Eric Toensmeier is the award-winning author of Paradise Lot and Perennial Vegetables, and the co-author of Edible Forest Gardens. Eric is an appointed lecturer at Yale University, a Senior Fellow with Project Drawdown, and an international trainer. He presents in English and Spanish throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and the Caribbean. Eric has studied useful perennial plants and their roles in agroforestry systems for over two decades, and cultivates about 300 species in his urban garden. His writing can be viewed online at perennialsolutions.org.
Journal of Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems-
"Readers interested in carbon capture and climate mitigation will
welcome this new resource, one of the most complete books on
the market today that deals with what could be called 'carbon
farming.' Although the focus is on perennial crops and
systems often grouped under the topics of agroforestry, or
more recently permaculture, the book also delves into creative
and biodiverse annual cropping and livestock systems,
new crops, and innovative designs all focused on the issue of
carbon. Toensmeier is an applied ecologist with extensive
experience in the Latin American tropics, and practices these
principles in workshops, books, and at home. More than a reference
volume, The Carbon Farming Solution is an easily read and
interesting overview of this important frontier. … The
appendixes to the book provide a wealth of data on species and
relevant references that could keep anyone truly
interested engaged for months in following up on sources
and designing new systems based on these ideas. The
Carbon Farming Solution is indeed a monumental project that will
help guide tropical agricultural development for decades, and
Toensmeier has provided a significant resource for those concerned
about climate and the future.”
Choice- "The terrestrial carbon pool is one of the most dynamic
because it is directly affected by how people manage soils and
implement cropping systems. The renewed interest in sequestering
carbon into the soil reservoir creates a series of questions on how
to introduce practices that are effective in increasing soil carbon
along with providing plant resources to sustain the goods and
services needed for a healthy ecosystem. In this volume, Toensmeier
(Yale Univ.), co-author with David Jacke of Edible Forest
Gardens, (v. 1) (CH, Jan'06, 43-2794), explores the
carbon sequestration potential of different agroecological systems.
He directly compares these systems, revealing the limitations of
each and placing their dynamics in perspective. These include
annual versus perennial systems and grasses and crops versus trees.
As the subtitle indicates, the book uses a toolkit approach to help
readers understand the value of selecting different practices and
species appropriate to a given ecosystem. Included in the analysis
of mitigation strategies are livestock systems and ways these can
be managed in concert with plant systems to create viable
agroecosystems to reduce the carbon footprint in
agriculture. Summing Up: Recommended. All library
collections.”
Booklist- "To minimize climate change, environmental engineers have
recently proposed several innovative, if controversial, schemes
designed to soak up CO2 or even block sunlight altogether,
including spraying aerosols in the upper atmosphere. Yet, according
to permaculture expert Toensmeier, a more reliable and safer
solution involves trading in conventional agriculture practices for
a soil-management methodology known as carbon farming. In this
weighty but well-organized handbook, Toensmeier offers a wealth of
guidance on cutting-edge farming techniques that reduce
greenhouse-gas emissions and capture carbon in vegetation and
soils. As a successful model of what’s possible, Toensmeier cites
Las Canadas, in Veracruz, Mexico, where food-cooperative owner
Ricardo Romero restored 250 acres of degraded farmland within 10
years. In 5 lucidly written sections, Toensmeier covers the science
of carbon sequestration, perennial crop cultivation, and key
financing tips. On the coattails of the recent, successful Paris
Climate Summit, Toensmeier provides invaluable information and
inspiration to farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs as well as
everyone interested in environmentally positive farming as part of
the effort to protect food sources and mitigate global
warming.”
Library Journal- "Toensmeier (Perennial Vegetables) contends that
shifting agricultural practices can help mitigate climate change
and advocates for carbon farming, i.e., using a suite of perennial
crops and practices that simultaneously seclude carbon in the soil
while maintaining the amounts of crops needed globally for food,
materials, and energy. The author delineates the different types of
systems that are best at sequestering carbon and also provides
strategies for livestock management, supplying general information
on practices such as rainwater harvesting and terrace farming that
will help guarantee the successful implementation of this type of
farming. A large section is devoted to perennial crops that
Toensmeier maintains would be strong candidates for carbon
farming. VERDICT: Both small- and large-scale farmers
will find ways to apply methods that segregate carbon and therefore
lessen the deleterious effects of climate change in this
comprehensive title.”
