Accounting for Regional Heterogeneity of Agricultural Sustainability in Spain

Agriculture is increasingly facing major challenges such as climate change, scarcity of natural resources and changing societal demands. To tackle these challenges there is a pressing need to evolve towards more sustainable agricultural practices. As a result, sustainability stands among the most relevant topics in agricultural research worldwide, and Spain is no exception. Agricultural sustainability has been analysed in Spain mainly at a national and farm scale. This contribution aims at assessing agricultural sustainability in Spain at a provincial scale, allowing the scrutiny of regional variability induced by the existing differences in extension, relevance and policies of the agricultural activity at this level. The sustainability assessment performed is based on a selection of twenty-two indicators covering the three classical dimensions of sustainability—environmental, economic and social. The methodology implemented is based on normalising and aggregating selected indicators according to three composite indicators for the fifty Spanish provinces. Numerous statistical and cartographic sources are used. Cluster analysis establishes four different groups of provinces according to their performance in terms of agricultural sustainability. Higher economic sustainability in provincial agriculture seems to be mostly associated with more intensive use of agricultural labour and agricultural machinery and faster wealth growth. Social sustainability seems to be linked to greater diversification of economic activities and to quality productions under Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI). Best environmental sustainability is achieved where extension of agricultural land is larger, less agricultural area is burned, and carbon stock and sequestration by agricultural ecosystems is better. It is expected that the results could improve the policy coherence and decision-making for more sustainable agricultural systems in Spanish regions.

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AGRICULTURE: THEORY AND CASE LAW

International scientific journal Internauka Series Juridical Sciences ◽

10.25313/2520-2308-2021-9-7532 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Оlena Stefan ◽

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Production ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Direct Analysis ◽

Case Law ◽

Agricultural Products ◽

Agricultural Activity ◽

Narrow Sense ◽

Economic Entity ◽

And Training

The article, based on a comprehensive analysis of regulations, doctrinal approaches and case law, substantiates the understanding of the term "agriculture" in terms of purpose (use) of land. Direct analysis of regulations revealed that agricultural land is land provided for agricultural production, agricultural research and training activities, location of relevant production infrastructure, including infrastructure of wholesale markets for agricultural products, or intended for these purposes. In turn, the purpose of the land is the permissible limits of land use by citizens and legal entities (acquirers of such a right) established by law and specified by the relevant body (which transfers such land into ownership or use). The basis for determining the purpose of the land is its belonging to the appropriate category. The main criterion, for example, to distinguish agricultural production (agricultural activity) from other activities is the use of agricultural land as the main (basic) means of production. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the term "agriculture" can be understood in its broad and narrow sense. In a broad sense, the term "agriculture" is the use of land for commercial agricultural production, farming, personal farming, subsidiary agriculture, individual and collective gardening, haymaking and cattle grazing, for research and training purposes, provision of services in agriculture, placement of infrastructure of wholesale markets for agricultural products, as well as other activities on agricultural land, depending on the activities provided by law and the constituent documents of the economic entity. In a narrow sense – this is the purpose of agricultural land. The understanding of the term "agriculture" as the purpose of agricultural land is used by the court in resolving disputes.

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Evaluation of the intensity of environmental pressures from agriculture on groundwater in Slovenia

Dela ◽

10.4312/dela.51.5-26 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 5-26

Author(s):

Barbara Lampič ◽

Andrejka Rutar

Keyword(s):

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Water Bodies ◽

Environmental Index ◽

Environmental Pressures ◽

Environmentally Sustainable ◽

Sustainability Index ◽

Different Types ◽

Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Using a composite environmental index, we assessed how environmentally sustainable agriculture is by examining water bodies of groundwater (WBG) in Slovenia. Apart from studying identifiable differences among 21 WBG, we also analysed and detailed the pressures of agricultural activities including by different types of aquifer porosity. We found that the most heavily burdened WBG have an intergranular type of porosity. From the standpoint of environmental sustainability agriculture is ill-suited on all five of the alluvial plains with intergranular aquifers in Slovenia. The lowest index was calculated in the area of the WBG in the Drava basin (-0.54), followed by the Mura (-0.34) and Sava basin together with the Ljubljana Marshes (-0.24). In order to better illustrate responsiveness, through analysis of spatial patterns of ecologically cultivated areas, we evaluated the distribution of the most sustainable agricultural practices and found that organic farming is more prevalent on water bodies with predominantly karst type of porosity (17.1% of organically cultivated agricultural land) and it occurs least on alluvial plains with intergranular aquifers (barely 3.7% of organically cultivated agricultural land). Calculations of the sustainability index of agriculture at the level of WBG proved to be very suitable approach for determining environmental sustainability.

