The data collection, for example, can come from aerial photography, satellite imagery or sensors. The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University sponsors a 4-H Club website with a section that offers virtual tours of a variety of farm types, such as poultry, dairy, horse, and wheat farms. multiple scales and across different social and physical As agriculture spread throughout the world, so too did civilizations. Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) adopted by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is defined as “a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.” LDN has become a strong vehicle for driving the implementation of the UNCCD through support provided by the GEF to an LDN Target Setting Program targeting 60 developing countries. C. A. Wolfbauer is geologist, Branch of Chemical Resources, U. S. Geological Survey, Denver, Col. 80225. The United States Department of Agriculture has an excellent explanation of the challenges facing tree farmers. The broad scope of this paper necessitated drawing heavily from the work of other Survey geologists, notably James B. Cathcart's work on phosphate, Charles L. Jones’ on potash, George E. Ericksen's on gypsum, and Richard A. Sheppard's on zeolites. the private sector, now in their early stages of development, Farmers are facing growing pressure to increase efficiency of nitrogen use, and policy makers are grappling with how to ensure long-term water quality while protecting the viability of California’s farmers. Capabilities for working together at 25 Advantages of Agriculture Though it has been practiced since the start of humanity, there are quite a number of people who don’t know what agriculture is … More and more, we are realizing the value of healthy ecosystems for agriculture. Our projects help build understanding of the benefits of ecosystem services and seeks to promote practices that enhance ecosystem services. systems and for social and environmental The problem is that the same cultivation area can accommodate a wide range of conditions. Learn more about agriculture and its influence with the following resources. World agriculture uses nearly 200 million tons annually of artificial fertilizers, where phosphorus is an important element. The foundation and growth of human civilization can be traced back to the development of agriculture. Climate-smart agriculture: The GEF supports a wide range of mitigation activities in the agricultural sector. NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS! 2. This site looks more specifically at the history of American agriculture after the arrival of Europeans. The result is both a basis to determine where resources are most useful, and for example to make crop forecasts. Natural resource management. The GEF supports a broad range of activities in the AFOLU sector. Since the development of the concept of Climate Smart Agriculture in 2010, the crucial role of agriculture and the power of the soils within an integrated landscape approach has been increasingly recognized through the establishment of partnerships or initiatives, bringing together varied stakeholders from the public and private sectors, research institutes, and NGOs. ATL (2012). As agriculture spread throughout the world, so too did civilizations. Cleantech Scandinavia Converting forests into agricultural land emits huge amounts of greenhouse gases. systems in different ecologies, locations and cultures. The Impact Program on Food Systems, Land Use, and Restoration offers a timely opportunity for addressing the underlying drivers of unsustainable food systems and land use change by helping countries take a more holistic and system-wide approach The Program’s focus on deforestation-free commodities accelerates and scales up efforts to eliminate deforestation and other habitat conversion from agricultural supply chains — which accounts for a significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. 3. Smarter tractors, harvesting and sowing technology is already established in many places, in the form of agricultural machinery equipped with GPS positioning and sensor technology, which use geographical information systems as a basis for adapting measures continuously as they move across the fields.