Designing sustainable agrosystems by copying the biogeochemical organization of natural ecosystems
Résumé
Redesigning agrosystems by incorporating more ecological regulations has been suggested as a solution to feed a growing world population while preserving soil assets for future productivity and reducing environmental impacts such as eutrophication and greenhouse gas emissions. However, guidelines for redesigning cropping systems from natural systems remain limited. Reviewing the last knowledge of ecosystem functioning, we outlined four ecological systems synchronizing the supply of soluble nutrients by soil biota to fluctuating plant nutrient demand. This synchrony limits deficiencies and excesses of soluble nutrient, which usually penalize both production and regulating services of agrosystems such as nutrient retention and soil carbon storage. We explain why fertility should no longer be viewed as an intrinsic property of soils but as an emerging property of soil-plant interactions.
We also describe how ecological systems promoting synchrony can be installed in agrosystems to improve their sustainability and reduce the use of mineral fertilizers.
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