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Manuel González De Molina
Agroecosystem History Lab, Pablo de Olavide University, Carretera de Utrera Km1, 41013 Seville, Spain

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Letter
Published: 01 August 2021 in Environmental Research Letters
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Synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilization has helped boost agricultural yields, but it is also responsible for direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Fertilizer-related emissions are also promoted by irrigation and manure application, which has increased with livestock industrialization. Spanish agriculture provides a paradigmatic example of high industrialization under two different climates (temperate and Mediterranean) and two contrasting water management regimes (rainfed and irrigated). In this study, we estimated the historical evolution of the C footprint of N fertilization (including all the life cycle GHG emissions related to N fertilization) in Spanish agriculture from 1860 to 2018 at the province level (50 provinces) for 122 crops, using climate-specific N2O emission factors (EFs) adjusted to the type of water management and the N source (synthetic fertilizer, animal manure, crop residues and soil N mineralization) and considering changes in the industrial efficiency of N fertilizer production. Overall, N-related GHG emissions increased ~12-fold, up to 10–14 Tg CO2e yr−1 in the 2010s, with much higher growth in Mediterranean than in temperate areas. Direct N2O EFs of N fertilizers doubled due to the expansion of irrigation, synthetic fertilizers and liquid manure, associated with livestock industrialization. Synthetic N production dominated the emissions balance (55%–60% of GHGe in the 21st century). Large energy efficiency gains of industrial fertilizer production were largely offset by the changes in the fertilizer mix. Downstream N2O emissions associated with NH3 volatilization and NO3− leaching increased tenfold. The yield-scaled carbon footprint of N use in Spanish agriculture increased fourfold, from 4 and 5 Mg CO2e Mg N−1 to 16–18 Mg CO2e Mg N−1. Therefore, the results reported herein indicate that increased productivity could not offset the growth in manufacture and soil emissions related to N use, suggesting that mitigation efforts should not only aim to increase N use efficiency but also consider water management, fertilizer type and fertilizer manufacture as key drivers of emissions.

ACS Style

Eduardo Aguilera; Alberto Sanz-Cobena; Juan Infante-Amate; Roberto García-Ruiz; Jaime Vila-Traver; Gloria I Guzmán; Manuel González de Molina; Alfredo Rodríguez; Pablo Piñero; Luis Lassaletta. Long-term trajectories of the C footprint of N fertilization in Mediterranean agriculture (Spain, 1860–2018). Environmental Research Letters 2021, 16, 085010 .

AMA Style

Eduardo Aguilera, Alberto Sanz-Cobena, Juan Infante-Amate, Roberto García-Ruiz, Jaime Vila-Traver, Gloria I Guzmán, Manuel González de Molina, Alfredo Rodríguez, Pablo Piñero, Luis Lassaletta. Long-term trajectories of the C footprint of N fertilization in Mediterranean agriculture (Spain, 1860–2018). Environmental Research Letters. 2021; 16 (8):085010.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Eduardo Aguilera; Alberto Sanz-Cobena; Juan Infante-Amate; Roberto García-Ruiz; Jaime Vila-Traver; Gloria I Guzmán; Manuel González de Molina; Alfredo Rodríguez; Pablo Piñero; Luis Lassaletta. 2021. "Long-term trajectories of the C footprint of N fertilization in Mediterranean agriculture (Spain, 1860–2018)." Environmental Research Letters 16, no. 8: 085010.

Review
Published: 28 July 2021 in Sustainability
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In recent years, the transition to sustainability at a food systems’ scale has drawn major attention both from the scientific and political arenas. Agroecology has become central to such discussions, while impressive efforts have been made to conceptualize the agroecology scaling process. It has thus become necessary to apply the concept of agroecology transitions to the scale of food systems and in different “real-world” contexts. Scaling local agroecology experiences of production, distribution, and consumption, which are often disconnected and/or disorganized, also reveals emergent research gaps. A critical review was performed in order to establish a transdisciplinary dialogue between both political agroecology and the literature on sustainable food systems. The objective was to build insights into how to advance towards Agroecology-based Local Agri-food Systems (ALAS). Our review unveils emergent questions such as: how to overcome the metabolic rift related to segregated activities along the food chain, how to feed cities sustainably, and how they should relate to the surrounding territories, which social subjects should drive such transitions, and which governance arrangements would be needed. The paper argues in favor of the re-construction of food metabolisms, territorial flows, plural subjects and (bottom-up) governance assemblages, placing life at the center of the food system and going beyond the rural–urban divide.

