National Forestry Manual

National Forestry Manual
Author: United States. Natural Resources Conservation Service
Publisher:
Total Pages: 182
Release: 1998
Genre: Agroforestry
ISBN:

Soil Health on the Farm, Ranch, and in the Garden

Soil Health on the Farm, Ranch, and in the Garden
Author: Kenneth E. Spaeth Jr.
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2020-11-07
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 303040398X

This book explores the importance of soil health in croplands, rangelands, pasturelands, and gardens, and presents new methods and technologies for assessing soil dynamics and health in these different land types. Through perspectives of agriculture, soil management, and ecological sustainability, the book provides accurate and up-to-date information on soil health assessment and maintenance that is often missing from current literature on conservation and environmental management and preservation. The book is written in a clear and concise format, and will appeal to non-scientists interested in soil health, as well as professional farmers, ranchers and gardeners. The book begins by discussing soil health from a historical perspective, and in terms of how it is covered in the news currently. Then the author addresses the ecological implications of soil health in farming, ranching and gardening, and comprehensively details the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil as they apply in various land types. The book then examines soil health assessment using new diagnostic and analytic technologies, and how these new innovations will be necessary going forward to maintain and improve soil health.

Soil Survey Field and Laboratory Methods Manual - Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 51 (Version 2) Issued 2014

Soil Survey Field and Laboratory Methods Manual - Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 51 (Version 2) Issued 2014
Author: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 488
Release: 2019-04-06
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 0359573517

Field and laboratory data are critical to the understanding of the properties and genesis of a single pedon, as well as to the understanding of fundamental soil relationships based on many observations of a large number of soils. Key to the advancement of this body of knowledge has been the cumulative effort of several generations of scientists in developing methods, designing and developing analytical databases, and investigating soil relationships based on these data. Methods development result from a broad knowledge of soils, encompassing topical areas of pedology, geomorphology, micromorphology, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, biology, and field and laboratory sample collection and preparation. The purpose of this manual, the "Soil Survey Field and Laboratory Methods Manual, Soil Survey Investigations Report (SSIR) No. 51," is to (1) serve as a standard reference in the description of site and soils sampling strategies and assessment techniques and (2) provide...

Grazing Management

Grazing Management
Author: John F. Vallentine
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 673
Release: 2000-10-25
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0080532594

Grazing animals need to be managed in order to accommodate desired results in terms of animal, plant, land and economic responses. Grazing Management, Second Edition integrates principles and management techniques that apply to all grazing lands and to all grazing animals. This comprehensive volume provides authoritative review on a wide range of relevant topics: animal nutrition and nutritional balance when fed on different sorts of grazing lands; seasonal variation and limits placed on ecosystems by grazing; the effects of grazing on grazing lands; the various sorts of grazing behaviors; selecting plants and managing grazing lands, as well as many other important topics bearing upon the methods, practises and procedures for properly managing grazing lands and animals. - Animal nutrition and nutritional balance when fed on different sorts of grazing lands - Seasonal variation and limits placed on ecosystems by grazing - The effects of grazing on grazing lands - The various sorts of grazing behaviours - Selecting plants and managing grazing lands

An analysis of the effects of climate change on livestock

An analysis of the effects of climate change on livestock
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 78
Release: 2023-09-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 925138066X

This technical report examines the connection between climate change and livestock, focusing on the impacts on livestock production systems. The study explores various methodologies from the literature and analyses their application in a practical test case in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The assessment estimates direct and indirect effects of climate change on the livestock sector by focusing on three main methodologies retrieved from the scientific literature and applied to the specific case of Lao People's Democratic Republic. The results reveal significant effects of climate change on cattle and buffaloes, the main ruminant species in the country. The findings showed significant losses in Lao People's Democratic Republic production due to heat stress affecting dry matter intake. For instance, under the representative concentration pathway 2.6 scenario, the analysis estimated a 19 percent loss in meat production and a 18 percent loss in milk production by 2085. The thermal-humidity index, used as a proxy for milk production estimation, yielded similar results. On a positive note, the study revealed that the carrying capacity and the number of potential livestock units are expected to increase from 2020 to 2080, counteracting some of the negative effects of climate change induced by heat stress. The proposed methodologies can be combined to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current and future state of the livestock population and production. While the effects may vary in different regions and production systems, the report emphasizes the importance of implementing strategies to mitigate climate change impacts. Overall, this report provides crucial information for policymakers and agencies involved with the livestock sector to guide interventions and address the challenges posed by climate change.