Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Effects of industrial agriculture on climate change and the mitigation potential of small-scale agro-ecological farms
http://www.academia.edu/2462012/Effects_of_industrial_agriculture_on_climate_change_and_the_mitigation_potential_of_small-scale_agro-ecological_farms#


According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), agriculture is responsiblefor 10–12% of total global anthropogenic emissions and almost a quarter of the continuing increaseof greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Not all forms of agriculture, however, have equivalentimpacts on global warming. Industrial agriculture contributes significantly to global warming,representing a large majority of total agriculture-related GHG emissions. Alternatively, ecologi-cally based methods for agricultural production, predominantly used on small-scale farms, are farless energy-consumptive and release fewer GHGs than industrial agricultural production. Besidesgenerating fewer direct emissions, agro-ecological management techniques have the potential tosequester more GHGs than industrial agriculture.