A Systems Approach to Agroecology

ISBN-13: 9783031429378 / Angielski / Twarda / 2023

Pablo Tittonell

Opis

As agroecology gains momentum in the international research-for-development arena, there is an urgent need for methods and tools to support the codesign and evaluation of agroecological systems and their transitions. The social and ecological complexity of agroecosystems, their dynamics, uncertainties and sustainability, calls for a holistic, systemic approach to agroecology. As such, several questions arise for example: how do we deal with heterogeneity, landscapes, biodiversity or learning processes in agroecosystems analysis? How do we categorise diversity or analyse trade-offs in social-ecological interactions? How do we conceptualise, codesign and monitor agroecological transitions? This book sets out to answer these questions by building on the valuable ‘classics’ in agroecology. The book presents a systems perspective that underpins a combination of methodologies, ranging from participatory tools and field observations to mathematical simulation modelling. Researchers, advanced students and transdisciplinary practitioners will find in this book insights and methods to design research and (co-) innovation processes to foster agroecological transitions.   

Spis treści

Prologue 

 

Part 1: System definition

1.      Introduction: why agroecology, why systems, why now?

2.      The agroecosystem

 

Part 2: Analysis-oriented approaches

3.      Analysing the structure and diversity of agroecosystems

4.      Categorising diversity through rural household typologies

5.      Production functions and factors in agroecosystems

6.      Landscape structure, functions and biodiversity

7.      Spatial heterogeneity in agroecosystems

 

Part 2: Design-oriented approaches

8.      Indicators and evaluation in agroecological design

9.      Trade-offs around production and livelihood decisions

10.    Pathways for agroecological transitions

 

O autorze

Prof. Pablo Tittonell is the holder of the Agroecology and Sustainable Landscapes Chair at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and Senior researcher at CIRAD, France. His expertise includes agroecology, soil fertility and biodiversity, and focuses on human-nature interactions in multifunctional landscapes and their adaptation to global change

Blurb

As agroecology gains momentum in the international research-for-development arena, there is an urgent need for methods and tools to support the co-design and evaluation of agroecological systems and their transitions. The social and ecological complexity of agroecosystems, their dynamics, uncertainties and sustainability, calls for an holistic, systemic approach to agroecology, which leads to questions such as: how do we deal with heterogeneity, landscapes, biodiversity or learning processes in agroecosystems analysis? How do we categorize diversity or analyse trade-offs in social-ecological interactions? How do we conceptualize, co-design and monitor agroecological transitions? This book sets out to answer these questions by building on the valuable ‘classics’ in agroecology. The book presents a systems perspective that underpins a combination of methodologies, ranging from participatory tools and field observations to mathematical simulation modelling. Researchers, advanced students and transdisciplinary practitioners will find in this book insights and methods to design research and (co-) innovation processes to foster agroecological transitions.