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Comparative Energy-Landscape Integrated Analysis (ELIA) of past and present agroecosystems in North America and Europe from the 1830s to the 2010s

Title of the magazine or publication: 
Agricultural Systems

Volume: 
175

Authors:

  • Joan Marull (Institut Metròpoli)
  • Claudio Cattaneo (Masaryk University)
  • Simone Gingrich (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences)
  • Manuel González de Molina (Universidad Pablo de Olavide)
  • Gloria Guzmán (Universidad Pablo de Olavide)
  • Andrew Watson (University of Saskatchewan)
  • Joshua MacFadyen ( University of Prince Edward Island)
  • Manel Pons Sanvidal (Institut Metròpoli)
  • Enric Tello (Universitat de Barcelona)

[*] Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Publication date:
2019

Resume:

Along the last century there has been an unprecedented growth in both global food production and related socioecological impacts. The objective of this paper is to analyse the effects of long-term metabolic patterns of agrarian systems on land use and cover changes (LUCC). We have developed an Energy-Landscape Integrated Analysis (ELIA) of agroecosystems to measure the energy storage (E) and the information (I) represented by the complexity of internal energy cycles, in order to correlate both with the energy imprint in the landscape functional-structure (L) that sustains biodiversity. ELIA values are used to assess the agro-ecological landscape transitions in different case studies analysed in North America (Canada and USA) and Europe (Austria and Spain), demonstrating their sensitivity and robustness for case study comparisons on farm-driven environmental change. The results show two stages of the socio-metabolic transition: a first period (from 1830 to 1956) characterized by a non-significant decrease in energy reinvestment (E) and a decrease in energy redistribution (I); and a second period (from 1956 to 2000) with a significant loss of E·I optimal values and associated landscape patterns (L). To overcome the socioecological degradation that these trends implied requires a low external input strategy based on an innovative enhancement of cultural knowledge kept by rural populations, which may help to empower farm communities in the markets and in the public arena. Further research could help to reveal how and why different strategies of agroecosystem management lead to key turning points in the relationship between energy flows, landscape functioning and biodiversity. This research will be very useful for public policies aimed to promote more climate and socioecological resilience of agricultural landscapes and food systems worldwide.

DOI:
10.1016/j.agsy.2019.05.011

Read the article Comparative Energy-Landscape Integrated Analysis (ELIA) of past and present agroecosystems in North America and Europe from the 1830s to the 2010s

How to cite this publication?

Cattaneo, C. [Claudio]; Gingrich, S. [Simone]; González de Molina, M. [Manuel]; Guzmán, G. [Gloria]; Watson, A. [Andrew]; MacFadyen, J. [Joshua]; Tello, E. [Enric]; Marull, J. [Joan]; Pons Sanvidal, M. [Manel]. (2019). Comparative Energy-Landscape Integrated Analysis (ELIA) of past and present agroecosystems in North America and Europe from the 1830s to the 2010s. Agricultural Systems, 175, .https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2019.05.011
https://www.institutmetropoli.cat/en/articles-a-revistes/comparative-energy-landscape-integrated-analysis-elia-of-past-and-present-agroecosystems-in-north-america-and-europe-from-the-1830s-to-the-2010s-3/