Farmer and scientific knowledge of soil quality: a social ecological soil systems approach

Abstract

This article focuses on how farmers identify and evaluate the quality of soils cultivated and how their indicators compare to those used by agricultural scientists. The aim is to bridge the gap between specific farmer knowledge and universal scientific knowledge by adopting an ecosystem framework applied to agriculture through the concept of agro-ecosystems. This approach was applied to farming in mountainous areas of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, a global environmental hotspot that has been degraded over time. In order to reverse this trend, local actors have to build agro-ecological systems that maintain environmental quality, agronomic sustainability and socio-economic viability. For this to happen, local and scientific knowledge must be bridged and mutually adapted in order to be successful. This study therefore concentrates on processes of inter-communication between farmers and agricultural scientists concerning the role of soil quality in farming and conservation.

Keywords

• farmer knowledge
• scientific knowledge
• soil quality indicators
• agro-ecosystems
• Atlantic Forest biome
• Brazil