Technology & Engineering

Jump into GIS with this popular hands-on textbook, written and updated for ArcGIS Pro 3.4.

GIS Tutorial for ArcGIS Pro 3.4 is the book everyone needs to learn the powerful desktop app ArcGIS Pro.

GIS Tutorial for ArcGIS Pro 3.4 is one of the top books on geographic information systems (GIS). Written by award-winning instructors at Carnegie Mellon University, GIS Tutorial for ArcGIS Pro introduces readers, step by step, to basic ArcGIS Pro skills such as:

• designing maps
• using file geodatabases
• geoprocessing
• geocoding
• creating an online story map or dashboard
• working with raster and 3D maps
• doing spatial analysis

This resource offers numerous examples and experiences to help cement new concepts and skills. By providing hands-on exercises as well as homework assignments, it allows readers to walk through various concepts step by step and reinforce their skills by integrating them for problem-solving.

For educators looking to adopt this book for their curriculum, more in-depth instruction, video lectures, and written transcripts are available from the authors. Additional instructor resources including PowerPoint slides, grading sheets, and homework answers (available on VitalSource).

This book is easy to use and provides concise explanations; at the same time, it’s rigorously thorough in its explanations and practice of Esri’s desktop GIS technology. Complete with numerous exercises to practice and improve learning, and additional teaching resources for educators, GIS Tutorial for ArcGIS Pro 3.4 is the ideal book for both classrooms and self-learners looking to develop their understanding of and expertise in ArcGIS Pro.

Build your knowledge and use of ArcGIS Pro with GIS Tutorial for ArcGIS Pro 3.4.

This classic ArcGIS® exercise book has been revised and streamlined to help you learn the latest ArcGIS Pro tools and workflows.

GIS Tutorial for ArcGIS Pro 3.1 is the book of choice for classrooms and self-learners seeking to develop their expertise with Esri’s premier desktop geographic information system (GIS) technology—no prior experience is necessary.

This fifth edition, revised for ArcGIS Pro 3.1, features new datasets, exercises, and instructional text guiding you step by step through the latest tools and workflows. The book explains core skills through progressive learning, and its examples use current, real-world scenarios as you learn to make maps and find, create, and analyze spatial data while using ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online.

You will also:

• share your work in ArcGIS StoryMaps℠ and visualize your data in ArcGIS Dashboards
• create simple expressions in SQL and Python
• learn how to use street networks for routing
• learn how to analyze satellite imagery to provide intelligence
• learn to turn maps into animations

Both authors, Carnegie Mellon educators Kristen Kurland and Wil Gorr, integrate methods from their own teaching experiences into this book and their other books from Esri Press, including the GIS Tutorial 1–3 series, GIS Tutorial for Crime Analysis, and GIS Tutorial for Health. Downloadable video lectures and teaching slides that complement this book are also available.

Learn to use ArcGIS Pro confidently, quickly, and effectively with the newest edition in this best-selling series.

Getting to Know ArcGIS Pro 3.2 introduces readers to ArcGIS Pro, the world’s most powerful desktop GIS. Geographic information system (GIS) software provides mapping and analytic capabilities that give people and organizations powerful location intelligence.

Getting to Know ArcGIS Pro 3.2 walks readers through exploring ArcGIS Online, using 3D GIS, building a geodatabase, creating maps for web and physical presentations, and more. With more than 300 full-color images, Getting to Know ArcGIS Pro 3.2 clarifies complicated processes, such as developing a geoprocessing model, using Python to write a script tool, and creating space-time cubes for analysis in easy-to-follow workflows.

Throughout the book, short sidebars about real-world GIS scenarios in specific industries help readers understand how ArcGIS Pro can be used widely to solve problems. At the end of each chapter, a summary and glossary help reinforce the skills learned.

This edition has been completely updated for use with ArcGIS Pro 3.2.

The Getting to Know series has been teaching readers about GIS for more than 20 years. Ideal for students, self-learners, and professionals who want to learn the premier GIS desktop application, Getting to Know ArcGIS Pro 3.2 is a textbook and desk reference designed to show users how to use ArcGIS Pro successfully.

Learn how to use ArcGIS Utility Network, the powerful software that handles the complexity of modern utility systems now and into the future.

Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Utility Network is a practical guide for GIS technicians and analysts, whether you are already using ArcGIS Utility Network in your organization or are migrating to Utility Network. ArcGIS Utility Network is an advanced network information model within ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Enterprise that handles the complexity of modern utility systems now and into the future. ArcGIS Utility Network allows you to manage a connected network with a single unified model and visualize your infrastructure in 2D and 3D to unlock detailed insights and analytics.

Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Utility Network focuses on 20 skills that were chosen based on existing user input, suggestions, and troubleshooting over the last few years. Using short, to-the-point chapters with step-by-step tutorials that simplify important tasks and descriptions, readers will build a solid foundation of skills.

Users will learn how to:

• Create feature templates;
• Apply network rules and validate data;
• Use the error inspector to resolve error features;
• Use a basic connective trace;
• Use directional traces;
• Create a network diagram;
• Manage subnetworks, and more.
  

Written by experts at Esri, Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Utility Network is perfect for anyone who wants a single, reliable, comprehensive resource for learning how to use or optimize their current use of Utility Network.

Making interactive web maps has never been easier. 

Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Online guides readers, step by step, through the process of creating maps that simplify location data and unlock spatial insights. In just a few clicks, you’ll publish professional web maps that use smart, data-driven mapping styles and powerful analysis tools.

These bite-sized chapters demonstrate how to create layers, build web maps, and showcase your location data in professional visualizations. Each chapter takes about 45 minutes to complete.

Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Online includes:

• Easy-to-understand, step-by-step tutorials

• Simple instructions with plenty of screenshots showing what to do

• Resources that provide readers with self-paced learning opportunities

By the end of this book, you’ll know:

• Smart mapping, blend modes, effects, setting visibility ranges, and other basic cartography techniques

• ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, ArcGIS Notebooks, charts, forms, and data pipelines

• How to share your maps to the world

Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Online is perfect for students looking for a comprehensive guide to follow from beginning to end, professionals looking to learn specific skills, or those who want a single, reliable, comprehensive resource for learning how to create web maps.

Make your own interactive web maps using the first book from Esri Press exclusively for ArcGIS Online.

The must-have desk reference to terminology in geographic information systems (GIS).

As GIS technology has evolved and grown, so has the language of this powerful tool. Elevate your understanding of GIS with the newly updated and expanded third edition of A to Z GIS: An Illustrated Dictionary of Geographic Information Systems. With more than 1,400 new terms and nearly 400 high-quality illustrations, this popular comprehensive dictionary is essential for managers, programmers, users, writers, editors, and students discovering the interdisciplinary nature of GIS.

Written, developed, and reviewed by more than 200 subject matter experts, the fully cross-referenced dictionary is packed with nearly 3,000 terms. With clear definitions and helpful illustrations, A to Z GIS: An Illustrated Dictionary of Geographic Information Systems is a crucial resource for anyone in GIS.

Getting to Know Mobile GIS empowers readers to creatively use Mobile GIS and drive innovation in this fast-advancing field.

“Mobile first" and the "post-PC era" aren’t just buzzwords; they represent today's reality. Within the GIS industry, the mobile internet and Mobile GIS have transformed how we acquire, visualize, analyze, and disseminate geospatial information. With its ubiquitous use and location-aware capabilities, the mobile platform is an essential part of enterprise GIS across industries, making Mobile GIS crucial to the business operations and future success of wide-ranging organizations.

Getting to Know Mobile GIS helps GIS professionals and GIS students grasp the opportunities presented by Mobile GIS. It provides principles and detailed tutorials to teach today’s cutting-edge Mobile GIS technologies. Using a no-code, low-code approach, it makes Mobile GIS easy and fun to learn. Readers can immediately become productive in creating enterprise GIS solutions, including:

• Online and offline spatial data visualization
• Data collection
• Location sharing
• Workforce coordination
• Integration with enterprise workflows.

Getting to Know Mobile GIS is a comprehensive resource covering the Esri suite of ArcGIS mobile technologies, including native-based apps such as ArcGIS Survey123, ArcGIS Field Maps, ArcGIS QuickCapture, and browser-based apps such as ArcGIS Dashboards and Experience Builder. Readers can also acquire advanced skills to extend Mobile GIS using ArcGIS Arcade, Webhooks, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and the ArcGIS Maps SDKs. The book explores popular application types and frontiers, encompassing location-based services (LBS), volunteered geographic information (VGI), 3D mapping, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR).

Based on the author’s extensive Mobile GIS project experiences at Esri and teaching Mobile GIS at Harvard Extension, Getting to Know Mobile GIS has the latest concepts, trends, technology, and how-tos for Mobile GIS.

Get the latest information about online GIS using ArcGIS® apps and functionality. 

Capabilities of Web GIS keep expanding, and Getting to Know Web GIS, fifth edition, describes some of the most cutting-edge and exciting innovations. From publishing data as services and configuring engaging web and mobile apps to automation, scripting, and real-world applications, this book shares how to use the most current software and apps for using ArcGIS in the cloud. 

In the newest edition of Getting to Know Web GIS, you can work with the latest releases of ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS StoryMaps℠, and ArcGIS mobile apps. You can experience ArcGIS Experience Builder, ArcGIS Field Maps, ArcGIS Instant Apps, ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Mission, and the latest advances in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and tools for spatial data science. No programming is required, but you can learn more about Web GIS programming in this book using JavaScript, webhooks, and ArcGIS Arcade. 

Use the fifth edition to: 

• improve your online visual storytelling,
• work with 2D smart mapping and 3D web scenes, 
• create informative web experiences and dashboards,
• support field operations and data collection using mobile apps,
• use new data science tools for spatial analysis and geoprocessing,
• detect objects using deep learning packages,
• program a triggered notification using a visual interface, and more. 

GIS expert, instructor, and author Pinde Fu provides lecture slides and additional resources in an online story using ArcGIS StoryMaps.  