ACS Style

Daniel López-García; Manuel González de Molina. An Operational Approach to Agroecology-Based Local Agri-Food Systems. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8443 .

AMA Style

Daniel López-García, Manuel González de Molina. An Operational Approach to Agroecology-Based Local Agri-Food Systems. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (15):8443.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Daniel López-García; Manuel González de Molina. 2021. "An Operational Approach to Agroecology-Based Local Agri-Food Systems." Sustainability 13, no. 15: 8443.

Research article
Published: 21 April 2021 in Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
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Alternative food systems and networks, which have emerged around the world, are often fragmentary, reduced in size and frequently unfold in parallel, hardly linked to each other. Agroecology faces the challenge of scaling up these initiatives to gain size and a significant impact on food production and consumption. Within the agroecological movement, however, diverse conceptions exist of what a sustainable food system should be. It is thus necessary to reach an extensive consensus, from the perspective of agroecology, on the principles guiding the construction of such a system. This paper discusses the principles that would best steer the building of Agroecology-based Local Agri-food Systems (ALAS). To this end, a critical review of the scientific literature on alternative food networks and systems was performed. In so doing, we highlighted the aspects that one could consider as purely agroecological in nature and sought to bring them together to form a coherent proposal. Consequently, the present paper systematizes the main contributions of literature on alternative food networks and systems, taking into account the characteristics of sustainability from an agroecology viewpoint, and identifies the issues requiring further development. Several principles are proposed to define local food systems, based on the four dimensions of sustainability: environmental health, economic viability, social equity and the right to decide what, how and for whom food is produced.

ACS Style

Manuel González De Molina; Daniel Lopez-Garcia. Principles for designing Agroecology-based Local (territorial) Agri-food Systems: a critical revision. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 2021, 45, 1050 -1082.

AMA Style

Manuel González De Molina, Daniel Lopez-Garcia. Principles for designing Agroecology-based Local (territorial) Agri-food Systems: a critical revision. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 2021; 45 (7):1050-1082.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Manuel González De Molina; Daniel Lopez-Garcia. 2021. "Principles for designing Agroecology-based Local (territorial) Agri-food Systems: a critical revision." Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 45, no. 7: 1050-1082.

Journal article
Published: 12 November 2020 in Historia Agraria Revista de agricultura e historia rural
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ACS Style

Lourenzo Fernández Prieto; Domingo Gallego; Ramón Garrabou; Manuel González De Molina. Josep Pujol, una rememoración personal, historiográfica e histórica: Cabeza, sentido y sensación. Historia Agraria Revista de agricultura e historia rural 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Lourenzo Fernández Prieto, Domingo Gallego, Ramón Garrabou, Manuel González De Molina. Josep Pujol, una rememoración personal, historiográfica e histórica: Cabeza, sentido y sensación. Historia Agraria Revista de agricultura e historia rural. 2020; (82):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lourenzo Fernández Prieto; Domingo Gallego; Ramón Garrabou; Manuel González De Molina. 2020. "Josep Pujol, una rememoración personal, historiográfica e histórica: Cabeza, sentido y sensación." Historia Agraria Revista de agricultura e historia rural , no. 82: 1.

Journal article
Published: 30 October 2019 in Sustainability
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Wheat yields are predicted to decrease over the next decades due to climate change (CC). Mediterranean regions are characterized by low soil fertility and stressful conditions that limit the effect of technological improvements on increasing yield gains, while worsening the negative CC impacts. Additionally, organic farming (OF) lacks specifically adapted genetic material. Accordingly, there is a need to search for varieties adapted to these conditions and whose cultivation may help semi-arid agroecosystems sustainability, focusing on specific agronomic and functional traits. To this purpose, wheat landraces and modern wheat varieties were evaluated under Mediterranean rainfed conditions during three growing seasons under contrasting situations: A conventional farm and an organic farm. Results regarding straw production, weed biomass and biodiversity, and grain N concentration suggest that the cultivation of landraces under Mediterranean rainfed conditions can enhance agroecosystem sustainability through positive effects on ecosystem services such as soil quality, functional biodiversity, or grain protein content, without significant reductions in grain yield. Results highlight the relevant role of wheat landraces as genetic resources for the development of cultivars adapted to Mediterranean agroecosystems conditions, especially for organic farming, but also for conventional agriculture.

ACS Style

Guiomar Carranza-Gallego; Gloria I. Guzmán; Roberto Garcia-Ruíz; Manuel González De Molina; Eduardo Aguilera. Addressing the Role of Landraces in the Sustainability of Mediterranean Agroecosystems. Sustainability 2019, 11, 6029 .

