Network science: Applications for sustainable agroecosystems and food security

WINDSOR, FREDRIC M.; ARMENTERAS, DOLORS; ASSIS, ANA PAULA A.; ASTEGIANO, JULIA; SANTANA, PAMELA C.; CAGNOLO, LUCIANO; CARVALHEIRO, LUÍSA G.; EMARY, CLIVE; FORT, HUGO; GONZALEZ, XAVIER I.; KITSON, JAMES J.N.; LACERDA, ANA C.F.; LOIS, MARCELO; MÁRQUEZ-VELÁSQUEZ, VIVIANA; MILLER, KIRSTEN E.; MONASTEROLO, MARCOS; OMACINI, MARINA; MAIA, KATE P.; PALACIOS, TANIA PAULA; POCOCK, MICHAEL J.O.; POGGIO, SANTIAGO L.; VARASSIN, ISABELA G.; VÁZQUEZ, DIEGO P.; TAVELLA, JULIA; ROTHER, DÉBORA C.; DEVOTO, MARIANO; GUIMARÃES, PAULO R.; EVANS, DARREN M.

Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation

Associacao Brasileira de Ciencia Ecologica e Conservacao

Año: 2022 vol. 20 p. 79 - 90

2530-0644

The global challenge of feeding two billion more people by 2050, using more sustainable agricultural practices whilst dealing with uncertainties associated with environmental change, requires a transformation of food systems. We present a new perspective for how advances in network science can provide novel ways to better understand, harness, and restore multiple ecological processes in agricultural environments. We describe: (i) a network-focused framework for managing agro-ecosystems that accounts for the multiple interactions between biodiversity and associated ecosystem services; (ii) guidance for incorporating socio-economic factors into ecological networks; and (iii) the potential to upscale network methods to inform efforts to build resilience, including global food-supply chains. In doing so we aim to facilitate the application of network science as a systems-based way to tackle the challenges of securing an equitable distribution of food.