Net carbon flux from agriculture: Carbon emissions, carbon sequestration, crop yield, and land-use change

There is a potential to sequester carbon in soil by changing agricultural management practices. These changes in agricultural management can also result in changes in fossil-fuel use, agricultural inputs, and the carbon emissions associated with fossil fuels and other inputs. Management practices that alter crop yields and land productivity can affect the amount of land used for crop production with further significant implications for both emissions and sequestration potential. Data from a 20-year agricultural experiment were used to analyze carbon sequestration, carbon emissions, crop yield, and land-use change and to estimate the impact that carbon sequestration strategies might have on the net flux of carbon to the atmosphere. Results indicate that if changes in management result in decreased crop yields, the net carbon flux can be greater under the new system, assuming that crop demand remains the same and additional lands are brought into production. Conversely, if increasing crop yields lead to land abandonment, the overall carbon savings from changes in management will be greater than when soil carbon sequestration alone is considered.     

Historical Land-cover Conversion (1665–1820) in the Choptank Watershed,Eastern United States

Land-cover changes in the Choptank basin were estimated for 1665–1820 by using historical socioeconomic data and crop-rotation models. Socioeconomic data (human population, output per laborer, and crop yields) were obtained from the literature, whereas crop-rotation models, based on historical records, represented how agriculture was practiced. Model parameters and output were validated with export records, census data, and other historical records, and model errors were estimated to be approximately 5%. This approach indicated a sigmoidal pattern for conversion of primary forest to agricultural land by 1800. The initial time period, 1665–1720, was characterized by low-intensity tobacco and corn cultivation. Due to long fallows, the models indicated that there was little land in crops (approximately 5% of the region), but larger areas of secondary forest occurred on former cropland (approximately 15%). Although primary forest decreased, the initial result in the first 55 years was a low net rate of deforestation and occupation by low-intensity farms. However, after 1720, cropland expanded rapidly due to the use of wheat as a cash crop. From 1720 to 1775, primary and secondary forest rapidly disappeared, increasing agricultural land to 60% of the region. By 1800, approximately 80% was estimated to be converted to agriculture, and little primary forest remained. After 1800, the land needed for crops decreased due to improved management practices and crop yields, and some secondary forest on formerly cleared agricultural sites may have reappeared. We estimate that less than 150 years of European colonization resulted in virtually complete agriculturalization of a primarily forested landscape.     

Is Poverty Driving Borana Herders in Southern Ethiopia to Crop Cultivation?

This study addresses whether or not crop cultivation by Borana herders in southern Ethiopia is motivated by poverty since 80% of the households belong to poor wealth classes (i.e., poor, very poor and destitute). Yet our findings showed little evidence that Borana communities have become self-sufficient in grain production. Compared to wealthy households, poor households generally cultivated the least land and sampled households, producing yields only 31% of the Ethiopian national average. Grain per capita met only 26% of the annual requirement per person, equivalent to three to four months of self-sufficiency per household. The livelihood response model (LRM) developed for testing the relationship between extent of croplands and household wealth showed that poverty alone cannot be motivating herders to cultivate crops. Factors such as shortage of labor, lack of sufficient traction animals, and unreliable rainfall also need to be considered. Crop cultivation has not enabled self-sufficiency, but it has resulted in fragmented grazing lands. Future policies address changes in land use, including improving soil fertility through manure-nutrient transfers, by promoting better integration of crop cultivation and pastoralism. Research is needed to (a) understand household time allocation between crop cultivation and livestock management, (b) improve the LRM by considering temporal variability in the wealth of households and extent of cultivated lands, and (c) understand the role of poverty in motivating the adoption of alternative livelihood coping strategies.     

害虫生态调控的原理与方法

害虫生态调控的原理与方法戈峰（中国科学院动物研究所农业虫鼠害综合治理国家重点实验室,北京１０００８０）ＴｈｅＰｒｉｎｃｉｐｌｅｓａｎｄＭｅｔｈｏｄｓｏｆＥｃｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌＲｅｇｕｌａｔｉｏｎａｎｄＭａｎａｇｅｍｅｎｔｏｆＰｅｓｔｓ．ＧｅＦｅｎｇ（Ｉ...     

