Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Horticultural Systems: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation Approach Applied in a Case Study in Mediterranean Conditions
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. DEXi Software Description
2.2. Study Site and Experimental Device
2.3. Experimental Setup, Treatments, and Measurements
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Developing a New Qualitative Multi-Criteria Decision Model: “DEXi-Met” Model
3.2. Experimental Device Evaluation
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- IPCC. Climate Change: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Solomon, S., Qin, D., Manning, M., Chen, Z., Marquis, M., Averyt, K.B., Tignor, M., Miller, H.L., Eds.; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK; New York, NY, USA, 2007; 996p. [Google Scholar]
- Beddington, J.; Asaduzzaman, M.; Fernandez, A.; Clark, M.; Guillou, M.; Jahn, M.M.; Erda, L.; Mamo, T.; Bo, N.V.; Nobre, C.A.; et al. Achieving Food Security in the Face of Climate Change: Final Report from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change; CGIAR: Copenhagen, Denmark, 2012; Available online: https://ccafs.cgiar.org/publications/achieving-food-security-face-climate-change-summary-policy-makers-commission#.WpaI5ujOXIU (accessed on 10 April 2018).
- IPCC. Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptations and Mitigation of Climate Change: Scientific-Technical Analyses. Contribution of Working Group II to the Second Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Watson, R., Zinyowera, M.C., Moss, R.H., Dokken, D.J., Eds.; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK; New York, NY, USA, 1996; 891p. [Google Scholar]
- Ikerd, J.E. The need for a systems approach to sustainable agriculture. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 1993, 46, 147–160. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- IPCC. Climate Change: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Metz, B., Davidson, O.R., Bosch, P.R., Dave, R., Meyer, L.A., Eds.; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK; New York, NY, USA, 2007; 852p. [Google Scholar]
- Canali, S.; Diacono, M.; Campanelli, G.; Montemurro, F. Organic no till with roller crimpers: Agro-ecosystem services and applications in organic Mediterranean vegetable productions. Sustain. Agric. Res. 2015, 4, 66–75. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pope, J.; Annandale, D.; Morrison-Saunders, A. Conceptualising sustainability assessment. Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 2004, 24, 595–616. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ness, B.; Urbel Piirsalu, E.; Anderberg, S.; Olsson, L. Categorising tools FOS sustainability assessment. Ecol. Econ. 2007, 60, 498–508. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Van de Fliert, E.; Braun, A.R. Conceptualizing integrative, farmer participatory research for sustainable agriculture: From opportunities to impact. Agric. Hum. Values 2002, 19, 25–38. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gafsi, M.; Legagneux, B.; Nguyen, G.; Robin, P. Towards sustainable farming systems: Effectiveness and deficiency of the French procedure of sustainable agriculture. Agric. Syst. 2006, 90, 226–242. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Munda, G.; Nijkamp, P.; Rietveld, P. Qualitative multicriteria evaluation for environmental management. Ecol. Econ. 1994, 10, 97–112. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Munda, G. Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis and Sustainable Development. Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis: State of the Art Surveys. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science; Springer: New York, NY, USA, 2005; Volume 78. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Craheix, D.; Bergez, J.E.; Angevin, F.; Bockstaller, C.; Bohanec, M.; Colomb, B.; Doré, T.; Fortino, G.; Guichard, L.; Pelzer, E.; et al. Guidelines to design models assessing agricultural sustainability, based upon feedbacks from the DEXi decision support system. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 2015, 35, 1431–1447. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chopin, P.; Tirolien, J.; Blazy, J.M. Ex-ante sustainability assessment of cleaner banana production Systems. J. Clean. Prod. 2016, 139, 15–24. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sadok, W.; Angevin, F.; Bergez, J.; Bockstaller, C.; Colomb, B.; Guichard, L.; Reau, R.; Messéan, A.; Doré, T. MASC, a qualitative multi-attribute decision model for ex ante assessment of the sustainability of cropping systems. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 2009, 29, 447–461. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bohanec, M. DEXi: Program for Multi-Criteria Decision Making, User’s Manual, Version 5.00. IJS Report DP-11897; Jožef Stefan Institute: Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2015; Available online: http://kt.ijs.si/MarkoBohanec/DEXi/html/DEXiDoc.htm (accessed on 5 January 2018).