“Agriculture is currently a major net producer of greenhouse gases,
with little prospect of improvement unless things change markedly.
In The Carbon Farming Solution, Eric Toensmeier puts carbon
sequestration at the forefront and shows how agriculture can be a
net absorber of carbon. Improved forms of annual-based agriculture
can help to a degree; however to maximize carbon sequestration, it
is perennial crops we must look at, whether it be perennial grains,
other perennial staples, or agroforestry systems incorporating
trees and other crops. In this impressive book, backed up with
numerous tables and references, the author has assembled a toolkit
that will be of great use to anybody involved in agriculture
whether in the tropics or colder northern regions. For me the
highlights are the chapters covering perennial crop species
organized by use—staple crops, protein crops, oil crops, industrial
crops, etc.—with some seven hundred species described. There are
crops here for all climate types, with good information on
cultivation and yields, so that wherever you are, you will be able
to find suitable recommended perennial crops. This is an excellent
book that gives great hope without being naïve and makes a clear
reasoned argument for a more perennial-based agriculture to both
feed people and take carbon out of the air.”--Martin Crawford,
director, The Agroforestry Research Trust; author of Creating
a Forest Garden and Trees for Gardens, Orchards, and
Permaculture
“Scientific observations and models are building an increasingly
dire picture of the obstacles that must be crossed on the road to
achieving climate and ecological health and stability on a
planet filled with humans. The relentlessly hopeful (but
not naively optimistic) author of The Carbon Farming
Solution reminds us that our planet is still rich in
biological resources and that humanity is capable of astonishing
feats of creativity and collaborative action; the picture painted
here in word and image depicts both the barriers and paths
through them. Eric Toensmeier draws upon both the scientific
literature and the world’s ethnobotanical knowledge bank to
construct a logical and compelling road map for future research and
investment to reinvent agriculture. But reason and facts alone are
insufficient to sustain a global and long-term agenda; passion
is required. In the end, it is the perennial plants (and
their human and microbial partners) themselves—lovingly portrayed
here in their glorious diversity and elegant functionality—that
steal the show and our hearts. This ‘Who’s Who’ of
wild or orphaned potential crops can inspire a new generation of
plant lovers and gardeners to become the
convention-questioning, dedicated, passionate, hopeful
scientists, farmers, and leaders that the movement
requires.”--David Van Tassel, PhD, senior scientist, The Land
Institute
“These are exciting times for soil carbon! What was once an obscure
topic mainly of interest to agronomists and gardeners is now viewed
by many people as a key to solving multiple challenges in the
21st century, including climate change, hunger, and drought.
For urgent times, we need an urgent agriculture. That’s exactly
what we get in Eric Toensmeier’s new book—a detailed, practical
explanation of how to increase carbon in our soils, written with
passion and skill by a leader in regenerative agriculture. We know
what to do, and with The Carbon Farming Solution we
know how to do it. Let’s get going!"--Courtney White, author
of Grass, Soil, Hope and Two Percent Solutions
for the Planet
“Eric Toensmeier has done it again! The Carbon Farming
Solution is a detailed vision that will become the
go-to reference guide for everyone who is interested in an
accessible toolkit showcasing global agroecological carbon farming
in action. This indispensable book needs to be put in the
hands of all climate-change policy makers, agrarians, and people
who eat food, drink water, and breathe air. Mr. Toensmeier’s
book is not ground-breaking—it is ground-healing!”--Brock
Dolman, director, Permaculture Program and WATER Institute at
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
“The Carbon Farming Solution is a book we will look back
upon decades from now and wonder why something so critically
relevant could have been so overlooked until that time. We are told
we have a choice between chemical/GMO agriculture if we want to
feed the world, or we can see children starve and adopt organic
agriculture as a romantic and sentimental pursuit.
