Soil

Nutrients Water

Sun

Air

Energy

Carbon, Oxygen

Humans

Labor: Collecting Processing

Useful plant

Useless plant

Foraging Ecosystem

Nutrients Fibers Drugs Decorations Etc.

Soil

Nutrients Water

Sun

Air

Energy

Carbon, Oxygen

Humans

Labor: Clearing Burning Planting Fencing Weeding Harvesting Pest Control Storage Etc.

Useful plant

Useless plant

Shifting Agricultural Ecosystem

Nutrients Fibers Drugs Decorations Etc.

Fallow area

Nutrients Water

Sun

Air

Energy

Carbon, Oxygen

Humans

Labor: Clearing Burning Planting Fencing Weeding Harvesting Pest Control Storage Etc.

Useful plants

Useless plant

Shifting Agricultural Ecosystem

Nutrients Fibers Drugs Decorations Etc.

Farmed area

Decomposition

Ashes

Less recently farmed

More recently farmed

Sun

Air

Energy

Carbon, Oxygen

Humans

Labor energy: Plowing Harrowing Planting Fencing Weeding Harvesting Pest Control Storage Etc.

Useful plants (crops)

Intensive Agricultural Ecosystem

Nutrients Fibers Drugs Decorations Etc.

FARMLAND

Nutrients Water

Water source

Irrigation

Animals

Traction energy

Manure (nutrients)

Labor energy

Agricultural Intensification

Foraging Shifting Agriculture

Intensive Agriculture

Energy input per unit of land

Energy output per unit of land

Net energy/ land Output/input ratio

Poplation density Surplus

Agricultural Intensification

Dietary Implications of Intensification

The First Intensive Agricultural Societies

Map Source: http://anthro.palomar.edu/subsistence/sub_5.htm

Construction of the Aztec Chinampas, Mexico, 14th Century

Rice around the world

So what else lives in rice paddies?

Nitrogen Sources

Dietary Tradeoffs

Sun

energy: Plowing Harrowing, Planting Fencing, Weeding Harvesting, Pest Control, Storage, etc.

Industrial Monocrop Agricultural Ecosystem

FARMLAND

Air

Energy

Carbon, Oxygen

Humans

Single crops

Nutrients Water

Water source

Irrigation

Fossil Fuel

Machinery

Fertilizer Nutrients

$ -cides

Exchange Value

Consumer goods