This research focuses on the academic programs at the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm (the Farm). The Farm is a centre for sustainability learning and research, providing a working model of sustainable food systems with which to engage students, faculty and community. The Farm is situated within the global context of a dominant industrial food paradigm that is demonstrated to be a major contributor to the social and ecological crises the world now faces. The Farm is further situated within the context of a dominant education paradigm that provides most students with knowledge that is disconnected from social and ecological realities, leading to the misuse of knowledge and to the exacerbation of global crises. The purpose of this research is to explore the contributions that the Farm’s academic programs provide toward advancing sustainability learning from the perspective of program participants, including myself. The research methodology was guided by participatory approaches to research. Qualitative methods were employed, focusing primarily on surveys and semi-structured interviews with program participants. I have also been an involved participant in a diversity of programs at the Farm from April 2004 – December 2008. The results of the research suggest that program participants value the ability to engage with their subject matter, not only on an abstract/theoretical level, but also on practical and affective levels. Participants feel that UBC is lacking in programs that allow students to engage physically and emotionally with their learning. Students feel their knowledge will be better recalled and more likely to be useful if they care about what they are learning, if they can engage with it in a real world context, and if they have some ownership and responsibility for what they are learning. Further, program participants feel that the Farm’s academic programs would benefit from providing more theoretical context and connection to their other academic work, from additions and improvements to Farm infrastructure and resources, and from additional human resources support. This research project was site specific. Nevertheless, it connects with and complements work being done at dozens of universities, colleges and student farms around the world. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

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Tang Chi Wai. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-121) and index. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / 摘要 --- p.iii / Acknowledgements --- p.v / Table of Contents --- p.vii / List of Tables --- p.x / List of Figures --- p.xi / List of Plates --- p.xii / Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction / Chapter 1.1 --- Background --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Conceptual Framework --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Objectives and Significance --- p.5 / Chapter 1.4 --- Structure of the Thesis --- p.7 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Literature Review / Chapter 2.1 --- Impacts of Soil Erosion on Agriculture --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2 --- Farmland Shortage Problems in the Reservoir Region --- p.10 / Chapter 2.3 --- Terracing Systems in China --- p.11 / Chapter 2.4 --- Contour Hedgerows --- p.13 / Chapter 2.5 --- Sustainable Agriculture and its Development in China --- p.18 / Chapter Chapter Three --- Study Area / Chapter 3.1 --- The Three Gorges Reservoir Region --- p.22 / Chapter 3.2 --- Geographical Settings of Zigui County --- p.23 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Geographical and Administrative Location --- p.23 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Geology and Geomorphology --- p.24 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Soils --- p.25 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Climate --- p.25 / Chapter 3.2.5 --- Hydrology --- p.26 / Chapter 3.3 --- Socioeconomic Conditions of Zigui County --- p.26 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Demography --- p.26 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Educational Attainments --- p.27 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Economic and Social Development --- p.27 / Chapter 3.4 --- Environmental Problems in Zigui and the Reservoir Region --- p.28 / Chapter Chapter Four --- Cost-benefit Analysis of Contour Hedgerows / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.30 / Chapter 4.2 --- Methodology --- p.32 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Trial Plot Design --- p.32 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Cost-benefit Analysis --- p.35 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Identification and Valuation of Costs --- p.35 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Identification and Valuation of Benefits --- p.37 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Discount Rate --- p.37 / Chapter 4.2.6 --- Time Horizon --- p.37 / Chapter 4.2.7 --- Cost-benefit Criterion --- p.38 / Chapter 4.3 --- Results and Discussion --- p.38 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Investment Costs and Operating Costs --- p.38 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Replacement Costs --- p.39 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Benefits --- p.42 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Net Present Values (NPVs) --- p.44 / Chapter 4.3.5 --- Sensitivity Analysis --- p.47 / Chapter 4.4 --- Conclusion --- p.48 / Chapter Chapter Five --- A Questionnaire Survey of the Comparative Performance of Various Farming Systems / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.50 / Chapter 5.2 --- Methodology --- p.52 / Chapter 5.2.1. --- Sampling Method --- p.52 / Chapter 5.2.2. --- Questionnaire --- p.52 / Chapter 5.2.3. --- Analytical Technique --- p.53 / Chapter 5.3 --- Results and Discussion --- p.54 / Chapter 5.3.1. --- Background of Households and Farming Systems --- p.54 / Chapter 5.3.2. --- Net Returns --- p.57 / Chapter 5.3.3. --- Inputs of Inorganic Fertilizers and Organic Manure --- p.61 / Chapter 5.3.4. --- Labour Inputs --- p.64 / Chapter 5.3.5. --- Characteristics of Hedgerow Management --- p.65 / Chapter 5.4 --- Conclusion --- p.66 / Chapter Chapter Six --- An Interview Study of the Perception of Contour Hedgerows / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.68 / Chapter 6.2 --- Methodology --- p.70 / Chapter 6.3 --- Results and Discussion --- p.72 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Familiarity with Hedgerows --- p.72 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Hedgerow Acceptance in Usage --- p.74 / Chapter 6.3.3 --- Factors of Hedgerow Implementation --- p.79 / Chapter 6.3.4 --- Variation of Agricultural Inputs and Outputs --- p.83 / Chapter 6.3.5 --- Values of Indigenous Knowledge --- p.86 / Chapter 6.3.6 --- Implications for Hedgerow Extension --- p.88 / Chapter 6.4 --- Conclusion --- p.90 / Chapter Chapter Seven --- Conclusion / Chapter 7.1 --- Summary of Findings --- p.92 / Chapter 7.2 --- Synthesis of the Study --- p.95 / Chapter 7.3 --- Limitations of the Study --- p.100 / Chapter 7.4 --- Suggestions for Further Studies --- p.101 / Bibliography --- p.104 / Appendix I: Structured Questionnaire --- p.122 / Appendix II: Interview Guide for Hedgerow Users --- p.131 / Appendix III: Interview Guide for Non-hedgerow Users --- p.134 / Appendix IV: Interview Guide for Government Officials --- p.137 / Appendix V: Index --- p.140 / "Appendix VI: Publication-Cost-benefit Analysis of Contour Hedgerow in the Three Gorges Region (Published in ´ب´بResources Science´ح，Vol26 Supplement,pp. 132-136)" --- p.145

