Robustness to import declines of three types of European farming systems assessed with a dynamic nitrogen flow model

Pinsard, Corentin; Martin, Sophie; Léger, François; Accatino, Francesco

doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103215

Cited by 22 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…weather, pests & diseases) may imply a lower degree of autonomy [8]. Certain European crop-livestock systems, for instance, may not be robust enough to withstand a situation in which the import of mineral nitrogen fertilizers is halted [48]. Asset indicators relate mostly to system reserves that can be used in difficult times.…”

Section: Explanatory Variables Linking To Challenges and Resilience A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal and inter-farm variability of economic and environmental farm performance: A resilience perspective on potato producing regions in the Netherlands

Paas

Meuwissen²,

Ittersum³

et al. 2023

PLOS Sustain Transform

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In the context of resilience and sustainability of farming systems it is important to study the trade-offs and synergies between economic and environmental variables. In this study, we selected food production, economic and environmental performance indicators of farms in three potato producing regions in the Netherlands: Flevoland, Zeeland and Veenkoloniën. We studied the period 2006 to 2019 using farm accountancy data. We used threshold regressions to determine gradual development and year-to-year variation of those indicators. Subsequently we applied a sparse Partial Least Square (sPLS) regression to study the response of performance, gradual development and year-to-year variation under different conditions regarding weather, market and farm structure. sPLS-model performance was at best moderate. Best model performance was attained for Veenkoloniën, a region with relatively little inter-farm variability and relatively stable economic prices. Model results were very sensitive to the selection of response variables. We found that food production, economic and environmental performance levels and gradual developments were primarily determined by input intensity levels. How these performance levels were determined by input intensity, i.e. positively or negatively, differed per case study. Year-to-year variability was determined by average yearly weather conditions and weather extremes. Overall, we conclude that the method applied to the data we had available mostly provided insights that confirm existing knowledge at case study level. sPLS can be seen as a filter and projector of high-dimensional data that accentuates patterns in the data. In the context of resilience of farms, while using a relatively small dataset, the applicability of our methodology seems limited to a rather homogeneous farm population in a stable economic environment. Researchers intending to apply this method to (arable) farming systems should be well aware of the influence they can have on the results through their selection of response variables.

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Section: Explanatory Variables Linking To Challenges and Resilience A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal and inter-farm variability of economic and environmental farm performance: A resilience perspective on potato producing regions in the Netherlands

Paas

Meuwissen²,

Ittersum³

et al. 2023

PLOS Sustain Transform

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…European farming systems are among the most efficient production systems in the world [1]. However, these systems are often input-intensive as they consume large quantities of mineral fertiliser, water, fuel and pesticides [2]. In Europe, 46% of the total N applied to agricultural soil comes from mineral fertiliser [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Replacing Mineral Fertilisers for Bio-Based Fertilisers in Potato Growing on Sandy Soil: A Case Study

et al. 2021

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The refinement level of bio-based fertilisers (BBFs) can influence environmental and agronomic performance. This study analyses the environmental and agronomic effect of different BBFs on potato growing in sandy soil. A less refined product (liquid fraction of digestate (LFD)), two refined products (ammonium sulphate (AS) and potassium concentrate (KC)), and mineral fertilizer (MF) are compared by conducting: (i) a nitrogen (N) incubation experiment where the N release rate of the BBFs is determined, (ii) a greenhouse gas emission experiment where N2O, CO2, and CH4 emissions after BBF application are measured, (iii) a pot experiment where the nutrient fertiliser replacement value (NFRV) of the BBF is calculated, and (iv) a full-scale field trial where the potato quality and quantity and the remaining N residues in the soil after harvest are assessed. The N release rate and the NFRV of AS (142 ± 19% and 1.13, respectively) was higher compared with the LFD (113 ± 24% and 1.04) and MF (105 ± 16% and 1.00). Lowest N2O emissions were observed after the application of the less refined product (0.02 ± 0.01 per 100 g N applied) and highest for MF urea (0.11 ± 0.02 per 100 g N applied). In the full-scale field trial, no significant difference in potato yield was observed in the plots that received manure in combination with BBF or MF. This study showed that all three BBFs can safely be used in potato growing on sandy soils. However, the adoption of BBFs can be stimulated by (i) solving the practical issues that occurred during the application of LFD, (ii) making sure BBFs are on the list of RENURE materials so they can legally replace mineral fertiliser, and (iii) reducing the surplus of slurry manure to stimulate the use and fair pricing of BBF products.