AMA Style

Guiomar Carranza-Gallego, Gloria I. Guzmán, Roberto Garcia-Ruíz, Manuel González De Molina, Eduardo Aguilera. Addressing the Role of Landraces in the Sustainability of Mediterranean Agroecosystems. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (21):6029.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guiomar Carranza-Gallego; Gloria I. Guzmán; Roberto Garcia-Ruíz; Manuel González De Molina; Eduardo Aguilera. 2019. "Addressing the Role of Landraces in the Sustainability of Mediterranean Agroecosystems." Sustainability 11, no. 21: 6029.

Book chapter
Published: 01 January 2019 in MUDANÇAS NOS SISTEMAS AGRÍCOLAS E TERRITÓRIOS NO BRASIL
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ACS Style

Romier Da Paixão Sousa; Manuel González De Molina. EDUCACIÓN PROFESIONAL E INNOVACIÓN EN LOS SISTEMAS DE PRODUCCIÓN DE LOS JÓVENES CAMPESINOS EN LA AMAZONÍA: UNA REFLEXIÓN DESDE LA AGROECOLOGÍA. MUDANÇAS NOS SISTEMAS AGRÍCOLAS E TERRITÓRIOS NO BRASIL 2019, 1 .

AMA Style

Romier Da Paixão Sousa, Manuel González De Molina. EDUCACIÓN PROFESIONAL E INNOVACIÓN EN LOS SISTEMAS DE PRODUCCIÓN DE LOS JÓVENES CAMPESINOS EN LA AMAZONÍA: UNA REFLEXIÓN DESDE LA AGROECOLOGÍA. MUDANÇAS NOS SISTEMAS AGRÍCOLAS E TERRITÓRIOS NO BRASIL. 2019; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Romier Da Paixão Sousa; Manuel González De Molina. 2019. "EDUCACIÓN PROFESIONAL E INNOVACIÓN EN LOS SISTEMAS DE PRODUCCIÓN DE LOS JÓVENES CAMPESINOS EN LA AMAZONÍA: UNA REFLEXIÓN DESDE LA AGROECOLOGÍA." MUDANÇAS NOS SISTEMAS AGRÍCOLAS E TERRITÓRIOS NO BRASIL , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 16 October 2018 in Sustainability
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The high grain yield of modern varieties (MV) respond to the increase in fossil-based inputs, and the widespread belief that they are more productive than old varieties (OV) is biased. This belief focuses only on marketable biomass, without considering the consequences on agroecosystem sustainability of the reductions in other portions of NPP. Additionally, field comparisons of OV and MV were normally conducted under industrialized farming conditions, which is detrimental for OV performance. Both trials carried out in this study comparing wheat OV and MV show that, under Mediterranean rainfed conditions and traditional organic management, aerial and belowground biomass production of OV is higher than that of MV, without significantly decreasing yield and enabling a better competition against weeds. From the data of our trials, bibliographic review and information from historical sources, we have reconstructed the NPP and destinations of biomass of Spanish wheat fields (1900–2000). Varietal replacement entailed the reduction in residues and unharvested biomass (UhB), which involved soil degradation in rainfed cereal fields and undermining heterotrophic trophic webs. Our results suggest that OV can increase the sustainability of rainfed Mediterranean agroecosystems at present through the improvement of soil quality, the reduction of herbicides use, and the recovery of biodiversity.

ACS Style

Guiomar Carranza-Gallego; Gloria Isabel Guzmán; David Soto; Eduardo Aguilera; Inma Villa; Juan Infante-Amate; Antonio Herrera; Manuel González De Molina. Modern Wheat Varieties as a Driver of the Degradation of Spanish Rainfed Mediterranean Agroecosystems throughout the 20th Century. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3724 .