Today’s modern GIS is Web GIS—get onboard with one of the most interesting and creative areas of GIS. 

Make your work in the field more efficient and productive with the how-to of location intelligence.

A biologist in a rain forest making observations on indigenous frogs, an engineer maintaining utility equipment, or a citizen scientist taking water samples from a creek are all doing fieldwork. Their work is anchored by location. No matter what electronic tools they take into the field, they all take a notebook or a guidebook. As you head into the field along with all your equipment, be sure to include this practical fieldwork guide.

Fieldwork Handbook gives you tips, best practices, and activities that make your work in the field more productive and successful. No matter how you use location intelligence in the field, you can up your game with this book and improve your experience. Covering preparation, equipment, workflows, and data, this book will teach you how to

• Organize and reconcile field data
• Effectively coordinate and dispatch field resources
• Refine fieldwork workflows
• Sync the office with the field

Author and Esri product engineer Marika Vertzonis learned about geospatial technology in the field, and she knows what you need to know. This handbook is your friend in the field.

Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS® Pro introduces the most important skills you need to get up and running with geographic information systems (GIS).

With its location data advantage, geographic information system (GIS) software is a tool to help with key projects, decisions, and problems. But how do you start using GIS in your projects? If you need a fast track to using this valuable tool, learn and get experience with Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Pro.

With this book, you can start using ArcGIS Pro quickly and successfully.

• Easy-to-understand, step-by-step exercises
• Conversational, upbeat language with lots of illustrations and tips
• Interesting user stories covering how GIS is applied in many situations
• Exercises for working with spatial data, creating maps, and doing basic analysis

This handy resource with easy to follow, how-to steps will help you build your skill set to become adept at understanding and using ArcGIS Pro.

Learn the latest version of ArcGIS Pro with the newest edition of this bestselling series.

Getting to Know ArcGIS Pro 2.8 introduces the tools and functions of ArcGIS Pro, the powerful desktop GIS application. Geographic information systems (GIS) software is making a huge impact in businesses and organizations with mapping and analytic capabilities.

Getting to Know ArcGIS Pro 2.8 uses practical project workflows to teach best practices for readers of all skill levels. Readers will explore data visualizations, build a geodatabase, discover 3D GIS, create maps for web and physical presentations, and more. With over 300 full-color images, Getting to Know ArcGIS Pro 2.8 clarifies complicated processes such as developing a geoprocessing model, using Python to write a script tool, and creating space-time cubes for analysis.

Each chapter begins with a prompt describing a real-world scenario in a different industry to help readers understand how ArcGIS Pro can be applied widely to solve problems. At the end of each chapter, a summary and glossary help reinforce the skills learned.

This edition has been completely updated for use with ArcGIS Pro 2.8. Other updates include new chapters on ArcGIS Online and geocoding.

The Getting to Know series has been teaching readers about GIS for over twenty years. Ideal for students, self-learners, and professionals who want to learn the premier GIS desktop application, Getting to Know ArcGIS Pro 2.8 is a textbook and desk reference designed to show users how they can use ArcGIS Pro successfully on their own.

Note: This e-book requires ArcGIS software. You can download the ArcGIS Trial at http://www.esri.com/arcgis/trial, contact your school or business Esri Site License Administrator, or purchase a student or individual license through the Esri Store.

Essays by international bestselling author Edward Tenner that explore both the negative and positive surprises of human ingenuity

How did the addition of lifeboats after the Titanic shipwreck contribute to another tragedy in Chicago harbor three years later? How efficient are wild animals as investors, and how do dog breeds become national symbols? Why have scientific breakthroughs so often originated in the study of shadows? How did the file card prepare scholarship and commerce for the rise of electronic data processing, and why did the visual metaphor of the tab survive into today’s graphic interfaces? Why have Amish artisans played an important role in manufacturing advanced technology? Why was United Shoe Machinery the Microsoft of the 1890s? Surprises like these, Edward Tenner believes, can help us deal with the technological issues that confront us now.

Since the 1980s, Edward Tenner has contributed essays on technology, design, and culture to leading magazines, newspapers, and professional journals, and has been interviewed on subjects ranging from medical ethics to typography. Why the Hindenburg Had a Smoking Lounge—named for one of the paradoxes that can result from the inherent contradictions between consumer safety and product marketing—brings many of Tenner’s essays together into one volume for the first time, accompanied by new introductions by the author on the theme of each work. As an independent historian and public speaker, Tenner has spent his career deploying concepts from economics, engineering, psychology, science, and sociology, to explore both the negative and positive surprises of human ingenuity.

• Profiles of more than 80 countries and their botanical sources of honey
• The global history of honey production, from the earliest beekeepers to today’s harvest
• Text, illustrations and photos celebrating the exceptional range and diversity of honey
• The methods used by honey sommeliers to taste and evaluate honey

Add an extra dimension to your maps.

You live in a 3D world—your maps need to be 3D, too. Representing and reviewing data on maps in 3D lets you explore complex spatial relationships in new ways, allowing you to identify patterns and potential problems more effectively. But creating digital 3D maps that are accurate, intuitive, engaging, and easily navigable can seem daunting, even to experienced cartographers.

Mapping with Altitude: Designing 3D Maps helps you create clear, compelling cartographic representations in 3D that are both eye-catching and informative. Written by Esri senior product engineer and frequent Esri UC workshop presenter Nathan C Shephard, this book uses a fun and enthusiastic approach to explore the concepts, challenges, and opportunities in 3D cartography.

Using easy-to-understand workflows, this book:

• Shows why some spatial content is best communicated in 3D.
  

• Explains 3D mapping concepts, such as surfaces, base heights, texturing, and lighting models.

• Introduces new twists on well-defined 2D cartographic principles, such as size, color, and text.

• Demonstrates how the z-dimension can convey time.

• Discusses the best delivery mechanism for your 3D content.

Mapping with Altitude focuses on the practical decisions and specific techniques you’ll use as you boldly enter the world of 3D map authoring in ArcGIS.

Spatial statistics empowers you to go beyond visual analysis to answer questions confidently and make data-driven decisions.

Thanks to the data and computational power now at our fingertips, data science is in every aspect of our lives. But with so many algorithms and buzzwords floating around, where do you start to solve complex problems or figure out where to go next?

There has never been a more exciting time to learn about spatial statistics. Spatial statistics uses an aspect of geography that helps you quantify patterns and relationships so that you can feel confident in your analysis.

Spatial Statistics Illustrated is an introductory book for learning the concepts behind the powerful spatial statistics tools in ArcGIS.

With approachable explanations and uncomplicated drawings, Spatial Statistics Illustrated gives readers an accessible understanding of some of the most widely used spatial statistics methods, including how they work and when to use them. In a friendly, conversational tone, the authors share techniques that can help you explore your data in meaningful ways; quantify patterns and relationships; understand trends, and make informed, impactful decisions.

This book has something for everyone analyzing data, including:

• seasoned data scientists looking to explore the value that spatial analysis offers
• GIS analysts looking to expand their spatial statistics skill set
• new GIS users discovering the value of spatial statistics

Spatial Statistics Illustrated is a perfect complement to more traditional, technical statistics and spatial statistics texts and is also ideal as supplemental reading for academic courses.

Based on the popular series of Spatial Statistics workshops presented by the authors at the annual Esri User Conference, Spatial Statistics Illustrated welcomes readers into the unparalleled world of spatial statistics.

Spatial Data Science will show GIS scientists and practitioners how to add and use new analytical methods from data science in their existing GIS platforms. By explaining how the spatial domain can provide many of the building blocks, it's critical for transforming data into information, knowledge, and solutions.

This book is for those using or studying GIS and the computer scientists, engineers, statisticians, and information and library scientists leading the development and deployment of data science.

GIS for Surface Water: Using the National Hydrography Dataset enables scientists, managers, and students to understand the complexities of the vital surface waters of the United States. It triggers exploration and analysis by combining the ready-to-use powers of a comprehensive database of the nation’s waters and the ArcGIS® platform for geographic data analysis and mapping. This book explains how the water that exists on the landscape has been translated into a computer database, and how data about the water, such as chemistry and fish habitat, is linked to this database. Elevation data is also incorporated to produce watersheds at the micro and macro levels. This information, along with climatic data, leads to the creation of water flow and velocity estimates for every segment in the 7.5-million-mile drainage network in the United States. With the development of this complete water information system, the reader is poised to generate new knowledge of the behavior of surface water systems. 

Application of the ArcGIS suite of geographic and network analysis tools makes the science of surface water come to life. GIS for Surface Water vividly demonstrates how the vast capabilities of ArcGIS can be easily applied to the National Hydrography Dataset and companion Watershed Boundary Dataset to reveal the intricate properties of complex water networks. A variety of GIS operations are made simpler through the use of ArcGIS. You will be able to input the National Hydrography Dataset in your GIS and trace the path of water within minutes. With just a little more effort, you will be able to create enlightening flow-volume maps showing how much water flows through any given river system. By following basic principles outlined in the book, you will discover that these methods also apply to the science of surface-water systems for any nation. User stories by experienced water analysts are also included to help buoy your knowledge of GIS for surface water.

Learn from the best with this popular book on creating successful maps with any GIS or illustration product, written by an expert cartographer.

For more than 18 years, Designing Better Maps: A Guide for GIS Users has been essential reading for all mapmakers who use geographic information system (GIS) technology across industries and sectors, including government, commercial, creative, and education. This third edition continues the reliable legacy of this book, distinctive in its clear and efficient emphasis on core cartographic concepts and updated with new and revamped design practices.

With more than 400 full-color illustrations, this book applies map design best practices to both reference and statistical mapping, guiding you through the following processes:

• Planning maps
• Using basemaps
• Using scale and time
• Explaining maps
• Publishing and sharing maps
• Applying type and labels
• Understanding and using color
• Customizing symbols

Award-winning author Cynthia A. Brewer uses her sophisticated mix of experiences—conducting academic research, teaching novice cartographers, mentoring advanced students on research and mapmaking, and collaborating with analysts and mapmakers at various federal agencies—to present this practical information. In 2023, she was awarded the International Cartographic Society's highest honor, the Carl Mannerfelt Gold Medal, for distinguished contributions to her field.

