Current Agricultural Land Research Articles

Synergistic conservation approaches for nurturing soil, food security and human health towards sustainable development goals

Using chemical fertilizers extensively in small farms has helped increase crop yields, supporting food security and economic growth. However, recent studies show that these fertilizers are often used inefficiently and inconsistently. This leads to environmental harm, unbalanced soil nutrients, and lower-quality food production. These issues threaten food security, which is vital for human survival and may lead to the abandonment of arable land. This situation calls for a significant shift in soil conservation research to better connect scientific findings with practical conservation methods, ensuring that agricultural progress goes hand in hand with environmental sustainability. Effective use of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizers is vital for both environmental sustainability and food security. Correcting nutritional imbalances, especially the disrupted N/P ratio caused by faulty fertilization practices, is key to ensuring a balanced nutrient supply. These imbalances have a substantial effect on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, altering their functionality, biodiversity and human nutrition Therefore, adopting balanced fertilization techniques is essential to combine environmental sustainability with global food security and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).To optimize nutrient consumption and production efficiency, regulations should be enacted to enforce the 4R principle, which involves applying the right nutrient source at the appropriate rate, time, method and location. This article emphasizes the connections between current agricultural practices, land use, fertilizer application, soil degradation, and future challenges. It promotes environmentally friendly farming methods that recognize the vital links between soil quality, food security, human health, and environmental sustainability.

Current hydrological ecosystem services and potential impacts of business-as-usual land abandonment at the national scale for Spain

This research demonstrates the opportunities and challenges for decision-makers in the use of satellite data driven hydrological model such as WaterWorld to assess current hydrological ecosystem services at the national scale and evaluate the impact of land use scenarios for the future. Spain has been selected as a case study in view of the negative consequences for hydrological ecosystem services caused by land abandonment over the last few decades, which, if action is not taken soon, will make Spain the European Union country most affected by this problem in the coming years. The results show that continued land abandonment will exacerbate the already geographically polarised situation of land abandonment of agricultural areas in the north of the country due to their low economic viability, in contrast to intensification of irrigated area in the most arid regions of Spain, leading to an increase in water balances in the already wet areas and a decrease in the arid areas. However, there is much to be gained from restoration of nature in Spain. Beyond the obvious benefits for biodiversity, climate change mitigation and recreation, abandonment of current agricultural land and its return to natural cover will lead to improvements in water quality ecosystem services. This model used, which is easily replicable to other countries given the availability of a user-friendly interface and embedded global data, can help analyse hydrological ecosystem services in any other country in the world. Like all models and measurements, WaterWorld has limitations so results should be viewed critically, but can still contribute to discussions on land management for sustainability, alongside other source of information.

What would it look like? Visualizing a future US Corn Belt landscape with more table food production

Abstract Most farmland in the US Corn Belt is used to grow row crops at large scales (e.g., corn, soybean) that are highly processed before entering the human food stream rather than specialty crops grown in smaller areas and meant for direct human consumption (table food). Bolstering local table food production close to urban populations in this region through peri-urban agriculture (PUA) could enhance sustainability and resilience. Understanding factors influencing PUA producers' preferences and willingness to produce table food would enable supportive planning and policy efforts. This study combined land use visualization and survey data to examine the potential for increased local table food production for the US Corn Belt. We developed a spatial visualization of current agricultural land use and a future scenario with increased table food production designed to meet 50% of dietary requirements for a metropolitan population in 2050. A survey was administered to row crop (1360) and specialty crop (55) producers near Des Moines, Iowa, US to understand current and intended agricultural land use and factors influencing production. Responses from 316 row crop and 25 specialty crop producers were eligible for this analysis. A future scenario with increased table food production would require less than 3% of available agricultural land and some additional producers (approximately 130, primarily for grain production). Survey responses indicated PUA producers planned small increases in table food production in the next three to five years. Producer plans, including land rental for table food production, could provide approximately 25% of residents' fruit, vegetables, and grains, an increase from the baseline of 2%. Row crop producers ranked food safety regulations, and specialty producers ranked labor concerns as strong influences on their decision-making. Both groups indicated that crop insurance and processing facilities were also important. Increasing table food production by clustering mid-scale operations to increase economies of scale and strengthening supply chains and production infrastructure could provide new profitable opportunities for farmers and more resilient food systems for growing urban regions in the US Corn Belt. Continuing to address producer factors and landscape-scale environmental impacts will be critical in considering food system sustainability challenges holistically.

