.png)
Let's discuss sustainability again with a new edition of our "Sustainability Glossary" series. Having covered the fundamental principles of sustainability, we are now ready to explore the terminology associated with sustainable agriculture. Let's dive in together!
Organic farming is an agricultural method that aims to produce food using only natural substances and processes. Therefore, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are prohibited in organic farming.
A holistic approach to agriculture that aims to produce food and generate a positive environmental impact by regenerating soil health, preserving and improving agricultural biodiversity, increasing water retention capacity, and promoting carbon sequestration and soil fertility.
This term refers to the variety of plant, animal, microbial, and other life forms within agricultural systems that contribute to food production and ecosystem resilience.
An integrated approach to agriculture that applies ecological principles to cultivation processes. The goal is to make food production more sustainable, resilient, and socially just.
Biodiversity encompasses the variety of life on Earth, including animal and plant species, genetic variations within species, and their ecosystems. Biodiversity is essential for maintaining ecological balance and provides vital services necessary for human survival, such as pollination and air and water purification.
It is the movement and exchange of essential nutrients (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) between plants, soil, and living organisms that is fundamental to soil fertility and agricultural productivity.
Decision support systems (DSS) are tools that farmers can use to make more informed decisions about farm management. DSS integrate agronomic, economic, and environmental data to provide useful analyses and recommendations. Examples include irrigation DSS, which allow farmers to plan irrigation based on actual field conditions, and disease forecasting DSS, which use predictive models to forecast the onset of pathogens and enable preventive action.
The process of soil degradation due to natural phenomena or human activities, such as deforestation and intensive agricultural practices like deep tillage and soil inversion, which reduces the soil's ability to support crops.
An agricultural practice involving the cultivation of a single plant species on a large scale and for extended periods of time. Although it can increase productivity in the short term, monoculture impoverishes the soil, increases vulnerability to pests, and reduces biodiversity, with negative consequences for ecosystems.
This is a conservation agriculture technique that involves sowing seeds without tilling the soil. It reduces moisture loss, improves soil structure, and limits erosion.
The European Union policy that supports farmers and promotes sustainable agricultural practices to ensure food security and environmental protection.
A sustainable agricultural design system based on observing and imitating natural patterns. It fosters agricultural practices that regenerate soil, preserve biodiversity, and reduce dependence on external inputs, such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
The ability of agricultural systems to adapt to and recover from extreme and unpredictable events of human or natural origin, such as climate change, drought, or economic crises, while ensuring continued food production.
Replanting trees in deforested or degraded areas. This process helps restore ecosystems, increase biodiversity, and capture CO2, playing an important role in the fight against climate change.
This is a set of agricultural practices that aims to sequester carbon in soil and plant biomass. These practices help mitigate climate change by reducing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.
An agricultural technique combining the cultivation of trees and shrubs with crops or livestock to increase productivity, sustainability, and biodiversity.
This agricultural technique involves growing plants that are then incorporated into the soil. It improves the soil's fertility and structure, reduces erosion, and increases organic matter.
This is a gradual decrease in soil pH. If the pH becomes too low, the soil becomes less fertile, and therefore ever more inhospitable for vegetation (both wild and cultivated) and wildlife (micro- and macro-organisms). Acidification is a natural process, but modern agriculture accelerates its rate and amplifies its effects through the excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers.
An ecological process in which a body of water, such as a lake, river, or coastal area, becomes excessively enriched with nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus. This increase in nutrients, which is often caused by the discharge of fertilizers, sewage, or other organic waste, leads to the excessive growth of algae and other aquatic plants, and makes the water inhospitable to other forms of life.
These are impacts that arise directly from the primary processes associated with the production, use, and disposal of a product. In agriculture, these impacts are identified as those derived from activities in the field, such as the CO2 emitted by machinery or substances emitted during fertilization or pest control.
These impacts may not be immediately visible and occur upstream or downstream of the main production processes. In agriculture, they are typically associated with the supply chain of inputs, such as the production and transportation of fertilizers and pesticides.
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases, expressed in kilograms of CO2 equivalent (CO2eq), generated by an activity, product, person, or organization. It includes both direct (e.g., from vehicles) and indirect (e.g., energy consumption) emissions. Reducing the carbon footprint is essential for combating climate change.
The amount of water taken from a source (such as rivers, lakes, aquifers) that is actually consumed for a specific activity, without the possibility of immediate return to the natural water cycle in the same area and under the same quality conditions. In agriculture, consumption is mainly linked to irrigation and therefore to evaporation, transpiration, and absorption, which prevent water from returning directly to the water basin.
.svg)
