The properties of agroecosystems

Conway, Gordon

doi:10.1016/0308-521x(87)90056-4

Cited by 395 publications

(176 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Esta evolución del pensamiento agroecológico, alimentado por las teorías de la segunda generación de pensamiento sistémico, se expresó también en las ideas de Gordon Conway (1987), cuando planteó que los factores más importantes para analizar un agroecosistema son los ambientales, sociales y económicos. Argumento similar al planteado por Octavio Ruiz (1995), al señalar que en el agroecosistema interactúan factores socioeconómicos y tecnológicos para la utilización de los recursos naturales con fines de producción para la obtención de alimento y servicios en beneficio del hombre.…”

Section: Deconstrucción Del Concepto Agroecosistema Desde El Pensamieunclassified

De von Bertalanffy a Luhmann: Deconstrucción del concepto “agroecosistema” a través de las generaciones sistémicas

et al. 2016

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RESUMENEl pensamiento sistémico contribuyó al origen del pensamiento agroecológico con aportaciones desde la teoría general de sistemas y la cibernética como su base teórica primigenia. Así, la agroecología en los años 70 del siglo pasado pudo erigirse como una nueva forma de pensar y hacer ciencia en relación con el quehacer agrícola al intentar ir más allá del enfoque reduccionista predominante. El estudio de la realidad agrícola contemporánea exige planteamientos nuevos que permitan comprender sus dimensiones, para lo cual los principios basados en el modelo input-output que funciona bajo un controlador cibernético resultan insuficientes. En consecuencia, el propósito de este manuscrito fue analizar la evolución del pensamiento sistémico y su trascendencia en el pensamiento agroecológico, al brindar a éste último herramientas teórico-conceptuales para estudiar fenómenos agrícolas actuales a través de los sistemas complejos, y con ello, involucrar aspectos poco explorados en su abordaje tradicional como la historia, la política y la cultura.PALABRAS CLAVE: Agricultura; Agroecosistema; Pensamiento sistémico; Pensamiento complejo; Sistemas complejos ABSTRACT Systems thinking contributed to the origin of agroecological thought, which had as primordial theoretical basis the contributions from the general systems theory and cybernetics. Thus, agroecology in the 70s of the last century could establish itself as a new way of thinking and doing science related to agricultural activity to try to go beyond the dominant reductionist approach. However, the study of contemporary agricultural reality demands new approaches to understand it in its many dimensions. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to analyze the evolution of systems thinking and its significance in the agro-ecological thinking by providing theoretical and conceptual tools to study current agricultural phenomena through complex systems, including unexplored aspects in its traditional approach as history, politics and culture. KEYWORDS: Agriculture; Agroecosystems; Systemic thinking; Complex thinking; Complex systems INTRODUCCIÓN La actividad científica vinculada al estudio de la realidad agrícola se ha realizado fundamentalmente desde el paradigma analítico, el cual ha predominado en la ciencia desde el siglo XVII (Morin 2007). Esto es, el

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Section: Deconstrucción Del Concepto Agroecosistema Desde El Pensamieunclassified

De von Bertalanffy a Luhmann: Deconstrucción del concepto “agroecosistema” a través de las generaciones sistémicas

et al. 2016

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“…In turn, this development has required better nutrition, housing and health care of pigs as means to raise yields. Modern breeds show much less tolerance to variations in environmental conditions than traditional breeds of livestock [7,8,Ch. 11].…”

Section: The Imputed Yield (Productivity) Of Viet-nam's Stock Of Pigsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Vietnam`s Pork Supply and Structural Features of its Pig Sector

Tisdell¹

2009

TOARSJ

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Abstract:Pork is the single most important source of animal protein in Vietnam and its availability has a substantial impact on the well-being of the Vietnamese. Since 1996, the local supply and per capita availability of pork in Vietnam have increased substantially. The trends in and sources of this growth in supply are identified by analysing official statistics. Differences in regional supply of pork are also identified, as well as regional variations in pork yields. Vietnam's pork industry relies on many small-scale household producers for the bulk of its pork supply. The structure of the sector is investigated and found to be altering slowly -a slight increase in scale of production units has been occurring. The rate of growth in Vietnam's supply of pork has slowed and production could decline despite the large increases in productivity in this sector since the mid-1990s. The industry is still not internationally competitive. Hence, imports of pork from Canada and the USA occurred in the last few years, and these may increase after 2012 when Vietnam should become World Trade Organization (WTO)-compliant. This concerns the Government of Vietnam because it could threaten the economic sustainability of its pig industry. The Government believes that by adopting policies to increase the scale of production of individual pig-producing units, this will shore up the competitive position of its pig sector. This policy is discussed.

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“…A household is therefore part of a community, while similarly being made up of different individuals. The different layers (household, community, region, and nation) evolve within a variety of ecological and socioeconomic contexts and constraints (Allen & Starr, 1982;Allen et al, 1993;Conway, 1987). Complexity emerges when the speed of change of a variable at one scale affects variables at other scales.…”

Section: Multiple Scales In Time and Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

Health, biodiversity, and natural resource use on the Amazon frontier: an ecosystem approach

Murray¹,

Sánchez-Choy²

2001

Cad. Saúde Pública

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This study aims to improve the health of rural Amazonian communities through the development and application of a participatory ecosystem approach to human health assessment. In the study area marked seasonal fluctuations dictate food availability, water quality and disease outbreak. Determining the causal linkages between ecosystem variables, resource use and health required a variety of forms of inquiry at multiple scales with local participation. Landscape spatial mapping of resource use demonstrated the diversity of the ecological resources upon which communities depend. Household surveys detailed family and individual consumption and production patterns. Anthropometric measurements, parasite loading, water quality and anemia levels were used as indicators of health status. This was complemented with an ethnographic and participatory health assessment that provided the foundation for developing community action plans addressing health issues. Discussion is focused on three attributes of an ecosystem approach; (a) methodological pluralism, (b) cross-scale interactions and (c) participatory action research.

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The properties of agroecosystems

Cited by 395 publications

References 29 publications

De von Bertalanffy a Luhmann: Deconstrucción del concepto “agroecosistema” a través de las generaciones sistémicas

De von Bertalanffy a Luhmann: Deconstrucción del concepto “agroecosistema” a través de las generaciones sistémicas

Trends in Vietnam`s Pork Supply and Structural Features of its Pig Sector

Health, biodiversity, and natural resource use on the Amazon frontier: an ecosystem approach

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