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Title: | Integrated assessment of agro-ecological systems: The case study of the “Alta Murgia” National park in Italy | Authors: | MORETTI, Michele De Boni, Annalisa Roma, Rocco Fracchiolla, Mariano VAN PASSEL, Steven |
Issue Date: | 2016 | Source: | Agricultural systems, 144, p. 144-155 | Abstract: | Several indicators and methods are already applied for sustainability assessment in agriculture. The links between sustainability indicators, agricultural management and policies are not well explained. The aim of this study is to combine biophysical and monetary sustainability assessment tools to support agriculture policy decision-making. Three methodological steps are considered: i) the environmental impacts of farms are assessed using terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, soil and freshwater ecotoxicity as well as natural land transformation; ii) the most relevant indicators of agriculture damages on ecosystems quality are aggregated into an index; iii) the farms' index scores are integrated with farm assets, land and labor, into the Sustainable Value approach (SVA), as indicator of natural resources used by farms. As a case study, the methodology was applied to arable farms with and without animal husbandry of the “Alta Murgia” National Park. The crop farms, in our sample, have a higher sustainable value using their economic and environmental resources. Mixed farms need to improve their resources use efficiency. Although crop farms have lower land-use efficiency compared to mixed farms, our results suggest supporting, by means of policy options, the specialized crop farms that, on average, perform better in terms of ecosystems quality preservation. Finally, we find that Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to soundly measure the environmental impacts clearly enriches the SVA. | Notes: | Moretti, M (reprint author), Univ Bari Aldo Moro, Dept Agroenvironm & Terr Sci, Via Amendola 165-A, I-70126 Bari, Italy. michele.moretti@uhasselt.be | Keywords: | farm sustainability; ecosystem quality damage; sustainable value; integrated assessment | Document URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1942/21364 | ISSN: | 0308-521X | e-ISSN: | 1873-2267 | DOI: | 10.1016/j.agsy.2016.02.007 | ISI #: | 000373553100014 | Rights: | © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. | Category: | A1 | Type: | Journal Contribution | Validations: | ecoom 2017 |
Appears in Collections: | Research publications |
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Agr.Systems_final 2016.pdf Restricted Access | Published version | 1.13 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open Request a copy |
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