- Bohanec, M.; Žnidaršič, M.; Rajkovič, V.; Bratko, I.; Zupan, B. DEX Methodology: Three Decades of Qualitative Multi-Attribute Modelling. Informatica 2013, 37, 49–54. [Google Scholar]
- Nikoloski, T.; Udovcˇ, A.; Pavlovicˇ, M.; Rajkovicˇ, U. Farm reorientation assessment model based on multi-criteria decision making. Comput. Electron. Agric. 2017, 140, 237–243. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Diacono, M.; Fiore, A.; Farina, R.; Canali, S.; Di Bene, C.; Testani, E.; Montemurro, F. Combined agro-ecological strategies for adaptation of organic horticultural systems to climate change in Mediterranean environment. Ital. J. Agron. 2016, 11, 85–91. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Taškova, K.; Stojanova, D.; Bohanec, M.; Džeroski, S. A Qualitative decision-support model for evaluating researchers. Informatica 2007, 3, 479–486. [Google Scholar]
- Moonen, C.; Bigongiali, F.; Barberi, P.; Ortolani, L.; Colombo, L.; Vazzana, C.; Lazzerini, G.; Moschini, V. Manuale di DEXI-BIOrt uno strumento per la Valutazione Agro-Ambientale Delle Aziende Orticole Biologiche Italiane, 2012. (In Italian). Available online: http://hdl.handle.net/2158/960388 (accessed on 15 December 2017).
- Bohanec, M.; Messéan, A.; Scatasta, S.; Angevin, F.; Griffiths, B.; Krogh, P.H.; Žnidaršič, M.; Džeroski, S. A qualitative multi-attribute model for economic and ecological assessment of genetically modified crops. Ecol. Model. 2008, 215, 247–261. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ciaccia, C.; Canali, S.; Campanelli, G.; Testani, E.; Montemurro, F.; Leteo, F.; Delate, K. Effect of roller-crimper technology on weed management in organic zucchini production in a Mediterranean climate zone. Renew. Agric. Food Syst. 2016, 31, 111–121. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Montemurro, F.; Fiore, A.; Campanelli, G.; Tittarelli, F.; Ledda, L.; Canali, S. Organic fertilization, green manure, and vetch mulch to improve organic zucchini yield and quality. HortScience 2013, 48, 1027–1033. [Google Scholar]
- De Benedetto, D.; Montemurro, F.; Diacono, M. Impacts of Agro-Ecological Practices on Soil Losses and Cash Crop Yield. Agriculture 2017, 7, 103. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pergola, M.; Persiani, A.; Pastore, V.; Palese, A.M.; Arous, A.; Celano, G. A comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of three apricot orchard systems located in Metapontino area (Southern Italy). J. Clean. Prod. 2017, 142, 4059–4407. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Arous, A. Management of Soil Organic Matter and Carbon Storage in Mediterranean Fruit Orchards. International PhD “BioEcosystems and Biotechnoly”. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Basilicata, Basilicata, Italy, 2015. [Google Scholar]
- Montemurro, F.; Diacono, M.; Ciaccia, C.; Campanelli, G.; Tittarelli, F.; Leteo, F.; Canali, S. Effectiveness of living mulch strategies for winter organic cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) production in Central and Southern Italy. Renew. Agric. Food Syst. 2017, 32, 263–272. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Canali, S.; Campanelli, G.; Ciaccia, C.; Leteo, F.; Testani, E.; Montemurro, F. Conservation tillage strategy based on the roller crimper technology for weed control in Mediterranean vegetable organic cropping systems. Eur. J. Agron. 2013, 50, 11–18. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Diacono, M.; Persiani, A.; Fiore, A.; Montemurro, F.; Canali, S. Agro-Ecology for Potential Adaptation of Horticultural Systems to Climate Change: Agronomic and Energetic Performance Evaluation. Agronomy 2017, 7, 35. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Navarro-Miró, D.; Caballero-López, B.; Blanco-Moreno, J.M.; Pérez, A.; Depalo, L.; Masetti, A.; Burgio, G.; Canali, S.; Sans, F.X. Agro-ecological Service Crops with roller crimper termination enhance ground-dwelling predator communities and pest regulation. In Proceedings of the 5th ISOFAR Scientific Conference “Innovative Research for Organic 3.0” 19th Organic World Congress, New Dehli, India, 9–11 November 2017. [Google Scholar]
