Abstract
Research and development agencies, as well as policy makers and agri-food enterprises, need reliable data to support informed decisions that can improve the sustainability of agricultural landscapes. We present a review of agricultural sustainability assessment frameworks (ASAF) that identifies the features most relevant to monitoring progress towards sustainability goals for agricultural landscapes. This qualitative review considers a variety of approaches for defining goals and for selecting stakeholders, spatial and temporal boundaries, indicators, and analytical approaches. We focused on assessment frameworks that (i) include environmental, social, and economic implications of agriculture; (ii) are applicable to multiple, non-specified farm system types; (iii) are described in an English language, peer-reviewed publication; (iv) have been developed for use at a farm system to regional spatial scale; (v) engage stakeholders; (vi) provide case studies; and (vii) could be used in a variety of contexts across the globe. Based on the review, we provide recommendations for further development and use of assessment frameworks to better address the needs of agricultural research, extension, and development organizations. We recommend an agro-ecosystem approach to help stakeholders identify appropriate indicators for their situation. Assessment methods need to be flexible enough for adaptation to a spectrum of agricultural landscapes and changing environmental conditions, and remain relevant as farmers and other stakeholders acquire new information, resources, and different management techniques. We find that to address information gaps across different scales from farm to region will require creativity and some reliance on local knowledge systems to support adaptive management. Assessment results should communicate relationships among ecosystem services and socio-economic activities affected by agricultural landscapes. Visualization tools can facilitate understanding of trade-offs and synergies among sustainability goals as reflected by individual indicators.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 299-315 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Environmental Reviews |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2018 |
Funding
S.E. Eichler Inwood. The Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, University of Tennessee, 444 Greve Hall, 821 Volunteer Blvd. Knoxville, TN 37996-3394, USA. S. López-Ridaura, B. Gérard, A.G. Monsalue, and B. Govaerts. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Carretera Mexico-Veracruz Km. 45, El Batan, Texcoco, Edo. de Mexico, C.P. 56237 Mexico. K.L. Kline. The Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, University of Tennessee, 444 Greve Hall, 821 Volunteer Blvd. Knoxville, TN 37996-3394, USA; Center for BioEnergy Sustainability, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37830-6036, USA. V.H. Dale. The Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, University of Tennessee, 444 Greve Hall, 821 Volunteer Blvd. Knoxville, TN 37996-3394, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 3996-1610, USA. Corresponding author: Sarah E. Eichler Inwood (email: [email protected]). 1This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). 2The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Copyright remains with the author(s) or their institution(s). Permission for reuse (free in most cases) can be obtained from RightsLink.
Keywords
- Agricultural landscape
- Indicators
- Stakeholder engagement
- Sustainability assessment