chapter New Dimensions in Agroecology for Developing a Biological Approach to Crop Production -- chapter Education in Agroecology and Integrated Systems / Charles A. Francis -- chapter Redesigning Industrial Agroecosystems: Incorporating More Ecological Processes and Reducing Pollution -- chapter Integrating Agroecological Processes into Cropping Systems Research -- chapter An Agroecological Basis for Designing Diversified Cropping Systems in the Tropics -- chapter Soil Ecosystem Changes During the Transition to No-Till Cropping -- chapter The Ecology of Crop-Weed Interactions: Towards a More Complete Model of Weed Communities in Agroecosystems -- chapter Research and Extension Supporting Ecologically Based IPM Systems -- chapter Effects of Key Soil Organisms on Nutrient Dynamics in Temperate Agroecsosystems -- chapter Nutrient Dynamics: Utilizing Biotic-Abiotic Interactions for Improved Management of Agricultural Soils -- chapter Microbial and Genetic Diversity in Soil Environments -- chapter Impact of Global Change on Biological Processes in Soil: Implications for Agroecosystem Management -- chapter The Importance of Biodiversity in Agroecosystems -- chapter Biophysical and Ecological Interactions in a Temperate Tree-Based Intercropping System -- chapter Agricultural Landscapes: Field Margin Habitats and Their Interaction with Crop Production -- chapter Benefits of Re-Integrating Livestock and Forages in Crop Production Systems -- chapter Nitrogen Efficiency in Mixed Farming Systems / Egbert A. Lantinga Gerard J. M. Oomen Johannes B. Schiere -- chapter Ecological Context for Examining the Effects of Transgenic Crops in Production Systems -- chapter Redesigning Pest Management: A Social Ecology Approach / Stuart B. Hill -- chapter Research Priorities in Natural Systems Agriculture / T. S. Cox C. Picone W. Jackson.

Reduce the environmentally negative aspects of industrial agriculture with an ecologically sound philosophy! New Dimensions in Agroecology explores the latest developments in the emerging science of agroecology, focusing on how these new concepts and cutting-edge tools will help minimize the impact of agriculture on the environment and foster the use of sustainable agricultural practices. This book expands your scope of thinking by providing information on current innovative agroecological research and education as well as emerging issues, such as biotechnology and climate change. Prominent specialists from around the world offer a diversity of stimulating perspectives and topics that will benefit agricultural researchers, extension personnel, and upper-level students in agroecology, ecology, and agronomy programs. In New Dimensions in Agroecology, you will learn why conventional agriculture practices frequently result in environmental problems such as eutrophication at the landscape scale, reduction in soil quality, and decreased biodiversity. This timely tool contributes practical suggestions to design sustainable crop and meat production systems that replace current wasteful and unsustainable industrial agriculture to nourish the world without major damage to the health and quality of our total environment. The book points to future possibilities for research and application with the hope that agroecology becomes the new discipline in agricultural issues rather than just a buzzword. New Dimensions in Agroecology covers groundbreaking investigations on a wide variety of agriculture and ecology, including: holistic landscape-level approaches the integration of ecological principles into cropping systems the utilization of biodiversity in agriculture new ways of seeing the soil in agrosystems ecological pest management and its extension and much more! New Dimensions in Agroecology goes beyond preserving the total sustainability of our agricultural systems, including social, environmental, and economic measures of sustainability in the equation. Generously enhanced with tables, figures, models, and diagrams, this book scrutinizes the current state of affairs in agriculture and presents a better solution. Change will not come easily, but this text is the first step towards a new, environmentally acceptable way.