Chapter 6:AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS AND LAND DEGRADATION

Agro-ecosystems are biological and natural resource systems managed by humans for the primary purpose of producing food as well as other socially valuable nonfood goods and environmental services. These are contained within larger landscapes, which include uncultivated land, drainage networks, rural communities, and wildlife. Agro-ecosystems cover more than one-quarter of the global land area, but almost three-quarters of the land has poor soil fertility, and about one-half has steep terrain, constraining production. A further limitation is the growing competition from other forms of land use such as urban, industrial