The ecological role of biodiversity in agroecosystems
Abstract
Increasingly research suggests that the level of internal regulation of function in agroecosystems is largely dependent on the level of plant and animal biodiversity present. In agroecosystems, biodiversity performs a variety of ecological services beyond the production of food, including recycling of nutrients, regulation of microclimate and local hydrological processes, suppression of undesirable organisms and detoxification of noxious chemicals. In this paper the role of biodiversity in securing crop protection and soil fertility is explored in detail. It is argued that because biodiversity mediated renewal processes and ecological services are largely biological, their persistence depends upon the maintenance of biological integrity and diversity in agroecosystems. Various options of agroecosystem management and design that enhance functional biodiversity in crop fields are described.
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Connectivity restorative practices such as the use of living fences, agroforestry crops, crop association, cover crops benefit the services of the agroecological production process, especially pollination and biological control of pests, diseases, and weeds.
“Additionally, these practices benefit the services of the agroecological production process, especially pollination and biological control of pests, diseases, and weeds (Altieri, 1999; Crowder and Jabbour, 2014).”
From Agroecological planning of productive systems with functional connectivity to the ecological landscape matrix: two Colombian case studies (2024) · cites this paper as Altieri, 1999
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- Authors
- Altieri, M. A.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Corresponding author
- Altieri, Miguel A.
- ORCID
- Altieri, Miguel A.
- Venue
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1999-06
- Volume
- 74
- Issue
- 1-3
- Pages
- 19-31
- ISSN
- 0167-8809 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2130256384
- Cited by
- 2,561
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 74 · 2025: 95 · 2024: 112 · 2023: 93 · 2022: 89 · 2021: 148 · 2020: 136 · 2019: 144 · 2018: 153 · 2017: 169 · 2016: 149 · 2015: 167 · 2014: 145 · 2013: 130 · 2012: 128
- FWCI
- 179.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant and soil sciences
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Forestry › Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems
- Keywords
- biodiversity, agroecosystems, ecosystem services, crop protection, soil fertility, biological control, nutrient cycling, microclimate control, hydrological processes, detoxification, agroecosystem management, agroecosystem design, biological integrity
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