Whether you face the challenge of making well-designed maps or are already adept at GIS data management and analysis but need better ways to visually communicate spatial information and results, Designing Better Maps will help you learn how to use GIS tools to design provocative and accessible maps.

The Power of Where presents the visionary concepts of Jack Dangermond, cofounder of Esri®, the world’s leading mapping software company. With a foreword by bestselling author and writer for The Atlantic, James Fallows, it’s filled with the latest web maps, illustrations, and real-life stories from a vibrant global community of geographic information systems (GIS) users. If you’ve never heard of GIS, this is the book for you, and if you think you know what GIS is, you’ll discover much more.

From the Ring of Fire to the Fertile Crescent, The Power of Where takes us on a visual and narrative journey into the world of modern GIS and reveals its growing potential to address humanity’s big challenges. The technology is already ubiquitous, from running city governments and performing civic science to conserving open spaces and managing logistics—virtually every human endeavor.

Central to the book is the geographic approach—a way of solving problems that uses spatial location to perceive and understand patterns—from wildlife migration and rising seas to urban planning and food production. Drawing from 60 years of research and experience, the author writes from a fervent conviction that through this approach, we can confront climate change, hunger, water scarcity, inequity, and issues large and small in our everyday lives.

The book describes the methods of the geographic approach—visualization, communication, analysis, collaboration, accounting, and design—and shows how vast amounts of integrated data are propelling spatial applications into the mainstream. A companion website brings interactive maps and stories to life and serves as a starting point for students and educators—and anyone considering joining the GIS user community.

The Power of Where reveals how technologies such as web services, mobile devices, artificial intelligence, extended reality, and 3D visualization intersect with GIS and outlines the new opportunities they are creating. Its maps and stories arise from a passion for the power of place and from the mutually reinforcing revolutions in Earth observation, analysis, and collaboration that GIS and the human spirit make possible.

Explore live examples from the book and learn more about interactive mapping and the tools of modern GIS at powerofwhere.com.

Women smallholder farmers across the globe play pivotal roles in enhancing global food security by contributing to food production, accessibility, stability and utilisation. These roles lack sufficient recognition in global food policies and are hindered by prevailing structural gender inequalities. These constraints are rooted in restrictive gender norms, disparities in access to and control over productive and complementary resources, disproportionate allocation of domestic responsibilities and limited agency. They collectively undermine the full potential of women’s contributions to sustainable food security. Challenging the discriminatory norms that weaken women’s capacities to produce and purchase sufficient and nutritious food requires targeted strategies to promote gender equality and empower women to achieve improved food security outcomes at the household, community and global levels. Accessing data from global datasets about women's contributions and challenges offers the necessary evidence to support their crucial role in attaining food security.

This chapter provides an overview of soil biology, health and ecosystem services. The authors present an update on previous work by integrating the chemical and physical components of soil health with that of the biologically mediated processes and further define how environmental conditions may contribute. To achieve this, four soil function cognitive models have been developed: (1) Carbon and Climate Regulation, 2) Nutrient Cycling, 3) Water Regulation and Filtration and 4) Habitat Provision for Biodiversity. The four cognitive models offer a structured way to integrate biodiversity into soil health assessments, alongside chemical, physical and environmental parameters, ensuring that biological indicators are given appropriate weight in evaluation frameworks.

This chapter describes the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) Crop Modeling ecosystem, its origin, advancements in model capabilities, addition of models for new crops, examples of model simulations of genetic improvement, and tools for data entry, calibration, analysis, and applications. Examples of model applications are given with emphasis on genetic improvement especially under the impacts of climate change.

This chapter provides an overview of techniques for understanding and modifying phytobiome microbial activity toward plant disease control. It reviews traditional and advanced techniques for analyzing microbial communities, including molecular, culture-based and microscopic approaches, and it explores strategies to exploit microbial activity through biological control and manipulate activity through phytobiome engineering. The chapter discusses constraints to these methods and identifies future directions that will increasingly translate phytobiome knowledge to field application.

Cereals are challenged by many fungal and bacterial diseases, some of which can be most destructive, threatening food security and, when considering mycotoxin accumulation, also food safety. The application of antifungal and antibacterial chemicals, the development of resistant varieties and culturing methods have been used to contain the various diseases were until recent sufficient. However, resistance breaking, pathogen insensitivity toward chemical protection, and the banning of pesticides due to environmental and health concerns have turned things in favor of the pathogens. More emphasis will therefore be put on integrated pest management approaches, in which biological control may play an important role. This chapter discusses the application of biological entities and the responsible mechanisms to protect cereals against pathogenic fungi and bacteria, some of which were already discussed and applied well before the time of chemical pesticides, and their problems with respect to efficacy and durability.

The oomycete Pythium oligandrum is a soil-inhabiting mycoparasite of both fungi and oomycetes, and colonizes the root ecosystems of diverse plants to induce defense responses against pathogens. Based on the multiple advantages of P. oligandrum in plant disease control, which is non-toxic and environmentally friendly, and provides additional plant growth benefits. P. oligandrum has served as an important biological control agent (BCA) for plant disease control and has been widely and successfully used in agricultural production and ecosystem management. In this chapter, we primarily summarize the application of P. oligandrum as a BCA in controlling plant diseases caused by fungal, oomycete, and bacterial pathogens, and highlight approaches taken to identify and apply plant immunity-inducing proteins from P. oligandrum in inducing plant resistance against several plant diseases. We conclude with recommendations for the most urgent future research directions needed to address the efficient utilization of P. oligandrum and in disease control.

Weed control plays a critical role in crop production, but the overuse of synthetic herbicides has led to various problems such as chemical residue accumulation, herbicide resistance in weed species, and environmental concerns. To address these challenges, sustainable weed management strategies are being sought, and bioherbicides offer a promising solution. Bioherbicides present a sustainable alternative for weed control, reducing reliance on synthetic herbicides and promoting environmentally friendly approaches in agriculture. Further research and development are crucial to optimize the efficacy and commercial viability of bioherbicides, ensuring their successful integration into weed management programs and contributing to a more sustainable agricultural system. This review paper examines the potential of bioherbicides for sustainable weed control and discusses their effectiveness, advantages, and limitations.

Recent efforts in bioprospection have uncovered new Actinobacteria bioactivities ranging from antibiotics, fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides, and have renewed interest in the development of Actinobacteria-based inoculants, mainly composed of microbial cells and cell-free microbial cultured extracts. In this chapter the authors review the surge in Actinobacteria research and multi-omics resources available, compile case studies of Actinobacteria MBCAs that depict new bioactivities in crop protection, and identify challenges in bioproduction and resistance durability that directly affect commercialisation and deployment of Actinobacteria-derived products. Finally, they discuss emerging fields and future approaches in the research and development of Actinobacteria MBCAs.

This chapter reviews the current literature to gather efficacy data on biocontrol in planta for the main diseases and analyzes them quantitatively. A meta-analysis of these data was carried out in selected cases (powdery mildew, trunk diseases, and certain species of Aspergillus producing ochratoxin A). Ways to improve the efficacy and consistency of the biocontrol is also discussed. The chapter concludes with a step-by-step outline, describing the steps required for the effective biocontrol of grape diseases. The pathogen stage for which biocontrol is required should firstly be defined, as well as the mechanism of action needed for the control. Next, suitable microorganisms should be defined based on their ability to thrive in the same environment as the pathogen, so that the BCA may grow when the pathogen grows.

This chapter presents an update of trends on insecticide resistance in Northwest Europe. It addresses the current status and future estimations of the insecticide market in Europe, specifically in context of evolving agricultural practices and environmental challenges. The chapter then explores important cases of insecticide resistance in Northwest Europe, and the drivers behind the resistance. This is shown with four examples: green peach aphids (Myzus persicae), Colorado potato beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae), and common house mosquitoes (Culex pipiens). It is then followed by sections touching on insecticide resistance detection, monitoring, and management. The chapter concludes with recommendations and future perspectives on the matter.

This chapter reviews the piecemeal development of pesticide regulation and the challenges of developing a more harmonised and global approach to approving new crop protection products. Such as approach needs to meet the needs of farmers, companies and regulators in balancing criteria such as efficacy, safety, environmental impact, cost and speed of approval. It also needs to take proper account of the distinctive features of biological products. The chapter reviews the work of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in creating a harmonised framework to meet these objectives.

Potato production faces significant challenges from a wide range of diseases, which have traditionally been managed using synthetic fungicides. However, increasing concerns over environmental impacts, the development of pathogen resistance, and public health risks have led to the exploration of biological control agents (BCAs) as sustainable alternatives. BCAs, which include beneficial bacteria, fungi, viruses, nematodes, and other organisms, offer effective and environmentally friendly solutions by harnessing natural antagonistic relationships and enhancing plant defence mechanisms. Additionally, substances derived from biological materials also fall under this category, broadening the scope of BCAs. This chapter reviews the mechanisms by which BCAs control potato diseases, such as competition, antibiosis, and induced systemic resistance. It further discusses recent advancements and cases of field applications. Biological control is a promising pathway toward more sustainable agricultural practices, meeting the growing demand for eco-friendly farming solutions.

Clonostachys rosea is a fungal biocontrol agent able to control a range of impactful plant diseases, such as damping-off, root rot, botrytis blight, fusarium head blight, and others. The use of C. rosea can subsequently replace or reduce the use of chemical pesticides. However, biocontrol efficacy can be highly variable depending on factors such as the environmental conditions and the genotypes of the pathogen, host plant, and biocontrol agent. C. rosea can be applied through seed treatment, drenches, sprays, pollinators, and in combination with other biocontrol agents, depending on the disease being targeted for management. While C. rosea was first characterized as a mycoparasite, it can also act through other mechanisms to control disease such as the secretion of cell wall degrading enzymes, antibiosis, endophytic colonization and the induction of plant defenses. Clonostachys rosea also has the potential to control other plant pests, such as nematodes or insects.

