• Pass out the large sheet of poster paper.
• Instruct to fold in half and number like a book/card 1-4.

Agroecosystem Diagram

Graphics designed by: Heather Griffith, UF/IFAS Communications

Agroecosystem - the vision of agriculture as an ecological system; environmental and ecological features interact in a dynamic and complex ways [full-sized image]

Crop plant - the focus of productivity for the agroecosystem; also might be livestock [full-sized image]

Crop population - grouping of crop plants in monoculture [full-sized image]

Environment - the non-living surroundings that impact crop plant growth; such as water, temperature, light, and soil [full-sized image]

Plant community - the mixture of plants in and surrounding the crop field; some are cooperators and some are competitors [full-sized image]

Plant communities add to biological diversity. These plants can help with environmental conditions like soil quality and wind control. They may also pose challenges for shade or disease. Plant cooperators can include cover crops rotated with focal crops in time, intercrops spaced between focal crops, and buffer strips that surround the field. In livestock systems, plant cooperators are known as forage. Plant competitors are best known as weeds.

Invertebrate community - the group of microbes and insects in and surrounding the crop field; some are beneficial and some are harmful [full-sized image]

Invertebrate communities add to biological and ecological diversity. Beneficial invertebrates can include pollinators, predators, parasitoids, and microbes living on plants and in the soil. Harmful invertebrates can include herbivores that eat plant leaves, bore plant stems, and suck plant fluids. Other harmful invertebrates can deliver or be the cause of plant diseases.

Vertebrate community - the group of animals in and surrounding the crop field; some are beneficial and some are harmful [full-sized image]

Vertebrate communities add to biological and ecological diversity. Beneficial vertebrates can leave manure for plant nutrition, eat weeds, and eat plant pests. Harmful vertebrates eat the crop or promote weeds.

Surrounding land - the land around a farm provides resources and disturbance through the connectivity and interaction with the farm [full-sized image]

People play a critical role in the management of the farm and consume the products harvested from the farm. Other farms, urban areas, and natural areas are a part of the surrounding land.

Agroecosystem interactions - organisms that have a positive (in blue) and negative (in red) effect on the crop [full-sized image]

Do Know your Agroecosystem, Step 1

Agroecosystem Awareness

• A way to see the world that you can’t unsee
• All the players in the system and their interactions over space and time
• Practice on our tour, for now…

Do Know your Agroecosystem, Step 2

Agroecosystem Scale and Dynamics

• Organism -> Ecosystem -> Food System
• Space and Time

Do Know your Agroecosystem, Step 3