Sustainable agriculture in central Illinois: Visioning the future

Agricultural regions are under increasing pressure to provide more food for increasing populations while global biodiversity is at risk imperiling the future health of people, wildlife and native species. Integration of the two promotes agricultural sustainability as well as provides vital ecosystem services that sustain human and wild species populations. This paper explores current research in biodiversity, ecosystem services, agricultural sustainability and landscape ecology and applies the information to a predominantly agricultural region in Central Illinois. This paper also examines the role landscape designers and planners can play in working with planning agencies and local communities to develop future scenarios to promote conservation of biodiversity and agricultural sustainability throughout the region. Through a series of vignettes, I have attempted to illustrate how native species can be incorporated into an agricultural region in Tazewell County, Illinois. Relating these vignettes to seasonal food web diagrams illustrates complex ecological relationships and the importance of plant species diversity to support biodiversity in space and time. Though much research exists regarding these topics there is little information specific to Illinois, and would be a valuable area for future research.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.L.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Landscape Architecture

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Baumgartner, Susan J.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lawson, Laura J.

• landscape design
• sustainable agriculture
• central Illinois
• biodiversity
• ecosystem services
• regional planning
• landscape architecture
• native species
• habitat
• ecology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2010 Susan J. Baumgartner

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/18220

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/18220