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Ecological Agriculture: History
Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Contributor: Luyun Yu

Ecological agriculture refers to agricultural production systems designed and managed according to ecological principles, with the aim of maintaining productivity while conserving natural resources and minimizing adverse environmental impacts. It emphasizes the integration of biological processes, nutrient cycling, species interactions, and ecosystem services into agricultural management, reducing excessive dependence on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and other external inputs [1][2]. Common practices include crop rotation, intercropping, cover cropping, organic amendments, biological pest control, agroforestry, and the conservation of soil and water resources [2][3]. These practices seek to enhance soil organic matter, regulate nutrient availability, reduce pollution, maintain biodiversity, and improve the ecological stability of agroecosystems. From an environmental chemistry perspective, ecological agriculture is particularly concerned with the movement and transformation of nutrients and chemical substances in soil and water, including nitrogen and phosphorus cycling, pesticide residues, and the prevention of nutrient losses [3][4]. Its broader objective is to reconcile agricultural production with the long-term functioning and environmental integrity of agroecosystems

  • agroecosystems
  • sustainable agricultural systems
  • nutrient cycling
  • soil health
  • biodiversity conservation
  • environmental chemistry
  • ecological management

References

  1. M. Kiley-Worthington; Ecological agriculture. What it is and how it works. Agric. Environ. 1981, 6, 349-381, 10.1016/0304-1131(81)90039-4.
  2. Fred Magdoff; Ecological agriculture: Principles, practices, and constraints. Renew. Agric. Food Syst. 2007, 22, 109-117, 10.1017/s1742170507001846.
  3. National Research Council. Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century; The National Academies Press: Washington, DC, United States, 2010. [CrossRef]
  4. G. Philip Robertson; Peter M. Vitousek; Nitrogen in Agriculture: Balancing the Cost of an Essential Resource. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 2009, 34, 97-125, 10.1146/annurev.environ.032108.105046.
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