Agriculture as a Mimic of Natural Ecosystems

Abstract

Many current agricultural systems are not sustainable in the long-term due to land degradation and the high levels of resource inputs involved in production. In Australia there is an increasing perception that achieving sustainable agriculture will require dramatic departures from current practices. This workshop, convened in Western Australia, brought agriculturalists and ecologists from around the world to explore the concept of natural systems agriculture which suggests that natural ecosystems can serve as models from which we can develop sustainable agricultural systems.