现代化农业——真正可持续性农业经营的生态影响和机遇Modern Agriculture: Ecological Impacts and the Possibilities for Truly Sustainable Farming
1. 大约四十年前，农业系统中的作物产量依赖的是内部资源、有机物的循环利用、内在的
生物防治机制和将与模式。Until about four decades ago, crop yields in agricultural systems depended on internal resources, recycling of organic matter, built-in biological control mechanisms and rainfall patterns.
2. 农业产量虽然不高，但比较稳定。Agricultural yields were modest, but stable.
3. 保证产量的方法是在某一地块的时空范围内多种几类作物，以应对突发的虫害或恶劣的
天气。Production was safeguarded by growing more than one crop or variety in space and time in a field as insurance against pest outbreaks or severe weather.
4. 为取得氨肥，采取轮换种植主要农作物和豆类的方法。反过来，轮换种植可有效地破坏
害虫、杂草、病害的生命周期，从而抑制它们。Inputs of nitrogen were gained by rotating major field crops with legumes. In turn rotations suppressed insects, weeds and diseases by effectively breaking the life cycles of these pests.
5. 玉米带地区的普通农场主轮换种植玉米和包括大豆在内的几种作物，而种植小粒谷物也
是饲养牲畜的内在需求。大部分劳动由家庭成员完成，偶尔会请几个帮手，但不会从农场以外购买专用设备或服务。在此类农业系统中，农业和生态的关系十分密切，很少会出现环境退化的迹象。A typical corn belt farmer grew corn rotated with several crops including soybeans, and small grain occasional hired help and so specialized equipment or services were purchased from off-farm sources. In these types of farming systems the link between agriculture and ecology was quite strong and signs of environmental degradation were seldom evident.
6. 但随着农业现代化的发展，对生态法则的无视和践踏经常会打破生态——农业链。But as
agricultural modernization progressed, the ecology-farming linkage was often broken as ecological principles were ignored and/or overridden.
7. 事实上，有些农业科学家已经一致地认为现代农业面临着环境危机，也有越来越多的人
关注现存的食品生产系统是否能长期持续发展。In fact, several agricultural scientists have arrived at a general consensus that modern agriculture confronts an environmental crisis. A growing number of people have become concerned about the long-term sustainability of existing food production systems.
8. 累积成堆的证据也表明，尽管目前的资本密集型和技术密集型农业系统的生产力和竞争
力非常顽强，但也带来了一系列经济、环境和社会问题。Evidence has accumulated showing that whereas the present capital-and technology-intensive farming systems have been extremely productive and competitive, they also bring a variety of economic, environmental and social problems.
9. 证据还表明，农业结构和通行政策倾向于发展大型农场、专业化生产、农作物单一在中
和机械化，这些做法本身导致了这种环境危机。Evidence also shows that the very nature of the agricultural structure and prevailing policies have led to this environmental crisis by favoring large farm size, specialized production, crop monocultures and mechanization.
10. 如今，越来越多的农场主融入了跨国经济体，多种栽种的必要性不复存在，单一栽种模
式则可以从规模经济取得回报。反过来，缺少轮作和多种栽种会导致重要的自我调节机制小时，从而使单作系统脆弱不堪，变为以来高浓度化肥的农业生态结构。Today as more and more farmers are integrated into international economies, imperatives to diversity disappear and monocultures are rewarded by economies of scale. In turn, lack of rotations and
diversification take away key self-regulating mechanisms, turning monocultures into highly vulnerable agroecosystems dependent on high chemical inputs.
11. 现在，单一栽种模式已经在全球范围内迅速发展，其途径主要是扩大种植单一作物的土
地面积和在同一块土地上年复一年地种植同一种作物。Today monocultures have increased dramatically worldwide, mainly through the geographical expansion of land devoted to single crops and year-to-year production of the same crop species on the same land.
12. 现有数据显示，单位面积耕地上的作物种数已经减少，而且农田也趋向于合并。Available
data indicate that the amount of crop diversity per unit of arable land has decreased and that croplands have shown a tendency toward concentration.
13. 用大片土地栽种单一作物，导致这种趋势的有政治上和经济上的因素，其实这种栽种模
式从规模经济取得了回报，而且在国家能够满足世界农业市场的需求方面作出了不小的贡献。There are political and economic forces influencing the trend to devote large areas to monoculture, and in fact such systems are rewarded by economies of scale and contributed significantly to the ability of national agricultures to serve international markets.
