This document discusses measuring the effects of agricultural practices on ecosystem services. It presents a framework for interpreting indicators of ecosystem services at different scales, from the farm field level to global scales. The framework involves considering ecological indicators related to the composition, structure, and function of landscapes, ecosystems, and populations/species. Selecting good indicators requires they represent key features of the ecological system that are important for provision of ecosystem services. Both compositional and structural indicators are often easier to measure than functional indicators but can still provide insights into ecological functions.
1) The document discusses modelling ecosystem service trade-offs in agricultural systems using a case study in the Basque Country. It developed a conceptual model to assess how farming practices impact crop yields, water quality, climate regulation, and air quality.
2) The model found that increasing fertilizer had trade-offs, positively impacting crop yields but negatively impacting climate regulation through greenhouse gas emissions. It also found water supply impacted crop yields and soil water impacted emissions.
3) Model results showed changing manure application practices could significantly reduce emissions with some potential yield reduction, and limited tilling increased carbon sequestration without hurting yields. The model demonstrated the value of an integrated ecosystem services approach to agricultural management.
This document discusses an ecosystem approach to promoting inclusive growth in mountain regions using examples from lake and river ecosystems in Kashmir. It summarizes that mountains provide important natural resources but have a fragile geo-physical setting requiring distinct policy support. Growth has been slackened and inclusive due to factors like degradation, vulnerability, and lack of policy support. An ecosystem approach is proposed that recognizes the value of natural capital, invests in it, creates employment, and sustains resources through inclusiveness of ecosystem components and green economy options like hydropower, forestry, and ecotourism. Case studies of the Dal Lake ecosystem in Kashmir are presented on its economic valuation and sustainability challenges from degradation.
1) A study by Uttarakhand's Forest Department estimated the annual economic value of ecosystem services provided by Uttarakhand forests to be 104 billion rupees.
2) A study by the Centre for Ecological Services Management estimated that India's tiger reserves provide ecosystem services worth over 80 billion rupees annually, with Corbett Tiger Reserve alone providing 14.7 billion rupees annually.
3) Properly accounting for the economic value of ecosystem services through metrics like Gross Environment Product is important for more accurate cost-benefit analyses of development projects and policy decisions.
Bridging the gap: sustainable forests, agriculture and food securityCIFOR-ICRAF
Terry Sunderland, Principal Scientist & Team Leader, Sustainable Landscapes and Food Systems
PEFC Conference: ”Sustainable Landscapes, Sustainable Livelihoods”
Bali, 17th November 2016
At the Little Rann of Kutch, salt production generates much higher economic value (Rs 694 million) than tourism (Rs 276 million) or biodiversity (Rs 136 million) but it’s also more damaging to the ecology. Tourism will help conserve biodiversity because most tourists come for the birds but they have less economic values and hence lesser attention.
Presentation on the rapid evidence review findings and key take away messages.
Current evidence for biodiversity and agriculture to achieve and bridging gaps in research and investment to reach multiple global goals.
This document provides a summary of research on managed grazing and its potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It discusses four main areas of study on managed grazing: implementation techniques, grazing methods, impacts on flora and fauna, and greenhouse gas mitigation potential. It also examines socioeconomic factors and provides recommendations for implementing managed grazing, including establishing investment needs, converting land in phases, training farm hands, and creating cyclical management plans. Key areas for further research are identified.
Agrarian change in tropical forests: A change for the better?CIFOR-ICRAF
Agricultural expansion has resulted in losses to habitats, forests, ecosystems and biological diversity. Socio-ecological research methods were used to assess the livelihood impacts of agrarian change across the forest transition in six tropical landscapes in Zambia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Early findings suggest the transition from a forested landscape to a more agrarian-dominated system does not immediately result in better livelihood outcomes, and there may be unintended consequences.
This presentation was given by Terry Sunderland at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conversation.
1) The document discusses modelling ecosystem service trade-offs in agricultural systems using a case study in the Basque Country. It developed a conceptual model to assess how farming practices impact crop yields, water quality, climate regulation, and air quality.
2) The model found that increasing fertilizer had trade-offs, positively impacting crop yields but negatively impacting climate regulation through greenhouse gas emissions. It also found water supply impacted crop yields and soil water impacted emissions.
3) Model results showed changing manure application practices could significantly reduce emissions with some potential yield reduction, and limited tilling increased carbon sequestration without hurting yields. The model demonstrated the value of an integrated ecosystem services approach to agricultural management.
This document discusses an ecosystem approach to promoting inclusive growth in mountain regions using examples from lake and river ecosystems in Kashmir. It summarizes that mountains provide important natural resources but have a fragile geo-physical setting requiring distinct policy support. Growth has been slackened and inclusive due to factors like degradation, vulnerability, and lack of policy support. An ecosystem approach is proposed that recognizes the value of natural capital, invests in it, creates employment, and sustains resources through inclusiveness of ecosystem components and green economy options like hydropower, forestry, and ecotourism. Case studies of the Dal Lake ecosystem in Kashmir are presented on its economic valuation and sustainability challenges from degradation.
1) A study by Uttarakhand's Forest Department estimated the annual economic value of ecosystem services provided by Uttarakhand forests to be 104 billion rupees.
2) A study by the Centre for Ecological Services Management estimated that India's tiger reserves provide ecosystem services worth over 80 billion rupees annually, with Corbett Tiger Reserve alone providing 14.7 billion rupees annually.
3) Properly accounting for the economic value of ecosystem services through metrics like Gross Environment Product is important for more accurate cost-benefit analyses of development projects and policy decisions.
Bridging the gap: sustainable forests, agriculture and food securityCIFOR-ICRAF
Terry Sunderland, Principal Scientist & Team Leader, Sustainable Landscapes and Food Systems
PEFC Conference: ”Sustainable Landscapes, Sustainable Livelihoods”
Bali, 17th November 2016
At the Little Rann of Kutch, salt production generates much higher economic value (Rs 694 million) than tourism (Rs 276 million) or biodiversity (Rs 136 million) but it’s also more damaging to the ecology. Tourism will help conserve biodiversity because most tourists come for the birds but they have less economic values and hence lesser attention.
Presentation on the rapid evidence review findings and key take away messages.
Current evidence for biodiversity and agriculture to achieve and bridging gaps in research and investment to reach multiple global goals.
This document provides a summary of research on managed grazing and its potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It discusses four main areas of study on managed grazing: implementation techniques, grazing methods, impacts on flora and fauna, and greenhouse gas mitigation potential. It also examines socioeconomic factors and provides recommendations for implementing managed grazing, including establishing investment needs, converting land in phases, training farm hands, and creating cyclical management plans. Key areas for further research are identified.
Agrarian change in tropical forests: A change for the better?CIFOR-ICRAF
Agricultural expansion has resulted in losses to habitats, forests, ecosystems and biological diversity. Socio-ecological research methods were used to assess the livelihood impacts of agrarian change across the forest transition in six tropical landscapes in Zambia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Early findings suggest the transition from a forested landscape to a more agrarian-dominated system does not immediately result in better livelihood outcomes, and there may be unintended consequences.
This presentation was given by Terry Sunderland at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conversation.
This document summarizes a study on the impacts of climate change and land use change on water resources and food security in the Pangani River Basin in Tanzania. Researchers found that between 1987 and 2010, land used for cultivation increased while forest and grassland decreased. Hydrological modeling showed this decreased average river flows. Climate change is also projected to decrease stream flows by 5.3% by 2060, increasing unmet water demands. Water scarcity threatens livelihoods and food security in the basin. The study recommends integrated water resource management, efficient irrigation, and capacity building to help adapt to these challenges.
This document analyzes access to organic and local produce in the St. Louis metropolitan area and how it relates to income and market type. It summarizes previous research showing the environmental, social and economic impacts of conventional agriculture and lack of access to healthy foods in low-income areas. The study examines access points and availability of organic/local produce across 11 census tracts of varying incomes. Preliminary results indicate less availability in lower-income tracts. Recommendations target improving access across incomes to increase demand for sustainable agriculture and support local farmers/economies.
Farmers in Mali adopt soil and water conservation measures to offset climate ...ICRISAT
Farmers in Mali adopt soil and water conservation measures to offset the effects of climate change on agriculture. A study examined the effectiveness of these measures in different farming systems. It found that zai (planting holes) was the most commonly used measure. Adoption rates varied by farming system, with mixed farmers more likely to adopt. The main barriers to adoption were lack of finances and labor. Both male- and female-headed households cited these as top constraints.
Valuation of soil conservation practices in adwa woreda, ethiopia a conting...Alexander Decker
This document summarizes a study that uses contingent valuation methods to estimate the value that farmers place on soil conservation practices in Adwa Woreda, Ethiopia. 218 farmers were surveyed using a double bounded dichotomous choice format to elicit their willingness to pay for soil conservation. Regression analysis found that age, sex, education level, family size, perceptions, land tenure, livestock ownership, and initial bids were significant factors influencing willingness to pay. The average willingness to pay per household was estimated to be 56.65 person days per year. Aggregated across the study area, the total value of soil conservation was estimated to be 1,373,592 person days per year or approximately 16.5 million Ethiopian Birr. The
Boran pastoral innovations in response to climate change a case of merti divi...Alexander Decker
1) The document discusses innovations among the Boran pastoralist community in Merti Division, Isiolo County, Kenya in response to climate change.
2) It finds that prolonged droughts, conflicts, and invasive species linked to climate change are driving innovations among Boran pastoralists. Innovations include improving existing drought coping strategies as well as newly emerging strategies such as agreements between herders and ranchers and livelihood diversification.
3) The study concludes that climate change is forcing Boran pastoralists to adapt their strategies and that increasing pastoralist participation in policy and reducing obstacles to pastoral mobility can help support adaptation to climate change.
Ecosystem services mapping as a framework for integrated natural resource man...Global Water Partnership
This document discusses integrated natural resource management in South Africa. It notes that while South Africa has comprehensive environmental laws and increasing budgets for management, assessments show many ecosystems are threatened. This is due to a lack of holistic planning, failure to consider resource value, poor coordination, and inadequate local capacity. The document proposes using an ecosystem services approach to integrate natural systems, social needs, and economic factors. It presents a case study applying this framework in UThukela District through tools like social simulation, scenario analysis, and economic incentives to match interventions with drivers of environmental change. Key to success are effective stakeholder consultation, institutional coordination, and an appropriate governance structure.
The Use of Agrobiodiversity by Indigenous and Traditional Agricultural Commun...Seeds
This document discusses strategies that indigenous and traditional agricultural communities use to adapt to climate change through agrobiodiversity. It analyzes over 200 case studies grouped into a conceptual framework. Key strategies discussed include ecosystem-based approaches like forest and landscape restoration, improving agricultural system resilience through agroforestry, diversified home gardens and crop/soil/water management, and maintaining inter- and intra-species diversity. A whole system approach is advocated that enhances resilience at ecosystem, farm, and genetic levels and through interactions between them.