• Comprehensively addresses the major challenges facing broiler production, including antibiotic resistance and environmental impact
• Considers the role of environmental and genetic factors on healthy broiler chick development
• Reviews the range of precision farming technologies used to monitor broiler health and welfare

This chapter reviews the benefits and use of cover crops in no-till (NT) cultivation systems such as Conservation Agriculture (CA) in order to control undesirable plants (‘weeds’) in different annual crop production systems, whilst minimizing the use of herbicides. It begins by situating use of cover crops in the broader context of improving soil health. The chapter then reviews current research on the mechanisms of action deployed by cover crops in weed suppression. Finally, it discusses the range of CA-based weed management practices for annual crops using cover crops, including characteristics of particular cover crops and cover crop mixes as well as a range of examples of the ways they can be combined with cash crops.

This chapter reviews ways of optimising use of ground cover in perennial cultivation for weed control. It reviews the multiple roles of ground cover in perennial systems and ways of selecting between different types of ground cover (non-selected or select spontaneous plants; sown grass, legume or cruciferous species; or use of pruning residues). The chapter then looks at overall techniques for combined weed and ground cover management.

This chapter extensively explores the intricate dynamics of weed communities within the framework of Conservation Agriculture (CA). A review of weed density, shifts in species, and seedbank dynamics under CA reveals the challenges inherent in this agricultural system. The chapter underscores the implications for ecological weed management, critically assessing the efficacy of the main CA pillars, i.e. minimum soil disturbance, diversified crop rotations, and cover cropping in mitigating weed pressure. Key strategies, such as ecological management of weed-crop competition and oversight of the seedbank and soil nutrients, are examined in-depth. While acknowledging the merits of CA, the chapter addresses challenges, including increase in weed abundance, shifts in weed diversity, and introduction of invasive species. The conclusion of the chapter directs attention to understanding the vulnerabilities of weeds within the CA system and proposes management practices to effectively address these challenges.

Conservation agriculture (CA) appears as a promising agricultural pathway to achieve multiperformance but is currently questioned due to its reliance on herbicides for weed management, especially glyphosate. One limit in the development of CA-based agroecological cropping system less reliant on herbicide use is the strict definition of CA based on technical means (i.e. the three principles) rather than targeted objectives. In this chapter, the authors mobilize research carried out on experimental stations (e.g. CA-SYS platform) and farmer networks (e.g. French DEPHY-farm network) to synthesize knowledge on how herbicide-free no-till agriculture could be achieved. They provide insights on the multiperformance of herbicide-free and nature-based CA systems compared to reference CA systems. Designing cover crops to ensure growth in a context of unpredictable weather conditions and facilitate mechanical termination, and ensuring crop establishment in absence of tillage and herbicides represent major research avenues for the development of pesticide-free CA systems.

In this concluding chapter, several testimonies of farmers about their experiences regarding weed management after the shift to CA are presented to emphasize the importance of practitioners' views when profound changes in farming methods are needed. The testimonies comprise different agroecologies and farming systems: two in Europe, one in the Atlantic Central region (Denmark) and the other in the Mediterranean South (Spain), both working in annual cropping systems; two in Brazil, one in the Cerrado biome of the Bahia state in the Northeast, dedicated to annual broadacre crops, and the other in the South, in the Santa Catarina state, with a temperate but hot summer climate, specialized in horticultural crops. Finally, a farmer from the cold semi-arid Canadian prairies, cropping cereals, oilseed rape, and pulses.

This chapter describes cultivation of vegetables using the no-tillage cultivation system developed in Brazil (SPDH+: Sistema de Plantio Direto de Hortaliças). Based on agroecological principles, this allows more sustainable cultivation of vegetables without reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The SPDH+ system is based on a holistic approach which combines vegetable cultivation with green soil cover, combining planted species with spontaneous plant growth. The chapter describes both underpinning principles and practical implementation with case studies.

Organic conservation agriculture can potentially contribute to meeting many urgent technical and environmental issues related to agricultural soil degradation; however, its uptake has been so far quite limited. After having shed some light on the similarities and differences between (organic) conservation agriculture and the emerging concept of (organic) regenerative agriculture, the authors tackle the problem of weed management in such systems, which is one of the major technical barriers against adoption. The weed management challenges posed by organic conservation/regenerative systems can best be tackled through cropping system diversification. In this respect, cover crops/dead mulches and intercrops/living mulches appear as interesting practices to improve weed suppression. They highlight the key theoretical and practical key issues linked to the efficiency and optimisation of such practices, and provide some examples of success stories. Finally, they present some opportunities, challenges and future perspectives of weed management in organic conservation and regenerative systems.

The pursuit of sustainable agriculture has elevated the importance of Conservation Agriculture (CA) systems, which emphasize minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and maximum biodiversity/crop rotations. Traditional weed control methods, often reliant on chemical herbicides, face increasing scrutiny due to environmental and health concerns. Thermal weed control offers a potential alternative strategy. In this chapter, the various thermal weed control techniques—such as flaming, electrical weed control, hot water or steam treatments, and laser technology— are explored and their efficacy, energy consumption, and impact on soil health and crop safety are evaluated. The findings highlight the effectiveness of thermal methods on young, small weeds and the need for advancements in selective targeting to prevent damage to crops and minimize the risk of fire. The integration of these methods with precision agriculture technologies (such as drones and AI) could revolutionize weed management while adhering to CA principles.

Allelopathy involves release of chemicals from plant roots that can inhibit or promote the growth of other organisms. Allelopathic interactions can be exploited to control weeds in agroecosystems. Conservation Agriculture (CA) characterized by minimum tillage, soil cover, and diversified crop rotation, provides a potentially promising habitat for weeds, making weed control a major challenge for CA systems. Allelopathy can offer an eco-friendly weed management option. This chapter discusses different allopathic strategies to overcome weed challenges in CA. These strategies include mulching, crop rotation, intercropping, cover crops, the application of natural allopathic extracts, and the development and use of crop varieties with weed-suppressive abilities.

Conservation agriculture has received increasing interest worldwide as a cropping system addressing the future challenge of feeding an increasing world population while minimizing the negative environmental and climate impacts of agriculture and preserving soil fertility. There is an ongoing discussion whether conservation agriculture, adopting all three principles, will exacerbate problems with weeds and hence increases the need for weed control including herbicides but in practice synthetic herbicides are an integral part of a conservation agriculture cropping system. The primary concerns associated with herbicide performance in conservation agriculture are 1) the higher content of organic matter in the uppermost soil layer that may reduce the efficacy of residual herbicides and 2) the occurrence of crop residues on the soil surface that may intercept herbicide reducing deposition on the soil and weeds. This chapter will address these concerns but also discuss some recent developments in conservation agriculture that could influence herbicide use.

We have available a relatively rich arsenal of platforms (satellites, airplanes, UAVs, combines, ATVs), sensors and image processing procedures to detect weeds at various spatial and temporal scales. Up to now these technologies have been mainly used for map-based targeted herbicide spraying, improving the efficiency of this operation. In addition, they have been used for map-based mechanical weeding tools, facilitating the replacement of herbicide interventions. In the future, weed scouting may be used in the development of other low environmentally impacting interventions (competitive varieties, improved rotations ant tillage practices). In addition, it may be used in the redesign of weed management systems, facilitating collaborative research, providing new agroecological knowledge and improved cropping systems and allowing an automatic assessment of the impact of control activities.

Weeds pose significant challenges limiting productivity and profitability in agricultural production systems. Properly managing these plants is fundamental in developing Conservation Agriculture systems, and incorporating ecological concepts must base a weed management program. Cultural practices that allow more space occupation by cultivated plants and limit the development of weeds are discussed. Crop rotation, cover crops, and permanent soil cover are essential practices in Conservation Agriculture systems. The effect of these practices on weed seed bank, space occupation, competition for resources, and weed population density are also discussed. Case studies exemplify the theoretical concepts.

Your guide—using the compelling stories of changemakers and the tools of economics—to the transformation and future possibilities of the business and economics of space.

Space is a place of unparalleled possibility for humanity, and it's undergoing a revolution. A wave of companies led by gutsy entrepreneurs is unlocking opportunities that fire the imagination and open up new business models. No, it's not hotels on Mars or day trips to orbit (yet), but it's an awe-inspiring transformation driven by innovative technologies, creative approaches, hard work, and—for the first time—market forces. Above all, this revolution is uncovering the simple but unfamiliar truth that space is a place: a place where countries, markets, and each of us can play a vital role in realizing some of our biggest, boldest dreams.

But we won't succeed through dreams alone. The space economy is just that—an economy—governed by the same laws of supply and demand that apply here on Earth. The authors, who teach a highly popular course on the topic at Harvard Business School, bring the revolution in space to life through players you know—like SpaceX and Blue Origin—and many you may not, like Astroscale, founded by a Japanese IT executive who quit his job to start a company to clean up space debris. They also bring to bear fundamental tools from economics to understand how the market in space is forming, how it's fast becoming a source of value for businesses across industries and for society as a whole, and how we can best ensure that its growth benefits us all.

With clarity and rigor, Weinzierl and Rosseau get past the breathless hype to explain what’s real, what's not, what comes next, and how you can be part of it.

This chapter assesses the often unrecognized and undervalued contribution made by women to (primarily smallholder) farming in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It reviews the range of challenges they face in securing a fair, safe and rewarding livelihood from agriculture. The chapter also assesses a broad range of potential solutions to address these challenges.