The Agrivoltaic Potential of Canada

Canada has committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by increasing the non-emitting share of electricity generation to 90% by 2030. As solar energy costs have plummeted, agrivoltaics (the co-development of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and agriculture) provide an economic path to these goals. This study quantifies agrivoltaic potential in Canada by province using geographical information system analysis of agricultural areas and numerical simulations. The systems modeled would enable the conventional farming of field crops to continue (and potentially increase yield) by using bifacial PV for single-axis tracking and vertical system configurations. Between a quarter (vertical) and more than one third (single-axis tracking) of Canada’s electrical energy needs can be provided solely by agrivoltaics using only 1% of current agricultural lands. These results show that agrivoltaics could be a major contributor to sustainable electricity generation and provide Canada with the ability to render the power generation sector net zero/GHG emission free. It is clear that the potential of agrivoltaic-based solar energy production in Canada far outstrips current electric demand and can, thus, be used to electrify and decarbonize transportation and heating, expand economic opportunities by powering the burgeoning computing sector, and export green electricity to the U.S. to help eliminate their dependence on fossil fuels.

A participatory tool for assessing land footprint in city-region food systems—A case study from Metropolitan Copenhagen

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of current food systems to feed populations around the world. Particularly in urban centers, consumers have been confronted with this vulnerability, highlighting reliance on just-in-time logistics, imports and distant primary production. Urban food demand, regional food supply, land use change, and transport strategies are considered key factors for reestablishing resilient landscapes as part of a sustainable food system. Improving the sustainability of food systems in such circumstances entails working on the interrelations between food supply and demand, rural and urban food commodity production sites, and groups of involved actors and consumers. Of special significance is the agricultural land in close proximity to urban centers. Calling for more holistic approaches in the sense of inclusiveness, food security, citizen involvement and ecological principles, this article describes the use of a new decision support tool, the Metropolitan Foodscape Planner (MFP). The MFP features up-to-date European datasets to assess the potential of current agricultural land use to provide food resources (with special attention to both plant- and animal-based products) and meet the demand of city dwellers, and help to empower citizens, innovators, companies, public authorities and other stakeholders of regional food systems to build a more regionalized food supply network. The tool was tested in the context of the food system of the Copenhagen City Region in two collaborative workshops, namely one workshop with stakeholders of the Copenhagen City Region representing food consultancies, local planning authorities and researchers, and one in-person workshop masterclass with MSc students from the University of Copenhagen. Workshop participants used the tool to learn about the impacts of the current food system at the regional and international level with regard to the demand-supply paradigm of city-regions. The ultimate goal was to develop a participatory mapping exercise and test three food system scenarios for a more regionalized and sustainable food system and, therefore, with increased resilience to crises. Results from this implementation also demonstrated the potential of the tool to identify food production sites at local level that are potentially able to feed the city region in a more sustainable, nutritious and way.

Yield estimation of summer maize based on multi‐source remote‐sensing data

AbstractAccurately estimating regional‐scale crop yields is substantial in determining current agricultural production performance and effective agricultural land management. The Yuncheng Basin is an important grain‐producing area in the Shanxi Province. This paper used Sentinel 2A with a spatial resolution of 10 m and MODIS with a temporal resolution of 1 d in 2020. The spatial and temporal nonlocal filter‐based fusion model (STNLFFM) was used to obtain fused data with a spatial resolution of 10 m and a temporal resolution of 1 d, combined with the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach (CASA) and light‐use efficiency model to achieve summer maize (Zea mays L.) yield estimation. The results showed that the fused normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) could inherit the spatial Sentinel‐2A NDVI details and express the spatial differences between smaller features more effectively. The STNLFFM NDVI curve was consistent with the actual summer maize growth condition, which accurately reflects the NDVI trend and local abrupt change information during the summer maize growth period. Moreover, the fused NDVI was influenced by topographic differences and artificial irrigation factors, whereas the summer maize yield in mountainous and plateau areas of the Yuncheng Basin was <5,000 kg ha−1 and those in the alluvial plain of the Sushui River reached 8,000 kg ha−1. The accuracy of the yield estimation model constructed based on STNLFFM NDVI (mean absolute percentage error [MAPE] = 5.47%, −13.74% ≤ relative error [RE] ≤0.12%) was significantly higher than that of the model based on MODIS NDVI (MAPE = 15.65%, −19.67% ≤ RE ≤ 20.88%), indicating that the use of spatio‐temporal fusion technology can effectively improve the summer maize yield estimation accuracy.

