IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i5p2726-d509770.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Portfolio of Effective Water and Soil Conservation Practices for Arable Production Systems in Europe and North Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Tshering Choden

    (Dutch International Business Development Cooperative, Bornsesteeg 28B, 6708 PE Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Bhim Bahadur Ghaley

    (Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Højbakkegård Alle 30, 2630 Taastrup, Denmark)

Abstract

To secure sustainable food production for meeting the growing global demand for food, it is imperative, while at the same time challenging, to make efficient use of natural resources with minimal impact on the environment. The study objective is to provide insights into the multiple benefits and trade-offs of different sustainable agricultural practices that are relevant across pedo-climatic zones in Europe and North Africa, including conservation agriculture, crop diversification, organic agriculture, and agroforestry. Widespread adoption of these practices in specific regions depends on the effectiveness with which their applications and attributes are communicated to farmers, and their suitability to local conditions and opportunities. Scale impacts of the practices range from field to catchment levels, but the best empirical evidence has been generated at field level in on-farm and experimental trials. The outcomes from the application of each of these practices depend on variables specific to each site, including pedo-climatic zone, geography, weather, ecology, culture, and traditions. Each practice has trade-offs and the same practice can have different effects when compared to conventional agriculture. To make site-specific recommendations, a careful assessment of overall benefits must be made. Adoption can be stimulated when farmers have the opportunity to experiment on their own land and discover the advantages and disadvantages of different practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Tshering Choden & Bhim Bahadur Ghaley, 2021. "A Portfolio of Effective Water and Soil Conservation Practices for Arable Production Systems in Europe and North Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:5:p:2726-:d:509770
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2726/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2726/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Evelien M. De Olde & Frank W. Oudshoorn & Eddie A. M. Bokkers & Anke Stubsgaard & Claus A. G. Sørensen & Imke J. M. De Boer, 2016. "Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Organic Farms in Denmark," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-20, September.
    2. Paul L. G. Vlek & Asia Khamzina & Hossein Azadi & Anik Bhaduri & Luna Bharati & Ademola Braimoh & Christopher Martius & Terry Sunderland & Fatemeh Taheri, 2017. "Trade-Offs in Multi-Purpose Land Use under Land Degradation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Valeria Piñeiro & Joaquín Arias & Jochen Dürr & Pablo Elverdin & Ana María Ibáñez & Alison Kinengyere & Cristian Morales Opazo & Nkechi Owoo & Jessica R. Page & Steven D. Prager & Maximo Torero, 2020. "A scoping review on incentives for adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and their outcomes," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(10), pages 809-820, October.
    4. Yin, Wen & Chai, Qiang & Zhao, Cai & Yu, Aizhong & Fan, Zhilong & Hu, Falong & Fan, Hong & Guo, Yao & Coulter, Jeffrey A., 2020. "Water utilization in intercropping: A review," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    5. Deepak K. Ray & James S. Gerber & Graham K. MacDonald & Paul C. West, 2015. "Climate variation explains a third of global crop yield variability," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-9, May.
    6. Sabine Zikeli & Sabine Gruber, 2017. "Reduced Tillage and No-Till in Organic Farming Systems, Germany—Status Quo, Potentials and Challenges," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Bhim Bahadur Ghaley & Teodor Rusu & Taru Sandén & Heide Spiegel & Cristina Menta & Giovanna Visioli & Lilian O’Sullivan & Isabelle Trinsoutrot Gattin & Antonio Delgado & Mark A. Liebig & Dirk Vrebos &, 2018. "Assessment of Benefits of Conservation Agriculture on Soil Functions in Arable Production Systems in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-17, March.
    8. Palma, J. & Graves, A.R. & Burgess, P.J. & van der Werf, W. & Herzog, F., 2007. "Integrating environmental and economic performance to assess modern silvoarable agroforestry in Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 759-767, September.
    9. Jonas F. Weber & Christoph Kunz & Gerassimos G. Peteinatos & Sabine Zikeli & Roland Gerhards, 2017. "Weed Control Using Conventional Tillage, Reduced Tillage, No-Tillage, and Cover Crops in Organic Soybean," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-13, May.
    10. Kevin Parris, 2011. "Impact of Agriculture on Water Pollution in OECD Countries: Recent Trends and Future Prospects," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 33-52, March.
