Agroecology - Citizendia

Agroecology is the science of applying ecological concepts and principles to the design, development, and management of sustainable agricultural systems. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Ecology (from Greek grc οἶκος oikos, "house(hold" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals environmental Stewardship, Farm Profitability and prosperous Farming communities Agroecologists study the life in and around the soil to enhance yields, overcome pests, and increase overall productivity. They may measure the soil life, texture, structure, ph, moisture, and numerous other qualities. Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel Soil life or soil biota is a collective term for all the organisms living within the soil Soil texture is a Soil property used to describe the relative proportion of different grain sizes of Mineral particles in a soil Soil structure is determined by how individual soil Granules clump or bind together and aggregate and therefore the arrangement of soil pores between them Soil life has been shown to be particularly important in the cycling of nutrients necessary for high yields. ^[1] In addition to the study of the soil, agrecologists must be aware of the broad ecosystem within which a farm operates. An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( By understanding 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 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^[2]. Ecological succession, a fundamental concept in Ecology, refers to more-or-less predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community 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. An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( "^[3]. 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. "^[3]

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 pesticides to kill that pest. In Agriculture, Integrated Pest Management (IPM is a pest control strategy that uses an array of complementary methods mechanical devices physical devices A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a 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 North-South Divide is the socio-economic and political division that exists between the wealthy developed countries, known collectively as "the 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. The North-South Divide is the socio-economic and political division that exists between the wealthy developed countries, known collectively as "the

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. Agrarianism is a social and Political philosophy which stresses the viewpoint that the cultivation of plants or Farming leads to a fuller and happier life Another current trend that has informed much work in agroecology is traditional agriculture or indigenous agriculture.

1 Latin America and Agroecology
2 Madagascar and Agroecology
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

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 forest management ( SFM) is the management of Forests according to the principles of Sustainable development. Forestry is the Art and Science of managing forests tree Plantations and related Natural resources. Slash-and-burn techniques, a component of some shifting cultivation systems have been practised by natives in Madagascar for centuries. Slash and burn consists of cutting and burning of Forests or Woodlands to create fields for Agriculture or Pasture for Livestock, or For methods see Slash and burn Shifting cultivation is an Agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily then abandoned As of 2006 some of the major agricultural products from slash-and-burn methods are wood, charcoal and grass for Zebu grazing. Zebus ( Bos primigenius indicus) sometimes known as 'humped Cattle ' or 'indicus' cattle are a type of cattle better-adapted to tropical environments These practises have taken perhaps the greatest toll on land fertility since the end of French rule, mainly due to overpopulation pressures. Overpopulation refers to a condition where an Organism 's numbers exceed the Carrying capacity of its Habitat.

The Madagascar dry deciduous forests have been preserved generally better than the eastern rainforests or the high central plateau, presumably due to historically less population density and scarcity of water; moreover, the present day lack of road access further limits human access. The Madagascar dry deciduous forests represent a tropical dry forest Ecoregion generally situated in the western part of Madagascar. In Geology and Earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting Overpopulation refers to a condition where an Organism 's numbers exceed the Carrying capacity of its Habitat. Water Crisis is a term that refers to the status of the world’s Water resources relative to human demand There has been some slash-and-burn activity in the western dry forests, reducing forest cover and the soil nutrient content. Slash and burn consists of cutting and burning of Forests or Woodlands to create fields for Agriculture or Pasture for Livestock, or Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel A nutrient is food or chemicals that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment Slash-and-burn is a method sometimes used by shifting cultivators to create short term yields from marginal soils. For methods see Slash and burn Shifting cultivation is an Agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily then abandoned When practiced repeatedly, or without intervening fallow periods, the nutrient poor soils may be exhausted or eroded to an unproductive state. A nutrient is food or chemicals that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment Further protection of Madagascar's forests would assist in preservation of these diverse ecosystems, which have a very high ratio of endemic organisms to total species. An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( Endemism is the Ecological state of being unique to a place Endemic species are not naturally found elsewhere In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank.