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LAND USE CHANGE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND IN A SPATIAL POLITICAL APPROACH

Journal of Urban Sociology ◽

10.30742/jus.v3i1.1190 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 25

Author(s):

Rizca Yunike Putri

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Point Of View ◽

Agricultural Activity ◽

Spatial Politics ◽

Community Activities ◽

Political Approach

The effort to meet the community's need for space is to change the function of land which was originally used as agricultural activity to become a space for other community activities and is non-agricultural in nature, which we will later call the conversion of agricultural land. Generally, uncontrolled conversion of agricultural land functions, if not addressed, can lead to serious problems, among others, can threaten the capacity of food supply and environmental sustainability. The trend of increasing demand for land makes conversion of agricultural land difficult to avoid. The loss of agricultural land and the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural functions regardless of its form are indicators for the development of modern cities. The modern city which is synonymous with industrialization and the splendor of buildings will gradually remove agricultural areas and change the environmental ecosystem further. If viewed from an ecological point of view, of course this problem causes environmental imbalance which will have a negative impact on food security. But what about the conversion of agricultural land from the viewpoint of spatial politics?Keywords: Agricultural land, land use changes, political spatial

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Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Agricultural Practices in the Malagos Watershed, Davao City, Philippines

IAMURE International Journal of Ecology and Conservation ◽

10.7718/ijec.v18i1.1112 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hector B. Cadena

Keyword(s):

Waste Disposal ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Crop Production ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Fertilizer Application ◽

Livestock Production ◽

Harvesting Method ◽

Product Disposal ◽

Vegetables And Fruits

This study describes the agricultural production practices of the farmers in the Malagos Watershed, Davao City, Philippines. This was done given the new trends in Ecoagriculture and Permaculture principles. The different Agricultural practices were described and assessed in terms of sustainability. Sustainable Agriculture is the production of food and other farm products in ways that protect the environment, public health and animal welfare. Practices need to be modified if they are causing damage to these factors instead. As to crops planted, which included cereals, vegetables and fruits, sustainability was rated fair. Tools and equipment used together with the method of cultivation were rated highly sustainable. Fertilizers used and method of fertilizer application which was mostly (40%) commercial fertilizers applied through basal and broadcast method, were rated sustainable. The method of irrigation, which was mostly rainfed, was assessed as highly sustainable. The method of pests and disease control was the only practice rated poor since commercial chemical spray were commonly used and one potentially harmful to people and the environment. Harvesting method, which was mostly by handpicking, was rated highly sustainable. Their methods of storage, product disposal and waste disposal were all classified as fairly sustainable. Concerning livestock production, almost all of their practices, including, type of animal raised, method of animal housing, feeds used, method of watering, method of product disposal and method of waste disposal, all rated fairly sustainable. Only the method of feeding, which mostly used dry feeds instead of free grazing, was graded sustainable. Crop production and livestock production in the Malagos Watershed averaged quite acceptable. It is, therefore, recommended that these practices be improved, maintained and monitored so that the agricultural practices in the Malagos Watershed would remain viable in the future. This study is the first attempt at assessing the sustainability of Agricultural practices of Indigenous peoples habituating the Malagos Watershed.

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Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Dairy Farms Rearing the Italian Simmental Dual-Purpose Breed

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10020296 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 296 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mario Baldini ◽

Francesco Da Borso ◽

Andrea Rossi ◽

Mario Taverna ◽

Stefano Bovolenta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Real Data ◽

Dairy Farms ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Environmental Footprint ◽