Antibiotics, which are extensively used to treat or prevent microbial diseases in animals and humans, can pose significant environmental risks when they enter soil ecosystems. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the pathways through which antibiotics reach the soil, the processes that influence their fate within the soil, and the techniques and efforts used to predict their behavior and fate. It also offers insights from specific case studies and discusses future research directions to address environmental challenges. The findings emphasize the importance of understanding antibiotic interactions with soil components under specific environmental conditions. Finally, this chapter emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary approaches and collaborative efforts among scientists, policymakers, and agricultural practitioners to develop strategies for managing antibiotic residues in the environment and mitigating potential negative impacts.

In the highlands of Southeast Asia, agriculture is deeply embedded in sociocultural organizations in the society, where safety nets and reciprocal support are established through women’s unpaid labor contribution to farming. However, many research frameworks employed in agricultural research tend to focus on crops and their economic value. As a result, women’s contribution to and constraints on agriculture associated to sociocultural value is not fully explored, reinforcing gender inequality in knowledge production in agricultural scholarship.

Drawing on feminist approaches to political economy, this chapter explores women’s unpaid labor contribution to agriculture through a case study on ethnic Thai young married couples in Northern Vietnam. The authors' findings show that women’s unpaid labor contribution to agriculture is vital to sustain safety nets and receive reciprocal support from kin, compensating precarious off-farm economic activities performed by men. Ethnic minority women need to be positioned as key actors for agricultural development in Asia.

This chapter reviews the main characteristics of grasslands in mountain areas. The challenges for grassland farming are mainly related to topographic features and to productive and socioeconomical issues. These challenges strongly limit management options, which often leave grasslands as the only possible agricultural land use and livestock farming as the only option for food production. Mountain grasslands acquire a special relevance as a source of ecosystem services, which do not peak at the same level of management intensity. For this reason, priorities need to be set and/or compromises be accepted in view of the numerous trade-offs. The effects of climate change, being expected to affect mountain areas more than other ecosystems, is as a major challenge in the near future due to increasing uncertainty of forage production and species composition. Moreover, the interaction with predators needs strategies to allow the co-existence of agriculture and wildlife.

Interactions among plants, soils, and animals in grazed grasslands affect ecosystem functions, including nutrient cycling. Focusing on grazed grasslands in temperate environments, this chapter describes nutrient pools and fluxes, grassland management practices that enhance nutrient cycling efficiency, and soil fauna and nitrification inhibitor effects on nutrient cycling. Nutrient cycling efficiency is enhanced by grassland management that sustains pasture cover, reduces heterogeneity of dung and urine deposition, and increases legume adoption as an alternative to N fertilizer. Efficiency is also increased through presence of earthworms, dung beetles, and beneficial microbial communities, while the use of chemical and biological nitrification inhibitors shows increasing promise for reducing nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions.

What happens when screen time is all the time?

In the early 1990s, the phrase “screen time” emerged to scare parents about the dangers of too much TV for kids. Screen time was something to fret over, police, and judge in a low-grade moral panic. Now, “screen time” has become a metric not only for good parenting, but for our adult lives as well. There’s even an app for it! In the streaming era—and with streaming made nearly ubiquitous during COVID-19—almost every aspect of our day is mediated by these bright surfaces. Whether it was ever the real villain in the first place, or merely a convenient proxy for unaddressed familial, social, and institutional failures, screen time is now all the time.

Avidly Reads Screen Time is a funny, insightful work of cultural criticism and history about how we define screens, and how they now define us. From Mad Men to iCarly, Vine to FaceTime, binge-watching to doom-scrolling, Phillip Maciak leads us on a sometimes heartwarming, sometimes harrowing tour of the media that brings us together and tears us apart.

The debate surrounding the transformation of work at the hands of digital technology and the anxieties brought forth by automation, the sharing economy, and the exploitation of leisure

We have been told that digital technology is now threatening the workplace as we know it, that advances in computing and robotics will soon make human labor obsolete, that the sharing economy, exemplified by Uber and Airbnb, will degrade the few jobs that remain, and that the boundaries between work and play are collapsing as Facebook and Instagram infiltrate our free time.

In this timely critique, Greg Goldberg examines the fear that work is being eviscerated by digital technology. He argues that it is not actually the degradation or disappearance of work that is so troubling, but rather the underlying notion that society itself is under attack, and more specifically the bonds of responsibility on which social relations depend. Rather than rushing to the defense of the social, however, Goldberg instead imagines the appeal of refusing the hard work of being a responsible and productive member of society.

When the new medium of CD-ROMs emerged, industry figures and critics alike proclaimed their virtually unlimited potential. Adapting material from well-established media like television and film, CD-ROMs have quickly transformed genres such as science fiction and horror. At the same time, the realities of actual CD-ROMs often fall short of their utopian visions.
On a Silver Platter marks a "coming of age" for CD-ROMs as a commercially and aesthetically significant medium demanding critical attention. Greg Smith brings together media scholars such as Lisa Cartwright, Henry Jenkins, Janet Murray, and Scott Bukatman to analyze how CD-ROMs offer alternatives to familiar places—to museums, to cities, and especially to classrooms. Examining specific CD-ROM titles, including, Sim City, Civilization, and Phantasmagoria, the contributors argue that CD-ROMs are complex texts worthy of close consideration, both for how they have changed our understanding of space and genre, and for how they will impact the development of future media.
By examining particular CD-ROM texts and contexts, On a Silver Platter probes this new medium for insight and understanding into the current state of multimedia and into the future of technology.

The health of soils is at stake due to climate change and unsustainable management practices, thus maintaining soil health has become an existential task for humanity. In this chapter, the authors show that cropland agroforestry strongly promotes the biological components of soil health. This includes enhanced population densities and activities of soil microorganisms and fauna, as well as increased diversity of soil fauna under agroforestry systems as compared to open croplands. They argue that land-use change from open cropland to alley cropping and shelterbelt systems provides substantial environmental benefits that outperform those of many sustainable agricultural management practices. Still, sustainable management practices can be applied in the crop component of cropland agroforestry, offering additional benefits. Overall, agroforestry can make major contributions to restoring, improving, and maintaining soil health as well as to the agroecological transition of agriculture. Therefore, agroforestry should be promoted as a priority land-use system.

In chapter the authors explore the opportunity that natural capital accounting provides to address this challenge. Natural capital accounting recognises agroforestry systems as assets and provides a pathway to the quantification and valuation of the benefits associated with agroforestry. This chapter demonstrates the application of natural capital accounting to the quantification and valuation of the ecosystem services associated with agroforestry systems of temperate agricultural enterprises. The authors show how existing accounting practices can be extended to include the farms natural capital, enabling a better understanding the of the contributions of nature to the farms production system.

This book chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution and advances in soil viromics, highlighting key methodologies, such as metagenomics, dsRNA extraction, and virus-like particle extraction, and their contributions to understanding soil viral diversity. It explores the intricate interactions between soil viruses and environmental factors, including soil pH, temperature, moisture content, and organic matter, and their influence on microbial dynamics and ecosystem functions. Readers will also gain insights into the functions of soil viruses, particularly bacteriophages, in regulating microbial populations, nutrient cycling processes, and soil carbon dynamics. The chapter underlines the importance of soil virology in informing sustainable practices, ecological stewardship efforts, and advances in various scientific fields, offering a deeper understanding of the hidden viral world beneath our feet and its implications for soil health and ecosystem sustainability.

The soil microbiome is essential for ecosystem health, supporting functions like nutrient cycling and decomposition. However, human-induced land-use changes, such as deforestation and intensive agriculture, disrupt this delicate balance, impacting microbial diversity and functionality. These alterations have cascading effects on ecosystem functions, agricultural productivity, and global carbon cycling. Understanding these relationships is crucial given the widespread land degradation occurring worldwide. Urgent action is needed to implement sustainable land management practices, including conservation, reforestation, and regenerative agriculture, to mitigate land degradation and restore ecosystems. In this chapter, we explore examples elucidating the impact of land-use alterations on the composition and functionality of soil microbiomes, with a specific emphasis on diverse biomes within Brazil.

Understanding the soil microbiomes function is critical for the sustainable provision of food and fibre and the prevention of undesirable environmental impacts. Nitrogen, an essential element for agricultural production, is cycled through the soil-plant continuum by the soil microbiome. Discrete compartments within the soil, including the rhizosphere and detritusphere, function as hotspots for N cycling. Nitrogen cycling in the rhizosphere is affected by fertiliser use, tillage and plant selection. The rhizosphere offers an opportunity for plant-based management of N cycling via the use of tools such as biological nitrification inhibitors. The detritusphere is recognised as an equally important zone of N cycling, partially due to its effect on denitrification and greenhouse gas emission. Understanding of N cycling within mineral-associated organic matter has increased but will continue to be an important research topic along with the effects of viruses on microbial turnover and associated impacts on nutrient cycling.

Soil is an essential part in every terrestrial ecosystem and soil microbes are contributing to several ecosystem functions. Different abiotic and biotic factors impact soil microbiomes and a disturbance of soil microbial communities can have severe consequences for soil health and its ecosystem functions. In this chapter the authors discuss different abiotic stressors related to climatic conditions and agricultural land use and their effects on soil microbial diversity. They highlight the role of soil microbiomes in ecosystem functioning represented by the interaction with plants resulting in plant growth promotion and higher stress tolerance. Soil microbiomes and their ecosystem functions play a pivotal role for a healthy environment and with that for healthy humans and animals within the framework of the One Health concept. To understand this role of soil microbiomes, they present experimental setups to investigate ecosystem services and functions in natural systems or in a lab environment.

This chapter explores the advances in understanding the role of soil microbiomes in carbon cycling in soil. The author begins by reviewing the contributions of bacterial and fungal necromass to soil carbon, and the roles of soil microbial biomass in carbon cycling. Here, he describes how soil microbiomes regulate carbon cycling through both catabolic and anabolic processes, modulated by metabolic properties and processes such as life history strategy, carbon use efficiency, and priming. The author then turns his attention to how the role of soil microbiomes in soil carbon cycling can be modelled, how these models represent our best conceptual understanding of the structure of the system, and the ways that quantitative predictions are improved by explicitly including the functional traits of the soil microbiome and its activities. Lastly, the author provides a case study of soil microbiomes as an indicator of biological soil health.

