A spatially explicit approach to assessing commodity-driven fertilizer use and its impact on biodiversity

Eliasson, Karin; West, Chris; Croft, Simon; Green, Jonathan M.H.

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135195

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Modern food systems are the most important driver of land use change (Springmann et al, 2018) and major sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions (Crippa et al, 2021), both important drivers of biodiversity loss (IPBES, 2019). Beyond land use change and GHG emissions, industrialized agriculture systems have multiple other negative effects on biodiversity through pollution from excessive fertiliser and agrochemical use (Eliasson et al, 2023), agrodiversity loss due to the dominance of few crop and animal species (Zimmerer et al, 2019), and the introduction of invasive species that threaten native (agro) ecosystems (Shabani et al, 2020). There is a vast literature exploring the association between conventional food systems and biodiversity loss: from population growth (Crist et al, 2017) to urbanization and lifestyle changes (Evans and Gawlik, 2020;Pawera et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing biodiversity-based solutions for sustainable food systems through transdisciplinary Sustainable Development Goals Labs (SDG-Labs)

Jarzebski,

Su,

Abrahamyan

et al. 2023

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Although biodiversity is a central component of food systems, conventional food systems have become one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss globally. There is an increasing need to transform food systems to provide sufficient and nutritious food, but with minimal negative impacts on the environment and society. One of the possible avenues to enable the sustainable transformation of food systems might be through the development of locally appropriate biodiversity-based solutions. In this paper we report the insights and lessons learned during the design and implementation of transdisciplinary projects that employed the concept of Sustainable Development Goals labs (SDG-Labs) to create biodiversity-based solutions to transform food systems. The six SDG-Labs outlined in this paper were implemented in Armenia, China, Japan, Madagascar, Thailand, and Uganda. Collectively they developed very diverse biodiversity-based solutions that used different components of biodiversity, ranging from novel cultivation systems with endangered plants, to gardens using tree species for wind breaks, or novel tea-forestry production systems. Beyond their ability to leverage different components of biodiversity to transform local food systems (also conserving biodiversity in the process), all solutions had multiple co-benefits such as climate change adaptation/mitigation and livelihoods generation, among other sustainability domains. Through a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis we synthesized the experiences gained during the design and implementation of all six SDG-Labs. The findings suggest the great promise of these transdisciplinary approaches for developing solutions at the biodiversity-food-climate nexus. However, this synthesis paper also points to the multiple context-specific challenges that should be overcomed to maximize the potential of SDG-Labs to both enable the sustainable transformation of (local) food systems and/or be scaled up effectively.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing biodiversity-based solutions for sustainable food systems through transdisciplinary Sustainable Development Goals Labs (SDG-Labs)

Jarzebski,

Su,

Abrahamyan

et al. 2023

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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show abstract

“…A specific feedback loop exists in that context-the use of industrial yield boosters contributes to population growth which, in turn, makes it necessary to increase production, mostly by using these very industrial products [10]. The whole process has an impact on the climate and the environment [11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, its contribution to greenhouse-gas emissions is around 22% (together with forestry and other land use) [28]. In the context of the use of fertilizers and plant protection, it is also important to mention their impact on the local environment, mainly on soil quality [11]. It can be both positive and negative, depending on the rationality of the application [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In an attempt to solve the conflicts between the need to produce food and the need to protect the environment [11], European Union countries came up with the European Green Deal (EGD) [34] concept, which is supposed to make the EU a modern, resource-efficient, competitive economy, so as to reduce net greenhouse-gas emissions to zero by 2050 [24,35]. It spans all sectors, including agriculture, which is particularly addressed in the "Farm to Fork" and "Biodiversity" strategies [36].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant Protection and Fertilizer Use Efficiency in Farms in a Context of Overinvestment: A Case Study from Poland

2023

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The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between plant protection and fertilizer use efficiency, on one side, and overinvestment in Polish agriculture, on the other. This is an important topic because of a number of essential issues, such as the concern for the environment, the development of sustainable agriculture, or the need to ensure food security which can only be achieved by keeping production volumes at least at the same level. Reconciling these goals often requires investment which, however, involves the risk of overinvesting, i.e., a situation where the value of assets grows without a proportional increment in labor productivity. This paper uses the author’s own method of farm classification by overinvestment level. The study revealed some differences in the cost intensity of fertilizing and using plant-protection products between investment levels. The most rational results were found in farms at optimum investment levels, whereas the greatest cost intensity was recorded in farms affected by overinvestment.

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“…Data sources used, and their sources and associated characteristics, in paper IV. Originally published inEliasson et al (2023), Supplementary information.…”

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confidence: 99%

Transformations towards Sustainable Food Systems : Pathways, Governance, and Actors in a Swedish and European Union Context

Eliasson

2023

Linköping Studies in Arts and Sciences

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Food systems are central to global sustainability, while being complex systems where places and people are intertwined over large distances and at different scales. Transformations towards sustainable food systems have been called for in both research and policy, and Sweden and the European Union have declared high ambitions to act as global leaders in these transformations. While food production in Sweden and the European Union is often portrayed as largely sustainable in a global context, the region is highly dependent on food imports, with relatively large environmental footprints globally.This thesis aims to explore transformative pathways towards sustainability, with a particular focus on sustainable food systems, in a Swedish and European Union context. The thesis specifically studies the following research questions: (1) What constitutes transformations towards sustainability, and in particular sustainable food systems, from the perspectives of Swedish stakeholders, including food system practitioners, and European Union policy frameworks? (2) What roles, responsibilities, and agency do Swedish stakeholders, including food system practitioners and European Union policy frameworks, attribute to different actors? (3) How can interconnections and accountability in global food systems be understood and governed in light of societal transformations towards sustainability? (4) What are the implications for transformative pathways towards sustainability?The thesis builds on four papers that use focus group methodology (PI and PII), involving Swedish stakeholders, including food-system practitioners, analyses of European Green Deal policies (PII and PIII), and quantitative investigation of phosphorus fertiliser use in Brazilian soybean production and related biodiversity impacts (PIV).Four overarching conclusions are drawn from the findings: (I) Shared goals and consensus are emphasised as essential, while a diversity of transformative pathways and understandings of challenges and priorities needs to be recognised, with attention being paid to how specific choices might include and exclude pathways and actors. (II) Emerging shifts in how food is valued open up opportunities for transformative change in which the 'true' cost of food is acknowledged, alongside a recognition of non-economic values of food, which presupposes alignment at the practical, political, and personal levels. (III) The identified pathways comprise public accountability regimes, incentives for more sustainable consumption, regulations to reduce resource use and impacts of food production. (IV) The attribution of accountability to trading operators in the accountability regime proposed by the European Union highlights an extended focus from food production and consumption towards regulating flows and intermediate actors in food systems.

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A spatially explicit approach to assessing commodity-driven fertilizer use and its impact on biodiversity

Cited by 7 publications

References 77 publications

Developing biodiversity-based solutions for sustainable food systems through transdisciplinary Sustainable Development Goals Labs (SDG-Labs)

Developing biodiversity-based solutions for sustainable food systems through transdisciplinary Sustainable Development Goals Labs (SDG-Labs)

Plant Protection and Fertilizer Use Efficiency in Farms in a Context of Overinvestment: A Case Study from Poland

Transformations towards Sustainable Food Systems : Pathways, Governance, and Actors in a Swedish and European Union Context

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