Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices.
A doubling in global food demand projected for the next 50 years poses huge challenges for the sustainability both of food production and of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide to society. Agriculturalists are the principal managers of global usable lands and will shape, perhaps irreversibly, the surface of the Earth in the coming decades. New incentives and policies for ensuring the sustainability of agriculture and ecosystem services will be crucial if we are to meet the demands of improving yields without compromising environmental integrity or public health.
Tilman
David
D
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA. tilman@umn.edu
Cassman
Kenneth G
KG
Matson
Pamela A
PA
Naylor
Rosamond
R
Polasky
Stephen
S
D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005523:Food Supply; D010571:Pest Control; D011158:Population Growth; D012987:Soil / Q000592:standards; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
D012987:Soil; D014867:Water