浦江县土壤碱解氮的空间变异与农户N投入的关联分析

尝试以作物种植前、后土壤N的空间变化为基础与农户调查数据相结合,以GIS技术为手段,辅以地统计分析,探讨县域作物土壤环境空间变化特征及其与农户土地管理行为,特别是N投入行为间关系。其结果对更深入揭示农田碱解氮的演化规律,指导农民合理N投入,减少投入成本,提升生态环境,具有十分重要的作用。通过对Moran’s I指数分析,结果表明:农业N投入普遍偏高,过剩量大;不同区域作物N投入存在较大差异,且农户各自惯性投入依然较强。平原区变异系数大的主要原因在于种植规模化品种少,粮食作物和经济作物N投入差距大;山区和半山区的变异系数小的原因是由于规模化经营尚未形成,种植作物的多样性和N投入的不稳定性综合形成的。此外,研究还表明,GIS空间分析技术与经典试验相结合能有效分析不同农户间的作物种植前后土壤N的变化差异,对建立针对性的、差异化农地利用对策具有十分重要的作用。下一步研究可结合土地利用与覆盖变化、土壤物质循环作更深入探讨。     

Factors Influencing Diversity of Farmers’ Varieties of Sweet Potato in Uganda: Implications for Conservation

Factors Influencing Diversity of Farmers’ Varieties of Sweet Potato in Uganda: Implications for Conservation. There is increasing concern that agricultural intensification is causing loss of crop biodiversity due to displacement of traditional farmers’ varieties by a small number of improved cultivars. Using ethnobotanical surveys, we assessed the implication of adoption of new sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) cultivars on the maintenance of farmers’ varieties in Uganda. Other factors influencing varietal diversity were also assessed. A total of 102 farmer households distributed in the top three sweet potato production agro-ecological zones were interviewed. With the exception of released cultivars, very few varieties appeared in more than one region. The majority of the respondents indicated that they continue to plant some of the existing varieties when they adopt new cultivars. Loss of planting materials due to drought was a major constraint to maintaining varietal diversity for this vegetatively propagated crop. Limited land and lack of access to best management practices were also key constraints to maintenance of farmers’ varieties. The primary criteria for adopting new cultivars were higher yield, taste, and duration to maturity. Yield stability, tolerance to native biotic and abiotic stresses, and good taste were important for maintenance of currently grown varieties. Overall, criteria for variety selection varied with household characteristics including farmer age and gender, uses of the crop, micro-climatic conditions in the farmers’ fields, and level of access to agricultural extension. The observed heterogeneity in selection criteria, influence of social ties, and the role of environment in varietal maintenance have important implications for establishing breeding priorities and preservation of crop diversity.     

Closing Yield Gaps: How Sustainable Can We Be?

Global food production needs to be increased by 60–110% between 2005 and 2050 to meet growing food and feed demand. Intensification and/or expansion of agriculture are the two main options available to meet the growing crop demands. Land conversion to expand cultivated land increases GHG emissions and impacts biodiversity and ecosystem services. Closing yield gaps to attain potential yields may be a viable option to increase the global crop production. Traditional methods of agricultural intensification often have negative externalities. Therefore, there is a need to explore location-specific methods of sustainable agricultural intensification. We identified regions where the achievement of potential crop calorie production on currently cultivated land will meet the present and future food demand based on scenario analyses considering population growth and changes in dietary habits. By closing yield gaps in the current irrigated and rain-fed cultivated land, about 24% and 80% more crop calories can respectively be produced compared to 2000. Most countries will reach food self-sufficiency or improve their current food self-sufficiency levels if potential crop production levels are achieved. As a novel approach, we defined specific input and agricultural management strategies required to achieve the potential production by overcoming biophysical and socioeconomic constraints causing yield gaps. The management strategies include: fertilizers, pesticides, advanced soil management, land improvement, management strategies coping with weather induced yield variability, and improving market accessibility. Finally, we estimated the required fertilizers (N, P₂O₅, and K₂O) to attain the potential yields. Globally, N-fertilizer application needs to increase by 45–73%, P₂O₅-fertilizer by 22–46%, and K₂O-fertilizer by 2–3 times compared to the year 2010 to attain potential crop production. The sustainability of such agricultural intensification largely depends on the way management strategies for closing yield gaps are chosen and implemented.     

Semiarid Crop Production from a Hydrological Perspective: Gap between Potential and Actual Yields

Rapid population growth in the dry climate regions, arable land scarcity, and irrigation expansion limitations direct our interest to possibilities of yield increase in rainfed agriculture. Literature, however, indicates large differences between actual and potential yields, and between yields on farmers’ fields and research stations. This article focuses on the determinants of these yield gaps and the windows of opportunity for yield increase on the farmer's field together with the agricultural challenges involved. The study links the conventional approach to estimate crop water requirements and dry spell effects on biomass production to a conceptual Green Water Crop Model. This model addresses the effects on crop yields of the sequential diversions of infiltrating rainfall (rainwater partitioning into runoff, plant available soil water, and deep percolation) and of different relations between nonproductive evaporation flow and productive transpiration flow, defined together as green water flow. Also, the effects of droughts and dry spells are analyzed. The model is used to demonstrate typical situations for semiarid and dry subhumid conditions (lengths of growing period (LGP) of 90 and 179 days, respectively) for maize (Zea mays (L.)) under on-station agricultural conditions. Based on detailed water flow analysis in a 3-year on-farm case study in the Sahel on pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) Br.), the model is used to clarify the large scope for improved yield levels, achievable through land and water management securing that runoff losses and deep percolation are reduced and nonproductive evaporation losses minimized. The analysis indicates that poor rainwater partitioning and low plant water uptake capacity alone reduces estimated on-farm grain yields to 1/10th of the potential yields. This suggests that lack of water per se not necessarily is the primary constraint to crop growth even in drought prone areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The conclusion is that even a doubling of crop yields would be agro-hydrologically possible with relatively small manipulations of rainwater partitioning in the water balance.     

Challenges of Conserving Blue Bull (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Boselaphus tragocamelus</Emphasis>) Outside the Protected Areas of Nepal

Blue bull, or ‘Nilgai’ (Boselaphus tragocamelus, Pallas, 1766) is the sole member of its genus. It is endemic to the Indian subcontinent and while there are major populations in northern India, there are also smaller populations in Nepal and Pakistan. It is now extinct in Bangladesh. The Nepalese population is sparsely distributed, mostly in the lowland Terai areas, and outside of Nepal’s protected area network. Conflict with local farming communities because of crop damage by nilgai has created conservation challenges and our aim was to document the distribution of nilgai and to explore the conflict between nilgai and the human population in lowland Nepal. Our study focused on the Rupendehi District of Nepal during March to August 2016, where a total of 303 nilgai were counted. The highest population of nilgai was in the community forests and lowest in areas of cultivated land. The distribution pattern of nilgai was clumped, with an average herd size of 5.6 individuals per herd. Crop raiding damage by nilgai created a serious problem in the municipalities, known as village development committees which are located close to potential nilgai habitat. The projected crop yield loss due to nilgai in the study area was NRs (Nepali Rupees) 7,275,507 (US$ 68,633) from March 2015 to March 2016. Vegetable and pulses crops were those most damaged by nilgai, contributing to 14.48 and 10.38% of the total losses, respectively. The local people held mixed perceptions of nilgai. The most negative views were held by people who had experienced some extent of crop loss. Suitable protective measures to minimize crop loss are required such as changing cropping patterns and crop composition, particularly cultivation of medicinal plants are suggested as priorities in highly effective zone. The study noted that there were many threats to nilgai including illegal hunting, poisoning, electric fences and habitat deterioration. Successful nilgai conservation will require further education, gaining support from local people and possibly new crop management techniques.     

Factors affecting farmers' willingness to pay for adopting vegetable residue compost in North China

The random disposal of vegetable residues in north China has become an important obstacle for the sustainable development of vegetable industry. The composting treatment technology has been transformed into organic fertilizer by high temperature fermentation, which has become a widely promoted agricultural clean production technology. However, due to the voluntary nature of farmers' adoption and their reluctance to adopt, this study aimed at assessing the factors that influence their adoption will and evaluate the value of willingness to pay (WTP) for composting technology. Data were collected from 142 respondents through a household survey in Gaocheng District by using structural questionnaire of contingent valuation method (CVM). Some qualitative response models (Probit, Logistic and multiple linear regression models) were applied for examining the main factors influencing the vegetable residue compost adoption and estimating the WTP value. The findings showed that social resource factors play an important role in the respondents' behaviors toward composting technology adoption. The empirical results indeed highlighted that subsidy policy, top dressing time, age, scale, investment of irrigation and net income have significant positive influences on the WTP of compost, while work time and information sources have a negative impact. Government subsidy is a necessary premise for implementing the composting program. The governments should subsidize the remaining 97% of the construction costs to ensure the smooth implementation of composting technology. The findings specifically mentioned that the subsidy object should be the disadvantaged peasant groups with lower household income but more environmentally conscious. This paper is believed to not only assess the technical externality of vegetable residues for the first time but also provide decision reference for policymakers, especially in the background of rapid development of agricultural clean production technology, the accuracy and efficiency of subsidies should be improved.     

