Abstract
Agroecosystems can be viewed as production systems that provide food and fiber products essential for the health and well-being of humankind. This view is not incorrect, but it is incomplete. Agricultural commodities such as crops and livestock are one of several agroecosystem components (Fig. 35.1). Agroecosystems include land used for crops, pasture and livestock; the adjacent uncultivated land that supports other vegetation (hedgerows, woodlots, etc.) and wildlife; the underlying soils and groundwater; and the associated drainage networks. Inputs to the agroecosystem are both natural and anthropogenic, and outputs include both desirable and undesirable quantities. By design, agroecosystems are among the most intensively managed ecosystems in the world. A challenge of a program designed to monitor and assess the health of agroecosystems is to ensure a balanced assessment of the productivity and the ecological well-being of the system.
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Meyer, J.R. et al. (1992). Indicators of the Ecological Status of Agroecosystems. In: McKenzie, D.H., Hyatt, D.E., McDonald, V.J. (eds) Ecological Indicators. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4659-7_35
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