14. 促使农业模式向单一栽种转变的技术因素有机械化，作物品种的改良，以及作物化肥和
控制病虫害农药的研制。The technologies allowing the shift toward monoculture were mechanization, the improvement of crop varieties, and the development of agrochemicals to fertilize crops and control weeds and pests.
15. 最近几十年的政府农产品政策也鼓励对这些技术的引入和利用。结果，现在的农场就趋
少、趋大、趋向专业化和资本密集化。Government commodity policies these past several decades encouraged the acceptance and utilization of these technologies. As a result, farms today are fewer, larger, more specialized and more capital-intensive.
16. 在区域范围内，增加单一栽种的农业比重也就意味着整个农业基础设设（例如科研、扩
建、供应商、仓储、货运、市场等等）更为专业化。At the regional level, increases in monoculture farming meant that the whole agricultural support infrastructure (i.e. research, extension, suppliers, storage, transport, markets, etc.) has become more specialized.
17. 从生态角度来看，单一专门性栽种模式的区域效应是多方面的：From an ecological
perspective, the regional consequences of monoculture specialization are many-fold:
18. 在多数大型农业系统中，内部成分的组合结构不当，农作物企业之间几乎不存在相互联
系或互补关系，土壤、作物和动物之间也不存在联系或互补关系。Most large-scale agricultural systems exhibit a poorly structured assemblage of farm components, with almost no linkages or complementary relationships between crop enterprises and among soils, crops and animal.
19. 养料、能源、水分和废物构成的循环更为开放，而不是像自然生态系统那样封闭。Cycles
of nutrients, energy, water and wastes have become more open, rather than closed as in a natural ecosystem.
20. 尽管农场生产的作物残余和粪肥数量不少，但即使要在农业系统中循环利用养料也愈加
困难。动物的排泄物无法在养料循环过程中以经济的方式返回土地，因为产生这些废物的系统与完成循环过程的其它系统相隔遥远。Despite the substantial amount of crops residues and manure produced in farms, it is becoming increasingly difficult to the land in a nutrient-recycling process because production systems are geographically remote from other systems which would complete the cycle.
21. 在许多地区，农业废物成了一种负担而不是资源。对市中心产生的养料循环利用以返回
农田也会遇到同样的困难。In many areas, agricultural waste has become a liability rather than a resource. Recycling of nutrients from urban centers banks to the fields is similarly difficult.
22. 农业生态系统不稳定和易患病虫害的部分原因就是广泛采用了作物的单一栽种模式。因
为这种模式集中了有利于专门的作物害虫生长的资源，而且扩大了病虫害迁徙的空间。这种简单化的模式还降低了在自然环境中产生天敌的可能。Part of the instability and susceptibility to pests of agroecosystems can be linked to the adoption of vast crop monocultures, which have concentrated resources for specialist crop herbivores and have increased the area available for immigration of pests. This simplification has also reduced environmental opportunities for natural enemies.
23. 结果，当大量病虫害迁移、益虫数量减少、气候条件适宜、作物处于抵抗力较弱阶段这
些因素同时作用的话，往往就会爆发病虫害。Consequently, pest outbreaks often occur when large numbers of immigrant pests, inhibited populations of beneficial insects, favorable weather and vulnerable crop stages happen simultaneously.
24. 由于种植某些作物超出了它们的“自然”范围，或从适宜生长的地区扩张到病虫害高发、
水源有限或土壤肥力低下的地区，就需要使用高强度的化学物以克服这些制约因素。人们以为，人工干预和促成这些扩张的能量输入水平可以无限制地维持下去。As specific crops are expanded beyond their “natural” ranges or favorable regions to areas of high pest potential, or with limited water, or low-fertility soils, intensified chemical controls are required to overcome such limiting factors. The assumption is that the human intervention and level of energy inputs that allow these expansions can be sustained indefinitely.
25. 在经济农场主面前，新的作物品种走马灯似地更迭不尽，这是由于生物压力和市场变化
引起的品种更替达到了前所未有的速度。Commercial farmers witness a constant parade of new crop varieties as varietal replacement due to biotic stresses and market changes has accelerated to unprecedented levels.