Long-term yield trends of insect-pollinated crops vary regionally and are linked to neonicotinoid use,landscape complexity,and availability of pollinators

Time series data on crop yields for two main wind-pollinated crops (barley and wheat) and for three crops benefitting from insect pollination (turnip rapeseed, caraway, and black currant), were compiled from official agricultural statistics. In Finland, these statistics are available at aggregate national level, and at the level of each of the 15 provinces of the country. Yields of wind-pollinated crops have steadily increased in Finland, while yields of insect-pollinated crops have been highly variable. The largest crop benefitting from insect pollination is turnip rapeseed, which shows first a clear tendency to increased yields from 1980 to 1993, after which there has been a continuous decline in yields at the national average level. Regionally, the trends in turnip rapeseed yield show large variation, so that in six provinces of Finland, the trend has been significantly decreasing; in five provinces, there has been no significant trend; and in two provinces, there has been a significant linear increase in yields. Yield trends in the two other insect-pollinated crops, caraway and black currants, show similar trend variations. However, at the national average level, caraway yields show no significant trend, while black currant yields have increased during the past 6 years. The possible impact on the trends of insect-pollinated crops of three explanatory variables was analyzed. Significant linear correlation was found between the yield trends (slope of the trends) in rapeseed, and the extent of using neonicotinoid seed dressing in the provinces; the magnitude of yield decline in turnip rapeseed increased, as the use of neonicotinoid seed dressing increased. Similar significant linear correlation was found for the magnitude of yield decline in turnip rapeseed and the complexity of the agricultural landscape in each province; yield trend changed from negative to positive as the proportion of agricultural land of the total terrestrial land area declined from 28% to below 10%. The availability of honey bee colonies with respect to the growing area of crops benefitting from insect pollination also had a linear, significant impact on turnip rapeseed yield trends: yields tended to decline in provinces, where the supply of managed pollinators with respect to demand was low, but tended to increase in provinces, where the number of honey bee colonies were over 30% of the estimated demand. As neither the landscape complexity (proportion of arable land of total terrestrial land area), nor the number of honey bee colonies for pollination have changed significantly over the past 10–20 years, these factors cannot explain the observed differences in the yield trends of the examined insect-pollinated crops. It appears that only the uptake of neonicotinoid insecticide seed dressing about 15 years ago can explain the crop yield declines in several provinces, and at the national level for turnip rapeseed, most likely via disruption of pollination services by wild pollinators.     

The Dynamics of Agricultural Intensification and Resource Conservation in the Buffer Zone of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Petén, Guatemala

Efforts to stimulate more intensive land use must be based on a solid understanding of current farmer strategies and the factors that drive them. This paper discusses the influences on agricultural strategy among farmers in Petén, Guatemala, and more specifically, their adoption of more intensive practices. Existing theoretical frameworks pertaining to agricultural intensification are based on a limited number of explanatory variables and thus provide an incomplete understanding of farmer strategy and of how and why it varies among farmers and communities. A more useful analytical approach is to consider the wide range of factors at both the regional/community scale and the farm/household scale that influence farmers' need, desire, and ability to alter their production strategies. An analysis based on this approach indicates that conservation and development organizations in Petén should place greater emphasis on the rural economy and on fostering the conditions that would stimulate more intensive, sustainable land use.     

Mind the gap: how do climate and agricultural management explain the ‘yield gap’ of croplands around the world?

