Roadmap for Valuing Soil Ecosystem Services to Inform Multi-Level Decision-Making in Agriculture

Brady, Mark; Hristov, Jordan; Wilhelmsson, Fredrik; Hedlund, Katarina

doi:10.3390/su11195285

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Only one study in our database considered dynamic variables (time scale); in this instance, to measure flood mitigation and C stock [ 48 ]. It is highlighted that out with the studies included in the database, several publications focused upon the temperate region, considered SES assessment using models (static and dynamic variables), for example: modelling soil ecosystem services (MOSES) [ 52 ], soil carbon, aggregation, structure turnover (CAST) (used for the SoilTrEC project [ 53 , 54 ]) and AgriPolis [ 55 , 56 ]. Given this combined approach, we believe it is essential that future studies that seek to assess SES in tropical regions consider both static and dynamic variables.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic review of soil ecosystem services in tropical regions

et al. 2021

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Soil ecosystem service (SES) approaches evidence the importance of soil for human well-being, contribute to improving dialogue between science and decision-making and encourage the translation of scientific results into public policies. Herein, through systematic review, we assess the state of the art of SES approaches in tropical regions. Through this review, 41 publications were identified; while most of these studies considered SES, a lack of a consistent framework to define SES was apparent. Most studies measured soil natural capital and processes, while only three studies undertook monetary valuation. Although the number of publications increased (from 1 to 41), between 2001 and 2019, the total number of publications for tropical regions is still small. Countries with the largest number of publications were Brazil ( n = 8), Colombia ( n = 6) and Mexico ( n = 4). This observation emphasizes an important knowledge gap pertaining to SES approaches and their link to tropical regions. With global momentum behind SES approaches, there is an opportunity to integrate SES approaches into policy and practice in tropical regions. The use of SES evaluation tools in tropical regions could transform how land use decisions are informed, mitigating soil degradation and protecting the ecosystems that soil underpins.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic review of soil ecosystem services in tropical regions

et al. 2021

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“…Increasing requirements to demonstrate outcomes of land management practices in EU and UK agri-environment funding schemes, together with interest in environmental research domains in these data, create some incentives for making these data FAIR as they are used or reused in the public sphere. This is particularly the case for precision agricultural data on soil conditions, as the soil has been argued to be a communal or national resource [136]. Increasing the deposit of these data under licences permitting non-commercial use would constitute an impactful first step toward realising the potential for cross-domain data sharing.…”

Section: Data Management Governance and Infrastructuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practicing Critical Zone Observation in Agricultural Landscapes: Communities, Technology, Environment and Archaeology

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Smedt

Mayoral-Herrera

et al. 2023

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The aims of agricultural land management change continuously, reflecting shifts in wider societal priorities. Currently, these include addressing the climate crisis, promoting environmental sustainability, and supporting the livelihoods of rural communities while ensuring food security. Working toward these aims requires information on the character of agricultural land and how dynamic processes influence it. Remote and near-surface sensing data are important sources of information on the characteristics of soils, plants, water, topography, and related processes. Sensing data are collected, analysed, and used in decision-making by specialists in multiple domains connected to land management. While progress has been made to connect the use of sensing data across agricultural and environmental applications under the umbrella of integrated sustainable land management, archaeological and heritage uses of these data remain largely disconnected. This creates barriers to accounting for the impacts of past human activities on contemporary agricultural landscapes through the alteration of soils, topography, and plant communities. In parallel, it hinders the creation of knowledge about the archaeological features which form an essential part of the heritage of agricultural landscapes. The ipaast-czo project explores the potential of a coordinated approach across all these domains, which would reduce these barriers and provide benefits by better integrating information generated using sensing. To do so, both conceptual and practical barriers to developing shared practices and how these might be overcome were considered. In this study, a conceptual framework designed to create a shared understanding of how agricultural landscapes work and enable collaboration around their management was proposed. This framework treats present-day rural agricultural landscapes as Critical Zones: complex entities shaped by long-term human–environment interactions including contemporary farming. Practitioners in precision agriculture and archaeological remote and near-surface sensing, as well as users of these data, were engaged using workshops and interviews. The relationships between practitioners’ objectives, data requirements for their applications, and their perceptions of the benefits and disadvantages of changing working practices were interrogated. The conceptual framework and assessment of practical benefits and challenges emerging from this work provide a foundation for leveraging shared sensing data and methods for long-term integrated sustainable land management.

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“…Carbon farming (box 1) describes the holistic approach of using agricultural methods to reduce or offset GHG emission from agriculture; through the capture and storage of carbon in soils and vegetation [92]. Increasing the carbon stock of soils, on a global scale, has an estimated sequestration potential of 3.4-5 Gt C yr −1 [42,66,93].…”

Section: Re-carbonization Of Soilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Capturing a soil carbon economy

et al. 2021

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Current carbon pricing and trading mechanisms, despite their efficacy in reducing GHG emissions from industry, will not be sufficient to achieve Net Zero targets. Current mechanisms that redress emissions are largely economic disincentives , in effect financial penalties for emitters. In order to attain Net Zero futures, financial incentives for activities that sequester carbon from the atmosphere are needed. Herein, we present the environmental and economic co-benefits of soil re-carbonization and justify support for soil carbon remuneration. With increasing momentum to develop green economies, and projected increases in carbon price, growth in the global carbon market is inevitable. The establishment of a soil-based carbon economy, within this emerging financial space, has the potential to deliver a paradigm shift that will accelerate climate change mitigation, and concurrently realize net gains for soil health and the delivery of soil ecosystem services. Pivotal to the emergence of a global soil carbon economy will be a consensus on certification instruments used for long-term soil carbon storage, and the development of robust institutional agreements and processes to facilitate soil carbon trading.

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Roadmap for Valuing Soil Ecosystem Services to Inform Multi-Level Decision-Making in Agriculture

Cited by 14 publications

References 65 publications

Systematic review of soil ecosystem services in tropical regions

Systematic review of soil ecosystem services in tropical regions

Practicing Critical Zone Observation in Agricultural Landscapes: Communities, Technology, Environment and Archaeology

Capturing a soil carbon economy

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