The Environmental Effects of Global Changes on Northeast Central Europe in the Case of Non-Modified Agricultural Management

Climate impact scenarios for agriculture usually consider yield development, landscape water balance, nutrient dynamics or the endangerment of habitats separately. Scenario results are further limited by roughly discriminated land use types at low spatial resolution or they are restricted to single sites and isolated crops. Here, we exemplify a well data based comprehensive sensitivity analysis of a drought endangered agrarian region in Northeast Germany using a 2050 climate scenario. Coherently modelled results on water balance and yields indicate that agricultural production may persist, whereas wetlands and groundwater production will be negatively affected. The average percolation rate decreases from 143 mm a-1 to 12 mm a-1, and the average yield decline broken down by crops ranges from 4% for summer wheat to 14% for potatoes (main cereals: 5%)

Factors Affecting European Farmers’Participation in Biodiversity Policies

This article reports the major findings from an interdisciplinary research project that synthesises key insights into farmers’ willingness and ability to co-operate with biodiversity policies. The results of the study are based on an assessment of about 160 publications and research reports from six EU member states and from international comparative research.We developed a conceptual framework to systematically review the existent literature relevant for our purposes. This framework provides a common structure for analysing farmers’ perspectives regarding the introduction into farming practices of measures relevant to biodiversity. The analysis is coupled and contrasted with a survey of experts. The results presented above suggest that it is important to view support for practices oriented towards biodiversity protection not in a static sense – as a situation determined by one or several influencing factors – but rather as a process marked by interaction. Financial compensation and incentives function as a necessary, though clearly not sufficient condition in this process

Ex Ante Impact Assessment of Policies Affecting Land Use, Part A: Analytical Framework

Contemporary policy making calls for scientific support to anticipate the possible consequences of optional policy decisions on sustainable development. This paper presents an analytical framework for ex ante assessment of economic, social, and environmental impacts of policy driven land use changes that can be used as an aid to policy making. The tasks were to (1) link policy scenarios with land use change simulations, (2) link land use change simulations with environmental, social, and economic impacts through indicators, and (3) valuate the impacts in the context of sustainable development. The outcome was a basis for dialogue at the science-policy interface in the process of developing new policies on the European level that impact on land and land use. The analytical approach provides a logical thread for ex ante impact assessment within the context of sustainable development, land use multifunctionality, and land use change and it provides a thorough discussion of achievements and open challenges related to the framework. It concludes with considerations on the potential for using evidence based ex ante assessments in the process of policy development. The paper is complemented by a B-paper providing exemplary results from two applications of the framework: a financial reform scenario of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, and a bioenergy policy scenario for the case of Poland (Helming et al. 2011)

Impacts of habitat heterogeneity on the provision of multiple ecosystem services in a temperate floodplain

The relationships between habitat heterogeneity and the provision of multiple ecosystem services are not well understood. This study investigates the impacts of heterogeneity in surface floodwater inundation on the productive efficiency of ecosystem service provision, and the degree to which the relative provision of these ecosystem services is evenly balanced. We analyse indicators of five services. Field data from 100 floodplain quadrats were first analysed to investigate relationships between ecosystem service indicators and floodplain hydrology. Floodplain mosaics of varying hydrological heterogeneity were then simulated using the empirical data. Simulated floodplains with higher hydrological heterogeneity were generally less efficient in providing the target indicators, because they were adapted to the particular hydrological ranges which best provided the target services. Simulated floodplains that were more heterogeneous generally provided more even levels of the target indicators by segregating provision into different habitat types. Heterogeneity in floodplain hydrology may help to balance provision of multiple ecosystem services. However, management of hydrological heterogeneity to achieve this requires a detailed understanding of the relationships between each service and habitat conditions

Evaluation of potential habitat with an integrated analysis of a spatial conservation strategy for David’s deer, Elaphurus davidians

