AGRICULTURAL ECOLOGY

 

          Ecology is the study of the interactions between living organisms and their environment. Agricultural ecology examines the ecology of agricultural systems and the natural resources required to sustain them. The objectives are to discover and understand the principles behind the interactions that occur in agroecosystems, and to use these principles to develop more sustainable methods for managing agroecosystems. While an agroecosystem with a well-defined boundary is convenient for study, it does not stand by itself. All types of ecosystems (agricultural, natural, urban) are linked and interact with one another, and so these interactions must be considered as well.

          Some courses at the University of Florida dealing with agricultural ecology or related topics includes:

*  ALS 3153-Agricultural Ecology

*  ALS 5136-Agricultural Ecology Principles and Applications

*  NEM 6201-Nematode Ecology

 

 


ALS 3153 – AGRICULTURAL ECOLOGY

 

This is a 3-credit introduction to agricultural ecology, primarily for undergraduate students. Emphasis is on ecological principles and their application to agroecosystems, interactions of agroecosystems and the environment, and examination of current issues in agricultural ecology.

 

Meeting times:       MWF, 3rd period 9:35-10:25 (3 credits)

                             Offered Fall semester each year

Place:                              Entomology and Nematology Building: room 1031

Prerequisites:                  None

Instructor:            Dr. Robert McSorley

 

Textbook: Powers, L.E., and R. McSorley. 2000. Ecological principles of agriculture. Delmar Thomson Learning, Albany, NY.

 

Syllabus

*  Ecological experimentation in agriculture; basic chemical process-carbon cycle.

*  Climate and adaptation of agricultural crops; physical factors affecting  crop-water; energy flow in agroecosystems.

*  Soil type and classification; soil properties and environmental factors.

*  Nitrogen in agroecosystems; fertilizer elements in the environment.

*  Macro and micronutrients and their availability to crops.

*  Decomposition: beneficial soil organisms.

*  Plant succession and competition; weed ecology and management.

*  Distribution and sampling of agricultural pests; introduction to insects.

*  Population dynamics; pesticides and the environment; plant-parasitic nematodes.

*  Plant disease and environment; integrated pest management.

*  Host plant resistance and conservation of genetic resources.

*  Cropping systems and agroecosystems in the landscape; crop rotation and cover crops.

*  Intercropping; conservation tillage.

*  Mulches and organi amendments; dryland agriculture, irrigation, and salinity.

*  Tropical agroecosystems; intensive agriculture; animal agriculture.

*  Human population growth; sustainable agriculture.

 

 

ALS 5136 – AGRICULTURAL ECOLOGY PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS

 

This is a 3-credit course, primarily for graduate students, emphasizing the understanding of ecological principles and their application to agroecosystems and interactions of agroecosystems and the environment. The course meets concurrently with ALS 3153 but includes additional discussion sessions and supplementary reading from current literature so that current issues in agricultural ecology can be examined and analyzed in detail.

 

Meeting times:       MWF, 3rd period 9:35-10:25 am (room 1031)

                             M, 4th period 10:40-11:30 am (room 2217)

                             Offered Fall semester each year

Place:                              Entomology and Nematology Building: room 1031 and 2217.

Prerequisites:                  None

Instructor:            Dr. Robert McSorley

 

Textbook: Powers, L.E., and R. McSorley. 2000. Ecological principles of agriculture. Delmar Thomson Learning, Albany, NY.

 

Syllabus

*  Ecological experimentation in agriculture; basic chemical process-carbon cycle.

*  Climate and adaptation of agricultural crops; physical factors affecting  crop-water; energy flow in agroecosystems.

*  Soil type and classification; soil properties and environmental factors.

*  Nitrogen in agroecosystems; fertilizer elements in the environment.

*  Macro and micronutrients and their availability to crops.

*  Decomposition: beneficial soil organisms.

*  Plant succession and competition; weed ecology and management.

*  Distribution and sampling of agricultural pests; introduction to insects.

*  Population dynamics; pesticides and the environment; plant-parasitic nematodes.

*  Plant disease and environment; integrated pest management.

*  Host plant resistance and conservation of genetic resources.

*  Cropping systems and agroecosystems in the landscape; crop rotation and cover crops.

*  Intercropping; conservation tillage.

*  Mulches and organic amendments; dry-land agriculture, irrigation, and salinity.

*  Tropical agroecosystems; intensive agriculture; animal agriculture.

*  Human population growth; sustainable agriculture.

 

NEM 6201 – NEMATODE ECOLOGY

 

This is a 3-credit course for graduate students examining ecological principles and their application to nematodes.

 

Meeting times:       MWF, 12:50-1:40

                             Offered Fall semester in odd numbered years

Place:                              Entomology and Nematology Building: room 2217.

Prerequisites:                  None

Instructor:            Dr. Robert McSorley

 

Textbook:    Barker, K. R., G. A. Pederson, and G. L. Windham. 1998. Plant and Nematode interactions. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI.

 

Syllabus

*  Nematode life cycles; nematode extraction techniques, extraction efficiency, extraction from roots.

*  Statistics, role of nematodes in agriculture; geographical distribution, dispersal; vertical and horizontal spatial distribution.

*  Sampling; abiotic influences in the soil environment.

*  Biochemical influences in the soil environment; chemical cues in the life cycle.

*  Organic amendments and effects; survival, anhydrobiosis; population dynamics and life table.

*  Density-dependent population growth; modeling nematode populations.

*  Nematode-host relationships, mechanisms of resistance; plant breeding and resistance.

*  Population genetics and host races; damage functions, economic thresholds.

*  Seinhorst’s hypothesis, tolerance, cropping systems.

*  Interactions of nematodes on host yield; nematode and pathogen interactions.

*  Interactions of nematodes and other biotic factors on yield; competition; biological control of nematodes by fungi.

*  Predation; biological control of nematodes.

*  Biomass, respiration, production, energetics; trophic relationships; maturity indices and community structure.

*  Community structure, diversity; role of nematodes in decomposition.

*  Bacterivore nematodes and decomposition; environmental fate of nematicides; biomonitoring.

*  Sustainability and nematode management; integrated nematode management.