Does intensification result in higher efficiency and sustainability? An emergy analysis of Mediterranean sheep-crop farming systems

The embodiment of resources in agricultural products depends on the way they are made, i.e., the production system. We applied emergy analysis on three contrasting sheep-crop farming systems according to different degrees of specialization, integration and intensification of production in Mediterranean Spain. We studied emergy flows, transformity values and emergy indices at the system level and per product (lamb meat; permanent crops: rainfed olive and almond; arable crops: rainfed barley, irrigated barley, alfalfa and sunflower). We found that the specialized pasture-based sheep system had the lowest intensity and efficiency and the highest sustainability, as opposite to the partially-integrated mixed system, while the fully-integrated mixed system obtained a balanced position. Lamb meat production was 1.9 and 1.3 times more intensive and efficient, respectively, in the partially-integrated mixed system than in the pasture-based sheep system, but 5.1 times less sustainable. All sheep sub-systems had comparatively lower intensity and higher sustainability than crops due to their higher capacity to use local and renewable natural resources. Our findings suggest that further support of agricultural development based on local and renewable natural resources and best practices is necessary to ensure long-term farming sustainability and social welfare

Effects of Livestock Grazing on the Shrub Vegetation Biomass in the ‘Sierra de Guara’ Natural Park (Spain)

The \u27Sierra de Guara\u27 Natural Park (80.7 Kha) is a Mediterranean mountain area in Huesca, south of the Spanish Pyrenees. Shrub and forest pastures dominate the Park. They are grazed mainly by sheep, but also by suckler cattle and goats. Average stocking rate is 0.15 LU/ha. As in other European mountain areas, agricultural activities have declined during the last few decades. This has caused a process of secondary vegetation succession towards shrub invasion, with consequent landscape changes. This study aimed to quantify the effect of grazing on shrub vegetation biomass

An integrated simulation and optimization model of sheep farms as a tool to explore technical and environmental objectives

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Targeting best agricultural practices to enhance ecosystem services in European mountains

Agri-environmental policies in Europe are failing to sufficiently address ongoing environmental degradation, biodiversity decline, climate impacts, and societal demands for sustainability. To reverse this, policymakers, practitioners, and farmers need better guidance on which specific agricultural practice/s should be promoted and how to adapt current practices to reach the desired objectives. Here we use social valuation tools to elucidate the relationship between agricultural practices and the provision of key ecosystem services in mountains, including maintenance of scenery from agricultural landscapes, conservation of biodiversity, regulation of climate change through carbon sequestration, production of local quality products, maintenance of soil fertility, and prevention of forest wildfires. We use as case studies two contrasting but representative mountain agroecosystems in the Mediterranean and Nordic regions of Europe. We analyze the best agricultural practices in both agroecosystems to reach the targeted environmental outcomes under three plausible policy scenarios. We find significant differences in the average contribution of agricultural practices to ecosystem services provision, which suggest the need for regionalizing the research efforts and, consequently, the design of agri-environmental policies. However, we also identify practices for ecosystem service delivery across policy scenarios and agroecosystems. Among these, grazing and silviculture practices such as extending the grazing period, grazing in semi-natural habitats, grazing in remote and abandoned areas, adapting stocking rate to the carrying capacity, and moving flocks seasonally, stand out for their relevance in all policy scenarios. These results highlight the potential of adequate grazing and silviculture practices to deliver bundles of ecosystem services. Our study provides guidance to design agri-environmental policies in Europe that focus on rewarding farmers for their sustainable management of natural resources, climate change mitigation and adaption and biodiversity conservation

On-Farm Information: A Valuable Tool for the Sustainable Management of Mountain Pastures in Protected Natural Areas

Mountain pastures have traditionally been maintained by livestock. The analysis of data concerning farms\u27 characteristics, productive-reproductive management and land use of commercial farms can constitute a real approach to study these systems and the changes that are occurring. This information is necessary to develop new utilisation guidelines, making compatible livestock production and conservation of natural resources. This paper describes a methodological framework to study the issues described above through some examples taken out from a wider research project (Mandaluniz et al., 2003)

Avances de investigación en producción animal en Iberoamérica

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Unravelling opportunities, synergies, and barriers for enhancing silvopastoralism in the Mediterranean

Silvopastoral systems combine wood perennials with forage and livestock. These multipurpose wood-pasture habitats represent an important part of European bio-cultural and ecological heritage. However, their gradual disappearance due to processes of farm abandonment and intensification as well as forestry abandonment threatens biodiversity conservation and bio-cultural heritages. The behaviours of forest owners and livestock farmers determine the success of silvopastoral systems since a productive coherence between forest management and livestock grazing is required for their optimal functioning. In this study, we investigate the livestock farmers’ and forest owners’ attitudes and opinions towards wood pasture grazing and their relationship with structural factors and farming objectives in two Spanish regions. We used data collected through surveys to identify opportunities, synergies, and barriers in the integration of these actors in joint silvopastoralism. The results reveal a relationship between production objectives and positive attitudes towards silvopastoralism and the environmental functions provided by this activity, in both farmers and forest owners. Cattle farmers express a greater economic interest in wood pastures, as compared to sheep farmers who perceive more difficulties in using them. Acknowledgement of the role of grazing in landscape maintenance is positively correlated with a wide spectrum of objectives of forest owners, from the economic-productivist to the more altruistic profiles. The most synergies are found between cattle farmers and small forest owners for joint silvopastoral management. However, the incorporation of sheep grazing is advisable for the sustainable management of these systems, and hence additional efforts may be required to integrate such farming systems into silvopastoral management. As it currently stands, the EU Common Agricultural Policy appears to be inadequate for maintaining silvopastoral systems.The research leading to these results received funding from the Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) (Spain) under Grant Agreement No RTA-2017-00036-C01-0