농경지 수재해 선제적 대응을 위한 공간정보기반 시뮬레이션 활용 연구

Due to global warming and changes in the natural environment, flood damage to agricultural land due to wind and flood damage continues. Although disaster prevention projects have been continuously carried out since the founding of the country, progress has been insufficient compared to the sustained period, and huge costs are still being consumed. Therefore, it is necessary to use predictive simulation for pre-emptive response to inundation of farmland. In this paper, a case of immersion analysis simulation using a GIS(Geospatial Information System) based SWMM model was introduced, and the validity was confirmed through the error rate between our simulation result and the results of other models in the US and Korea. In addition, in the direction of using the simulation for agricultural land inundation, we presented various utilization methods to supplement the current agricultural land inundation-based information policy, such as the creation of flood traces. If simulation results from more regions are accumulated in the form of the flood analysis maps in the future, it is expected that they will be able to be utilized in various applications for preemptive response to and prevention of water disasters at the national level.

Water resources availability in southern Europe at the basin scale in response to climate change scenarios

BackgroundClimate and the hydrological cycle are closely linked; therefore, in the most likely scenarios of climate change, the increase in temperature may influence the expected variation in precipitation variation but will also have a major impact on the availability of water resources in the world in general and in southern Europe in particular. As a case study, it was applied to a western Mediterranean basin altered since antiquity. For this study, the medium and long-term water resources were assessed. The known method Soil Moisture Accounting (SMA) has been used. Mainly because due to its great hydrological relevance in mountainous areas, the accumulation and melting of snow. The aim of this research to assess the evolution of runoff distribution and its impact on available water resources under different climate change scenarios.ResultsIt was observed clearly a decreasing of precipitation and evapotranspiration and otherwise an increasing of temperature. The major climatic effect is that at present, runoff is already much lower than that predicted in the different basin hydrological policy. Specifically for the studied basin, the available resources are expected to decrease by 50% with respect to the current ones, affecting mainly the current agricultural land uses, which should be reconsidered in the medium term.ConclusionsIt can be concluded that surface water use policy was calculated with climatic assumptions that are no longer met. Consequently, this research reveals the usefulness of basin-scale climate studies in southern Europe to determine the water resources availability in the near future.

Albedo impacts of current agricultural land use: Crop-specific albedo from MODIS data and inclusion in LCA of crop production

Agricultural land use and management practices affect the global climate due to greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes and changes in land surface properties. Increased albedo has the potential to counteract the radiative forcing and warming effect of emitted GHGs. Thus considering albedo could be important to evaluate and improve agricultural systems in light of climate change, but the albedo of individual practices is usually not known. This study quantified the albedo of individual crops under regional conditions, and evaluated the importance of albedo change for the climate impact of current crop production using life cycle assessment (LCA). Seven major crops in southern Sweden were assessed relative to a land reference without cultivation, represented by semi-natural grassland. Crop-specific albedo data were obtained from a MODIS product (MCD43A1 v6), by combining its spatial response pattern with geodata on agricultural land use 2011–2020. Fluxes of GHGs were estimated using regional data and models, including production of inputs, field operations, and soil nitrogen and carbon balances. Ten-year mean albedo was 6–11% higher under the different crops than under the reference. Crop-specific albedo varied between years due to weather fluctuations, but differences between crops were largely consistent. Increased albedo countered the GHG impact from production of inputs and field operations by 17–47% measured in GWP100, and the total climate impact was warming. Using a time-dependent metric, all crops had a net cooling impact on global mean surface temperature on shorter timescales due to albedo (3–12 years under different crops), but a net warming impact on longer timescales due to GHG emissions. The methods and data presented in this study could support increasingly comprehensive assessments of agricultural systems. Further research is needed to integrate climatic effects of land use on different spatial and temporal scales, and direct and indirect consequences from a systems perspective.

