A significant and increasing proportion of the Earth’s land area is covered by crop and range lands. Agricultural landscapes hold a large proportion of the world’s biodiversity but the relative contribution of each land management type to conservation of biodiversity and the maintenance of ecosystem service delivery is poorly understood (Jackson et al. 2005). Ecosystem services can be classified into those associated with the provision of goods (e.g. food, fibers, and fresh water), those that support and regulate ecosystem function (e.g. climate regulation, disease control, soil formation, and nutrient cycling), and those cultural services that are not associated with material benefits (e.g. recreation, spiritual, and aesthetic value) ( MEA 2005).Agricultural ecosystems both require and generate ecosystem services and may enhance or degrade natural capital through time depending on how they are managed. Soil health is a key indicator of the state of natural capital, and is considered here as an integrative property that reflects the capacity of soil to respond to agricultural management by maintaining both the agricultural production and the provision of other ecosystem services ( Kibble white et al. 2008 ).
Année de publication
2010
Auteurs
Ugarte-Guerra L J; Aleman F; Nieto V; Prado L; Galvan O; Ismael S; Selma O; Wilnalia G
Langue
Spanish
