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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Costs And Benefits Of Integrating Poultry Into Cover Crop - Vegetable Rotations, Viktor Halmos
Costs And Benefits Of Integrating Poultry Into Cover Crop - Vegetable Rotations, Viktor Halmos
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
Integrated livestock systems were once common leading up to the 20th century where livestock generated manure that was then used to fertilizer crop production in a closed- or semi-closed system. However, with the industrialization of agriculture in the mid to late 20th century, specialization drove simplified systems that segregated livestock from cropping systems. This segregation led to nutrient surpluses occurring in livestock operations, and nutrient demands in cropping systems creating a plethora of environmental issues. With the increased awareness of environmental issues, a renewed interest in integration has driven producers and researchers to experiment with integration again. For research, the …
Net Effects Of Wild And Managed Birds In Agroecosystems, Karina Garcia
Net Effects Of Wild And Managed Birds In Agroecosystems, Karina Garcia
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
Agricultural intensification and expansion have reduced biodiversity in agroecosystems, jeopardizing the ecosystem services that nature provides to humans in these landscapes including wildlife-mediated pest control. Among these purveyors of ecosystem services are birds, who can provide services to agroecosystems by consuming arthropod pests. Yet some bird species also act as pests by consuming crops. Herein, I use molecular diet analysis through high-throughput sequencing on DNA extracted from bird fecal samples to examine birds’ diet and classify bird species as consumers of major strawberry pests (Lygus spp.). Additionally, I use targeted PCR approaches to determine which bird species consumed strawberries. …
Effects Of Landscape, Intraguild Interactions, And A Neonicotinoid On Natural Enemy And Pest Interactions In Soybeans, Hannah J. Penn
Effects Of Landscape, Intraguild Interactions, And A Neonicotinoid On Natural Enemy And Pest Interactions In Soybeans, Hannah J. Penn
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
Demand for food, fuel, and fiber has been increasing, escalating the intensification of agriculture during the past fifty years. A more comprehensive understanding of the impact of landscapes on sustainable agriculture production is required to meet the continual increase in human demand. This not only includes how chemical inputs are used but also how cultivated and surrounding landscapes are managed for ecosystem services. This research explains how land cover on landscape and farm scales impact ant and spider-mediated pest suppression. I successfully developed and optimized molecular methods to test ant gut contents from both laboratory and field-caught specimens. A multi-year …
Inner Bluegrass Agriculture: An Agroecological Perspective, 1850-1880, Andrew Parker Patrick
Inner Bluegrass Agriculture: An Agroecological Perspective, 1850-1880, Andrew Parker Patrick
Theses and Dissertations--History
This study examines agriculture in the Inner Bluegrass Region of Central Kentucky from 1850 to 1880. It utilizes an agroecological perspective, which interprets agriculture through the lens of ecology, to highlight the complex natural and cultural factors that combined to form one of the nation's most prosperous agricultural systems during the nineteenth century. Chapter One explores the agroecosytem Bluegrass farmers created and maintained, emphasizing dynamics in crop and livestock diversity and agricultural technology. Chapter Two examines the African-American labor force that played a key role in shaping the system, first as slaves and later as free men and women. Chapter …