Tell me your views; help make The Digest better!

Tell me your views; help make The Digest better!

The Digest has now reached its 200th entry, and has well over a thousand page visits a month! This is a great start, but I'm sure it can get better. So I am taking a little pause for thought, to gather your feedback and your views. Please take a few minutes to write comments below on any aspect of The Digest, such as;

What you like
What you don't like
Why and how you use it
What you'd like to see in it
Journals or publishers I haven't yet discovered
Where I could publicise it to find new users
Or anything else you would like to tell me!

Many thanks and best wishes,

Chris 

Introduction to ecosystem restoration (#journal)

Ecosystem Restoration is Now a Global Priority: Time to Roll up our Sleeves

Ecosystem restoration is now globally recognized as a key component in conservation programs and essential to the quest for the long-term sustainability of our human-dominated planet. Restoration scientists and practitioners are now on the frontline and will be increasingly called upon to get involved in large scale programs addressing immediate environmental crises and challenges. This article summarizes the advances in mainstreaming ecological restoration in global environmental policy deliberations during the last year, culminating in the recent meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. We also provide key references for those seeking more information, and set out an agenda as to how the restoration community could respond to and act upon these recent developments.

Restoring sustainable silvopasture in Chile (#journal)

The Chilean Espinal: Restoration for a Sustainable Silvopastoral System

The mediterranean habitats of central Chile are rich in endemic species, but threatened by land-use changes.This article suggests that restoration of the traditional espinal silvopastoral system could improve its sustainability and conservation value. Past research recommended abandoning the silvopastoral system, but ignored the value of the espinal as a classical Chilean cultural landscape. Drawing on lessons from Latin America and the Mediterranean, the authors suggest management interventions and incentives that could be developed to restore the espinal. Recommendations include sustainable production and use of biochar and bark extracts to improve espinal soils, the promotion of shrubs and the use of small mammal disturbances and rotational livestock herding to form mosaic landscapes. These techniques could lead to higher forage biomass and increased livestock weight.

Mainstreaming Agroecology Discussion Paper (on-line)

Mainstreaming Agroecology: Implications for Global Food and Farming Systems

Coventry University's Centre for Agroecology and Food Security (CAFS) has unveiled its new discussion paper, Mainstreaming Agroecology: Implications for Global Food and Farming Systems. The challenge of feeding the world's growing population without further damaging the natural resource base is becoming increasingly urgent and, say the CAFS researchers, must be met in ways that also allow adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. The discussion paper outlines how mainstreaming the process and practices of agroecology can meet the challenges facing agriculture and food production - providing not only food, but also fuel, fibre and a wide range of other ecosystem services. The CAFS paper has a specific focus on policy implications for the development of resilient food systems - and concludes with "an agenda for change":

 

European Handbook on CSA (report)

European Handbook on CSA

The European Handbook on Community Supported Agriculture – Sharing Experiences was published as part of the Community Supported Agriculture for Europe project conducted 2011 – 2013 by ATTAC (Austria), CEPTA (Slovakia), DIO (Greece), Gute Erde Kattendorf (Germany), Pro-Bio Liga (Czech Republic), Soil Association (UK), TVE (Hungary), and URGENCI Network (France).

The publication seeks to describe the essential aspects of what CSA has been found to mean within the partnership and offers some basic tips on how to get started with it. The document is aimed at people who are aware of the problems of the contemporary food system and are willing to tackle it with an active, community and solidarity-based approach represented by CSA.

The potential of CSAs in North East England (thesis)

Community Supported Agriculture as a Model for an Ethical Agri-food System in North East England

A PhD thesis from Newcastle University examining the potential of CSAs in the North East of England.