Existing land uses constrain climate change mitigation potential of forest restoration in India

AbstractMany countries have made ambitious pledges to increase forest areas to mitigate climate change. However, the availability of land to meet these goals is not well understood. Global studies indicate substantial potential, but do not account for local land‐use and regional variation, crucial for policy making. Using India as a case study, we use a machine learning framework to define the bioclimatic envelope of forest cover and map this against current land‐uses with varying suitability for restoration. We estimate the additional feasible area for restoration to be only 1.58 Mha, cumulatively sequestering 61.3 TgC, which is substantially less than estimates derived from global studies. However, we also find up to 14.67 Mha of opportunity for agroforestry in current agricultural land, delivering up to 98.1 TgC nationally. In the UN Decade of Restoration, we recommend developing forest restoration strategies that are compatible with existing land‐uses, such as agroforestry, especially in countries that have large smallholder agriculture holdings.

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights 2021-2022

Introduction The Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights 2021-2022 report represents the 44th edition of the annual series. These reports provide an important insight on agricultural land market dynamics for stakeholders across Nebraska. In today’s market, where market transactions exceeding $1 million dollars are the norm, objective market information and analysis is more critical than ever. The focus of the report continues to be on providing unbiased information for agricultural land values and rental rates so industry participants can make educated and informed decisions. This year, the February 2022 survey of nearly 188 expert panel members from across the state provided current information and insight regarding the agricultural land market conditions in their areas. The panel members have been selected on the basis of being actively engaged in agricultural land markets as certified agricultural appraisers, professional farm managers, agricultural lenders primarily focused on agricultural land transactions, and other professionals engaged in the Nebraska agricultural land industry due to the inherit nature of their positions. The majority of panelists participating in the survey have reported annually for a considerable number of years, which provides valuable historical consistency and context to the agricultural land values and rental rates provided. Based on their knowledge of market activity, reporters provide point-in-time estimates of current agricultural land values and cash rental rates for a variety of land types and classes. Comparing these current measures against previous years’ results provides important trend analysis. The appendix in this report includes: the historical UNL data series for Nebraska agricultural land values dating back to 1978, the agricultural cash rental rate series dating back to 1981, and the USDA historical all-land value series. In addition to the point-in-time estimates, panel members provide details regarding actual sales transactions which have occurred over the previous 12 months. This year, the panel provided information on 734 sales that were considered representative of the recent agricultural land market. This gives insight into the characteristics of recent sales as well as benchmark indicators for studying trends. Changes in the nature of market participants engaged in land transactions from year to year may also be ascertained from evaluating this information.

Effects of paludiculture products on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural peatlands

Drained peatlands are a large emission source and a shift to paludiculture (rewetting and cultivation of wet-tolerant plants) is emerging as a potential emission reduction measure. Paludiculture can potentially results in emission savings from direct emissions, product substitution and carbon storage, but the whole life cycle climate impacts are rarely studied. In this study, we evaluated two paludiculture product systems (cattail (Typha) construction board and common reed (Phragmites) horticultural vermicompost) with cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) applied global sensitivity analysis to identify, which parts of the product system would need more research and product development to ensure net emission savings. Based on the results, both product systems result in much lower emissions than current agricultural land use and may be net greenhouse gas sinks (average − 6.0 tCO2eq ha−1 for cattail board; −3.0 tCO2eq ha−1 for reed growing media). The uncertainty in the product life cycle is concentrated to a few key processes: the direct CO2 and CH4 emissions from paludiculture, construction board additives, and CH4 emissions from vermicomposting reed. Further research to these would minimize the uncertainty and help in maximizing the climate mitigation potential of paludiculture derived products.

