This Special Issue on Diversified Farming Systems is motivated by a desire to understand how agriculture designed according to whole systems, agroecological principles can contribute to creating a more sustainable,...
This article traces multiple directions in the evolution of agroecology, from its early emphasis on ecological processes in agricultural systems, to its emergence as a multidimensional approach focusing on broader...
In recent years, more attention has been paid to local knowledge for its important contribution to the design of strategies for sustainable management of natural resources. The importance of soil...
This Policy Research Brief draws on case studies in Brazil and Cuba, as well as analytical papers on agroecology in theory and practice, to contribute to the discussion on how...
When Cuba faced the shock of lost trade relations with the Soviet Bloc in the early 1990s, food production initially collapsed due to the loss of imported fertilizers, pesticides, tractors,...
Rural social movements have in recent years adopted agroecology and diversified farming systems as part of their discourse and practice. Here, we situate this phenomenon in the evolving context of...
The Huangpu River, a source of drinking water, has been highly contaminated in recent years by fertilizer-rich agricultural drainage from extensive fertilizer uses in vegetable farms for high yields in...
If diversified farming systems (DFS) are to thrive again in the United States, policies and preferences must evolve to reward the environmental and social benefits of sustainable farming and landscape...
Public lecture: Food movements, agroecology, and the future of food and farming. Today, a billion people live in hunger. Peak oil and environmental degradation threaten the food security of billions...
Cocoa cultivation is generally considered to foster deforestation. Contrary to this view, in the forest–savannah interface area in Cameroon, farmers have planted cocoa agroforestry systems on Imperata cylindrica grasslands, a...
The dynamic changes of NPK absorption by maize and broad bean in maize and broad bean intercropping system were tested by using different application amount of phosphate fertilizer. The results...
Low inherent fertility of tropical soils and degradation, nutrient deficiency and water stress are the key factors that hamper rainfed agriculture in semi-arid West Africa. Conservation Agriculture (CA) is currently...
Crop row spacing in intercropping systems affects interactions of crop species and subsequent crop yields. In a field experiment, the response of crop yield to different maize row spacing (0-80...
Agricultural policymakers are addressing the sustainable development issue by designing new agricultural systems. Farmers are ultimately asked to make deep changes at field scale. Designing cropping systems has previously been...
A field experiment was conducted to study the temporal and spatial changes of active organic C and N in the newly cultivated light sierozem soil under fava bean/maize intercropping system...
Cotton-based intercropping is a popular agronomic practice in Northwest China that addresses the conflict on planting area between cereals and cotton. However, not sufficient knowledge exists on the yield advantage,...
Primary resources may affect the structure of species assemblages in upper trophic levels of food webs. These bottom-up effects may involve important ecological processes that affect pest control. For example,...
The Green Revolution, the symbol of agricultural intensification not only failed to ensure safe and abundant food production for all people, but it was launched under the assumptions that abundant...
Smallholder farmers in semi-arid Africa are in an increasingly vulnerable position due to the direct and indirect effects of climate change, demographic pressure and resource degradation. Conservation agriculture (CA) is...
This article reviews the main initiatives underlying ecologically intensive agroecosystems, analyses basic concepts, and proposes a framework for action. The rainforest model, the dry forest model, and the American Prairie...
