Diversity in farm landscapes helps wildlife, global study finds
More diverse wildlife thrives on farms, benefiting both farmers and the environment, when there is variety in the agricultural landscape, a global study has found.
More diverse wildlife thrives on farms, benefiting both farmers and the environment, when there is variety in the agricultural landscape, a global study has found.
Ecology
Jun 5, 2024
0
92
Emissions of nitrous oxide—a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide or methane—continued unabated between 1980 and 2020, a year when more than 10-million metric tons were released into the atmosphere primarily ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 11, 2024
0
152
A lack of scientists specialized in plant breeding could lead to 'dire' food security implications in Australia, and around the world, according to new research conducted across three continents.
Agriculture
Jun 10, 2024
0
83
Named a critical public health threat by WHO, Aspergillus fumigatus is potentially deadly to immunocompromised
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 25, 2024
0
71
A cutting-edge machine learning model has been developed to predict soil organic carbon (SOC) levels, a critical factor for soil health and crop productivity. The innovative approach utilizes hyperspectral data to identify ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 10, 2024
0
37
Cases of bird flu have been detected in alpacas at a US farm, authorities said Tuesday, as the disease spreads widely among dairy cattle and has infected two humans.
Agriculture
May 29, 2024
0
40
Fertilizers manufactured from the sludgy leftovers of wastewater treatment processes can contain traces of potentially hazardous organic chemicals, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins University researchers.
Environment
Jun 25, 2024
1
83
Drought in the American West is becoming a persistent reality instead of a periodic emergency due to climate change, and a recent study found that an essential tool used to measure drought can't keep up.
Earth Sciences
Jun 26, 2024
5
45
A genetic "off switch" that shuts down the process in which legume plants convert atmospheric nitrogen into nutrients has been identified for the first time by a team of international scientists.
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 26, 2024
0
73
New research by the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) proposes using soil bacteria to cut greenhouse gas emissions from food production. The research ...
Biotechnology
May 30, 2024
0
343
Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants (i.e. crops) creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and stratified societies. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science (the related practice of gardening is studied in horticulture).
Agriculture encompasses a wide variety of specialties and techniques, including ways to expand the lands suitable for plant raising, by digging water-channels and other forms of irrigation. Cultivation of crops on arable land and the pastoral herding of livestock on rangeland remain at the foundation of agriculture. In the past century there has been increasing concern to identify and quantify various forms of agriculture. In the developed world the range usually extends between sustainable agriculture (e.g. permaculture or organic agriculture) and intensive farming (e.g. industrial agriculture).
Modern agronomy, plant breeding, pesticides and fertilizers, and technological improvements have sharply increased yields from cultivation, and at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects.[citation needed] Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry such as intensive pig farming (and similar practices applied to the chicken) have similarly increased the output of meat, but have raised concerns about animal cruelty and the health effects of the antibiotics, growth hormones, and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production.[citation needed]
The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, raw materials, pharmaceuticals and stimulants, and an assortment of ornamental or exotic panget products. In the 2000s, plants have been used to grow biofuels, biopharmaceuticals, bioplastics, and pharmaceuticals. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, and meat. Fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo. Stimulants include tobacco, alcohol, opium, cocaine,and digitalis. Other useful materials are produced by plants, such as resins. Biofuels include methane from biomass, ethanol, and biodiesel. Cut flowers, nursery plants, tropical fish and birds for the pet trade are some of the ornamental products.
In 2007, about one third of the world's workers were employed in agriculture. However, the relative significance of farming has dropped steadily since the beginning of industrialization, and in 2003 – for the first time in history – the services sector overtook agriculture as the economic sector employing the most people worldwide. Despite the fact that agriculture employs over one-third of the world's population, agricultural production accounts for less than five percent of the gross world product (an aggregate of all gross domestic products).[dead link]
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA