Farmland abandonment in Europe: an overview of drivers, consequences, and assessment of the sustainability implications

In the last decades, there have been large areas of agricultural land that were abandoned in Europe, producing significant social and environmental impacts. Land abandonment is a dynamic process, which is influenced by a complex range of drivers that vary over time and space. This process is driven by a combination of socio-economic, political, and environmental factors by which formerly cultivated fields are no longer economically viable under existing land-use and socio-economic conditions. The implications of land abandonment on biodiversity and other ecosystem services can be positive or negative depending on the conservation status of the area, agro-climatic conditions, and local factors. Therefore, the scope and extent of environmental impacts vary over time and location. Considering that land abandonment is a contentious issue in Europe, there is still growing need for research on this topic. This paper reviews (i) drivers and consequences of farmland abandonment in Europe, (ii) policy measures and tools developed by the European Union in relation to land abandonment process, (iii) the impacts and indicators that are used to assess ecosystem services that are related to land abandonment, and (iv) the methods by which socio-economic, environmental, and cultural values can be assessed. An overview of key impacts and indicators and the impact assessment methodologies will guide policy-making and planning processes that focus on sustainability impact assessment of land abandonment related to ecosystem services in Europe.

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What is value? Impact assessment of cultural heritage

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development ◽

10.1108/jchmsd-10-2019-0128 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 429-436

Author(s):

Guillermo S. Reher

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Cultural Heritage ◽

Impact Assessment ◽

Cultural Values ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Research Assessment ◽

Content Type ◽

Theoretical Perspectives ◽

To Come ◽

The Impact

PurposeThere are currently various methodologies used for carrying out impact assessments of cultural heritage. This paper aims to critically explore the reasons for this diversity and ascertain their varying consistency.Design/methodology/approachThe paper does a comparative analysis of the methodologies used, exploring how they measure up to the theoretical underpinnings of the ecosystem services approach and the cultural values model, considered to be the most comprehensive strategies for assessing the impact of cultural heritage.FindingsThe study reveals that there are few methodologies, and they only inconsistently work upon the theoretical perspectives mentioned earlier. In addition, from the public policy perspective, surprisingly few areas endowed with cultural heritage have been, in one way or another, assessed for impact, perhaps in part due to the lack of adequate methodologies.Research limitations/implicationsThe methods analysed are those that have been made public, which can be found in English. Also, they may be exploratory themselves, so some of the conclusions reached here may have also been found by the analysts themselves. This research serves to provide some scientific groundings for developing a more comprehensive impact assessment method.Practical implicationsThe results of this paper highlight certain glaring absences from current methodologies which invite the development of more definitive cultural impact assessment models. This is possible given the current state of the art, and further research and practice are necessary to develop a more comprehensive cultural values model–based research assessment.Social implicationsBy focussing on the absence of certain indicators on behalf of impact assessment methodologies, this paper sheds light on the overlooked (or under-measured) benefits derived from cultural heritage. Many of the benefits derived from this type of resource find an opportunity to come out in the open, greatly affecting researchers, cultural heritage planners and local communities.Originality/valueThis paper also serves to substantiate a glaring absence within the ecosystem services framework, which is the lack of practical methodologies for measuring some of these service values.

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The Role of Selected Ecosystem Services in Different Farming Systems in Poland Regarding the Differentiation of Agricultural Land Structure

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13126673 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 6673

Author(s):

Lidia Luty ◽

Kamila Musiał ◽

Monika Zioło

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Soil Formation ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Agricultural System ◽

Organic System ◽

Supporting Soil ◽

Management Method ◽

The Impact

The functioning of various agroecosystems is nowadays shaped by different farming systems, which may impair their functions, as well as being beneficial to them. The benefits include ecosystem services, defined as economic and noneconomic values gained by humans from ecosystems, through supporting soil formation and nutrient circulation, and the impact of agriculture on climate and biodiversity. Their mutual flow and various disturbances depend on the agroecosystem’s management method, which is associated with the type of management of agricultural land (AL) in individual farms. This paper raises a problem of transformation in the structure of three main farming systems in Poland, in 2004–2018, in relation to the implementation of 16 selected ecosystem services and their scale. Special attention was given to organic farming, as the most environmentally friendly and sustainable. The analysis demonstrates the increase in ALs in that type of production during the analyzed period of time. Disparities of transformation associated with the type of agricultural system were noticeable at the regional level, which were presented in 16 Polish voivodeships. The results of the analysis confirm that the organic system, which is an important carrier of various ecosystem services, gained a stable position. Moreover, areas with integrated farming still do not exceed 0.5% of total agricultural lands in such voivodeships. The analysis of factors influencing the deterioration or disappearance of selected environmental services characterizing agricultural systems indicates the need to depart from an intensive conventional management system.