Aim As the demands for food, feed and fuel increase in coming decades, society will be pressed to increase agricultural production – whether by increasing yields on already cultivated lands or by cultivating currently natural areas – or to change current crop consumption patterns. In this analysis, we consider where yields might be increased on existing croplands, and how crop yields are constrained by biophysical (e.g. climate) versus management factors. Location This study was conducted at the global scale. Methods Using spatial datasets, we compare yield patterns for the 18 most dominant crops within regions of similar climate. We use this comparison to evaluate the potential yield obtainable for each crop in different climates around the world. We then compare the actual yields currently being achieved for each crop with their ‘climatic potential yield’ to estimate the ‘yield gap’. Results We present spatial datasets of both the climatic potential yields and yield gap patterns for 18 crops around the year 2000. These datasets depict the regions of the world that meet their climatic potential, and highlight places where yields might potentially be raised. Most often, low yield gaps are concentrated in developed countries or in regions with relatively high‐input agriculture. Main conclusions While biophysical factors like climate are key drivers of global crop yield patterns, controlling for them demonstrates that there are still considerable ranges in yields attributable to other factors, like land management practices. With conventional practices, bringing crop yields up to their climatic potential would probably require more chemical, nutrient and water inputs. These intensive land management practices can adversely affect ecosystem goods and services, and in turn human welfare. Until society develops more sustainable high‐yielding cropping practices, the trade‐offs between increased crop productivity and social and ecological factors need to be made explicit when future food scenarios are formulated.     

Spatial and temporal trends of global pollination benefit

Pollination is a well-studied and at the same time a threatened ecosystem service. A significant part of global crop production depends on or profits from pollination by animals. Using detailed information on global crop yields of 60 pollination dependent or profiting crops, we provide a map of global pollination benefits on a 5' by 5' latitude-longitude grid. The current spatial pattern of pollination benefits is only partly correlated with climate variables and the distribution of cropland. The resulting map of pollination benefits identifies hot spots of pollination benefits at sufficient detail to guide political decisions on where to protect pollination services by investing in structural diversity of land use. Additionally, we investigated the vulnerability of the national economies with respect to potential decline of pollination services as the portion of the (agricultural) economy depending on pollination benefits. While the general dependency of the agricultural economy on pollination seems to be stable from 1993 until 2009, we see increases in producer prices for pollination dependent crops, which we interpret as an early warning signal for a conflict between pollination service and other land uses at the global scale. Our spatially explicit analysis of global pollination benefit points to hot spots for the generation of pollination benefits and can serve as a base for further planning of land use, protection sites and agricultural policies for maintaining pollination services.     

Economic Thresholds in Soybean-Integrated Pest Management: Old Concepts, Current Adoption, and Adequacy

Increasing global demands for food underline the need for higher crop yields. The relatively low costs of the most commonly used insecticides in combination with increasing soybean market prices led growers and technical advisors to debate the adequacy of recommended economic thresholds (ETs). The adoption of ETs and pest sampling has diminished in Brazil, leading to excessive pesticide use on soybean. The reduced efficacy of natural biological control, faster pest resurgence, and environment contamination are among the side-effects of pesticide abuse. To address these problems and maximize agricultural production, pest control programs must be guided by a proper integrated pest management (IPM) approach, including the ET concept. Therefore, the most appropriate time to initiate insecticide spraying in soybean is indicated by the available ETs which are supported by experiments over the last 40 years in different edapho-climatic conditions and regions with distinct soybean cultivars. Published scientific data indicate that preventive insecticide use is an expensive and harmful use of chemicals that increases the negative impact of pesticides in agroecosystems. However, the established ETs are for a limited number of species (key pests), and they only address the use of chemicals. There is a lack of information regarding secondary pests and other control strategies in addition to insecticides. It is clear then that much progress is still needed to improve ETs for pest management decisions. Nevertheless, using the current ETs provides a basis for reducing the use of chemicals in agriculture without reducing yields and overall production, thereby improving sustainability.     

Water and energy footprints of bioenergy crop production on marginal lands

Water and energy demands associated with bioenergy crop production on marginal lands are inextricably linked with land quality and land use history. To illustrate the effect of land marginality on bioenergy crop yield and associated water and energy footprints, we analyzed seven large‐scale sites (9–21 ha) converted from either Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) or conventional agricultural land use to no‐till soybean for biofuel production. Unmanaged CRP grassland at the same location was used as a reference site. Sites were rated using a land marginality index (LMI) based on land capability classes, slope, soil erodibility, soil hydraulic conductivity, and soil tolerance factors extracted from a soil survey (SSURGO) database. Principal components analysis was used to develop a soil quality index (SQI) for the study sites based on 12 soil physical and chemical properties. The water and energy footprints on these sites were estimated using eddy‐covariance flux techniques. Aboveground net primary productivity was inversely related to LMI and positively related to SQI. Water and energy footprints increased with LMI and decreased with SQI. The water footprints for grain, biomass and energy production were higher on lands converted from agricultural land use compared with those converted from the CRP land. The sites which were previously in the CRP had higher SQI than those under agricultural land use, showing that land management affects water footprints through soil quality effects. The analysis of biophysical characteristics of the sites in relation to water and energy use suggests that crops and management systems similar to CRP grasslands may provide a potential strategy to grow biofuels that would minimize environmental degradation while improving the productivity of marginal lands.     