Attributes | Calculation Methods/Typology | References | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Insect pests and diseases | satellite tree | MASC |
2 | Weeds | satellite tree | MASC |
3 | Soil structure | satellite tree | MASC |
4 | P and K fertility | satellite tree | MASC |
5 | Acido basic balance | satellite tree | MASC |
6 | N balance | N input/N output—quantitative | New |
7 | Production quantity | marketable yield (Kg)—quantitative | New |
8 | Production quality | nitrates- dry matter-°brix/fruit size—quantitative | New |
9 | Water consumption | water utilization (m3)—quantitative | New |
10 | Groundwater utilization | (%)—quantitative | DEXi-Biort |
11 | Irrigation technology | -qualitative | DEXi-Biort |
12 | Tillage diversification | -qualitative | DEXi-Biort |
13 | Tillage typology and depth | -qualitative | DEXi-Biort |
14 | Soil erosion control | satellite tree | MASC |
15 | Organic matter balance | C input/C output × isoumic coefficient—quantitative | New |
16 | External energy input | ∑ (external input × energy equivalent)/hectare (GJ/ha)—quantitative | DEXi-Biort |
17 | No-renewable input dependence | external input/total input (%)—quantitative | DEXi-Biort |
18 | Reuse input | input autoproduced/total input (%)—quantitative | DEXi-Biort |
19 | Fertilizer C/N | carbon/ Nitrogen—quantitative | DEXi-Biort |
20 | On-farm fertilizers | -qualitative | DEXi-Biort |
21 | Cause of phytosanitary treatment | -qualitative | DEXi-Biort |
22 | Impact of phytosanitary treatment | -qualitative | DEXi-Biort |
23 | Approach of phytosanitary treatment | -qualitative | DEXi-Biort |
24 | Crop rotation | -qualitative | New |
25 | Strip cultivation with agro-ecological function | -qualitative | New |
26 | Floristic abundance | satellite tree | MASC |
27 | Floristic diversity | satellite tree | MASC |
28 | Macrofauna preservation | satellite tree | MASC |
29 | Flying insects preservation | satellite tree | MASC |
30 | Microrganism preservation | satellite tree | MASC |
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Montemurro, F.; Persiani, A.; Diacono, M. Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Horticultural Systems: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation Approach Applied in a Case Study in Mediterranean Conditions. Agronomy 2018, 8, 98. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy8070098
Montemurro F, Persiani A, Diacono M. Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Horticultural Systems: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation Approach Applied in a Case Study in Mediterranean Conditions. Agronomy. 2018; 8(7):98. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy8070098
Chicago/Turabian StyleMontemurro, Francesco, Alessandro Persiani, and Mariangela Diacono. 2018. "Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Horticultural Systems: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation Approach Applied in a Case Study in Mediterranean Conditions" Agronomy 8, no. 7: 98. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy8070098
APA StyleMontemurro, F., Persiani, A., & Diacono, M. (2018). Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Horticultural Systems: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation Approach Applied in a Case Study in Mediterranean Conditions. Agronomy, 8(7), 98. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy8070098