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01/01/2022 Scientific understanding about domestication and the origins of food production in East Asia is undergoing rapid change based on new data from archaeology, paleobiology, and paleoenvironmental studies. The earliest agricultural and pastoral societies emerged from the highly diverse habitats and...
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01/01/2019 Agriculture is certainly the most important food supplier while it globally accounts for more than 70% of water used and contributes significantly to water pollution. Irrigated agriculture is facing rising competition worldwide for access to reliable, low cost, and high-quality water resources....
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01/01/2021 Water scarcity is a critical issue for agriculture, and, hence, efficient management and conservation practices for agricultural water use are essential for adapting to and mitigating the impacts of current and future discrepancy between water supplies and water demands. This Special Issue...
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01/01/2020 *Available as Download Only Planting trees in the agricultural landscape, in the form of establishing agroforestry systems, has a significant role to play in potentially improving ecosystem services, such as increased biodiversity, reduced soil erosion, increased soil carbon storage, improved...
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01/01/2019 Understanding deserts and drylands is essential, as arid landscapes cover >40% of the Earth and are home to two billion people. Today’s problematic environment–human interaction needs contemporary knowledge to address dryland complexity. Physical dimensions in arid zones—land systems, climate...
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01/01/2019 Intensive agriculture has generally resulted in higher productivity, but also in a trend towards decreasing levels of agro-biodiversity, which represents a key point in ensuring the adaptability and resilience of agro-ecosystems in the global challenge to produce more and better food in a...
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01/01/2020 *Available as Download Only African ecosystems comprise a wealthy repository of biodiversity, with a high proportion of native and endemic plant species, which makes them biologically unique and providers of a wide range of ecosystem services. A large part of African populations, in both rural...
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01/01/2022 Bioenergy is renewable energy obtained from biomass-any organic material that has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. Biogas is among the biofuels that can be obtained from biomass resources, including biodegradable wastes like manure, sewage sludge, the organic fraction of municipal...
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01/01/2021 *Available as Download Only Despite being described for the first time more than 110 years ago, Chagas disease (caused by the parasiteTrypanosoma cruzi) persists as one of the most neglected tropical diseases. This persistent neglect of those affected by this disease is evidenced by the ongoing...
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01/01/2017 This book brings together eleven works by scholars within and beyond geography, to argue the case for a continued engagement with smallholder agricultural studies. The research detailed is largely empirical and draws on a wide spectrum of mixed qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The case...
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01/01/2018 *Available as Download Only This book explores the current issues around sustainable design and energy efficiency within the construction industry in both developed and developing countries. Sustainable housing; thermal comfort; daylighting; low-income housing; green roofs; energy efficient...
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01/01/2021 *Available as Download Only Disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, floods, heat waves, nuclear accidents, and large-scale pollution incidents take lives and incur major health problems. The majority of large-scale disasters affect the most vulnerable populations, which often comprise extreme...
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01/01/2021 *Available as Download Only. This book emphasizes that soil productivity is considered an important factor for the success of agricultural production. The microbial community's composition and the diversity of agricultural soils primarily depend on management practices. Exogenous nutritional...
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01/01/2017 Five of the top ten problems facing humanity (http: //cnst.rice.edu/content.aspx?id=246) over the next 50 years (food, water, energy, environment and poverty) are directly related to the health of soil resources. Several different factors, including: (a) excessive tillage; (b) inappropriate crop...
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01/01/2020 It is now well accepted that the consumption of plant-based foods is beneficial to human health. Fruits, vegetables, grains, and derived products can be excellent sources of minerals, vitamins, and fiber and usually have a favorable nutrient-to-energy ratio. Furthermore, plant foods are also a...
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01/01/2017 *Available as Download Only Forage plant ecophysiology has been described, perhaps mischievously, as the selective application of useful information from pure plant physiology research to provide human benefit through improved agricultural output. The intention of creating this Special Issue was...
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01/01/2021 The Special Issue, entitled "Forest, Food and Nutrition", is focused on understanding of the intersection and linking existing between forests, food, and nutrition. Forest ecosystems are an important biodiversity environment resource for many species. Forests and trees play a key role in food...
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01/01/2018 *Available as Download Only The respiration of forest soils and the major factors controlling its rate are fairly well understood. The process is of utmost significance because its balance with the fixation of CO2 in the biomass defines whether a particular site is a source or sink of atmospheric...
