A major task of our time is to ensure adequate food supplies for the world's current population (now nearing 7 billion) in a sustainable way while protecting the vital functions and biological diversity of the global environment. The task of providing for a growing population is likely to be even more difficult in view of actual and potential changes in climatic conditions due to global warming, and as the population continues to grow. Current projections suggest that the world's temperatu...

Two major challenges to continued global food security are the ever increasing demand for food products, and the unprecedented abiotic stresses that crops face due to climate change.Wild relatives of domesticated crops serve as a reservoir of genetic material, with the potential to be used to develop new, improved varieties of crops. Crop Wild Relative and Climate Change integrates crop evolution, breeding technologies and biotechnologies, improved practices and sustainable approa...

This book looks at the current state of food security and climate change, discusses the issues that are affecting them, and the actions required to ensure there will be enough food for the future. By casting a much wider net than most previously published books—to include select novel approaches, techniques, genes from crop diverse genetic resources or relatives—it shows how agriculture may still be able to triumph over the very real threat of climate change.Food Security and Climat...

This book covers all aspect of legume production management technologies, plant ecological response, nutrients management, biological nitrogen fixation, molecular approaches, potential cultivars, biodiversity management under climate change. Also covered are various aspects of legume management under climate change such as, production management technology, ecology & adaptation, diseases, and international trade; physiology and crops response to nutrients, drought, salinity, and water use ...

Plants have profoundly moulded the Earth's climate and the evolutionary trajectory of life. Far from being 'silent witnesses to the passage of time', plants are dynamic components of our world, shaping the environment throughout history as much as that environment has shaped them. In The Emerald Planet, David Beerling puts plants centre stage, revealing the crucial role they have played in driving global changes in the environment, in recording hidden facets of Earth's history, an...

Agriculture in Australia has had a lively history. The first European settlers in 1788 brought agricultural technologies with them from their homelands, influencing early practices in Australia. Wool production dominated the 19th century, while dairying grew rapidly during the first half of the 20th century. Despite having one of the driest landscapes in the world, Australia has been successful in adapting agricultural practices to the land, and these innovations in farming are explained in t...

YOUR BRAIN: Why do we have emotions? What is creativity? Do we have free will? Why do we have dreams? Where do memories go? How do we learn and how can neuroscience teach us to improve or enhance our minds? 100 Lessons on Your Brain in 100 Words or Less explores neuroscience, biology, and psychology to help unravel the complex biological factors that help explain how our minds work. Your Brain is the most complex object in the universe. Spend a little time investigating the nature of your min...

How does nature work? When one looks closely at the enormously complex web of life, it is impossible not to be caught by the wonder of how all living things – including rocks and crystals – are interconnected. Just as there is thought behind action, so there is energy behind matter. The Fertile Earth, the third volume of the Eco-Technology series which presents the original, passionate and convincing research of Viktor Schauberger in translation for the first time, contains his groundbreak...

"[A] whimsical book on aging . . . the author mixes art, science, and humor to brew a highly readable concoction, presenting one aging theory after another." — Publishers WeeklyEverything that lives will die. That's the fundamental fact of life. But not everyone dies at the same age: people vary wildly in their patterns of aging and their life spans—and that variation is nothing compared to what's found in other animal and plant species.With The ...

This book delivers current state-of-the-science knowledge of tree ecophysiology, with particular emphasis on adaptation to a novel future physical and chemical environment. Unlike the focus of most books on the topic, this considers air chemistry changes (O3, NOx, and N deposition) in addition to elevated CO2 effects and its secondary effects of elevated temperature. The authors have addressed two systems essential for plant life: water handling capacity from the perspective of water trans...

Plant dormancy involves synchronization of environmental cues with developmental processes to ensure plant survival; however, negative impacts of plant dormancy include pre-harvest sprouting, non-uniform germination of crop and weed seeds, and fruit loss due to inappropriate bud break. Thus, our continued quest to disseminate information is important in moving our understanding of plant dormancy forward and to develop new ideas for improving food, feed, and fiber production and efficient w...

The Economics and Organization of Brazilian Agriculture: Recent Evolution and Productivity Gains presents insights on Brazilian agriculture and its impressive gains in productivity and international competitiveness, also providing insightful examples for global policymakers. In Brazil, as in many countries, many economists and policymakers believe that agriculture is a traditional, low-tech sector that crowds out the development of other economic sectors and the country. This book shows th...