The physical environment of soil is characterized by a number of macro- and microscale physical properties that control the heterogenous distribution of microbes, as well as water, air and chemicals within the soil matrix. Heterogeneity occurs at any spatial scale; yet among the most important are soil particles, aggregates and pores. These microscale properties are within the immediate range of microbial influences and connect to macroscale metrics, such as bulk density and porosity to assess soil health and sustainability. This chapter provides a predictive understanding of the physical environment of soil in modulating the soil microbiome. It also delineates mechanic modes underlying how the soil physical environment regulates the microbiome and reviews some trends between the soil microbiota and physical properties. Scalable fine spatial-scale microbial interactions and functions, as well as future perspectives, are also discussed.

This chapter highlights the varied roles that root-associated soil fungi play in agricultural ecosystems. The authors begin by describing the relationship between fungi with plants before detailing the beneficial, antagonistic, and dynamic interactions between the two. Next they present an overview of methods for detection, identification, and analysis of communities of root-associated fungi. The authors then explore two crop root mycobiomes case studies: root and rhizosphere mycobiomes in corn and winter wheat, and the use of fungi isolated from high-yielding soil to improve crop performance in low-yielding soils. Finally, they examine the methodological considerations for the use of barcoding gene regions and sequencing platforms for fungal metabarcoding.

This chapter explores the dynamics of rhizosphere microbiomes, focusing on their composition and functional aspects. It evaluates host-specific selection, plant species, genotypes, domestication, and agricultural ecosystem management practices. The chapter also investigates the legacy of plant developmental stages and root architecture on microbiome assembly and functions. Moreover, it highlights the selective pressure on the rhizosphere microbiome for plant nutrition and health, focusing on factors driving soil-root-plant interactions. Finally, the chapter also discusses challenges in manipulating functional microbiomes and proposes methods to address these gaps.

The soil microbiome has the potential to protect crop plants from biotic stress caused by pests and pathogens. Studies have, for example, shown the role of root exudates in recruiting and enriching beneficial bacteria to protect against pathogens and pests, paving the way for developing strategies for microbiome engineering. However, due to the complex and dynamic nature of soil microbiomes, designing microbiome-focused crop protection strategies remains a challenge. This chapter reviews different interactions between the microbiome components, microbe-induced plant-defense-response mechanisms, and strategies for engineering the soil microbiome to protect crop plants against pests and pathogens.

This review aims to demonstrate the influence of farming systems on biological indicators that are relevant to soil health. Empirical data from published studies informs the hypothetical model that soil health outcomes are related to more diverse cropping systems, coupled with high inputs of organic amendments and less frequent and shallow tillage, due to the ability of such practices to promote soil organic carbon accumulation. This view is supported by the fact that conservation agriculture promotes soil health under diverse climatic conditions.

Agricultural productivity varies frequently as a result of environmental changes. Abiotic stresses, such as nutrient deficiencies, drought, salinity, flooding, high temperature, heavy metal toxicities, and oxidative stress, cause irretrievable damage, resulting in plant growth and yield loss. The relationship between plants and microbiomes is a highly dynamic system. The plant microbiome consists of symbiotic and free-living plant growth-promoting bacteria and fungi. In the last era, many microbes that give hosts the ability to withstand abiotic stresses have been well-studied. Their beneficial association with plants allows the plant to endure different abiotic stresses imposed on it, thereby enhancing its sustainable productivity. For sustenance, it is crucial to comprehend microbiome-assisted mechanisms for extenuating abiotic stresses. This chapter reviews the wealth of knowledge on the roles of various microorganisms in mitigating abiotic stresses, focussing largely on drought stress.

Soil metaproteomic, the protein profile of a sample, gives both taxonomical and functional information and has the potential to improve knowledge of mechanisms underlying the important ecosystem services by soil. This chapter aims to discuss the challenges facing protein extraction from soil, their purification, determination and assignment to available databases. The authors begin by outlining the top-down and bottom-up methods in soil metaproteomics, and their benefits and shortcomings. They then review soil protein extraction techniques, and demonstrate that protein profiles depend on the extraction method used but the number of extracted proteins is much lower than those expressed by the active soil microbiome. The authors then discuss the challenge that the large number of expressed proteins and varieties of proteins in the soil matric pose to soil metaproteomics. Finally, they explore the metaproteomics of specific microorganisms inoculated into a model soil.

The improved detection methods have led to a better understanding of the diversity and ecological functions of Actinobacteria. This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive review of recent findings on soil Actinobacteria, with a focus on their classification, genetics/characteristics, what we know and don’t know about the diversity and ecological functions, factors affecting distribution/abundance in soil, interactions within soil microbiomes, implications for optimizing their contribution to soil health, and where next for research.

• Provides an authoritative review of current research on the ways agriculture contributes to key greenhouse gas emissions
• Outlines the range of options for adapting agricultural land use to reduce emissions and optimise carbon sequestration
• Explores the challenges and opportunities faced by different regions in developing appropriate agricultural land use strategies to achieve net zero

2012 Honorable Mention from the Association of Internet Researchers for their Annual Best Book Prize

Outstanding Academic Title from 2011 by Choice Magazine
This book about America's romance with computer communication looks at the internet, not as harbinger of the future or the next big thing, but as an expression of the times. Streeter demonstrates that our ideas about what connected computers are for have been in constant flux since their invention. In the 1950s they were imagined as the means for fighting nuclear wars, in the 1960s as systems for bringing mathematical certainty to the messy complexity of social life, in the 1970s as countercultural playgrounds, in the 1980s as an icon for what's good about free markets, in the 1990s as a new frontier to be conquered and, by the late 1990s, as the transcendence of markets in an anarchist open source utopia.

The Net Effect teases out how culture has influenced the construction of the internet and how the structure of the internet has played a role in cultures of social and political thought. It argues that the internet's real and imagined anarchic qualities are not a product of the technology alone, but of the historical peculiarities of how it emerged and was embraced. Finding several different traditions at work in the development of the internet—most uniquely, romanticism—Streeter demonstrates how the creation of technology is shot through with profoundly cultural forces—with the deep weight of the remembered past, and the pressures of shared passions made articulate.

From the bestselling author of The Market Gardener – key principles for biointensive market gardening and powerful stories of successful growers who are farming profitably on a human-scale

Microfarms is a guide to setting up and running profitable small-scale vegetable farms using organic, low-tech, and highly intensive production methods grounded in ecological principles.

This full-color, richly illustrated resource brings to life the core principles of Jean-Martin Fortier's time-tested approach and includes eight detailed case studies showcasing a diverse range of market gardeners who have started successful farms using Jean-Martin's biointensive techniques. Key features of the book include:

• A distillation of Jean-Martin's methods, rooted in agroecology, permaculture, and humanscale business principles
• An exploration of the four essential pillars: proper crop planning, low-tech/low-investment farm tools, organic fertility management, and sound business practices
• Strategies for enhancing farm profitability through direct marketing channels including farm stands, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes, and farmers markets
• Proven techniques to boost crop yields while preserving biodiversity and improving the livelihoods of those working on the farm
• Engaging stories of successful new market gardeners, detailing their varied journeys, from initial setup and land procurement to crop planning, team coordination, and sales and revenue.

Microfarms champions local agriculture on a human-scale, advocating for a food system that honors the environment, nurtures communities, and supports farmers. This book is an essential read for new and aspiring small-scale farmers, market gardeners, homesteaders, proponents of local food systems, and food lovers everywhere.

Small but mighty — a comprehensive guide to the use of two-wheel tractors for highly productive gardens, landscapes, and farms

TWO-WHEEL TRACTORS are multifunctional, economical, practical, maneuverable, portable, and low impact. Yet choosing the equipment is only half of it; the other half is integrating the right machine and implements into your land-based enterprise and coupling it with innovative high-efficiency techniques. Coverage includes:

• Why you need a two-wheel tractor
• Two-wheel tractor essentials including tractor implement options and functions
• Equipment decision-making to suit your scale, context, enterprises, and budget
• Safety equipment, operation, and basic maintenance
• Innovative use strategies including micro-plowing, making "Permabeds," in situ mulching, the "Compost-a-path Method," crop guilds, scaling up, and diversified crop management
• How to start from scratch, clearing new land, scaling up your enterprises, and more
• Case studies and rich examples from suburban landscaping to commercial market gardens from Europe and North America
• "Pro tips," "design boxes," and other sidebars for rapidly elevating your skills.

The Two-Wheel Tractor Handbook shows small-scale growers how to leverage walk-behind tractors to maximize the productivity and profitability of their enterprises. This full-color, highly illustrated guide is a must-have tool for urban farmers, suburban gardeners, rural homesteaders, orchardists, landscapers, and market gardeners looking to boost production.

Cut and come again forestry – reviving the ancient practice of resprout silviculture to power local woodland-based economies.

Coppice Agroforestry is a richly illustrated, comprehensive guide to resprout silviculture – managing trees and shrubs by coppicing, pollarding, shredding, and pleaching – for a continuous supply of small diameter polewood for products from firewood to fine furniture.

Contextualizing resprout silviculture historically, ecologically, and economically, Coppice Agroforestry explores the potential of this ancient practice for modern times. Coverage includes:

• The cultural history of coppicing in Europe and North America
• Tree and shrub anatomy, biology, and woodland ecology
• A suite of woodland management systems
• Dozens of handcrafted wood products on a continuum of value, offering a wide range of business opportunities
• Case studies of diverse coppice-based enterprises
• Assessing existing forests for coppice potential
• Designing new resprout silviculture systems
• Tables highlighting diverse species for various uses
• A vision of a modern resprout silviculture renaissance.

A decade in the making, encyclopedic in scope, and written by the hand of a woodsman, Coppice Agroforestry is a deep dive into this ancient practice, blending it with modern science, systems thinking, and tools to land it firmly into the 21st century.

