Table of contents
Chapter 1 - Effects of crop rotations and intercropping on soil health:
Gilbert C. Sigua, USDA-ARS, USA;
1 Introduction
2 Defining soil health
3 Indicators of soil health
4 The roles of soil organic matter in soil health
5 Managing soil health: crop rotation
6 Managing soil health: intercropping
7 Nitrogen fixation and transfer in crop rotation and intercropping
8 Summary and future trends
9 Where to look for further information
10 References
Chapter 2 - The role of crop rotations in organic farming:
Bernhard Freyer, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Austria;
1 Introduction
2 Principles of crop rotation
3 Precrop effects in crop rotations
4 Nutrient effects of legumes and other rotation crops
5 The role of rotation crops in suppressing weeds, diseases and pests
6 Rotations and crop yields
7 Designing a crop rotation
8 Measuring and modelling crop rotations, nutrient and humus balances
9 Crop rotations on stockless farms
10 Conclusion and future trends
11 Where to look for further information
12 References and further reading
Chapter 3 - Modeling crop rotations: capturing short- and long-term feedbacks for sustainability and soil health:
B. Basso and R. A. Martinez-Feria, Michigan State University, USA; and B. Dumont, University of Liege, Belgium;
1 Introduction
2 Reset mode crop models: the example of mitigating nitrate loss from corn-based crop rotations
3 Sequential crop models: the example of adapting crop rotations to sustain yields and soil health under climate change
4 Conclusion: improving crop rotations through modeling
5 References
Chapter 4 - Developing decision-support systems for crop rotations:
Zia Mehrabi, University of British Columbia, Canada;
1 Introduction
2 Key information challenges
3 Ecological theory
4 Agronomic models
5 Encoding farmer decisions
6 Design principles
7 Outlook
8 Where to look for further information
9 References
Chapter 5 - The role of crop rotation, intercropping and tillage practices for foliar disease management of wheat and barley:
T. K. Turkington, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada; K. Xi, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Canada; and H. R. Kutcher, University of Saskatchewan, Canada;
1 Introduction
2 Increasing temporal diversity: crop rotation
3 Increasing spatial diversity: intercropping
4 Increasing genetic diversity: gene deployment
5 The role of conservation tillage
6 Conclusions and future trends
7 Where to look for further information
8 References