Agroecology: researching the ecological basis for sustainable agriculture.

There has been a recent emergence in research activity on the ecology of agricultural systems. After a long history of separation and lack of interaction, ecologists and agronomists have begun to combine forces to study and help solve the problems confronting our food production systems. Out of this the field of agroecology has begun to form. But as the field forms, considerable discussion and even controversy has surfaced as to how a research approach or methodology might best be applied to ensure the achievement of ecologically significant as well as agriculturally applicable results. It is one thing to gain an understanding of what makes an agroecosystem function, yet it is quite another to apply such knowledge to solving everyday problems faced by farmers around the world.