Tropical Agroecosystems: Integrating Biodiversity, Technology, and Community

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Agriculture plays a crucial role in development worldwide, particularly in tropical regions, where many people are self-employed subsistence farmers relying on it as their primary means of survival. Farming techniques developed for temperate zones are often unsuitable for the tropics due to differences in climate, soils, and the predominance of small-scale farming. Tropical agroecosystems are characterized by both planned and unplanned diversity. Planned diversity includes the intentional spatial and temporal arrangement of domesticated plants and animals, as well as the introduction of beneficial organisms by farmers. Unplanned diversity includes weeds, herbivores, predators, microbes, and other organisms that persist after land conversion or colonize the area from the surrounding environment. Both types of diversity strongly influence agroecosystem productivity, stability, pest regulation, soil health, and the movement of organisms between agricultural and natural habitats. Tropical agroecosystems (TAEC) focus on achieving efficient and environmentally sustainable crop and livestock production, contributing to reduced hunger, malnutrition, and poverty, and improving rural livelihoods. TAEC explores topics such as tropical farming systems, soil and water management, food and cash crops, livestock management, and broader strategies for rural development.

Frequency: Bi-annual