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Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agronomy / P. V. Vara Prasad / Leguminous cover crops systems have been envisaged as a critical component of sustainable agriculture due to their potential to increase soil productivity through cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in agricultural systems. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the performance of leguminous summer cover crops; cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.], pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp], sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) and double-cropped grain crops; grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] after winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and to determine the effects of these crops and varying N rates in the cropping system on nitrous oxide (N[subscript]2O) emissions, growth and yield of succeeding grain sorghum and maize (Zea mays L.) crop, soil aggregation, aggregate-associated C, and N. Field and laboratory studies were conducted for two years. The cover crops and double-cropped grain crops were planted immediately after winter wheat harvest. The cover crops were terminated at the beginning of flowering. Nitrogen fertilizer (urea 46% N) rates of 0, 45, 90, 135, and 180 kg N ha[superscript]-1 were applied to grain sorghum or maize in fallow plots. Pigeon pea and grain sorghum had more C accumulation than cowpea, sunn hemp and double-cropped soybean. Pigeon pea and cowpea had more N uptake than sunn hemp and the double-cropped grain crops. Fallow with N fertilizer application produced significantly greater N[subscript]2O emissions than all the cover crops systems. Nitrous oxide emissions were relatively similar in the various cover crop systems and fallow with 0 kg N ha[superscript]-1. Grain yield of sorghum and maize in all the cover crop and double cropped soybean systems was similar to that in the fallow with 45 kg N ha[superscript]-1. Both grain sorghum and maize in the double-cropped soybean system and fallow with 90 kg N ha[superscript]-1 or 135 kg N ha[superscript]-1 gave profitable economic net returns over the years. The double-cropped grain sorghum system increased aggregate-associated C and whole soil total C, and all the cover crop and the double-cropped soybean systems increased aggregate-associated N and soil N pools. Inclusion of leguminous cover crops without N fertilizer application reduced N[subscript]2O emissions and provided additional C accumulation and N uptake, contributing to increased grain yield of the following cereal grain crop.

Locavore is a restaurant centered around the principles of sustainable agriculture: foodthat is organically, humanely, and sustainably raised from farms and cooperatives nofurther than 150 miles from Richmond - thus the "local" in Locavore. Like all restaurants,certain programmatic requirements were standard such as providing places to store,prepare, and eat the food, and restrooms. Yet the design of the space also helps answerthe following questions: How does sustainable differ from organic? Is local necessarily better than foreign? How does a restaurant embody community?

M.Sc. / Different agricultural practices of field melon cropping in the Vhembe Distrinct, north of the Soutpansberg mountain range in the Limpopo Province, South Africa are investigated in this study. To achieve sustainable agriculture, farm management practices must be optimised and it is essential to understand the microbiological aspects and how they interact. An initial fungal survey was undertaken in melon fields, of the fungal species present in these soils and how the different management practices affect the filamentous fungal population. Soil samples were also analysed for bacterial pathogens. Physical and chemical soil properties were analysed. Farm management practices are discussed in terms of conservation tillage, controlled traffic, permanent beds, versus conventional tillage. Aspects that may assist in optimising processes towards becoming a biological farmer are discussed, with the goal of encouraging farming to be more biological, by working with nature, to promote sustainable agriculture for present and future generations.

