Preface

It is currently well known and widely accepted that farmers are the general managers of the Earth's land surface worldwide. Furthermore, they will continue to shape agricultural environments in the coming decades. The generation of increased and improved innovative methodologies and approaches that guarantee the sustainability of crop production, simultaneously with ecosystem services, is a challenging scientific area, largely led by ecologists, agronomists, and theoreticians, who must address this task as a joint effort. Agricultural ecosystems offer a variety of benefits to the global population, and these are recognized as Ecosystem Services. In this context, it has been acknowledged that ecosystem services are both actively or passively engaged in enhancing the well-being of the global population. Accordingly, as defined in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), the main role of agricultural practices is to support provisioning ecosystem services, mainly through the manufacture of supplies and educational management. The ecological tools underlying ecosystem services take into account the complexity of the many possible relationships between species of economic importance and the characteristics of local ecosystems. Furthermore, the consequences of biodiversity on the mechanisms underlying most ecosystem services are nowadays well recognized and known in most cases, both empirically and theoretically. In an ideal condition, most, if not all, ecosystem services should also be considered when resource management decisions are taken and should be included at different scales, both spatial and temporal. It is also important to avoid overlooking the interactions between biodiversity and stakeholders, in order to maximize the benefits derived from such practices and minimize the cost through appropriate decisions. However, relationships between agricultural practices and ecosystem services are, in most cases, not totally understood. The ecological mechanisms underlying ecosystem services include multifaceted interactions not only between organisms, but also among different types of organisms, and cultural practices and stakeholder strategies can either inhibit or enhance the ecosystem services. In reality, mechanistic modeling tools examining the consequences of management options on the provisions of most of the various ecosystem services are still lacking. There is a need for innovative cropping systems to be designed at field and landscape scales, and an even larger scales, to aid future planning, organization, and strategies, in which the complexity of the interactions encompassed by ecological and decisional networks must be included.

Today, it is accepted worldwide that an AGROECOSYSTEM represents a very complex environmental system in which many species interact, driving a variety of ecological processes at different spatial scales. In addition, agroecosystems are characterized by strong and interrelated interactions among ecological and soil management processes. These interactions encompass, in a general conceptual framework, the relationships between ecological and food webs, hosts and pathogens, and those involving spatial interdependence between localities. Under this scenario, an "interaction networks" model enables researchers in the field to (1) analyze and understand the emergent properties of complex systems, and (2) develop universal rules that allow individual stakeholders to make decisions regarding the outcomes of the ecosystem.

This book, "*Agroecosystems – Very Complex Environmental Systems*," aims to present an update on different aspects associated with the importance of sustainable agriculture. It was our intention to gather information from diverse sources in this volume and to give some real-life examples, extending the appreciation of the complexity of this subject in a way that may stimulate new approaches in relevant fields.

This book includes seven general chapters highlighting different aspects of agroecosystems worldwide. The first chapter describes the fungal endophytes of Australian orchid species; these endophytes exploit large areas of the soil, to which orchid roots have no access, and acquire both organic and inorganic nutrients beyond the depletion zone at low carbon cost. Several integrated approaches have been developed for the conservation, management, and restoration of these terrestrial orchids in the wild because appropriate conservation priorities need to be established urgently to prevent the loss of habitats for these endangered species. This chapter also focuses on the protection of these endangered Australian orchid species by developing an understanding of the nutritional behaviour of their endophytes. The second chapter aims to describe the impact of the plant hormone brassinolide on two varieties of fig from Indonesia and Malaysia, stressing the significant effect of interactions between brassinolide and diversity on fig growth and physiological changes, except in respect of plant height and dry biomass. The third chapter documents the relationship between resistant varieties of hybrid strawberries *Fragaria × ananassa* Duch. and negative environmental conditions. These conditions include physiological and biochemical indicators of resistance during autumn hardening and after temperature stress in winter that resulted in changes in the antioxidant system, interruptions of the protein-carbohydrate complex, accumulation of membrane lipoperoxidation products, and changes in the fractional composition of water in the leaves. The fourth chapter has been written to provide botanical descriptions of the castor bean or castor oil plant, belonging to the monotypic genus *Ricinus*, describing its ecology, agro-technology, and many industrial uses. At present the plant is in increasing demand in the international market for its more than 700 uses, ranging from medicine and cosmetics to biodiesel, plastics, and lubricants. The fifth chapter is focused on the development of a defined, highlyreliable, and integrated methodology for identifying the causes of contamination of agroecosystems in southern Italy, namely asbestos and illegal burial of waste, in the soil as well as microplastic pollution. This chapter also discusses innovative and high-speed approaches to obtaining ever more precise data on environmental degradation. The sixth chapter is an update on the literature regarding the use of deep eutectic solvents to treat lignocellulosic wastes within the field of biomass valorization. Therefore, this chapter emphasizes how the preparation of novel deep eutectic solvents and improving treatment conditions will help to solve the environmental problems originating from agro-industrial wastes and also to develop new platforms for the production of valuable products such as chemicals, biofuels, and bioactive phenolic compounds. Finally, this book includes a chapter that discusses the effects of the application of blue-green algae, which enhances the morphological and photosynthetic efficiency of the rice plant under greenhouse conditions, stressing that the application of such a bio-mixture in agriculture not only increases crop yield but also maintains our environment sustainably.