Whether you have a few trees or an entire forest, Coppice Agroforestry is the must-have practical guide for homesteaders, farmers, foresters, land managers, and educators who ally themselves with the remarkable resilience of woody plants.

The Complete Practical Guide to Growing Vegetables Year-Round in Northern Climates for Local Markets

MANY SMALL FARMS shut down during the dark winter months. Yet with the right techniques, equipment, and cultivars, year-round growing can produce the highest quality and tastiest fresh local vegetables, all while banking a profit.

Building on years of research, experimentation, and collaboration, The Winter Market Gardener is a beautifully illustrated practical guide to winter vegetable production for small farmers growing in northern climates. Coverage includes:

• Unique aspects of year-round vegetable production
• Dozens of detailed vegetable profiles
• Start-to-finish winter crop planning
• Selecting shelters, from row covers to high tunnels
• Tool selection and use for efficiency
• Winter storage crops and successful autumn growing.

Whether you are an experienced farmer or market grower, enthusiastic amateur, or committed consumer, The Winter Market Gardener will excite, inspire, and empower you to embrace the seasons and work with nature to produce and enjoy superior-quality local vegetables all year.

ACCESSIBLITY NOTES

This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative texts for images, table of contents, landmarks, reading order, page list, Structural Navigation, and semantic structure. Blank pages have been removed from this EPUB.

The updated bestselling guide to laid-back beekeeping for all, naturally!

Are you a beginner beekeeper curious about bees or a practicing beekeeper looking for natural alternatives that work? Then this book is for you!

In the second edition of the bestselling beekeeping guide Keeping Bees with a Smile , Fedor Lazutin, one of Europe's most successful natural beekeepers, shares the bee-friendly approach to apiculture that is fun, healthful, rewarding, and accessible to all. This new edition includes dozens of color photographs, new hive management techniques, and an updated version of "Lazutin hive" plans. Additional coverage includes:

• Keeping bees naturally without interfering in their lives
• Starting an apiary for free by attracting local bee swarms
• Building low-maintenance hives that mimic how bees live in nature
• Keeping colonies healthy and strong without any drugs, sugar, or gimmickry
• Helping bees to overwinter successfully even in harsh climates
• Enhancing local nectar plant resources
• Producing truly natural honey without robbing the bees
• Reversing the global bee decline... right in your backyard!

Keeping Bees with a Smile is an invaluable resource for apiculture beginners and professionals alike, complete with plans for making bee-friendly, well-insulated horizontal hives with extra-deep frames, plus other fascinating beekeeping advice you won't find anywhere else.

Real world stories from the frontlines of climate change, resilience, and the future of food

Practical insights and plenty of examples of how we can reshape our food system to one that is resilient and regenerative.
— Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D., founder and president, Global Footprint Network, co-author Ecological Footprint

Inspiring and practical at a time when we desperately need both.
— Dr. Anne Waple, founder and CEO, Earth's Next Chapter

Brilliantly argues that it isn't some vague notion of "technology" that will show us the way forward but people working together and carefully stewarding the land.
— Mark Bittman, author, Animal, Vegetable, Junk and How to Cook Everything

CLIMATE CHANGE PRESENTS an unprecedented challenge to food and farming in the U.S. and beyond. Damaging weather variability and extremes capture the headlines, but more subtle changes caused by hotter summer nights, warmer winters, and a longer growing season have far-reaching effects on the land, people, and communities that feed us.

This expanded and updated edition of Resilient Agriculture takes you beyond the headlines and the hype to shine a light on agricultural climate solutions with the power to cultivate new American foodways that are just, sustainable, regenerative, and resilient.

Updated content includes:

• Current and expected changes in regional weather patterns that disrupt food and farming
• New adaptation stories from sustainable, climate-smart, organic, and regenerative farmers and updates on the producers featured in the first edition
• Real-world applications of resilience thinking that connect the dots between food justice, sustainable development, regenerative economy, and planetary health
• A companion website with stories, videos, issue briefs, reading guides, and more.

Whether you are working in food and farming or are simply an interested eater, Resilient Agriculture will take you on a journey into real-world resilience solutions with the power to regenerate the well-being of land, people, and community no matter the challenges ahead.

What would a more resilient food system look like? Lengnick answers that question with this path-breaking, delightfully informative book.
— Richard Heinberg, senior fellow, Post Carbon Institute, author, Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival

A guidepost for building a better and more resilient food system.
— Dr. Gabrielle Roesch-McNally, director, Women for the Land, American Farmland Trust

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES
This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative texts for images, table of contents, landmarks, reading order, page list, Structural Navigation, and semantic structure. Blank pages have been removed from this EPUB.

The indispensable guide to solar electricity systems for homeowners, business owners, builders, and students

Climate change and limits to fossil fuels compel us to find safer, more economical, and more sustainable ways to meet our needs for electricity. And, as more and more electric cars hit the road, we'll need to find a way to provide fuel that is clean, environmentally sustainable, and affordable.

With Solar Electricity Basics, author Dan Chiras offers a concise and up-to-date guide covering all the essentials. It explores:

• How to size, cost, and choose the right system, including off-grid vs. grid-tied vs grid-tied with battery backup
• Where to mount a system for maximum performance
• What type of modules and inverters to buy
• How to install and maintain batteries
• Cost vs benefit for solar electric systems
• How to connect to the grid, and what type of net metering your area offers.

Solar Electricity Basics is an indispensable guide for homeowners, business owners, builders, and students for figuring out solar electricity quickly and easily.

Design and build a hoophouse or polytunnel, and grow abundant produce year-round in any climate

The Year-Round Hoophouse is the comprehensive guide to designing and building a hoophouse and making a success of growing abundant, delicious fresh produce all year, whatever your climate and land size. Chapters include:

• Hoophouse siting, size, style, frame construction, and tools
• Bed layout, soil, crop rotations, and extensive coverage of various crops for all seasons
• Organic solutions to pests and diseases
• Disaster preparation
• Tested resources for each chapter.

The Year-Round Hoophouse is ideal for farmers who wish to move into protected growing, as well as beginning farmers in rural and urban spaces. It is an essential reference resource for professors and students of courses in sustainable agriculture, as well as interns and apprentices learning on the job.

Growing in hoophouses – also known as high tunnels or polytunnels – reduces the impact of an increasingly unpredictable climate on crops, mitigates soil erosion, extends the growing season, keeps leafy greens alive through the winter, and enables growers to supply more regional food needs.

The comprehensive grower’s guide to seed production

The Seed Farmer is required reading for any grower who cares about being part of a truly sustainable local food system.

Whether you’re interested in growing your own seeds for on-farm use, or scaling up for retail or commercial sales, this comprehensive manual will help you ensure reliable access to quality seed stock adapted to your own climate and bioregion. Coverage includes:

• The journey to self-sufficiency—how to extricate yourself from the modern seed distribution industry and develop varieties adapted to your location and climate
• When to worry about cross-pollination, crop timing, and poor seed genetics and when to ignore these issues on your small farm or market garden
• Detailed profiles and practical, hands-on growing and harvesting techniques for dozens of vegetable and flower crops
• The economics of seed production, and the business case for scaling up and selling seeds into local, retail, or wholesale channels
• Farm planning, sowing schedules, projected crop yields, and other considerations.

With everything you need to help integrate seed production into your small-scale farm or market garden simply, profitably, and successfully, this unique and exciting guide proves that going to seed is easier than you think!

Do less, produce more, and grow soil that feeds crops using chemical-free, organic no-till methods

Andrew Mefferd, veteran farmer, author of The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution, and editor of Growing for Market magazine, brings you the ultimate guide to getting started with no-till farming.

Yet there are many ways to do no-till, including mulching with compost, cardboard, straw, silage tarps, and more. Plus plenty of conflicting advice on how to get started.

Practical No-Till Farming is here to help, sorting the wheat from the chaff and the horse manure from the plastic mulch. Coverage includes:

• How to assess your farm for no-till options considering climate, soil, and crop selection
• Assessment of common no-till methods, including pros and cons, materials, and the relative costs
• A decision-making matrix for choosing the most appropriate methods for your context
• How-to for each no-till method, including what to do and when
• Dealing with bindweed, symphylans, and other difficult weeds and pests
• Maximizing productivity of no-till beds
• Special coverage of both organic vegetable and flower no-till market farming

Ideal for small-scale growers everywhere, Andrew Mefferd, veteran farmer, author of The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution, and editor of Growing for Market magazine, brings you the ultimate guide to getting started with no-till farming.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES
This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative texts for images, table of contents, landmarks, reading order, page list, Structural Navigation, and semantic structure. Blank pages have been removed from this EPUB.

Every farm needs a cow – open the gates!

With an approach built around investing for the long term, Homestead Cows prepares homesteaders and small farmers to open the farm gate to cattle, whether a single milk cow or a small beef herd.

Homestead Cows covers the A to Z of husbandry:

• Cow history, biology, diet, and nutrition
• Understanding what you want, what's involved, and creating a plan
• Selecting breeds and determining herd size
• Housing and facilities, transportation, and equipment
• Financial management and the dollars and cents of cows
• Breeding and reproduction
• Cow health and happiness, including safety, handling, and good husbandry
• Processing, products, and cooking.

Cattle are the most productive, versatile, and low-input sources of food and revenue on the farm and can help regenerate and build soil. The secret to success is excellent management, and Homestead Cows distills decades of hard-won, practical knowledge into an essential guide to successful small-scale cattle farming for every homesteader and farmer.

ACCESSIBLITY NOTES

This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative texts for images, table of contents, landmarks, reading order, page list, Structural Navigation, and semantic structure. Blank pages have been removed from this EPUB.

Lessons, stories, and reflections from the Goat Midwife

There is nothing about goat care that creates more anticipation, excitement, frustration, and fear than birthing goats. What can you expect with a goat pregnancy? What do you do if things go wrong when goats give birth? What happens when you have a challenging newborn kid?

