conditions of this is that the agent cannot have a negative ...
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World must reform agriculture now or face dire crisis: report
The world will face social upheaval and environmental disasters if agriculture is not radically reformed to better serve the poor and hungry, a landmark UN-sponsored report said last week. The warning in the report by the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) comes amid growing discontent among the world's poorest over rising food prices. ...
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Damaging Human Impact on the Land ‘Unsustainable’
A new UN report examining how land resources such as water, soil and biodiversity are being managed around the world has found that human activity is damaging and degrading the earth in an unsustainable way. The second edition of the Global Land Outlook – which has taken five years to compile – indicates that up to 40 per cent of terrain worldwide has already been devalued, ...
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CAP post 2013 - last call for sustainability?
On September 23rd an informal Agriculture Council meeting will be held in Annecy, dedicated to the future of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2013. BirdLife International, EEB and Pesticide Action Network warned Ministers that the issue of food and energy security - and prices - can only be addressed effectively through a new model of agriculture that emits less greenhouse gases, ...
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Multifunctional forests - balancing timber, water and carbon sink needs air
Traditionally, forests have needed different management programmes depending on their purpose, for example, whether the priority is to maximise their value in terms of timber, water or as a carbon sink. However, the integration of these values in management strategies has become increasingly important. A new study has explored one means of achieving this, by placing an economic value on fresh ...
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10 Frequently Asked Questions about soils
Why are soils important? Soils are the basis of life for a large number of plants and animals. Next, to their importance for biodiversity, soils are the essential substrate on which most agricultural plants grow. It means that this is where the food we eat comes from. In addition to that, soils play an important role in the structuration of the ground, which is essential for any sort of ...
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Global recognition for traditional farming systems in China, Iran and South Korea
Six traditional farming systems in China, Iran and South Korea known for their unique characteristics and approaches to sustainability have been designated Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) by FAO. They include Iran’s Qanat Irrigation system, an ancient network of farms that have survived for nearly three millennia; a 22-thousand-kilometer system of black stone walls ...
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General Mills announces three year initiative for regenerative agriculture
General Mills is teaming up with Kansas farmers for a three year regenerative agriculture program. This program will focus on using carbon from the air and using it in the soil as well as making the farming land more resilient during extreme weather events. This program includes 24 wheat growers within a 650,000 acre Cheney Reservoir watershed that provides water to more than 400,000 Wichita ...
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EPUK launches website outlining the vital Importance of Healthy Soil to mark World Soil Day 2011
Healthysoils.org launches on 5th December to mark 2011 World Soil Day – an annual event set up to advocate the use and need of soils for human survival and the importance of its sustainable management. Healthysoils.org sets out the importance of soils to key aspects of human life including climate change, food, water, biodiversity and health. Soil produces food, provides nutrients, cleans ...
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Farming must change to feed the world
The world's farmers must quickly switch to more sustainable and productive farming systems to grow the food needed by a swelling world population and respond to climate change, FAO's top crops expert told an international farm congress here today. In a keynote speech to 1,000 participants at the IVth World Congress on Conservation Agriculture (CA) in New Delhi, Shivaji Pandey, Director of FAO's ...
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Soil Health Films Document Conservation Work of Southwestern Farmers and Conservationists
The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) has released two short films that showcase the efforts of farmers and conservationists in the San Luis Valley of Colorado to address agricultural challenges through improved soil health. “There are a lot of resources regarding soil health in the midwestern and eastern regions, but we identified an opportunity to share the unique challenges ...
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New WWF Study Highlights Strength of PEFC in Sustainable Forest Management
A new report released by WWF last week clearly shows that PEFC forest management requirements are to a large extent aligned with WWF’s own vision and objectives, demonstrated by PEFC meeting more than two-thirds of the WWF CAT indicators. The WWF Certification Assessment Tool (CAT) is a formalized methodology to evaluate and compare standards and certification systems based on WWF’s ...
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Trees and farms working together: Agroforestry comes of age
Creating consumer markets for forest-grown products, reducing nonpoint source pollution, protecting waterfowl habitat, diversifying farm operations—these are just a few of the ways agroforestry is moving to the forefront of the land-use discussion in North America. A new edition of North American Agroforestry: An Integrated Science and Practice, published by the American Society of Agronomy ...
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Agriculture ‘engine of growth’ that Africa needs
Agriculture must become the engine for growth that Africa needs to eradicate hunger and boost sustainable food production, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today. Speaking at a side event on the margins of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Graziano da Silva called on Africa to step up its efforts. “More than one out of every five of its citizens is still ...
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Cardamom crops affect forests, studies say
Cultivation of cardamom, a high value spice crop, can take a toll on evergreen forests in tropical countries, independent studies in Sri Lanka and India have shown. Apart from disturbing biodiversity, cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), plantations affect water and soil quality in tropical forests, the studies said. Researchers from Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom studying abandoned cardamom ...
By SciDev.Net
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Ohio State Team Promotes Nature-based `ECO-farming`
A team of scientists and educators from Ohio State University’sCollege of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciencesnow spells farming with three extra letters. The group studies, demonstrates and teaches about what it calls “ECO-farming,” a new approach aimed at boosting a farm’s production and profits while shrinking its environmental footprint. “ECO-farming ...
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Record-breaking $17.3 billion in crop losses last year; significant portion potentially avoidable
Report shows county-by-county analysis of impacts in the ten states with highest crop insurance losses due to extreme weather: Extreme weather forced the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) to pay out a record-breaking $17.3 billion in crop losses last year, much of which could have been prevented using water-smart strategies, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Payments made ...
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Forest resources in the EU
A new Forest Strategy responding to the new challenges facing forests and the forest sector has been published by the European Commission today, which underlines the importance of forest resources in the EU. The EU currently contains 5 % of the world's forests and EU forests have continuously expanded for over 60 years, although recently at a lower rate. EU Forests and other wooded land now ...
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