How to assess the potential habitat integrating landscape dynamics and population research, and how to reintroduce animals to potential habitats in environments highly human disturbed are still questions to be answered in conservation biology. According to behavioral research on Elaphurus davidians, we have developed a suitability index and a risk index to evaluate the potential habitats for the deer. With these indices, we conducted two transect assessments to evaluate the gradient change of the target region. Then, taking rivers as border lines, we tabulated the forest areas, high grassland area and total area and then compared the forest and high grassland area in each subregion. Furthermore, we computed the land use transfer matrix for the whole Yancheng coast during 1987–2000. We also computed human modified index (HMI) in six subregions. Lastly with a geographical information system support we obtained the spatial distribution of the indices and evaluation of the whole potential habitats from a neighborhood analysis. The transect assessment showed that the suitability of the coastal area was higher than that of the inland area for the deer, while the southern area was higher than the northern. Landscape metrics and HMI analysis showed that different landscape patterns and different anthropogenic disturbance existed within the region, and the increasing human disturbance was the key factor causing the pattern dynamics. The evaluation of potential habitats showed that there was an estimated carrying capacity of no more than 10,000 for David’s deer reintroduction into the natural area. Also the reintroduction strategy was discussed. This integrated approach linked the population research and the landscape metrics, and the dataset with different scale; thus, it is an approach likely to be useful for the protection of other large animal in a landscape highly disturbed by humans

Towards a more holistic sustainability assessment framework for agro-bioenergy systems — A review

© 2016 Elsevier Inc. The use of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a sustainability assessment tool for agro-bioenergy system usually has an industrial agriculture bias. Furthermore, LCA generally has often been criticized for being a decision maker tool which may not consider decision takers perceptions. They are lacking in spatial and temporal depth, and unable to assess sufficiently some environmental impact categories such as biodiversity, land use etc. and most economic and social impact categories, e.g. food security, water security, energy security. This study explored tools, methodologies and frameworks that can be deployed individually, as well as in combination with each other for bridging these methodological gaps in application to agro-bioenergy systems. Integrating agronomic options, e.g. alternative farm power, tillage, seed sowing options, fertilizer, pesticide, irrigation into the boundaries of LCAs for agro-bioenergy systems will not only provide an alternative agro-ecological perspective to previous LCAs, but will also lead to the derivation of indicators for assessment of some social and economic impact categories. Deploying life cycle thinking approaches such as energy return on energy invested-EROEI, human appropriation of net primary production-HANPP, net greenhouse gas or carbon balance-NCB, water footprint individually and in combination with each other will also lead to further derivation of indicators suitable for assessing relevant environmental, social and economic impact categories. Also, applying spatio-temporal simulation models has a potential for improving the spatial and temporal depths of LCA analysis

Bioenergy from low-intensity agricultural systems: An energy efficiency analysis

In light of possible future restrictions on the use of fossil fuel, due to climate change obligations and continuous depletion of global fossil fuel reserves, the search for alternative renewable energy sources is expected to be an issue of great concern for policy stakeholders. This study assessed the feasibility of bioenergy production under relatively low-intensity conservative, eco-agricultural settings (as opposed to those produced under high-intensity, fossil fuel based industrialized agriculture). Estimates of the net energy gain (NEG) and the energy return on energy invested (EROEI) obtained from a life cycle inventory of the energy inputs and outputs involved reveal that the energy efficiency of bioenergy produced in low-intensity eco-agricultural systems could be as much as much as 448.5-488.3 GJ·ha-1 of NEG and an EROEI of 5.4-5.9 for maize ethanol production systems, and as much as 155.0-283.9 GJ·ha-1 of NEG and an EROEI of 14.7-22.4 for maize biogas production systems. This is substantially higher than for industrialized agriculture with a NEG of 2.8-52.5 GJ·ha-1 and an EROEI of 1.2-1.7 for maize ethanol production systems, as well as a NEG of 59.3-188.7 GJ·ha-1 and an EROEI of 2.2-10.2 for maize biogas production systems. Bioenergy produced in low-intensity eco-agricultural systems could therefore be an important source of energy with immense net benefits for local and regional end-users, provided a more efficient use of the co-products is ensured

Tourisme et paysage dans des espaces ruraux multifonctionnels : le cas de la France

Extrait de documentThe communication analyses links between rural landscapes and the development of tourism within multifunctional rural areas. Examples come from the French case. The first part consider demand side, the second part supply side and the last part presents different types of integration between demand and supply (natural regional parks for example)