Environmental Sciences and Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable agriculture is generally thought of as agricultural production systems that address three areas:

• being profitable for the farmer
• being environmentally friendly
• providing a good quality of life for the farmer, farmworker, and the community.

Although there are arguments about what does and does not constitute sustainable agriculture, the core issue is providing food, fiber, and possibly energy for a growing population without destroying the ecosystems on which we all depend.

This requires looking at agricultural production in new ways and exploring alternatives that will work with ecological cycles and reduce dependence on non-renewable resources. It also requires considering how agriculture impacts the economic and social fabric of our communities—both rural and urban, local and global.

The department of Crop and Soil Sciences offers a graduate-level Sustainable Agriculture area of emphasis for students interested in pursuing this work.

Research areas include:

• Agricultural Anthropology
• Biomicrometeorology
• Pedology
• Remediation of Organic Pollutants
• Soil Chemistry
• Soil Fertility/Waste Management
• Soil Microbiology
  
• Soil Physics
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Water Conservation/Management