26. 一个病虫害抵抗力加强的品种初次亮相后可以登台数年（通常是5至9年），如果产量
滑坡、生产力面临问题、或出现了更好的品种，它就得被另一品种取代。A cultivar with improved disease or insect resistance makes a debut, performs well for a few years (typically 5-9 years) and is then succeeded by another variety when yields begin to slip, productivity is threatened, or a more promising cultivar becomes available.
27. 一个品种的运动轨迹可描述为：被人采用时处于起飞阶段，栽种情况稳定后进入中间阶
段，最后是栽种面积的萎缩。A variety’s trajectory is characterized by a take-off phase when it is adopted by farmers, a middle stage when the planted area stabilizes and finally a retraction of its acreage.
28. 因此，要保持现代农业的稳步发展，依赖的是不断供应新的作物品种，而不是拼拼凑凑
地在同一个农场种上不同的作物。Thus, stability in modern agriculture hinges on a continuous supply of new cultivars rather than a patchwork quilt of many different varieties planted on the same farm.
29. 如果要维持单一栽种模式，就得增加杀虫剂和化肥的使用量，但使用过的药剂效力正在
降低，多数重要作物的产量也渐趋平稳。甚至在某些地区，产量实际上已经下滑。对于这种现象背后的原因众说纷纭。The need to subsidize monocultures requires increases in the use of pesticides and fertilizers, but the efficiency of use of applied inputs is decreasing and crop yields in most key crops are leveling off. In some places, yields are actually in decline. There are different opinions as to the underlying causes of this phenomenon.
30. 有人认为，产量趋平时因为目前品种已经接近其最大产能，因而必须用基因工程改造作
物品种。Some believe that yields are leveling off because the maximum yield potential of current varieties is being approached, and therefore genetic engineering must be applied to the task of redesigning crop.
31. 但农业生态学家却认为，产量趋平是因为非可持续性的发展方式日益侵害着农业的生产
基础。Agroecologists on the other hand, believe that the leveling off is because of the steady erosion of the productive base of agriculture through unsustainable practices.
现代化农业——真正可持续性农业经营的生态影响和机遇Modern Agriculture: Ecological Impacts and the Possibilities for Truly Sustainable Farming
1. 大约四十年前，农业系统中的作物产量依赖的是内部资源、有机物的循环利用、内在的
生物防治机制和将与模式。Until about four decades ago, crop yields in agricultural systems depended on internal resources, recycling of organic matter, built-in biological control mechanisms and rainfall patterns.
2. 农业产量虽然不高，但比较稳定。Agricultural yields were modest, but stable.
3. 保证产量的方法是在某一地块的时空范围内多种几类作物，以应对突发的虫害或恶劣的
天气。Production was safeguarded by growing more than one crop or variety in space and time in a field as insurance against pest outbreaks or severe weather.
4. 为取得氨肥，采取轮换种植主要农作物和豆类的方法。反过来，轮换种植可有效地破坏
害虫、杂草、病害的生命周期，从而抑制它们。Inputs of nitrogen were gained by rotating major field crops with legumes. In turn rotations suppressed insects, weeds and diseases by effectively breaking the life cycles of these pests.
5. 玉米带地区的普通农场主轮换种植玉米和包括大豆在内的几种作物，而种植小粒谷物也
是饲养牲畜的内在需求。大部分劳动由家庭成员完成，偶尔会请几个帮手，但不会从农场以外购买专用设备或服务。在此类农业系统中，农业和生态的关系十分密切，很少会出现环境退化的迹象。A typical corn belt farmer grew corn rotated with several crops including soybeans, and small grain occasional hired help and so specialized equipment or services were purchased from off-farm sources. In these types of farming systems the link between agriculture and ecology was quite strong and signs of environmental degradation were seldom evident.
6. 但随着农业现代化的发展，对生态法则的无视和践踏经常会打破生态——农业链。But as
agricultural modernization progressed, the ecology-farming linkage was often broken as ecological principles were ignored and/or overridden.
7. 事实上，有些农业科学家已经一致地认为现代农业面临着环境危机，也有越来越多的人
关注现存的食品生产系统是否能长期持续发展。In fact, several agricultural scientists have arrived at a general consensus that modern agriculture confronts an environmental crisis. A growing number of people have become concerned about the long-term sustainability of existing food production systems.
