Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation (Apr 2022)
Network science: Applications for sustainable agroecosystems and food security
- Fredric M. Windsor,
- Dolors Armenteras,
- Ana Paula A. Assis,
- Julia Astegiano,
- Pamela C. Santana,
- Luciano Cagnolo,
- Luísa G. Carvalheiro,
- Clive Emary,
- Hugo Fort,
- Xavier I. Gonzalez,
- James J.N. Kitson,
- Ana C.F. Lacerda,
- Marcelo Lois,
- Viviana Márquez-Velásquez,
- Kirsten E. Miller,
- Marcos Monasterolo,
- Marina Omacini,
- Kate P. Maia,
- Tania Paula Palacios,
- Michael J.O. Pocock,
- Santiago L. Poggio,
- Isabela G. Varassin,
- Diego P. Vázquez,
- Julia Tavella,
- Débora C. Rother,
- Mariano Devoto,
- Paulo R. Guimarães, Jr.,
- Darren M. Evans
Affiliations
- Fredric M. Windsor
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; Corresponding author.
- Dolors Armenteras
- Laboratorio de Ecología del Paisaje y Modelación de Ecosistemas ECOLMOD, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogotá, Colombia
- Ana Paula A. Assis
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Julia Astegiano
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologia Vegetal FCEFyN, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, CONICET, Cordoba, Argentina
- Pamela C. Santana
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Luciano Cagnolo
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologia Vegetal FCEFyN, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, CONICET, Cordoba, Argentina
- Luísa G. Carvalheiro
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Campus Samambaia, Goiânia, Brazil; Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), University of Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Clive Emary
- School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Hugo Fort
- Grupo de Sistemas Complejos y Física Estadística, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Xavier I. Gonzalez
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ingeniería, Departamento de Gestión, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- James J.N. Kitson
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Ana C.F. Lacerda
- Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Centro de Ciências Exatas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
- Marcelo Lois
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Botánica General, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Viviana Márquez-Velásquez
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil; IRIS Research Group, Innovation for Resilience, Inclusion and Sustainability, Laboratory of Animal Ecology, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus IV, Rio Tinto, Brazil
- Kirsten E. Miller
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Marcos Monasterolo
- Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Catamarca, CONICET-UNCA, San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, Catamarca, Argentina
- Marina Omacini
- IFEVA, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Producción Vegetal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Kate P. Maia
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Tania Paula Palacios
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Botánica General, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Michael J.O. Pocock
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, UK
- Santiago L. Poggio
- IFEVA, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Producción Vegetal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Isabela G. Varassin
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
- Diego P. Vázquez
- Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas, CONICET and Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
- Julia Tavella
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Botánica General, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Débora C. Rother
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Mariano Devoto
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Botánica General, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
- Paulo R. Guimarães, Jr.
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Darren M. Evans
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; Corresponding author.
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 20,
no. 2
pp. 79 – 90
Abstract
The global challenge of feeding two billion more people by 2050, using more sustainable agricultural practices whilst dealing with uncertainties associated with environmental change, requires a transformation of food systems. We present a new perspective for how advances in network science can provide novel ways to better understand, harness, and restore multiple ecological processes in agricultural environments. We describe: (i) a network-focused framework for managing agro-ecosystems that accounts for the multiple interactions between biodiversity and associated ecosystem services; (ii) guidance for incorporating socio-economic factors into ecological networks; and (iii) the potential to upscale network methods to inform efforts to build resilience, including global food-supply chains. In doing so we aim to facilitate the application of network science as a systems-based way to tackle the challenges of securing an equitable distribution of food.
