3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

This course will focus on the management of agroecosystems for sustainable productivity, profitability and environmental protection by studying plant and soil sciences, ecology, and pest management from a systems perspective. Students will gain a more in-depth understanding of inputs and outputs in agricultural systems and their relation to primary productivity, nutrient cycling, energy flows, and species interactions on farms. This course also recognizes that agroecological practices cannot be considered apart from the socioeconomic and political processes in which they are a part. Class time will be spent in lecture, field studies and field trips that will attempt to integrate concepts in agroecology with actual practices in sustainable agriculture.