Methodological issues of modelling farm and landscape scale indicators for sustainable land systems

Abstract

Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 106(2): 35–43, 2006 This paper presents results from the strategic EU research project MEA-scope (www.MEA-scope.org), which aims at the development of a GIS-based framework to model farm and landscape scale indicators for rural sustainability. Problems in scaling information between the farm- and the landscape levels in particular are addressed. Both disaggregation and aggregation techniques are needed to convey information between the two levels. This is demonstrated in a case study of (1) disaggregating landscape level soil maps for farm level modelling, and (2) subsequent landscape level aggregation of the farm model results. This interaction between farm- and landscape level information sources gives the opportunity for integrated modelling of farm level indicators (e.g. nutrient balances, energy use, farmers age, employment etc.) and landscape level indicators (e.g. groundwater quality, corridors between habitats and population density). The case studies illustrate the modelling and scaling of Nitrogen surplus as one indicator for water pollution in one of the MEA-scope landscapes, but the case studies has general application for the modelling of other indicators in other landscapes, and in other projects. In this context, the MEA-scope framework is being discussed in comparison to the conceptual framework of the Global Land Project (www.globalland-project.org), which reveals different shortcomings in the MEA-scope approach and lessons for future research work on the interface between land use systems, ecological systems and social systems.