Agroecosystems are ecosystems in which humans have exerted a deliberate selectivity on the composition of the biota, i.e. the crops and livestock maintained by the farmer, replacing to a greater or lesser degree the natural flora and fauna of the site. The establishment and management of a modified and simplified plant community, often including exotic species, influences the composition and activities of the associated herbivore, predator, symbiont and decomposer sub-communities (Figure 11.1; Swift and Anderson 1993). The composition, diversity, system structure and dynamics of agroecosystems may thus differ in many respects from those of the natural ecosystems of the adjacent landscape.
Publication year
1996
Authors
Language
English
Keywords
landscape, agroecosystems, farming systems, pest control, cycling, conservation (storage)