Dual Purpose ◽

Effective Strategies ◽

Scenario Analyses

This study aimed to assess the environmental footprint of dairy farms rearing a dual-purpose breed, and to evaluate, through alternative scenario analyses, the fattening of calves and the cultivation of hemp as strategies for reducing the environmental impact of these farms. Eleven farms were evaluated for global warming (GWP), acidification (AC) and eutrophication (EUP) potential. The Life Cycle Assessment method with three scenarios, REAL, based on real data, BEEF, where calves were fattened in farm, and HEMP, where hemp was cultivated in farms, were considered. If referred to 1 m2 of utilizable agricultural land, the GWP, AC and EUP were 1.6 kgCO2eq, 21.7 gSO2eq and 7.1 gPO43−eq, respectively. If referring to 1 kg of fat and protein corrected milk, the emissions were 1.1–1.4 kgCO2eq, 14.8–19.0 gSO2eq, and 5.0–6.4 gPO43−eq, depending on the allocation method adopted. The emissions were associated positively with culling rate and negatively with production intensity. In BEEF and HEMP scenarios, the emissions were reduced by 8–11% and by 1–5%, respectively. Fattening the calves, evaluating the cultivation of alternative plants and improving the productive and reproductive efficiency of animals could be effective strategies for reducing the environmental footprint of the farm.

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Information and Communication Technologies of Teaching Higher Mathematics To Students of Engineering Specialties At Technical Universities

Revista Amazonia Investiga ◽

10.34069/ai/2020.27.03.60 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (27) ◽

pp. 560-569

Author(s):

Natalya Vladimirovna Terekhova ◽

Elena Aleksandrovna Zubova

Keyword(s):

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Legal Regulation ◽

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

Agricultural Activity ◽

Anthropogenic Pressure ◽

Land Resources ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Legal Standards ◽

Land Relations

Excessive anthropogenic pressure on land resources in Ukraine leads to a deterioration of their quality, and consequently they lose their potential. Human impact on the change of land quality can be direct (by involving land lots in use, carrying out economic activities) and indirect (as a result of such activity, enhancing the natural degradation of soils). The tendency of deterioration of the state of land resources requires the subordination of land relations to the main goal – to ensure comprehensive protection of this major national wealth of Ukraine. Legal support for the protection of agricultural land is considered as a single complex of interdependent elements: legal standards for the protection of land, soil, agricultural landscapes, and the mechanism for their implementation – legally significant measures: economic, organizational, scientific and technical. At the same time, it was concluded that the system of legal regulation of the use of agricultural land is not sufficiently saturated with mechanisms for regulating agricultural activity.

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Sustainability and Livelihoods

10.5772/intechopen.96158 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Chinta Srinivas

Keyword(s):

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Habitat Management ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Developing Economies ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Economic Activities ◽

History Of ◽

The Impact ◽

Environmental Landscape

The word environmental sustainability of late has been used as catch word for illustrating the climate change and subsequent sequential impact of various aspects of environmental landscape that include soil management, gaseous exchange, nutrient cycling, carbon emission, rainfall etc., Interpretation of environmental changes are interpreted based on very few trends which need not necessarily cause short term or long term impacts. The impact assessment of a region fundamentally depends on region specific history of habitat management, human interference, agricultural practices, Economic livelihood activities which depend on available natural resources and seasonality of intensity of activities. In the present study efforts are made to indentify the major NTFP based livelihood economic activities and relate the habitat management aspects along with commercial invasion that became detrimental to environmental threshold to call for sustainability alarm. The livelihoods in various developing economies have different environmental impacts. Such assessment of economic activities have any real environmentally detrimental consequences or is it being essentially over emphasizing to create such fears have been analyzed.

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Sustainability as Source of Competitive Advantages in Mature Sectors: The Case of Ceramic District of Sassuolo (Italy)

10.20944/preprints201805.0010.v3 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Davide Settembre-Blundo ◽

Fernando E. García-Muiña ◽

Martina Pini ◽

Lucrezia Volpi ◽

Cristina Siligardi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Value Chain ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Business Models ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Raw Material ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Social Phenomena ◽

