Integrating agri-environmental indicators, ecosystem services assessment, life cycle assessment and yield gap analysis to assess the environmental sustainability of agriculture

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • J-E Bergez
  • A. Bethinger
  • C. Bockstaller
  • C. Cederberg
  • E. Ceschia
  • N. Guilpart
  • S. Lange
  • F. Müller
  • P. Reidsma
  • C. Riviere
  • C. Schader
  • O. Therond
  • H. M. G. van der Werf

External Research Organisations

  • Universite de Toulouse
  • Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement (INRAE)
  • Université de Lorraine (UL)
  • Chalmers University of Technology
  • Université Paris-Saclay
  • Kiel University
  • Wageningen University and Research
  • Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL)
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number109107
JournalEcological indicators
Volume141
Early online date1 Jul 2022
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2022

Abstract

Agriculture's primary function is the production of food, feed, fibre and fuel for the fast-growing world population. However, it also affects human health and ecosystem integrity. Policymakers make policies in order to avoid harmful impacts. How to assess such policies is a challenge. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework to help evaluate the impacts of agricultural policies on the environment. Our framework represents the global system as four subsystems and their interactions. These four components are the cells of a 2 by 2 matrix [Agriculture, Rest of the word]; [Socio-eco system, Ecological system]. We then developed a set of indicators for environmental issues and positioned these issues in the framework. To assess these issues, we used four well-known existing approaches: Life Cycle Assessment, Ecosystem Services Analysis, Yield Gap Analysis and Agro-Environmental Indicators. Using these four approaches together provided a more holistic view of the impacts of a given policy on the system. We then applied our framework on existing cover crop policies using an extensive literature survey and analysing the different environmental issues mobilised by the four assessment approaches. This demonstration case shows that our framework may be of help for a full systemic assessment. Despite their differences (aims, scales, standardization, data requirements, etc.), it is possible and profitable to use the four approaches together. This is a significant step forward, though more work is needed to produce a genuinely operational tool.

Keywords

    Multi-criteria assessment, Environmental issues, Environmental policies, Conceptual framework

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sustainable Development Goals

Cite this

Integrating agri-environmental indicators, ecosystem services assessment, life cycle assessment and yield gap analysis to assess the environmental sustainability of agriculture. / Bergez, J-E; Bethinger, A.; Bockstaller, C. et al.
In: Ecological indicators, Vol. 141, 109107, 08.2022.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Bergez, J-E, Bethinger, A, Bockstaller, C, Cederberg, C, Ceschia, E, Guilpart, N, Lange, S, Müller, F, Reidsma, P, Riviere, C, Schader, C, Therond, O & van der Werf, HMG 2022, 'Integrating agri-environmental indicators, ecosystem services assessment, life cycle assessment and yield gap analysis to assess the environmental sustainability of agriculture', Ecological indicators, vol. 141, 109107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109107
Bergez, J.-E., Bethinger, A., Bockstaller, C., Cederberg, C., Ceschia, E., Guilpart, N., Lange, S., Müller, F., Reidsma, P., Riviere, C., Schader, C., Therond, O., & van der Werf, H. M. G. (2022). Integrating agri-environmental indicators, ecosystem services assessment, life cycle assessment and yield gap analysis to assess the environmental sustainability of agriculture. Ecological indicators, 141, Article 109107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109107
Bergez JE, Bethinger A, Bockstaller C, Cederberg C, Ceschia E, Guilpart N et al. Integrating agri-environmental indicators, ecosystem services assessment, life cycle assessment and yield gap analysis to assess the environmental sustainability of agriculture. Ecological indicators. 2022 Aug;141:109107. Epub 2022 Jul 1. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109107
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abstract = "Agriculture's primary function is the production of food, feed, fibre and fuel for the fast-growing world population. However, it also affects human health and ecosystem integrity. Policymakers make policies in order to avoid harmful impacts. How to assess such policies is a challenge. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework to help evaluate the impacts of agricultural policies on the environment. Our framework represents the global system as four subsystems and their interactions. These four components are the cells of a 2 by 2 matrix [Agriculture, Rest of the word]; [Socio-eco system, Ecological system]. We then developed a set of indicators for environmental issues and positioned these issues in the framework. To assess these issues, we used four well-known existing approaches: Life Cycle Assessment, Ecosystem Services Analysis, Yield Gap Analysis and Agro-Environmental Indicators. Using these four approaches together provided a more holistic view of the impacts of a given policy on the system. We then applied our framework on existing cover crop policies using an extensive literature survey and analysing the different environmental issues mobilised by the four assessment approaches. This demonstration case shows that our framework may be of help for a full systemic assessment. Despite their differences (aims, scales, standardization, data requirements, etc.), it is possible and profitable to use the four approaches together. This is a significant step forward, though more work is needed to produce a genuinely operational tool.",
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AU - Bergez, J-E

AU - Bethinger, A.

AU - Bockstaller, C.

AU - Cederberg, C.

AU - Ceschia, E.

AU - Guilpart, N.

AU - Lange, S.

AU - Müller, F.

AU - Reidsma, P.

AU - Riviere, C.

AU - Schader, C.

AU - Therond, O.

AU - van der Werf, H. M. G.

N1 - Funding Information: This study was funded by INRAE with a grant from Tempag (OECD). The authors wish to thank the INRAE librarians (S. Le-Perchec and V. Lelièvre) who helped in starting the project by a general literature query and A. Lewer for the English editing.

PY - 2022/8

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JO - Ecological indicators

JF - Ecological indicators

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M1 - 109107

ER -

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