Agroecology

Agroecology ( rare agro- ecology) can be understood as " science, exercise or practice." Initially, Agroecology related to crop production and protection, in recent decades were added environmental, social, economic, ethical and developmental aspects.

Meanings

The term agroecology has been used in its English equivalent in 1928. Until the 1960s, the Agroecology was a purely scientific discipline. Then different branches developed. The environmental movement of the 1960s, which were directed against industrial agriculture, agro-ecological movements in the 1990s had the effect. In the 1980s, the agricultural ecology emerged as a practice that was often associated with the movements. In the last 80 years, also the viewing range of Agroecology of the enlarged field of agro-ecosystem level.

Today Agroecology has different scientific meanings, and is also used to describe a movement or an agricultural practice. In different regions can have different meanings of the term to determine priorities. In Germany, agroecology has a long tradition as a scientific discipline, and is not associated with other meanings. In the United States and Brazil, all three meanings are understood by the term, the scientific in the U.S. and dominate the others in Brazil. In France, under Agroecology long a practice understood.

For the German-speaking area so can be found in summary that under Agroecology either a branch of ecology or a branch of agriculture is understood.

Agroecology as a science

As a science, agroecology is part of the ecology and landscape ecology. It deals with the ecological conditions and processes of agro-ecosystems and the ecosystem complex agricultural landscape as a whole. The Agroecology takes into account not only the direct agricultural use subject to ecosystems such as arable and grassland, but also the so functionally linked more natural ecosystems such as forests and bogs and their indirect influence of agriculture ( eg via atmospheric inputs of substances or lateral water displacements ).

The Agroecology is concerned in the sense of basic scientific research with the control variables of biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems and the agricultural landscape. She considered taking into account the biotic hierarchy levels ( genes, species, populations, communities ) individual organisms, groups of organisms or as large a proportion of the total of all organisms and their interactions with each other (eg, trophic interactions, competition, mutual benefit ) and examined particular, the relationship between site characteristics, land use and biodiversity, and the importance of spatial patterns and the use of dynamics to biodiversity. For the purposes of applied scientific research to agroecology seeks to nature conservation assessment of agricultural land use and supporting the development of environmentally sustainable agrarian use concepts.

The methods of agro-ecological research vary with each studied ecosystems and organisms and point location study and research, aerial and satellite image interpretations, applications of geographic information systems and environmental modeling, the proximity to adjacent disciplines such as environmental site ecology and landscape ecology at.

The Agroecology is at universities with different content focus as a study subject (eg University of Giessen ), art ( eg, University of Göttingen), course of study (eg University of Rostock ) or interdisciplinary program (eg, University of Wyoming, United States, or the European Master Agroecology, ISARA, France, UMB, Norway, Uppsala, Sweden, Viterbo and Turin, Italy) taught. The subject Agroecology in different fields here (biology, geography, agronomy, for example ) settled.

Agroecology as a movement

Beginning in the 1990s in the United States and Latin America Agroecology has been adopted as the proper name of movements to express a new view of agriculture and its relationship to society. In Brazil, there has never been the Agroecology as a science, and it has its roots in traditional agriculture. In the 1970s, movements began, were facing the agricultural modernization critical to promote alternative agriculture, family farms and food sovereignty. A well-known supporters of this movement was José Lutz Berger. In the 1980s, these movements were formalized. In 2001, the " National Meeting of Agroecology " took place, which had the goal to promote the agricultural ecology. 2003, the Brazilian government recognized the Agroecology under the umbrella of organic farming to formal.

In Germany, the Agroecology is more or less non-existent as a movement, as most feel producers of non-conventional farming practices of permaculture or organic farming belong.

Agroecology as a practice

" Agro-ecological agriculture " goes beyond the standards and requirements of organic farming, which can also be operated on a large scale now. In German-speaking but rather terms such as permaculture or Demeter ( biodynamic farming) have become established as identity- categories. To draw clear boundaries between each word is very difficult. Together, all these forms have agriculture that they in clear contrast ( and usually also conflict ) to conventional agriculture are.