About us

Agro-Ecosystems History Laboratory brings together researchers from different universities and academic disciplines. Its main objective is to promote an improved understanding of the function of agro-ecosystems in a historical perspective. This history is discussed as a form of applied knowledge that enables us to describe the ecology of traditional farming systems and thus the possibility to build more sustainable agriculture for the future.

The Laboratory was formalized in 2010 at the University Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla (Spain) and is linked to their departament of Modern History. Some members have been pioneers of Environmental History and Agroecology in Spain. They have participated in the forums or in some of the most important early works such as "Ecologma, campesinado e historia" (Ecology, peasantry and history), La Piqueta, 1993; "Historia y Medio Ambiente" (History and Environment), Eudema, 1993; "Historia y Ecologma" (History and Ecology), Ayer, 1993; "Introduccisn a la agroecologma como desarrollo rural sostenible" (Introduction to Agroecology and Sustainable Rural Development), Mundiprensa, 2000; "Naturaleza transformada" (Modified Nature), Icaria, 2001; "Tras los pasos de la insustentabilidad", (In the Footsteps of Unsustainability), Icaria, 2006; etc.

The members have participated in dozens of research projects that have brought together historians, agronomists, ecologists, economists and anthropologists who have produced hundreds of publications on the History of Mediterranean Agro-ecosystems. They have also been active in the promotion and research of organic farming in southern Spain (Andalusia with nearly more than nine hundred thousand hectares registred in organic production is now the leading region in Europe).

The Laboratory, led by Professor Manuel Gonzalez de Molina, is the first step towards the consolidation of a team and a line of research with a clear and collaborative transdisciplinary practice in finding sustainable solutions to the current environmental crisis. Currently the Laboratory is working on various national and international projects that analyse the flows of nutrient, energy and material of agricultural systems (1750-2000), following the theoretical approach and methodologies of Social Metabolism, the historical erosion of the Mediterranean olive grove; socioecological transitions in southern Spain since the late nineteenth century to the present, changes in the management of Mediterranean crops; or the study of environmental conflict in a historical perspective.

Study of Agro-ecosystems in a historical perspective. Why and for what reason?
Historical knowledge can cooperate effectively with other scientific disciplines in the search for immediate solutions to current problems, including the ecological crisis. Indeed, the past can play an important role on the correct approach to environmental problems and aid the design of sustainable alternatives. This creates the social need of environmental history as a field of specialized study.
Fixing the anthropogenic changes in history and finding explanatory factors can contribute to a correct diagnosis of environmental conditions and the search for effective solutions. In this way, the agro-ecological methodologies applied to the past can be a basic tool in the diagnosis of the problems facing the agri-food system.
Likewise it can help restore and put into practice sutainable forms of africultural management under new technological conditions. The study of traditional ways to organize agricultural areas, to manage crops, etc.. can be the basis, adapted to today's technologies, to develop ways of sustainable management, especially for organic farming.
For example, for erosion control (ground cover, especially suitable for woody crops such as olives), to save water, to design and use natural fertilizers, traditional seeds to rescue adapted to the particular conditions of soil and climate, to design farms and farming systems under organic farming, etc. In short, these and many other possibilities are open perspectives in the historiography of the future, one of whose essential pillars is definitely Environmental History.