As a branch discipline of ecology, agroecology is the study of ecological processes that operate in agricultural production systems.Some scientists believe that agroecology is the application of ecological theory to agriculture.The United States is the largest agricultural superpower in the world.One major reason for the successful development of American agriculture is the guidance of agroecological theory and practice of agroecological principles.Based on a wide-ranging investigation and review of relevant academic materials on agroecology, the authors explore and analyze the development of American agroecology from aspects of its emergence and development, connotation and change, content and characteristics, trends and prospects.The primary results are as follows.
(1) The agroecology discipline was introduced in the United States in 1928.Since then, agroecology has had 85 years of development in that country.In the United States, this development can be divided into four stages: initial (1928-1961), when Klages first suggested the concept of agroecology in 1928; expansion (1962-1979), which saw publication of the famous book Silent Spring; consolidation (1980-1999), during which scientists published numerous works on agroecology in the United States; and new (2000-present), during which agroecology developed new models, such as sustainable and alternative agriculture.
(2) In the United States, the connotation of agroecology was initially a subject of science or a discipline, and it has gradually developed to have multiple meanings, such as a process, idea, method, action, system, movement, or practice.Stephen Gliessman, Chief Editor of the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, believes agroecology is a powerful tool to sustain food safety and sovereignty.The depth and breadth of meanings associated with agroecology are being continuously enriched and perfected.
(3) The basic content of agroecology in the United States consists of four parts: background (including international agroecological background), theory (the basic theory of agroecology), design (the design and optimization of an agroecosystem), and management (the practice and application of agroecological theory).Agroecology in the United States has four distinct characteristics: (i) global view: agricultural ecologists in that country observe from a global perspective, and analyze agricultural development around the world and problems facing the world food supply; (ii) diversity of content: there are many different connotations from published works on agroecology in the United States; (iii) system flexibility: the agroecological disciplinary system has different characteristics and styles within the United States; and (iv) putting technology into practice: many examples, models and technologies published in agroecological works are summarized from a practical production standpoint in the United States.
(4) In the future, the development directions and trends of agroecology in the United States will be: high, i.e., high starting points, high standards, high efficiency, and high level; new, i.e., new approaches, new methods, new technologies, new achievements, new results, and new progress; long-term, i.e., long-term observation and analysis, long-term accumulation of information, and long-term field experimentation; many, i.e., in research and analysis of agricultural ecology, multiple points, multiple sites, multi-samples, multi-modes, multi-channels, multiple indexes, and multiple methods; and practical, i.e., linking theory with practice, stressing pragmatism in practice, and demonstrating performance.