Towards evolutionary agroecology

Abstract

Agroecology derives much of its strength from interactions between disciplines that produce a holistic perspective on agricultural systems and issues.  Although ongoing integration of social dynamics into agroecology has strengthened the field, evolution and genetics have not been embraced to the same degree, despite the fact that they have been are discussed in some common agroecology texts.  I argue that the field of agroecology could extend its reach and depth by embracing the evolutionary study of agroecosystems.  Areas of evolutionary inquiry with relevance to agriculture focus on long or short term processes, encompass a range of scales, incorporate molecular or quantitative genetic analyses, and explore ecological processes to differing degrees.