In the recent past there has been concern to address the declining trends and deteriorating ecological elements and their functions in productive agricultural landscapes. The efforts to revive the ecological functions needs multiple scale approach, which include scientific understanding, time dependent restorative activities and incorporation of wisdom of the stakeholders. Conservation initiatives linked to precision farming is an apt mechanism to minimize the loss of natural resources of agricultural landscapes to maintain the complex stabilizers of ecological functions. Such an effort must address the scientific evaluation of the farm as “ecologically sustainable unit” with due consideration to social construct at local to regional level. Sustainability indices can be useful tools for evaluating the farms to isolate degradative factors and identify ecologically conservative practices. This review will analyze certain inter-linked concepts relevant to address the sustainability issues in agro-ecology at the interface of socio-ecological perspective.
Rigby, D., Woodhouse, P. Young, T. and Burton, M. (2001) Constructing a farm level indicator of sustainable agricultural practice. Ecological Economics, 39, 463-478. doi:10.1016/S0921-8009(01)00245-2
OECD. (1999) Environmental indicators for agriculture: Concepts and framework. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris.
Gomez, A.A., Kelly, D.E., Syers, J.K. and Coughlan, K.J. (1996) Measuring sustainability of agricultural systems at the farm level. Methods for assessing soil quality. Soil Science Society America Journal, 49, 401-409.
Dalsgaad, J.P.T. and Oficial, R.T. (1997) A quantitative approach for assessing the productive performance and ecological contributions of smallholder farms. Agricultural Systems, 55, 503-533. doi:10.1016/S0308-521X(97)00022-X
Smyth, A.J. and Dumanski, G. (1995) A framework for evaluating sustainable land management. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 75, 40-406. doi:10.4141/cjss95-059
Boserup, E. (1965) The conditions of agricultural growth: The economics of agararian change under population pressure. Aldine, Chicago.
Thornton, P.K., Galvin, K.A. and Boone, R.B. (2003). An agro-pastoral household model for scenario analysis and impact assessment. Agricultural Systems, 76, 581-602.
Tilman, D., Fargione, J., Wolff, B., D’Antonio, C., Dobson, A., Howarth, R., Schindler, D., Schlesinger, W.H., Simberloff, D. and Swachhamer, D. (2001). Forecasting agriculturally driven global environmental change. Science, 292, 281-284. doi:10.1126/science.1057544
Chapin. F.S., Zavaleta, E.S., Eviners, V.T., Naylor, R.L., Vitousek, P.M., Reynolds, H., Hooper, D.U., Lavorel, S., Sala, O.E., Hobbie, S.E., Mack, M.C. and Diaz, S. (2000) Consequences of changing biodiversity. Nature, 405, 234-242. doi:10.1038/35012241
Hails, R.S. (2002) Assessing the risks associated with new agricultural practices. Nature, 418, 685-688. doi:10.1038/nature01016
Glasbergen, P. (2000) The environmental cooperative: Self governance in the sustainable rural development. Journal of Environmental Development, 9, 240-259. doi:10.1177/107049650000900303
de Jager, A., Onduru, D., van Wijk, M.S., Vlaming, J. and Gachini, G.N. (2001) Assessing sustainability of low-external input farm management systems with the nutrient monitoring approach: A case study in Kenya. Agriculture Systems, 69, 99-118. doi:10.1016/S0308-521X(01)00020-8
Baltenweck, I., Staal., S., Ibrahim, M.N.M., Herrero, M., Holmann, F., Jabbar, M., Manyong, V., Patil, B.R., Thornton, P.K., Williams, T., Waithaka, M. and de Wolf, T. (2003) Crop-livestock intensification and interaction across three continents. Main report. CGIAR system wide livestock program, ILRI, Addis Ababa, 124.
