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Landscape agroecology is a relatively new discipline, and few books are dedicated solely to the topic. Landscape agroecology is defined by the author as the ecology of a productive countryside. It is a branch of general agroecology and in a moderate form, the agroecologically influenced landscape is an environmentally friendly, productive expanse where the land-use patterns assert and reinforce the socioeconomic and cultural goals of the inhabitants. Landscape agroecology is designed to use ecological dynamics to promote or achieve productive purposes and the betterment of human experience. It rests firmly on ecological underpinnings and allows natural flora and fauna to thrive in minimal competition with the productive role of the land.
Dr. Wojkowski makes a concerted and, for the most part, successful attempt to make a distinction between natural ecology and landscape agroecology. Natural ecology and landscape agroecology often view natural processes differently because of different end goals. Landscape agroecology studies the interaction among natural processes in artificial systems designed to meet human goals. It deals with desired harvests, yield levels, economic objectives, and many landscape structures built or impacted by humans, such as fields, orchards, hedgerows, buildings, and roads, that are not part of natural ecology. However, that is not to say that natural ecology principles are abandoned, and the book clearly shows how landscape agroecology draws on concepts in basic ecology, including biodiversity, biocomplexity, and complementarity.
The author is uniquely qualified to write a book on landscape agroecology as he has had extensive experience in many parts of the world, including all of the continents except Antarctica. Drawing from this vast personal experience, Dr. Wojkowski combines a strong theoretical and scientific background with real-world observations to describe how natural processes and people impact the landscape to produce food and fiber.
The book is divided into 14 chapters: (1) Introduction, (2) Basic Agroecological Concepts, (3) Understanding the Agrotechnologies, (4) Principal-Mode Agrotechnologies, (5) Temporal And Auxiliary Agrotechnologies, (6) Water Management, (7) Wind, Frost and Fire Management, (8) Integrated Pest Management, (9) Physical And Temporal Patterns, (10) Landscape Socioeconomics, (11) Biodiversity, (12) Other Landscape Influences, (13) Cultural Motifs, and (14) Conclusions. As can be easily determined from this chapter list, the book is best described as being introductory in its presentation; many of the chapters could easily be developed into book length projects. However, the beauty of this book is that the author has shown how all of these natural impacts and human activities interact to shape the production landscape.
The book is available in both hardcover and softcover versions and is printed on alkali paper. It is easy to read because of the size of the print. There are also adequate white spaces that provide clear separation of the various subsections that are usually only a few lines or, at most a few pages, in length. There are approximately 65 tables and illustrations/photographs. The photographs are in black and white and are of poor quality. The line illustrations are more informative because they better illustrate specific concepts covered in the book. The back of the book contains a useful list of approximately 225 references to original research articles, reports, and related works. Like many books, this one is very poorly indexed, with only 10 pages included at the end of the book. This makes finding information not as easy as it should be, especially if the book is to be used as a textbook or a reference book.
Landscape Agroecology seems to be more applicable to developing regions of the world. Many of the concepts presented, however, should also be carefully considered for implementation on our industrial farms to bring about positive changes in water quality, control of disease vectors, and biodiversity.
Anyone thinking about beginning an introductory course in agroecology should consider this book for use as the textbook. However, for more in-depth coverage of topics covered in this book, additional reference sources will be needed. For example, it is impossible to do more than scratch the surface of the topic of biodiversity when only 22 pages are devoted to this topic. The cost of the softcover version is reasonable. Landscape Ecology will provide much useful information to students that are being exposed to the concepts of agroecology for the first time.
School of Natural Resources, Soil Science 1680 Madison Ave. The Ohio State University Wooster, OH 44691
(dick.5{at}osu.edu)
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