Application of ecological thinking in reconstructing traditional agronomy: a case study of agro-ecosystem management as core applied subject

The traditional agronomy was initiated at the tide of experimental science in modern agricultural academia. Because of the apparent achievements of Industrial Revolution, the comprehensive grasp of agro-ecosystem in understanding and developing agronomic science has subsequently not been recognized. As a consequence, humanity has to be confronted the double crises of food security resulting from the degradation of agro-ecosystems and productivity decline, and the food safety resulting from the deterioration of agro-environment and food contamination. Traditional agronomy has positioned bio-organizational levels under ecosystem scale both as a discipline and as a specialty in China. This has been the root of production and environmental problems in modern fossil agricultural practices. In this paper, we proposed reframing traditional agronomy by putting agro-ecology to core of theoretical system and agro-ecosystem management to core applied subject. The basic framework and technological choices of agro-ecosystem management were addressed in detail. Also the connotation, extension and development perspectives of agro-ecosystem management were discussed in detail.