Cropping Systems Ecology

Catalog description

Crop ecology is the integrative study of biological, physical, social, and technological factors that govern the emergent properties arising from cropping systems at different spatial and temporal scales. It implicitly recognizes that achieving the goals for multi-functional (i.e. 'sustainable') agriculture cannot be achieved without understanding the functional interdependencies among these factors. This course serves as a graduate-level synthesis of 1) how crop and crop communities are influenced by the physical and chemical growth environment, 2) how the growth environment is modified by agronomy and, in turn, 3) how production processes are shaped by both managed and unmanaged factors. Readings and class discussions of key concepts compose the first half of the course, with the hands-on application of systems analysis tools emphasized in the second half.