Subsistence agriculture

About: Subsistence agriculture is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 8069 publications have been published within this topic receiving 156876 citations. The topic is also known as: subsistence farming.

Island subsistence: hunting, trapping and the translocation of wildlife in the western Indian Ocean

Abstract: (2007). Island subsistence: hunting, trapping and the translocation of wildlife in the Western Indian Ocean. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa: Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 83-113.

Ogallala: Water for a Dry Land

Abstract: "A sane, scholarly model for addressing local enviro-crises."-Booklist. "This work will give the reader the basis for planning the future of the Ogallala."-Journal of Sustainable Agriculture. This book illustrates that the aquifer is more than a local resource or a regional treasure, and it illuminates the necessity for new management of the aquifer to prevent a return to subsistence conditions on the plains.

Food security and sustainable resource management

Abstract: The projected growth in global food demand until mid-century will challenge our ability to continue recent increases in crop yield and will have a significant impact on natural resources. The water and land requirements of current agriculture are significantly less than global reserves but local shortages are common and have serious impacts on food security. Recent increases in global trade have mitigated some of the effects of spatial and temporal variability. However, trade has a limited impact on low-income populations who remain dependent on subsistence agriculture and local resources. Potential adverse environmental impacts of increased agricultural production include unsustainable depletion of water and soil resources, major changes in the global nitrogen and phosphorous cycles, human health problems related to excessive nutrient and pesticide use, and loss of habitats that contribute to agricultural productivity. Some typical case studies from China illustrate the connections between the need for increased food production and environmental stress. Sustainable options for decreasing food demand and for increasing production include reduction of food losses on both the producer and consumer ends, elimination of unsustainable practices such as prolonged groundwater overdraft, closing of yield gaps with controlled expansions of fertilizer application, increases in crop yield and pest resistance through advances in biotechnology, and moderate expansion of rain fed and irrigated cropland. Calculations based on reasonable assumptions suggest that such measures could meet the food needs of an increasing global population while protecting the environment.