The Role of Ecosystem Services in Sustainable Food Systems reveals, in simple terms, the operational definition, concepts and applications of ecosystem services with a focus on sustainable food systems. The book presents case studies on both geographical and production system-wide considerations. Initial chapters discuss concepts, methodologies and the tools needed to understand ecosystem services in the broader food system. Middle and later chapters present different perspectives from case studies of ecosystem services derived from some of the key sustainable food production systems used by farmers, along with discussions on the challenges of deriving full benefits and how they can be overcome. Researchers, students, scientists, development practitioners and policymakers will welcome this reference as they continue their work related to sustainable food systems. - Introduces the concept of ecosystem services in simple terms for a wide readership - Provides an explanation of sustainable food systems - Contains the tools to identify and quantify ecosystem services in sustainable food systems - Identifies ecosystem services in specific systems utilized for sustainable food systems - Categorizes the challenges of deriving maximum benefits of ecosystem services

The biota of the earth is being altered at an unprecedented rate. We are witnessing wholesale exchanges of organisms among geographic areas that were once totally biologically isolated. We are seeing massive changes in landscape use that are creating even more abundant succes sional patches, reductions in population sizes, and in the worst cases, losses of species. There are many reasons for concern about these trends. One is that we unfortunately do not know in detail the conse quences of these massive alterations in terms of how the biosphere as a whole operates or even, for that matter, the functioning of localized ecosystems. We do know that the biosphere interacts strongly with the atmospheric composition, contributing to potential climate change. We also know that changes in vegetative cover greatly influence the hydrology and biochemistry ofa site or region. Our knowledge is weak in important details, however. How are the many services that ecosystems provide to humanity altered by modifications of ecosystem composition? Stated in another way, what is the role of individual species in ecosystem function? We are observing the selective as well as wholesale alteration in the composition of ecosystems. Do these alterations matter in respect to how ecosystems operate and provide services? This book represents the initial probing of this central ques tion. It will be followed by other volumes in this series examining in depth the functional role of biodiversity in various ecosystems of the world.

In recent decades, practices like the cultivation of a few high-yielding crop varieties on a large scale, the application of heavy machinery and continued mechanization of agriculture, the removal of natural habitats, and the application of pesticides and synthetics have resulted in the simplification of agro-ecosystems. This has enabled a substantial increase in food production but has at the same time transformed landscapes. Indeed, there is a concern that a decline in biodiversity has affected microbiome activities that support processes across soils, plants, animals, the marine environment, and humans. Although they have increased food production, the above practices cannot be considered sustainable in long-term applications. Biodiversity, Functional Ecosystems, and Sustainable Food Production explore ecosystems in terms of crop and animal production, pest and disease control, nutrient cycling, and soil fertility. Chapters range from agro-biodiversity to antimicrobial use in animal food production to microbiome applications for sustainable food systems and the impacts of environment-friendly unit operations on the functional properties of bee pollen. By examining such topics about each other, the text emphasizes how food production, ecosystem function, food quality, and consumer health are all interconnected.

In recent decades, practices like the cultivation of a few high-yielding crop varieties on a large scale, the application of heavy machinery and continued mechanization of agriculture, the removal of natural habitats, and the application of pesticides and synthetics have resulted in the simplification of agro-ecosystems. This has enabled a substantial increase in food production but has at the same time transformed landscapes. Indeed, there is a concern that a decline in biodiversity has affected microbiome activities that support processes across soils, plants, animals, the marine environment, and humans. Although they have increased food production, the above practices cannot be considered sustainable in long-term applications. Biodiversity, Functional Ecosystems, and Sustainable Food Production explore ecosystems in terms of crop and animal production, pest and disease control, nutrient cycling, and soil fertility. Chapters range from agro-biodiversity to antimicrobial use in animal food production to microbiome applications for sustainable food systems and the impacts of environment-friendly unit operations on the functional properties of bee pollen. By examining such topics about each other, the text emphasizes how food production, ecosystem function, food quality, and consumer health are all interconnected.