Integral analysis of environmental and economic performance of combined agricultural intensification & bioenergy production in the Orinoquia region

Agricultural intensification is a key strategy to help meet increasing demand for food and bioenergy. It has the potential to reduce direct and indirect land use change (LUC) and associated environmental impacts while contributing to a favorable economic performance of the agriculture sector. We conduct an integral analysis of environmental and economic impacts of LUC from projected agricultural intensification and bioenergy production in the Orinoquia region in 2030. We compare three agricultural intensification scenarios (low, medium, high) and a reference scenario, which assumes a business-as-usual development of agricultural production. The results show that with current inefficient management or with only very little intensification between 26% and 93% of the existing natural vegetation areas will be converted to agricultural land to meet increasing food demand. This results in the loss of biodiversity by 53% and increased water consumption by 111%. In the medium and high scenarios, the intensification allows meeting increased food demand within current agricultural lands and even generating surplus land which can be used to produce bioenergy crops. This results in the reduction of biodiversity loss by 8–13% with medium and high levels of intensification compared to the situation in 2018. Also, a positive economic performance is observed, stemming primarily from intensification of cattle production and additional energy crop production. Despite increasing irrigation efficiency in more intensive production systems, the water demand for perennial crops and cattle production over the dry season increases significantly, thus sustainable management practices that target efficient water use are needed. Agricultural productivity improvements, particularly for cattle production, are crucial for reducing the pressure on natural areas from increasing demand for both food products and bioenergy. This implies targeted investments in the agricultural sector and integrated planning of land use. Our results showed that production intensification in the Orinoquia region is a mechanism that could reduce the pressure on natural land and its associated environmental and economic impacts.

Agricultural land use and population growth in Nigeria. The need for synergy for a sustainable agricultural production

The study examined the relationship between agricultural land use and population growth rates from 1961 to 2018 in Nigeria. Secondary data were obtained from Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Bank. Descriptive statistics, trend equation and correlation analyses were used. Findings revealed that agricultural and arable land utilization grew at the rate of 0.62% and 0.72%, respectively per annum; while the total population growth rate stood at 2.57%. Also, urban and rural population grew at a rate of 4.75% and 1.67% respectively. In addition, the agricultural and arable land utilization rates had significant positive correlations with the total population, urban and rural population. Besides, the findings revealed that, agricultural land (to total land ratio) has continued to increase and currently averaged at 68.78% indicating massive land expansion put under agricultural used. Findings revealed that, most arable crop outputs increase majorly from land expansion rather than land productivity, a situation that cannot assure sustainable agricultural land use food security in a near future. Hence, the country needs agricultural land sparing policies and technologies to slow the current agricultural land expansion drive. Besides, the country’s agricultural land policies should focus on achieving land productivity and sustainable land-sharing strategies among major land users in the country. Again, the rural population growth rate is lower than the urban growth rate, implying that, the rural population is deteriorating with its probable negative effect on farm labour. This needs to be addressed urgently if the sustainable agricultural system is to be achieved in the near future in Nigeria.

Characterization of producers of Ejido San Luis Huexotla and relationship with socioeconomic structure and agricultural production

Objective: To characterize the Ejido agricultural producers relating to their environment and socioeconomic structure in Ejido San Luis Huexotla, Texcoco, state of México, Mexico. Design / Methodology / Approach: This research joined qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Also, a survey was used and applied to Ejido producers (ejidatarios) of Ejido San Luis Huexotla. To obtain the sample size, total universe of 181 ejidatarios was used; and survey was applied to 50 of them, representing 30% of the population. Results: The main problems were identified that have changed land uses and ownership in the Ejido. Variables were found, as aging and primary economic activities that are decisive in order to know the current status of the Ejido area; its spatial transformation, and general conditions of Ejido San Luis Huexotla. Limitations of the study: Although we are referring to an agricultural area with irrigation systems, diverse causes and socioeconomic factors or even external factors have conditioned the agricultural activity of the Ejido system. Findings / Conclusions: Applying a survey to ejidatarios was decisive to observe the conditions in which the Ejido is being managed; and to assess vulnerability to external events that have transformed the actions at the Ejido; as well as their socioeconomic relationships facing the inevitable de-peasant process (less owners are rural farmers by the day) in current Mexican agricultural lands.

