Abstract
Many indicator-based methods for the environmental assessment of farming systems have been developed. It is not the absolute values of the indicators that reveal whether the impact of a system is acceptable, but rather the distance between these values and some reference values. We reviewed eight frameworks for the environmental assessment of agricultural systems that define reference values for their indicators. We analyzed the methods used to establish reference values and explored how to improve these methods to increase their usage and relevance. This analysis revealed a striking diversity of terminology, sources, and modes of expression of results. Normative reference values allow the assessment of a single system with a previously defined value; Relative reference values are based on indicator values for similar systems or a reference system. Normative reference values can be Science-based or Policy-based. A science-based normative reference value can be a Target value, which identifies desirable conditions, or an Environmental limit, which is the level beyond which conditions are unacceptable. The quantification of the uncertainty of reference values is a topic which is barely explored and warrants further research. Reference values present a means of introducing site specificity into methods for environmental assessment which seems, at present, largely under-exploited.
Highlights
The sustainability of agricultural production systems has been the object of much study [1].Sustainability has been defined in many ways, with the ―triple bottom line‖ approach, which aims to balance the three dimensions of sustainability, being the most widespread
We propose to use the generic term Reference value as the preferred term for ―the desired level for an indicator‖ [38], rather than one of the other more specific terms used in the reviewed methods
Recommendations on terminology o The term Reference value should be used as a generic term for the desired level for an indicator
Summary
The sustainability of agricultural production systems has been the object of much study [1]. Several reviews have shown that these methods have become increasingly complex, integrating a variety of impacts and the latest scientific knowledge [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] These methods have a similar structure consisting of seven stages which are more or less explicitly defined, depending on the method: (1) Definition of the system to be assessed; (2) Identification of the overall goal of the method and definition of the dimensions of encompassed sustainability;. A minority of environmental assessment methods define reference values which distinguish acceptable from unacceptable impact levels. The purpose of this paper is to review a variety of frameworks allowing the environmental assessment of agricultural systems, which define explicit reference values for their indicators. We analyze the methods used to establish reference values and explore how to improve these methods to increase their usage and relevance
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