AMA Style

Guiomar Carranza-Gallego, Gloria Isabel Guzmán, David Soto, Eduardo Aguilera, Inma Villa, Juan Infante-Amate, Antonio Herrera, Manuel González De Molina. Modern Wheat Varieties as a Driver of the Degradation of Spanish Rainfed Mediterranean Agroecosystems throughout the 20th Century. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (10):3724.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guiomar Carranza-Gallego; Gloria Isabel Guzmán; David Soto; Eduardo Aguilera; Inma Villa; Juan Infante-Amate; Antonio Herrera; Manuel González De Molina. 2018. "Modern Wheat Varieties as a Driver of the Degradation of Spanish Rainfed Mediterranean Agroecosystems throughout the 20th Century." Sustainability 10, no. 10: 3724.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2018 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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Agriculture represents about 11% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe). Many climate change mitigation strategies have been evaluated in Mediterranean agroecosystems, including their soil organic carbon sequestration potential. High residue yielding old varieties could constitute a useful alternative, especially for organic farming, which lacks specific genetic material. In this study, old and modern wheat varieties were evaluated under organic (ORG) and conventional (CON) management during a 3-year field experiment under rainfed Mediterranean conditions. Field measurements of biomass components, literature emission factors, and soil organic carbon modeling were combined in an attributional Life Cycle Assessment, in order to estimate GHGe from “cradle to farm gate”. The resulting yield-based carbon footprints of old wheat varieties were significantly lower than those of modern varieties both under CON management, decreasing from 263 to 144 g CO2e kg−1, and under ORG management, decreasing from 29 to −43 g CO2e kg−1. Our results indicate that climate change mitigation strategies in Mediterranean rainfed cereal cropping systems should focus on diminishing GHGe from machinery and fertilizer use, and promoting carbon sequestration. The combination of organic management and old cereal varieties can constitute a promising climate change mitigation strategy in these systems, as low area-scaled GHGe of organic management are combined with enhanced carbon sequestration and a good yield performance of old varieties under these conditions.

ACS Style

G. Carranza-Gallego; G.I. Guzmán; Roberto Garcia-Ruiz; Manuel González de Molina; Eduardo Aguilera. Contribution of old wheat varieties to climate change mitigation under contrasting managements and rainfed Mediterranean conditions. Journal of Cleaner Production 2018, 195, 111 -121.

AMA Style

G. Carranza-Gallego, G.I. Guzmán, Roberto Garcia-Ruiz, Manuel González de Molina, Eduardo Aguilera. Contribution of old wheat varieties to climate change mitigation under contrasting managements and rainfed Mediterranean conditions. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2018; 195 ():111-121.

Chicago/Turabian Style

G. Carranza-Gallego; G.I. Guzmán; Roberto Garcia-Ruiz; Manuel González de Molina; Eduardo Aguilera. 2018. "Contribution of old wheat varieties to climate change mitigation under contrasting managements and rainfed Mediterranean conditions." Journal of Cleaner Production 195, no. : 111-121.

Journal article
Published: 20 July 2018 in Land Use Policy
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Population increase, the change in consumption patterns and a greater demand for biomaterials will continue to put pressure on the use of land over the coming decades, an increasingly scarce and degraded resource. Trade allows the environmental impact of consumption to be outsourced to third countries, although it also allows production to be located in more productive areas. The aim of this paper is to shed light on those processes by studying the land embodied in biomass trade and consumption in Spain with a long-term perspective. It seeks to analyse the main patterns of historic change, the drivers and impacts associated with the increase in demands for land associated with consumption and biomass trade. Spain has always been a net importer of land, especially since the 1960s, when trade experienced accelerated growth. In 2008, net imports stood at 6.5 Mha. Using decomposition analysis, we show that increases in yield could have absorbed the new demands derived from population increase; however, changes in consumption, particularly with regard to diet, have increased demand, requiring land usage to be displaced to third countries.

ACS Style

Juan Infante-Amate; Eduardo Aguilera; Francesco Palmeri; Gloria Guzmán; David Soto; Roberto Garcia-Ruiz; Manuel González de Molina. Land embodied in Spain’s biomass trade and consumption (1900–2008): Historical changes, drivers and impacts. Land Use Policy 2018, 78, 493 -502.

AMA Style

Juan Infante-Amate, Eduardo Aguilera, Francesco Palmeri, Gloria Guzmán, David Soto, Roberto Garcia-Ruiz, Manuel González de Molina. Land embodied in Spain’s biomass trade and consumption (1900–2008): Historical changes, drivers and impacts. Land Use Policy. 2018; 78 ():493-502.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Juan Infante-Amate; Eduardo Aguilera; Francesco Palmeri; Gloria Guzmán; David Soto; Roberto Garcia-Ruiz; Manuel González de Molina. 2018. "Land embodied in Spain’s biomass trade and consumption (1900–2008): Historical changes, drivers and impacts." Land Use Policy 78, no. : 493-502.