Biophysical Foundations of Production and Consumption of Human Economy Source...ijtsrd
Three major problems associated with our management of the world's ecosystems are already causing significant harm to some people, particularly the poor, and unless addressed will substantially diminish the long term benefits we obtain from ecosystems First, approximately 60 15 out of 24 of the ecosystem services examined during the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment are being degraded or used unsustainably, including fresh water, capture fisheries, air and water purification, and the regulation of regional and local climate, natural hazards, and pests. The full costs of the loss and degradation of these ecosystem services are difficult to measure, but the available evidence demonstrates that they are substantial and growing. Many ecosystem services have been degraded as a consequence of actions taken to increase the supply of other services, such as food. These trade offs often shift the costs of degradation from one group of people to another or defer costs to future generations. Second, there is established but incomplete evidence that changes being made in ecosystems are increasing the likelihood of nonlinear changes in ecosystems including accelerating, abrupt, and potentially irreversible changes that have important consequences for human well being. Dr. Anshumala Chandangar "Biophysical Foundations of Production and Consumption of Human Economy Sources and Sink Functions of the Ecosystem" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-6 , October 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd47663.pdf Paper URL : https://www.ijtsrd.com/economics/other/47663/biophysical-foundations-of-production-and-consumption-of-human-economy-sources-and-sink-functions-of-the-ecosystem/dr-anshumala-chandangar
The dilemma of the global food system is a deeply existential one . On one hand we have a moral imperative to ensure we have uninterrupted food supply ,on the other , doing so based on the expansion of current practices will have a devastating impact on the environment
Terry Sunderland | Key findings from the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) r...CIFOR-ICRAF
Terry Sunderland, Professor of tropical forestry at the University of British Columbia, senior associate at CIFOR, and HLPE project team leader, presented during a seminar on food system resilience on Feb. 12, 2019, organized by the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA).
The document outlines the Water Land and Ecosystems (WLE) program, which aims to improve agricultural sustainability and resilience. It discusses WLE's intermediate development outcomes of increasing incomes from sustainable resource management, improving agricultural productivity, and empowering women and marginalized groups. As an example, it describes WLE's impact pathway in the Volta-Niger region, which includes research portfolios on rainfed and irrigated farming systems, resource recovery and reuse, information systems, and basin management to achieve outcomes of increased productivity and reduced land degradation.
John Ingram | Enhancing food system resilience CIFOR-ICRAF
John Ingram, visiting CIFOR from the Environmental Change Institute — University of Oxford, was the keynote speaker during a seminar on food systems on Feb. 12, 2019, organized by the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA).
The document outlines the changes made to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) through a reform process. Key changes include:
1) Fifteen new CGIAR Research Programs were established to conduct integrated research across core competencies and form appropriate partnerships to achieve four system-level outcomes: reduction in poverty, increased global food security, improved nutrition, and better natural resource management.
2) A leaner structure was implemented with the Consortium providing a single contact point for donors and overseeing fifteen research centers and programs. A CGIAR Fund was also established as a new multi-donor funding mechanism.
3) The goals of CGIAR's research are now defined as four system-level
Climate Change and Vulnerability in Ghana by Justice Ampofo AgyeiJustice Ampofo
Climate change is one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats to the livelihood of forest dependent communities in developing countries. The impacts of climate change on ecosystem services and the livelihood of communities surrounding the SRFR have been identified in this paper. These communities are very vulnerable due to their high dependence on ecosystem services and their low capacity to climate change impacts. Sectors that are adversely affected by climate change include agriculture, biodiversity, and water resources. These impacts are most likely to deepen poverty, food insecurity and the poor livelihoods of the communities. To address these negative impacts, the communities have adapted various adaptation strategies in agriculture, biodiversity conservation, and water resources management to minimize climate change impacts. To improve ecosystem services, adaptation to climate change impacts, the resilience and capacity of the local communities, it is important to put in place appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Links between land use and groundwater - governance provisions and management...Global Water Partnership
The document discusses the links between land use and groundwater, noting that while there is a causal chain from need for resources to land use change to groundwater impacts, these links are not deterministic. It provides examples of how land use planning can address groundwater quality and quantity through techniques like limiting land use in hydrogeologically defined zones. Governance instruments at national, regional, and local levels can help implement these techniques through policies, planning, and regulatory frameworks, though there are also legal, institutional, and economic obstacles.
Revised Tier 1 Carbon Stock Change Factors for Agroforestry: A Critical Step ...Remi CARDINAEL
CCAFS Webinar "Making trees count: Measurement, reporting and verification of agroforestry-based carbon", 25/06/2019.
Cardinael, R., Umulisa, V., Toudert, A., Olivier, A., Bockel, L., Bernoux, M., 2018. Revisiting IPCC Tier 1 coefficients for soil organic and biomass carbon storage in agroforestry systems. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 1–20. doi:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaeb5f
Soil Fertility Management and eco-efficiency of small holder agricultural sys...CIAT
This document summarizes a presentation by Deborah Bossio on soil fertility management and eco-efficiency in smallholder agricultural systems. It discusses the global context of soils and land research, including issues of food security, water scarcity, planetary boundaries, and ecosystem services. It outlines Bossio's background working on soil fertility projects in various countries. It also discusses IWMI's work on productive water use and creating impact through strategic research partnerships.
Gravity is a major force that causes erosion. It causes sediments to move downslope through processes like slumping, creeping, rock falls, rock slides, and mudflows. These mass movements are more likely after heavy rain and on steep slopes. When people build on steep, erosion-prone slopes it can increase erosion risks, but planting vegetation, using drainage pipes and retaining walls, and creating terraces can help stabilize slopes and reduce erosion. Ultimately, gravity ensures erosion will continue reshaping the landscape over time.
Soil erosion occurs through water and wind carrying away topsoil. This is harmful because it removes nutrients needed for plant growth. Factors that increase erosion include removal of vegetation, steep slopes, cultivation, forest and grazing land mismanagement. Erosion exceeds soil formation when accelerated by human activities. To reduce erosion, farmers use techniques like no-till farming, cover cropping, and contour plowing to keep soil protected. On slopes, terracing creates flat surfaces to slow water flow. Exposed soils are managed through spraying water or containing eroded areas until revegetation.
The effect of films with and without subtitles on listeningamirahjuned
This study examined the effect of films with English subtitles, Persian subtitles, or no subtitles on the listening comprehension of English language learners in Iran. 90 intermediate English students were divided into three groups that viewed clips from a documentary about natural disasters. One group viewed clips with English subtitles, one with Persian subtitles, and one with no subtitles. After each clip, the students completed a multiple choice comprehension test. The group that viewed clips with English subtitles performed best, followed by the group with Persian subtitles, and the group with no subtitles performed the worst. The results suggest that English subtitles most improved listening comprehension, followed by Persian subtitles, with no subtitles being the least effective.
This document summarizes a study on the impacts of climate change and land use change on water resources and food security in the Pangani River Basin in Tanzania. Researchers found that between 1987 and 2010, land used for cultivation increased while forest and grassland decreased. Hydrological modeling showed this decreased average river flows. Climate change is also projected to decrease stream flows by 5.3% by 2060, increasing unmet water demands. Water scarcity threatens livelihoods and food security in the basin. The study recommends integrated water resource management, efficient irrigation, and capacity building to help adapt to these challenges.
This document analyzes access to organic and local produce in the St. Louis metropolitan area and how it relates to income and market type. It summarizes previous research showing the environmental, social and economic impacts of conventional agriculture and lack of access to healthy foods in low-income areas. The study examines access points and availability of organic/local produce across 11 census tracts of varying incomes. Preliminary results indicate less availability in lower-income tracts. Recommendations target improving access across incomes to increase demand for sustainable agriculture and support local farmers/economies.
Farmers in Mali adopt soil and water conservation measures to offset climate ...ICRISAT
Farmers in Mali adopt soil and water conservation measures to offset the effects of climate change on agriculture. A study examined the effectiveness of these measures in different farming systems. It found that zai (planting holes) was the most commonly used measure. Adoption rates varied by farming system, with mixed farmers more likely to adopt. The main barriers to adoption were lack of finances and labor. Both male- and female-headed households cited these as top constraints.
Valuation of soil conservation practices in adwa woreda, ethiopia a conting...Alexander Decker
This document summarizes a study that uses contingent valuation methods to estimate the value that farmers place on soil conservation practices in Adwa Woreda, Ethiopia. 218 farmers were surveyed using a double bounded dichotomous choice format to elicit their willingness to pay for soil conservation. Regression analysis found that age, sex, education level, family size, perceptions, land tenure, livestock ownership, and initial bids were significant factors influencing willingness to pay. The average willingness to pay per household was estimated to be 56.65 person days per year. Aggregated across the study area, the total value of soil conservation was estimated to be 1,373,592 person days per year or approximately 16.5 million Ethiopian Birr. The
Boran pastoral innovations in response to climate change a case of merti divi...Alexander Decker
1) The document discusses innovations among the Boran pastoralist community in Merti Division, Isiolo County, Kenya in response to climate change.
2) It finds that prolonged droughts, conflicts, and invasive species linked to climate change are driving innovations among Boran pastoralists. Innovations include improving existing drought coping strategies as well as newly emerging strategies such as agreements between herders and ranchers and livelihood diversification.
3) The study concludes that climate change is forcing Boran pastoralists to adapt their strategies and that increasing pastoralist participation in policy and reducing obstacles to pastoral mobility can help support adaptation to climate change.
Ecosystem services mapping as a framework for integrated natural resource man...Global Water Partnership
This document discusses integrated natural resource management in South Africa. It notes that while South Africa has comprehensive environmental laws and increasing budgets for management, assessments show many ecosystems are threatened. This is due to a lack of holistic planning, failure to consider resource value, poor coordination, and inadequate local capacity. The document proposes using an ecosystem services approach to integrate natural systems, social needs, and economic factors. It presents a case study applying this framework in UThukela District through tools like social simulation, scenario analysis, and economic incentives to match interventions with drivers of environmental change. Key to success are effective stakeholder consultation, institutional coordination, and an appropriate governance structure.
The Use of Agrobiodiversity by Indigenous and Traditional Agricultural Commun...Seeds
This document discusses strategies that indigenous and traditional agricultural communities use to adapt to climate change through agrobiodiversity. It analyzes over 200 case studies grouped into a conceptual framework. Key strategies discussed include ecosystem-based approaches like forest and landscape restoration, improving agricultural system resilience through agroforestry, diversified home gardens and crop/soil/water management, and maintaining inter- and intra-species diversity. A whole system approach is advocated that enhances resilience at ecosystem, farm, and genetic levels and through interactions between them.
Biophysical Foundations of Production and Consumption of Human Economy Source...ijtsrd
Three major problems associated with our management of the world's ecosystems are already causing significant harm to some people, particularly the poor, and unless addressed will substantially diminish the long term benefits we obtain from ecosystems First, approximately 60 15 out of 24 of the ecosystem services examined during the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment are being degraded or used unsustainably, including fresh water, capture fisheries, air and water purification, and the regulation of regional and local climate, natural hazards, and pests. The full costs of the loss and degradation of these ecosystem services are difficult to measure, but the available evidence demonstrates that they are substantial and growing. Many ecosystem services have been degraded as a consequence of actions taken to increase the supply of other services, such as food. These trade offs often shift the costs of degradation from one group of people to another or defer costs to future generations. Second, there is established but incomplete evidence that changes being made in ecosystems are increasing the likelihood of nonlinear changes in ecosystems including accelerating, abrupt, and potentially irreversible changes that have important consequences for human well being. Dr. Anshumala Chandangar "Biophysical Foundations of Production and Consumption of Human Economy Sources and Sink Functions of the Ecosystem" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-6 , October 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd47663.pdf Paper URL : https://www.ijtsrd.com/economics/other/47663/biophysical-foundations-of-production-and-consumption-of-human-economy-sources-and-sink-functions-of-the-ecosystem/dr-anshumala-chandangar
The dilemma of the global food system is a deeply existential one . On one hand we have a moral imperative to ensure we have uninterrupted food supply ,on the other , doing so based on the expansion of current practices will have a devastating impact on the environment
Terry Sunderland | Key findings from the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) r...CIFOR-ICRAF
Terry Sunderland, Professor of tropical forestry at the University of British Columbia, senior associate at CIFOR, and HLPE project team leader, presented during a seminar on food system resilience on Feb. 12, 2019, organized by the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA).
