Technological and Institutional Innovations for Marginalized Smallholders in Agricultural Development

Agriculture; Agricultural Economics; Geography, general; Innovation/Technology Managemen

Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics

This book celebrates the relaunch of the African Pollen Database, presents state-of-the-art of modern and ancient pollen data from sub-Saharan Africa, and promotes Open Access science. Pollen grains are powerful tools for the study of past vegetation dynamics because they preserve well within sedimentary deposits and have a huge diversity in ornamentation that allows different taxa to be determined. The reconstruction of past vegetation from the examination of ancient pollen records thus can be used to characterize the nature of past landscapes (e.g. abundance of forests vs. grasslands), provide insights into changes in biodiversity, and gain empirical evidence of vegetation response to climatic change and human activity. In this, the 35th Volume of "Palaeoecology of Africa", we bring together new data and extensive synthetic reviews to provide novel insights into the relationships between human evolution, human activity, climate change and vegetation dynamics during the Quaternary, the last 2.6 million years. Current and ongoing climate and land-use change is exerting pressure on modern vegetation formations and threatening the livelihoods and wellbeing of many peoples in Africa. In this book the focus is on the Quaternary because it is during this geological period that the modern vegetation formations developed into their current configurations against a backdrop of high magnitude global climate change (glacial-interglacial cycles), human evolution, and a growing human land-use footprint. In this book the latest information is presented and collated from around the African continent to parameterize past vegetation states, identify the drivers of vegetation change, and assess the vegetation resilience to change. To achieve this research from two broad themes are covered: (i) the present is the key to the past (i.e. studies which improve our understanding of modern environments so that we can better interpret evidence from the past), and (ii) the past is the key to the future (i.e. studies which unlock information on how and why vegetation changed in the past so one can better anticipate trajectories of future change). This Open Access book will provide a strong foundation for future research exploring past ecological, environmental and climatic change within Africa and the surrounding islands. The book is organized regionally (covering western, eastern, central, and southern Africa) and it contains specialized articles focused on particular topics (such as modern pollen-vegetation relationships and fire as a driver of vegetation change), as well as regional and pan-African syntheses drawing together decades of research to assess key scientific questions (including the role of climate in driving vegetation change and the role of vegetation change in human evolution). These articles will be useful to students and teachers from high school to the highest level of university who are interested in the origins and dynamics of vegetation in Africa. Furthermore, it is also meant to provide societally relevant information that can act as an inspiration for the development of sustainable management practices for the future

Land Degradation Assessment with Earth Observation

This Special Issue (SI) on “Land Degradation Assessment with Earth Observation” comprises 17 original research papers with a focus on land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry-subhumid areas (i.e., desertification) in addition to temperate rangelands, grasslands, woodlands and the humid tropics. The studies cover different spatial, spectral and temporal scales and employ a wealth of different optical and radar sensors. Some studies incorporate time-series analysis techniques that assess the general trend of vegetation or the timing and duration of the reduction in biological productivity caused by land degradation. As anticipated from the latest trend in Earth Observation (EO) literature, some studies utilize the cloud-computing infrastructure of Google Earth Engine to cope with the unprecedented volume of data involved in current methodological approaches. This SI clearly demonstrates the ever-increasing relevance of EO technologies when it comes to assessing and monitoring land degradation. With the recently published IPCC Reports informing us of the severe impacts and risks to terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide, the EO scientific community has a clear obligation to increase its efforts to address any remaining gaps—some of which have been identified in this SI—and produce highly accurate and relevant land-degradation assessment and monitoring tools

Economic Factors of the Development of Agricultural Markets and Rural Areas

The agri-market is one of the core sectors of the economy, responsible for producing goods and the fulfilment of nutritional needs. It includes agriculture, which produces food, and the food industry, which involves processing agricultural products. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze the development of agri-markets on both local and international scales. International trade is an important factor affecting the availability of agri-food products. Consequently, it is also important to evaluate economic factors and their roles in the development of a region. This Special Issue aims to solicit original contributions from academics, practitioners and other stakeholders, providing theoretical and empirical analyses focusing on agricultural markets and rural development. The editor encourages submissions that present applications of statistical analysis, case studies, and novel methodologies from parametric and non-parametric related to the topic of the Special Issue. The scope of submission includes original research and review articles on the theme

The Sustainability of Agro-Food and Natural Resource Systems in the Mediterranean Basin

Agriculture; Food Science; Environmental Science and Engineerin

Ethnic minorities and regional development in Asia: reality and challenges

The development experience in the world over the last century has shown that economic growth cannot be sustained without taking into consideration the social and political development of vulnerable populations, including greater recognition of minority rights. Within this context, the objective of this book is initially to support the interdisciplinary discussion that aims to join studies that surrounding the development of minorities in the Asia.AziC+ is economisch gezien een van de snelst groeiende regio's in de wereld. Dit geldt vooral voor Oost- en Zuidoost- Aziatische landen als China en Vietnam. Toch zijn er tegelijkertijd grote regionale verschillen in welvaart. Huhua Cao stelt dat gelijkberechtiging van de etnische minderheden een voorwaarde is voor de verdere economische bloei van deze regio's. De emancipatie van die minderheden is een enorme uitdaging waar veel Aziatische samenlevingen op dit moment voor staan. Huhua Cao wil met zijn boek een interdisciplinaire discussie op gang brengen over die emancipatie. De gevarieerde hoofdstukken in deze bundel dragen daar het nodige aan bij

Public Health

Public health can be thought of as a series of complex systems. Many things that individual living in high income countries take for granted like the control of infectious disease, clean, potable water, low infant mortality rates require a high functioning systems comprised of numerous actors, locations and interactions to work. Many people only notice public health when that system fails. This book explores several systems in public health including aspects of the food system, health care system and emerging issues including waste minimization in nanosilver. Several chapters address global health concerns including non-communicable disease prevention, poverty and health-longevity medicine. The book also presents several novel methodologies for better modeling and assessment of essential public health issues