Nicholson, C.F., Thornton, P.K. and Muniga, R. (2004) Household level impacts of dairy cow ownership in coastal Kenya. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 55, 175-195. doi:10.1111/j.1477-9552.2004.tb00092.x
Kristjanson, P., Krishna, A., Radeny, M. and Nondo, W. (2004) Pathways out of poverty in eastern Kenya and the role of livestock. PPLPI working paper 14, FAO animal production and health Division, Rome.
Sayer, J.A. and Campbell, B.M. (2001). Research to integrate productivity enhancement, environmental protection and human development. Conservation Ecology, 5, 32- 43.
Pimm, S.I., Russell, G.J., Gittelman, J.L. and Brooks, T.M. (1995) The future of biodiversity. Science, 269, 347. doi:10.1126/science.269.5222.347
Salvatore Di Falco, S.D., Penov, I. Aleksiev, A. and van Rensburg, T.M. (2010) Agrobiodiversity, farm profits and land fragmentation: Evidence from Bulgaria. Land Use Policy, 27, 763-771. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.10.007
Bishop, J., Kapila, S., Hicks, F., Mitchell, P. and Vorhies, P. (2008) Building biodiversity business. Shell International Limited and International Union for Conservation of Nature, London, 164.
Nowak, M. (2006) Five rules for the evolution of cooperation. Science, 314, 1560-1563. doi:10.1126/science.1133755
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. (2005) Living Beyond our means: Natural assets and human well-being. Island Press, Washington DC.
Butler, S.J., Vickery, J.A. and Norris, K. (2007) Farmland biodiversity and the footprint of agriculture. Science, 315, 381-384. doi:10.1126/science.1136607
Smyth, A.J. and Dumanski, J. (1993) An international framework for evaluating the sustainable land management. FAO World Resource Report 73 and 74, FAO, Rome.
Swete-Kelly, D. (1996) Development and evaluation of sustainable production systems for steeplands-lessons from the South Pacific. In: Sustainable land management in the South Pacific. Network Document No 19, IBSRAM, Bangkok.
Babbington, A. (1999) Capitals and capabilities: A framework for analyzing peasant viability, rural livelihoods and poverty. World Development, 27, 2021-2044. doi:10.1016/S0305-750X(99)00104-7
Werf, H.M.G. and Petit, J. (2002) Evaluation of the environmental impact of agriculture at the farm level: A comparison and analysis of 12 indicator based methods. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 93, 131-145. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(01)00354-1
Herrero, M., Estrada, G.E., Thornton, P.K., Quiros, C., Waithaka, M.M., Ruiz, R. and Hoogenboom, G. (2007) IMPACT: Generic household level databases and diagnosis tools for integrated crop-livestock systems analysis. Agricultural Systems, 92, 240-265. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2006.03.008
Fernendes, L.A. and Woodhouse, P.J. (2008) Family farm sustainability in southern Brazil: An application of agro-environmental indicators. Ecological Economics, 66, 243- 257. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.01.027
Yunlong, C. and Smith, B. (1994) Sustainability in agriculture: A general review. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 49, 99-307. doi:10.1016/0167-8809(94)90059-0
Dumanski, J. and Pieri, C. (1996) Application of the pressure-state-response framework for the land quality indicators (LQI) program. Proceedings of the workshop organized by the FAO Agriculture and Sustainable Development Departments, Rome, 25-26 January 1996.
Pretty, J.N. (1995) Regenerating agriculture: Policies and practice for sustainability and self reliance. Earthscan Publications Limited, London.
Tilman, D., Cassman, K.G., Matson, P.A., Naylor, R. and Polasky, S. (2002) Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices. Nature, 418, 671-677. doi:10.1038/nature01014
Hansen, J.W. (1996) Is agricultural sustainability a useful concept? Agricultural Systems, 50, 117-143. doi:10.1016/0308-521X(95)00011-S
Biswas, R.M. (1994) Agriculture and environment: a review 1972-1992. Ambio, 23, 192-197.
Edwards, C.A. and Wali, M.K. (1993) The global need for sustainability in agriculture and natural resources. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 46, 7-15.
Tisdell, C. (1996) Economic indicators to assess the sustainability of conservation farming projects: An evaluation. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 57, 117-131. doi:10.1016/0167-8809(96)01017-1
Ouedraogo, E., Mando, A. and Zombre, N.P. (2001) Use of compost to improve soil properties and crop productivity under low input agricultural system in West Africa. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 84, 259-266. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(00)00246-2
Altieri, M. (1995) Agroecology: The scientific basis of alternative agriculture. West View Press, Boulder.
Conway, G.R. (1990) Agriculture and the environment: Concept and issues. In: Huq, S., Rahman, A. and Conway, G.R. Eds., Environmental aspects of agricultural development in Bangladesh, University Press, Dhaka.
Clemesten, M. and Larr, J. (2000) The contribution of organic agriculture to landscape quality in the Sogn og Fjordane region of Western Norway. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 77, 125-141. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(99)00098-5
Heller, N.E. and Zavaleta, E.S. (2009) Biodiversity management in the face of climate change: A review of 22 years of recommendations. Biological Conservation, 142, 14-32. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2008.10.006
Stobbelaar, D.J., Kuiper, J., van Mansvelt, J.D. and Kabourakis, E. (2000) Landscape quality on organic farms in the landscape. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 77, 79-93. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(99)00094-8
Edwards, C.A., Grove, T., Harwood, R.R. and Colfer, J. (1993) The role of agroecology and integrated farming systems in sustainable agriculture. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 46, 99-121. doi:10.1016/0167-8809(93)90017-J
Rigby, D. and Caceres, D. (2001) Organic farming and the sustainable agricultural systems. Agricultural Systems, 68, 21-40. doi:10.1016/S0308-521X(00)00060-3
Webster, P. (1999) The challenge of sustainability at the farm level: Presidential address. Journal Agricultural Economics, 50, 371-387. doi:10.1111/j.1477-9552.1999.tb00888.x
Pretty, J.N. and Hine, R. (2000) The promising spread of sustainable agriculture in Asia. National Research Forum, 24, 107-121. doi:10.1111/j.1477-8947.2000.tb00936.x
Ikerd, J.E. (1993) The need for a systems approach to sustainable agriculture. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 46, 147-160. doi:10.1016/0167-8809(93)90020-P
Webster, J.P.G. (1997) Assessing the economic conse- quences of sustainability in agriculture. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 64, 95-102. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(97)00027-3
Lynam, J.K. and Herdt, R. W. (1989) Sense and sustainability: Sustainability as an objective in international agricultural research. Agricultural Economics, 3, 381-398. doi:10.1016/0169-5150(89)90010-8
Tellarini, V. and Caporali, F. (2000) An input/output methodology to evaluate farms as sustainable agro-ecosystems: An application of indicators to farms in central Italy. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 77, 111-123. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(99)00097-3
Gowda, M.J.C. and Jayaramaiah, K.M. (1998) Comparative evaluation of rice production systems for sustainability. Agriculture Ecosystem Environment, 69, 1-9. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(98)00089-9
Reijntjes, C., Bertus, H. and Water-Bayer, A. (1992) Farming the future: An introduction to low external input and sustainable agriculture, Macmillan, London.
Fukuoka, M. (1985) The natural way of farming. Japan Publications, Tokyo.
Iraizoz, B., Gorton, M.S. and Davidova, S. (2007) Seg-menting farms for analyzing agricultural trajectories: A case study of the Navarra region in Spain. Agricultural Systems, 93, 143-169. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2006.05.002
Pimentel, D.C. and Kounang, N. (1998) Ecology of soil erosion in ecosystems. Ecosystems, 1, 104-123. doi:10.1007/s100219900035
Lewis, W.J., van Lenteren, J.C., Pathak, S.C. and Tumlinson, J.H. (1997) A total system approach to sustainable pest management. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, 94, 12243-12248. doi:10.1073/pnas.94.23.12243
Katterer, T. and Andren, O. (1999) Longterm agricultural field experiments in northern Europe: analysis of the influence of management on soil carbon stocks using the ICBM model. Agricultural Ecosystems Environment, 72, 165-179. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(98)00177-7
Reed, M., Fraser, E. and Dougill, A. (2006) An adaptive learning process for developing and applying sustainability indicators with local communities. Ecological Economics, 59, 406-418. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.11.008
Mitchell, G., May, A. and McDonald, A. (1995) PICA-BEU: A methodological framework for the development of indicators of sustainable development. International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2, 104-123.
