Does the diversity of integration practices enhance the resilience of mixed crop-livestock systems?
Résumé
From an agroecological perspective, MCLS can be characterized according to two main properties: i) diversity of production as a structural property and, ii) crop-livestock integration (CLI) as a functional property of the farming system. The aim of the study is to assess resilience of a range of CLI configurations at system level. We conducted this analysis on three contrasting socioeconomic territories in the humid tropics: Guadeloupe, Brazilian Amazonia and Cuba, so as to focus on various forms of CLI. In order to analyze CLI in a holistic way, we used ecological network analysis (ENA), to study the flow networks of nutrients. We applied ENA to a sample of seventeen mixed farms, modelled as a network of nitrogen flows. We then characterized CLI in terms of intensity and organization of flows, and examined the resilience of flow networks. The results show that both the intensity and organization of CLI flows are consistent in characterizing CLI in various situations, from low CLI intensity based on few flows to high CLI intensity based on complex flows. CLI is especially effective in promoting resilience, viewed as the stability provided by the distribution of flow networks among compartments. This study proposes a suitable framework to analyze complex farming systems and support the agroecological transition of agriculture.