Journal article
Published: 01 April 2018 in Science of The Total Environment
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Soil organic carbon (SOC) management is key for soil fertility and for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, particularly in desertification-prone areas such as Mediterranean croplands. Industrialization and global change processes affect SOC dynamics in multiple, often opposing, ways. Here we present a detailed SOC balance in Spanish cropland from 1900 to 2008, as a model of a Mediterranean, industrialized agriculture. Net Primary Productivity (NPP) and soil C inputs were estimated based on yield and management data. Changes in SOC stocks were modeled using HSOC, a simple model with one inert and two active C pools, which combines RothC model parameters with humification coefficients. Crop yields increased by 227% during the studied period, but total C exported from the agroecosystem only increased by 73%, total NPP by 30%, and soil C inputs by 20%. There was a continued decline in SOC during the 20th century, and cropland SOC levels in 2008 were 17% below their 1933 peak. SOC trends were driven by historical changes in land uses, management practices and climate. Cropland expansion was the main driver of SOC loss until mid-20th century, followed by the decline in soil C inputs during the fast agricultural industrialization starting in the 1950s, which reduced harvest indices and weed biomass production, particularly in woody cropping systems. C inputs started recovering in the 1980s, mainly through increasing crop residue return. The upward trend in SOC mineralization rates was an increasingly important driver of SOC losses, triggered by irrigation expansion, soil cover loss and climate change-driven temperature rise.

ACS Style

Eduardo Aguilera; Gloria I. Guzmán; Jorge Álvaro-Fuentes; Juan Infante-Amate; Roberto García-Ruiz; Guiomar Carranza-Gallego; David Soto; Manuel González de Molina. A historical perspective on soil organic carbon in Mediterranean cropland (Spain, 1900–2008). Science of The Total Environment 2018, 621, 634 -648.

AMA Style

Eduardo Aguilera, Gloria I. Guzmán, Jorge Álvaro-Fuentes, Juan Infante-Amate, Roberto García-Ruiz, Guiomar Carranza-Gallego, David Soto, Manuel González de Molina. A historical perspective on soil organic carbon in Mediterranean cropland (Spain, 1900–2008). Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 621 ():634-648.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Eduardo Aguilera; Gloria I. Guzmán; Jorge Álvaro-Fuentes; Juan Infante-Amate; Roberto García-Ruiz; Guiomar Carranza-Gallego; David Soto; Manuel González de Molina. 2018. "A historical perspective on soil organic carbon in Mediterranean cropland (Spain, 1900–2008)." Science of The Total Environment 621, no. : 634-648.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2018 in Ecology and Society
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Guzmán, G. I., E. Aguilera, R. García-Ruiz, E. Torremocha, D. Soto-Fernández, J. Infante-Amate, and M. González de Molina. 2018. The agrarian metabolism as a tool for assessing agrarian sustainability, and its application to Spanish agriculture (1960-2008). Ecology and Society 23(1):2. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09773-230102

ACS Style

Gloria I. Guzmán; Eduardo Aguilera; Roberto García-Ruiz; Eva Torremocha; David Soto-Fernández; Juan Infante-Amate; Manuel González De Molina. The agrarian metabolism as a tool for assessing agrarian sustainability, and its application to Spanish agriculture (1960-2008). Ecology and Society 2018, 23, 1 .

AMA Style

Gloria I. Guzmán, Eduardo Aguilera, Roberto García-Ruiz, Eva Torremocha, David Soto-Fernández, Juan Infante-Amate, Manuel González De Molina. The agrarian metabolism as a tool for assessing agrarian sustainability, and its application to Spanish agriculture (1960-2008). Ecology and Society. 2018; 23 (1):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gloria I. Guzmán; Eduardo Aguilera; Roberto García-Ruiz; Eva Torremocha; David Soto-Fernández; Juan Infante-Amate; Manuel González De Molina. 2018. "The agrarian metabolism as a tool for assessing agrarian sustainability, and its application to Spanish agriculture (1960-2008)." Ecology and Society 23, no. 1: 1.