Martinez-Alier, J. (2002) The environmentalism of the poor: a study of ecological conflicts and valuation. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
Glenn, N.A. and Pannell, D.J. (1998) The economics and application of sustainability indicators in agriculture. In: Australian agricultural and resources economics society, University of New England, Armidale, 19-21.
King, C., Gunton, J., Freebarin, D., Coutts, J. and Webb, I. (2000) The sustainability indicator industry: where to from here? A focus group study to explore the potential of farmer participation in the development of indicators. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 40, 631- 642. doi:10.1071/EA99148
French J. (2009) Sustainability in the global perspective: Policy directions for a resilient and conservation-based agriculture. In: Franzluebbers A.J. Ed., Farming with Grass: Achieving Sustainable Mixed Agricultural Landscapes, Soil and Water Conservation Society, Ankeny, 205-215.
Hezri, A. and Dovers, S. (2006) Sustaianability indicators, policy and governance: Issues for ecological economics. Ecological Economics, 60, 86-99. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.11.019
SOPAC. (2005) Building resilience in SIDS. The environmental vulnerability index (EVI), Technical report, South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission, Suva.
Prescott-Allen, R. (2001) The well-being nations. Island Press, Washington DC.
Hartwick, J.M. (1977) Intergenerational equity and the investing of rents from exhaustible resources. American Economics Review, 67, 972-974.
McNeely, J. (1988) Economics and biological diversity: developing and issuing economic incentives to conserve biological resources. IUCN, Gland.
UNEP. (2000) Integrated environmental and economic accounting—An operational manual, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Hanley, N. (2000) Macroeconomic measures and sustainability. Journal of Economics Survey, 14, 1-30. doi:10.1111/1467-6419.00102
Dale, V.H. and Beyeler, S.C. (2001) Challenges in the development and use of ecological indicators. Ecological Indicators, 262, 201-204.
Izac, A.M.N. and Swift, M.J. (1994) On agricultural sustainability and its measurement in small-scale farming in subsaharan agriculture. Ecological Economics, 11, 105-125. doi:10.1016/0921-8009(94)90022-1
Levitan, L., Merwin, I. and Kovach, J. (1995) Assessing the relative environmental impacts of agricultural pesticides: The quest for a holistic approach. Agriculture Eco-system Environment, 55, 153-168. doi:10.1016/0167-8809(95)00622-Y
Guijt, W.J. (1996) Policies that work for sustainable agriculture and regenerating rural economies: Some methodological considerations. Sustainable Agriculture Program, IIED, London.
Meul, M., Nevens, F. and Reheul, D. (2009) Validating sustainability indicators: Focus on ecological aspects of Flemish dairy farms. Ecological Indicators, 9, 284-295. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2008.05.007
Scoones, I. (1999) The new ecology and the social sciences: what prospects for a fruitful engagement? Annual Review of Anthropology, 28, 479-507. doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.28.1.479
Tilman, D. (1998) The greening of the green revolution. Nature, 396, 211-212. doi:10.1038/24254
Gliessman, S. (2009) Community-based Participatory Action Research with Agroecology Journal Sustainable Agriculture, 33, 799-800.
Stringer, E.T. (1999) Action research: A handbook for practitioners. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
Mooghali, A.R. and Azizi, A.R. (2008) Relation between organizational intelligence and organizational knowledge management development. World Journal of Applied Science, 4, 1-8.
