The blurred boundaries of ecological, sustainable, and agroecological intensification: a review

Abstract

The projected human population of nine billion by 2050 has led to ever growing discussion of the need for increasing agricultural output to meet estimated food demands, while mitigating environmental costs. Many stakeholders in agricultural circles are calling for the intensification of agriculture to meet these demands. However, it is neither clear nor readily agreed upon what is meant by intensification. Here, we compare the three major uses, 'ecological intensification', 'sustainable intensification' and 'agroecological intensification', by analysing their various definitions, principles and practices, and also their historical appearance and evolution. We used data from the scientific literature, the grey literature, the websites of international organizations and the Scopus and FAOLEX databases. Our major findings are: (1) sustainable intensification is the most frequently used term so far. (2) The three concepts ecological intensification, sustainable intensification and agroecological intensification overlap in terms of definitions, principles and practices, thus creating some confusion in their meanings, interpretations and implications. Nevertheless, some differences exist. (3) Sustainable intensification is more widely used and represents in many cases a rather generalised category, into which most current farming practices can be put so long as sustainability is in some way addressed. However, despite its wider use, it remains imprecisely defined. (4) Ecological and agroecological intensification do introduce some major nuances and, in general, more explicitly stated definitions. For instance, ecological intensification emphasizes the understanding and intensification of biological and ecological processes and functions in agroecosystem. (5) The notion of agroecological intensification accentuates the system approach and integrates more cultural and social perspectives in its concept. (6) Even if some boundaries can be seen, confusion is still predominant in the use of these terms. These blurred boundaries currently contribute to the use of these terms for justifying many different kinds of practices and interventions. We suggest that greater precision in defining the terms and the respective practices proposed would indicate more clearly what authors or institutions are aiming at with the proposed intensification. In this sense, we provide new definitions for all three intensification concepts based on the earlier ones.

Sustainable intensification in agriculture: the richer shade of green. A review

“…These observations brought the authors to suggest "ecological intensification" as an alternative concept. Wezel et al (2015) identified three major concepts of intensification, i.e. sustainable intensification, ecological intensification, and agroecological intensification, but noted that all three concepts are actually poorly or imprecisely defined, often misused, or unclear in their practical implications.…”

“…This definition restricts sustainability to very specific types of inputs and resources. Wezel et al (2015) referred to a recent and widely cited definition of sustainable intensification by FAO (2011b): "producing more from the same area of land while conserving resources, reducing negative impacts on the environment and enhancing natural capital and the flow of ecosystem services". This link with ecosystem services brings the definition much closer to that of ecological intensification (see below).…”

“…Milder et al (2012) described agroecological intensification as follows: "agroecological intensification integrates ecological principles into agricultural management to reduce dependency on external inputs and increase the productive capacity of biotic and abiotic system components". Agroecological intensification according to Wezel et al (2015) specifically addresses social-cultural aspects and also includes (intensification of) farmers' knowledge and a systems approach, but that did not prove to be helpful in developing strong criteria to make a distinction between sustainable, ecological, and agroecological intensification, except perhaps for the intensity with which ecological principles are integrated into farms and systems management (Wezel et al 2015).…”

“…It may not be useful to define the terms sustainable intensification and ecological intensification as Wezel et al (2015) did. Contested concepts do not disappear by better definitions because they are inextricably linked to choices for different practices, and these practices remain contested.…”

Converging and diverging principles and practices of organic agriculture regulations and agroecology. A review

“…However, the more ecologically based systems have also expanded in the last decades: organic agriculture has been gaining popularity all over the world and traditional family farming, mainly in the tropics and subtropics, is still the backbone of world food production. Moreover, within classical conventional agriculture, ecological elements and the better use of ecological processes are proposed more and more often under the paradigm of sustainable or ecological intensification (Wezel et al 2015).…”