Weeds interfere and compete with cultivated plants (or can even function as reservoirs of pests and diseases). Therefore, the study of these phenomena is necessary to avoid economic losses. Some characteristics of agricultural systems (agro-ecosystems) are very similar to those of natural ecosystems.
▶ However, agricultural communities are unique because they are manipulated in order to obtain the productivity of a single species (sometimes a few). Therefore, in a crop, physical and biotic factors are relatively homogeneous and synchronous because of management (it is in the farmer's interest to have homogeneous plots, to obtain higher yields).
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In addition, in many cases weeds have the same biotypes, life cycles, genetic and phenotypic characteristics as cultivated plants, disturbances and resource supply reduce the spatial and temporal variability of agricultural environments.
Because these factors are routinely manipulated in agricultural systems, environmental gradients and plant relationships can be easily examined, so agro-systems can be considered relatively simple for investigating plant competition.
However, the relationship between agriculture and plant ecology can yield fruitful findings that can provide insight into the competition between unexpected and cultivated plants, predict the consequences of weed infestation on agricultural land, and provide a biological basis for weed management.
In fact, very often, the species that cause the greatest economic and ecological damage are those that present a set of adaptations and self-ecological traits: diverse vectors and dispersal mechanisms, diverse types of seeds with different dispersal and germination capacities, and with different degrees of dormancy and longevity, among others.
NOTE: Reference material.
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