Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Agroecology
Ecological understanding of farming systems

1. Introduction
• Definitions

Prof. Bertrand Boeken

• Contexts
The Wyler Dept. of Dryland Agriculture
Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research • Perspectives
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Sede Boqer Campus 84990 Israel
Office 08-659 6893 • History of agriculture
Mobile 052-3847603
[email protected]
© BBoeken 2005-18 http://www.bgu.ac.il/desert_agriculture/Agroecology/ 1
 Agroecology - definitions

Gliessman 2000:
Understanding
“The application of ecological (Science)
concepts and principles to the
design and management of Practice (Technology)

sustainable farming systems”

Object

Goal and Motivation Limited to a subset of

farming systems (i.e., not
What is sustainability? the unsustainable ones)
How does sustainability vary?
What makes a farming system sustainable? → Agroecology as
Is sustainability always attainable? agricultural practice
2
 Agroecology - definitions
Understanding
B. Boeken, this course: (Science)
The application of ecological concepts
and principles to farming systems

Ecological processes All agro-systems

associated with farming •  Conventional, traditional and
alternative agriculture
•  Trophic structure •  Crop and animal production
•  Flows of energy and materials (water, •  Development through time
nutrients, carbon)
•  Landscape and scale
→ Agroecology as a
•  Population dynamics of organisms
scientific discipline
•  Natural selection and co-evolution
Wezel A. et al. 2009. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 29 (2009)
•  Biodiversity of biotic communities 503–515 (www.agronomy-journal.org)
Bensin B.M.1930. Int. Rev. Agr. Mo. Bull. Agr. Sci.
Pract. (Rome) 21, 277–284. 3
 Agroecosystems - context
Material human requirements
•  Water, air
•  Food
•  Fiber
•  Fodder
•  Fuel
•  Shelter
Human activities for www.worldfuturefund.org
•  Space
food production
•  Goods
•  Hunting Human land-use
•  Gathering •  Cropland
•  Fishing •  Rangeland
•  Grazing •  Woodland
•  Farming •  Urban/industrial
•  Bio-industry •  Nature

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www.worldfuturefund.org

5
Agroecosystems: perspectives

•  Social

•  Ecological

•  Biological

•  Technical

•  Historical
http://www.worldisround.com

6
 Social perspectives

•  Sociology
•  Economy
•  Politics
•  Culture
•  Religion
•  Heritage
•  Education

www.whitehouse.gov

7
 Ecological perspectives
•  Energy and resource flows
•  Trophic structure
Processes within agro-ecosystems
•  Biodiversity •  Energy, resource flows
•  Crop plant performance
•  Population dynamics
•  Biotic community dynamics
•  Natural selection •  Soil processes

•  Animal behaviour
Relationships with surrounding
•  Landscape dynamics ecosystems
•  Spatial relationships: •  Resource flows from outside
•  Predators, pests and weed invasion
•  Export of plant and animal products
Agro-ecosystems •  Leakage of water, nutrients, agro-chemicals

Relationships between agro-ecosystems

and the ‘rest of the world’
•  Resource subsidies
•  Introduction of invasive species
•  Export of plant and animal products
Natural •  Pollution
ecosystems
•  Global climate change
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 Biological perspectives

•  Physiology and biochemistry

•  Genetics, genomics
•  Phytopathology
•  Soil microbiology

www.soils.agri.umn.edu

www.ncgbc.org
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 Technical perspectives
•  Irrigation
•  Soil preparation
•  Planting and sowing

www.opico.com

•  Fertilizer application
•  Pest control
•  Harvesting
www.rec.udel.edu
10
 Historical perspectives
Time-line (yrs)
Archaic Homo sapiens -250,000 hunting-gathering, nomadic
Prehistoric -15,000 domesticated plants and grazers
Ancient -5,000 soil cultivation, irrigation
Medieval -1,500 deep plowing, manure, selection, profit
Modern -200 scientific approach
Contemporary -60 industrialization, alternative approaches,
ecological sustainability (?)