The document outlines the Water Land and Ecosystems (WLE) program, which aims to improve agricultural sustainability and resilience. It discusses WLE's intermediate development outcomes of increasing incomes from sustainable resource management, improving agricultural productivity, and empowering women and marginalized groups. As an example, it describes WLE's impact pathway in the Volta-Niger region, which includes research portfolios on rainfed and irrigated farming systems, resource recovery and reuse, information systems, and basin management to achieve outcomes of increased productivity and reduced land degradation.
John Ingram | Enhancing food system resilience CIFOR-ICRAF
John Ingram, visiting CIFOR from the Environmental Change Institute — University of Oxford, was the keynote speaker during a seminar on food systems on Feb. 12, 2019, organized by the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA).
The document outlines the changes made to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) through a reform process. Key changes include:
1) Fifteen new CGIAR Research Programs were established to conduct integrated research across core competencies and form appropriate partnerships to achieve four system-level outcomes: reduction in poverty, increased global food security, improved nutrition, and better natural resource management.
2) A leaner structure was implemented with the Consortium providing a single contact point for donors and overseeing fifteen research centers and programs. A CGIAR Fund was also established as a new multi-donor funding mechanism.
3) The goals of CGIAR's research are now defined as four system-level
Climate Change and Vulnerability in Ghana by Justice Ampofo AgyeiJustice Ampofo
Climate change is one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats to the livelihood of forest dependent communities in developing countries. The impacts of climate change on ecosystem services and the livelihood of communities surrounding the SRFR have been identified in this paper. These communities are very vulnerable due to their high dependence on ecosystem services and their low capacity to climate change impacts. Sectors that are adversely affected by climate change include agriculture, biodiversity, and water resources. These impacts are most likely to deepen poverty, food insecurity and the poor livelihoods of the communities. To address these negative impacts, the communities have adapted various adaptation strategies in agriculture, biodiversity conservation, and water resources management to minimize climate change impacts. To improve ecosystem services, adaptation to climate change impacts, the resilience and capacity of the local communities, it is important to put in place appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Links between land use and groundwater - governance provisions and management...Global Water Partnership
The document discusses the links between land use and groundwater, noting that while there is a causal chain from need for resources to land use change to groundwater impacts, these links are not deterministic. It provides examples of how land use planning can address groundwater quality and quantity through techniques like limiting land use in hydrogeologically defined zones. Governance instruments at national, regional, and local levels can help implement these techniques through policies, planning, and regulatory frameworks, though there are also legal, institutional, and economic obstacles.
Revised Tier 1 Carbon Stock Change Factors for Agroforestry: A Critical Step ...Remi CARDINAEL
CCAFS Webinar "Making trees count: Measurement, reporting and verification of agroforestry-based carbon", 25/06/2019.
Cardinael, R., Umulisa, V., Toudert, A., Olivier, A., Bockel, L., Bernoux, M., 2018. Revisiting IPCC Tier 1 coefficients for soil organic and biomass carbon storage in agroforestry systems. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 1–20. doi:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaeb5f
Soil Fertility Management and eco-efficiency of small holder agricultural sys...CIAT
This document summarizes a presentation by Deborah Bossio on soil fertility management and eco-efficiency in smallholder agricultural systems. It discusses the global context of soils and land research, including issues of food security, water scarcity, planetary boundaries, and ecosystem services. It outlines Bossio's background working on soil fertility projects in various countries. It also discusses IWMI's work on productive water use and creating impact through strategic research partnerships.
Gravity is a major force that causes erosion. It causes sediments to move downslope through processes like slumping, creeping, rock falls, rock slides, and mudflows. These mass movements are more likely after heavy rain and on steep slopes. When people build on steep, erosion-prone slopes it can increase erosion risks, but planting vegetation, using drainage pipes and retaining walls, and creating terraces can help stabilize slopes and reduce erosion. Ultimately, gravity ensures erosion will continue reshaping the landscape over time.
Soil erosion occurs through water and wind carrying away topsoil. This is harmful because it removes nutrients needed for plant growth. Factors that increase erosion include removal of vegetation, steep slopes, cultivation, forest and grazing land mismanagement. Erosion exceeds soil formation when accelerated by human activities. To reduce erosion, farmers use techniques like no-till farming, cover cropping, and contour plowing to keep soil protected. On slopes, terracing creates flat surfaces to slow water flow. Exposed soils are managed through spraying water or containing eroded areas until revegetation.
The effect of films with and without subtitles on listeningamirahjuned
This study examined the effect of films with English subtitles, Persian subtitles, or no subtitles on the listening comprehension of English language learners in Iran. 90 intermediate English students were divided into three groups that viewed clips from a documentary about natural disasters. One group viewed clips with English subtitles, one with Persian subtitles, and one with no subtitles. After each clip, the students completed a multiple choice comprehension test. The group that viewed clips with English subtitles performed best, followed by the group with Persian subtitles, and the group with no subtitles performed the worst. The results suggest that English subtitles most improved listening comprehension, followed by Persian subtitles, with no subtitles being the least effective.
Gravity is the main force that causes erosion. Various agents such as water, wind, and glaciers erode and transport sediments from one location to another through processes like mass movement. Mass movement includes different types of downhill sediment flows like slumps, creeps, rock falls, rock slides, and mudflows. When sediments are eroded, they are deposited elsewhere through the loss of energy by the transporting agent. People building on steep slopes prone to erosion through mass movement must take steps to stabilize the land such as planting vegetation, installing drainage, and using retaining walls.
Wind erosion occurs through deflation and abrasion, removing loose sediment and wearing down rock surfaces. It is a major erosional force in deserts, beaches, and plowed fields with little vegetation. Dust and sand storms can carry fine particles long distances. Planting vegetation is the most effective way to reduce wind erosion through windbreaks, trapping sediment, and stabilizing soil with roots. Wind deposition forms loess soils and migrating dunes that vary in shape depending on factors like wind direction and available sediment.
1) Wind erosion occurs through deflation and abrasion, which removes loose sediment and wears down rock surfaces over time.
2) Factors that increase erosion include a lack of vegetation and dry, loose soils, while factors that decrease erosion include vegetation, which holds soil in place, and windbreaks, which reduce wind speed.
3) Wind can deposit sediments as well, forming fertile soils like loess or landforms like dunes, which vary in shape depending on wind patterns and sediment availability.
1. Erosional forces like gravity, wind, water, and glaciers cause erosion by removing and transporting surface materials from one location to another through processes like mass movement.
2. Mass movement occurs as gravity pulls materials like rock and sediment down slopes, sometimes causing rapid events like landslides but sometimes occurring so slowly they are barely visible.
3. Glaciers are large masses of snow and ice that erode land as they move and later deposit sediments elsewhere, leaving behind features like moraines, eskers, and glacial till.
This document outlines the key steps in the agricultural process, including soil preparation, sowing, fertilization, irrigation, weed protection, harvesting, and storage. Soil is prepared through tillage or chemicals to kill weeds. Seeds are soaked, cleaned, and sown into the soil. Manure and fertilizers are added to provide nutrients for growth. Irrigation supplies water, while weed protection controls unwanted plants. Crops are harvested using machines or by hand, then stored correctly to prevent quality loss or pest damage over time.
Modern agricultural practices have led to increased food production but also environmental issues. The use of fertilizers, pesticides, and high-yielding seed varieties boosted yields but also caused problems like water pollution, loss of soil, pest resistance, and health impacts. Pesticides in particular accumulate in the environment and food chain, killing beneficial insects along with pests and contaminating water sources. While necessary to feed growing populations, intensive agriculture needs to be practiced sustainably to minimize environmental damage over the long run.
Canadian experiences in sustainability in agriculture and climate change Premier Publishers
Agriculture has changed dramatically, with food and fiber productivity soaring due to new technologies, specialization and government policies. These changes allowed fewer farmers with reduced labor demands to produce the majority of the food. It is in this context that the concept of “sustainable agriculture” has come into existence. The severity of climate change has motivated strong scientific inquiry within the past decade. These mysteries have largely to do with the unpredictability of climate change, which varies widely across the globe. Many scientists argue that climate impacts are best understood on a regional scale. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to assess regional impacts of climate change due to various reasons. The tools at the disposal of those interested in building up resilience to climate change are therefore often limited, but some degree of speculation can be achieved through research. This paper aims to: investigate the potential impacts of climate change on Canadian agriculture, and assess the possible effects of these changes on the prevalence of sustainable agriculture. The paper concludes that while few predictions have been made on the specific impacts of climate change on sustainable agriculture, possible scenarios can be speculated based on the multitude of climate change studies.
The document discusses the importance of biodiversity conservation and integrated action to address threats to biodiversity. It notes that biodiversity drives key ecological functions and provides valuable economic services. However, overconsumption, population growth, habitat loss, and failure to account for ecological trade-offs are reducing biodiversity. The consequences of biodiversity loss disproportionately impact the poor. Integrated scientific, political, and economic action is needed worldwide to mitigate human-caused biodiversity decline.
THE USE OF INTERNET OF THINGS FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE AGRICULTURAL SECT...IAEME Publication
This document summarizes a research paper about using internet of things (IoT) technologies to support climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices. It discusses how CSA aims to increase agricultural productivity and sustainability while reducing emissions. The document uses the case study of the Philippines, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, to show how CSA and IoT innovations have helped farmers adapt to climate impacts through strategies like climate-resilient crops, rainwater harvesting, and mobile apps providing farming advice. While CSA and smart farming face challenges like high costs and lack of farmer expertise, the case study demonstrates their potential benefits to increase food security amidst climate change.
Co managing ecosystem services of forest reserves in ghana-the case of the bo...Alexander Decker
1. The document discusses co-managing the ecosystem services of the Bobiri Forest Reserve (BFR) in Ghana through stakeholder collaboration.
2. The forest communities have traditional rights to collect some non-timber forest products for personal use, but need permits for commercial use. However, overexploitation has led to declines in ecosystem services.
3. Effective co-management requires stakeholders to negotiate management responsibilities to sustainably manage forest resources and ensure long-term provision of ecosystem services through knowledge sharing and coordination between fragmented stakeholders.
Presentation from Salman Hussain, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) describing TEEB Agriculture and Food, a study designed to provide an economic evaluation of the ‘eco-agri-food systems’ complex. The presentation was prepared and delivered in occasion of the International Symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition, held at FAO in Rome on 18-19 September 2014.
Environmental Impact of Industrial Farm Animal ProductionMichael Newbold
Industrial farm animal production results in significant environmental impacts due to the enormous quantities of waste produced in a small area by confined animals. In the US, farm animals produce nearly 1 million tons of manure per day, most from confined operations. This waste pollutes water resources with nutrients, chemicals, and pathogens when not properly managed. Industrial agriculture also unsustainably uses water resources for feed production and animal operations. The environmental problems stem from the waste amounts, inadequate management systems, and high resource inputs like water and feed required by this agricultural model. Key issues include water pollution, soil contamination, and air quality degradation that negatively impact both ecosystems and human health.
One of the challenges of ecological intensification is to move agricultural research out of a focus on singular focal areas – e.g., improved seed, pest control, water management – to solutions that integrate all components of the farming system. As such, the canon of knowledge supporting ecological intensification is transdisciplinary, focusing on the biological components of farming systems and agroecological practices but extending as well to considerations of policy and farmer
and societal benefits. As the biodiversity benefits of ecological intensification, along with the negative externalities of conventional agriculture are an important motivation for ecological intensification, we have included literature on these topic, as well as references that relate climate change to ecosystem services in agriculture.
