Browsing by Subject "agroecology"

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    A new context for agroecology: establishing the foundation in the southeastern US considering the implications of climate change
    (2018-04-25) Snyder, Sara
    Agroecology is grounded in indigenous knowledge. Current agroecological research is primarily focused on Latin America, reflecting an area where substantial indigenous populations actively practice it. This project aimed to examine agroecology in the southeastern US as a possible practice given the forecasted climate change. A list of plant species used by the Siouan peoples was compiled from archaeobotanical records of Hillsborough, North Carolina. For three of these species (maize, nightshade, and sunflower), changes in the timing of key phenological stages were computed using Julian Day and growing-degree-days between 1950-2099 based on meteorological records and climatic model projections. Records indicate the use of 37 species that were cultivated and foraged. All three species showed decreases of 1.6-2.2 days/decade in the number of days required to reach maturation, which ranged from 137.7 to 227.7 days. Corn and nightshade showed similar decreases in total number of days to reach flowering, decreasing 1.6 days/decade and 1.5 days/decade respectively. However, sunflower had a 1.5 days/decade increase to reach flowering. This increase reflected that sunflower was beginning growth earlier but progressing slower, thus requiring a longer time to reach flowering. The indigenous knowledge of this region has potential to expand and challenge the dominant idea of local agriculture. However, the results indicate that the exact ways in which plants were cultivated and foraged cannot be replicated given the dramatic changes that will alter plant phenology timing within this century. Instead, this project highlights novel local plants that could be incorporated into diet and underscores the need for further research on plant response to climate change.
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    Agroecology and Women-Run Farms: A case study of women farmers in the United States
    (2021-04-30) Gomori-Ruben, Lianna
    Women’s farm labor has always been an integral part of agriculture in the United States. How that labor has been understood and documented has changed over time. Today, women are on record as the primary decision-makers of more farms than ever before. This shift in leadership may have implications for natural resource management, agriculture, and food systems. Experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recognize the vulnerabilities of globalized food systems in the face of climate change and call for nations to transition to agroecology. The FAO has identified women as important leaders of agroecology projects worldwide due to their roles in families and communities. This research is an exploratory mixed-methods case study that collected and analyzed data from a total of 88 participants in the United States using a web-based survey and semi-structured interviews. The findings show that the women farmers who participated in the study realize benefits around food security, nutrition, healthy ecosystems, and social cohesion for their local communities, and their practices and approaches align with the FAO’s ten elements of agroecology.