Reshaping boundaries between farming systems and the environment

Abstract

In modern societies, farmers not only have to be ef fi cient in food production, but also ensure that ecological services such as pollination, pest control or biodiversity conservation are effective. Therefore, the role of the environment needs to be reconsidered in redesigning or assessing farming systems. This chapter questions and rede fines the usual boundaries between a farming system and its environment. It includes three sections. First, we examine the dynamics of literature related to environmental perspectives in farming systems analysis, encompassing several levels of organization. Then, we analyse the contribution of some proposals derived from ecological forms of agriculture (e.g. organic, integrated), in terms of system properties and boundaries, as well as the delineation of expected functions. Finally, by examining agroecology, we address how farming systems can integrate ecological issues, and identify research perspectives which may inform the further development of farming systems thinking and practices.