Really? Toensmeier describes a future that is in alignment
with how life works, a scientific and sophisticated agricultural
understanding of husbandry and biology that surpasses the
productivity of industrial agriculture. What is phenomenal about
these land-use solutions is that they are the only way we can
bring carbon back home if we are to reverse climate change. The
title is accurate but humble: The Carbon Farming
Solution describes the foundation of the future of
civilization.”--Paul Hawken, author of Blessed Unrest
“Eric Toensmeier presents a convincing argument that carbon farming
is crucial to addressing global issues of the 21st century
including climate change, food and nutritional insecurity,
eutrophication and contamination of water, and dwindling of soil
biodiversity. Implemented in a transparent manner and with payments
of just and fair price based on the true societal value,
carbon farming is also pertinent to alleviating poverty and
addressing several Sustainable Development Goals of the United
Nations. Carbon farming as a strategy is in accord with the “4 pour
1000” initiative of the French Government presented during the
COP-21 Summit in Paris on December 1, 2015 and The Carbon
Farming Solution is a befitting tribute to the 2015
International Year of Soils.”--Dr. Rattan Lal, Distinguished
University Professor of Soil Science and director of The
Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, The Ohio State
University; President Elect, International Union of Soil
Sciences
“The Carbon Farming Solution is a book whose time has
come. This detailed documentation of regenerative practices from
around the world, including principles and methods, provides a
practical guide for others to follow and expand upon as humanity
takes on the ‘Great Work of Our Time’—to restore the Earth’s
natural systems to ecological health. The Carbon Farming
Solution is of enormous importance.”--John D. Liu, founder and
director, Environmental Education Media Project (EEMP)
“If we seriously put our minds to it, we could easily provide
ourselves with enough food, forever; and do so in ecologically
sound ways; and at the same time—a huge bonus!—trap enough carbon
in the soil to tip the battle against global warming. The methods
are those of agroecology—including organic farming in general, and
permaculture in particular; and as Eric Toensmeier excellently
describes, farmers worldwide are already on the case. So this book
offers what governments at present spectacularly do
not: hope.”--Colin Tudge, author of Good Food for
Everyone Forever and Why Genes Are Not Selfish and People
Are Nice
“Eric Toensmeier has done a hugely impressive job putting together
this magnum opus. It is packed with an enormous amount of
information about seven hundred plant species that have a role to
play in saving the planet from land degradation and climate change,
while at the same time improving the lives of millions of poor
farmers, especially in the tropics and sub-tropics. The Carbon
Farming Solution covers species for every use and every
situation that can be assembled in infinite agroecological
combinations. On top of that, the cultivation of these crops can
lead to new industries in the production of food, medicines,
cosmetics, and materials—creating wealth and employment. This
information should be absorbed by everyone engaged in agriculture;
everyone concerned about the future of the world and the well-being
and health of its people; and everyone interested in protecting
biodiversity. Indeed, The Carbon
Farming Solution offers a path to a bright new
world!”--Professor Roger Leakey, vice chairman of the
International Tree Foundation and author of Living with the
Trees of Life
“Eric Toensmeier is one of North America’s most inventive and
scientifically-minded permaculture experimenters. In this book, he
offers nothing less than a new vision for world agriculture that is
more resilient, supports traditional farmers, and also helps
relieve the global climate crisis. The Carbon Farming Solution
offers an encyclopedic but also highly readable view of new and old
carbon-trapping farming methods that can be applied around the
world, and a profile of the highly adaptable, soil-enhancing
perennial plant species that may just be the key to a livable human
future.”--Brian Tokar, director of the Institute for Social Ecology
and author of Toward Climate Justice: Perspectives on the Climate
Crisis and Social Change
“The Carbon Farming Solution is an excellent reference book that
convincingly explains the potential of farming practices based on
perennial crops for carbon sequestration and climate change
mitigation and adaptation. The numerous photographs and charts
included help illustrate the food-security and multi-functionality
attributes of agroforestry and other such farming systems. In
addition to professionals who work on food security and climate
stabilization issues, undergraduate and graduate students of these
topics will find the book useful.”--Dr. P. K. Ramachandran Nair,
Distinguished Professor in the School of Forest Resources and
Conservation, University of Florida
“Dealing with climate change requires action on many fronts, and
this book is the toolkit for making the soil itself a sponge for
carbon. It’s a powerful vision, one that I’ve seen playing out in
enough places to make me very hopeful it can presage major changes
in our species’ use of the land.”--Bill McKibben, author of Deep
Economy
“In The Carbon Farming Solution, Eric Toensmeier admirably
harnesses available data with traditional wisdom to propose a
practical response to climate change. Toensmeier’s
solution-oriented ideas combine his clear understanding of ecology,
agriculture, and the magnitude of the challenge we face with a set
of agriculture-based solutions that are suited to various
livelihoods, communities, and systems of production. This book will
surely be a benchmark in policy-relevant knowledge.”--Dr. Cheikh
Mbow, senior scientist on climate change and development, World
Agroforestry Centre
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