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2 Responses to What are some of the causes and effects that influence sustainable agriculture?

1. Hi Latina. 🙂 I sure hope all is well. 🙂

   As for your question, it is a most complex one. I will do my best, though even scientists don’t have the complete picture, since they’ve only recently realized that all of earth’s processes & events are inter-related. To complicate matters more, that inter-relationship applies over time too. So, for example, clear-cutting forests in Indonesia 10 years ago, still has an impact on the environment of the American Mid-West.

   For agriculture to be sustainable, it must be tackled through a holistic approach. If you go to any ecosystem, you’ll find that there is a variety of plant, animal, & insect life there, all of which are inter-connected in myriad ways. Because of the fact that there are so many different species of these organisms, there is an equal variety in terms of the demands they place on the ecosystem, as well as the nutrients they put back in it. The advantage in that is that, in general, this maintains a balance of chemicals & salinity.

   What I mean by that is this. Two of the most common problems facing the success of a farm is the imbalance of chemicals there, such as there being too much Phosphorus but not enough Potassium, as well as the imbalance of the salt concentration there. Even if farmers rotate crops, these are ever-present risks for the farm because of the absence of the variety of species to counter-balance each other.

   The other advantage in a multi-organism farm is that it is more effective at preventing & combatting soil-erosion. One plant can only put roots in a certain way & is limited in its ability to effectively hold the soil together, as well as resist such phenomena as rain & wind, especially the latter, that constantly test its endurance.

   Think of it like this. Rather than simply joining 2 pieces of wood in 1 place with 1 nail or screw, you cut them in such a way that the edge of each piece is divided into “fingers”. You then apply glue onto these multiple surfaces, & place the 2 pieces in such a way that the “fingers” interlock. & then you use nails or screws too. That’s a much superior way of joining them, which uses different things & techniques. In a way, the complex ecosystem, composed of many species, does the same thing.

   Farming like that also does away with the need for using herbicides & pesticides. That can only improve & increase the longevity of the farm.

   Now, I keep referring to multiple organisms because it’s not enough to just have different plants growing together. The insects & animals that use the farm also play a role in maintaining its viability. They do this by controlling the number of plants of 1 species or another there, thereby maintaining the balance of nutrients in the soil & reducing the toll taken on it, by controlling the number of insects of 1 species or another there, for the same reason & in the same way as plants, & finally, by the nutrients they themselves contribute to the system, regardless whether they brought it there or if it was contained in their waste (their digestive systems break down the complex chemicals, freeing up the various nutrients for the soil to absorb & re-distribute them.).

   I mentioned before an example of a forest that was clear-cut. Any large-scale activity that alters the established cycles & processes that used to occur in their place will have worldwide impact in more ways than I can recount here.

   So, large scale fishing in the Philippines, forest clear-cutting in the Amazon, mining in Australia, even the simple act of shipping, because of which the ship travels from 1 body of water to another, thus transporting organisms between them that would not otherwise have met & interacted with each other.

   Nowadays, solar panels & wind turbines are all the rage. While they are green ways of generating electricity, & while the panels will contribute, however slightly, to shielding the earth beneath them from the increasingly rising amount of heat bombarding the earth, their use does interfere with earth’s natural processes. How does this relate to sustainable agriculture? I will explain.

   Let’s start with the solar panels. Governments scramble to lay fields & fields of them, covering 100s of 1000s of acres, if not more. Now, consider that picture for a moment. The place where these panels are put used to be subjected to the sun’s light & heat. No more. Whatever plants used to grow there, will die. The reduction in temperature will not only alter the soil chemistry, but also kill off & prevent the growth of the native species. The presence of the panels there means the place that used to be the food source &/or courting & mating ground for various species is now unavailable. For migrating species that used to rely on this place to rest & store energy to be able to continue their migration, it is no longer available. If they are unable to complete that migration, or if they arrive too weak, they can no longer help & contribute to the ecosystem as they used

   

   Cogano
   December 19, 2011 at 9:44 am
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2. i shall try to answer it as briefly as possible.
   i paraphrase your question as follows: what are the factors that compel or advocate sustainable agriculture; and what are the results from adopting sustainable agriculture. if the paraphrase is alright, please read on.
   factors that compel or advocate sus. agri: life on earth is complex but interrelated, and posited on certain givens like the soil, climate, and balances between living things and those things that support life. humans have mastered enough technology as to alter these balances by forceful interventions. these alter the balances to such an extent that they can no longer be restored; productivity of agricultural produce constantly goes down, exponentially proportional to the degree of intervention. therefore, humans have the choice to reduce the application of such disturbing technologies when pursuing agriculture. These innovations lead to sustainable agriculture; and therefore, we have to advocate a gradual or rapid reduction in the degree of technological interventions on land and life forms when engaging on agricultural production.
   Results of adopting sustainable agriculture: the balance between the life forms and natural formations is gradually restored, not perhaps to the same extent as the original conditions, but to a greater harmony, so that the conditions restore to optimum cyclically. this will prevent falling productivity, and the exponential increase in inputs in order to maintain a desired level of productivity – i.e., make agriculture more efficient in terms of resource use. the restoration of balance will lead to reduction in the energy unit per unit of agricultural produce – reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, and long term hurtful effects on climate. Land forms altered by intensive agriculture will gradually be restored to normality, so that disasters like floods and landslides will be avoided. There will be a great increase in biodiversity, and the variety of crops that can be put to human use, yielding to qualitative improvements.
   if you want me to explain all these in greater detail, sorry, time and space do not permit a sustainable use of yahoo’s resources.

   

   tmadhava m
   December 19, 2011 at 10:40 am
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