Rights statement: This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 81, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.jjag.2019.05.013
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Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Monitoring the Sustainable Intensification of Arable Agriculture
T2 - the Potential Role of Earth Observation
AU - Hunt, Merryn
AU - Blackburn, Alan
AU - Rowland, Clare S.
N1 - This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 81, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.jjag.2019.05.013
PY - 2019/9/1
Y1 - 2019/9/1
N2 - Sustainable intensification (SI) has been proposed as a possible solution to the conflicting problems of meeting projected increases in food demand and preserving environmental quality. SI would provide necessary production increases while simultaneously reducing or eliminating environmental degradation, without taking land from competing demands. An important component of achieving these aims is the development of suitable methods for assessing the temporal variability of both the intensification and sustainability of agriculture. Current assessments rely on traditional data collection methods that produce data of limited spatial and temporal resolution. Earth Observation (EO) provides a readily accessible, long-term dataset with global coverage at various spatial and temporal resolutions. In this paper we demonstrate how EO could significantly contribute to SI assessments, providing opportunities to quantify agricultural intensity and environmental sustainability. We review an extensive body of research on EO-based methods to assess multiple indicators of both agricultural intensity and environmental sustainability. To date these techniques have not been combined to assess SI; here we identify the opportunities and initial steps required to achieve this. In this context, we propose the development of a set of essential sustainable intensification variables (ESIVs) that could be derived from EO data.
AB - Sustainable intensification (SI) has been proposed as a possible solution to the conflicting problems of meeting projected increases in food demand and preserving environmental quality. SI would provide necessary production increases while simultaneously reducing or eliminating environmental degradation, without taking land from competing demands. An important component of achieving these aims is the development of suitable methods for assessing the temporal variability of both the intensification and sustainability of agriculture. Current assessments rely on traditional data collection methods that produce data of limited spatial and temporal resolution. Earth Observation (EO) provides a readily accessible, long-term dataset with global coverage at various spatial and temporal resolutions. In this paper we demonstrate how EO could significantly contribute to SI assessments, providing opportunities to quantify agricultural intensity and environmental sustainability. We review an extensive body of research on EO-based methods to assess multiple indicators of both agricultural intensity and environmental sustainability. To date these techniques have not been combined to assess SI; here we identify the opportunities and initial steps required to achieve this. In this context, we propose the development of a set of essential sustainable intensification variables (ESIVs) that could be derived from EO data.
KW - Sustainable intensification assessment
KW - Earth Observation
KW - agricultural intensity indicators
KW - environmental sustainability indicators
KW - crop yield
KW - vegetation health
KW - soil quality
KW - water quality
KW - biodiversity
KW - ecosystem health
U2 - 10.1016/j.jag.2019.05.013
DO - 10.1016/j.jag.2019.05.013
M3 - Journal article
VL - 81
SP - 125
EP - 136
JO - International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation
JF - International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation
SN - 0303-2434
ER -