The annotated bibliography presented here is compiled on this basis, to identify the literature relevant to ecological intensification, with respect to the following categories:
1. Ecosystem services
2. Agroecology and agroecological practices
3. Farmer and societal benefits from enhancing ecosystem services
4. Biodiversity benefits of ecological intensification
5. Agriculture-induced impacts
6. Climate change
7. Policy
Within the category of ecosystem services, it has been noted in the keywords if the relevant study addresses one or several of the key ecosystem services underpinning ecological intensification in agriculture: pollination, pest regulation or soil nutrients/cycling. (Bommarco et al. 2013)
RUNNING Head: IMPACTS ON FOOD SYSTEMS. 1
IMPACTS ON FOOD SYSTEMS 8
Impacts of Food Systems.
Students Name.
Institutional Affiliation.
Impacts on food systems.
Introduction
Sustainability in food systems entails the provision of the food security and nutrition which are essential to maintain and promote the living condition of the people under the earth (Ericksen, Ingram, & Liverman, 2009). The food system is according to the four pillar that defines its implication in any society. These four pillars are stability, availability, utilization and access. According to Food and Agriculture Organization, food security refers to “all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”(Source, FAO SOFI 2011).
When four pillars are conjoined together with the sustainability and nutrition, a desirable food system foundation is therefore achieved. With such food programs, they will mainly lead in making a multiple SDS (Sustainable Development Goals). Because of these to monitor and provide a desirable food system in any country, a Global Food System Index is crucial in tracking and monitoring progress. In the ultimate of the global food system, we address the six important dimensions by the GFSI which traces their progression. These critical dimensions are social sustainability, health and nutrition consumptions, environmental productivity, climate and ecological sustainability and market dynamics (Shown in Figure 1).
Therefore the ideal goal of a food system tries to effectively dialogue challenges to ecological and human welfare transversely in all of its phases. The dimension arrives from the theories and concepts involving food systems which will inform and guide the relevant managerial personnel in their decisions after the consideration of the report on the available data’s provided in concern of the behaviors portrayed by the target group like tourists in any environment when food is involved for life sustenance.
Global economic growth in investments, trade, food and Market Dynamic
Food system synthesis propels the global financial increase in investment, trade and food prices — they makeup all that happens and is the boundaries of the market dynamic as stated to be one of the critical dimensions guiding the food systems and its synthesis. To have a desirable food system, we require to have: an interaction in food supply chains which functions with all fundamental priors in the whole food system and also a well-operating trade and market dynamics (McCarthy, Lipper, & Branca, 2011). Using good trade and market strategies we can regulate and reduce the adverse effects caused by the market astonishment and hence drastically.
Smallholder farmers’ perception of the impacts of climate change and variabil...Alexander Decker
- Smallholder farmers in Kenya were interviewed about their perceptions of how climate change has impacted agricultural practices over the past 30 and 10 years.
- Significantly more farmers reported perceiving changes in practices over the past 30 years compared to 10 years, especially in semi-arid regions.
- The two most commonly perceived changes across regions were increased pest/disease control and growing different crops to match changing rainfall patterns.
- Over 80% of farmers perceived changes in productivity over the past 30 years, though the percentage was lower for the past 10 years.
One of the challenges of ecological intensification is to move agricultural research out of a focus on singular focal areas – e.g., improved seed, pest control, water management –
to solutions that integrate all components of the farming system. As such, the canon of knowledge supporting ecological intensification is transdisciplinary, focusing on the biological components of farming systems and agroecological practices but extending as well to considerations of policy and farmer and societal benefits. As the biodiversity benefits of ecological intensification, along with the negative externalities of conventional agriculture are an important motivation for ecological intensification, we have included literature on these topic, as well as references that relate climate change to ecosystem services in agriculture.
The glossary presented here is compiled on this basis, to provide definitions of key terms relevant to ecological intensification.
Water-Energy-Land-Livelihood (WELL) Nexus Report, June 2019Martin Scherfler
The distress facing the agriculture sector needs an integrated approach deriving a win-win solution for all the concerned stakeholders—water security and better livelihood for farmers, easing of the massive financial burden on the state and the electricity utility, and benefits to the public at large through job creation and lower emissions. Our analysis considers a three-pronged approach consisting of (i) grid-interactive solar PV (photovoltaic), (ii) energy efficient pumps (EE), and (iii) advanced irrigation technology (AI) at the farm level. It makes policy recommendations for a successful implementation of this approach.
This document discusses how ecological agriculture can help mitigate and adapt to climate change. Specifically, it argues that shifting to more sustainable farming practices that build up soil carbon and use fewer chemical inputs has significant potential to reduce agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon sequestration in soils. Practices like crop rotations, cover crops, and agroforestry can both mitigate emissions and help agriculture adapt to climate impacts by improving soil quality, fertility, and resilience. The document estimates that a global conversion to organic agricultural practices could mitigate 40-65% of agriculture's emissions through soil carbon sequestration alone. Overall, the document makes the case that ecological agriculture optimally integrates climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Ecosystem services for biodiversity conservation and sustainable agricultureExternalEvents
The presentation by Dr. Abigael Otinga (University of Eldoret) outlines the concept of “ecosystem services” and particularly their relevance not only for biodiversity conservation but also for ensuring sustainable production of healthy and abundant crops. The presentation was given at a national training workshops for stakeholders involved in the revision of the Kenya NBSAP that was held at ICRAF in Nairobi, 25-26 May 2016. More information on the event are available at: www.fao.org/africa/news/detail-news/en/c/417489/ .
Ecosystem based adaptation-can_support_food_security(1)Dr Lendy Spires
Ecosystem-based adaptation projects in Africa have potential to help address future food crises under climate change by improving agricultural resilience. Case studies in Mozambique, Uganda, and Togo demonstrated how restoring ecosystems through activities like mangrove rehabilitation, agroforestry, and small dams combined with fish ponds led to increased food production, provision of ecosystem services, and more secure access to resources. The review concludes that ecosystem-based adaptation is a cost-effective approach that could help reduce occurrences of food crises and build resilience to climate change impacts across Africa if widely adopted.
Ecosystem based adaptation-can_support_food_securityDr Lendy Spires
Ecosystem-based adaptation projects in Africa help improve food security and resilience to climate change by supporting agricultural systems. Case studies in Mozambique, Uganda, and Togo demonstrate how restoring ecosystems through activities like mangrove rehabilitation, agroforestry, and small dams combined with fish ponds led to increased food production, provision of resources to local communities, and protection of vital ecosystem services. The review concludes that ecosystem-based adaptation is a cost-effective approach that could help reduce future food crises in Africa given the threats from climate change and population growth.
Renewable Energy and Agriculture: A Partnership for Sustainable DevelopmentIJMERJOURNAL
ABSTARCT: Agriculture is the sole provider of human food. Most farms machines are driven by fossil fuels, which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and in turn, accelerate climate change. Such environmental damage can be mitigated by the promotion of renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, biomass, small hydro, and biofuels. These renewable resources have a huge potential for agriculture industry. The concept of sustainable agriculture lies on a delicate balance of maximizing crop productivity and maintaining economic stability, while minimizing the utilization of finite natural resources and detrimental environmental impacts. Sustainable agriculture also depends on replenishing the soil while minimizing the use of non-renewable resources, such as natural gas, which is used in converting atmospheric nitrogen into synthetic fertilizer and mineral ores, e.g phosphate or fossil fuel used in diesel generator for water pumping for irrigation.Hence, there is a need for promoting use of renewable energy systems for sustainable agriculture e.g solar photovoltaic water pumps and electricity, greenhouse technologies, solar dryers for post harvest processing and solar hot water heaters. In remote agricultural lands, the underground submersible solar photovoltaic water pump is economically viable and also an environmentally friendly option as compared with a diesel generator set. This article details the role of renewable energy in farming by connecting all aspects of environment, societal change and ecology
This document discusses valuing the goods and services provided by wetlands to inform better management and decision making. It notes that while some ecosystem services like crops are easy to observe and quantify, many important services like climate regulation are undervalued. When wetlands are degraded, the costs of losing these services often go unnoticed. The document examines studies that have economically assessed wetland services, finding regulating services like flood prevention and wastewater treatment provide the most substantial benefits. It advocates combining different valuation approaches to better represent the full value of wetlands and inform their protection and sustainable use.
Similar to Measures of the effects of agricultural practices on ecosystem services (20)
This dissertation examines whether computer programmers exhibit enhanced executive control, as seen in bilinguals. The author conducted two executive function tasks with 10 professional and 10 adolescent programmers, compared to monolingual controls. In the Attention Networks Test, programmers had significantly faster reaction times, supporting the hypothesis. In the Stroop task, programmers were slower but not significantly so. Overall, the results provide preliminary evidence that programming experience may enhance executive control, as with bilingualism, warranting future research.
Soil degradation is a serious threat to developing country food security by 2020. According to recent global studies, agricultural soil quality has declined substantially in 16% of developing world cropland, with almost 75% of Central American and 20% of African agricultural land being seriously degraded. Soil degradation is estimated to have reduced crop yields by 13% over the past 50 years and pastoral land yields by 4%. It also diminishes agricultural income and economic growth, with estimates of annual losses ranging from under 1% to over 9% of agricultural GDP in various countries. Soil degradation is projected to most severely impact food production and incomes in densely populated marginal lands in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia if not adequately addressed through policies and investments
Soil is a complex mixture of inorganic materials, living organisms, and dead organic matter that sustains physical, chemical, and biological functions to support plant and animal life. Soils form through physical and chemical weathering of rocks and biological processes. Soil characteristics include physical composition, pore content, permeability, organic material, temperature, mineral content, and water content. Soil can be degraded through erosion, acidification, salinization, compaction, and pollution from various natural and human-caused sources. Actions must be taken to assess, isolate, and eliminate soil pollution to prevent further environmental damage.
Land degradation and soil erosion are major global problems. Approximately 5 billion hectares of land, or 43% of the Earth's vegetated surface, is degraded with reduced productivity. Overgrazing accounts for about one-third of degraded land, while 3.6 billion hectares are associated with desertification. A major cause is overgrazing, while 0.5 billion hectares have been degraded due to tree felling in humid tropics. Soil degradation is responsible for about 2 billion hectares of degraded land, with 85% caused by wind and water erosion which involves raindrop detachment of soil particles, transport by overland water flow or runoff, and deposition in other areas.
This document provides a summary of a report on addressing soil degradation in European Union agriculture. It discusses relevant soil degradation processes, soil conservation practices, and related policies. The key soil degradation processes addressed are erosion, organic carbon decline, compaction, salinization, contamination, and effects on biodiversity. Conservation practices discussed include conservation agriculture, organic farming, ridge tillage, contour farming, and others. The regulatory environment and policy instruments related to soil protection under the Common Agricultural Policy and environmental legislation are also analyzed. The document aims to provide an overview of the current situation regarding soil degradation and conservation in EU agriculture.
Europe’s environment the third assessment soil degradationMichael Newbold
The document discusses soil degradation across Europe. It states that in many parts of Europe, soil is being irreversibly lost and degraded due to increasing demands from various economic sectors. Some key causes of degradation mentioned include unsustainable agricultural practices, soil sealing, erosion, contamination, acidification, salinization and compaction. The severity and distribution of degradation issues varies significantly across different regions of Europe based on factors like climate, geology, and human activities. Better integration of soil protection into sectoral policies is needed to promote more sustainable use of this limited resource.
