Agroecological Practices for Sustainable Agriculture

Principles, Applications, and Making the Transition

Good agroecological practices are indispensable for the development of sustainable agriculture. In this book, principles, diversity and applications of agroecological practices for a range of systems are presented, transforming scientific research and participatory knowledge of production into practical application. It illustrates a broad range of research and teaching being used within the farming community to demonstrate best practice and current state-of-play within the field. Agroecological methods used in crop farming, grass-based livestock farming, fish production, and other complex farming systems are discussed. Conclusions are drawn from studies to provide an outlook on future trends of agroecological practices and on policies supporting implementation.

Due to emphasis on real-life application, it is relevant not only to students of the agricultural sciences and public policy, but also to researchers, stakeholders and policy makers involved in the development of sustainable agriculture.

Contents:

• Preface
• Agroecological Principles for the Conversion of Farming Systems (Clara I Nicholls, Miguel A Altieri and Luis Vazquez)
• Agroecology and Agroecological Cropping Practices (Alexander Wezel and Erin Silva)
• Applying Agroecological Principles for Regenerating Soils (Matthew R Ryan and Joséphine Peigné)
• Transitions to Agroecological Nutrient Management Practices in the USA Corn Belt (Jennifer Blesh and Ryan E Galt)
• A Disturbance-Based Framework for Understanding Weed Community Assembly in Agroecosystems: Challenges and Opportunities for Agroecological Weed Management (Richard G Smith and David A Mortensen)
• Integration of Genetically Modified Crop Traits in Agroecological Practices in Europe: A Critical Review (Heikki M T Hokkanen and Ingeborg Menzler-Hokkanen)
• Entomovectoring: An Agroecological Practice of Using Bees for Biocontrol (Ingeborg Menzler-Hokkanen and Heikki M T Hokkanen)
• Agroecology and Participatory Knowledge Production and Exchange as a Basis for Food System Change: The Case of the Community Agroecology Network (Steve R Gliessman, Heather Putnam and Rose Cohen)
• Assessing the Impact of Management Interventions in Agroecological and Conventional Cropping Systems Using Indicators of Sustainability (Cathy Hawes)
• A Framework for the Design of Agroecological Livestock Farming Systems (Bertrand Dumont, Magali Jouven, Thierry Bonaudo, Raphaëlle Botreau and Rodolphe Sabatier)
• Agroecological Principles and Practices for Grass-Based Farming Systems (Alain Peeters and Alexander Wezel)
• Agroecological Management in Fish Pond Systems (Joël Aubin, Joël Robin, Alexander Wezel and Marielle Thomas)
• Education in Agroecological Learning: Holistic Context for Learning Farming and Food Systems (Charles Francis, Mary Wiedenhoeft, Robert Dehaan and Paul Porter)
• Teaching Agroecological Practices to Higher Education Students, Farmers, and Other Stakeholders: Examples from France (Aurélie Ferrer, Florian Celette, Joséphine Peigné, Marion Casagrande, Jean-François Vian and Alexander Wezel)
• Learning Agroecological Practices as Components of Complex Farming Systems (Charles Andrew Francis, Tor Arvid Breland, Geir Lieblein, Lennart Salomonsson, Suzanne Morse and Anna Marie Nicolaysen)
• Agroecological Practices: Potentials and Policies (Alexander Wezel and Charles Francis)

Readership: Students of the agricultural sciences and public policy, but also to researchers, stakeholders and policy makers involved in the development of sustainable agriculture.