    11. Ana Iglesias & Luis Garrote & Sonia Quiroga & Marta Moneo, 2012. "A regional comparison of the effects of climate change on agricultural crops in Europe," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 112(1), pages 29-46, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Hazem S. Kassem, 2021. "Adoption of Sustainable Water Management Practices among Farmers in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Felicia Cheţan & Teodor Rusu & Cornel Cheţan & Camelia Urdă & Raluca Rezi & Alina Şimon & Ileana Bogdan, 2022. "Influence of Soil Tillage Systems on the Yield and Weeds Infestation in the Soybean Crop," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-13, October.
    2. Maya Sollen-Norrlin & Bhim Bahadur Ghaley & Naomi Laura Jane Rintoul, 2020. "Agroforestry Benefits and Challenges for Adoption in Europe and Beyond," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-21, August.
    3. Nana, Tian & Lu, Fadian, 2013. "Adaptive management decision of agroforestry under timber price risk," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 162-173.
    4. Cao, Juan & Zhang, Zhao & Tao, Fulu & Chen, Yi & Luo, Xiangzhong & Xie, Jun, 2023. "Forecasting global crop yields based on El Nino Southern Oscillation early signals," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    5. Amon-Armah, Frederick & Yiridoe, Emmanuel K. & Hebb, Dale & Jamieson, Rob, 2013. "Nitrogen abatement cost comparison for cropping systems under alternative management choices," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149915, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Phogat, V. & Cox, J.W. & Šimůnek, J., 2018. "Identifying the future water and salinity risks to irrigated viticulture in the Murray-Darling Basin, South Australia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 107-117.
    7. Jeetendra Prakash Aryal & Tek B. Sapkota & Ritika Khurana & Arun Khatri-Chhetri & Dil Bahadur Rahut & M. L. Jat, 2020. "Climate change and agriculture in South Asia: adaptation options in smallholder production systems," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 5045-5075, August.
    8. Rosa Carbonell-Bojollo & Oscar Veroz-Gonzalez & Rafaela Ordoñez-Fernandez & Manuel Moreno-Garcia & Gottlieb Basch & Amir Kassam & Miguel A. Repullo-Ruiberriz de Torres & Emilio J. Gonzalez-Sanchez, 2019. "The Effect of Conservation Agriculture and Environmental Factors on CO 2 Emissions in a Rainfed Crop Rotation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-19, July.
    9. Tianran Ding & Wouter Achten, 2023. "Coupling agent-based modeling with territorial LCA to support agricultural land-use planning," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/359527, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    10. David A. Keiser & Joseph S. Shapiro, 2019. "US Water Pollution Regulation over the Past Half Century: Burning Waters to Crystal Springs?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 51-75, Fall.
    11. Zhao, Xin & Calvin, Katherine & Patel, Pralit & Abigail, Snyder & Wise, Marshall & Waldhoff, Stephanie & Hejazi, Mohamad & Edmonds, James, 2021. "Impacts of interannual climate and biophysical variability on global agriculture markets," Conference papers 333245, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    12. Linnenluecke, Martina K. & Smith, Tom & McKnight, Brent, 2016. "Environmental finance: A research agenda for interdisciplinary finance research," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 124-130.
    13. Tiéfigué Pierrette Coulibaly & Jianguo Du & Daniel Diakité & Olivier Joseph Abban & Elvis Kouakou, 2021. "A Proposed Conceptual Framework on the Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices: The Role of Network Contact Frequency and Institutional Trust," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-12, February.
    14. Janusz Prusiński & Radosław Nowicki, 2020. "Effect of planting density and row spacing on the yielding of soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill)," Plant, Soil and Environment, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 66(12), pages 616-623.
    15. Massamba Diop & Ngonidzashe Chirinda & Adnane Beniaich & Mohamed El Gharous & Khalil El Mejahed, 2022. "Soil and Water Conservation in Africa: State of Play and Potential Role in Tackling Soil Degradation and Building Soil Health in Agricultural Lands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-29, October.
    16. Shahzad, Muhammad Faisal & Abdulai, Awudu, 2020. "Adaptation to extreme weather conditions and farm performance in rural Pakistan," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    17. Yingchun Li & Wei Xiong & Wei Hu & Pam Berry & Hui Ju & Erda Lin & Wen Wang & Kuo Li & Jie Pan, 2015. "Integrated assessment of China’s agricultural vulnerability to climate change: a multi-indicator approach," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 355-366, February.
    18. Tariq Ali & Bo Zhou & David Cleary & Wei Xie, 2022. "The Impact of Climate Change on China and Brazil’s Soybean Trade," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-16, December.
    19. Kamini Yadav & Hatim M. E. Geli, 2021. "Prediction of Crop Yield for New Mexico Based on Climate and Remote Sensing Data for the 1920–2019 Period," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-27, December.
    20. Kukal, M.S. & Irmak, S., 2020. "Impact of irrigation on interannual variability in United States agricultural productivity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:5:p:2726-:d:509770. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.