References

the Power of Community:How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. Allelopathy is the inhibition of growth of a plant due to Biomolecules released by another Agronomy is the science and technology of using plants for food fuel feed and fiber Applied ecology is a subfield within Ecology which considers the application of the science of ecology to real-world (usually management questions In geography a buffer zone is any zonal area that serves the purpose of keeping two or more other areas (often but not necessarily countries) distant from one another In Ecology, commensalism is a kind of symbiotic relationship between two organisms where one benefits and the other is not significantly harmed or helped (like a bird A dynamic equilibrium occurs when two opposing Processes proceed at the same rate Edaphology (from Greek grc ἔδαφος edaphos, "ground" and grc -λογία -logia) is one of two main divisions of Soil Forest gardening (also known as 3-Dimensional Gardening is a Food production and Land management system based on replicating Woodland Ecosystems Genetic erosion is a process whereby an already limited Gene pool of an Endangered species of plant or animal diminishes even more when individuals from the surviving In Agriculture, a green manure is a type of Cover crop grown primarily to add Nutrients and Organic matter to the Soil. Heterosis is a term used in Genetics and Selective breeding. The term heterosis also known as hybrid vigor or outbreeding enhancement, Landscape ecology is the science and art of studying and improving the relationship between spatial pattern and ecological processes on a multitude of scales and organizational levels (Wu 2006 2008 In Agriculture, a living mulch is a Cover crop interplanted or undersown with a main crop, and intended to serve the functions of a Mulch Masanobu Fukuoka (福岡正信 Fukuoka Masanobu February 2, 1913 &ndash August 16, 2008) author of The One-Straw Revolution Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area In Agriculture, multiple cropping is the practice of growing two or more crops simultaneously in the same space during a single Growing season. Natural selection is the process by which favorable Heritable traits become more common in successive Generations of a Population of Open pollination is Pollination by insects, birds, Wind, or other natural mechanisms The word permaculture, coined by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren during the 1970s is a Portmanteau of perma nent agri' The term Pollinator decline refers to the reduction in abundance of Pollinators in many Ecosystems worldwide during the end of the twentieth century Polyculture is agriculture using multiple crops in the same space in imitation of the diversity of natural ecosystems and avoiding large stands of single crops or Monoculture Primary succession is one of two types of Ecological succession and Biological succession of plant life and occurs in an environment in which new substrate Protocooperation is where two Species interact with each other beneficially they have no need to interact with each other they interact purely for the gain that they receive In Agriculture, multiple cropping is the practice of growing two or more crops simultaneously in the same space during a single Growing season. A natural resource qualifies as a renewable resource if it is replenished by natural processes at a rate comparable or faster than its rate of consumption by humans or other users Secondary succession is one of the two types of Ecological succession of plant life For methods see Slash and burn Shifting cultivation is an Agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily then abandoned Slash and burn consists of cutting and burning of Forests or Woodlands to create fields for Agriculture or Pasture for Livestock, or Soil ecology is the study of the interactions among soil organisms and between biotic and abiotic aspects of the soil environment Terra preta (“dark soil” in Portuguese) refers to expanses of very dark fertile Anthropogenic Soils found in the Amazon Basin. In Ecology, trophic dynamics is the system of trophic levels ( Greek trophē, food which describe the position that an organism occupies Vermicompost (also called worm Compost, vermicast worm castings worm humus or worm manure is the end-product of the breakdown of Organic matter by some A xerophyte or xerophytic organism ( xero meaning dry phyte meaning plant is a Plant which is able to survive in an ecosystem with little available Yellow Springs,Ohio 45387: The Community Solution.

Savory, Allan; Jody Butterfield [December 1988] (1998-12-01). Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision Making, 2nd ed. (in English), Washington, D. C. : Island Press. ISBN 1-55963-487-1.

^ UMN Extension. (2002). Soil Scientist.
^ Botkin, Daniel B. ; Keller, Edward A. (2005) Environmental Science 5th Edition. Ch. 11
^ ^a ^b Hecht, Susan B. (1995). The Evolution of Agroecological Thought.

External links

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Contents

Latin America and Agroecology

Madagascar and Agroecology

See also

References

External links