Indicators of Sustainability & Landscape Diversity Katherine and Nicole
What is Sustainability in Agriculture? How would you explain how farms practice sustainability to someone interested in this class? ● Maintains the resource base upon which it depends ● relies on a minimum of artificial inputs ● manages pests and diseases through internal regulating mechanisms (biological controls) ● able to recover from disturbances caused by cultivation and harvest ● needs economic and cultural support of practices
Reference points natural ecosystems & traditional agroecosystems “The greater the structural and functional similarity of an agroecosystem to the natural ecosystem in its biogeographic region, the greater the likelihood that the agroecosystem will be sustainable.”
Traditional Agroecosystems What makes a traditional agroecosystem sustainable and why?
Food for thought Describe an aspect of traditional farming systems that could be applied widely in conventional farming systems if sustainability were a primary goal.
Measuring Sustainability
The Productivity Index How does PI differ from mere production measurements? Productivity Index = Total Biomass accumulated Net Primary Productivity ● NPP = GPP - Respiration ● low of 1, high of 50 for natural ecosystems ● assumes a positive correlation between return of biomass to a system and the system’s ability to produce a harvestable yield
Ecological Parameters S oil - long term, short term hydrogeological factors - on farm drainage rates, surface water flow, ground water quality biotic factors - microbes, turnover, balance of beneficials and pests, niche diversity and overlap, native plants and animals Ecosystem level - production output, inputs and origins, nutrient cycling, community complexity
Assessing Soil Health How can farmers test soil health and quality? ● ease of cultivation ● water holding capacity ● earthworm presence ● signs of erosion
Cropland Intensity in US
Social Conditions ● rural sociology, participatory approaches ● parameters will be subjective and location specific i.e. educational attainment, drug use, physical health, average farm income, farmer networks
Socioeconomic parameters ● per unit production costs/returns ● off farm externalities and costs resulting from farming practices ● equitability of return to farmer ● extent of age, race, and gender empowerment ● degree of sharing agrarian values
Bringing data together ● reductionist tendency to look at just one factor ● agroecological framework ● existing data sets ● comparative analysis ● Amoeba diagram, p.308 ● Multi-scale systems analysis
Chinese Village Agroecosystem Erle Ellis studied cycling of nutrients of entire village. Noted changes in the nitrogen cycling as farmers moved towards using inorganic fertilizers.
Chapter 22: Landscape Diversity and Agroecosystem Management Three basic components of the agricultural landscape: -Areas of agricultural production -Areas of reduced human influence (i.e. pastureland, hedgerows, other border areas, agroforestry, etc.) -Natural Areas
Analyzing the Landscape -Typical agricultural landscape: fragmented/ patched environment -landscape ecology: how the movement of organisms, the interaction of organisms among different patches, and how landscapes affects another -Why is landscape ecology important in agroecology?
Managing the Landscape Landscape-level management : the inclusion of natural ecosystems and local biodiversity in management decisions and planting Two key principles: 1. Diversify the agricultural landscape by varying their level of disturbance 2. Reduce negative impacts by decreasing the usage of inputs
Case Study: Tlaxcala, Mexico Problem: periodic rain occurs in huge rainstorms and food is grown on steep slopes-- concerns about erosion Potential solutions? Their solution: hillside terrace systems that collect runoff rainwater through water and sediment catching basins ( cajetes )
Farm Borders and Edges - When a transitional area of vegetation develops between two different biomes, an ecotone results -The edge effect occurs when the largest and most dense area of the habitat is the ecotone -Why is the edge effect significant? -Greater diversity of species, buffer zone, prevents fires from moving, etc.
Key Points -Systems thinking vs. tunnel vision -Linking agroecosystems and natural ecosystems -Recognizing our land usage
Mexico: Traditional Agriculture as a Foundation for Sustainability - Historical context? Indigenous’ agricultural practices, colonization and the idea of ‘progress’, development of unsustainable agricultural practices -Government role? Goal: develop the American model of agriculture
Scenario: Mexican Traditional Ag. Roles: Member of the Mexican gov’t, traditional farmer, migrant worker, traditional farmer who has switched to conventional agriculture Context: Agriculture within the next 20 years Potential solution?
NYT: “Organic Agriculture May be Outgrowing its Ideals” -Did this article surprise you? -How can we ensure that organic practices actually are sustainable?
National Sustainable Agriculture Standard ● Leonardo Academy ● developing a national standard with 58 people on committees ● consideration of social, environmental, economic factors
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