Increasing trends
•  Global and local human population size
•  Control over food production
•  Dependence on technology, transport
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 Early human foraging
250,000 years ago
•  Nomadic hunter-gatherers
•  Small communities in
open landscapes
•  Human evolution and
early cultural development
http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/homosapiens.htm

Social structure: clan/family groups

Food: grains, nuts, berries, tubers, vertebrates, insects
Problems: predators, resource depletion, adverse selection, rival clans
Innovations: clothing, domestication of dogs
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 Adverse selection
Gathering of wild cereal grain
•  Normal retention frequency distribution
•  People collect seeds remaining on the plants
•  Moves population mean to genotypes with
www.flickr.com
lower retention
•  In short time local populations become costlier to collect

Assumptions
•  Essential or important food source
Frequency

Frequency

Harvested
•  Abundant population
•  No overharvesting by reducing
abundance
Seed retention Seed retention (no seed limitation of recruitment)

Consequences
(Based on optimal foraging decisions by humans)
•  Diversity of food sources (“prey switching”)
•  Migration (nomadism)
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 Prehistoric agriculture
Started 15,000 years ago
•  Small semi-sedentary
communities
•  Stone tools
•  Early agriculture
•  Early art
www.sanford-artedventures.com

Social structure: larger clan/family groups

Food: wild animals and plants, local produce
Problems: predators, resource depletion, rival clans
Innovations: tools, domestication of grains, herbivores
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 Domestication
Cultivation of cereal grain
•  Wild populations have normal retention
frequency distribution
•  Planting of grains remaining in ears
•  Crop population mean with higher retention www.geog.ucsb.edu

•  Crop populations become more profitable to collect

Frequency
Frequency

Harvested

Seed retention Seed retention

Consequences
•  More control over food supply and quality
•  Larger, sedentary human populations
•  Reliance on resources, technology and knowledge
•  Danger of resource depletion (and over-harvesting in non-seed crops)
15
 Ancient agriculture
Started 5,000 years ago
•  Larger villages, cities
•  Large-scale agriculture
•  Metal tools
•  Soil cultivation, irrigation
•  Food storage
www.touregypt.net
•  Burocracy
Social structure: large non-family groups
Food: local produce, storage
Problems: predators, resource depletion, rival clans
Innovations: domestication of vegetables, fruit trees, cats
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 Medieval agriculture
Started 1,500 years ago
•  Feudal relations
•  Large cities, manors
•  Large-scale agriculture
•  Sustenance and profit
•  Plowing, fertilization

Social structure: feudal (serfdom)

Food: local produce, storage, import
Problems: food shortage, desease
Innovations: selection, work
http://medieval.ucdavis.edu
differentiation
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 Modern agriculture
Started 200 years ago
•  Population increase
•  Land development
•  Production maximization
•  Mechanization
•  Profit
www.stolaf.edu

Social structure: family business

Food: local produce, storage, import, industrial processing
Problems: pests, pollution, subsidies, capital investment, scale
enlargement, uniformity
Innovations: science-based, hybrid crops
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 Crop trait selection
Selection for desired phenotypic
traits
•  Crop diversity
•  Market value
•  Genotypes adapted to different
conditions
http://www.doctortee.com/
(temperature, resource availability,
seasonality, etc.)

Genotype-environment (a) A (b) A (c) A

interactions (G×E)
Trait 1

Trait 2

Trait 2
B
B B
B
A
•  Reaction norms for 2 phenotypic 1 2 1 2
Environment Environment Trait 1
traits (a,b) (d)

Genotypes
•  Trade-off between the traits (c) Growth

•  Physical/physiological trade-offs:
Limitation of selection (d) Dry Soil moisture Wet
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 Contemporary agriculture
Started ca. 60 years ago
•  Population increase
•  Reduced natural area
•  Production maximization
•  Globalization
encarta.msn.com •  Profit, monopoly

Social structure: private and corporate business

Food: import/export, industrial processing
Problems: pests, pollution, subsidies, capital investment,
encroachment on nature, global warming
Innovations: bio-industry, precision agriculture, genetic engineering,
alternative life-styles 20