Integrated Assessment of Health and Sustainability of Agroecosystems

David Waltner-Toews author Thomas Gitau author Margaret W Gitau author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Inc

Published:10th Jun '08

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Integrated Assessment of Health and Sustainability of Agroecosystems cover

Exploring the implementation of participatory, multistakeholder, and transdisciplinary ecosystem health research, Integrated Assessment of Health and Sustainability of Agroecosystems combines the latest theories in complexity and management with practical tools and approaches for sustainable rural development research. Although the text focuses on smallholder farming communities in the central highlands of Kenya, the material discussed can be—and has been—effectively applied to agroecosystems in many other parts of the world.

After showing how the agroecosystem health framework was successfully adapted in a smallholder-dominated agroecosystem, the book integrates participatory methods, systems analyses, pulse process models, and soft systems methods in an open-ended, adaptive R&D process. It then looks at how to use correspondence analysis to refine a research-based suite of indicators and analyze data obtained using indicators.

Incorporating the authors’ pioneering work in the ecosystem health field, this book demonstrates the potential of the agroecosystem health paradigm as a framework in the decision-making processes of agricultural communities in a tropical highlands area.

From the Foreword
“This welcome volume on agricultural sustainability … is authored by innovative scientists well-known in their fields … It is clearly written and provides a great deal of practical information as well as addresses theoretical and systems issues in depth.”
—Clive A. Edwards, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA

ISBN: 9781420072778

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 1150g

256 pages