Agroecology in China: Science, Practice, and Sustainable Management (Advances in Agroecology)

Key features: Reviews the development of agroecology in China, including research, practice, management, and education regarding challenges for rural and agricultural progress Presents information from sources not readily available in the West about agricultural development in China during the last several decades Provides models and indicates starting points for future research and practice Addresses how to meet future challenges of agroecosystems from the field to the table in China from scientific, technological, and management perspectives During the past 30 years, industrialization has fundamentally changed traditional rural life and agricultural practices in China. While the incomes of farmers have increased, serious issues have been raised concerning the environment, resource depletion, and food safety. In response, the Chinese government and Chinese scientists encouraged eco-agriculture, the practice of agroecology principles and philosophy, as a way to reduce the negative consequences of large-scale industrialized systems of farming. Agroecology in China: Science, Practice, and Sustainable Management represents the work of experts and leaders who have taught, researched, and expanded Chinese agroecology and eco-agriculture for more than 30 years. It reviews decades of agricultural change to provide an integrated analysis of the progress of research and development in agroecological farming practices. The book contains research on traditional and newly developed agricultural systems in China, including intercropping systems, rainfall harvest systems, and rice–duck, rice–fish, and rice–frog co-culture systems. It covers current eco-agriculture practices in the major regions of China according to climate conditions. The book closes with a discussion of the major technical approaches, necessary policy support, and possible major development stages that must occur to allow broader agroecological implementations toward the sustainability of future food systems in China. Presenting eco-agriculture systems that are somewhat unique in comparison to those of the United States, Latin America, and Europe, Agroecology in China gives insight on how Chinese agroecologists, under the political and cultural systems specific to China, have created a strong foundation for ecologically sound agroecosystem design and management that can be applied and adapted to food systems elsewhere in the world. By using selected regional examinations of agroecological efforts in China as examples, this book provides models of how to conduct research on a broad range of agroecosystems found worldwide. Chapter 10: Framework for Conversion: Ecological Mechanisms and Regulation of Greenhouse Organic Vegetable Production in North China -- Part III: Regional Eco-Agricultural Practice and Management -- Chapter 11: Status quo and Development Policies of Organic Agriculture in China -- Chapter 12: Highly Efficient Utilization of Rainfall Promotes Dryland Agroecosystem Sustainable Development on the Loess Plateau -- Chapter 13: Agroecology Research and Practice in the Oasis Region, Northwest China -- Chapter 14: Ecological Agriculture on Arid, Sloped Land in Yunnan Dry-Hot Valley Front Cover -- Contents -- Preface: Toward an Agroecological Future for China -- Editors -- Contributors -- Part I: An Overview -- Chapter 1: Agroecology Development in China -- Part II: Agroecology Research and Practice on a Crop-Field Scale -- Chapter 2: How Above- and Below-Ground Interspecific Interactions between Intercropped Species Contribute to Overyielding and Efficient Resource Utilization: A Review of Research in China -- Chapter 3: Effects of Reduced Nitrogen Application Rates and Soybean Intercropping on Sugarcane Fields in Southern China Chapter 4: Integrated Rice-Fish Agroecosystems in China -- Chapter 5: Rice-Duck Co-Culture in China and Its Ecological Relationships and Functions -- Chapter 6: Study of Non-Point-Source Pollution Control in Integrated Rice-Frog Agroecosystems -- Chapter 7: Research on and Application of Rice Allelopathy and Crop Allelopathic Autotoxicity in China -- Chapter 8: Structure and Function of Grass-Covered Orchards in Fujian Province, China -- Chapter 9: Ecological Effects of No-Tillage Rice in Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River This book represents the work of experts and leaders who have taught, researched, and expanded Chinese agroecology and eco-agriculture for more than 30 years. It reviews several decades of agricultural change to provide an integrated analysis of the progress of research and development in agroecological farming practices. Chapter 15: Eco-Agricultural Practices of State Farms in Heilongjiang Province -- Chapter 16: Developing Agroecology Practice in Baiquan County -- Part IV: Perspective -- Chapter 17: Development and Prospect of China's Eco-Agriculture-Agroecology Practice -- Color Insert -- Back Cover Content: Part 1. An overview -- part 2. Agroecology research and practice on a crop-field scale -- part 3. Regional eco-agricultural practice and management -- part 4. Perspective.