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Environmental impacts of European trade: interpreting results of process-based LCA and environmentally extended input–output analysis towards hotspot identification

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment ◽

10.1007/s11367-019-01649-z ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (12) ◽

pp. 2432-2450 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Antoine Beylot ◽

Sara Corrado ◽

Serenella Sala

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Impact Assessment ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Impact Categories ◽

Input Output ◽

Output Analysis ◽

Input Output Analysis ◽

European Trade ◽

The Impact ◽

Modelling Approaches

Abstract Purpose Trade is increasingly considered a significant contributor to environmental impacts. The assessment of the impacts of trade is usually performed via environmentally extended input–output analysis (EEIOA). However, process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to traded goods allows increasing the granularity of the analysis and may be essential to unveil specific impacts due to traded products. Methods This study assesses the environmental impacts of the European trade, considering two modelling approaches: respectively EEIOA, using EXIOBASE 3 as supporting database, and process-based LCA. The interpretation of the results is pivotal to improve the robustness of the assessment and the identification of hotspots. The hotspot identification focuses on temporal trends and on the contribution of products and substances to the overall impacts. The inventories of elementary flows associated with EU trade, for the period 2000–2010, have been characterized considering 14 impact categories according to the Environmental Footprint (EF2017) Life Cycle Impact Assessment method. Results and discussion The two modelling approaches converge in highlighting that in the period 2000–2010: (i) EU was a net importer of environmental impacts; (ii) impacts of EU trade and EU trade balance (impacts of imports minus impacts of exports) were increasing over time, regarding most impact categories under study; and (iii) similar manufactured products were the main contributors to the impacts of exports from EU, regarding most impact categories. However, some results are discrepant: (i) larger impacts are obtained from IO analysis than from process-based LCA, regarding most impact categories, (ii) a different set of most contributing products is identified by the two approaches in the case of imports, and (iii) large differences in the contributions of substances are observed regarding resource use, toxicity, and ecotoxicity indicators. Conclusions The interpretation step is crucial to unveil the main hotspots, encompassing a comparison of the differences between the two methodologies, the assumptions, the data coverage and sources, the completeness of inventory as basis for impact assessment. The main driver for the observed divergences is identified to be the differences in the impact intensities of goods, both induced by inherent properties of the IO and life cycle inventory databases and by some of this study’s modelling choices. The combination of IO analysis and process-based LCA in a hybrid framework, as performed in other studies but generally not at the macro-scale of the full trade of a country or region, appears a potential important perspective to refine such an assessment in the future.

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Understanding and evaluating the impact of integrated problem-oriented research programmes: Concepts and considerations

Research Evaluation ◽

10.1093/reseval/rvaa024 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Brian M Belcher ◽

Karl Hughes

Keyword(s):

Impact Assessment ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Research Impact ◽

Research Field ◽

Research Quality ◽

Research Approach ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

Systems Transformation ◽

The Impact

Abstract Researchers and research organizations are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that their work contributes to positive change and helps solve pressing societal challenges. There is a simultaneous trend towards more engaged transdisciplinary research that is complexity-aware and appreciates that change happens through systems transformation, not only through technological innovation. Appropriate evaluation approaches are needed to evidence research impact and generate learning for continual improvement. This is challenging in any research field, but especially for research that crosses disciplinary boundaries and intervenes in complex systems. Moreover, evaluation challenges at the project scale are compounded at the programme scale. The Forest, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) research programme serves as an example of this evolution in research approach and the resulting evaluation challenges. FTA research is responding to the demand for greater impact with more engaged research following multiple pathways. However, research impact assessment in the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) was developed in a technology-centric context where counterfactual approaches of causal inference (experimental and quasi-experimental) predominate. Relying solely on such approaches is inappropriate for evaluating research contributions that target policy and institutional change and systems transformation. Instead, we propose a multifaceted, multi-scale, theory-based evaluation approach. This includes nested project- and programme-scale theories of change (ToCs); research quality assessment; theory-based outcome evaluations to empirically test ToCs and assess policy, institutional, and practice influence; experimental and quasi-experimental impact of FTA-informed ‘large n’ innovations; ex ante impact assessment to estimate potential impacts at scale; and logically and plausibly linking programme-level outcomes to secondary data on development and conservation status.

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Reconciling Life Cycle Environmental Impacts with Ecosystem Services: A Management Perspective on Agricultural Land Use

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10030630 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 630 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Longlong Tang ◽

Kiyotada Hayashi ◽

Kazunori Kohyama ◽

Ai Leon

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Agricultural Land Use ◽

Management Perspective

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Agricultural land abandonment in Mediterranean environment provides ecosystem services via soil carbon sequestration

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.123 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 576 ◽

pp. 420-429 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Agata Novara ◽

Luciano Gristina ◽

Giovanna Sala ◽

Antonino Galati ◽

Maria Crescimanno ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽

Land Abandonment ◽

Mediterranean Environment

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Understanding Intra-Annual Dynamics of Ecosystem Services Using Satellite Image Time Series

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12040710 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 710 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Trinidad del Río-Mena ◽

