Designing Cropping Systems for Ecosystem Services

Almost all intensive row-crop ecosystems depend on external chemical inputs such as nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides for their high yields. This dependency has had important consequences for the environment and for ecosystem services (MEA 2005; Swinton et al. 2015a, Chapter 3 in this volume) that underpin these systems’ long-term sustainability (Robertson and Swinton 2005). Well-known consequences of chemical inputs include biodiversity loss, reductions in water quality, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and degradation of soil resources (Matson et al. 1997, Tilman et al. 2002, Robertson et al. 2004). Agriculture is also facing mounting challenges in the form of climate change and increasing fossil fuel costs—all in the context of an increasing global demand for food over the coming decades. These challenges call for a reevaluation of modern agricultural practices and the supporting and provisioning services that agroecosystems provide. Several key questions must be answered before we can hope to ensure the long-term sustainability of row-crop production systems and their associated ecosystem services. First, to what degree can agricultural systems be designed to be regenerative (Pearson 2007), enhancing supporting and regulating services so that nutrients and other resources are conserved within the system and any external inputs are used most efficiently? Second, what factors determine agricultural resilience and the capacity for agriculture to maintain productivity in the face of external stressors (Snapp 2008)? The future of agriculture depends on our ability to understand both the efficient use of natural resources and the ecological principles that promote agroecosystem resilience and stability. While the production of food, fiber, and fuel will remain core goals of farming systems, the provision of other ecosystem services will become increasingly important. Measures to enhance agricultural yield will be evaluated with greater attention to potential trade-offs among other ecosystem services (Syswerda and Robertson 2014). Snapp, S. S., R. G. Smith, and G. P. Robertson. 2015. Designing cropping systems for ecosystem services. Pages 378-408 in S. K. Hamilton, J. E. Doll, and G. P. Robertson, editors. The Ecology of Agricultural Landscapes: Long-Term Research on the Path to Sustainability. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, USA.