Agroecological practices supporting

provision of goods and services in

agriculture

Alexander Wezel

ISARA-Lyon, France, Department of

Agroecology and Environment;

Agroecology Europe

Regional Symposium on Agroecology for Sustainable

Agriculture and Food Systems in Europe and Central Asia

Budapest 2016

www.blog-materiel-agricole.fr

Florida, USACalifornia, USA

NE Vietnam

Cerrados, Brazil

Which practices for which type of agriculture?

SE France

Agroecology

Scientific Discipline Movement

Plot/Field

approach

Agroecosystem

ecologyEnviron-

mentalism

Rural

development

Practice

Technique

Ecology of

food systemSocial/Political movement

for sustainable

agriculture; Policy

Landscape manage-

ment practices

(Wezel , Bellon et al. 2009, Agronomy for Sustainable Development;

updated in Wezel 2017, forthcoming book: Agroecological practices for Sustainable Agriculture:

Principles, Applications, and Making the Transition)

Practice

Main interpretations of agroecology

Agroecological practices - definition

Agricultural practices aiming to produce significant

amounts of food, which valorise in the best way

ecological processes and ecosystem services in

integrating them as fundamental elements in the

development of the practices, and not simply relying

on ordinary techniques such as chemical fertilizer

and synthetic pesticide application, or technological

solutions such as genetically modified organisms.

(Wezel et al. 2014, Agronomy for Sustainable Development)

Ecosystem services as a basis for agroecological

practices

• nutrient cycling

• biological nitrogen-fixation

• natural regulation of pests

• pollination

• soil conservation

• biodiversity conservation

• carbon sequestration

• water filtration and purification

Services provided by ecosystems for humans:

Management of landscape

elements Integration of semi-natural landscape

elements at field, farm, and

landscape scales

Tillage

managementDirect seeding into

living cover crops

or mulch,

Reduced tillage

Crop choice, spatial

distribution, and temporal

succession Agroforestry,

Intercropping and relay

intercropping,

Crop choice and rotations,

Cultivar choice

Crop

fertilisation Split fertilisation,

Organic

fertilisation,

Biofertilizer

Scale of application of

agroecological practice

Field

scale

Cropping

system

scale

Landscape

scale

Weed, pest, and

disease

managementNatural pesticides,

Biological pest

control,

Allelopathic plants

Crop

irrigation Drip irrigation

Agroecological cropping practices

(Wezel et al. 2014, Agronomy for Sustainable Development)

Some examples of

agroecological cropping

practices supporting

diversification

Intercropping

Pea and wheat

intercropping in

western France (Photo

G. Corre-Hellou).

Relay intercropping of wheat and undersown clover

in SE France (Photo F. Boissinot).

Relay intercropping of wheat and undersown

lucerne in SE France.

Cultivar mixtures

(Photo B. Rolland)

Diversified crop rotations

Typical crop rotations in conventional cereal farms in SE France

Maize

Wheat

Rapeseed

Wheat

Sunflower

4 to 6 years

3 to 4 years

Irrigated crop

rotation

Non-irrigated

crop rotation

(Wezel et al. 2014, publication for FAO )

Diversified crop rotations

Typical crop rotations in organic cereal farms in SE France.

Lucerne

Maize

Soybean

Wheat

Lucerne

Wheat

Secondary cereal(barley, rye)Grass clover

Soybean

Wheat

Maize

3 to 4 yearsIrrigated crop

rotation

Non-irrigated crop rotations

12 to 14 years 8 to 10 years

(Wezel et al. 2014, publication for FAO )

Cover crops

Mustard cover crop http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/IPMPROJECT/

2007/strategicplan.html

Mustard helps also to reduce nematode populations (biological pest control)

Direct seeding into cover crops

(Photo J. Peigné)

Agroforestery

Walnut wheat agroforestry

system, SE France

Walnut-lucerne agroforestry

system, central Italy

Grape vine-olive trees-walnut trees

agroforestry system, central Italy

Integration of semi-natural landscape elements at

field, farm or landscape scale

Biological control and pollination, biodiversity conservation,

but also erosion control, drinking water protection

Integration of semi-natural

landscape elements at field

and farm scale

Direct seeding into living

cover crops or mulch

Natural

pesticides

Organic

fertilisation

Drip

irrigation

Potential of agroecological practices for the next decade

Integration in today’s agriculture

Crop choice

and rotations

Intercropping

and relay

intercropping

Agroforestry

Split

fertilisation

Biological

pest control

Allelopathic

plants

Reduced

tillage

Integration of semi-natural

landscape elements at

landscape scale

hig

h

highmediumlow

low

med

ium

Biofertilizer

(Wezel et al. 2014)

Cultivar

choiceCultivar

mixture

Po

ten

tial

Diversification practices

Integration in today’s agriculture

hig

h

highmediumlow

low

med

ium

Potential of diversification practices for conventional/industrial

agriculture

Intercropping

and relay

intercropping

• nutrient cycling

• biological nitrogen-fixation

• natural regulation of pests

• pollination

• soil conservation

• biodiversity conservation

• carbon sequestration

• water filtration and purification

Cultivar

mixture

Integration of semi-natural

landscape elements at field

and farm scale

Po

ten

tial

Crop choice

and rotations

Conclusions• A broad diversity of agroecological practices exists

• Practices supporting diversification and having good

potential to be more broadly implemented: diversified

crop rotations, cover crops, cultivar mixture,

intercrop. support/valorise well ecosystem services

• For some practices a high level of systems change

might be necessary (e.g. intercropping, agroforestry,

direct seeding)

• Marketing of more diverse productions will be a

challenge for many farmers

• Policy framework needed supporting farmers to

implement agroecological practices

Thank you for your attention

Alexander Wezel

ISARA-Lyon, France, Department of

Agroecology and Environment;

Agroecology Europe