Restoration Ecology Research
Sustainable Agriculture

Agriculture has changed dramatically in the last 60 years. Food and fiber productivity have soared due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use, and specialization.

Although these changes have had many positive effects in farming, there have also been significant costs. Water is the principal resource that has helped agriculture but has also been the limiting factor when mis-managed. The most common issues related to water quality are contamination of ground and surface waters by pesticides and other chemicals. Agriculture can also affects water resources through the destruction of riparian habitats. The conversion of habitat to agricultural land reduces fish and wildlife through erosion and sedimentation. Air quality can also be afected by agricultural practices through dust from tillage, pesticide drift from spraying, and nitrous oxide emissions from the use of nitrogen fertilizer.

Sustainable agriculture is a way to address many of these environmental concerns and also offers opportunities for growers, laborers, consumers, policymakers and anyone else in the food system. It also,

• Achieves the integration of natural biological cycles and controls,
• Optimizes the management and use of on-farm resources,
• Reduces the use of non-renewable resources and purchased production inputs, and
• Minimizes adverse impacts on health, safety, wildlife, water quality, and the environment.

Science Services is currently engaged in the following projects relating to sustainable agriculture

• Ecologically Sustainable Agricultural Systems
• Effects of Rotational Grazing and Landuse on Birds of Intermittent Waterways in East-central Wisconsin
• Mapping and Analysis of Northern Wisconsin Pre-European Forest