Walters, C.J. and Hilborn, R. (1978) Ecological optimization and adaptive management. Annual Review Ecological Systems, 9, 157-188. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.09.110178.001105
Shea, K., Possingham, H.P. Murdoch, W.W. and Roush, R. (2002) Active adaptive management in insect pest and weed control: intervention with a plan for learning. Ecological Applications, 12, 927-936. doi:10.1890/1051-0761(2002)012[0927:AAMIIP]2.0.CO;2
Biggs, S.D. (1989) Resource-poor farmer participation in research: A synthesis of experiences from nine national agricultural research systems. OFCOR—Comparative Study, INSAT, Hague.
McCarthy, M. and Possingham, H.P. (2007) Active adaptive management for conservation. Conservation Biology, 21, 956-963. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00677.x
Cooke, B. and Kothari, U. (2001) Participation: The new tyranny? Zed books, London.
Huges, D.E. (1995) Environmental sociology: A distinct field of inquiry? In: Mehta M.D. and E. Ouelett, E. Eds., Environmental Socialogy: Theory and Practice, Captus Press Inc., Ontario.
Bourdeu, P. (2004) The man-nature relationship and environmental ethics. Journal of Environmental Remediation, 72, 9-15.
Roling, N. (2003) From causes to reasons: The human dimension of agricultural sustainability. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 1, 73-88.
Rezaei, M., Karami, K. and Gibson, J. (2005) Conceptualizing sustainable agriculture: Iran as an illustrative case. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 27, 25-56. doi:10.1300/J064v27n03_04
Daniels, S.E. and Walker, G.B. (1996) Collaborative learning: Improving public deliberation in ecosystem-based management. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 16, 71-102. doi:10.1016/0195-9255(96)00003-0
Sala, O.E., Chapin, F.S., Armesto, J.J., Berlow, E., Bollmfield, J., Dirzo, R., Huber-Sanwald, E., Huenneke, L.F., Jackson, R.B., Kinzig, A., Leemans, R., Lodge, D.M., Mooney, H.A., Oesterheld, M., Poff, N.L., Sykes, M.T., Walker, B.H., Walker, M. and Wall, D.H. (2000) Global biodiversity scenarios for the year 2100. Science, 287, 1770-1774. doi:10.1126/science.287.5459.1770
Channell, R. and Lomolino, M.V. (2000) Dynamic bio-geography and conservation of endangered species. Nature, 403, 84-86. doi:10.1038/47487
Schlesinger, W.H., Reynolds, J.F., Cunningham, J.L., Huenneke, L.F., Jarrell, W.M., Virginia, R.A. and Whitford, W.G. (1990) Biological feedbacks in global desertification. Science, 247, 1043-1048. doi:10.1126/science.247.4946.1043
Reilly, J.M. and Schimmelpfenning, D. (1999) Agricultural impact assessment, vulnerability, and the scope for adaptation. Climate Change, 43, 745-788. doi:10.1023/A:1005553518621
Rothman, D.S. (2000) Measuring environmental values and environmental impacts: Going from the local to the global. Climate Change, 44, 351-376. doi:10.1023/A:1005645301478
Darwin, R. (1999) A farmer’s view of the Ricardian approach to measuring agricultural effects of climatic change. Climate Change, 41, 371-411. doi:10.1023/A:1005421707801
FAO. (1998) The State of the World’s plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
Mendelsohn, R. and Dinar, A. (1999) Climate change, Agriculture and Developing Countries: Does Adaptation Matter? World Bank Reserve Observatory, 14, 277-293.
Leemans, R. (1997) Effects of global change on agricultural land use: Scaling up from physiological processes to ecosystem dynamics. In: Jackson, L.E. Ed., Ecology in Agriculture, Academic Press, San Diego, 415-452. doi:10.1016/B978-012378260-1/50013-0
Cohen, J.E. (1995) How many people can the earth support? Norton, New York.