Agroecology
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'''Agroecology''' is the [[science]] of applying [[ecology|ecological]] concepts and principles to the design, development, and management of [[Sustainable agriculture|sustainable agricultural systems]]. Agroecologists study the life in and around the soil to enhance yields, overcome pests, and increase overall productivity. They may measure the [[soil]] [[soil life|life]], [[soil texture|texture]], [[soil structure|structure]], pH, moisture, and numerous other qualities. Soil life has been shown to be particularly important in the cycling of nutrients necessary for high yields.<ref>UMN Extension. (2002). [http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/cropsystems/components/7403_02.html Soil Scientist].</ref> In addition to the study of the soil, agrecologists must be aware of the broad [[ecosystem]] within which a farm operates. By understanding [[predation|predators]] and the complex interrelationships among plants and animals, agrecologists can make the environment work for rather than against farmers.
While farming methods vary, traditional manipulated "agroecosystems" generally differ from natural ecosystems in several ways. Whereas conventional farming generally involves maintenance at an early [[Ecological succession|successional]] state, monoculture, crops generally planted in rows, simplification of biodiversity, intensive tillage, which exposes soil to erosion, use of genetically modified organisms and artificially selected crops<ref>Botkin, Daniel B.; Keller, Edward A. (2005) ''Environmental Science'' 5th Edition. Ch. 11</ref>. agroecology minimizes these practices if possible.
An agroecosystem is a key idea in agroecology - they are defined as "semi-domesticated [[ecosystems]] that fall on a gradient between ecosystems that have experienced minimal human impact, and those under maximum human control, like cities."<ref name="hecht">{{cite book | last = Hecht | first = Susan B. | title = The Evolution of Agroecological Thought | year = 1995}}</ref>. Thus agroecosystems are generally defined as novel ecosystems that produce food via farming under human guidance.
At its most narrow, "agroecology refers to the study of purely ecological phenomena within the crop field, such as
predator/prey relations, or crop/weed competition."<ref name="hecht"/>
<!-- this is the traditional "agrosystem" - modern agricultural practice- must summarize what agroecosystem in agroecology is not
* Agroecosystems are maintained at an early [[Ecological succession|successional]] state. Most crops are early successional species which require an abundance of [[sunlight]], [[water]], and [[fertilizer]]s. Naturally, these crop species would be replaced by later successional plants. Humans prevent the natural process of succession by clearing crop land of other vegetation and protecting crops against natural disturbances such as fires or storms.
* Agroecosystems generally exhibit [[monoculture]]: large areas of land planted with a single species. Monoculture can increase the vulnerability of crops to pests and can reduce the nutrients of the soil. [[Crop rotation]] is one method of counteracting monoculture hazards.
* In addition to monoculture, agroecosystem crops are generally planted in rows. In natural ecosystems, different species of plants grow mixed together, making them less vulnerable to [[Pest (animal)|pests]].
* Agroecosystems have greatly simplified [[biodiversity]] and [[food chain]]s. [[Predator]]s, especially, are targeted and largely eliminated by [[pest control]] methods.
* [[Plough|Plowing]], which is unlike any natural soil disturbance, exposes soil to [[erosion]], reduces organic matter, and results in a loss of chemical elements.
* Crops are genetically modified and [[Artificial selection|artificially selected]] to optimize yield.-->
The agroecologist views any farming system primarily with an ecologist's eye; that is, it is not firstly economic (created for a commodity and profit), nor industrial (modeled after a factory). In fact, agroecosystems are both understood and designed following ecological principles. For example, [[integrated pest management]] aims to control problematic pests through introduction of other species, not application of [[pesticide]]s to kill that pest. A common example of this would be intercropping to attract beneficial insects within rows of a given plagued crop. The insects would balance the disturbed ecology represented by the pest, thus eliminating unsustainable practices such as increasingly intensified pesticide use.
The term itself appeared in the late 1970s. It arose from the recognition that Green Revolution-era agroecosystems were highly dependent upon inputs such as pesticides, capital-intensive machinery, and specific seed varieties engineered or bred in the [[global North]]. The impacts of such agricultural systems have tended to exacerbate the intertwined social, political, and economic problems of the developing countries, or the [[global South]].
K.H.W. Klages is credited as one of the first to discuss ecology and agriculture.
Practitioners take a critical view of modern industrial agricultural techniques, and see the industrial model as fundamentally or radically (at its roots) unsustainable.
Some current world issues that tie into agroecology - and its coupling of agronomy with the social sciences - include food sovereignty and rural development.
An important movement which can be related to agroecology is [[agrarianism]]. Another current trend that has informed much work in agroecology is traditional agriculture or indigenous agriculture.
