In the FFS farmers learn about the ecosystem:
What is an ecosystem?
- Farmers make drawing of ecosystem
Elements of ecosystem
- Physical
- Biological
The agro-ecosystem
- Discuss about agro-ecosystem as preparation for AESA
- Weather
- Soil
- Water
- Plant / crop
- Pests
- Insects
- Diseases
- Weeds
- Natural enemies
- Predators
- Parasitoids
- Pathogens
Balanced ecosystem
- Population growth
- Population dynamics
- Interactions between species
- Interdependence
- Food webs
- Interaction between pests and defenders
- Resurgence mechanisms
- Intercropping
- Value of weeds
- Bio-diversity
Energy flow in 3 (or 4) feeding levels
- Plant
- Herbivore
- Predator / parasitoid
- (Hyper-parasitoid)