Titre :	A new agricultural perspective : the case for ecological agriculture
Type de document :	texte imprimé
Importance :	p 123-157
Langues :	Anglais (eng)
Catégories :	SCIENCES AGRICOLES
Mots-clés :	AGRICULTURE ECOLOGIQUE  AGRICULTURE DURABLE  MODELE AGRICOLE  PRAIRIE
Résumé :	The image of a modern corn field is that of a neat, geometric box with sharply creased edges, hard corners, a crew-cut-even top and straight rows cutting across bare, exposed soil in neat green and brown stripes. It is a crisp, brittle image, pleasing perhaps to eyes with an industrial bias. The image of a natural ecosystem-the prairie, for example-is that of fuzzy blanket, with an intricate design of many hues, tightly woven but fraying at the edges so that it is without sharp boundaries and interwoven with the fabric of the earth that it covers protectively. It is a soft, resilient image, pleasing perhaps to eyes with an ecological bias. The two images bear little likeness, except for overall greenness. The second image is chosen here as a model for imparting nature’s steadiness, resilience and sustainability to agriculture. How can the transition be made? How can agriculture be transformed ? This chapter describes a possible path for that transformation. Presented first are several examples-integrated pest management, intercropping and conservation tillage-where agriculture has successfully incorporated selected ecological processes extracted from nature. Next, the chapter’s central theme is introduced and developed : that local ecosystems provide the most appropriate structural models for agriculture. By mimicking a natural vegetation structure, farmers can copy a whole package of patterns and processes that have developed and worked in an ecological or evolutionary time frame. With this structural approach, a multitude of beneficial ecological processes can be incorporated into agroecosystems. This orientation departs radically from the narrow single problem/single solution approach typical of agricultural science. Examples of agricultural systems based more or less on this concept are found around the world and several are reviewed here : native american agriculture in warm deserts, temperate agroforestry, tropical successional agriculture and tropical agroforestry. Finally, a proposal is presented for the north american grain belt : polycultures of herbaceous perennial seed crops designed to mimic native prairie ecosystems.
Numéro du document :	A 10266/A00
Niveau Bibliographique :	2
Bull1 (Theme principale) :	AGRICULTURE EN GENERAL
Bull2 (Theme secondaire) :	AGRICULTURE-CONSIDERATIONS GENERALES

A new agricultural perspective : the case for ecological agriculture [texte imprimé] . - [s.d.] . - p 123-157.
Langues : Anglais (eng)

Catégories :	SCIENCES AGRICOLES
Mots-clés :	AGRICULTURE ECOLOGIQUE  AGRICULTURE DURABLE  MODELE AGRICOLE  PRAIRIE
Résumé :	The image of a modern corn field is that of a neat, geometric box with sharply creased edges, hard corners, a crew-cut-even top and straight rows cutting across bare, exposed soil in neat green and brown stripes. It is a crisp, brittle image, pleasing perhaps to eyes with an industrial bias. The image of a natural ecosystem-the prairie, for example-is that of fuzzy blanket, with an intricate design of many hues, tightly woven but fraying at the edges so that it is without sharp boundaries and interwoven with the fabric of the earth that it covers protectively. It is a soft, resilient image, pleasing perhaps to eyes with an ecological bias. The two images bear little likeness, except for overall greenness. The second image is chosen here as a model for imparting nature’s steadiness, resilience and sustainability to agriculture. How can the transition be made? How can agriculture be transformed ? This chapter describes a possible path for that transformation. Presented first are several examples-integrated pest management, intercropping and conservation tillage-where agriculture has successfully incorporated selected ecological processes extracted from nature. Next, the chapter’s central theme is introduced and developed : that local ecosystems provide the most appropriate structural models for agriculture. By mimicking a natural vegetation structure, farmers can copy a whole package of patterns and processes that have developed and worked in an ecological or evolutionary time frame. With this structural approach, a multitude of beneficial ecological processes can be incorporated into agroecosystems. This orientation departs radically from the narrow single problem/single solution approach typical of agricultural science. Examples of agricultural systems based more or less on this concept are found around the world and several are reviewed here : native american agriculture in warm deserts, temperate agroforestry, tropical successional agriculture and tropical agroforestry. Finally, a proposal is presented for the north american grain belt : polycultures of herbaceous perennial seed crops designed to mimic native prairie ecosystems.
Numéro du document :	A 10266/A00
Niveau Bibliographique :	2
Bull1 (Theme principale) :	AGRICULTURE EN GENERAL
Bull2 (Theme secondaire) :	AGRICULTURE-CONSIDERATIONS GENERALES