Hydrogeomorphology Influences Swamp Rabbit Habitat Selection in Bottomland Hardwood Forests

ABSTRACTIn the last century, bottomland hardwood (BLH) forests throughout the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley in the United States declined >80% and have been degraded because of habitat loss, fragmentation, and altered hydrology. To better understand how current conditions in BLH forest systems influence wildlife and to better manage land use and vegetation, we characterized winter (Dec–Mar) multi‐scale habitat selection of 75 radio‐marked swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) based on 850 locations in southern Illinois, USA, during 2010–2016. We investigated habitat selection by fitting resource selection functions with generalized linear mixed models based on Euclidean distances (km) to 8 cover types that described hydrogeomorphic conditions. At the second‐order scale of selection (home range selection), swamp rabbits were closer to deciduous forest and low‐elevation BLH and farther from agriculture, permanent water, shallow BLH, and woody wetland. At the third‐order scale of selection (habitat selection within the home range), swamp rabbits selected areas closer to deciduous forest, low BLH, and shallow BLH, and farther from woody wetlands. For the swamp rabbit in Illinois, a BLH specialist at the northern extent of their range, habitat selection is limited to available terrestrial habitat that provides vegetation for food and hiding cover within linear and flood‐prone BLH corridors surrounded by agricultural cover types that are largely unsuitable as habitat. Because hydrologic conditions are spatially and temporally dynamic, wildlife managers should focus on providing diverse habitat conditions across elevations that ensure the continuous availability of terrestrial habitat regardless of water level and flooding extent across the BLH landscape. Further reforestation efforts in BLH ecosystems should target current agricultural land on higher elevations adjacent to characteristically flood‐prone forest remnants that escaped agricultural clearing due to frequent flooding. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.

Mine Drainage Residual Additions to Lake Sediments Alter Phosphorus and Trace Metal Distributions

A greenhouse microcosm study investigated the impacts of recovered iron oxyhydroxide mine drainage residuals (MDRs) on phosphorus (P) and trace metal distributions at the sediment layer/water column interface in Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees, a large reservoir receiving waters impacted by both historic mining and current agricultural land uses. Each mesocosm included 5 kg of lake sediment and 20 L of on-site groundwater. Three treatments were examined in triplicate: control (C) with no additions, low MDR (LM) with 0.3 kg added MDR, and high MDR (HM) with 0.9 kg added MDR. In the first 10 days, aqueous soluble reactive phosphorous (SRP) concentrations decreased likely due to colonizing biomass uptake with no significant differences among the three treatments. LM and HM treatments showed delayed peaks in dissolved oxygen (DO) and lesser peaks in chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations compared to the C treatment, indicating MDR addition may suppress biomass growth. During days 11 to 138, the C treatment demonstrated increasing pH, decreasing ORP, and biomass decay resulting in significantly increased SRP concentrations. In LM and HM treatments, sufficient P sorption by the MDR maintained low SRP concentrations. Although the MDRs are derived from metal-rich mine waters, all aqueous concentrations were below both hardness-adjusted acute and chronic criteria, except for Pb with regard to the chronic criterion. Metal concentrations in sediments were below the Tri-State Mining District (TSMD)–specific Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs). MDR additions may serve as stable long-term P sinks to prevent P release from dead biomass, decrease internal P cycling rates, and mitigate eutrophication, with limited concern for trace metal release.Graphical

Ecosystem Services in Strategic Environmental Assessment: a Case Study of an Urban Development Plan in Gallipoli City

