Ecological impacts of arable intensification in Europe

Stoate, Chris; Boatman, N. D.; Borralho, Rui; Carvalho, Carlos Rio; Snoo, G.R. de; Eden, Peter

doi:10.1006/jema.2001.0473

Cited by 1,040 publications

(679 citation statements)

References 92 publications

(98 reference statements)

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“…In a region, the cumulative result of farmers' actions can change the land-use pattern of rural areas. For example, to keep in business, many farmers in Europe have had to intensify their production activities affecting the connectivity and aesthetics of the landscape (Stoate et al 2001). Changes in the composition and the structure of the land-use/cover patterns can affect in turn the functioning of the landscape and its capacity to provide goods and services, such as water storage, recreation and species habitat (de Groot 2006;Willemen et al 2008).…”

Section: System Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An agent-based approach to model land-use change at a regional scale

et al. 2009

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Land-use/cover change (LUCC) is a complex process that includes actors and factors at different social and spatial levels. A common approach to analyse and simulate LUCC as the result of individual decisions is agent-based modelling (ABM). However, ABM is often applied to simulate processes at local scales, while its application in regional studies is limited. This paper describes first a conceptual framework for ABM to analyse and explore regional LUCC processes. Second, the conceptual framework is represented by combining different concepts including agent typologies, farm trajectories and probabilistic decision-making processes. Finally, the framework is illustrated through a case study in the Netherlands, where processes of farm cessation, farm expansion and farm diversification are shaping the structure of the landscape. The framework is a generic, straightforward approach to analyse and explore regional LUCC with an explicit link to empirical approaches for parameterization of ABM.

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Section: System Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An agent-based approach to model land-use change at a regional scale

et al. 2009

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“…This specialisation trend has often led, in Europe, to geographical separation of cropping systems and livestock systems and development of livestock systems with little or no connection to local agricultural resources (Peyraud et al, 2014). At the same time, negative effects of intensive agriculture on biodiversity, ecosystems (Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), 2005), climate change and water quality have become increasingly apparent (Stoate et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farming system design for innovative crop-livestock integration in Europe

Moraine¹,

Duru²,

Nicholas

et al. 2014

Animal

115

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The development of integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) is a major challenge for the ecological modernisation of agriculture but appears difficult to implement at a large scale. A participatory method for ICLS design has been developed and implemented in 15 case studies across Europe, representing a range of production systems, challenges, constraints and resources for innovation. Local stakeholders, primarily farmers, but also cooperatives, environmental-association representatives and natural-resource managers, were involved in the identification of challenges and existing initiatives of crop-livestock integration; in the design of new options at field, farm and territory levels; and then in qualitative multicriteria assessment of these options. A conceptual framework based on a conceptual model (crops, grasslands, animals) was developed to act as a boundary object in the design step and invite innovative thinking in 'metabolic' and 'ecosystemic' approaches. A diversity of crops and grasslands interacting with animals appeared central for designing sustainable farming systems at the territory level, providing and benefitting from ecosystem services. Within this diversity, we define three types of integrated systems according to their degrees of spatial and temporal coordination: complementarity, local synergy, territorial synergy. Moreover, the options for cooperation and collective organisation between farmers and other stakeholders in territories to organise and manage this diversity of land use revealed opportunities for smart social innovation. The qualitative multicriteria assessment identified farmer workload as the main issue of concern while demonstrating expected benefits of ICLS simultaneously for economic, agronomic, environmental and social criteria. This study concludes that participatory design of ICLS based on a generic multi-level and multi-domain framework and a methodology to deal with a local context can identify new systems to be tested. Further assessment and redesign work will be performed in later stages of the European FP7 CANTOGETHER project.

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“…Substantial scientific data on environmental effects of the currently commercialized GM crops are available. Independent from the use of GM crops, modern agricultural systems have considerable negative impacts on global biodiversity [6][7][8][9][10][11]. On a global scale, the most direct negative impact is due to the considerable loss of natural habitats, which is caused by the conversion of natural ecosystems into agricultural land [9,12].…”

Section: Gm Crops Modern Agriculture and The Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%