Seeds of Sustainability : Lessons From the Birthplace of the Green Revolution in Agriculture

Seeds of Sustainability is a groundbreaking analysis of agricultural development and transitions toward more sustainable management in one region. An invaluable resource for researchers, policymakers, and students alike, it examines new approaches to make agricultural landscapes healthier for both the environment and people. The Yaqui Valley is the birthplace of the Green Revolution and one of the most intensive agricultural regions of the world, using irrigation, fertilizers, and other technologies to produce some of the highest yields of wheat anywhere. It also faces resource limitations, threats to human health, and rapidly changing economic conditions. In short, the Yaqui Valley represents the challenge of modern agriculture: how to maintain livelihoods and increase food production while protecting the environment. Renowned scientist Pamela Matson and colleagues from leading institutions in the U.S. and Mexico spent fifteen years in the Yaqui Valley in Sonora, Mexico addressing this challenge. Seeds of Sustainability represents the culmination of their research, providing unparalleled information about the causes and consequences of current agricultural methods. Even more importantly, it shows how knowledge can translate into better practices, not just in the Yaqui Valley, but throughout the world. Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Why the Yaqui Valley? An Introduction....Pages 3-12 A Brief History of the Yaqui Valley....Pages 13-27 Front Matter....Pages 29-29 Looking for Win-Wins in Intensive Agriculture....Pages 31-45 Ecosystems and Land-use Change in the Yaqui Valley: Does Agricultural Intensification “Spare Land for Nature”?....Pages 47-62 Linking Knowledge with Action for Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Change and Effectiveness....Pages 63-82 Exploring Vulnerability in the Yaqui Valley Human-Environment System....Pages 83-92 From Wheat to Waves and Back Again: Connections between the Yaqui Valley and the Gulf of California....Pages 93-104 Front Matter....Pages 105-105 The Yaqui Valley’s Agricultural Transition to a More Open Economy....Pages 107-138 Agricultural Research and Management at the Field Scale....Pages 139-169 Nitrogen in the Yaqui Valley: Sources, Transfers, and Consequences....Pages 171-195 Water Resources Management in the Yaqui Valley....Pages 197-227 Front Matter....Pages 229-229 Lessons Learned....Pages 231-250 Back Matter....Pages 251-292