The growth of urban populations leads to cities and their suburbs to spread, expand, and replace agricultural and natural lands. Indeed, urbanization brings to land-use change, altering the relationship between human societies and environmental resources with loss of important natural and rural ecosystem goods and services. In urban areas, the elements that provide ecosystem services are defined as ‘green infrastructure’. The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is an appraisal process introduced in the EU regulation with Directive 2001/42/CE to assess the effect of the Plans and Programmes on the environment and human well-being. An important part of SEA processes is represented by the analysis of different scenarios of the urban development with mitigation measures: actions must be implemented in order to avoid and reduce the expected adverse environmental impacts. Currently, among these measures, few or none takes into consideration the assessment of ecosystem services, and therefore, the concept of ecosystem services in urban planning is purely conceptual than practical. Starting from a case study in the Gallipoli municipality, South Italy, we propose a methodological analysis to evaluate ecosystem services in a SEA process. In particular, we have analyzed different urban scenarios in synergy with the mitigation measures proposed. The results show a decrease in ecosystem services passing from the current agricultural land use to an urban development forecast with the enhancement of ecosystem services if we apply specific mitigation actions to the original urban plan. Authors believe that a correct and profitable assessment of ecosystem services in SEA strategy allows passing from an approach mainly oriented towards a conservation purpose to an approach aimed also to the improvement of ecosystem services within the territory transformation processes. In accordance with the spontaneous vegetation and the typical crops of the area, the mitigation measures developed are mainly focalized on green infrastructures that can increase the ecological functions.

Geospatial supply-demand modeling of lignocellulosic biomass for electricity and biofuels in the European Union

Bioenergy can contribute to achieving European Union (EU) climate targets while mitigating impacts from current agricultural land use. A GIS-based modeling framework (1000 m resolution) is employed to match biomass supply (forest and agricultural residues, complemented by lignocellulosic energy crops where needed) with biomass demand for either electricity or bio-oil production on sites currently used for coal power in the EU-28, Norway, and Switzerland. The framework matches supply and demand based on minimizing the field-to-gate costs and is used to provide geographically explicit information on (i) plant-gate supply cost; (ii) CO2 savings; and (iii) potential mitigation opportunities for soil erosion, flooding, and eutrophication resulting from the introduction of energy crops on cropland.Converting all suitable coal power plants to biomass and assuming that biomass is sourced within a transport distance of 300 km, would produce an estimated 150 TW h biomass-derived electricity, using 1365 PJ biomass, including biomass from energy crops grown on 6 Mha. Using all existing coal power sites for bio-oil production in 100-MW pyrolysis units could produce 820 PJ of bio-oil, using 1260 PJ biomass, including biomass from energy crops grown on 1.8 Mha. Using biomass to generate electricity would correspond to an emissions reduction of 135 MtCO2, while using biomass to produce bio-oil to substitute for crude oil would correspond to a reduction of 59 MtCO2. In addition, energy crops can have a positive effect on soil organic carbon in most of the analyzed countries. The mitigation opportunities investigated range from marginal to high depending on location.

Agricultural Land Use of Ukraine: State and Directions of Modernization

The article examines the features of the current agricultural land use in Ukraine, highlights its problems, and identifies possible ways to solve them. The purpose of the study was to highlight the state of agricultural land use in Ukraine, identify existing problems, and justify the areas and measures for its improvement. The article used the methods of economic analysis, a statistical, comparative, and systematic approach, as well as the methods of grouping and graphical interpretation of the identified patterns. The structure of agricultural lands by types as of the beginning of 2020 is analyzed in terms of administrative regions and its features are determined; Ukraine’s place in the world exports of the most important types of plant products is highlighted. The actual value of the sown areas, gross harvests and yields of the major crops in the regions of Ukraine were studied, the regions were grouped according to these characteristics, and the existing level of yields of the studied crops in Ukraine was compared with the TOP-20 European countries. The groups of regions in which it is expedient to increase the production of wheat, sunflower, ray, corn for grain, and sugar beet are outlined. The main ecological problems are outlined, in particular that of the scale of erosion processes and losses of humus in the arable lands of Ukraine, and possible ways of their solution are offered. The level of normative-monetary assessment of agricultural lands by types is characterized in terms of regions, and the degree of lag of the value of arable lands of Ukraine in comparison with the states of Western Europe is shown. The expediency and measures due to which the value of lands may increase, in particular due to the acceleration of market factors and the modernization of the mechanism of state regulation at all stages of agricultural land reform, are justified. JEL classification: М645 Manuscript received 30.04.2020