AGROECOLOGY
Agroecology is an interdisciplinary science using ecology (the science of ecology) as a framework to examine agriculture. However, agriculture is not limited to production agriculture in the context of agroecology, but is widely examined as agri-culture - and the many cultures of farming, gardening and nutrition. Furthermore, ecology is not used just as a biological science, but in the context of ecology as a multi-perspective inclusive inter- and intradisciplinary science. Thus, there are many segments of the agricultural ecology, that agroecology studies.
Some of these are: ecoystems agroecology, agronomic agroecology, ecological political economy, agro-population ecology and such speculative domains as holon agroecology. However, initially, agroecology was meant to simply look at agricultural production systems through the context or lenses of ecology, taking a much broader view of agriculture, than just inputs and outputs, but also looking for the consequences of choices and their implications for the whole of the natural and human ecology - not just for agricultural economics in the more confined sense.
Important pioneers of agroecology include Miguel Altieri, Stephen Gleissman, John Vandermeer and Eugene Odem.
Agroecology is a young science, evolving, yet is has a holisitic approach coupled with a more basic, biological - while adding sociological, economic and ecological components for analysis and consideration. In other words: its more encompassing, not so limiting in its view of things.
Agroecology can help well explain the integrated approach to soil, crop and animal management that biodynamics developed, based on agronomic understanding in the context of soil, plant and animal ecology. Likewise, agroecology helps to illustrate many biodynamic (seemingly) idiosyncratic (odd) practices as a result of a complex and advanced understanding of the greater ecology.
For example, the role weeds have in telling us what is going on in the soil, what kind of plant succession is in process, what is missing in terms of the dynamic equilibrium in the soil - can be well explained using agroecological terms, research findings and methods of observation.
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