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“…weather, pests & diseases), may imply a lower degree of autonomy (Cabell and Oelofse, 2012). Certain European crop-livestock systems, for instance, may not be robust enough to withstand a situation in which the import of mineral nitrogen fertilizers is halted (Pinsard et al, 2021). Asset indicators relate most to system reserves that can be used in difficult times.…”

Section: Explanatory Variables Linking To Resilience Attributesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Quantitative trade-off analyses should, therefore, be conducted with other types of methods such as dynamic simulation models (e.g. Pinsard et al, 2021) and optimization models (e.g. Shi et al, 2021).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability and resilience of European farming systems: an integrated assessment

Paas

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An increasing variety of stresses and shocks provides challenges for European farming systems. As a consequence, the sustainability and resilience of Europe's diverse farming systems is at stake. In particular the possible presence of economic, social or environmental thresholds in farming systems is worrying, as beyond those thresholds permanent and undesired system change may happen.The aim of this thesis is to operationalize a resilience framework and to assess the sustainability and resilience of current and future European farming systems. Sustainability of a system is in this thesis defined as an adequate performance of all system functions across the environmental, economic and social domains. Sustainability of agricultural systems has been studied extensively, but existing frameworks and tools are not designed to study resilience which is much more about the different capacities of systems to deal with disturbances, i.e. robustness, adaptability and transformability.The following research questions are central in this thesis: 1) Is there a balance between social, economic and environmental functions in European farming systems in terms of importance and performance? 2) Are European farming systems approaching critical thresholds? 3) What resilience capacities do and should European farming systems have? 4) What strategies enhance sustainability and resilience of European farming systems?Based on the application of new and (semi-)quantitative methods developed in this thesis, the following conclusions on the sustainability and resilience of European farming systems -and the methods to assess these -can be drawn:European farming systems are perceived to have low to moderate sustainability and resilience, and operate close to critical thresholds. In the studied farming systems there is an overemphasis on (short-term) economic viability and a lack of attention for (long-term) social variables, while robustness was perceived to prevail over adaptability and transformability. According to stakeholders, main building blocks for current resilience in most case studies were the resilience attributes related to having production coupled with local and natural resources, heterogeneity of farm types, social self-organization, reasonable profitability, and infrastructure for innovation. The latter two were perceived as particularly important for transformability. Past strategies of farming systems were often geared towards making the system more profitable, and to a lesser extent towards the other important building blocks for current resilience. For improving sustainability and resilience, future farming systems need a more balanced attention for economic, social and environmental domains, and an enabling institutional and socio-economic environment. In terms of strategies, technological innovation is often required, provided it is implemented simultaneously with social, agro-ecological and institutional strategies that consider the long-term. To implement such strategies, all involved actors inside and outside the f...

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Robustness to import declines of three types of European farming systems assessed with a dynamic nitrogen flow model

Cited by 22 publications

References 39 publications

Temporal and inter-farm variability of economic and environmental farm performance: A resilience perspective on potato producing regions in the Netherlands

Temporal and inter-farm variability of economic and environmental farm performance: A resilience perspective on potato producing regions in the Netherlands

Replacing Mineral Fertilisers for Bio-Based Fertilisers in Potato Growing on Sandy Soil: A Case Study

Sustainability and resilience of European farming systems: an integrated assessment

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