Special section introduction
Excerpt
Population growth and increasing demands on water resources make effective soil and water conservation essential to sustaining agricultural production and environmental quality. Berry et al. (2003) defined precision conservation as a set of spatial technologies and procedures to implement conservation management practices that integrates spatial and temporal variability across natural and agricultural systems. This definition integrates spatial technologies including global positioning systems, remote sensing, geographic information systems, and the capability to analyze and map these spatial relationships. Precision conservation is broader than precision agriculture since precision conservation contributes to soil and water conservation in agricultural and natural ecosystems. Berry et al. (2003; 2005) reported that precision agriculture focuses on maximizing yields, while precision conservation focuses on interconnected cycles and flows of energy, materials, chemicals, and water to reduce environmental impacts, off-site transport, and water pollution, while integrating practices that maximize conservation and productivity. The Berry et al. (2003) publication generated enough interest that the Soil Science Society of America, Canadian Soil Science Society, Mexican Soil Science Society and the Division of Soil Water and Management and Conservation organized and held a joint symposium titled “Precision Conservation in North America” at the November 1-4, 2004 annual meeting …
Footnotes
Jorge A. Delgado is a soil scientist with the U.S. Department Of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, Soil Plant Nutrient research in fort collins, Colorado. Craig A. Cox is executive director of the soil and water conservation society in Ankeny, Iowa. Francis J. Pierce is director of the center for precision agricultural systems, washington state university in Pullman, washington. Michael G. Dosskey is a research ecologist with the USDA-forest service, national agroforestry center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
- Copyright 2005 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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