AN APPROACH FOR SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURSE

MANAGEMENT

OutlineDefinitionsConcept of Agro ecosystemDifference between manipulated

Agroecology and Natural EcologySustainable AgricultureBiodiversification and AgroecologySustainable AgroecosystemsAgroecology and the Design of Sustainable

Agroecosystems

EcologyThe study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

Agroecology It is the study of ecological processes that operate in agricultural production systems ORAn ecological approach to agriculture that views agricultural areas as ecosystems and is concerned with the ecological impact of agricultural practices.

EcosystemAn ecosystem is a community of living organisms in combination with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system. Components of an EcosystemABIOTIC COMPONENTS BIOTIC COMPONENTS Sunlight Primary producers Temperature Herbivores Precipitation Carnivores Water or moisture Omnivores Soil or water chemistry (e.g., P, NH4+) Detritivores etc. etc.

Biotic components of an ecosystem

Concept of AgroecosystemAgriculture + ecosystem = Agroecosystem

AgroecosystemA spatially and functionally coherent unit of agricultural activity which includes the living and nonliving components involved in that unit as well as their interactions.

Concept of AgroecosystemAgroecosystems can be manipulated to improve production and to produce more sustainably, with fewer negative environmental or social impacts and fewer external inputs.

Difference between manipulated Agroecology and Natural Ecology

Five ways difference: MonocultureCrops generally planted in rowsSimplification of biodiversity (i.e. the degree

of variation of life)Plough which exposes soil to erosionUse of genetically modified organisms and

artificially selected crops

Semi-domesticated ecosystems that fall on a gradient between ecosystems that have experienced minimal human impact, and those under maximum human control.

Examples - Integrated pest management aims to control problematic pests through introduction of other species, not application of pesticides or herbicides to kill that pest. Method of intercropping.

Elimination of unsustainable practices such as increasingly intensified pesticide use.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTUREThe efficient production of safe, high quality agricultural products, in a way that protects and improves: the natural environment the social and economic conditions of farmers their employees and local communitiessafeguards the health and welfare of all farmed species

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

A whole-system approach to food, feed, and fiber production that balances environmental soundness, social equity, and economic viability among all sectors of the public, including international and intergenerational people.

BiodiversificationAnd Agroecology

Objective of Agroecology is to provide balanced environments, sustained yields, biologically mediated soil fertility and natural pest regulation through the design of diversified Agroecosystem and the use of low-input technologies.

By designing farming systems that mimic nature, optimal use can be made of sunlight, soil nutrients and rainfall.

The optimal behavior of Agroecosystems depends on the level of interactions between the various biotic and abiotic components and keeping synergies among them is the key word.

SUSTAINABLE AGROECOSYSTEMSMaintain their natural resources

Rely on minimum artificial inputs from outside the farm system

Manage pests and diseases through internal regulating mechanisms

Recover from the disturbances caused by cultivation and harvest

Agroecology and the Design of Sustainable AgroecosystemsCombining the different components of the farm

system, i.e. plants, animals, soil, water, climate and people, so that they balance each other and have the greatest possible synergetic effects.

Reducing the use of off-farm, external and non-renewable inputs.

Relying mainly on resources within the agroecosystems by replacing external inputs .

Improving the match between cropping patterns and the productive potential and environmental constraints of climate and landscape.

Agroecology provides the knowledge and methodology

necessary for developing an agriculture that is on the

one hand environmentally sound and on the other

hand highly productive, socially equitable and

economically viable.

Agroecological design is to integrate components so

that overall biological efficiency is improved,

biodiversity is preserved, and the agroecosystems

productivity and its self-regulating capacity is

maintained.

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