Experts discuss the challenges faced in agrobiodiversity and conservation, integrating disciplines that range from plant and biological sciences to economics and political science. Wide-ranging environmental phenomena—including climate change, extreme weather events, and soil and water availability—combine with such socioeconomic factors as food policies, dietary preferences, and market forces to affect agriculture and food production systems on local, national, and global scales. The increasing simplification of food systems, the continuing decline of plant species, and the ongoing spread of pests and disease threaten biodiversity in agriculture as well as the sustainability of food resources. Complicating the situation further, the multiple systems involved—cultural, economic, environmental, institutional, and technological—are driven by human decision making, which is inevitably informed by diverse knowledge systems. The interactions and linkages that emerge necessitate an integrated assessment if we are to make progress toward sustainable agriculture and food systems. This volume in the Strüngmann Forum Reports series offers insights into the challenges faced in agrobiodiversity and sustainability and proposes an integrative framework to guide future research, scholarship, policy, and practice. The contributors offer perspectives from a range of disciplines, including plant and biological sciences, food systems and nutrition, ecology, economics, plant and animal breeding, anthropology, political science, geography, law, and sociology. Topics covered include evolutionary ecology, food and human health, the governance of agrobiodiversity, and the interactions between agrobiodiversity and climate and demographic change.

Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.

between the diversity of plant and animal species and host/dependent agricultural systems. Biodiversity in Agroecosystems shows how biodiversity can be thought of not only as the rich make-up of a great number of related and competing species within an ecologically defined community, but also as the robust behavior and resilience of those species over time and as the endurance of their eco-community. This book brings to the fore new research on biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems at both micro and macro levels, heretofore available only in journals and proceedings papers.

The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture presents the first global assessment of biodiversity for food and agriculture worldwide. Biodiversity for food and agriculture is the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, present in and around crop, livestock, forest and aquatic production systems. It is essential to the structure, functions and processes of these systems, to livelihoods and food security, and to the supply of a wide range of ecosystem services. It has been managed or influenced by farmers, livestock keepers, forest dwellers, fish farmers and fisherfolk for hundreds of generations. Prepared through a participatory, country-driven process, the report draws on information from 91 country reports to provide a description of the roles and importance of biodiversity for food and agriculture, the drivers of change affecting it and its current status and trends. It describes the state of efforts to promote the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for food and agriculture, including through the development of supporting policies, legal frameworks, institutions and capacities. It concludes with a discussion of needs and challenges in the future management of biodiversity for food and agriculture. The report complements other global assessments prepared under the auspices of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which have focused on the state of genetic resources within particular sectors of food and agriculture.

This book examines the challenges and impacts of poor diets and nutrition from current food systems and the potential contribution of biodiversity and ecosystem services in addressing these problems. There is a strong need for a multi-level, cross-sectoral approach that connects food biodiversity conservation and sustainable use to address critical problems in our current food systems, including malnutrition. Building on research from the Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition Project (BFN), which aims to better link biodiversity, diets and nutrition, the book presents a multi-country, cross-sectoral analysis of initiatives that have promoted local food biodiversity in four countries: Brazil, Kenya, Turkey and Sri Lanka. This book offers a comprehensive summary of the BFN Project results in each of the four countries along with lessons learned and how this work could be upscaled or applied in other regions. It argues that the strategic promotion and use of food biodiversity is critical in uniting attempts to address conservation, nutrition and livelihood concerns. The book is structured around chapters and case studies encompassing the BFN Project with specific experiences related by partners who played key roles in the work being done in each country. By offering a comparative view capable of furthering dialogue between the respective countries, it is also meant to connect the individual cases for a “greater than the sum of its parts” effect. This means consideration of how localized activities can be adapted to more countries and regions. Therefore, the book addresses global issues with a foot planted firmly in the grounded case study locations. This book will be of great interest to policymakers, practitioners and NGOs working on food and nutrition, as well as students and scholars of agriculture, food systems and sustainable development.

Offers an interdisciplinary exploration of resilience in agriculture, and implications for producers seeking to adapt to change and uncertainty.