Sustainable Agroecosystems: Functional Biodiversity in the Natural Environment

Dear Colleagues,

Various strategies are used to acquire agroecosystems that combine different levels of productivity, stability, sustainability, and equitability. Thus, agricultural development involves navigating the trade-offs between these properties. However, agroecosystems are currently threatened by human-induced disasters, such as war, climate change, urbanization, and excessive land exploitation, among others. To ensure the sustainability of agroecosystems, it is crucial to understand the relationship between the socio-economic and ecological processes.

With the evolution of big data, simplicity has become key to enhancing comprehensibility. Functional groups offer a simplified approach to understanding the role of food web structures. However, in the context of agroecosystems, the identification of functional groups extends beyond structural considerations. Except in the case of species, community, or habitat conservation, the consideration should be "which are the main services that the agroecosystem should provide", including the meaning of intrinsic, aesthetic, cultural, or traditional values.

This Special Issue aims to establish a comprehensive understanding of functional biodiversity within sustainable agroecosystems. This includes defining, classifying, and proposing the application of relevant terms. The following topics can be explored within this issue:

• The functional role of species, community, habitat, or overall biodiversity conservation.
• The benefits of biodiversity conservation for enhancing production and environmental protection.
• Investigating the use of bio-indicators as tools for agroecosystem monitoring.
• Investigating how functional diversity can be defined for genes, species, habitats, and societies.

I look forward to receiving your contribution.

Dr. Sungwon Hong
Guest Editor

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• sustainability
• trade-off
• agriculture
• culture
• applied ecology