Main Agro-Ecological Structure: An Index for Evaluating Agro-Biodiversity in Agro-Ecosystems

Abstract

The agro-biodiversity present in agro-ecosystems is fundamental in guaranteeing sustainability and resilience. However, there are very few approaches for evaluating it and, even less, ones that include indicators to analyze the influence of the structural and spatial configuration of a landscape in order to favor agro-biodiversity connectivity to productive systems. There are also no proposals that include management and conservation practices, and the producer (farmer)’s perceptions, awareness and ability to favor it on their farm. The Main Agro-ecological Structure (MAS) is a new proposed index to describe the agro-biodiversity of agro-ecosystems, including these topics and comprising 10 criteria and 29 indicators. Connection with the main ecological structure of the landscape (CMESL), extension of external connectors (EEC), diversity of external connectors (DEC), extension of internal connectors (EIC), diversity of internal connectors (DIC), land use (LU), management practices (PM), conservation practices (CP), perception, awareness and knowledge (PAK) and action capacity (AC) are the criteria that make up the index. Methodologies for its evaluation are also described, and a possibility of adapting certain indicators according to the ecological and cultural contexts where the farms are located is discussed. The possibility of relating agro-biodiversity, evaluated using the index, to other agro-system attributes or properties would allow for one to consider its importance in the multidimensional sustainability of farms, thought to be the greatest advantage for its application.