1) Soil degradation refers to processes that reduce a soil's ability to produce goods and services for current and future generations. It occurs when inappropriate land use practices are adopted, such as deforestation, overgrazing, or unsustainable agricultural practices.
2) Agricultural activities can cause physical, chemical, and biological degradation through practices like excessive tillage, improper fertilizer and pesticide use, lack of crop rotations, and burning of crop residues. This leads to reduced soil organic matter, compaction, erosion, salinization, and loss of biodiversity.
3) The consequences of soil degradation include substantial reductions in agricultural productivity, yields, and farmers' livelihoods, as well as negative downstream impacts
Soil degradation occurs through two main processes: erosion by water and wind, which removes solid material; and leaching, which removes soluble matter. Erosion involves mobilization, transport, and deposition of solids, while leaching involves solubilization, transport, and precipitation/fixation of dissolved components through physicochemical and biological processes like hydration and hydrolysis. Models like the Universal Soil Loss Equation are used to estimate soil degradation from erosion and leaching over large areas based on local measurements and factors such as climate, landscape, soil type, and land use. Soil losses at one site result in deposition elsewhere through aquatic, wind, or precipitation transport.
This document discusses soils and their importance as a natural resource. It explains that soil is made up of weathered rock and organic material. The key factors that influence soil formation are identified as parent material, climate, living organisms, topography, and time. Parent material refers to the minerals and sediments from which soils are formed. Climate and living organisms help break down parent material over hundreds of years to create the thin, top layer of productive soil.
This document discusses the components and properties of soil. It explains that soil provides support and nutrients for plant growth. The five main components of soil are rock, sand, silt, clay, and humus. Humus adds many nutrients to the top layer of soil. There are three main layers of soil: topsoil, subsoil, and bedrock. Natural resources like soil must be conserved through practices like planting trees and grass, healthy farming, and planting gardens.
This document discusses key properties of soil, including the soil profile, horizons, texture, structure, composition, pH, and land capability. It describes:
- The soil profile has distinct horizons (layers) including the O, A, E, B, C horizons.
- Texture refers to particle size and influences properties like moisture holding. The three types are sand, silt, and clay.
- Structure is the way particles cling together, forming aggregates. Types include granular, blocky, and platy.
- Composition includes minerals, organic matter, air, and water. Proper levels are needed for plant growth.
- pH indicates acidity or alkalinity and greatly impacts nutrient
Soil is formed through the interaction of the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. It is the biologically active, porous medium that develops below the land surface. Soil consists of mineral and organic components, with pore spaces filled with either air or water. As the interface between these spheres, soil impacts ecosystem dynamics and the Earth system as a whole. It is classified based on its horizons, which form layers with different properties over time through soil-forming factors like climate, organisms, relief, and parent material.
An introduction to soils, soil formation and terminologyMichael Newbold
The document provides an introduction to soils and soil terminology. It defines soil and discusses soil formation factors such as parent material, climate, organisms, relief, and time. It also examines soil processes like weathering, decomposition, humification, capillary action, leaching, and translocation. Key terms are explained, like soil horizons, soil texture, and different types of humus. Soil features including color, structure, and drainage properties are also covered.
The document discusses different types of forests and their role in the climate system. It describes the three main forest types: boreal forests, which are cold and slow-growing; temperate forests, which are resilient to disturbance; and tropical rainforests, which have high biodiversity but fragile soils. Tropical rainforests play a key role in the global water cycle by recycling rainfall and fueling more storms. Deforestation is a concern because it reduces biodiversity, increases carbon dioxide emissions, and impacts regional climates by decreasing evapotranspiration and rainfall.
This document summarizes the main causes and reasons for deforestation globally and in Turkey specifically. The key drivers of deforestation discussed are population growth, agriculture expansion, logging, fuel needs, and grazing. Deforestation results in declines in habitats, biodiversity, and forest resources. While forest management practices could help mitigate deforestation, many developing countries lack strong forestry institutions and local cooperation is sometimes lacking. The document also provides a brief overview of Turkey's forestation policies and goals to increase forest coverage from its current level of around 27% of land.
The document summarizes the causes and effects of deforestation. It notes that 11,000 years ago, forests covered most of the Earth but now cover only one-fifth due to clearing for fuel, commodities, livestock, and settlements. Deforestation results in habitat loss, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, disrupted water cycles, increased flooding and drought, and climate change through reduced carbon storage. Efforts are needed to reduce dependency on forests, practice reforestation, and educate communities on sustainable forest management.
This document summarizes research on deforestation throughout history. It discusses how deforestation has long been a major process transforming landscapes, but knowledge of deforestation before 1500 is limited due to sparse records. Recent scholarship has provided more details on prehistoric and classical era deforestation. The Neolithic era saw more permanent forest clearing for agriculture than previously believed. Deforestation increased greatly in medieval Europe to support growing populations.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive function. Exercise causes chemical changes in the brain that may help protect against mental illness and improve symptoms.
- Breaking the Climate Deadlock is an initiative led by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and The Climate Group to build support for a post-2012 international climate agreement. This document discusses issues related to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries.
- Key issues discussed include the challenges of accurately setting a reference level for emissions reductions given varying deforestation rates among countries, concerns about equity outcomes if REDD is implemented at a large scale, and the importance of technical assistance and safeguards to ensure social and environmental protections.
- The document makes recommendations such as including REDD in post-2012 agreements as part of a deal with more ambitious emissions targets overall, and addressing concerns about
This document provides an introduction to marketing local food and discusses various direct and intermediate marketing options for farmers. It begins with a self-assessment tool to help farmers identify their preferences and strengths in terms of customer contact, regulations, liability, pricing, and paperwork/organization. This can help determine which marketing strategies may be the best fit. The document then provides overviews and profiles of different local food marketing approaches, including farmers' markets, community supported agriculture, agritourism, pick-your-own, roadside stands, restaurants/grocery stores, institutional food service, brokers/distributors, and collaboratives. Later sections cover general topics like regulations, food safety, liability, pricing, branding and more.
RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances, which is also known as t...vijaykumar292010
RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances, which is also known as the Directive 2002/95/EC. It includes the restrictions for the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. RoHS is a WEEE (Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment).
Kinetic studies on malachite green dye adsorption from aqueous solutions by A...Open Access Research Paper
Water polluted by dyestuffs compounds is a global threat to health and the environment; accordingly, we prepared a green novel sorbent chemical and Physical system from an algae, chitosan and chitosan nanoparticle and impregnated with algae with chitosan nanocomposite for the sorption of Malachite green dye from water. The algae with chitosan nanocomposite by a simple method and used as a recyclable and effective adsorbent for the removal of malachite green dye from aqueous solutions. Algae, chitosan, chitosan nanoparticle and algae with chitosan nanocomposite were characterized using different physicochemical methods. The functional groups and chemical compounds found in algae, chitosan, chitosan algae, chitosan nanoparticle, and chitosan nanoparticle with algae were identified using FTIR, SEM, and TGADTA/DTG techniques. The optimal adsorption conditions, different dosages, pH and Temperature the amount of algae with chitosan nanocomposite were determined. At optimized conditions and the batch equilibrium studies more than 99% of the dye was removed. The adsorption process data matched well kinetics showed that the reaction order for dye varied with pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order. Furthermore, the maximum adsorption capacity of the algae with chitosan nanocomposite toward malachite green dye reached as high as 15.5mg/g, respectively. Finally, multiple times reusing of algae with chitosan nanocomposite and removing dye from a real wastewater has made it a promising and attractive option for further practical applications.
Optimizing Post Remediation Groundwater Performance with Enhanced Microbiolog...Joshua Orris
Results of geophysics and pneumatic injection pilot tests during 2003 – 2007 yielded significant positive results for injection delivery design and contaminant mass treatment, resulting in permanent shut-down of an existing groundwater Pump & Treat system.
Accessible source areas were subsequently removed (2011) by soil excavation and treated with the placement of Emulsified Vegetable Oil EVO and zero-valent iron ZVI to accelerate treatment of impacted groundwater in overburden and weathered fractured bedrock. Post pilot test and post remediation groundwater monitoring has included analyses of CVOCs, organic fatty acids, dissolved gases and QuantArray® -Chlor to quantify key microorganisms (e.g., Dehalococcoides, Dehalobacter, etc.) and functional genes (e.g., vinyl chloride reductase, methane monooxygenase, etc.) to assess potential for reductive dechlorination and aerobic cometabolism of CVOCs.
In 2022, the first commercial application of MetaArray™ was performed at the site. MetaArray™ utilizes statistical analysis, such as principal component analysis and multivariate analysis to provide evidence that reductive dechlorination is active or even that it is slowing. This creates actionable data allowing users to save money by making important site management decisions earlier.
The results of the MetaArray™ analysis’ support vector machine (SVM) identified groundwater monitoring wells with a 80% confidence that were characterized as either Limited for Reductive Decholorination or had a High Reductive Reduction Dechlorination potential. The results of MetaArray™ will be used to further optimize the site’s post remediation monitoring program for monitored natural attenuation.
Evolving Lifecycles with High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC) and 3-D...Joshua Orris
The incorporation of a 3DCSM and completion of HRSC provided a tool for enhanced, data-driven, decisions to support a change in remediation closure strategies. Currently, an approved pilot study has been obtained to shut-down the remediation systems (ISCO, P&T) and conduct a hydraulic study under non-pumping conditions. A separate micro-biological bench scale treatability study was competed that yielded positive results for an emerging innovative technology. As a result, a field pilot study has commenced with results expected in nine-twelve months. With the results of the hydraulic study, field pilot studies and an updated risk assessment leading site monitoring optimization cost lifecycle savings upwards of $15MM towards an alternatively evolved best available technology remediation closure strategy.
Improving the viability of probiotics by encapsulation methods for developmen...Open Access Research Paper
The popularity of functional foods among scientists and common people has been increasing day by day. Awareness and modernization make the consumer think better regarding food and nutrition. Now a day’s individual knows very well about the relation between food consumption and disease prevalence. Humans have a diversity of microbes in the gut that together form the gut microflora. Probiotics are the health-promoting live microbial cells improve host health through gut and brain connection and fighting against harmful bacteria. Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus are the two bacterial genera which are considered to be probiotic. These good bacteria are facing challenges of viability. There are so many factors such as sensitivity to heat, pH, acidity, osmotic effect, mechanical shear, chemical components, freezing and storage time as well which affects the viability of probiotics in the dairy food matrix as well as in the gut. Multiple efforts have been done in the past and ongoing in present for these beneficial microbial population stability until their destination in the gut. One of a useful technique known as microencapsulation makes the probiotic effective in the diversified conditions and maintain these microbe’s community to the optimum level for achieving targeted benefits. Dairy products are found to be an ideal vehicle for probiotic incorporation. It has been seen that the encapsulated microbial cells show higher viability than the free cells in different processing and storage conditions as well as against bile salts in the gut. They make the food functional when incorporated, without affecting the product sensory characteristics.
2. To make the concept of ecosystem services operational with
respect to agro-ecosystems, it requires a way of measuring
ecosystem services. To be really useful in management and
policy discussions, however, there must be a way to measure
how ecosystem services change as a function of changing
agricultural practices. This requires a thorough understanding
how ecological systems function, both under current conditions
and how these functions might change with different manage-
ment regimes. For example, if pollinators were removed from the
system, how would crop yields change? If a wetland is filled, how
does this action alter nutrient flows, hydrology and habitat
conditions that might ultimately affect local bird watching,
nitrate levels in local groundwater, flood potential downstream,
and fish productivity in coastal estuaries? Tracing through the
full array of consequences can present great challenges.
