Landscape Agroecology

Description

Learn how the principles and practices of landscape agroecology can help to overcome drought, flooding, poor soil, damaging winds, plant diseases, plant-eating insects, and more! Examining the concepts, conventions, and components that underlie the ecology of human-managed landscapes, this is the first book to address landscape agroecology. Incorporating ideas from agroecology, forestry,... Read more

Learn how the principles and practices of landscape agroecology can help to overcome drought, flooding, poor soil, damaging winds, plant diseases, plant-eating insects, and more!

Examining the concepts, conventions, and components that underlie the ecology of human-managed landscapes, this is the first book to address landscape agroecology. Incorporating ideas from agroecology, forestry, agronomy, agroforestry, landscape ecology, and environmental science, Landscape Agroecology is a comprehensive look at a cutting-edge topic.

From the author: “Farm or forestry landscapes can be designed to address any number of objectives. Commonly, the focus is entirely on production with few, if any, secondary goals. These landscapes typically achieve their purpose but are not entirely in harmony with nature. Landscape agroecology offers the same potential for productivity, but also focuses on sustainability and environmental friendliness as strong secondary objectives.”

While the idea of formulating landscapes for specific purposes is comparatively new, countless examples exist where landscape modifications have been made to inhospitable areas in order to overcome the natural obstacles that hamper crop growth. This book illuminates the principles behind these triumphs, bringing this local knowledge into the mainstream.

Landscape Agroecology will familiarize you with the concepts and terminology needed to understand this exciting new field:

complementarity—usually defined in terms of plant-plant growth—expanded to include the rural countryside
desirable agroecosystems properties—what an agroecosystem needs in order to overcome landscape stresses such as drought, flooding, insect infestation, etc.
agrotechnologies—the classification of agroecosystems based on visual characteristics and the land-use problems addressed
cultural agroecology—what we can learn from the superior land-use techniques of various societies and cultures, and how these ideas can be brought into the mainstream
cultural motif—culturally related land-use patterns that are openly manifested in the landscape

Essential for university/college libraries and for research stations as well as professors and students of agroecology, this book will be referred to again and again. In addition to basic agroecological concepts, chapters in this essential book address the management of wind, water, and pests; biodiversity; physical and temporal patterns; principal, auxiliary, and temporal agrotechnologies, and much more. For professors and students in environmental science, this book offers many previously un-dicussed alternatives for resolving the earth's environmental dilemmas. Photographs, tables, figures, and illustrations help make important points easy to access and understand. Read less

Preface
Chapter 1. Introduction
Land-Use Patterns
The Field of Landscape Agroecology
Concepts of Land Use
Perspectives on Agroecology
Chapter 2. Underlying Agroecological Concepts
Essential Resource Management
Complementarity
Primary and Secondary Species
Desirable Plant Characteristics
Biodiversity and Agrobiodiversity
Desirable Agroecosystem Properties
Land Use Intensity
Interagroecosystem Effects
Chapter 3. The Agrotechnologies
Basic Concepts
Nontemporal Patterns
Temporal Patterns
Desirable Characteristics
Agrotechnological Classification
Development Stages
Chapter 4. Principal-Mode Agrotechnologies
Absorption Zones
Agroforests
Aqua-Agriculture
Aquaforestry
Alley Cropping
Entomo-Systems
Forage (Feed) Systems
Intercropping
Isolated Tree
Microcatchments
Monoculture
Parkland
Root Support Systems
Strip Cropping
Shade Systems
Support
Terraces
Chapter 5. Temporal and Auxiliary Agrotechnologies
Sole Cropping (T)
Rotations (T)
Fallows (T)
Overlapping Patterns (T)
Taungyas (T)
Biomass Banks (A)
Cajetes (A)
Catchments (A)
Infiltration Barriers (A)
Firebreaks (A)
Living Fences (A)
Riparian Defenses (A)
Water Breaks (A)
Water Channels (A)
Windbreaks (A)
Chapter 6. Water Management
Principles
Auxiliary Agrotechnologies
Principal-Mode Properties
Landscape Layouts
Singular Situations (and Overcoming Obstacles)
The Satoyama Landscape: A Case Study
Chapter 7. Wind, Frost, and Fire
Wind Effects
Principal-Mode Susceptibility
Wind-Countering Agrotechnologies
Auxiliary Systems
Windbreaks
Shelterbelts
Frost Countermeasures
Drifting Snow and Sand
Fire
Chapter 8. Integrated Pest Management
Basic Countermeasures
Combined Strategies
Landscape Features
The Agrotechnologies
Insect Countermeasures: A Medieval Case Study
Chapter 9. Patterns (Spatial and Temporal)
Agrotechnological Landscapes Types
The Physical Landscape
Spatial Interludes
Counterpatterns
Temporal Aspects
Landscaping Formulation
Scattering
The Cultural Landscape
Chapter 10. The Socioeconomic Landscape
Quality of Life
Landscape Evaluation
Economic Classification
Bioeconomic Modeling
Landscape Optimization
Expectations
Economic Transformation: A Case Study
Chapter 11. Biodiversity
Economic Advantages
Casual Biodiversity
Enhanced (Directed) Biodiversity
Mimicry
Forest Gardens/Homegardens
Nonuseful Biodiversity
Basics
Management
Biodiversity Ranking
Chapter 12. Other Topics
Household Locational Patterns
Transport (Access)
Roads
Gender Concerns
Landscape Functions
Wildlife
Social Forestry (Gathering)
Land Tenure
Policy
Change
Landscape Aesthetics
Chapter 13. Cultural Motifs
Plot Dominant
Terrain Dominant
Agrotechnological Representation
Academic Classifications
Motif
Landscape Derivation
Chapter 14. Conclusion
References
Index

Author(s)

Biography

Paul Wojtkowski

Landscape Agroecology

Description

Table of Contents

Author(s)

Biography

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