The impact of grazers on the primary production of marine ecosystems has largely been explored in tropical environments. A number of studies support theories on the functional importance of grazers in the community structure of coral reefs. However, large-bodied grazers, like juvenile green turtles, co-occur with herbivorous fishes in subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world and we know little about their combined impact on macroalgal communities and whether they compete for macroalgal resources. My dissertation research was composed of four studies that were conducted simultaneously to further our understanding of plant/herbivore interactions in marine ecosystems. Studies were conducted at the Trident Basin, a non-public military facility within the Port Canaveral Inlet at Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. The macroalgal study (Chapter 1), determined the spatial and temporal distribution of the macroalgal community. The foraging habits of juvenile green turtles were compared with the macroalgal abundance within the Basin and over time (Chapter 2). Selection ‘for’ specific macroalgal species (based on their availability in the macroalgae study) was used to determine the level of overlap and/or partitioning of resources among herbivorous fishes and juvenile green turtles (Chapter 3). The final empirical study (Chapter 4) measured the impact on thallus height, diameter and/or branching of macroalgae as well as the macroalgal community composition from caging experiments that excluded herbivorous fishes and juvenile green turtles. The algal community was predominantly composed of nine red and green macroalgal species that were persistent year-round. Grazer-resistant macroalgae were rarely observed. Green turtles foraged on many of these same macroalgae but also opportunistically foraged on flotsam, including anthropogenic debris (e.g., plastic). The gut content of the major herbivorous fishes in the community (Abudefduf saxatilis, Archosargus probatocephalus, Diplodus holbrooki, and Lagodon rhomboides) foraged as omnivores depending on where they were captured within the Basin area or their size. All herbivores showed selection for less abundant green algae (i.e., Ulva spp.). Results of the exclusion of juvenile green turtles and large herbivorous fishes in caging experiments suggest that grazing by these large-bodied herbivores had no impact on the composition of the macroalgal community and little impact on the morphological structure of the macroalgal species that were examined. Collectively these four studies contribute to a better understanding of how multiple grazers have evolved to forage in macroalgal communities without detrimental effects on their food resources. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Plant Pathology / Ari Jumpponen / Megan Kennelly / Soil microbial communities play fundamental and complex roles in the productivity of agriculture. However, we still have a limited understanding of the response of microbial communities to different farming systems, such as organic and conventional fertility management regimens. We applied high-throughput sequencing to develop a better understanding of how soil microbial communities (bacteria and fungi) in vegetable production respond to organic or conventional soil fertility management. Specifically, my three studies examined the following questions: 1. How do soil microbial communities from cDNA and DNA samples compare in organic and conventional fertility treatments? 2. How do soil microbial communities in a tomato cropping season respond to long-term organic vs. conventional soil fertility treatments? 3. How do soil bacterial and fungal communities respond to high tunnels, plastic mulch and organic amendments across a tomato cropping season? The first two questions were addressed at the Kansas State University Horticulture and Extension Center in Olathe, KS, using organic and conventional field plots with three levels of fertilizer. We sampled the plots during the development of a tomato crop. The third question was addressed at a commercial farm in Lawrence, KS, during its transition to organic vegetable production, during a tomato crop. The Lawrence experiment included as treatments field plots versus high tunnels, and three organic nutrient amendments. We used 454-pyrosequencing of bacterial and fungal ribosomal markers to compare total resident (DNA) and active microbial communities (cDNA, which is DNA synthesized from a single stranded RNA template) for our first question. We used Illumina MiSeq metabarcoding of bacterial and fungal ribosomal markers for our second and third questions. In all three studies we evaluated bacterial and fungal community responses using Simpson´s diversity index, Simpson´s evenness and richness for each experiment. For the first question, when we compared DNA and cDNA, bacterial diversity was higher in cDNA samples from organic compared to conventional management. In addition, fungal diversity from cDNA samples was higher than from DNA samples. In contrast, in the second question, bacterial and fungal diversity indices did not differ in the tomato crop under organic and conventional management systems. For our third question, high tunnels did not affect bacterial or fungal diversity. Use of plastic mulch for a tomato crop in open field plots did not affect bacterial richness, but decreased fungal richness compared to open field plots without plastic mulch. High-throughput sequencing provides a new perspective on the structure and dynamics of these communities. Information from this approach will ultimately improve our ability to manage soil for sustainable productivity by promoting beneficial microorganisms and suppressing pathogenic ones.