At present, we lack ways to measure the quantities of many
ecological services in a manner similar to measures of marketed
goods and services in the economy. Accurate measures of goods
andservicesintheeconomy arosebecausesuchaccountingwasa
necessary condition for a market economy to function. Trade
requires verifiable information on the quantity and quality of
items being traded. Measures of goods are typically easy to define
and monitor. A well-managed farm accounts for how many crops
of various kinds are produced on the farm in a given year (bushels
of corn, soybeans, etc.) and amounts of various inputs used (fuel,
seeds, labor, etc.). Though often more difficult, firms producing
services (e.g., legal, financial, or insurance firms) can also define
the amounts of various services they produce and what inputs
they use. Service providers track various measures such as
billable hours or policies issued, but tracking the quality of the
service, which may matter as much or more than the quantity,
can be difficult. To illustrate some of the difficulties of measuring
services, think about how to accurately measure the service
provided by academics. If measuring the quality of the services
provided was easy, then tenure and promotion decisions should
be quite simple (ignoring college or university politics, of course).
Because ecosystem services typically have not been traded in
markets, there has not been the same type of systematic effort
devoted to defining operational and verifiable measures for
ecosystem services. Measures of ecosystem services still need
further development in many circumstances (Boyd and Banzhaf,
2006). Further complicating matters, the concept of scale often is
important in ecological service because benefits may only be
measurable over a large area or after a long time period. A major
task in moving ecosystem services from the realm of being an
interesting idea to being a practical reality is to define operational
and verifiable measures.
Crop and livestock production are the best quantified services
from agriculture. These production benefits are typically mea-
sured as the yield per area of per effort expended. Increases in
agricultural production are clear from examination of production
data at regional and global scales. Over the 40-year period from
1960 to 2000, global food production increased by 2.5 times, more
than outpacing human population growth, which approximately
doubled over the same period (Millennium Ecosystem Assess-
ment, 2005). In addition, in marine and freshwater systems,
farmed fish and shellfish have increased to be one third of all fish
and shellfish production. The dramatic increase in crop and
livestock production was partly the result of increasing the
amount of land devoted to agriculture, the development of high-
yielding varieties, and advancements in the integration of
management. However, much of the increase in production
came from increasing yields through a vast increase in
application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and water
from irrigation systems (Tilman et al., 2002).
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) found that
several ecosystem services that relate to agriculture are in
decline. Particularly noticeable are the worldwide declines in
wild fish and fresh water. In many cases, declines in wild-fish
stocks can be traced to over-harvesting (Jackson et al., 2001;
Myers and Worm, 2003). Decreases in supply and quality of
fresh water in many parts of the world can be traced to
increasingly intensive agriculture, both in terms of withdrawal
of water from rivers for irrigation, and lower water quality
from the flow of nutrients, sediments, and dissolved salts
from agricultural lands. The global increase in crop production
may also account for declines in air quality regulation, climate
regulation, erosion regulation, pest regulation, and pollination
(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). A major concern is
that the increased agricultural production over the past
50 years has come at the cost of the ecological suatainability
that will be necessary to maintain productivity in the future.
To complement global measures of ecosystem services as
reported in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005),
measurements taken at the very local level of the agricultural
field may be more useful in a practical management sense. Site-
specific measures can better relate to particular farming
practices. For example, Bockstaller et al. (1997) show how ten
metrics relate to regulatory services provided by agriculture on
17 commercial arable farms. The services they consider are
protection of ground water quality, surface water quality, air
quality, soil quality, non-renewable resources, biodiversity, and
landscape quality. Indicators measured in each field were
nitrogen, phosphorus, pesticide, irrigation, organic matter,
energy, crop diversity, soil structure, soil cover and ecological
structures. The indicators relate to one or more of these services.
Ideally, it would be useful to have the ability to accurately
measure the flow of ecosystem services from agro-ecosystems at
several scales of resolution. These measures would allow
documentation of the changes over time in ecosystem services
from agriculture and how these ecosystem services have been
affected by alterations in the agricultural sector at various
resolutions. In part because of the challenges mentioned above,
the set of ideal measures do not now currently exist. However,
there has been extensive work on ecological indicators related to
agriculture that can be used to quantify changes in ecological
systems (e.g., Bockstaller et al., 1997; Pretty et al., 2000; Rigby et al.,
2001; Boody et al., 2005). Developing a suite of indicators that are
both measurableand tiedtotheprovision ofecosystemservices is
one way to make progress on tracking changes in ecological
systems and how this might affect the flow of ecosystem services.
This paper presents a framework in which such indicators
can be interpreted as well as criteria for selection of indicators.
The final section of the paper discusses the relationship between
key changes in agricultural practices and land-use change,
erosion, and chemical use and indicators of ecosystem services
that might be affected. Together these ideas form the basis for
identifying useful indicators for quantifying the costs and
benefits of agricultural systems for the range of ecosystem
services interrelated to agriculture.
287E C O L O G I C A L E C O N O M I C S 6 4 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 2 8 6 – 2 9 6
3. 2. A framework for interpreting indicators of
ecosystem services
The decline in many important ecosystem services (Millenni-
um Ecosystem Assessment, 2005) and the observation that
some of these declines are related to the expansion of
agriculture and the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides
place a premium on finding effective ways to monitor changes
in ecological systems and their impacts on ecosystem
services. Ecological indicators have been used to quantify
the magnitude of change, amount of exposure to change, or
degree of response to the exposure (Hunsaker and Carpenter,
1990; Suter, 1993). The purposes of ecological indicators
include assessing the condition of the environment, monitor-
ing trends in conditions over time, providing an early warning
signal of changes in the environment, and diagnosing the
cause of an environmental problem (Cairns et al., 1993).
Tradeoffs between desirable features, costs, and feasibility
influence the choice of indicators (Dale and Beyeler, 2001).
Because no one indicator can meet all of these goals, we
anticipate that a set of indicators will be needed to capture key
attributes of ecological systems of interest (Bockstaller et al.,
1997; Dale et al., 2004). Yet multiple, interdependent ecosys-
tem services and values present both conceptual and empir-
ical research challenges (Turner et al., 2003).
Therefore we propose that a set of ecological indicators for
ecosystem services both from and to agriculture should be
considered as they relate to all pertinent spatial resolutions
(Fig. 1). In addition to farm-level and global metrics, Pretty et al.
(2000) point out that such measures are useful at the levels at
which national and international policies are developed as well
as the levels of particular programs and policies. Sometimes
these intermediate levels of resolution are determined by
topographic and ecological conditions. For example, the water-
shed of the Mississippi River basin, which drains 41% of the
United States, is the relevant scale to address the contribution of
riverine nitrogen to eutrophication that influences the recent
increase in the size of the hypoxia zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
While the actual metrics to be sampled will depend on the system
and the specific ecosystem services being considered, Fig. 1
highlights the importance of the spatial resolution of the metrics.
Ecological indicators are meant to provide a simple and
efficient means to examine the ecological composition, struc-
ture, and function of complex ecological systems (Karr, 1981). In
addition to spatial scale, these ecological systems can be
considered at various levels in the biological hierarchy: land-
scapes and regions, ecosystems and communities, and popula-
tions and species. Composition refers to such features as
distribution and richness of patch types over a landscape or
region; community diversity, life form distribution, or similarity;
and species abundance, frequency, importance and cover.
Structure includes spatial heterogeneity, patch size and shape,
fragmentation and connectivity at the landscape or regional
level; substrate and soil conditions, canopy openness, and gap
characteristics at the ecosystem or community level; and
dispersion, range, and morphological variability at the popula-
tion or species level. Function refers to patch persistence,
nutrient cycling, erosion, and disturbance regimes at the
landscape or region level; productivity, decomposition, trophic
dynamics, and succession at the ecosystem and community
level; and demography, physiology, life history patterns and
adaptation at the population and species level. The set of nested
triangles in Fig. 2 illustrate how the components of composition,
structure, and function vary with scale of the biological hierarchy
ranging from populations and species (the smallest triangle) to
Fig. 1 – Spatial scales of metrics that relate to ecosystem services from agriculture. Spatial scales of metrics that relate to
ecosystem services from agriculture.
288 E C O L O G I C A L E C O N O M I C S 6 4 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 2 8 6 – 2 9 6
4. ecosystems and communities and finally to landscapes and
regions.
The challenge for selecting ecological indicators for our
purposes is to identify key features that represent the compo-
sitional, structural, and functional components of the system
important in the provision of ecosystem services, for not
everything can be monitored. Typically, structure and composi-
tion are easier to measure than function, and they often reveal
information about function. For example, identifying a plant's
size (structure) or species (composition) is easier than determin-
ing such functional attributes as the plant's influence on carbon
sequestration, nutrient cycling, or enhancement of soil proper-
ties. Hence indicators often are structural or compositional
attributes. For example, quantifying the amount of land in
annual crops, perennials or forests of various ages via remote
sensing may be an effective way to estimate carbon storage
provided by a landscape. This approach of focusing on structure
and composition is tractable and is valid as long as they
accurately represent the functional attributes of the ecological
systems related to the provision of ecosystem services (i.e.,
dominant vegetation types accurately reflect the amount of
carbon storage). The use of ecological indicators assumes that
changes in indicators reflect changes taking place in the
ecological hierarchy — potentially from populations, to species,
to ecosystems, or to entire regions (Noon et al., 1999). Landscape
features can often be determined by using remotely sensed data
and thus are less time consuming and expensive than field-
based observations. Thus landscape-based metrics of structure
and composition (shown in the outer triangle of Fig. 2) are often
the most cost-effective indicators of ecological systems. The
focus on landscape structure and composition leads to the
question of what indicators are useful and necessary to
supplement the landscape metrics as a way to capture key
ecosystem services provided by and affected by agriculture.
3. Criteria
A challenge in developing and using a suite of ecological
indicators for ecosystem services interrelated with agriculture
is determining those indicators that adequately characterize the
complexities of the entire system yet are simple enough to be
effectively and efficiently monitored and modeled (Dale et al.,
2004). Such indicators must be closely linked to, and predictive of,
changes in ecosystem services. The scale of the service must be
determined so that the indicator is at the appropriate resolution.
For example, a service that exists for an entire watershed may be
measured by an indicator sampled in the major stream, whereas
more local effects might best be measured within a field or at the
field edge. Furthermore the type of service and range of its
conditions should be defined so that the indicator can appropri-
ately measure the benefits achieved. Building upon analyses by
Landres et al. (1988), Kelly and Harwell (1990), Cairns et al. (1993),
Lorenz et al. (1999), and Dale and Beyeler (2001), we suggest the
following criteria for ecological indicators of ecosystem services
related to agriculture:
•Be easily measured. Ease of measurement involves several
characteristics. Can the indicator be measured remotely?
This aspect is important since sending a person out to
Fig. 2 – Indicators can be selected from the appropriate scale to represent composition, structure, or function of ecological
systems (modified from Dale and Beyeler, Indicators can be selected from the appropriate scale to represent composition,
structure, or function of ecological systems (modified from,Dale and Beyeler, 2001).
289E C O L O G I C A L E C O N O M I C S 6 4 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 2 8 6 – 2 9 6
5. collect data is often the most expensive aspect of collecting
data. How often do the data need to be collected? What
kind of expertise or equipment is necessary to obtain the
measure? Does the sample need to be treated in a
particular way (such as being placed on dry ice, kept dry,
or identified in the field)? For example, remote sensing of
the distribution of crops and buffers in relation to streams
would be far cheaper than trying to measure the output of
nutrients at field borders for assessing the amount of
nutrient runoff from an agricultural landscape. Some
amount of expensive field testing may be necessary at
the beginning, however, to “ground truth” a more easily
measured indicator.
