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This Encyclopedia of Agrophysics will provide up-to-date information on the physical properties and processes affecting the quality of the environment and plant production. It will be a "first-up" volume which will nicely complement the recently published Encyclopedia of Soil Science, (November 2007) which was published in the same series. In a single authoritative volume a collection of about 250 informative articles and ca 400 glossary terms covering all aspects of agrophysics will be presented. The authors will be renowned specialists in various aspects in agrophysics from a wide variety of countries. Agrophysics is important both for research and practical use not only in agriculture, bu...
This multidisciplinary collection probes ways in which emerging and established scholars perceive and theorize decolonization and resistance in their own fields of work, from education to political and social studies, to psychology, medicine, and beyond. In this time of renewed global spiritual awakening, indigenous communities are revisiting ways of knowing and evoking theories of resistance informed by communal theories of solidarity. Using an intersectional lens, chapter authors present or imagine modes of solidarity, resistance, and political action that subvert colonial and neocolonial formations. Placing emphasis on the importance of theorizing the spirit, a discourse that is deeply embedded in our unique cultures and ancestries, this book is able to capture and better understand these moments and processes of spiritual emergence/re-emergence.
“Nature’s Medicine: A collection of Medicinal Plants from Malaysia’s Rainforest” is an e-book compiling medicinal plants we call weeds. It features the health benefits of medicinal herbs and plants for public use. Most weeds are found in home gardens and are easily accessible. We call them weeds because we do not have to care of these plants. Weeds, in many cases can be used to fight the flu, cough, ease indigestion, threat poison ivy rashes, snake bites, joint pains and even make a tasty meal as a salad. You may be surprised to learn that identifying weeds in your own yard can be beneficial. This e-book is also intended to serve as a reference guide and create interest among students and scientists to study the wonder of the weeds in greater detail. The weeds are picturesquely presented to enable readers to recognise them at a glance. Their medicinal properties and traditional uses are also highlighted.
Alternative crops and cropping systems have importance in whole agricultural sector. As the name suggests, it is an alternative that can currently represent only a small economic importance. On the other hand, in some areas pose a new progressive direction, which has the potential to expand in the future. The goal was to write a book where as many different existing studies as possible could be presented in a single volume, making it easy for the reader to compare methods, results and conclusions. As a result, studies from countries such as South Africa, Zimbabwe, Poland, The Czech Republic, Mexico and Japan have been compiled into one book. I believe that the opportunity to compare results and conclusions from different countries and continents will create a new perspective in alternative crops and cropping systems. I hope that our book will help researchers and students all over the world to attain new and interesting results in the field of alternative crops and cropping systems.
Archaeobotany has significantly increased our knowledge of the relationships between humans and plants throughout the ages. As is amply illustrated in this volume, botanical remains preserved in archaeological contexts have great potential to inform us about past environments and the various methods used by ancient peoples to exploit and cultivate plants. This volume presents the proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on African Archaeobotany (IWAA) held at Helwan University in Cairo, Egypt, on 13-15 June 2009. Studies presented herein clearly illustrate that African archaeobotany is a dynamic field, with many advances in techniques and important case studies presented since the first meeting of IWAA held in 1994. Authors have employed classical and new archaeobotanical techniques, in addition to linguistics and ethnoarchaeology to increase our knowledge about the role of plants in ancient African societies. This book covers a wide range of African countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Nigeria, South Africa, and the Canary Islands. It is of interest to archaeobotanists, archaeologists, historians, linguists, agronomists, and plant ecologists.
This volume in the series is devoted to Africa, a continent that possesses a vast treasure of medicinal plants and has produced some exclusive materials for the world market. This volume is expected to strengthen the medicinal plant sector in African countries by making comprehensive information on medicinal and aromatic plants available to policy-makers and entrepreneurs. It can be used to frame effective policies and create an environment conducive to the growth of the plant-based medicine industry, bringing economic benefit to African nations. It will help health organizations to improve the health of their people by using their own resources and a less expensive system of medicine, which is accepted by African society. It could also lead scientific communities to increase R&D activities in the field.
Currently 868 million people are undernourished and 195 million children under five years of age are stunted. At the same time, over 1 billion people are overweight and obese in both the developed and developing world. Diseases previously associated with affluence, such as cancer, diabetes and cardio-vascular disease, are on the rise. Food system-based approaches to addressing these problems that could enhance food availability and diet quality through local production and agricultural biodiversity often fall outside the traditional scope of nutrition, and have been under-researched. As a consequence, there remains insufficient evidence to support well-defined, scalable agricultural biodiver...
This brief critically reviews the structure and applications of polysaccharide based materials as a green and sustainable resource in water and water treatment operations. The authors present a fascinating insight into the application of this renewable resource in water and wastewater treatment operations approached from multiple perspectives: mechanistic insight into the coagulation efficiency of polysaccharides based coagulants; progress and prospects of polysaccharide composites as adsorbent for water and wastewater treatment; structural modifications of polysaccharides for enhanced performance as adsorbents; tuning polysaccharides framework for optimal coagulation efficiency; and tapping into microbial polysaccharides for water and wastewater purifications.This brief is aimed at professionals active in the science and engineering aspects of water and wastewater treatment operations.
Food Security and Nutrition: Utilizing Undervalued Food Plants explores the potential of underutilized and indigenous food plants to enhance food and nutrition security amid global challenges, such as climate change, water scarcity, and population growth. It emphasizes the importance of dietary diversification to reduce dependency on major staple crops, highlighting the nutritional and health benefits of lesser-known crops, such as fonio, pigeonpea, finger millet, and a wide array of wild vegetables and mushrooms. The book reviews innovative farming techniques, like the organic medium–enclosed trough system and hydroponics, which improve crop yield and nutrient content while conserving res...
Opioids such as morphine, codeine, and oxycodone are extracts or analogs isolated from a single source: the opium poppy. For a long time, it was believed to be nature's only source of opioids. But it now appears that biological diversity has evolved an alternative source of opioid compounds-those derived from the plant Mitragyna speciosa. This plan