Integrated Network

Talking about sustainable development refers mainly to the environmental sphere, but the concept is much broader and also takes into account the social and economic conditions. The concept of sustainability, in this sense, is linked to the compatibility between the development of economic activities, the related social phenomena, and the protection of the environment. Therefore, the ability to balance social, economic and environmental sustainability is the very meaning of the concept of sustainable development. Firms that choose to develop policies and strategies to enhance and pursue sustainable development in the medium to long term have the burden of having to quantitatively document the improvements in production processes with the aim of sustainable development. As a result, one of the biggest challenges for European industry is to introduce sustainability principles into business models leading to competitive advantage. This is particularly important in raw material and energy intensive manufacturing sectors such as the ceramic industry. The present state of knowledge lacks a comprehensive operational tool for industry to support decision-making processes geared towards sustainability. In the ceramic sector, the economic and social dimensions of the product and processes have not yet been given sufficient importance. Moreover, the traditional research on industrial districts lacks an analysis of the relations between firms and the territory with a view to sustainability. Finally, the attention of scholars in the field of economic and social sustainability, has not yet turned to the analysis of the Sassuolo district. Therefore, in this paper we introduce the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), as a method that can be a suitable tool to fill this gap, because through a mathematical model it is possible to obtain the information useful for decision makers to integrate the principles of sustainability both at the microeconomic level in enterprises, and at the meso-economic level for the definition of economic policies and territorial governance. Environmental and socio-economic analysis was performed from the extraction of raw materials to the packaging of the product on different product categories manufactured by the Italian ceramic industries of the Sassuolo district (northern Italy). For the first time the LCSA model, usually applied to unitary processes, is extended to the economic and industrial activities of the entire district, extending the prospect of investigation from the enterprise and its value chain to the integrated network of district enterprises.

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Assessing sustainability in agricultural landscapes: a review of approaches1,2

Environmental Reviews ◽

10.1139/er-2017-0058 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 299-315 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sarah E. Eichler Inwood ◽

Santiago López-Ridaura ◽

Keith L. Kline ◽

Bruno Gérard ◽

Andrea Gardeazabal Monsalue ◽

...

Keyword(s):

English Language ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Ecosystem Approach ◽

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Economic Implications ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Farm System ◽

Analytical Approaches

Research and development agencies, as well as policy makers and agri-food enterprises, need reliable data to support informed decisions that can improve the sustainability of agricultural landscapes. We present a review of agricultural sustainability assessment frameworks (ASAF) that identifies the features most relevant to monitoring progress towards sustainability goals for agricultural landscapes. This qualitative review considers a variety of approaches for defining goals and for selecting stakeholders, spatial and temporal boundaries, indicators, and analytical approaches. We focused on assessment frameworks that (i) include environmental, social, and economic implications of agriculture; (ii) are applicable to multiple, non-specified farm system types; (iii) are described in an English language, peer-reviewed publication; (iv) have been developed for use at a farm system to regional spatial scale; (v) engage stakeholders; (vi) provide case studies; and (vii) could be used in a variety of contexts across the globe. Based on the review, we provide recommendations for further development and use of assessment frameworks to better address the needs of agricultural research, extension, and development organizations. We recommend an agro-ecosystem approach to help stakeholders identify appropriate indicators for their situation. Assessment methods need to be flexible enough for adaptation to a spectrum of agricultural landscapes and changing environmental conditions, and remain relevant as farmers and other stakeholders acquire new information, resources, and different management techniques. We find that to address information gaps across different scales from farm to region will require creativity and some reliance on local knowledge systems to support adaptive management. Assessment results should communicate relationships among ecosystem services and socio-economic activities affected by agricultural landscapes. Visualization tools can facilitate understanding of trade-offs and synergies among sustainability goals as reflected by individual indicators.

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Organic Vegetable Crops Managed with Agro-Ecological Practices: Environmental Sustainability Assessment by DEXi-met Decision Support System

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app9194148 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (19) ◽

pp. 4148 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Francesco Montemurro ◽

Alessandro Persiani ◽

Mariangela Diacono

Keyword(s):

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Production Capacity ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Vegetable Crops ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Organic System ◽

Ex Post

In the last decade, there has been an increasing interest in sustainable agricultural techniques and the environmental evaluation of the effects of agricultural practices. In the present study, we evaluated both the production capacity of organic horticultural systems, and the ex-post sustainability through a new multi-attribute decision model named “DEXi-met”. This qualitative model is able to estimate the environmental sustainability of cropping systems managed with different agro-ecological approaches. In particular, we compared the following three horticultural systems: (i) ECO, an organic system with full implementation of agro-ecological strategies (agro-ecological services crops (ASC), strip cultivation, and organic amendment); (ii) GM, an organic system with the introduction of the ASC; (iii) NO ASC, an organic system without ASC. The treatments with ASC presence (ECO and GM) showed similar total energy outputs (substantially higher than the NO ASC), indicating the positive effect of this agro-ecological practice. The findings pointed out that the ECO system, which followed the principles of natural ecosystems, can contribute to building up more complex agro-ecosystems, increasing both resilience and biodiversity. This management strategy reached a good compromise between the production of vegetable cropping systems and environmental sustainability achievement. Then, it is possible to optimize the use of natural resources, support climate adaptation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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