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agroecosistem. However, the climate elements are perhaps the most significant
ones. These exercise a very strong and direct influence on the development and
distribution of soils, crops and livestock. Since all crops have a specific range of
moisture and heat requirement, climatic variations rigorously control the
distribution of crops. On the other hand, climate itself is very much affected by
the nature of relief, natural vegetation and other land cover.
In an ecosystem approach to the study of agricultural land use, the accent is
primarily on terrestrial ecosystems of large natural regions of biomass of the
earth, such as tropical rain forest, tropical savanas, desers, and semi deserts,
mediterranean forest areas, temperate grasslands and forests, and tundras and a
number of other morphological and aquatic ecosystems. Comprehensive studies
have been conductedon both ecological and socio economic aspects in an agro
ecosystem where an expression of certain agricultural system is to be found in
the land use pattern. In such a system, the farmer as a decision maker at the
lower maker constitutes the most important link.
For this reason an investigation of land use in a specific ecosystem must aim
at describing and analysing those ecological and socio economic factors which
influence mans decisions. It must include, in addition to studies of physical
environment, intensive investigation of micro climates, diseases of plants,
animals and human beings, and modes of behaviour. It is very essential, first, to
identify and to study the effects of mans action on biosphere and vice versa,
that is, to acquire precise knowladge and understanding of interactions within
the man environment ecosystems, second, to analyse and compare the
fuctioning of natural, modified and managed ecosystems on a local, regional,
national, and global levels and lastly, to monitor and measure quantitative and
qualitative changes in the biophysical environment. These are the essentials
which are needed for establishing the scientific criteria which can serve as a
basis for a rational management of natural resources in general and agriculture
in particular.
Today as the world is faced with a serious problem of population explosion,
agricultural colonization of cultivable wasteland is being carried out rapidly to
settle more and more people on land the the existing agricultural resources are
baing exploited with modern farm tecnology to feed them. Nevertheless, vast
areas which could otherwise have been put to some use are lying waste as a
result of a tangle of physical and anthropogeographical causes in certain
ecosystems. In an ecosystem approach such negative phenomenon and
catastrophic interference in the biosphere resulting in a serious damage to
ecosystems need to be investigated.