Impact of Agricultural Production

Lillywhite, R. (2008) The environmental footprint a method to determine the environmental impact of agricultural production. Aspects Appl Biol, 86, 1-8. 

In the last decade, food quality and minimisation of the negative environmental impacts of agricultural production have gained importance in European agricultural policy. Today, policy makers are striving to achieve the following objectives ... 

It is well known that crop management systems, the quality of the soil and the weathering conditions are just some of the factors used in order to assess production of GHG. Therefore, an understanding of the future environmental impacts of crop production is essential in order to achieve greater crop yields without decreasing the quality of the environment and social welfare. Additionally, Tilman [2] reported that the recent intensification of agriculture, coupled with the prospect of even further intensification in the future, will have major detrimental impacts on the world s ecosystems. 

The aim of the assessment of the effects of agricultural products on the environment is to evaluate their impact on environment sustainability [24], especially in terms of food consumption patterns [25]. As stated by [26], the system sustainability can be evaluated on the basis of inputs and outputs and their conversion to C02e. [27] states that the measurement of GHG emissions suffers from certain inaccuracy. The reason for this error is that emissions in agriculture are influenced by complex biological processes with a wide range of variables. 

Thomassen MA, de Boer IJM. Evaluation of Indicators to Assess the Environmental Impact of Dairy Production Systems. Agriculture. Ecosystems and Environment. 2005 111 185-199. DOI 10.1016/j.agee.2005.06.013... 

Environmental Impact. Again, I hardly have to mention the importance of environmental data look at the requirements for environmental impact data for registration of agricultural products. 

Brentrup, F., Kiisters, J., Lammel, J., Barraclough, P. and Kuhlmann, H. 2004. Environmental impact assessment of agricultural production systems using the life cycle assessment methodology. II. The application to N fertilizer use in winter wheat production systems. European Journal of Agronomy 20(3) 265-279. 

As the world s population grows (it is expected to increase from the current 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion in 2050), fewer and fewer of these wild places remain (Population Division 2007). Today vast areas of Earth resemble the agricultural Central Valley, where a few domesticated species dominate. As the demand for food increases, will it be possible to minimize the impact of food production on what remains of wild nature ... 

Ezeji, T.C., Qureshi, N. and Blaschek, H.P. 2007a. Butanol Production from Agricultural Residues Impact of Degradation Products on Clostridium Beijerinckii Growth and Butanol Fermentation. Biotechnol. Bioeng., 97, 1460-1469. 

Researchers have mixed responses on the current extent of the air pollution problem in relation to its impact on vegetation. We know that injury occurs in many sensitive native and domestic plant species throughout the country. We do not know how severe the long term pollution effects will be on domestic species, on the frequency or distribution of native species, or on the complex interactions between native species and the effects of these interactions on plant communities. Much research is needed in this area before we can adequately speculate on the future of agricultural production. 

The future of agricultural production is discussed with relatively little data base to work from and in the light of possible future levels of air pollution. We can visualize the situation in the eastern seaboard states for the photochemical oxidants and sulfur oxides. The following discussion assumes no major impact of other pollutants. However, they could be important. 

Also, the rapid modernization and intensification of agricultural production in all parts of the world has meant that concerns about the impact of specific pesticides on birds extend beyond national borders. The same toxic pesticide can affect a bird species on its North American breeding grounds as well as on its Latin American wintering and migratory staging grounds. 

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