ABSTRACT
Agroecosystems are derived from manmade changes to the ‘natural ecosystem’ and encompass a complexity of biological interactions. We
strongly believe that agriculture is a form of applied ecology and that many of the principles of ecology must be applied to better understand agriculture. Several authors have provided definitions for the term ‘agroecology.’ Gliessman (1998) defines agroecology as “the applica tion of ecological concepts and principles to the design and manage ment of sustainable agroecosystems.” Francis (2003) proposed that agroecology be defined as “the ecology of food systems,” reflecting both the importance of ecology and systems thinking in agroecology. Francis (2004) advocates communicating the issues of agriculture, within a food system perspective, looking at how ecological principles can be used to explain and improve not only on-farm production, but also the entire food-producing enterprise, including examination of is sues such as global nutrient cycling.
