System Level Science

"Farmers need system level science. We can't be thinking about things in silos anymore, it doesn't exist that way. The farmers were the ones who taught me that." ~ Jonathan Lundgren, PhD

System level science looks at the whole, not its parts, at the interconnectedness of elements within the larger framework. Rather than isolating and studying individual components, it examines how these components interact to form a functioning whole.

This perspective is particularly valuable in agriculture, where ecosystems are inherently complex and interdependent. Soil health, crop productivity, biodiversity, and water cycles are not isolated phenomena but parts of a dynamic, interwoven system.

In contrast, reductive science, or reductionism, focuses on analysing systems by breaking them down into their smallest components. While this method has its strengths, particularly in understanding specific mechanisms, it often overlooks the broader context. A reductive approach might study the impact of a single pesticide on a particular pest without seeing the ripple-on effects on other insects (including the beneficial ones), soil microbes, pollinators, or the plant’s overall health.