Food Security and Ecosystem Services

Dear Colleagues,

Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. In agriculture, ES are poorly exploited for food security. Innovation should aim for use efficiency, a safe environment, and local adaptation, while tackling the major food security challenges in the world which remain underinvestigated. It is necessary to properly identify and address the linkages between ES and food security without overlooking co-production, trade-offs, gender, and cultural services, which are often disregarded in research. 

Furthermore, local food security both affects and is affected by global food security. Developed countries must provide the means to address the negative external effects triggered by the production of its massive feed imports, as long as much of its environmental protection continues to depend on the externalization of agricultural activities. 

Finally, the multi-dimensional nature of food security demands that research gives equal importance to its socio-economic and environmental aspects. 

This Special Issue seeks to contribute to the ES and food security agenda through enhanced scientific and multi-disciplinary knowledge, in order to examine interactions between themes such as crop resource use efficiencies and to include all production and non-production aspects of food security and ES in future roles for integrated assessment models. To that end, we invite papers on innovative technical developments, reviews, and case studies which are relevant to these two central, critical, and impending issues which the world must currently address. 

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Sustainability.

Dr. Elena Perez-Minana
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• ecosystem services
• food security
• food insecurity
• smart agriculture
• climate-smart agriculture