8. 累积成堆的证据也表明，尽管目前的资本密集型和技术密集型农业系统的生产力和竞争
力非常顽强，但也带来了一系列经济、环境和社会问题。Evidence has accumulated showing that whereas the present capital-and technology-intensive farming systems have been extremely productive and competitive, they also bring a variety of economic, environmental and social problems.
9. 证据还表明，农业结构和通行政策倾向于发展大型农场、专业化生产、农作物单一在中
和机械化，这些做法本身导致了这种环境危机。Evidence also shows that the very nature of the agricultural structure and prevailing policies have led to this environmental crisis by favoring large farm size, specialized production, crop monocultures and mechanization.
10. 如今，越来越多的农场主融入了跨国经济体，多种栽种的必要性不复存在，单一栽种模
式则可以从规模经济取得回报。反过来，缺少轮作和多种栽种会导致重要的自我调节机制小时，从而使单作系统脆弱不堪，变为以来高浓度化肥的农业生态结构。Today as more and more farmers are integrated into international economies, imperatives to diversity disappear and monocultures are rewarded by economies of scale. In turn, lack of rotations and
diversification take away key self-regulating mechanisms, turning monocultures into highly vulnerable agroecosystems dependent on high chemical inputs.
11. 现在，单一栽种模式已经在全球范围内迅速发展，其途径主要是扩大种植单一作物的土
地面积和在同一块土地上年复一年地种植同一种作物。Today monocultures have increased dramatically worldwide, mainly through the geographical expansion of land devoted to single crops and year-to-year production of the same crop species on the same land.
12. 现有数据显示，单位面积耕地上的作物种数已经减少，而且农田也趋向于合并。Available
data indicate that the amount of crop diversity per unit of arable land has decreased and that croplands have shown a tendency toward concentration.
13. 用大片土地栽种单一作物，导致这种趋势的有政治上和经济上的因素，其实这种栽种模
式从规模经济取得了回报，而且在国家能够满足世界农业市场的需求方面作出了不小的贡献。There are political and economic forces influencing the trend to devote large areas to monoculture, and in fact such systems are rewarded by economies of scale and contributed significantly to the ability of national agricultures to serve international markets.
14. 促使农业模式向单一栽种转变的技术因素有机械化，作物品种的改良，以及作物化肥和
控制病虫害农药的研制。The technologies allowing the shift toward monoculture were mechanization, the improvement of crop varieties, and the development of agrochemicals to fertilize crops and control weeds and pests.
15. 最近几十年的政府农产品政策也鼓励对这些技术的引入和利用。结果，现在的农场就趋
少、趋大、趋向专业化和资本密集化。Government commodity policies these past several decades encouraged the acceptance and utilization of these technologies. As a result, farms today are fewer, larger, more specialized and more capital-intensive.
16. 在区域范围内，增加单一栽种的农业比重也就意味着整个农业基础设设（例如科研、扩
建、供应商、仓储、货运、市场等等）更为专业化。At the regional level, increases in monoculture farming meant that the whole agricultural support infrastructure (i.e. research, extension, suppliers, storage, transport, markets, etc.) has become more specialized.
17. 从生态角度来看，单一专门性栽种模式的区域效应是多方面的：From an ecological
perspective, the regional consequences of monoculture specialization are many-fold:
18. 在多数大型农业系统中，内部成分的组合结构不当，农作物企业之间几乎不存在相互联
系或互补关系，土壤、作物和动物之间也不存在联系或互补关系。Most large-scale agricultural systems exhibit a poorly structured assemblage of farm components, with almost no linkages or complementary relationships between crop enterprises and among soils, crops and animal.
19. 养料、能源、水分和废物构成的循环更为开放，而不是像自然生态系统那样封闭。Cycles
of nutrients, energy, water and wastes have become more open, rather than closed as in a natural ecosystem.
20. 尽管农场生产的作物残余和粪肥数量不少，但即使要在农业系统中循环利用养料也愈加
困难。动物的排泄物无法在养料循环过程中以经济的方式返回土地，因为产生这些废物的系统与完成循环过程的其它系统相隔遥远。Despite the substantial amount of crops residues and manure produced in farms, it is becoming increasingly difficult to the land in a nutrient-recycling process because production systems are geographically remote from other systems which would complete the cycle.
