Journal article

Publication year: 2002

Pages: 393-418

Journal: Berichte über Landwirtschaft

Volume number: 80

Issue number: 3

ISSN: 2196-5099

Publisher: Kohlhammer

Abstract: 

The concept of multi-functionality in agriculture is discussed in various ways. In view of increasing social demands with regard to methods of land use, this discussion will have a strong impact on politics and farm management. Nevertheless, an operational method to quantify multi-functionality on a landscape scale is still missing.

The term "multi-functionality" implicates the involvement of different disciplines. The paper presented here shows an approach to look at and to analyse landscapes in view of economic, ecological and hydrological aspects within the collaborative research centre (SFB) 299 of the German Research Foundation.

In order to achieve this goal, the model ProLand is employed to generate spatial explicit land use prognoses and to investigate changes in the natural, technical, economic and political framework and their consequences on spatial distribution and economic characteristics of production in agriculture and forestry.

The land use maps generated by ProLand are inputs to the hydrological model SWAT and the ecological model ANIMO. These models again calculate the spatial distribution and regional key indicators (SWAT: stream flow, evapo-transpiration, direct flow and groundwater recharge; ANIMO: alpha-, beta- and gamma-diversity).

Using the example of a watershed in Hesse, Germany (approx. 60 km(2)), results of the three models show that both win-win and trade-off situations between economic value added, direct flow and gamma-diversity can be identified and quantified.

Harvard Citation style: Möller, D., Fohrer, N. and Steiner, N. (2002) Quantification of landscape multifunctionality in agriculture and forestry, Berichte über Landwirtschaft, 80(3), pp. 393-418

APA Citation style: Möller, D., Fohrer, N., & Steiner, N. (2002). Quantification of landscape multifunctionality in agriculture and forestry. Berichte über Landwirtschaft. 80(3), 393-418.