AGROECOSYSTEM:

Squash (Cucurbita
maxima)

AGROECOSYSTEM
Definition

Agriculture + Ecosystem =
Agroecosystem
Any ecosystem largely created
and maintained to satisfy a
human want or need is called an
agroecosystem.

It is a site or integrated region of

agricultural production understood
as an ecosystem;
An ecosystem is a functional system
of complementary relations between
living organisms and their
environment.

Basic

structural components:

Biotic factors- living organisms that

interact in the environment
Abiotic factors- nonliving physical and
chemical components of the
environment

Soil
Light
Moisture
temperature

LEVELS OF
ORGANIZATION
Levels of ecosystem organization
applied to agroecosystem

ENERGY FLOW
Ecosystem energy flow. The size of each box represents the
relative amount of energy flowing through that trophic level.

In average, only about 10% of the energy in a trophic level

is transferred to the next trophic level. Nearly all the energy
that enters an ecosystem is eventually dissipated as heat.

4
CONSUMERS

Energy lost from one

3
trophic level to
CONSUMERS
the next level
can be represented
2 CONSUMERS
by a pyramid.

Each level above

only gets 10% of
the energy from
below.

1 CONSUMERS

PRODUCERS
Usually no more than 5 trophic levels since 6th
level would have very little energy to keep it alive.

AGROECOSYTEMS

Human manipulation and alteration of

ecosystems for the purpose of
establishing agricultural production
makes agroecosystems very different
from natural ecosystems. At the same
time, however, the components and
characteristics of natural ecosystems
can be observed in agroecosystems.

Energy

flow in agroecosystems is
altered greatly by human
interference.

Inputs

are derived from primarily

human sources and are often not
self-sustaining.

Functional components of a
natural ecosystem.

Functional components of an
agroecosystem.

Table 1. Important structural and

functional differences between NE & AE
Natural
ecosystem

Agroecosystem

Net productivity

Medium

High

Trophic interactions

Complex

Simple

Species diversity

High

Low

Genetic diversity

High

Low

Closed

Open

High

Low

Independent

Dependent

Long

Short

Complex

Simple

Nutrient cycles
Stability
Human control
Temporal
permanence
Habitat
heterogeneity

NUTRIENT CYCLING

Minimal and considerable quantities

are lost during harvest or as a result
of leaching.
Leaking of nutrients from the
system--- frequent exposure of bare
soil between crops.
Farmers rely heavily on petroleum
based inputs to replace these losses.

POPULATION REGULATING MECHANISMS

Human

inputs(seeds or control
agents) determine population sizes:
Simplification of environment
Reduced trophic interactions
Plants and animals are rarely selfreproducing and self-regulating

Reduced

biological diversity
More simplified trophic structures
Unoccupied niches
High danger of catastrophic pest
and disease

STABILITY

Agroecosystems

have less resilience

than natural ecosystems
--- due to reduced structural and
functional diversity in relation to natural
ecosystems.

Focus

on harvest outputs upsets the

equilibrium established in the
ecosystem.

The

system can only be sustained

by maintaining the outside
interference --- in the form of human
labor and external outputs

Producer

SQUASH

Primary consumers

INSECTS

They are natural

enemies of
many insects,
especially
aphids and other
sap feeders.

Ladybugs/lady beetles

Most destructive
insect pest of
squash. Feeding
damage results
in wilting of
vines, often with
plants being
prematurely
killed.

Squash Bug (Anasa tristis)

They suck the

juice from the
plants and some
transmit viral
diseases.

Aphid

Competition

WEED

DISEASES

Fruit rot

Leaf chlorosis

Erwinia tracheiphila

ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF FARMING

Monoculture

MONOCULTURE
Monoculture increases the productivity of farmland by growing only the best variety
crop; allowing more than one crop per year; simplifying sowing and harvesting of the
crop; and reducing labor costs.

However,

monoculture has a major

impact on the environment:
reduces genetic diversity and renders all
crops in a region susceptible to disease.
Fertilisers are required to maintain soil
fertility. This is expensive and can
pollute surrounding groundwater due to
leaching.

 Monoculture reduces species diversity.

This has many knock-on effects such as
allowing a pest species to get out of
control, fewer plants due to lack of
pollinating insects and loss of species
that may be useful to humans.

PESTICIDES

References
Gliessman,

S. R. (2007).
Agroecology: The Ecology of
Sustainable Food System. 2nd Ed.
Taylor & Francis Group. NY.
Kalabasa. Retrieved from:
http://www.stuartxchange.com/Ka
labasa.html. February 26, 2015.
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pub
s/insect/05609.html