Methodological approaches in the study of agroecosystems’ biodiversity

Abstract

In agroecosystems, the structure and dynamics of taxonomic and functional biodiversity differs signifcantly from the local intact identical standard types of ecosystems and depends on the type and duration of management, the degree of environmental friendliness of the applied technologies. Agroecosystems signifcantly affect the biodiversity of the surrounding areas. To harmonize its preservation in agricultural landscapes with the aim of optimizing agriculture, it is necessary to improve the methods of its research. It is established that the choice of methodological bases (principles, criteria and methods) of biodiversity research depends on the purpose and hierarchical level of ecosystem analysis, scale of the researched question, as each group of living organisms selected according to a certain principle has its peculiarities, identifcation and characterization of which requires appropriate methods, necessary knowledge, special equipment and other resources of scientifc research. It is advisable to apply a systematic approach, biotic and / or ecological criteria and indices for assessing / analyzing the diversity of biota, the ratio and characteristics of its ecological groups, indicator capacity of species, multifunctional relationships (within and between taxa and their environment) and other ecological indicators describing the state of integrity of the agroecosystem, its functional diversity and dynamics. Gradient analysis by changing the values of determining factors is appropriate for zoning the distribution in space of different levels of agroecosystem transformation and its biodiversity. Retrospective analysis makes it possible to identify the causes, characterize the dynamics of changes in biodiversity in the past and future and justify the directions of its conservation. Key words: diversity of living organisms, agriculture, research methods, ecosystem, connections, ecological factors.