E-Book Overview
Since the advent of agriculture approximately 12,000 years ago, human activity has created a unique set of ecosystems. However, the recent development of world markets, rapid technological advances, and other changes to farming practices have led to hugely increased pressures on farm habitats and organisms. Global human populations are rising and diets are becoming ever more complicated, leading to unrelenting requirements for increased levels of food production. Natural biotopes are becoming increasingly fragmented as agricultural activities expand around them. "Agroecosystems" now occur from the tropics to subarctic environments and comprise systems as varied as annual crops, perennial grasslands, orchards, and agroforestry systems. They presently cover almost 40% of the terrestrial land surface and significantly shape landscapes at a global scale. This key addition to the OUP Biology of Habitats Series provides a novel perspective on agroecosystems, summarising our current understanding of the basic and applied aspects of these important and complex habitats, whilst focusing on environmental concerns in the context of global change. <em>The Biology of Agroecosystemsis is for both senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in agroecology, farmland ecology, conservation, and agriculture as well as the many professional ecologists, conservation biologists, and land managers requiring a concise overview of agroecology.
E-Book Content
The Biology of Agroecosystems THE BIOLOGY OF HABITATS SERIES This attractive series of concise, affordable texts provides an integrated overview of the design, physi ology, and ecology of the biota in a given habitat, set in the context of the physical environment. Each book describes practical aspects of working within the habitat, detailing the sorts of studies which are possible. Management and conservation issues are also included. The series is intended for naturalists, students studying biological or environmental science, those beginning independent research, and professional biologists embarking on research in a new habitat. The Biology of Streams and Rivers Paul S. Giller and Björn Malmqvist The Biology of Soft Shores and Estuaries Colin Little The Biology of the Deep Ocean Peter Herring The Biology of Soil Richard D. Bardgett The Biology of Polar Regions, 2nd Edition David N. Thomas et al. The Biology of Rocky Shores, 2nd Edition Colin Little, Gray A. Williams, and Cynthia D. Trowbridge The Biology of Alpine Habitats Laszlo Nagy and Georg Grabherr The Biology of Disturbed Habitats Lawrence R. Walker The Biology of Freshwater Wetlands, 2nd Edition Arnold G. van der Valk The Biology of Peatlands, 2nd Edition Håkan Rydin and John K. Jeglum The Biology of African Savannahs, 2nd Edition Bryan Shorrocks and William Bates The Biology of Mangroves and Seagrasses, 3rd Edition Peter J. Hogarth The Biology of Deserts, 2nd Edition David Ward The Biology of Lakes and Ponds, 3rd Edition Christer Brönmark and Lars-Anders Hansson The Biology of Coral Reefs 2nd Edition Charles R.C. Sheppard, Simon K. Davy, Graham M. Pilling, and Nicholas A.J. Graham The Biology of Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems Karen J. Esler, Anna L. Jacobsen, and R. Brandon Pratt The Biology of Urban Environments Philip James The Biology of Grasslands Brian J. Wilsey The Biology of Caves and Other Subterranean Habitats, 2nd Edition David C. Culver and Tanja Pipan The Biology of Agroecosystems Nicola P. Randall and Barbara Smith The Biology of Agroecosystems Nicola P. Randall Principal Lecturer, Crop and Environment Sciences, Harper Adams University, UK Barbara Smith Associate Professor, The Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, UK 1 1 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom Oxford University Press