•Be sensitive to changes in the system. Does the indicator
respond to past or anticipated changes in the ecological
system? For agriculture, these changes can include
changes in crop type or crop rotations, amount and type
of fertilizers or pesticides applied, timing of application,
tillage practices, and type of farm equipment being used.
All of these agricultural management decisions may have
local or larger scale impacts on ecosystem services.
Exogenous changes in precipitation or temperature caused
by climate change may also have important impacts, and
may interact in various ways with management decisions.
•Respond to change in a predictable manner. Does the indicator
change in such a way that its value is indicative of the type
and degree of the pattern of changes to the system? In
other words is there a predictable relationship between the
indicator and the amount or type of change. So, for
example, are statistics on the change in land use toward
or away from annual crops sufficient for predicting
changes in carbon storage in an agricultural system, or
are more detailed indicators required?
•Be anticipatory, that is, signify an impending change in key
characteristics of the ecological system. Is the change in the
indicator one that observers can anticipate under specific
conditions and therefore monitor as an early warning
device, such as a canary in a coal mine signifies poor air
quality in time for miners to escape? For example,
significant correlations of mid-square leaf δ15
N with late-
season nutrient content and soil electrical conductivity (EC)
suggest that the natural abundance of 15
N is a sensitive and
early indicator of soil and plant nutrient status in a
fertilized cotton field (Stamatiadis et al., 2006).
•Predict changes that can be averted by management actions.
Does the value of the indicator change in response to
management actions and hence allow the indicator to be
used to monitor management as well as change? Often, a
useful indicator is directly tied to management actions. For
example, an indicator of water quality may be the amount
of land in buffers along stream corridors.
•Are integrative: the full suite of indicators provide a measure of
coverage of the key gradients across the ecological systems (e.g.,
gradients across soils, vegetation types, temperature, space, time,
etc.). Does the set of indicators cover the major structural
and compositional features of the ecological system (as
shown in Fig. 2)?
•Have known variability in response. Is the variation in the
indicator clear and within acceptable limits? Measures of
carbon in soil, for example, have high variability that as yet
are poorly understood, whereas above-ground carbon
content is readily characterized by above-ground biomass.
Deriving a manageable set of indicators that meets all of these
criteria simultaneously is difficult and often not possible. The set
of ecosystem services under consideration should influence the
choice of potential metrics and the criteria will determine those
metrics that are suitable for this specific system (as we show in
Fig. 3). The criteria can serve as goals and guides in the selection
process. Often one criterion must be sacrificed and another
emphasized. For example, resource managers agree that some-
times it is necessary to spend more time or money to obtain an
indicator that is difficult to measure but that is highly sensitive to
particular changes. The indicators as determined by the criteria
are the appropriate measures of ecosystem services for the
system being considered and hence could be added to the
decision diagram of de Groot et al. (2002).
4. The relationship between changes and
indicators
4.1. Changes associated with agricultural use
One way to address the challenge of identifying key indicators is
to consider the major changes associated with agricultural use:
land-cover change, erosion, and chemical and water use (Fig. 4).
Land-cover change is common and often large-scale. Changes in
land cover in agricultural systems are a direct result of
management practices. Land-cover change includes both the
conversion of land from different types of crops and change in
the type of agriculture being practiced. For example, very
different carbon sequestration and other environmental benefits
accrue from row cropping of annual plants, growing perennial
plants, or animal husbandry.
Information at the broadest spatial scale is often the most
cost-effective in measuring land-cover change, for satellite
imagery is relatively inexpensive and is very useful to under-
stand changes in land cover and patterns over time, at least since
Fig. 3 – Relationship between the ecological system (of which
agriculture is a part), ecosystems services, indicators, and
criteria for the indicators. Relationship between the
ecological system (of which agriculture is a part), ecosystems
services, indicators, and criteria for the indicators.
290 E C O L O G I C A L E C O N O M I C S 6 4 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 2 8 6 – 2 9 6
6. 1972 when the first satellite monitoring system was established
(Gallego, 2004). Land-cover patterns before 1972 can be discerned
using imagery from aircraft (e.g., Scarpace and Quirk, 1980) or for
times before human flight by using historical information such
as witness trees (e.g., Foster et al., 2004). In some situations, it is
possible to use remotely sensed information to quantify loss or
degradation of habitats for particular species of special concern.
In other cases, it is enough to know that a particular or common
vegetation type is diminished, for certain habitats may occur
only in one land-cover type. In still other cases, it is critical to
know how structural features of vegetation types change.
Land-cover changes can also be used to predict erosion,
which is tied to ecosystem services both in terms of water quality
and future agricultural productivity. Erosion rates are largely a
function of the proportion of bare ground and especially the
amount of those bare lands that have slopes greater than 5%
(Maloney et al., 2005). In agricultural systems, the location and
proportion of bare areas can change greatly over a season, and,
therefore, it is useful to quantify short-term changes in areas of
bare ground — especially during periods of heaviest rainfall.
Managementpracticesthatreducethe needfortillagecan reduce
erosion considerably as can the use of cover crops.
A third major change results from chemicals used in
agriculture. Metrics of these effects include pesticide contami-
nation, fossil-energy use, nitrogen (N) balance, phosphorus (P)
balance, and nitrogen contamination risk (Viglizzo et al., 2003).
Application of nitrogen fertilizer to agricultural systems is the
leading source of the increase in reactive nitrogen in the
environment (Galloway et al., 2003). Much of the nitrogen from
agriculture derives from animal-production systems, both
directly from nitrogen leakage to the atmosphere and waters
from these systems, and indirectly from the demand for
increased crop production for animal production (Howarth,
2004). For example, the use of mineral fertilizers and animal
feed accounts for a high portion of the total energy use on
specialized dairy and pig farms in Flanders (Meul et al., 2007).
Intense use of the land can also increase chemicals in an
agricultural setting. Non-methane volatile organic compounds
(NMVOCs) emitted from livestock derive from sources such as
dairy cattle slurry and manure and in the United Kingdom alone
exceed 165 kt C/year (Hobbs et al., 2004). Besides affecting air
quality, these NMVOCs may influence the cleansing capacity of
the troposphere. These impacts can be quite significant. For
example, worldwide about 1% of atmospheric emissions of
methyl bromide and 5% of methyl iodide arise from rice fields
(Redeker et al., 2000).
Nitrogen use and its consequent impacts on the environment
provide an especially important and vivid example of the
importance of measuring ecosystem services related to agricul-
ture,and linking these measurestoincentivesof farmers(Tilman
et al., 2002). Farmers receive the benefits of higher yields from
fertilizer application but do not pay the environmental costs
associated with nitrogen exports to ground or surface water, or
via air emissions. Farmers, therefore, have little incentive to limit
the use of nitrogen fertilizers. In many cases, use of fertilizer can
be reduced significantly with highly beneficial environmental
results and little or no loss of farm productivity. For example,
conversion of specialized diary farms on sand soils in Germany
from highly intensive conventional practices to organic farming
significantly reduced nitrate input into groundwater while only
slightly reducing yield (Taube et al., 2006). Also, organic and
integrated farming systems can have higher potential denitrifi-
cation rates, greater denitrification efficiency, higher organic
matter, and greater microbial activity than conventionally
farmed soils (Kramer et al., 2006). Furthermore, maximum yields
with reduced input can be achieved with high-precision
agriculture (which includes correct placement of fertilizers and
other amendments in the soil or on or in the plant, timing of the
input, relationships with other inputs to create proper balances,
and correctly leveling, draining and contouring the land)
(Wallace, 1994 and many subsequent studies).
The greatest uncertainties in understanding of the N budget
at most scales are the rates of natural biological nitrogen fixation,
the amount of reactive N storage in environmental reservoirs,
and the production rates of non-reactive N2 by denitrification
(Gallowayet al., 2004). However methods to obtain accurate
measures are still being developed for upland terrestrial sties
where most agriculture occurs (Groffman et al., 2006).
4.2. Categories of indicators of ecosystem services from
agriculture
The changes to the environment associated with agriculture
affect a wide range of ecosystem services including food and
materials for human consumption, water quality and quantity,
soil quality, air quality, carbon sequestration, pollination services,
seed dispersal, pest mitigation, biodiversity, habitat change and
habitat degradation, and protection from disturbances (Fig. 3).
Food and materials for human consumption constitute a
prime category of ecological indicators since this is the main
purpose of agriculture. The service provided is usually measured
Fig. 4 – Changes from agriculture that affect and are affected
by several ecosystem services. The services are organized
according the typology of de Groot et al. (2002).
291E C O L O G I C A L E C O N O M I C S 6 4 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 2 8 6 – 2 9 6
7. as productivity (calculated as the weight of material per area in
cultivation). In addition to food, crops are grown for energy, fiber,
oils, fabrics, rope, and other such goods. Because the business of
farming depends on productivity, we have exceptionally good
records of this. It is the other ecosystem services for which
reliable indicators are more problematic.
Water quality and quantity are important services that can be
enhanced or degraded by agriculture. Agriculture has both a
direct and indirect effect on water consumption and quality (e.g.,
Duarte et al., 2002). Irrigation for agriculture changes in-stream
flows and infiltration patterns. Furthermore, chemical use and
erosion significantly affect water quality in many areas. Metrics
required to be measured under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in the
United States are common indicators of water quality. Under the
National Water Quality Inventory [305(b) of the CWA], informa-
tion is provided biennially on the condition of all water bodies
and the most common causes of water body impairment for both
pollutants (chemicals, sediments, nutrients, metals, tempera-
ture, pH) and other conditions (altered flows, modification of the
stream channel, introduction of exotic invasive species). The
most common causes of water body impairment are sediments,
pathogens, nutrients, metals, dissolved oxygen, and other
habitat alteration. Agricultural practices are contributors to all
of these metrics, and in some cases are the dominant con-
tributors in many water bodies. The difference between the CWA
and the ecosystem services approach is that the latter empha-
sizes the suite of benefits received to humans (not just water-
related benefits).
Soil quality is also directly and indirectly affected by
agricultural practices. Because soil properties are so variable
over space and time, there is great interest in means to rapidly
and remotely characterize soil quality. Non-invasive geophysical
measurements of apparent soil electrical conductivity are
proving effective (Jung et al., 2005; Corwin et al., 2006).
Furthermore, agricultural activity can affect sediment
runoff. The proportion of bare ground and roads in watersheds
on slopes greater than 5% can correlate to indicators of
▪ Stream suspended sediment concentrations (total and
inorganic) during baseflow and storms (Houser et al., 2006)
▪ Baseflow concentrations of phosphate and stormflow
concentrations of nitrate and phosphate (Houser et al., 2006)
▪ Daily amplitude and maximum deficit in dissolved
oxygen concentrations (Mulholland et al., 2005)
▪ Habitat metrics such as benthic particulate organic
matter, coarse woody debris, stream bed particle size, and
bed stability (Maloney et al., 2005)
▪ Benthic macroinvertebrate richness and focal orders
(Moore and Palmer, 2005; Maloney and Feminella, 2006)
▪ Fish focal species (Maloney et al., 2005).
These metrics largely relate to the sedimentation effects of
particular land-use practices. However, measures of bare ground
and roads on slopes are easier to quantify than detailed chemical
or biological metrics.
