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Review
. 2021;36(8):2235-2257.
doi: 10.1007/s10980-021-01248-0. Epub 2021 Jun 26.

Agroecology landscapes

Ph Jeanneret  1 , S Aviron  2 , A Alignier  2 , C Lavigne  3 , J Helfenstein  1 , F Herzog  1 , S Kay  1 , S Petit  4
Affiliations
Review

Agroecology landscapes

Ph Jeanneret et al. Landsc Ecol. 2021.

Abstract

Context: Agroecology combines agronomic and ecological concepts. It relies on the enhancement of biodiversity and related ecosystem services to support agricultural production. It is dependent on biological interactions for the design and management of agricultural systems in agricultural landscapes.

Objectives: We review the role of landscape ecology to understand and promote biodiversity, pest regulation and crop pollination for the designing of "agroecology landscapes". We illustrate the use of landscape ecological methods for supporting agroforestry systems as an example of agroecological development, and we propose pathways to implement agroecology at landscape scale.

Methods: The state of the art of how landscape ecology contributes to agroecology development is summarized based on a literature review.

Results: Agroecology requires thinking beyond the field scale to consider the positioning, quality and connectivity of fields and semi-natural habitats at larger spatial scales. The spatial and temporal organisation of semi-natural elements and the crop mosaic interact. Understanding this interaction is the pre-requisite for promoting patterns and mechanisms that foster biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Promoting agroecological practices beyond individual farm borders can be rooted in a bottom-up approach from agroecological lighthouse farms to farm networks to amplify agroecology adoption at the landscape scale.

Conclusions: Achieving agricultural landscapes composed of fields and farms following agroecological management requires understanding of biodiversity patterns, biological interactions and mechanisms that determine and boost ecosystem functioning to improve services at landscape scale, involving farmers in a bottom-up and context-specific approach.

Keywords: Agroforestry; Biodiversity; Ecosystem services; Landscape ecology; Pest regulation; Pollination.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Growing number of scientific publications in the field of agroecology. The plot presents the number of publications listed in web of science published between 1990 and 2020, with the words “agroecolog*” or “agro-ecolog*” in the title, abstract or keywords. Search results for “landscape ecology” are shown as a reference
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Illustration of the two components of landscape heterogeneity, composition (horizontal axis) and configuration (vertical axis). In agricultural landscapes, compositional and configurational heterogeneity depend on the amount, diversity and configuration of both semi-natural vegetation and crops. (adapted from Fahrig et al. 2011)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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