Intercropping in high input agriculture supports arthropod diversity without risking significant yield losses

Arthropod diversity of different taxonomic groups and ecosystem services are declining, yet current measures to counteract losses are often restricted to small areas of land or field margins, particularly in agricultural systems. At the same time, large areas of land will be required to feed a growing global population. Intercropping has been proposed as a potential solution to maximize both biodiversity and yield at large scale, but experimental evidence is scarce.In a three-year field experiment, we manipulated crop diversity and management intensity in a cereal-legume intercropping experiment in Germany, where 50% of wheat was replaced by faba beans. We measured arthropod abundance and diversity of different functional groups (pollinators, natural enemies, herbivores) and crop yield.We found that increasing crop diversity increased abundance and diversity of arthropods. Notably, pollinator and natural enemy abundances increased in intercropped systems. Low management intensity generally had positive effects on arthropod abundance and especially on pollinator diversity, indicating benefits of reduced inputs of fertilizers and herbicides. While wheat yield was higher in monocultures and for high management intensity, total grain yield of the intercrop (indicated by land equivalent ratio) was higher in mixtures. We found that trade-offs were stronger between arthropod diversity and wheat yield than between arthropod abundance and wheat yield. Specialist wheat herbivores and generalist herbivores were more abundant at higher wheat yields. Conversely, pollinator and natural enemy diversity were negatively associated with wheat yield.Our results show that diversification can promote both higher yields and greater diversity of arthropods. Intercropping can thus be an opportunity to support biodiversity without risking significant yield losses.     

Bearing the Burden: Portage Labor as an Adaptive Response to Predictable Food Deficits in Eastern Nepal

Wage work such as portage labor is one of several adaptive strategies by which rural households in Nepal supplement their subsistence agriculture. This study, conducted in the hills of eastern Nepal in 1997, surveyed the landholdings and household subsistence base of 50 commercial porters hired to transport loads from Jiri to various destinations in Solu Khumbu. A major goal was to test the hypothesis that porter households tend to have smaller landholdings than the average household in this region. An unexpected result was that porter households in this study owned nearly as much arable land (1.07 ha) as the mean of 1.15 ha for all hill families in eastern Nepal. Household grain sufficiency correlated significantly (P < 0.01) with farm size (r = 0.53). The majority of the porters lived in villages located at either the origin or the endpoint of their portage work. The study also examined several variables that might explain why portage labor is a full-time occupation for some Nepalis, but a part-time “casual” occupation for others. The most significant difference between households of full-time and part-time porters was the availability of workers at home for managing the household’s land and livestock resources. Households of full-time porters were better able to spare a family member for full-time wage labor because they had significantly more adult workers of either gender (P < 0.05) than households of part-time porters. Full-time and part-time porter households did not differ significantly with regard to family size, land ownership, or number of food-deficit months.     

A Multi-Criteria Index for Ecological Evaluation of Tropical Agriculture in Southeastern Mexico

The aim of this study was to generate an easy to use index to evaluate the ecological state of agricultural land from a sustainability perspective. We selected environmental indicators, such as the use of organic soil amendments (green manure) versus chemical fertilizers, plant biodiversity (including crop associations), variables which characterize soil conservation of conventional agricultural systems, pesticide use, method and frequency of tillage. We monitored the ecological state of 52 agricultural plots to test the performance of the index. The variables were hierarchically aggregated with simple mathematical algorithms, if-then rules, and rule-based fuzzy models, yielding the final multi-criteria index with values from 0 (worst) to 1 (best conditions). We validated the model through independent evaluation by experts, and we obtained a linear regression with an r² = 0.61 (p = 2.4e-06, d.f. = 49) between index output and the experts’ evaluation.