Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2023
Authors
Narta ElshaniAbstract
Sheep production systems in Norway present complexity in the same way as other systems partaking in the climate challenges. Sustainability of these systems cannot be defined through single-impact indicators; hence a broader range of sustainability dimensions and trade-offs must be assessed. The present research uses the Sustainability Assessment and Monitoring RouTine (SMART): a multi-criteria sustainability assessment based on the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) Guidelines which gathers data on the farms’ performance through 327 indicators across 4 dimensions. Eight sheep farms in Norway were selected for assessment: four low-land coastal farms, and four inland mountain farms. Management practices which support sustainability were identified in all farms: high animal welfare, high number of days of access to pasture for the livestock, no/low use of synthetic chemicals, good water management, and high quality of life for farmers. Management practices which hinder sustainability and key areas for improvement were also identified: increased onfarm energy production, decreased use of externally sourced concentrate feed, and increased farmers’ knowledge about externally sourced inputs. Some differences between the coastal and inland farms were also identified which were related to number of days of access to pasture for livestock, water consumption, participation for farmers in trainings and additional education, and political involvement. Using the SMART-Farm tool aided the process of identifying practices and systematically evaluating them through a global sustainability perspective. Aggregated results from the SMART-Farm assessment indicated a high degree of goal achievement across dimensions. The farms scored on average above 80% on the Environmental Integrity and the Social Well-Being, and lower on the Economic Resilience and the Good Governance dimensions (76% & 71% respectively). To evaluate these results, a qualitative expert elicitation method was employed; this provided insight into shortcomings which were a result of the context-generic approach that the tool has and lack of inclusion of stakeholder participation in indicator selection and aggregation process. These shortcomings are important to consider when interpreting the results of numeral integration assessments which are used for decision-making. However, evaluating these scores was also a valuable outcome in itself since it uncovered knowledge gaps about the topic of sustainability of sheep farming in Norway.
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Gunnhild SøgaardAbstract
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Tatsiana EspevigEditors
John Kemp Maria StrandbergAbstract
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Jian LiuAbstract
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Jian LiuAbstract
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Michel VerheulAbstract
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Michel VerheulAbstract
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Martin Hvarregaard Thorsøe Saskia Keesstra Maarten De Boever Kristina Buchová Frederik Bøe Nádia L. Castanheira Claire Chenu Sophie Cornu Axel Don Julia Fohrafellner Roberta Farina Dario Fornara Maria da Conceição Gonçalves Morten Graversgaard Olivier Heller Erich Inselsbacher Anna Jacobs Sara Mavsar Katharina H. E. Meurer Rok Mihelič Lilian O'Sullivan Mansonia Pulido-Moncada Greet Ruysschaert Michal Sviček Mika Tähtikarhu Silvia Vanino Wieke Vervuurt Sophie Zechmeister-Boltenstern Lars Juhl MunkholmAbstract
Soils are the foundation of agricultural production, ecosystem functioning and human well-being. Bridging soil knowledge gaps and improving the knowledge system is crucial to meet the growing EU soil policy ambitions in the face of climate change and the ongoing trend in soil degradation. The objective of this article is to assess the current state of knowledge, knowledge use and knowledge gaps concerning sustainable soil management in Europe. This study is based on interviews with 791 stakeholders and 254 researchers and on a comprehensive review of >1800 documents carried out under the European Joint Programme on agricultural soils. Despite differences in stakeholder groups, the conclusions are rather consistent and complementary. We identified major knowledge gaps with respect to (1) soil carbon stocks, (2) soil degradation and fertility and (3) strategies for improved soil management. Transcending these three areas, particularly the loss of soil organic carbon, peatland degradation and soil compaction, are most critical, thus, we stress the urgency of developing more models and monitoring programmes on soils. Stakeholders further report that insufficient transfer of existing soil research findings to practitioners is a hindrance to the adoption of sustainable soil management practices. In addition to knowledge production, soil knowledge gaps may be addressed by considering seven recommendations from the stakeholders: (1) raising awareness, (2) strengthening knowledge brokers, (3) improving relevance of research activities and resource allocation for land users, (4) peer-to-peer communication, (5) targeting advice and information, (6) improving knowledge access, and (7) providing incentives. We argue that filling and bridging knowledge gaps should be a priority for policymakers and the insights provided in the article may help prioritise research and dissemination needs enabling a transition to more sustainable soil management in Europe.