Earth sciences for the 21st century: Evolve or die

Fyfe, W. S.

doi:10.1080/11035899709546461

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Deserts can be present in all climates. According to the World Watch Institute, topsoil loss globally is approaching 1% per year, while natural remediation can take hundreds of years (Fyfe, 1989(Fyfe, , 1997UNESCO, 1997). The geochemistry and the mineralogy of soils are critical in estimating their capacity for sustainable organic productivity and to improve the chemical and physical properties of these soils.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The types of additives should be closely linked to soil type and climate to avoid pollution problems. So, instead of soluble chemical fertilizers often we should use mineral fertilizers with strict quality control (Fyfe, 1997). One of these mineral fertilizers could be the sediments accumulated in the bottom of dam reservoirs, from natural processes and over-erosion in drainage areas, which contain nutritional elements much needed in soils.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In China, for example, in 1950 there were 2 large dams, while 35 years later there were 18,820! (Abramovitz, 1996, in Fyfe, 1997. Although hydroelectricity is one of the less polluting energy sources, dams are a problem because they represent barriers to the natural sediment transport cycle and today rivers don't flow freely to the oceans.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reversing desertification by using dam reservoir sediments as agriculture soils

Fonseca¹,

Barriga²,

Fyfe³

1998

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Bottom sediments from two reservoirs in South Portugal were subject to chemical, physical and mineralogical study to test their suitability for agricultural use. In spite of large differences in geomorphic characteristics and lithology of the drainage basin, they have high levels of total, exchangeable and soluble forms of nutritional elements much needed for sustainable food-fibre production. Comparing our results with natural soils, we conclude that sandy sediments could be good agricultural soils on their own and the more clayey varieties, fertilizers for low quality soils. If sediment removal from the reservoirs becomes economically feasible, the suitability for agricultural use may eventually solve some classical problems such as: (1) the period of life of dam reservoirs filled with sediments, (2) the water quality, and (3) the scarcity of soils in some regions, turning a global problem into a global resource.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reversing desertification by using dam reservoir sediments as agriculture soils

Fonseca¹,

Barriga²,

Fyfe³

1998

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“…Trajectory of the growth of human population from ~4 million in 10,000 BCE and 300 million at 1 AD , to 11.2 billion by 2100, with almost all of future growth occurring in presently developing countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean (Plotted from the data by Fyfe ; Haub ; U.N. ,b; Geohive and other sources). AAL = Africa, Asia, and Latin America; NEO = North America, Europe, and Oceania.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding 11 billion on 0.5 billion hectare of area under cereal crops

Lal

2016

Food and Energy Security

116

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Despite impressive increase in global grain production since 1960s, there are 795 million food‐insecure and ~2 billion people prone to malnutrition. Further, global population of 7.4 billion in 2016 is projected to increase to 9.7 billion by 2050, with almost all increase occurring in developing countries. Thus, it is recommended that global food production be increased by 60 to 70% between 2005 and 2050. Global crop production increased threefold between 1965 and 2015 with a net increase of only 67 million ha (Mha) of cropland area. Nonetheless, agronomic yield of food staples can still be tripled or quadrupled in Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), South Asia (SA), and the Caribbean by a widespread adoption of site‐specific best management practices of sustainable intensification (SI). Rather than expanding the area under cropland, agriculturally marginal and degraded soils can be set aside for nature conservancy. The global average cereal yield of 3.27 Mg ha−1 in 2005 can be increased to 5 Mg ha−1 by 2050, 6 Mg ha−1 by 2080 and 7 Mg ha−1 by 2100 through SI of agroecosystems in SSA, SA and elsewhere. The strategy of “producing more from less” necessitates restoration of soil health and increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration to be more than 1.5–2.0% in the rootzone. The goal of SOC sequestration is in accord with the “4 per Thousand” initiative proposed at COP21 in 2015. Therefore, global food demands can be met despite the decreasing trends in the per capita cropland area by 2050 – 0.17 ha in the world and 0.15 ha in developing countries. While enhancing productivity by SI, the strategy is to simultaneously reduce food waste, increase access and distribution of food, and promote plant‐based diet. The goal is to reconcile high production with better environmental quality, develop urban agriculture (aquaponics, aeroponics, and vertical farms), promote nutrition‐sensitive farming, and restore degraded soils. Sustainable intensification of agroecosystems can produce enough food grains to feed one person for a year on 0.045 ha of arable land.

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