CONCEPT FACTSHEET
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Mainly addresses SOIL QUALITY and PERFORMANCE challenges ****
Predominantly in PERI-URBAN and RURAL settings
No Net Land Take (NNLT) Hierarchy: AVOID
Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Hierarchy: AVOID
| Main spatial planning challenges it addresses: | UNSUSTAINABLE FOOD PRODUCTION |
|---|---|
| LACK OF ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD | |
| LACK OF CONTEXT SENSITIVITY | |
| Main soil challenges it addresses: | REDUCED PROVISIONING SERVICES |
| REDUCED CARRYING SERVICES | |
| ARTIFICIALISATION | |
| Main Families of Soil Practices it connects to: | APPLYING AGROECOLOGICAL PRACTICES |
| WATER-SENSITIVE PRACTICES | |
| IMPLEMENTING SOIL PROTECTION REGULATIONS | |
| Spatial morphology it is mostly linked to: | REGIONAL MORPHOLOGIES |
| ORTHOGONAL RURAL FIELDS | |
| RURAL BOCAGE LANDSCAPES | |
| LINEAR PERI-URBAN / RURAL DEVELOPMENT | |
| MODERNIST URBAN BLOCK | |
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Agroecological planning brings the principles of agroecology into the governance and spatial organisation of food and farming systems. It offers an alternative to conventional agricultural planning, which focuses on productivity and economic viability, many times at the expense of the natural resources (notably soil, water and biodiversity) that food systems depend on. The concept is inherently tied to soil: agroecological practices operate on the understanding that soil health, water dynamics, and biodiversity are interconnected variables of how landscapes are managed, rather than isolated concerns to be addressed farm by farm.
In this way, agroecological planning offers a valuable pathway for soil-inclusive spatial planning, treating soil health not as a secondary consideration but as a central objective connected to sustainability and broader territorial, ecological resilience.
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Contents
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Agroecology can be defined as “the application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable food systems” (Gliessman, 2006, p. 18). The concept emerged in the 1930s and has since taken different forms, spanning from definitions at the plot and field scales to others covering entire food systems worldwide (Wezel et al., 2009). In general terms, the concept refers to agricultural practices that not only ensure productivity and economic viability (as traditional agricultural systems have aimed for), but also for long-term sustainability. In that sense, agroecology appears as an alternative to conventional agriculture, developed in response to a global food system that has prioritised profit and productivity growth at the expense of degrading the natural resources it depends on (soil, water, biodiversity), while deepening dependence on fossil fuels (Gliessman, 2006).
Nowadays, agroecology represents a transdisciplinary field (FAO, n.d.; Wezel et al., 2009). In its quest to advance sustainable food and agriculture systems, it considers social and ecological concepts and integrates principles of multi-species solidarity, food sovereignty, biodiversity stewardship, and social equity (Deh-Tor, 2021; FAO, n.d.). Context sensitivity sits at the centre of agroecology, calling for the management of natural resources to take site-specific conditions, cultural sensitivity and local knowledge into account (Deh-Tor, 2021). Other key elements of agroecology, as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2018, are: biological synergies, circular and solidarity economy, resource use efficiency, and resilience of people, communities and ecosystems (FAO, 2018).
Building on these principles, agroecological planning applies them to the governance, design, and spatial organisation of food and farming systems across landscape, regional, and territorial scales. It therefore manages tensions between these scales, since ecological processes operate at the landscape scale (defined by ecological and physical continuity rather than administrative borders), but the tools available to manage them operate at the territorial scale (tied to governance schemes and jurisdictions).
In this view, soil degradation, the overuse of water and disruption of hydrological systems, and the pollution of the environment are not isolated problems at the individual farm level, but outcomes at a wider scale that call for systemic responses (Wezel et al., 2009). Agroecological planning translates these ecological principles into territorial decisions through practices like agroforestry, buffer zones or ecological corridors, and coordinating soil and water management at a regional scale rather than farm-by-farm (Hagens 2010; Tornaghi & Dehaene 2021). Agroecological planning also means embedding context-sensitivity and local knowledge into land-use decisions, rather than imposing uniform standards that ignore specific soil and water conditions and dynamics. In this sense, soil health (together with water and environmental quality) becomes a key planning objective within agroecological planning, one which depends on coordination across scales that conventional agricultural planning does not typically address.
The application of this concept can help address the following soil-related planning challenges:
Agricultural land and the soil systems it depends on are usually concentrated in peri-urban and rural areas, but agroecological planning can advance soil considerations across a range of settlement morphologies.