Authors
David I Armstrong McKay, John A Dearing, James G Dyke, Guy M Poppy, Les G Firbank
Publication date
2019/1/15
Journal
Science of the total environment
Volume
648
Pages
1560-1569
Publisher
Elsevier
Description
Agricultural intensification has significantly increased yields and fed growing populations across the planet, but has also led to considerable environmental degradation. In response an alternative process of ‘Sustainable Intensification’ (SI), whereby food production increases while environmental impacts are reduced, has been advocated as necessary, if not sufficient, for delivering food and environmental security. However, the extent to which SI has begun, the main drivers of SI, and the degree to which degradation is simply ‘offshored’ are uncertain. In this study we assess agroecosystem services in England and two contrasting sub-regions, majority-arable Eastern England and majority-pastoral South-Western England, since 1950 by analysing ecosystem service metrics and developing a simple system dynamics model. We find that rapid agricultural intensification drove significant environmental degradation in …
Total citations
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Scholar articles
DIA McKay, JA Dearing, JG Dyke, GM Poppy… - Science of the total environment, 2019