| Titre : |
An ecological perspective on sustainability |
| Type de document : |
texte imprimé |
| Importance : |
p 84-122 |
| Langues : |
Anglais (eng) |
| Catégories : |
SCIENCES AGRICOLES
|
| Mots-clés : |
AGRICULTURE DURABLE PERSPECTIVE ECOLOGIQUE FONCTIONNEMENT DE L’ECOSYSTEME NITROGENE |
| Résumé : |
The preceding chapters have established that current agricultural practices are biologically and economically unsustainable and that these practices are rooted in the science, research institutions, government policies, private enterprise, economic system and underlying philosophies and values of society. Given these roots, it is not surprising that conventional institutions have been unable to address adequately the problems of agriculture. The ecological perspective has been introduced as a perspective that is more compatible with a goal of sustainability.
This chapter takes off from that point to explore the ecological aspects of sustainability and to outline the basic changes in perspective that this concept requires of agriculture. Because the failures of industrial agriculture have underlying biological causes, this chapter examines what ecology and related sciences can explain about the sustainability of natural ecosystems. Natural ecosystems can show us how nature maintains a dynamic equilibrum and circumvents the environmental problems now encountered by agriculture. Nutrient dynamics, energy flow, soil building, successional changes, population changes, interactions between species, disturbance and plant life histories are important aspects of natural dynamics discussed here. The chapter closes with a summary of some important ways in which conventional agriculture differs from natural ecosystems in terms of sustainability. |
| Numéro du document : |
A 10266/A00 |
| Niveau Bibliographique : |
2 |
| Bull1 (Theme principale) : |
AGRICULTURE EN GENERAL |
| Bull2 (Theme secondaire) : |
AGRICULTURE-CONSIDERATIONS GENERALES |
An ecological perspective on sustainability [texte imprimé] . - [s.d.] . - p 84-122. Langues : Anglais ( eng)
| Catégories : |
SCIENCES AGRICOLES
|
| Mots-clés : |
AGRICULTURE DURABLE PERSPECTIVE ECOLOGIQUE FONCTIONNEMENT DE L’ECOSYSTEME NITROGENE |
| Résumé : |
The preceding chapters have established that current agricultural practices are biologically and economically unsustainable and that these practices are rooted in the science, research institutions, government policies, private enterprise, economic system and underlying philosophies and values of society. Given these roots, it is not surprising that conventional institutions have been unable to address adequately the problems of agriculture. The ecological perspective has been introduced as a perspective that is more compatible with a goal of sustainability.
This chapter takes off from that point to explore the ecological aspects of sustainability and to outline the basic changes in perspective that this concept requires of agriculture. Because the failures of industrial agriculture have underlying biological causes, this chapter examines what ecology and related sciences can explain about the sustainability of natural ecosystems. Natural ecosystems can show us how nature maintains a dynamic equilibrum and circumvents the environmental problems now encountered by agriculture. Nutrient dynamics, energy flow, soil building, successional changes, population changes, interactions between species, disturbance and plant life histories are important aspects of natural dynamics discussed here. The chapter closes with a summary of some important ways in which conventional agriculture differs from natural ecosystems in terms of sustainability. |
| Numéro du document : |
A 10266/A00 |
| Niveau Bibliographique : |
2 |
| Bull1 (Theme principale) : |
AGRICULTURE EN GENERAL |
| Bull2 (Theme secondaire) : |
AGRICULTURE-CONSIDERATIONS GENERALES |
|
An ecological perspective on sustainability