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01/01/2017 The Special Issue to provide a forum for contemporary studies of the genetics, genomics and phenomics of productivity traits in forage and bioenergy grasses, along with the application of such data to breeding practices and cultivar development. *Available as Download Only MDPI Book Link...
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01/01/2019 *Available as Download Only This book is the definitive reference regarding the global status of melioidosis in 2018. Melioidosis is one of the most neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), so much so that it is not even included in the WHO list of NTDs. Yet modeling suggests that it kills more people...
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01/01/2021 Herbaceous field crops include several hundred plant species worldly widespread for different end-uses, from food to no-food applications. Among them are included cereals, grain legumes, sugar beet, potato, cotton, tobacco, sunflower, safflower, rape, flax, soybean, alfalfa, clover spp. and other...
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01/01/2020 *Available as Download Only Today, herbicide-resistant weeds dominate research and development efforts in the discipline of weed science. The incidence, management challenges, and cost of multiple herbicide-resistant weed populations are continually increasing worldwide. Crop varieties with...
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01/01/2021 *Available as Download Only. There are a total of 22 caves and karst wells with more than 25 specialized species resident (stygobionts and troglobionts). In this Special Issue, 14 of these sites are described in detail, along with the specialized fauna. An additional paper describes the richest...
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01/01/2020 *Available as Download Only As it is a goal to eliminate human African trypanosomiasis (HAT; sleeping sickness) as a public health problem by 2020 and interrupt transmission by 2030, this is a good moment to reflect on what we have achieved, what we want to achieve, and what could get in our way....
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01/01/2021 Soil fauna plays a key role in many soil functions, such as organic matter decomposition, humus formation, and nutrient release, modifying soil structure, and improving its fertility. Soil invertebrates play key roles in determining soil suitability for agricultural production and realizing...
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01/01/2022 Meat quality is associated with the chemical composition and metabolic state of skeletal muscle. This Special Issue aims to compile the recent literature with a focus on meat quality and pre-mortem factors that affect muscle metabolism. It includes nine research articles about various types of...
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01/04/2022 Traditionally, livestock manure has been used to provide nutrients for plant growth and to improve soil conditions. However, the increase in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) results in high levels of plant nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, in the proximal crop and...
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01/01/2018 *Available as Download Only This Special Issue focuses on recent research on the important emerging and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in South and South East Asia and Northern Australia. This region stretches from Afghanistan in the west to Papua New Guinea in the east, and includes the...
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01/01/2021 *Available as Download Only "One Health" is defined as an approach to achieve better health outcomes for humans, animals, and the environment through collaborative and interdisciplinary efforts. The One Health framework is increasingly being applied to the management, control, and even...
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01/01/2019 Public participation in forestry is a key issue in ensuring the democratization of decision-making processes, increasing the social acceptance of policies, and reducing conflicts between forest users. Public participation also provides an opportunity for the improvement of the quality of...
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01/01/2020 *Available as Download Only This book is a collection of chapters around the theme of parasitology and zoonosis in bot war and peace and the impact of these fields on public health. Individual experts have contributed reviews, novel research, and case series within the field to make a broad and...
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01/01/2020 The global biodiversity and climate emergencies demand transformative changes to human activities. For example, food production relies on synthetic, industrial and non-sustainable products for managing pests, weeds and diseases of crops. Sustainable farming requires approaches to managing these...
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01/01/2021 Plant Adaptation to Global Climate Change discusses the issues of the impact of climate change factors (abiotic and biotic) on vegetation. This book also deals with simulation modeling approaches to understanding the long-term effects of different environmental factors on vegetation. This book is...
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01/01/2021 The papers included in this Special Issue address a variety of important aspects of plant biodiversity and genetic resources, including definitions, descriptions, and illustrations of different components and their value for food and nutrition security, breeding, and environmental services....
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01/01/2018 The papers included in this special issue cover a broad range of aspects ranging from genetics and breeding to crop production in the field. Climate change, intensified agriculture, modifications of land use, or pollution are often accompanied by larger fluctuations including extreme events. The...
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01/01/2021 Plant-soil interactions play an important role in the functioning of ecosystems. This book presents recent research advances on the effects of soil factors on plant communities and the role of ecological complementarity and species diversity in soil properties and ecosystem services. It addresses...
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01/01/2021 *Available for Download Only The alleged responsibility of meats and processed meat products for some of our population's major health issues has created an opportunity for the promotion of meat analogs. This emerging competition forces the need for changes in livestock production systems for...