Seasoned goat farmer Deborah Niemann, author of Raising Goats Naturally, answers these questions and more by distilling the stories and experiences from over 600 goat pregnancies and births. Coverage includes:

• The differences between normal goat pregnancies
• Necessary C-sections
• Incidents that may turn deadly serious.

For both new and experienced goat owners, Goats Giving Birth illuminates the joy, the sadness, and everything in between when birthing pregnant goats, giving you the confidence to handle a large spectrum of goat pregnancies and help birth happy thriving kids.

Dig into the fruits of your labor! Profitable, innovative organic fruit farming strategies and skills for modern growers of any scale

AN INNOVATIVE GUIDE for growing and marketing organic small fruits and berries, The Berry Grower offers intelligent strategies and solutions for successful small-scale, non-chemical fruit production in the 21st century. Coverage includes:

• History, innovations, and 21st century challenges in modern fruit farming
• Creating your own market farming reality
• Farm planning for efficiency and profitability
• Factoring in climate change, drought, and extreme weather
• Soil fertility, efficient weed management, and organic pest control
• Modern tools of the trade for efficiency
• Harvesting, fruit handling, and packing
• Fruit profiles including raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, currants, gooseberries, figs, tomatoes, and more, including new cultivars
• Innovative marketing methods and thinking beyond fresh fruit with multi-product strategies to maximize profit
• Learn from other experts through interviews with successful growers and marketers from diverse areas around the USA.

From the market garden and small farm to the homestead and backyard, The Berry Grower is the essential guide for both new and aspiring organic small fruit growers and seasoned farmers looking to produce high- quality organic fruits and products for local markets and self-sufficiency.

How to raise rabbits for a steady source of meat and income

Rabbits are one of the most sustainable, nutritious, and economic meat sources available. They can easily be raised in a variety of locations and climates, and require less space and infrastructure than many other species of livestock.

Raising Rabbits for Meat is the how-to guide to help you succeed in starting and running a home rabbitry for a steady source of meat or income. Coverage includes:

• The history of the domestic rabbit
• Information on breeding, housing, and harvesting
• Tools to help you succeed with your program
• An emphasis on heritage breeds.

Raising Rabbits for Meat provides a solid foundation for success in raising rabbits and is ideal for anyone interested in starting a small rabbitry for home use or to market rabbit meat as a business opportunity.

Produce your own milk, cheese, meat, fiber, fertilizer, and more

Incorporating dairy goats into a diversified homestead can be the key to greater self-sufficiency. Responding to questions and concerns from readers from all over North America and beyond, this fully revised and expanded edition of Raising Goats Naturally will help readers work with nature to raise dairy goats to produce milk, cheese, meat, fertilizer, leather, fiber, and soap – all without relying on drugs or following the factory farm model.

By observing your own animals closely and educating yourself about their specific needs, you can create an individualized plan for keeping them healthy and maximizing their productivity. This unique, fully-illustrated guide will teach you to help your herd thrive with:

• Breed-specific descriptions to help you choose the right goats for your goals and lifestyle
• Detailed information on housing, fencing, breeding, health, milking, and nutrition
• Complete recipes and instructions for making your own cheese, dairy products, and soap, as well as cooking with goat meat.

Packed with personal experiences and backed up by expert veterinary advice and scientific studies, Raising Goats Naturally brings together a wealth of practical information on raising goats for the love of it and using their milk and meat to become more self-reliant.

Maximize your water harvesting potential with efficient, cost-effective earthworks

In the face of drought and desertification, well-designed, water harvesting earthworks such as swales, ponds, and dams are the most effective way to channel water into productive use. The result can be increased food production, higher groundwater levels, reduced irrigation needs, and enhanced ecosystem resilience.

Yet, due to a lack of knowledge, designers, and landowners often build earthworks that are costly, inappropriately sized and sited, or even dangerous. The Permaculture Earthworks Handbook is the first dedicated, detailed guide to the proper design and construction of water harvesting earthworks. It covers the function, design, and construction methods for nine main types of water harvesting earthworks across a full range of climates.

Coverage includes:

• Swales, ponds, dams, hugelkultur, net-and-pan systems, spate irrigation, and more
• Cost versus benefit of different earthworks
• Assessing site needs and suitability
• Soil types and hydrology
• Designing for maximum efficiency and lowest cost
• Risk assessment and safe construction
• Stacking functions and integrating earthworks into a design

This practical handbook is the essential resource for permaculture designers, teachers and students, landowners, farmers, homesteaders, landscape architects, and others involved in maximizing the water harvesting potential of any landscape at the lowest cost and impact.

Douglas Barnes is a permaculture designer trained in Australia by Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton. He has designed and built earthworks in North America, Japan, and Andra Pradesh, India. He lives in Tweed, Ontario in a passive solar house he designed and built, and he blogs at permaculturerelections.com.

Learn how to use natural no-till systems to increase profitability, efficiency, carbon sequestration, and soil health on your small farm.

The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution is the comprehensive farmer-developed roadmap showing how no-till lowers barriers to starting a small farm, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increases efficiency and profitability, and promotes soil health.

Farming without tilling has long been a goal of agriculture, yet tilling remains one of the most dominant paradigms; almost everyone does it. But tilling kills beneficial soil life, burns up organic matter, and releases carbon dioxide. If the ground could instead be prepared for planting without tilling, time and energy could be saved, soil organic matter increased, carbon sequestered, and dependence on machinery reduced.

This hands-on manual offers:

• Why roller-crimper no-till methods don't work for most small farms
• A decision-making framework for the four no-till methods: occultation, solarization, organic mulches grown in place, and applied to beds
• Ideas for starting a no-till farm or transitioning a working farm
• A list of tools, supplies, and sources.

This is the only manual of its kind, specifically written for natural and small-scale farmers who wish to expand or explore chemical-free, regenerative farming methods.

Skyrocketing energy costs and constant reminders of the impacts of conventional energy sources are making homeowners and businesses look at different ways to use energy more efficiently and to generate their own electricity to reduce fuel bills and their carbon footprint.

Power From the Wind is the completely revised and updated edition of the go-to guide for individuals and businesses interested in installing small wind energy systems. Written for the layperson, this practical guide provides an accurate and unbiased view of all aspects of small wind energy systems, including:

• Wind and wind energy system options
• Ways to assess wind resources at your site
• Wind turbines and towers
• Inverters and batteries
• Installation and maintenance of systems
• Costs and benefits of installing a wind system.

Readers will gain the knowledge they need to make wise decisions during the design, purchase, and installation of small wind energy systems and to communicate effectively with wind system installers, and will be empowered to help make the smartest, most economical choices.

Local, diverse and resilient – the new culture of food

Long embraced by corporations who are driven only by the desire for profit, industrial agriculture wastes precious resources and spews millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year, exacerbating climate change and threatening the very earth and water on which we depend. However, this dominant system, from which Americans obtain most of their food, is being slowly supplanted by a new paradigm.

The Emergent Agriculture is a collection of fourteen thematic essays on sustainability viewed through the lens of farming. Arguing that industrial food production is incompatible with the realities of nature, science, and ethics, this lyrical narrative makes the case for a locally based food system which is:

• Stable in the face of economic uncertainty
• Resilient in the face of environmental variability
• Grounded in stewardship of the land, on attaching value to food and the craft involved in producing it, and on respecting the dignity of farmers, consumer,s and livestock

A revolution in food production is underway. Written from the vantage point of an ecologist who is also a farmer, The Emergent Agriculture is essential reading for anyone interested in food security and the potential for growing local economies. Food for thought about the future of food.

Gary Kleppel is a professor of biology at the SUNY Albany, where he focuses on sustainable agriculture, conservation-based grazing, and the ecology of human-dominated landscapes. He and his wife Pam are owners of Longfield Farm, where they produce grass-fed lamb, wool, free range chickens and eggs, and artisanal breads

Raise a gaggle of geese, the unsung heroes of the small farm

While chickens preen in the spotlight, geese are the historic unsung heroes of small farms and homesteads. Providing weed control, large eggs, and entertainment, and acting as "security" over other animals, geese are the ultimate modern homesteading companion.

The Modern Homesteader's Guide to Keeping Geese covers everything you need to know to raise geese, including:

• Profiles of breeds and how to select the best one for your needs
• How to "imprint" goslings on a person
• Feeding, housing, animal health, and cold weather care
• Using geese for weed control, soil improvement, and as "watch-geese"
• Cooking with goose eggs and meat

Additional coverage includes a look at the rich history of geese on farms in North America and Europe that will enhance any goose keeper's enjoyment of these intelligent and unique birds.

This practical guide is a must-have essential for the kitchen table of homesteaders, small farmers, permaculturists, and professional farmers looking to add the power of geese to their land.

The illustrated guide to profitable, vibrant and sustainable permaculture-based market gardening

Permaculture tends to be very much in the domain of home gardeners and property owners. But what if we could take it all a step further, and merge the fields of permaculture and market gardening?

In The Permaculture Market Garden , author Zach Loeks brings together his passion for sustainable permaculture food production systems and beautiful, vibrant illustrations to provide a highly visual guide to the smooth integration of permaculture into the market garden, in ways that are scalable to specific situations. Profiling crops and ecosystem-based techniques, Loeks demonstrates a profitable, sustainable and approachable model for the future of market gardening.

Along the way, Loeks introduces his own system of PermaBeds, season extension techniques, intensive and rotational interplanting, in-depth discussions on soil health, and more, bringing activities, designs and prospects of farming to life through illustrations, so the reader can be immersed within the world of permaculture farming. Playful, informative and curious, inspiring and beautiful and packed with accessible practical information, The Permaculture Market Garden will inspire both the seasoned market gardener as well as anyone aspiring to start a business.

Zach Loeks is a market gardener, farm consultant and educator living in the Ottawa Valley. Winner of two regional awards for sustainability and innovation in agriculture, he shares his expertise in farming, design and business through a successful series of on-farm workshops, conferences and schools, as well as a successful year-round CSA.