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D’Ottavio, P., Francioni, M., Trozzo, L., Sedic, E., Budimir, K., Avanzolini, P., et al. (2018). Trends and approaches in the analysis of ecosystem services provided by grazing systems: A review. Grass Forage Sci., 73(1), 15–25.
Abstract: The ecosystem services (ES) approach is a framework for describing the benefits of nature to human well-being, and this has become a popular instrument for assessment and evaluation of ecosystems and their functions. Grazing lands can provide a wide array of ES that depend on their management practices and intensity. This article reviews the trends and approaches used in the analysis of some relevant ES provided by grazing systems, in line with the framework principles of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). The scientific literature provides reports of many studies on ES in general, but the search here focused on grazing systems, which returned only sixty-two papers. This review of published papers highlights that: (i) in some papers, the concept of ES as defined by the MA is misunderstood (e.g., lack of anthropocentric vision); (ii) 34% of the papers dealt only with one ES, which neglects the need for the multisectoral approach suggested by the MA; (iii) few papers included stakeholder involvement to improve local decision-making processes; (iv) cultural ES have been poorly studied despite being considered the most relevant for local and general stakeholders; and (v) stakeholder awareness of well-being as provided by ES in grazing systems can foster both agri-environmental schemes and the willingness to pay for these services.
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Dietrich, J. P., Schmitz, C., Lotze-Campen, H., Popp, A., & Muller, C. (2014). Forecasting technological change in agriculture-An endogenous implementation in a global, and use model. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 81, 236–249.
Abstract: Technological change in agriculture plays a decisive role for meeting future demands for agricultural goods. However, up to now, agricultural sector models and models on land use change have used technological change as an exogenous input due to various information and data deficiencies. This paper provides a first attempt towards an endogenous implementation based on a measure of agricultural land use intensity. We relate this measure to empirical data on investments in technological change. Our estimated yield elasticity with respect to research investments is 029 and production costs per area increase linearly with an increasing yield level. Implemented in the global land use model MAgPIE (”Model of Agricultural Production and its Impact on the Environment”) this approach provides estimates of future yield growth. Highest future yield increases are required in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Our validation with FAO data for the period 1995-2005 indicates that the model behavior is in line with observations. By comparing two scenarios on forest conservation we show that protecting sensitive forest areas in the future is possible but requires substantial investments into technological change. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Dietrich, J. P., Schmitz, C., Lotze-Campen, H., Popp, A., & Müller, C. (2014). Forecasting technological change in agriculture—An endogenous implementation in a global land use model. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 81, 236–249.
Abstract: ► Endogenous technological change in an economic land use model ► Estimation of yield elasticity with respect to investments in technological change ► Projections of future agricultural productivity rates ► Validation with observed data and historic trends ► Trade-off between required technological change and forest protection objectives Technological change in agriculture plays a decisive role for meeting future demands for agricultural goods. However, up to now, agricultural sector models and models on land use change have used technological change as an exogenous input due to various information and data deficiencies. This paper provides a first attempt towards an endogenous implementation based on a measure of agricultural land use intensity. We relate this measure to empirical data on investments in technological change. Our estimated yield elasticity with respect to research investments is 0.29 and production costs per area increase linearly with an increasing yield level. Implemented in the global land use model MAgPIE (“Model of Agricultural Production and its Impact on the Environment”) this approach provides estimates of future yield growth. Highest future yield increases are required in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Our validation with FAO data for the period 1995–2005 indicates that the model behavior is in line with observations. By comparing two scenarios on forest conservation we show that protecting sensitive forest areas in the future is possible but requires substantial investments into technological change.
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Humblot, P., Jayet, P. A., Clerino, P., Leconte-Demarsy, D., Szopa, S., & Castell, J. F. (2013). Assessment of ozone impacts on farming systems: a bio-economic modeling approach applied to the widely diverse French case. Ecol. Econ., 85, 50–58.
Abstract: As a result of anthropogenic activities, ozone is produced in the surface atmosphere, causing direct damage to plants and reducing crop yields. By combining a biophysical crop model with an economic supply model we were able to predict and quantify this effect at a fine spatial resolution. We applied our approach to the very varied French case and showed that ozone has significant productivity and land-use effects. A comparison of moderate and high ozone scenarios for 2030 shows that wheat production may decrease by more than 30% and barley production may increase by more than 14% as surface ozone concentration increases. These variations are due to the direct effect of ozone on yields as well as to modifications in land use caused by a shift toward more ozone-resistant crops: our study predicts a 16% increase in the barley-growing area and an equal decrease in the wheat-growing area. Moreover, mean agricultural gross margin losses can go as high as 2.5% depending on the ozone scenario, and can reach 7% in some particularly affected regions. A rise in ozone concentration was also associated with a reduction of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions of about 2%, as a result of decreased use of nitrogen fertilizers. One noteworthy result was that major impacts, including changes in land use, do not necessarily occur in ozone high concentration zones, and may strongly depend on farm systems and their adaptation capability. Our study suggests that policy makers should view ozone pollution as a major potential threat to agricultural yields. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Fan, F., Henriksen, C. B., & Porter, J. (2018). Relationship between stoichiometry and ecosystem services: A case study of it organic farming systems. Ecological Indicators, 85, 400–408.
Abstract: Over the past five decades, the delivery of global Ecosystem Services (ES) has diminished and this has been driven partly by anthropogenic activities. Agro-ecosystems cover almost 40% of the terrestrial surface on Earth, and have been considered as one of the most significant ecological experiments with a potential to both contribute to and mitigate global ES loss. In the present study, six different ES (food and fodder production, carbon sequestration, biological pest control, soil water storage, nitrogen regulation and soil formation) were quantified in various organic farming systems and the hypothesis that there is a link between these ES and C:N, C:O and H:O stoichiometric ratios in farming systems was experimentally tested. The results show that different ES are correlated with the stoichiometric ratios to different extents. There are significant positive linear correlations between C:N stoichiometric ratios and all measured ES in the investigated organic farming systems, while not all the ES are correlated with the C:O and H:O ratios. This study has expanded the horizons of stoichiometry by linking a fundamental chemical property of molecules with an emergent property of organic farming systems, namely their ecosystem service provision.
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