Abstract
The volume of the food produced across the world should be related to agricultural sustainability and is crucial for natural capital protection. Hence, sustainability assessment on farms and the identification of improvements is relevant. A mixed farm of vineyard and olive trees was chosen for sustainability assessment, based on the Best Management Practices (BMPs) that have been implemented. The aim of this research was to assess sustainability on a mixed vineyard and olive-grove farm and validate the INSPIA model for this kind of typology of a farm, which is very typical in the South of Spain. The sustainability assessment was monitored across 5-agricultural seasons based on the INSPIA methodology. INSPIA is based on the application of a set of BMPs, calculated on 31 basic indicators, providing a final composite index of sustainability. The greater the implementation of sustainable farming practices, the higher the value of the composite index. Enhanced soil, water, and air quality, improvement for biodiversity and for ecosystem services help towards sustainable agricultural productivity. Indicators’ results are shown during that period, depicting their relationship with the BMPs. The highest composite index was reached in the 4th year. This paper confirms the relevance of BMPs, such as groundcover establishment and minimum soil disturbance to upgrade sustainability on the permanent croplands in Southern Spain. The indicator-based sustainability assessment is considered a helpful tool in decision-making, which guides farmers towards BMPs performance.
Highlights
Some of these initiatives tackle the three main dimensions of sustainability: economic, social and environmental, such as for instance: SAFE, Multicriteria Assessment of the Sustainability of Cropping Systems-MASC 2.0. [12], Sustainable Agri-Food Evaluation methodology-SAEMETH [13], IDEA, Monitoring Tool for Integrated Farm Sustainability-MOTIFS [14], whereas others, pay attention to just one or two of the aforementioned aspects, e.g., INDIGO method [15], which is only based on the environmental dimension, or the SOSTARE models which are lacking in their social dimension
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the farming management carried out on a mixed farm in the last five agricultural seasons and validate the INSPIA methodology for key permanent crops in Southern Spain
The aim of this paper is to show the evolution of sustainability in the typical cropped farms of olive-groves and vineyards in Southern Spain according to different soil-management practices using the INSPIA model
Summary
Agricultural sustainability aims to create a system that is capable of meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations with regard to food, feed and fibre production [1], and preserving the initial characteristics over the time [2]. In this context, there are some successful initiatives to monitor specific issues in agricultural systems, such as soil quality [3] or water quality [4]. Some of these initiatives tackle the three main dimensions of sustainability: economic, social and environmental, such as for instance: SAFE, Multicriteria Assessment of the Sustainability of Cropping Systems-MASC 2.0. [12], Sustainable Agri-Food Evaluation methodology-SAEMETH [13], IDEA, Monitoring Tool for Integrated Farm Sustainability-MOTIFS [14], whereas others, pay attention to just one or two of the aforementioned aspects, e.g., INDIGO method [15], which is only based on the environmental dimension, or the SOSTARE models which are lacking in their social dimension
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