THE CONCEPT OF ECOSTACKING

Ecostacking is a new concept and approach which aims to maximize the benefits of ecosystem service providers in cropping systems to help achieve the goal of long term sustainable agriculture and food production The term ecostacking means combining synergistically the beneficial services of functional biodiversity from all levels and types It is a comprehensive approach where the various ecosystem service providers are fully integrated with the rest of the cropping system including agronomic practices It is an approach which goes beyond conventional Integrated Pest Management practises and attempts to take advantage of all the functional biodiversity of a system The main focus of ecostacking is on maximizing ecosystem services for biological control and pollination from beneficial arthropods but the approach also utilizes other invertebrates e g earthworms as well as beneficial vertebrates such as bats birds and small mammals Microbes also provide invaluable ecosystem services including pest disease and weed control either directly as components of suppressive soils or as plant colonizers as endophytes or as epiphytic microbial flora The ecostacking approach also aims to maximize other nature provided services such as maintenance of soil health and