Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore the impacts of agricultural practices on the properties of the soil, discussing conservation tillage, crop rotation (see below), etc. This chapter further discusses the need for conservation tillage outlining benefits such as reduction of topsoil erosion and runoff, and carbon sequestration. It carefully explains how conservation tillage is a climate-smart soil management practice.

In the face of a geometrically rising global population, how do we face the looming food security challenge? This chapter discusses how we can engage Sustainable Livestock farming to ensure food security meeting dietary protein requirement. In this chapter, several have been pointed out on the impact of sustainable agriculture on global warming and climate change. Such technique includes climate-smart farming, giving less human edible to animals, implementation of efficient, eco-friendly, and adaptive animal agroforestry, silvopastoral farming, less or zero tillage, sustainable crop production systems/practices, nutrient and fertilizer management, incorporation of renewable energy into farming, integrated watershed management, anaerobic digestion, and climate and weather information systems. Despite the variation of these techniques, the impact of their application centers on climate change adaptation and mitigation, carbon sequestration, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and reduction of environmental pollution caused by agriculture. This chapter shows that if these sustainable techniques are applied, more yield will be derived per unit of limited agricultural resources such as land, nutrient, and water, and less emission will be released into the atmosphere per unit of yield derived, etc.