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Modelling and valuing the environmental impacts of arable, forestry and agroforestry systems: a case study
- Source :
- Agroforestry Systems. 92:1059-1073
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2017.
-
Abstract
- The use of land for intensive arable production in Europe is associated with a range of externalities that typically impose costs on third parties. The introduction of trees in arable systems can potentially be used to reduce these costs. This paper assesses the profitability and environmental externalities of a silvoarable agroforestry system, and compares this with the profitability and environmental externalities from an arable system and a forestry system. A silvoarable experimental plot of poplar trees planted in 1992 in Bedfordshire, Eastern England, was used as a case study. The Yield-SAFE model was used to simulate the growth and yields of the silvoarable, arable, and forestry land uses along with the associated environmental externalities, including carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions, nitrogen and phosphorus surplus, and soil erosion losses by water. The Farm-SAFE model was then used to quantify the monetary value of these effects. The study assesses both the financial profitability from a farmer perspective and the economic benefit from a societal perspective. The arable option was the most financially profitable system followed by the silvoarable system and forestry. However, when the environmental externalities were included, silvoarable agroforestry provided the greatest benefit. This suggests that the appropriate integration of trees in arable land can provide greater well-being benefits to society overall, than arable farming without trees, or forestry systems on their own.
- Subjects :
- 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
010501 environmental sciences
Carbon sequestration
01 natural sciences
12. Responsible consumption
Economics
Farm-SAFE
Profitability
Externality
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Valuation (finance)
2. Zero hunger
Silvoarable
Land use
Yield-SAFE
Agroforestry
business.industry
Forestry
15. Life on land
Valuation
13. Climate action
Agriculture
Greenhouse gas
Profitability index
Arable land
business
Agronomy and Crop Science
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15729680 and 01674366
- Volume :
- 92
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Agroforestry Systems
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....08e13844b8f453cafc5e6dde76b9a3e9