MODELLING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TRADE-OFFS IN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS

The document argues that agricultural management is overly driven by food production, leading to a decline in the ecosystems it depends on. It advocates for an ecosystem-based approach to food security and introduces semantic meta-modelling as a tool to integrate various models and quantify trade-offs between crop yields and regulating services like water quality and climate regulation. Using a case study in the Basque Country, the authors demonstrate that informed farming practices, such as adjusting manure application and reducing tillage, can significantly reduce emissions and nitrate leaching without necessarily compromising winter wheat yields.

• Global agricultural expansion is a primary driver of environmental change, contributing to 19%-29% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, mainly through nitrous oxide and methane.
• Since 1960, global water withdrawals from lakes and rivers have doubled, with nearly 70% of that water used for irrigation.
• The study utilizes semantic meta-modelling to overcome traditional service-by-service modelling, allowing for an integrated assessment of trade-offs between crop production, water quality, air quality, and climate regulation.
• In the Llanada Alavesa case study, manure usage, soil type, and precipitation were identified as the most influential inputs affecting model outputs, with manure usage having a 62% normalized rate of influence on crop yield.
• Simulations comparing historical data from 1997 and 2007 show that maximum manure usage combined with favorable environmental conditions increased wheat yield by 20% and estimated an emissions reduction of approximately 400-500 Kg CO2e/(ha*year).
• Transitioning from conventional tillage to limited or non-tillage farming can increase soil carbon sequestration and significantly reduce nitrate leaching concentration without causing significant reductions in winter wheat yield.

APA

Pérez-Miñana, E., del Prado, A., Gallejones, P., Pardo, G., Balbi, S., & Villa, F. (2015). MODELLING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TRADE-OFFS IN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS. Basque Centre for Climate Change. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20150506035156184249414.pdf

Chicago

Pérez-Miñana, Elena, Agustin del Prado, Patricia Gallejones, Guillermo Pardo, Stefano Balbi, and Ferdinando Villa. MODELLING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TRADE-OFFS IN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS. Basque Centre for Climate Change, 2015. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20150506035156184249414.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pérez-Miñana |first1=Elena |last2=del Prado |first2=Agustin |last3=Gallejones |first3=Patricia |last4=Pardo |first4=Guillermo |last5=Balbi |first5=Stefano |last6=Villa |first6=Ferdinando |title=MODELLING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TRADE-OFFS IN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS |publisher=Basque Centre for Climate Change |date=2015 |url=https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20150506035156184249414.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{prezmiana2015modelling, author = {Pérez-Miñana, Elena and del Prado, Agustin and Gallejones, Patricia and Pardo, Guillermo and Balbi, Stefano and Villa, Ferdinando}, title = {{MODELLING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TRADE-OFFS IN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS}}, institution = {Basque Centre for Climate Change}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20150506035156184249414.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }