and as the core of Earth's critical zone, i.e. the layer supporting life on Earth that goes from the top of trees to the bottom of aquifers.
Agricultural systems are mostly self‐regulated due to high biodiversity in the soil. Thus, biodiversity loss reduces the resilience of agricultural systems and leads to increasing dependence on input addition. Given its wide physical and chemical heterogeneity, soil hosts a complex and varying biological community of organisms that help maintain an extremely large diversity of processes at a small or large scale [50, 51]. It may be why we are so far from acquiring knowledge about soil biodiversity and its contribution to the function of ecosystems presenting physical and chemical features similar to the one we have [52–54].
Soil conservation is the basic requirement to achieve sustainable agriculture with high ecosystem service functionality. Conservation measures in tropical environments with low natural soil fertility and high rainfall rates most of the year are of paramount importance to stop cultivated soils from reaching irreversible chemical and physical degradation levels that could compromise the provision of environmental services.
It is necessary to keep in mind that where a rural property is located can influence the type of crops to be grown and the price of the land, to have an idea about the importance of ecosystem services for agriculture. The greater the physical, chemical, and biological quality, the easier the access to water; the more the climate favors the culture, the greater the economic value of the land. It is also necessary to keep in mind that ecosystem services and disservices are not limited to rural property; they are also in the landscape surrounding the property and can move between habitats [40]. Therefore, the more natural and inserted in the landscape agriculture is, the less an ecosystem process will be considered a disservice to agriculture. If we take an ecological process that happens naturally and in harmony with other processes as a disservice to agriculture, it is likely because we are not using the ideal agricultural system.
Agriculture, regardless of type (conventional, ecological, conservationist), always has some impact on ecosystems since it is incorporated into a set of countless ecological niches. Thus, our role is to reduce environmental impacts as much as possible and use technology – which may contribute to the loss of essential ecological processes to the proper functioning of the ecosystem as a whole – as little as possible.
Jogersen and Nielsen [44] have indicated some guidelines to be taken into consideration for agriculture development purposes:
1 Closing cycles
2 Enabling direct energy and material flows in increasingly smaller cycles
3 Increasing diversity in agricultural systems by using, for example, integrated ecological agriculture
4 Minimizing pesticide and fertilizer use, or finding the proper balance between economics and ecology, by using best management practices based on the application of environmental management models
5 Increasing agricultural pattern complexity in time and space by using a wide variety of crops and domestic animals, small fields, fallows, wetlands, and so on
Decision‐making in agricultural management processes must be coordinated with the surrounding ecosystem. Thus, principles advocated by agroecology can be great allies in these processes. Agroecology is defined as the application of social and ecological concepts in sustainable food production systems; thus, it can be used as a scientific and methodological tool to achieve agricultural multifunctionality [55–57]. Organic, conservationist, biodynamic, ecological, syntrophic, and natural agriculture, as well as permaculture and forestry‐livestock integration systems, are examples of agricultural systems based on agroecological principles. See Table 1.5 to better understand agroecology, the application of its principles, and how they influence ecosystem services.
Table 1.5 Articles on agroecology and ecosystem services.
| Salient summary | References |
|---|---|
| Agroforestry boosts soil health in the humid and sub‐humid tropics. | Muchane et al. [58] |
| Contribution of agroecological farming systems to ecosystem services | Boeraeve et al. [59] |
| How can integrated valuation of ecosystem services help to understand and steer agroecological transitions? | Dendoncker et al. [60] |
| Examining multifunctionality for crop yield and ecosystem services in five systems of agroecological intensification | Garbach et al. [61] |
| Intersection between biodiversity conservation, agroecology, and ecosystem services | Liere et al. [57] |
| How to implement biodiversity‐based agriculture to enhance ecosystem services: a review | Duru et al. [62] |
| A social–ecological analysis of ecosystem services in two different farming systems | Andersson et al. [63] |
| Quantifying the impacts of ecological restoration on biodiversity and ecosystem services in agroecosystems: a global meta‐analysis | Barral et al. [64] |
| Integrated crop–livestock systems: strategies to achieve synergy between agricultural production and environmental quality | Lemaire et al. [65] |
| Conservation agriculture and ecosystem services: an overview | Palm et al. [66] |
| Agroecological practices for sustainable agriculture: a review. | Wezel et al. [67] |
| Framework for systematic indicator selection to assess the effects of land management on ecosystem services | van Oudenhoven et al. [68] |
| The value of producing food, energy, and ecosystem services within an agroecosystem | Porter et al. [69] |
| Measures of the effects of agricultural practices on ecosystem services | Dale and Polasky [70] |
| Agroecology: the ecology of food systems | Francis et al. [71] |
Ecological engineering must be used to engineer, i.e. to create, agricultural models capable of producing food in sufficient quantities to meet the demands of a growing population while conserving ecosystem services. The practice of ecological engineering focused on encouraging society to adapt to Nature (and not the other way around) can be a great ally in developing productive models aimed at reducing the impacts of agriculture on ecosystem services and exploiting their benefits for both humans and nature.
Ecological engineering must always be thought of as a multidisciplinary science. Efforts from specialists aimed at a common goal can help strengthen the integrative approach necessary for the maintenance and strengthening of services provided by different ecosystems.
1.4 Final Considerations: Challenges for the Future
Ecological engineering is a promising field of knowledge [72], as well as the only academic discipline capable of merging
