Metrics for Agricultural Sustainability

1. Auflage 2027
ISBN: 978-0-415-62712-2
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 288 Seiten, Format (B × H): 174 mm x 246 mm

Reihe: Earthscan Food and Agriculture

Measuring Sustainable Agriculture explores how we define, measure, and apply sustainability in agriculture across diverse temporal and spatial scales.

This comprehensive volume delves into the intricate web of metrics that underpin sustainable farming, offering clarity in a field often clouded by complexity. It examines the foundations of sustainable agriculture, exploring key metrics and frameworks that guide decision-making from local farms to global systems. The book delves into environmental considerations, addressing critical factors such as soil health, water quality, atmospheric impacts, and biodiversity. It also highlights the human dimension of sustainability, focusing on metrics that reflect individual and community well-being. By addressing the challenges of scale, it provides insights into how metrics function across different spatial and temporal boundaries, ensuring their relevance from the farm level to international initiatives. Practical applications are a central focus, with examples of how metrics can be integrated into crop systems, including row crops, specialty crops, and animal agriculture. Real-world case studies from the US, Europe, and Asia illustrate how these metrics are applied to assess risks, identify opportunities, and drive innovation. Examples include soil organic carbon as a measure of soil health, groundwater levels as an indicator of over-withdrawal, and farm worker education as a metric of social prosperity. By integrating these diverse metrics into indices, the book offers a holistic perspective on sustainable agriculture, empowering stakeholders to make informed, impactful decisions.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of sustainable agriculture, sustainability metrics and the sustainability in the food system more broadly.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Professional

Autoren/Hrsg.

Matlock, Marty D.

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Geographie: Sachbuch, Reise
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein Empirische Sozialforschung, Statistik
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Ökologie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften, Biologie: Sachbuch, Naturführer
• Naturwissenschaften Agrarwissenschaften Agrarwissenschaften Nachhaltige Landwirtschaft
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftssektoren & Branchen Primärer Sektor Agrarökonomie, Ernährungswirtschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

PART 1: Metrics and Indices of Sustainability  1. Definitions of Sustainable Agriculture 2. Sustainability Metrics 3. Sustainability Indicators and Indices 4. Frameworks for Sustainability Certification  PART 2: Environmental Metrics  5. Soil Metrics 6. Water Metrics 7. Atmospheric Metrics 8. Biodiversity Metrics  PART 3: Social Metrics  9. Health and Welfare of Workers and Farmers 10. Prosperity of Workers and Farmers 11. Prosperity of Community  PART 4: Scale Considerations for Metrics and Indices  12. Global Scale — GHG Emissions, Soil Erosion, and Land Transformation 13. Ecoregion Scale 14. Watershed Scale 15. Field Scale  PART 5: Metrics for Crop and Livestock Systems  16. Row Crops 17. Specialty Crops 18. Animal Agriculture  PART 6: Measuring and Monitoring Sustainable Agriculture  19. Life Cycle Assessment 20. Agricultural Sustainability Metrics Initiatives 21. Agricultural Sustainability Certification Initiatives 22. The Yield-Price Paradox: Food as a Human Right and Market Commodity

Über Autor(innen)

Marty D. Matlock is a Professor in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas, USA.