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Ecology – the science of agriculture in the 21st century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2004

J. WEINER
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, DK-1958 Frederiksberg, Denmark

Abstract

Most current biological problems in agriculture occur at the higher levels of organization: populations, communities and ecosystems. These are the levels addressed by the science of ecology rather than other biological sciences. Therefore ecology will by necessity become the central science of agriculture. Agricultural production will be seen as a form of applied ecology or ecological engineering. This change in perspective has major implications for agricultural research. It brings the discussion of the assumptions of a research programme into the open and forces researchers to prioritize among potentially conflicting objectives. It sees agricultural strategies in terms of trade-offs, rather than improvements, and it suggests that agricultural research needs to be more bold and ambitious if it is to solve the most important problems facing us in the new century.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2003 Cambridge University Press

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