Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T19:46:03.919Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Rurality and agroecosystem sustainability: a case study at farm-field level in Terceira Island (Portugal) and in Viterbo Province (Italy)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2013

Vincenzo Di Felice ,
Edite Romana de Jesus Soares Bessa Batista ,
Roberto Mancinelli ,
João Guilherme Ferreira Batista  and
Enio Campiglia
Vincenzo Di Felice
Affiliation:
DAFNE, University of Tuscia, Via San Camillo De Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Edite Romana de Jesus Soares Bessa Batista
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade dos Açores, Campus do Pico da Urze, 9700-149 Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
Roberto Mancinelli*
Affiliation:
DAFNE, University of Tuscia, Via San Camillo De Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
João Guilherme Ferreira Batista
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade dos Açores, Campus do Pico da Urze, 9700-149 Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
Enio Campiglia
Affiliation:
DAFNE, University of Tuscia, Via San Camillo De Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Defining the balance between socio-economical and bio-physical aspects in order to promote sustainable development in agriculture is a fundamental challenge for researchers. The aim of this study is to assist in constructing a science of sustainability in agriculture and to assess sustainability in various types of agroecosystem managements characterized by different agricultural and rural developments. This study evaluates sustainability on Terceira Island (Portugal) and in the Province of Viterbo (Italy) by using selected agroecosystem sustainability indicators capable of achieving an energetic and monetary input/output analysis. Overall, results showed two rural and agricultural realities that outline two different responses to world market demand, which are partly due to specific rural histories. In terms of energy supply, Terceira and Viterbo dairy farms use the same amount of input but in monetary terms the level of input is more than double in Viterbo (€1651 ha−1 versus €616 ha−1) which is due to the lower cost of direct energy (e.g., fuel) on the island. The use of direct energy input (fuel, electricity and lubricants) on the farms in Viterbo decreases in mixed farm systems and is at its minimum on dairy farms. On the other hand, the use of indirect energy input (fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, seeds and feedstuffs) is greater on Terceira farms compared with those in Viterbo (0.76 versus 0.60, respectively). Generally speaking, the crops grown on Terceira are not diversified and this has caused environmental issues on the island due to the milk production that is mainly exported. In Europe, more intellectual and financial resources for measuring and monitoring sustainability conditions in agriculture are necessary, in order to appropriately inform decision makers at both institutional and individual level.

