Landscape Ecology and Agroecosystems Management

Dear Colleagues,

Agroecosystems are generally defined as a spatially and functionally coherent unit of agricultural activity, and include both the living and nonliving components involved in the system as well as their interactions. The core of an agroecosystem depends on the human activity of agriculture.

Very often agroecosystems have a simplier species composition accompanied by simpler energy and nutrient flows than natural ecosystems. They are composed of cropland and grassland. To a very large degree, agroecosystems are managed ecosystems; only a small amount of grassland habitats exist in a natural state.

Generally speaking, the management of agroecosystems is an economic as well as an ecological task. Based on the FAO Common Vision for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, agroecology offers a unique approach that simultaneously applies ecological and social concepts and principles to the design and management of food and agricultural systems. It seeks to optimize the interactions between plants, animals, humans, and the environment while taking into consideration the social aspects that need to be addressed for a sustainable and fair food system. In this context, the importance of an interdisciplinary, agroecosystem approach involving landcape ecology should be stressed. Landscape ecological principles focusing on spatial and temporal heterogeneity cannot be underestimated.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to invite researchers to submit proposals for papers that deal with landscape ecology and agroecosystem management. Potential topics include, but are not limited, to:

1. Diversity of agroecosystems from a biological perspective: different types of diversity of species and genetic resources.
2. Management of ecosystems from a landscape ecology point of view: best practices and examples.
3. The benefits of ecological farming towards agroecological diversification.
4. Culture and food traditions as context features for agroecosystems management.
5. Agroecological systems, foundational practices, and innvovative approaches.
6. Agriculture and its impacts on landscape structure.
7. Agroforestry approaches in agriculture.

Dr. Ingrid Belčáková
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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