==Latin America and Agroecology==
Because of the ideological differences between industrial or mechanized agriculture and agroecology, its application has thus far been relatively limited in the U.S. (the country where industrial agriculture has been advanced the furthest). Latin America's experiences with North American Green Revolution agricultural techniques have opened space for agroecologists. Some countries where agroecological research and practice have flourished include Costa Rica, Cuba and Brazil.
Traditional or indigenous knowledge represents a wealth of possibility for agroecologists. The relationship between agronomists and traditional (often subsistence farmers) practitioners has been termed an "exchange of wisdoms." This recognizes that Western science has some solutions and innovations to offer, while local knowledge systems developed over thousands of years have just as much, if not more, to offer. This becomes more evident still when the importance and uniqueness of local ecologies are understood as underpinning agricultural systems.
==Madagascar and Agroecology==
Most of the historical farming in Madagascar has been conducted by indigenous peoples. The French [[colonial]] period disturbed a very small percentage of land area, and even included some useful experiments in [[Sustainable forestry|sustainable]] [[forestry]]. [[Slash-and-burn]] techniques, a component of some [[shifting cultivation]] systems have been practised by natives in Madagascar for centuries. As of 2006 some of the major agricultural products from slash-and-burn methods are wood, charcoal and grass for [[Zebu]] grazing. These practises have taken perhaps the greatest toll on land fertility since the end of French rule, mainly due to [[overpopulation]] pressures.
The [[Madagascar dry deciduous forests]] have been preserved generally better than the eastern rainforests or the high central [[plateau]], presumably due to historically less [[overpopulation|population density]] and [[water crisis|scarcity of water]]; moreover, the present day lack of road access further limits human access. There has been some [[slash-and-burn]] activity in the western dry forests, reducing forest cover and the [[soil]] [[nutrient]] content. Slash-and-burn is a method sometimes used by [[shifting cultivation|shifting cultivators]] to create short term yields from marginal soils. When practiced repeatedly, or without intervening fallow periods, the [[nutrient]] poor soils may be exhausted or eroded to an unproductive state. Further protection of Madagascar's forests would assist in preservation of these diverse [[ecosystem]]s, which have a very high ratio of [[Endemic (ecology)|endemic]] [[organism]]s to total [[species]].
==See also==
[[allelopathy]] | [[agronomy]] | [[algal fuel]] | [[applied ecology]] | [[buffer zone]] | [[carbon sink]] | [[commensalism]] | [[controlled burn]] | [[desertification]] | [[dynamic equilibrium]] | [[edaphology]] | [[Farmer Field School (FFS)]] | [[forest gardening]] | [[genetic erosion]] | [[green manure]] | [[heterosis]] | [[landscape ecology]] | [[living mulch]] | [[Masanobu Fukuoka]] | [[monoculture]] | [[multiple cropping]] | [[natural selection]] | [[open pollination]] | [[permaculture]] | [[pollinator decline]] | [[polyculture]] | [[primary succession]] | [[protocooperation]] | [[relay cropping]] | [[renewable resource]]s | [[secondary succession]] | [[seed bank]] | [[shifting cultivation]] | [[slash-and-burn]] | [[soil ecology]] | [[terra preta]] | [[trophic level]] | [[vermicomposting]] | [[xerophyte]]
==References==
{{cite video |title=the Power of Community:How Cuba Survived Peak Oil |publisher=The Community Solution |location=Yellow Springs,Ohio 45387}}
{{cite book |last=Savory |first=Allan |authorlink= |coauthors=Jody Butterfield |title=Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision Making |origyear=1988 |origmonth=December |edition=2nd ed. |date=1998-12-01|publisher=Island Press |location=Washington, D.C. |language=English |id=ISBN 1-55963-487-1}}
<references />
==External links==
* [http://agroeco.org/ Agroecology in action]
* [http://www.agroecology.org/ agroecology]
* [http://asap.sustainability.uiuc.edu/about Agroecology/Sustainable Agriculture Program] at [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]]
* [http://www.agron.iastate.edu/academic/undergraduate/options/agro_ecol.aspx Agroecology] at [[Iowa State University]]
* [http://agroecology.psu.edu/ Agroecology Program] at [[Penn State]]
* [http://www.agroecos.fr/ European Master Agroecology]
* [http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/agroecology/ Agroecology Program] at [[The University of British Columbia]]
* [http://casfs.ucsc.edu/index.html UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems]
[[Category:Agronomy]]
[[Category:Agricultural soil science]]
[[Category:Conservation]]
[[Category:Habitat management equipment and methods]]
[[Category:Sustainability]]
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