Ecological intensification of agriculture—sustainable by nature

• Published in: Current opinion in environmental sustainability Vol. 8; pp. 53 - 61
• Main Author: Tittonell, Pablo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.10.2014
• Subjects: adaptive management; africa; agroecology; biodiversity; ecosystem services; farming systems; food security; land-use; organic agriculture; pest-control
• ISSN: 1877-3435; 1877-3443
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cosust.2014.08.006

•Sustainable and ecological intensification differ less in their definitions than in their discourses.•Ecological intensification is compatible with and relies on nature and ecosystem service provision.•Harnessing ecological regulation for agriculture implies shifting from autoecology to synecology.•Ecological intensification requires landscape/community approaches to research for development.•Public investment in research for alternative forms of intensification is urgently needed. Strategies towards agricultural intensification differ on the definitions of sustainability and the variables included in its evaluation. Different notions of the qualifiers of intensification (ecological, sustainable, durable, etc.) need to be unpacked. This paper examines conceptual differences between sustainable and ecological intensification as used in research, development, policy and the industry, particularly with respect to the balance between agriculture and nature. The study compares different discourses on models of intensification that differ in the role nature plays in the actual design of the systems. While sustainable intensification is generally loosely defined, so that almost any model or technology can be labeled under it, ecological intensification proposes landscape approaches that make smart use of the natural functionalities that ecosystems offer. The aim is to design multifunctional agroecosystems that are both sustained by nature and sustainable in their nature.