Abstract
In the last decade, there has been an increasing interest in sustainable agricultural techniques and the environmental evaluation of the effects of agricultural practices. In the present study, we evaluated both the production capacity of organic horticultural systems, and the ex-post sustainability through a new multi-attribute decision model named “DEXi-met”. This qualitative model is able to estimate the environmental sustainability of cropping systems managed with different agro-ecological approaches. In particular, we compared the following three horticultural systems: (i) ECO, an organic system with full implementation of agro-ecological strategies (agro-ecological services crops (ASC), strip cultivation, and organic amendment); (ii) GM, an organic system with the introduction of the ASC; (iii) NO ASC, an organic system without ASC. The treatments with ASC presence (ECO and GM) showed similar total energy outputs (substantially higher than the NO ASC), indicating the positive effect of this agro-ecological practice. The findings pointed out that the ECO system, which followed the principles of natural ecosystems, can contribute to building up more complex agro-ecosystems, increasing both resilience and biodiversity. This management strategy reached a good compromise between the production of vegetable cropping systems and environmental sustainability achievement. Then, it is possible to optimize the use of natural resources, support climate adaptation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Highlights
Sustainable development and environmental sustainability are broadly recognized as global and collective goals because of key issues such as limited resources, environmental pollution, and global warming [1]
In order to identify the most significant variables that affected the sustainability of the systems, a sensitivity analysis (SA) of the DEXi-met model was performed
The highest absolute value of tomato marketable yield was found in GM, whereas the ecological approach (ECO)
Summary
Sustainable development and environmental sustainability are broadly recognized as global and collective goals because of key issues such as limited resources, environmental pollution, and global warming [1]. These increasing challenges, considering the local and the global legislative changes, have inevitably involved the agricultural sector. A wide range of cultivation techniques and agro-ecological management strategies that enhance biodiversity in crop fields and support the sustainability of the agro-ecosystems are already practiced and should be further promoted [2,3].
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