21. 在许多地区，农业废物成了一种负担而不是资源。对市中心产生的养料循环利用以返回
农田也会遇到同样的困难。In many areas, agricultural waste has become a liability rather than a resource. Recycling of nutrients from urban centers banks to the fields is similarly difficult.
22. 农业生态系统不稳定和易患病虫害的部分原因就是广泛采用了作物的单一栽种模式。因
为这种模式集中了有利于专门的作物害虫生长的资源，而且扩大了病虫害迁徙的空间。这种简单化的模式还降低了在自然环境中产生天敌的可能。Part of the instability and susceptibility to pests of agroecosystems can be linked to the adoption of vast crop monocultures, which have concentrated resources for specialist crop herbivores and have increased the area available for immigration of pests. This simplification has also reduced environmental opportunities for natural enemies.
23. 结果，当大量病虫害迁移、益虫数量减少、气候条件适宜、作物处于抵抗力较弱阶段这
些因素同时作用的话，往往就会爆发病虫害。Consequently, pest outbreaks often occur when large numbers of immigrant pests, inhibited populations of beneficial insects, favorable weather and vulnerable crop stages happen simultaneously.
24. 由于种植某些作物超出了它们的“自然”范围，或从适宜生长的地区扩张到病虫害高发、
水源有限或土壤肥力低下的地区，就需要使用高强度的化学物以克服这些制约因素。人们以为，人工干预和促成这些扩张的能量输入水平可以无限制地维持下去。As specific crops are expanded beyond their “natural” ranges or favorable regions to areas of high pest potential, or with limited water, or low-fertility soils, intensified chemical controls are required to overcome such limiting factors. The assumption is that the human intervention and level of energy inputs that allow these expansions can be sustained indefinitely.
25. 在经济农场主面前，新的作物品种走马灯似地更迭不尽，这是由于生物压力和市场变化
引起的品种更替达到了前所未有的速度。Commercial farmers witness a constant parade of new crop varieties as varietal replacement due to biotic stresses and market changes has accelerated to unprecedented levels.
26. 一个病虫害抵抗力加强的品种初次亮相后可以登台数年（通常是5至9年），如果产量
滑坡、生产力面临问题、或出现了更好的品种，它就得被另一品种取代。A cultivar with improved disease or insect resistance makes a debut, performs well for a few years (typically 5-9 years) and is then succeeded by another variety when yields begin to slip, productivity is threatened, or a more promising cultivar becomes available.
27. 一个品种的运动轨迹可描述为：被人采用时处于起飞阶段，栽种情况稳定后进入中间阶
段，最后是栽种面积的萎缩。A variety’s trajectory is characterized by a take-off phase when it is adopted by farmers, a middle stage when the planted area stabilizes and finally a retraction of its acreage.
28. 因此，要保持现代农业的稳步发展，依赖的是不断供应新的作物品种，而不是拼拼凑凑
地在同一个农场种上不同的作物。Thus, stability in modern agriculture hinges on a continuous supply of new cultivars rather than a patchwork quilt of many different varieties planted on the same farm.
29. 如果要维持单一栽种模式，就得增加杀虫剂和化肥的使用量，但使用过的药剂效力正在
降低，多数重要作物的产量也渐趋平稳。甚至在某些地区，产量实际上已经下滑。对于这种现象背后的原因众说纷纭。The need to subsidize monocultures requires increases in the use of pesticides and fertilizers, but the efficiency of use of applied inputs is decreasing and crop yields in most key crops are leveling off. In some places, yields are actually in decline. There are different opinions as to the underlying causes of this phenomenon.
30. 有人认为，产量趋平时因为目前品种已经接近其最大产能，因而必须用基因工程改造作
物品种。Some believe that yields are leveling off because the maximum yield potential of current varieties is being approached, and therefore genetic engineering must be applied to the task of redesigning crop.
31. 但农业生态学家却认为，产量趋平是因为非可持续性的发展方式日益侵害着农业的生产
基础。Agroecologists on the other hand, believe that the leveling off is because of the steady erosion of the productive base of agriculture through unsustainable practices.