Agricultural effects on air pollution include pesticides, odors,
smoke, dust, allergenic pollens, and trash. Nitrogen compounds
emitted from agricultural sources can affect air quality in two
ways: ammonia (NH3) emissions result from fertilizers and
livestock, and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from fuel combustion in
farm equipment. These effects are currently monitored in the US
under the Clear Air Act.
Agricultural practices also affect net greenhouse gas emis-
sions both through the burning of fossil fuels and through the
release or storage of greenhouse gases in plant material and soils.
The move toward no-till cropping provides some energy use
efficiency. Though there is some support in the literature that no-
till also increases carbon sequestration (Lal et al., 2007), there are
also doubts that this is the case (Baker et al., 2007). Carbon se-
questration on farm lands is a relative new and potential growing
service of agricultural lands (US EPA, 2005). Moving to perennial
crops or forestry can increase the amount of carbon stored on
lands. While measuring above-ground biomass can yield good
estimates of carbon sequestration, measuring carbon stored in
soils is more difficult in part because soils are so variable. Feng
(2005) found that differences in the location of the land influenced
carbon sequestration. Agricultural practices can also result in
emissions of N2O, which is a powerful greenhouse gas, and
methane.
Metrics of pollination services both to and from agriculture
include the number of insects, the cost benefits to agriculture, or
the cost of supplemental pollination. Crop pollination by wild
insects is a valuable ecosystem service, but it is under increasing
threat from agricultural intensification (Kremen and Ricketts,
2000; Ricketts et al., 2004). For example, pollination services by
the nonnative honey bees (Apis mellifera) are critical for about 90
crops in the US and 300 crops worldwide, and value of this service
in the US is estimated to be about 18 billion dollars (Sanford,
1998). Honey bees are extensively used in growing almonds,
apples, cranberries, blueberries, kiwifruit, and cucurbit or vine
crops and of minor importance to pollinate strawberries,
peppers, peaches, pears, plums and citrus. Other bees that
perform important pollination services include the nonnative
alfalfa leafcutter bee (Megachile rotundata), native bumblebees
(Bombus sp.), the imported hornfaced bee (Osmia cornifrons), and
the domestic blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria. Together they
contribute more than several million dollars of value each year
(Sanford, 1998). The economics of honey bee use in commercial
pollination is affected by introduction of parasitic mites and
contributes to the price of honey, which can cause instability in
the supply of the pollination service. Because honey bees are
usually the insect of choice in managed pollination circum-
stances, this service is often quantified by the cost of moving
hives to crops. However that metric does not account for wild
pollination that occurs as a benefit from agriculture. There is a
clear need to determine how to appropriate value to pollination
services both to and from agriculture.
Seed dispersal can be greatly affected by agricultural systems.
An abundance of agriculture seeds can compete with native
seeds. Furthermore, animals whose habitats and habits are
affected by farms are important seed dispersers. Disturbances to
coevolved interactions between plants and seed dispersers may
leave areas of devoid of seedlings and thus impair the ability of
plants to recover from human activities or natural disturbances
that clear land (Daily, 1997). The most accurate measure of
agricultural effects on seed dispersal will likely be a comparison
of number and types of seeds dispersed per area with and with-
out agriculture.
Pest mitigation is an important service associated with
agriculture. Although pests such as insects, rodents, fungi,
292 E C O L O G I C A L E C O N O M I C S 6 4 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 2 8 6 – 2 9 6
8. snails, nematodes and viruses may destroy as much as 25 to 50%
of the world's crops of food, timber, and fiber (Pimentel et al.,
1989), about 99% of potential crop pests are controlled by natural
enemies, such as birds, spiders, parasitic wasps and flies, lady
bugs, fungi, viral diseases, and other organisms (DeBach, 1974).
Natural enemies of pests have been shown to improve agricul-
tural production (e.g., ground-living natural enemies of the bird
cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi (L.)), reduced aphid abun-
dance and increased yield of barley on ten farms in central
Sweden (Ostman et al., 2003)). Natural biological control agents
save farmers billions of dollars each year by protecting crops and
reducing the need for chemical control (Naylor and Ehrlich, 1997).
Quantifying this benefit requires estimates of the amount of crop
receiving protection as well as information on costs of chemicals
used on farms to control pests and their secondary implication in
killing beneficial animals, instigating resistance in pests, and
impairing human health. Pest mitigation provided by agriculture
is sometimes quantified as the financial and human health
benefits achieved by not using pesticides. Adoption of carefully
designed site-specific alternative cropping systems along with
appropriate methods of cultivation can minimize the occurrence
or intensity of diseases, insect pests, and weeds (Gangwar and
Prasad, 2005). Example new technologies include system-based
integrated nutrient management, integrated pest management
and resource conservation technologies such as, zero tillage,
furrow-irrigated raised beds, and ridge or bed planting.
Biodiversity conservation is an important service, though one
that is difficult to pin down precisely. Metrics of biodiversity
typically refer to native species or systems and should reflect
conditions at species, ecosystem, and landscape levels inorder to
capture changes in number of species, types of and interactions
between ecological systems and how those systems are dis-
persed across space (Franklin, 1993). Natural biodiversity pro-
vides the genetic and biochemical resources that allow
agricultural and pharmaceutical innovations. Use of the genetic
diversity is estimated to contribute $1 billion in annual increases
in crop productivity (NRC, 1992), but the value is much greater if
the aesthetic and recreational value of diversity is included.
Habitat benefits that can be measured include the size, shape
and integrity of ecological systems that provide essential con-
ditions for particular species. Habitat can only be defined with a
particular species or set of species in mind (e.g., free flowing
streams for trout). The importance of habitat loss or degradation
is typically proportional to the amount of habitat remaining for
the species of concern. Measures of land-cover change or
fragmentation over time reflect how agricultural practices affect
those systems. Similarly, structural changes in vegetation or
stream conditions can affect habitat (e.g., amount of downed
wood in the forest or the stream). Landscape metrics that can
capture changes in habitat conditions over time and space are
well documented (Gustafson, 1998). Obtaining in situ measures
of habitat quality is often time consuming and requires focus on
the particular species of concern.
Protection from disturbances is a final major service of
agricultural lands. This benefit can be achieved by protection of
particular cover types (e.g., wetlands are known for their ability to
reduce flooding) and land-use practices (e.g., use of perennial
crops especially on slopes reduces erosion and subsequent
flooding as streambeds become filled with silt). Increased
frequency and severity of drought appears to be associated
with broad-scale loss of vegetation cover. Quantifying the
services provided to mitigating effects of disturbances requires
that assumptions be made about future disturbances. It is not
always possible to rely on past disturbance regimes because
trends in frequency, severity, and extent may be altered along
with climate change (Dale et al., 2000). Given certain disturbance
regimes, protection can be estimated under various scenarios of
land cover and land use.
5. Use of ecological indicators
We have presented indicators of ecosystem services as if they
might be measured and interpreted independent of each other,
but that is certainly not the case. The sixth criterion mentioned
earlier that the metrics “be integrative.” Hence the relations
among metrics should be a major consideration in the selection
of the set of indicators to be used for any location. The suite of
indicators should capture the major ecosystem services of the
system and be complimentary to each other.
In particular, ecological indicators should reveal cases where
considerations of the suite of ecosystem services can increase
the value of agricultural lands under alternative management as
compared to current management. For example, remote agri-
cultural lands in Wyoming that include wildlife habitat, angling
opportunities and scenic vistas have higher prices per area than
lands dominated by agricultural production (Bastian et al., 2002).
Conservation buffers can benefit ecological condition by reduc-
ing erosion, improving water quality, increasing biodiversity, and
expanding wildlife habitats. The comparison of ecological
indicators should be useful to address questions about how
best to implement and manage these buffers (Lovell and
Sullivan, 2006). The challenge to land management is even
greater when contrasting land uses abuteach other. For example,
streams and wetlands on non-farm lands may purify water with
high nutrient content from adjacent agricultural lands. Natural
habitat may provide valuable pollinator services to neighboring
farms (Ricketts et al., 2004). In order to evaluate the effectiveness
of management practices such as conservation buffers and
alternative land uses, ecological indicators need to be identified
that capture the diversity of amenities that can be provided.
Hence the set of indicators of ecosystem services should take
into account the spatial context of the land under consideration
and how the entire area can be affected by management
decisions. In fact, the value of agriculture lands may best be
viewed in a landscape context. Just as Mitsch and Gosselink
(2000) document that wetlands are influenced by their agricul-
tural and urban neighbors, the spatial context of agricultural
lands affect their ecosystem services. Santelmann et al. (2004)
and Boody et al. (2005) take a landscape perspective in
documenting the effects of alternative management of agro-
ecosystems in the Midwest U.S. on a range of ecosystem services.
This broad-scale perspective is generally not taken because the
valuation methodologies and/or data rarely exist to make this
approach practical.
In a few cases, ecological indicators have been suggested that
are based on ownership boundaries. For example, Rigby et al.
(2001) developed a farm-level indicator of agricultural sustain-
ability based on patterns of input use for 80 organic and 157
conventional producers in the United Kingdom. In other cases
293E C O L O G I C A L E C O N O M I C S 6 4 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 2 8 6 – 2 9 6
9. indicators focus on the entire human community and include
ecological, economic and social dimensions of agriculture (e.g.,
Kammerbauer et al., 2001).
New challenges are raised by considering indicators of how
agriculture systems affect and are affected by agriculture. The
question of scale is at the forefront of these challenges. One of
the first steps in measuring an ecosystem service is determining
the appropriate spatial and temporal scale at which to obtain
the measure. Broad-scale measures are useful to understand the
overall effects on the system, and site-specific measures are
useful to understand how particular management practices in a
given field may affect services. Hence often measures at more
than one scale are needed to obtain a comprehensive picture of
the system. Then the question becomes how to relate the metrics
obtained at different scales. Although this paper discusses how
the issue hasbeen addressed to someextent,understanding how
ecosystemservice metrics obtained atdifferentresolutionsaffect
interpretations is still a challenge.
A key challenge is to assemble the appropriate suite of
indicators for ecosystem services relevant to a particular agro-
ecosystem that captures key ways that agriculture activities can
affect and are affected by ecosystem services. All of these types of
indicators must be considered in order to have full understand-
ing of agriculture's effects on ecological systems, but in the end
only a select few will be able to be measured because of resource
limitations.
By focusing on ecosystem services provided to and affected by
agriculture, the relationship of agriculture practices to the
ecosystems in which they occur will be made more clearly.
Obviously people value the food provided by agriculture, but
other benefits can be important as well. Furthermore, being able
to quantify how agriculture can affect ecosystem services is
necessary to perform a full accounting of the costs and benefits of
agriculture both worldwide and in specific locations (Tilman
et al., 2002). Understanding the benefits and costs of different
types of management practices is necessary in order to be able to
establish and maintain sustainable agro-ecosystems.
6. Conclusions
Ecosystem indicators can be used for a variety of purposes.
Indicators can help target key environmental problems and
opportunities for improvement. Indicators can be helpful in
designing effective farming systems and in monitoring them.
They can also be used to predict efficiency of different farm
practices (e.g., row cropping versus perennial plants) and to
evaluate the repercussions of site-specific conditions (e.g., soils,
slope) or place specific events (e.g., weather). In a landscape
context, indicators can be useful in evaluating the overall
ecosystem services provided by agricultural lands in contrast to
other land uses.
Acknowledgments
The project was partially funded by a contract between the
Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program
(SERDP) Ecosystem Management Program (SEMP) and Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL). Oak Ridge National Laboratory is
managed by the UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of
Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725.
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