Exploring the implementation of participatory, multistakeholder, and transdisciplinary ecosystem health research, Integrated Assessment of Health and Sustainability of Agroecosystems combines the latest theories in complexity and management with practical tools and approaches for sustainable rural development research. Although the text focuses on smallholder farming communities in the central highlands of Kenya, the material discussed can be-and has been-effectively applied to agroecosystems in many other parts of the world. After showing how the agroecosystem health framework was successfully adapted in a smallholder-dominated agroecosystem, the book integrates participatory methods, systems analyses, pulse process models, and soft systems methods in an open-ended, adaptive R&D process. It then looks at how to use correspondence analysis to refine a research-based suite of indicators and analyze data obtained using indicators. Incorporating the authors' pioneering work in the ecosystem health field, this book demonstrates the potential of the agroecosystem health paradigm as a framework in the decision-making processes of agricultural communities in a tropical highlands area.

General Introduction. Design and Implementation of an Adaptive, Integrated Approach to Health and Sustainability in a Smallholder-Dominated Agroecosystem. Community Participation and the Integration of Agroecosystem Health and Sustainability Concerns into Practical Decision Making. Use of Systems Theory, Directed Graphs, and Pulse Process Models in an Adaptive Approach to Agroecosystem Health and Sustainability. Soft System Methodology in the Management of Agroecosystem Health and Sustainability Concerns of a Tropical Highlands Agroecosystem. Development of Health and Sustainability Indicators for a Tropical Highlands Agroecosystem. An Assessment of Health and Sustainability of a Smallholder-Dominated Tropical Highlands Ecosystem. General Discussion. General Conclusions. Appendices. Index.