Development of the Systematic Approach to Studying Agricultural Land and Agrolandscape Management

Abstract

This paper develops the methodological foundations of agrolandscape-environmental studies and management of agricultural land that are based on the concept of conservation and reproduction of land and other natural resources used in agriculture, soil fertility, productive longevity of agro-ecosystems and agrolandscapes (All-Russian Williams Fodder Research Institute), and the concept of the ecological framework of agricultural landscapes and ecological–economic balance (Moscow State University, Institute of Geography Russian Academy of Sciences). An integrative understanding of the essence of agricultural lands allows us to consider them as natural agricultural systems, which have a specific structure, functions, and links and are interrelated with other agrogeo-ecosystems and geo-ecosystems that form the environment. They supply agricultural products and other side derivatives of their functioning that are associated with the development of negative processes outside their limits. The features of study, construction, and management of agricultural land are determined by the dual nature-productive essence of agrogeo-ecosystems and the presence of three subsystems in them (abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic). A special role is played by a control and monitoring unit. Agrogeoecosystems are characterized by the presence of three types of relationships (substance-energy, informational, and management); three main functions of agrogeo-ecosystems (productive, environment-forming, and nature-protective); the ability of agrogeo-ecosystems to respond to anthropogenic impacts; the ability of adaptation and recovery; and their distinctive openness and dynamism. The priorities of studies and management of agricultural land are formulated in several principles (systematic approach, emergence, environmental framework, landscape-ecological balance, multilevel and multifactor adaptation, etc.). They are intended to improve the adaptability, sustainability, productivity, and resource-saving and environmental role of agro-ecosystems and agricultural landscapes, which is only possible by creating favorable conditions for their functioning, ensuring a balance between the productive and protective agro-ecosystems and favorable conditions for the development of soil and soil biota, for the active life of major soil-formers (perennial grasses and microbes).