Keywords

indicatorsinput/outputenergy/moneydairy farmrenewable energyfood production
Type
Research Papers
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 29 , Issue 3: Special Section: Themed Content: Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems , September 2014 , pp. 265 - 276
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Daily, G.C. 1997. Nature's Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Island Press, Washington.Google Scholar
2Callicott, J.B. and Mumford, K. 1997. Ecological sustainability as a conservation concept. Conservation Biology 11:32–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3Altieri, M.A. 1999. The ecological role of biodiversity in agroecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 74:19–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4MEA 2005. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Island Press, Washington.Google Scholar
5Sydorovych, O. and Wossink, A. 2008. The meaning of agricultural sustainability: Evidence from a conjoint choice survey. Agricultural Systems 98:10–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6Hampicke, U. 2006. Efficient conservation in Europe's agricultural countryside: Rationale, methods and policy reorientation. Outlook on Agriculture 35:97–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7Poudel, D., Horwath, W.R., Lanini, W.T., Temple, S.R., and van Bruggen, A.H.C. 2002. Comparison of soil N availability and leaching potential, crop yields and weeds in organic, low-input and conventional farming systems in northern California. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 90:125–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8UN 1992. Agenda 21: Program for Action for Sustainable Development. United Nations, New York.Google Scholar
9OECD 1999. Environmental Indicators for Agriculture: Concepts and Frameworks. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, vol. 1.Google Scholar
10OECD 1999. Environmental Indicators for Agriculture: Issues and Design. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, vol. 2.Google Scholar
11OECD 2001. Environmental Indicators for Agriculture: Methods and Results. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, vol. 3.Google Scholar
12Tellarini, V. and Caporali, F. 2000. An input/output methodology to evaluate farms as sustainable agroecosystems: An application of indicators to farms in central Italy. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 77:111–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13Fumagalli, M., Acutis, M., Mazzetto, F., Vidotto, F., Sali, G., and Bechini, L. 2011. An analysis of agricultural sustainability of cropping systems in arable and dairy farms in an intensively cultivated plain. European Journal of Agronomy 34:71–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14Caporali, F., Mancinelli, R., and Campiglia, E. 2003. Indicators of cropping system diversity in organic and conventional farms in Central Italy. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 1:67–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15Bechini, L. and Castoldi, N. 2009. On-farm monitoring of economic and environmental performances of cropping systems: Results of a 2-year study at the field scale in northern Italy. Ecological Indicators 9:1096–1113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16Binder, C.R., Feola, G., and Steinberger, J.K. 2010. Considering the normative, systemic and procedural dimensions in indicator-based sustainability assessments in agriculture. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 30:71–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17Deike, S., Pallutt, B., and Christen, O. 2008. Investigations on the energy efficiency of organic and integrated farming with specific emphasis on pesticide use intensity. European Journal of Agronomy 28:461–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18Edwards, C.A., Grove, T.L., Harwood, R.R., and Pierce Colfer, C.J. 1993. The role of agroecology and integrated farming systems in agricultural sustainability. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 46:99–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19Caporali, F. 2007. Agroecology as a science of integration for sustainability in agriculture. Italian Journal of Agronomy 2:73–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20Müller, F., Hoffmann-Kroll, R., and Wiggering, H. 2000. Indicating ecosystem integrity-theoretical concepts and environmental requirements. Ecological Modelling 130:13–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21Instituto Nacional de Estatística 2001. Recenseamento Geral da Agricultura 1999—Açores.Google Scholar
22Forni, G. and Marcone, A. 2003. Storia dell'agricoltura italiana: l'età antica. Rivista di storia dell'agricoltura. Firenze (in Italian).Google Scholar
23Hoyer 2008. An interdisciplinary approach to agriculture in Central and Southern Italy 202-103 BC. Master of Arts thesis, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver.Google Scholar
24Conforti, P. and Giampietro, M. 1997. Fossil energy use in agriculture: An international comparison. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 65:231–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25Ediger, V.Ş., Hoşgör, E., and Sürmeli, A.N. 2007. Fossil fuel sustainability index: An application of resource management. Energy Policy 35:2969–2977.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26Italian National Institute of Statistics 2012. Agricultural General Census, 2010.Google Scholar
27Fjellstad, W. 2004. Linking farm management to effects on biodiversity and landscape. In OECD Expert Meeting on Farm Management Indicators and the Environment. Palmerston North. https://://community.oecd.org/.Google Scholar
28EEA 2007. Halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010: Proposal for a first set of indicators to monitor progress in Europe. Technical Report Number 11. European Environmental Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark.Google Scholar
29Osman, K. and Goktolga, Z.G. 2005. Input-output analysis of energy use in previous agriculture. Energy Conversion and Management 46:1513–1521.Google Scholar
30Caporali, F., Mancinelli, R., Campiglia, E., Di Felice, V., and Xie, Y. 2007. Evaluation of organic and conventional farms through sustainability indicators. In Donatelli, M., Hatfield, J., and Rizzoli, A. (eds). Farming Systems Design 2007. La Goliardica Pavese, Catania. p. 145–146.Google Scholar
31Meul, M., Nevens, F., Reheul, D., and Hofman, G. 2007. Energy use efficiency of specialised dairy, arable and pig farms in Flanders. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 119:135–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32Meul, M., Nevens, F., and Reheul, D. 2009. Validating sustainability indicators: Focus on ecological aspects of Flemish dairy farms. Ecological Indicators 9:284–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
33Di Felice, V., Mancinelli, R., Pröulx, R., and Campiglia, E. 2012. A multivariate analysis of the environmental and economical dimensions of agroecosystem sustainability in central Italy. Journal of Environmental Management 98:119–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34Bauler, T. 2012. An analytical framework to discuss the usability of (environmental) indicators for policy. Ecological Indicators 17:38–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
35Rodrigues, A., Dentinho, T., Silva, C., and Azevedo, E. 2010. Cost benefit analysis to select clean energy solutions in dairy farm milk collection post in Azores. In International Conference on Renewable Energies and Power Quality (ICREPQ'10), Granada.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
36Nemecek, T., von Richthofen, J.-S., Dubois, G., Casta, P., Charles, R., and Pahl, H. 2008. Environmental impacts of introducing grain legumes into European crop rotations. European Journal of Agronomy 28:380–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
37Zimmermann, A., Heckelei, T., and Domínguez, I.P. 2009. Modelling farm structural change for integrated ex-ante assessment: Review of methods and determinants. Environmental Science and Policy 12:601–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38Vieux, F., Darmon, N., Touazi, D., and Soler, L.G. 2012. Greenhouse gas emissions of self-selected individual diets in France: Changing the diet structure or consuming less? Ecological Economics 75:91–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
39Caporali, F., and Francis, C. 2008. Scientific and philosophical foundation of agroecology and organic farming. In Caporali, F., Lieblein, G., Von Fragstein, P. and Francis, C. (eds). Teaching and Research in Agroecology and Organic Farming: Challenges and Perspectives. Agnesotti, Viterbo, p. 17–27.Google Scholar
40Gamborg, C. and Sandøe, P. 2005. Sustainability in farm animal breeding: A review. Livestock Production Science 92:221–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
41Altieri, M. 2002. Agroecology: The science of natural resource management for poor farmers in marginal environments. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 93:1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
42Gliessman, S.R. 2007. Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems. 2nd ed. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton.Google Scholar
43Mancinelli, R., Campiglia, E., Caporali, F., and Di Felice, V. 2010. Habitat patch diversity evaluation for sustainability: A case study of a rural area in central Italy. Italian Journal of Agronomy 5:341–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar