Miguel Altieri

Miguel Altieri's research group uses the concepts of agroecology to obtain a deep understanding of the nature of agroecosystems and the principles by which they function. Throughout his research and writings he have aided in the emergence of agroecology as the discipline that provides the basic ecological principles for how to study, design, and manage sustainable agroecosystems that are both productive and natural resource conserving, and that are also culturally sensitive, socially just and economically viable. In particular, his research has focused on the ways in which biodiversity can contribute to the design of pest-stable agroecosystems. Several of his studies concentrate on elucidating the effects of intercropping, covercropping, weed management, and crop-field border vegetation manipulation on pest population density and damage and on the mechanisms enhancing biological control in diversified systems.