Agroecology - A Natural Climate Solution

Natural climate solutions (NCS) refer to actions aimed at protecting, better managing, and restoring nature to achieve climate goals. Adopting sustainable, climate-smart agricultural practices following agroecology principles provides a cost-effective NCS pathway to mitigate climate change, while also ensuring food security and environmental sustainability. This course will introduce the principles of agroecology, the key concepts of carbon and nitrogen dynamics, as well as the commonly adopted agroecological practices across various agricultural landscapes, including croplands, grasslands, and agroforestry systems. A combination of lectures, discussions, and field activities will be utilized to demonstrate how agroecological practices can be monitored in terms of their influence on ecosystem services.

This course will prepare students to apply principles of sustainability science to improved soil and agricultural management, addressing the growing need for better adoption of land based NCS. This course will also delve into the technological aspects of NCS monitoring that will help working professionals in conservation, environmental, and sustainable business organizations develop the necessary skills to evaluate the outcomes of sustainable land management practices to inform management decisions, policy making, and incentive-based programs. This elective course aims to connect scientific methods with decision-making processes to prepare students to be leaders in sustainability and make impacts on both local and large-scale climate issues.