Gliessman, S.R. 1997. Agroecology: ecological processes in sustainable agriculture. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.
Credits: 3 credits
Prerequisites: BO 200 or BO 250 or BIO 105 or BIO 181 or BIO/ZO 160 or CS 213 or HS 201
Class meeting times: Fall Semester, T TH 10:15 - 11:30
Class meets in: Room 1403, Williams Hall
Office Hours: W, F 10 am -12 pm or by appointment
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Define an agroecosystem and describe why this concept is useful.
- Analyze how current agricultural practices impact the environment and rural society and predict future trends if continued in the same way.
- Evaluate how technological advances and governmental policies over time have influenced agricultural practices and rural communities.
- Evaluate various agricultural practices for their ecological and environmental impacts.
- Identify agroecosystems that are sustainable and environmentally sound.
- Demonstrate effective teamwork in evaluating and discussing current ideas and practices in agriculture.
- Enhance ability to communicate in discussion groups and develop skills to facilitate in class discussions.
- Improve writing skills ability and develop skills for evaluation of peer writing.
Typical lecture topics might include:
- Ecological Principles of Agroecology and the Impact of Modern Agriculture
- Energy Flow in Agricultural Systems
- Soil Management in Agroecosystems
- Integrated Pest Management in Agroecosystems
- Biotechnology and Genetically Modified Crops in Food Production
- Special Issues in Tropical Agroecosystems
- Agroforestry
- Integrating Animals in Agroecosystems: Focus on Grazing Management Systems
Typical assignments might include:
- Student-led Discussion papers
- Quizzes
- Agroecology Topic Paper –
Students will write a topic paper focusing on a subject of agroecology that they choose and that is approved by the instructor. Students will be given a handout describing topic paper details and expectations. Topic papers describe current and contrasting ideas of an aspect of agricultural design and management practices. The papers conclude with the student's opinion and presentation of new alternative aspect of the agroecology topic. Students are paired in peer review groups and meet outside of class to review each other's topic paper. The revised paper, including a copy of the peer reviewer's comments, is due on the last lecture day of the course. The minimum page requirement is 5 pages.
