Applying plant ecological knowledge to increase agricultural sustainability

Abstract

Summary1. Plant ecological knowledge accumulated over the past 150 years has enormous implications for agriculture, but most of these implications have not been appreciated by ecologists or agronomists. Here, I present several of the most salient examples. 2. Agriculturalists refer to 'improvements', but plant ecologists know that 'trade-offs' represent a better conceptual framework for agricultural production. There is much evidence for trade-offs between yield and resource use efficiency, and between individual fitness and population yield. I argue that there is also a 'limiting trade-off' between short-term yield and sustainability, and it is important to take this into consideration if we are serious about increasing sustainability. 3. At the local level, agricultural sustainability is about maintaining or improving soil fertility, but this is not a priority in most agricultural systems world-wide. Increased biomass density (both living and dead) in the field is the key to increasing sustainability while maintaining high yields, and I present a vision of 'High Biomass Cropping Systems'. 4. Classical and current research in plant community ecology tells us that rotation of crops with different nutritional needs, pests, diseases and weeds can make a major contribution to sustainability. The very limited crop rotations practised in most modern plant production systems are a clear indication that farming practices are usually based on short-term economic and regulatory factors, without much if any consideration for sustainability. 5. Synthesis. The modern scientific method tells us how we should test hypotheses, but it says nothing about how hypotheses are generated. We need to address the agricultural research agenda if it is to serve the interests of farmers, consumers and society as a whole, rather than narrow but powerful economic interests.

Plant ecological solutions to global food security

“…Weiner () also stresses the importance of biodiversity for sustainable crop production, but in the context of crop rotations, which he argues is analogous to the ecological concept of succession. As stressed by Weiner (), the choice of a crop, or crops, within a rotation is one of the most important decisions a farmer can make: the benefits of crop diversity in rotations for disease control, soil fertility and crop yields, can be enormous, and are well documented in agriculture literature. But he goes further, arguing that nothing demonstrates more the huge gap between sustainability and modern agriculture than the restricted use of rotations, in terms of both their length and the variety of crops used.…”

A Study on Sustainability Rate of Cropping Systems Commonly Used in Jahrom Region, Fars Province, Iran

“…Although today farmers in most of the countries worldwide have a higher knowledge of agriculture compared to decades ago, and undoubtedly they are more aware of issues such as sustainable agriculture and environmental protection, and they pay attention to these issues in their cropping systems, nothing demonstrates the huge gap between ecological sustainability and current farming practices than the very restricted rotations we observe in most modern temperate agricultural systems [7]. Studies show that the farmers who have a higher knowledge of agriculture are more attracted towards modern technological advances in agricultural productions [19].…”

“…Since the sustainable agriculture knowledge of the farmers in this study does not have a desirable condition (more than 60% of the farmers stand below the average rate), this could make the farms more unsustainable. Making agriculture sustainable requires a food production system that has sustainability as one of its primary goals [7]; therefore, by enhancing the sustainable agriculture knowledge of the farmers, the sustainability of the cropping systems could be guaranteed. …”

“…Sustainable agriculture is an approach termed based on an equal pattern that guaranties sustainable economy, ecology and society [5]. Sustainability in agriculture is critical since it guarantees continued food production for the growing population [6], and plant ecology has much to contribute to the development of sustainable agricultural systems [7].…”

“…Since Jahrom region is an agricultural hub in Fars province and agriculture is the most important economic section of the region and also considering the fact that horticultural products play an important role in food security of the region, therefore it is necessary to pay a especial attention to sustainable agricultural systems in order to preserve the environment and also to prevent negative healthcare issues. The end of this paper is to study and evaluate the sustainability of cropping systems in Jahrom region since this knowledge will only be used if society has sustainability as one of its primary goals [7].…”