Louise Willemen ◽

Anton Vrieling ◽

Andy Nelson

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Spatial Variability ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Vegetation Cover ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Supply And Demand ◽

Satellite Image ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Temporal Variations ◽

The Impact

Landscape processes fluctuate over time, influencing the intra-annual dynamics of ecosystem services. However, current ecosystem service assessments generally do not account for such changes. This study argues that information on the dynamics of ecosystem services is essential for understanding and monitoring the impact of land management. We studied two regulating ecosystem services (i. erosion prevention, ii. regulation of water flows) and two provisioning services (iii. provision of forage, iv. biomass for essential oil production) in thicket vegetation and agricultural fields in the Baviaanskloof, South Africa. Using models based on Sentinel-2 data, calibrated with field measurements, we estimated the monthly supply of ecosystem services and assessed their intra-annual variability within vegetation cover types. We illustrated how the dynamic supply of ecosystem services related to temporal variations in their demand. We also found large spatial variability of the ecosystem service supply within a single vegetation cover type. In contrast to thicket vegetation, agricultural land showed larger temporal and spatial variability in the ecosystem service supply due to the effect of more intensive management. Knowledge of intra-annual dynamics is essential to jointly assess the temporal variation of supply and demand throughout the year to evaluate if the provision of ecosystem services occurs when most needed.

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Assessing the impact of land-use change for solar park development in the UK: implications for biodiversity and ecosystem services

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-1271 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fabio Carvalho ◽

Alona Armstrong ◽

Mark Ashby ◽

Belinda Howell ◽

Hannah Montag ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Indicator Species ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Arable Land ◽

Food Plants ◽

Ipcc Report ◽

The Impact

According to the latest IPCC report, 70 to 85% of electricity generation worldwide will need to come from renewable sources of energy by 2050 if countries are to meet internationally agreed greenhouse gas emissions targets. In the rush to decarbonise energy supplies to meet such targets, solar parks (SPs) have proliferated around the world, with uncertain implications for the biodiversity and ecosystem service (ES) provision of hosting ecosystems. SPs necessitate significant land-use change that could disproportionately affect the local environment compared to other low-carbon sources.In Britain, SPs are commonly built on intensive arable land and managed as grasslands. This offers both risks and opportunities for ecosystem health, yet evidence for assessing ecosystem consequences is scarce. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand how net environmental gains can be integrated into land-use change for solar energy development to address the current biodiversity and climate crises.We used vegetation data from over 70 SPs and 50 countryside survey plots (1 km2) in England and Wales to assess the effects of land-use change for SPs on plant diversity and ES provision. We assessed ten habitat indicator variables (e.g., species richness, larval food plants, forage grasses, bird food plants) associated to functionally important plant species that have the potential to enhance ecosystem service delivery.SPs showed higher diversity of habitat indicator species than arable land and improved grasslands, with vegetation between solar arrays showing higher numbers of species important for ES provision (e.g., N-fixing species important for nutrient cycling) than vegetation under solar panels. Overall, the diversity of habitat indicator species seemed highly dependent on former land-use, showing SPs have the potential to enhance ecosystem services provision if built on degraded agricultural land.Developing this understanding will enable optimisation of SP design and management to ensure delivery of ecosystem co-benefits from this growing land-use.

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Agricultural land use changes and water quality: a case study in the watershed of the lagoon of Venice

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1999.0153 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 135-148 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Carlo Giupponi ◽

Paolo Rosato

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Impact Assessment ◽

Environmental Impact Assessment ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Geographical Information ◽

Agricultural Land Use ◽

Lagoon Of Venice ◽

The Impact

The effects of alternative agricultural land use scenarios in terms of environmental impact assessment on surface and ground water were simulated by means of combined socio-economic and environmental models. The economic model produced and evaluated alternative farming systems, defined in terms of land use (in farm crop allocations and regional statistics of crop distributions) and cultivation practices as influenced by different macro-economic scenarios of agricultural policies. These scenarios were defined on the basis of the present Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union and possible future measures for reducing the impact of current agricultural systems on the environment. The farmers' decisional process has been simulated with multi-objective functions aimed at maximising profits and minimising risk. The methodology for the environmental impact assessment of farming systems is based on a simulation model for non-point source agricultural pollution which determines the impact of agriculture on a single field basis as influenced by environmental variables (soil and climate) and farmers' decisions (crop, soil management, fertilisation, etc.). The results obtained from this model were used to calculate a series of comparative indices capable of describing the effects of the use of fertilisers and pesticides on surface and ground waters. A geographical information system supported the spatial data management in particular for: a) the definition of simulation environments; b) the integration of physical and statistical geographical information; c) the cartographic presentation of results and the comparison of alternative scenarios. The model has been applied in the area of the Watershed of the Lagoon of Venice (WLV), located in northern Italy and has demonstrated how alternative policy scenarios determine not only significant variations in the overall environmental impacts in the study area, but also remarkable differences in their spatial distribution.

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