Agro-Ecological Farming Systems in China (Man and the Biosphere Series) [Hardcover]

Wenhua Li (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 185070631X | ISBN-13: 978-1850706311 | Publication Date: June 15, 2001

This is the first English-language text written by China's leading scientists documenting the history, principles, models and assessment of ecological agriculture in China and its integrated farming system. In twenty detailed chapters, the book covers all aspects of China's integrated farming system, including rotation, relay-intercropping and intercropping, polyaquaculture, mixed stands afforestation, agro-silviculture, intercropping for tree-medicinal herbs as well as cash and multiuse forests, phyto-animal systems, mountain ecosystems, wetland ecosystems, arid and semi-arid ecosystems, agro-industry complex ecological engineering, and multi-component and multi-step use of energy resources. The book's final chapters set forth a systematic design for an integrated farming system, instructions on analyzing and assessing integrated farming systems, and a perspective on recent trends, obstacles, and the future.

Editorial Reviews

Review

beautifully produced and well illustrated with very detailed reference lists. …provides a plethora of detailed results, all fully illustrated by tables and figures. …Furthermore, the methodologies involved provide in many cases an object lesson in the scienfific approach.
- Professor Ewan Anderson, University of Durham, UK, in GeoJournal

This volume, number 26 of the Man and the Biosphere Series, is a very welcome addition. All the authors are from mainland China and their expertise covers a wide area of this vast country. They bring together a large body of data on how China is tackling the problems of feeding her people using sustainable practices. Sins China encompasses most of the types of ecological and climatic zones found in the world, there is something in this book for everyone. … Overall, this book has much to commend it to ecologists. All the systems described are approached from an ecological perspective. Access to so much information from sources not readily available in the west is extremely valuable. Perhaps most useful of all, in the current European climate of agricultural problems, is the extent to which lateral thinking has been applied in developing the very diverse systems described. …An excellent read.
- Bulletin of the Ecological Society, 2002

…This book provides a unique overview of integrated agro-ecological farming systems in China, the worlds most populous country. It reviews the principal stages in agricultural development in China from historical times to the recent challenges of the concept of sustainable agriculture. …The volume has been prepared by a multi-disciplinary group of Chinese scientists, scholars, and resource managers as a joint venture by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Agriculture. It therefore brings together the research focus of the academic community and the practical experience of the agricultural community. …However, perhaps the most interesting and encouraging aspect of this book is the extent to which the theory and practice of integrated farming systems have been developed since the late 1970s. … the authors of this book recognise the need for collaborative programmes that will continue to develop the kinds of integrated farming systems that will provide China with a sustainable future.
- The International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology

Product Details

• Hardcover: 454 pages
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (June 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 185070631X
• ISBN-13: 978-1850706311
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,333,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)