Mycoagroecology: Integrating Fungi into Agroecosystems
About this ebook
Fungi are an underappreciated, underutilized group of organisms with massive potential to aid in the production of healthy food and other products while also increasing the sustainability of agricultural systems. Mycoagroecology: Integrating Fungi into Agroecosystems lays the foundations for integrated fungal-agricultural understanding and management, the proposed practice of “mycoagroecology”. Suitable for students and professionals of multiple disciplines, this text includes nine introductory chapters that create a firm foundation in ecosystem functioning, evolution and population dynamics, fungal biology, principles of crop breeding and pest management, basic economics of agriculture, and the history of agricultural development during the 20th century. The latter half of the text is application-oriented, integrating the knowledge from the introductory chapters to help readers understand more deeply the various roles of fungi in natural and agricultural systems:
PARTNERS: This text explores known benefits of wild plant-fungal mutualisms, and how to foster and maintain these relationships in a productive agricultural setting.
PESTS AND PEST CONTROL AGENTS: This text acknowledges the historical and continuing role of agriculturally significant fungal pathogens, surveying modern chemical, biotechnological, and cultural methods of controlling them and other pests. However, this book also emphasizes the strong potential of beneficial fungi to biologically control fungal, insect, and other pests.
PRODUCTS: This text covers not just isolated production of mushrooms on specialized farms but also the potential for co-cropping mushrooms in existing plant-based farms, making farm systems more self-sustaining while adding valuable and nutritious new products. An extensive chapter is also devoted to the many historical and forward-facing uses of fungi in food preservation and processing.
About the author
Elizabeth “Izzie” Gall graduated from Tufts University in 2015 with a plant biology degree and a fierce passion for mycology. As an intern at the New York Botanical Garden, she founded Morel Dilemma, a podcast intended to impart her love of fungi to listeners of diverse backgrounds. After the internship ended, Izzie worked as a laboratory technician at New York University but continued the podcast, researching and producing episodes about mushroom cultivation, mycorrhizal relationships, foraging practices and safety, and fungi in the fossil record, among other topics. In 2017, Izzie attended graduate school in mycology and plant pathology at Michigan State University before returning to outreach. She is delighted to bring readers of all levels to a deeper understanding of fungi and their utility in natural and agricultural spaces. Izzie currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.A. with her husband Nate.
Noureddine Benkeblia is a Professor of Crop Science, Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the West Indies Mona Campus, Jamaica. He is also Head of the Laboratory of Crop Science (Life Sciences Department) and Head of the Laboratory of Tree Fruits and Aromatic Crops (Biotechnology Centre), and coordinator of the graduate agriculture programmes. His main research areas focus on the environmental stresses on the physiology and biochemistry of crops including pre- and postharvest metabolism, and the metabolome. Prof. N. Benkeblia has an extensive research (more than 30 years) experience in horticultural sciences, and teaching at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels in many countries. Prof. N. Benkeblia published over 230 publications including books, chapters and research papers. His is member of many international scientific societies NGO, and was recipient of many awards. He is also Associate Editor of several scientific journals e.g. Canadian Journal of Plant Science and PLOS Climate among others.
