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Science 25 July 1997:
Vol. 277. no. 5325, pp. 504 - 509
DOI: 10.1126/science.277.5325.504
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Articles

Agricultural Intensification and Ecosystem Properties

P. A. Matson, * W. J. Parton, A. G. Power, M. J. Swift

Expansion and intensification of cultivation are among the predominant global changes of this century. Intensification of agriculture by use of high-yielding crop varieties, fertilization, irrigation, and pesticides has contributed substantially to the tremendous increases in food production over the past 50 years. Land conversion and intensification, however, also alter the biotic interactions and patterns of resource availability in ecosystems and can have serious local, regional, and global environmental consequences. The use of ecologically based management strategies can increase the sustainability of agricultural production while reducing off-site consequences.

P. A. Matson, Ecosystem Sciences Division, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3110, USA.
W. J. Parton, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
A. G. Power, Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
M. J. Swift, Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Programme, c/o UNESCO/ROSTA, Post Office Box 30592, Nairobi, Kenya.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed.

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