1. Agri-environmental indicators and GIS-based models - Instruments to assess sustainability of land use systems on regional level
Karl-Otto Wenkel and Alfred Schultz
Institute for Landscape Systems Analysis
Centre for Agricultural Landscape and
Land Use Research, Müncheberg

2. 3 Exemplary case studies
Outline of presentation
1 Conceptual determination, and thematic and spatial aspects of sustainability
2 Determination of sustainability indicator values using simulation models and spatial data (simulation model - GIS - coupling)
3 Exemplary case studies
 Scenario case study (1): Crane habitat quality
 Scenario case study (2): N leaching effects of
organic farming
4 Conclusions - Research needs
Institute for Landscape Systems Analysis

3. environmental aspects
Conceptual determination of sustainability
 so far no general and uniform understanding of sustainability, but
 sustainability should address:
environmental aspects
economic aspects
social
aspects

4. conceptual and methodological determination of sustainability
Conceptual determination of sustainability
Problem:
conceptual and methodological determination of sustainability
What does it mean?
How can it be operationalized (that is quantitatively determined in order to evaluate and compare)?
[one possible] Solution:
provide information on state and trends of
environment by using indicators
determinate indicator values by monitoring or
simulation

5. agri-environmental indicator:
Definition of agri-environmental indicator
agri-environmental indicator:
agri-environmental indicator is a measure of change, or the risk of change, in resources used or affected by land use systems
...
provides information that can be used to achieve economic, environmental and social goals
current state or future trends of indicator values can be observed, measured or simulated

6. agri-environmental indicators environmental functions social functions
Indicator classes of sustainable land use and indicator examples
sustainability indicators
agri-environmental
indicators
environmental functions
economic functions
 soil fertility
 water availability
 biological integrity
 ...
 available agricultural area
 biological productivity
 inhabitant's income
 ...
habitat availability
for certain plants and animals
habitat availability
for certain plants and animals
social functions
 employment
 recreation value
 landscape scenery
 ...

7.  diversity of landscape elements
Biological integrity - What is actually investigated ?
sustainability indicators
agri-environmental
indicators
 availability of habitats for certain landscape specific plants and animals
 structural properties of landscape (dissection, fragmentation, connectivity, shape, pattern)
 diversity of landscape elements
 development potential of landscape
environmental functions
economic functions
 soil fertility
 water availability
 biological integrity
 ...
 available agricultural area
 biological productivity
 inhabitant's income
 ...
habitat availability
for certain plants and animals
habitat availability
for certain plants and animals
social functions
 employment rate
 recreation value
 landscape scenery
 ...

8. Determination of sustainability - Indicators, monitoring and models
operationalization
by indicators
evaluation by monitoring and/or simulation
indicator monitoring systems
current states
agri-environmental indicators
computer based indicator models
future trends
methodology for integrated sustainability assessment of land use systems

9. Indicator and model based sustainability assessment

10. Sustainability assesssment - Selection and application of models
different indicators and different spatio-temporal resolutions for different hierarchic levels

11. Sustainability assesssment - Hierarchic indicator selection (example)
abiotic indicator
biotic indicator
water quality
habitat quality
landscape level
amount and quality of water in rivers and lakes (river catchment discharge)
general biotic landscape potential (landscape structure indicators, biotopes, biotope patterns and networks, landscape dissections, ...)
ecotope, ecosystem level
amount and quality of ground water in subterranean catchments (regional aquifer)
habitat quality of animals with large area demand within and across ecosystems and biotopes
local level
ground water levels in damp ecosystems; ground water recharge and nitrate concentration
habitat quality of animals with small area demand within specific ecosystems and biotopes

12. modell guided Decision Support System
Sustainability assessment - Decision Support Systems (DSS)
modell guided Decision Support System

13. different spatio-temporal resolutions for different hierarchic levels
Sustainability assessment - Indicator related component models
different spatio-temporal resolutions for different hierarchic levels

14. Biotic Indicator: Animal habitats affected by agriculture

15. Fire-bellied Toad (Bombina bombina) Common Crane (Grus grus)
Selected bird species and indicator functions
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Fire-bellied Toad (Bombina bombina)
Common Crane (Grus grus)
Agricultural landscapes with multifaceted use, including grassland component; richly structured agricultural area
Open agrarian landscape with intact kettle-holes; richly structured, non-segmented landscape
Spacious open agrarian landscape; forests, swamps, mires, as factors of complex
landscapes; low-disturbance landscape

16. Scenario case study (1):
Investigation of potential Common Crane habitats in the
Uckermark-Barnim region
Institute for Landscape Systems Analysis

17.  10 % of agricultural area is set aside
Scenario case study (1): Common Crane Habitat Quality
Situation
Particularly on account of economic reasons the intensity of production (fertilizers, pesticides) is decreased and a part of agricultural area is set aside.
Problem
What does happen with the quality of Common Crane breeding and resting habitats?
Scenario assumptions
 10 % of agricultural area is set aside
 mineral fertilization is completely stopped

18. Voss, Wilkening, Lutze, Wieland & Schultz 2000
Scenario case study (1): Impact of set-aside
current land use situation
set-aside area is increased by 10 % of agricultural area
Voss, Wilkening, Lutze, Wieland & Schultz 2000

19. Voss, Wilkening, Lutze, Wieland & Schultz 2000
Scenario case study (1): Impact of stopping mineral fertilization
current land use situation
mineral fertilization is
completely stopped
Voss, Wilkening, Lutze, Wieland & Schultz 2000

20. Scenario case study (2): Model based investigation of
N leaching effects of organic farming compared to present agricultural practice in Brandenburg
Institute for Landscape Systems Analysis
Institute for Land Use Systems and Landscape Ecology

21. Scenario case study (2): N leaching from different farming systems
Situation
Under current agricultural practice N leaching can be a phenomenon with harmful effects on water quality dependent on site conditions and farming practice.
Problem
What does happen with N indicator variables when switching to organic farming?
Scenario assumptions
The whole agricultural area in Brandenburg is used for organic farming.

22. Scenario case study (2): N-model - GIS - coupling

23. Scenario case study (2): Simulated annual nitrate leaching in Brandenburg
Kersebaum & Piorr, 1999

24. Scenario case study (2): Comparison of selected indicators
Kersebaum, Piorr & Stachow, 1999

25.  indicators for slowly acting landscape processes and for
Conclusions - Research needs
 work to identify and define appropriate sustainability indicators in order to analyze and to evaluate the impacts of different land use systems is to continue
particular problems:
 indicators for slowly acting landscape processes and for
 long-term effects of pesticides and animal medicaments
 methods to combine and weight different thematic indicators in order to evaluate and compare land use variants integratively
 continue development of spatial models for ecological and socio-economic landscape indicators
 deepen the knowledge on scale dependence or invariance of landscape processes

26. Thank you for attention !
Questions?