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01/01/2019 *Available as Download Only Current efforts to limit the ravages of schistosomiasis are pushing the world closer to eliminating a chronic infection that has been associated with human life in the tropics since time immemorial. This notwithstanding, the disease remains a scourge for large...
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01/01/2019 *Available as Download Only The book "Quality and Production of Forage" is intended to keep readers updated on the developments occurring in this field. As it is apparent that livestock animals are important throughout the world because of the meat, milk and egg they produce, knowledge about the...
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01/01/2022 An increasing number of people live in cities. In recent decades, this, combined with rural abandonment and landscape polarisation, has resulted in high land ownership concentrations and agricultural intensification. This, in turn, has resulted in a significant decrease in the resilience of...
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01/01/2021 Many people live in rural areas in tropical regions. Rural development is not merely a contribution to the growth of individual countries. It can be a way to reduce poverty and to increase access to water, health care, and education. Sustainable rural development can also help stop deforestation...
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01/01/2022 Agriculture requires technical solutions for increasing production while lessening environmental impact by reducing the application of agro-chemicals and increasing the use of environmentally friendly management practices. A benefit of this is the reduction of production costs. Sensor...
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01/01/2019 Agriculture requires technical solutions for increasing production while lessening environmental impact by reducing the application of agro-chemicals and increasing the use of environmentally friendly management practices. A benefit of this is the reduction of production costs. Sensor...
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01/01/2019 *Available as Download Only This Special Issue explores the range of clinical manifestations and epidemiology of both skin NTDs and common skin disease in endemic regions, the use of common diagnostic and management pathways, the different technologies that play a role in diagnosis and training,...
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01/01/2016 The current conception of organic farming is the result of nearly a century of intellectual thought and dialogue, field observations and experiences, systematic experimentation, and codification of rules. Debates on the future viability of organic farming often focus on its capacity to produce...
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01/01/2021 Soil degradation is one of the most topical environmental threats. A number of processes causing soil degradation, specifically erosion, compaction, salinization, pollution, and loss of both organic matter and soil biodiversity, are also strictly connected to agricultural activity and its...
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01/01/2020 Global crop production must substantially increase to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population. This is constrained by the availability of nutrients, water, and land. There is also an urgent need to reduce the negative environmental impacts of crop production. Collectively, these issues...
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01/01/2018 This Special Issue will consist of selected papers from the Sustainable Asia Conference (SAC) 2016, an annual international conference held on Jeju Island, South Korea, from 28 June to 2 July. The SAC 2016 is one of the leading international conferences for presenting novel and fundamental...
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01/01/2022 Sustainability, defined as 'meeting current needs without compromising the future', is a widely accepted goal across many sectors of society. Sustainability's criteria and indicators often only regard sustaining present conditions through increased resilience, intended as a system's capacity to...
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01/01/2020 This book on the sustainable use of soils and water addressed a variety of issues related to the utopian desire for environmental sustainability and the deviations from this scene observed in the real world. Competing interests for land are frequently a factor in land degradation, especially...
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01/01/2022 The six research articles/communications and one review that comprise this Special Issue, which concerns studies towards natural compound use for crop protection and food safety purposes, highlight the most recent research and investigations into this exciting area. With an ever-increasing global...
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01/01/2021 *Available for Download Only In this book is reported novel information on diagnosis, treatment, and control of parasites that are naturally transmitted from animal reservoirs to humans. Subjects: Public Health and Healthcare: Prevention; Medicine and Pharmacology: Therapy. MDPI Book Link...
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01/01/2018 *Available as Download Only This edited volume is a collection of 12 publications from esteemed research groups around the globe. The articles belong to the following broad categories: biological treatment process parameters, sludge management and disinfection, removal of trace organic...
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01/01/2021 Satisfying consumer needs through the production of healthy and nutritious agricultural products is a substantial challenge facing modern agriculture. However, agricultural production should be carried out with care for plant health, biological safety of products, and environmental safety while...
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01/01/2018 Agricultural drainage, such as runoffs from farmlands and wineries, are contaminated waters. Their management is monitored by environmental protection authorities who set targets of volume or pollutant reductions. Due to large quantities and seasonal variations, the targets are often not met, and...
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01/01/2020 The growing world population exerts tremendous pressure on our finite food resources. Since the lion's share of the global calorie intake is reliant upon a handful of plant species like rice, wheat, maize, soybean, and potato, it is the need of the hour to expand our dietary reliance to...