Finally, as indicated in a book we published some years ago, entitled "*Organic Fertilizers – From Basic Concepts to Applied Outcomes*", it seems obvious "that future agricultural practices will irreversibly shape the Earth's land surface, including its species, geochemistry, and disponibility of surface to the people living on it". We hope that the information presented in this book will be of value to those directly

**V**

engaged in the management and use of agroecosystems, and that this book will continue to meet the expectations and needs of all those interested in the different ways that agroecosystems can be directed to achieve sustainable agriculture without

The chapters provided by the authors in this field of research are gratefully acknowledged. The publication of this book is orientated to those researchers, scientists, engineers, teachers, graduate students, agricultural agronomists, farmers, and crop producers who can use these different results to develop an understanding of the complexity of an agroecosystem and the different aspects and relationships among the different entities involved. The concepts of agroecosystems and ecosystem services can help scientists determine how much of each service is provided throughout the many scales of the networks (field, farm, and/or landscape) at the different ecological levels (individuals, species, communities, and ecosystems), allowing innovative strategies to be developed in ecosystem services management

**Marcelo L. Larramendy Ph.D. and Sonia Soloneski Ph.D.** 

School of Natural Sciences and Museum,

National University of La Plata,

La Plata, Argentina

and the damage caused by agroecosystems to be minimized.

compromising environmental integrity.

engaged in the management and use of agroecosystems, and that this book will continue to meet the expectations and needs of all those interested in the different ways that agroecosystems can be directed to achieve sustainable agriculture without compromising environmental integrity.

The chapters provided by the authors in this field of research are gratefully acknowledged. The publication of this book is orientated to those researchers, scientists, engineers, teachers, graduate students, agricultural agronomists, farmers, and crop producers who can use these different results to develop an understanding of the complexity of an agroecosystem and the different aspects and relationships among the different entities involved. The concepts of agroecosystems and ecosystem services can help scientists determine how much of each service is provided throughout the many scales of the networks (field, farm, and/or landscape) at the different ecological levels (individuals, species, communities, and ecosystems), allowing innovative strategies to be developed in ecosystem services management and the damage caused by agroecosystems to be minimized.

**Marcelo L. Larramendy Ph.D. and Sonia Soloneski Ph.D.** 

School of Natural Sciences and Museum, National University of La Plata, La Plata, Argentina

**IV**

This book, "*Agroecosystems – Very Complex Environmental Systems*," aims to present an update on different aspects associated with the importance of sustainable agriculture. It was our intention to gather information from diverse sources in this volume and to give some real-life examples, extending the appreciation of the complexity of

This book includes seven general chapters highlighting different aspects of agroecosystems worldwide. The first chapter describes the fungal endophytes of Australian orchid species; these endophytes exploit large areas of the soil, to which orchid roots have no access, and acquire both organic and inorganic nutrients beyond the depletion zone at low carbon cost. Several integrated approaches have been developed for the conservation, management, and restoration of these terrestrial orchids in the wild because appropriate conservation priorities need to be established urgently to prevent the loss of habitats for these endangered species. This chapter also focuses on the protection of these endangered Australian orchid species by developing an understanding of the nutritional behaviour of their endophytes. The second chapter aims to describe the impact of the plant hormone brassinolide on two varieties of fig from Indonesia and Malaysia, stressing the significant effect of interactions between brassinolide and diversity on fig growth and physiological changes, except in respect of plant height and dry biomass. The third chapter documents the relationship between resistant varieties of hybrid strawberries *Fragaria × ananassa* Duch. and negative environmental conditions. These conditions include physiological and biochemical indicators of resistance during autumn hardening and after temperature stress in winter that resulted in changes in the antioxidant system, interruptions of the protein-carbohydrate complex, accumulation of membrane lipoperoxidation products, and changes in the fractional composition of water in the leaves. The fourth chapter has been written to provide botanical descriptions of the castor bean or castor oil plant, belonging to the monotypic genus *Ricinus*, describing its ecology, agro-technology, and many industrial uses. At present the plant is in increasing demand in the international market for its more than 700 uses, ranging from medicine and cosmetics to biodiesel, plastics, and lubricants. The fifth chapter is focused on the development of a defined, highlyreliable, and integrated methodology for identifying the causes of contamination of agroecosystems in southern Italy, namely asbestos and illegal burial of waste, in the soil as well as microplastic pollution. This chapter also discusses innovative and high-speed approaches to obtaining ever more precise data on environmental degradation. The sixth chapter is an update on the literature regarding the use of deep eutectic solvents to treat lignocellulosic wastes within the field of biomass valorization. Therefore, this chapter emphasizes how the preparation of novel deep eutectic solvents and improving treatment conditions will help to solve the environmental problems originating from agro-industrial wastes and also to develop new platforms for the production of valuable products such as chemicals, biofuels, and bioactive phenolic compounds. Finally, this book includes a chapter that discusses the effects of the application of blue-green algae, which enhances the morphological and photosynthetic efficiency of the rice plant under greenhouse conditions, stressing that the application of such a bio-mixture in agriculture not only increases

this subject in a way that may stimulate new approaches in relevant fields.

crop yield but also maintains our environment sustainably.

Finally, as indicated in a book we published some years ago, entitled "*Organic Fertilizers – From Basic Concepts to Applied Outcomes*", it seems obvious "that future agricultural practices will irreversibly shape the Earth's land surface, including its species, geochemistry, and disponibility of surface to the people living on it". We hope that the information presented in this book will be of value to those directly

#### **Chapter 1**