Journal article
Published: 16 December 2017 in Sustainability
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For a large extent of historiography, the history of Spanish agriculture during the twentieth century is a story of success. However, this narrative has been built on monetary analysis, and it does not usually take into account the effects on rural society and agroecosystems. The aim of this paper is to analyze what has happened from a biophysical perspective to ascertain whether transformations linked with industrialization of agriculture have also been positive. For this, we have integrated the results—some unpublished and others already published—of a broader research project about different aspects of food production from a biophysical perspective in Spain, applying methodologies pertaining to the Social Metabolism. Our research seeks to provide a new narrative, emerging through the consideration of environmental aspects of the process, providing a more complex vision of the process of industrialization in European agriculture. The results show that the industrialization of Spanish agriculture has brought about profound changes in land uses and in the functionality of the biomass produced, increasing pressure on croplands and, paradoxically, facilitating the abandonment of an important proportion of pasture and croplands. This has led to the subordination of a very significant portion of Spanish agroecosystems to the feed demands of intensive livestock farming. This process has been based on the injection of large quantities of external energy. Agricultural production has undergone significant growth since the 1960s, but this has been insufficient to deal with the growing demand created by the change in the Spanish diet and the increasing trend to focus on livestock farming. The process of globalization has allowed both roles to be reconciled, although in recent decades Spain has accentuated its role as a net importer of biomass from a biophysical perspective, with very significant impacts on third party countries, particularly in Latin America. From a biophysical perspective, the industrialization of Spanish agriculture has entailed negative consequences that threaten the sustainability of Spanish agroecosystems and also negatively affect the sustainability of other territories.

ACS Style

Manuel González De Molina; David Soto Fernández; Juan Infante-Amate; Eduardo Aguilera; Jaime Vila Traver; Gloria I. Guzmán. Decoupling Food from Land: The Evolution of Spanish Agriculture from 1960 to 2010. Sustainability 2017, 9, 2348 .

AMA Style

Manuel González De Molina, David Soto Fernández, Juan Infante-Amate, Eduardo Aguilera, Jaime Vila Traver, Gloria I. Guzmán. Decoupling Food from Land: The Evolution of Spanish Agriculture from 1960 to 2010. Sustainability. 2017; 9 (12):2348.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Manuel González De Molina; David Soto Fernández; Juan Infante-Amate; Eduardo Aguilera; Jaime Vila Traver; Gloria I. Guzmán. 2017. "Decoupling Food from Land: The Evolution of Spanish Agriculture from 1960 to 2010." Sustainability 9, no. 12: 2348.

Journal article
Published: 04 August 2017 in Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
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This article analyzes the evolution of organic production in Andalusia (Southern Spain) over the course of the past decade. The analysis shows the important growth sustained by this sector supported above all by public funding. However, it is developing within an institutional framework that is favorable to conventional agriculture, generating certain imbalances that are pushing organic production toward conventionalization, and generating a strong dependence on public funding and the behavior of international markets. An institutional change is required, promoting a model of organic production that is far removed from the input substitution model, in order to ensure that organic production is more sustainable.

ACS Style

María Ramos García; Gloria Isabel Guzmán; Manuel González De Molina. Dynamics of organic agriculture in Andalusia: Moving toward conventionalization? Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 2017, 42, 328 -359.

AMA Style

María Ramos García, Gloria Isabel Guzmán, Manuel González De Molina. Dynamics of organic agriculture in Andalusia: Moving toward conventionalization? Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 2017; 42 (3):328-359.

Chicago/Turabian Style

María Ramos García; Gloria Isabel Guzmán; Manuel González De Molina. 2017. "Dynamics of organic agriculture in Andalusia: Moving toward conventionalization?" Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 42, no. 3: 328-359.

Articles
Published: 21 April 2017 in Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
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Agroecology is a transdisciplinary approach focused initially on agroecosystems and then on broader agro-food systems, which responds to the growing problems arising from an increasingly globalized and industrialized agro-food system. Given that these problems are not homogeneously distributed worldwide, the emergence of agroecology could not be homogenous either. In fact, it is linked to regions, such as Latin America, which have suffered early and serious socio-environmental problems caused by industrialized agriculture. This explains why agroecology in Europe emerged first in Andalusia where, owing to a series of circumstances, there was a certain similarity with social processes unraveling in Latin America. The first part of the paper provides an account of the emergence of agroecology in Andalusia (and Spain), offering explanations about the context that made it possible and the actors involved. It also justifies the strong social and political content that agroecology had in Andalusia from the very beginning. This strong sociopolitical orientation made a very significant contribution to agroecological thought, becoming one of the fundamental pillars of its very definition as a scientific approach. The second section analyzes the circumstances that facilitated the realization of planned government action and sets out the consequences of its implementation. The final section draws certain conclusions about the specificity of agroecology in Andalusia and its contribution to the development of agroecological theory and practice on a global scale.

ACS Style

Manuel González De Molina; Gloria I. Guzmán. On the Andalusian origins of agroecology in Spain and its contribution to shaping agroecological thought. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 2017, 41, 256 -275.

AMA Style

Manuel González De Molina, Gloria I. Guzmán. On the Andalusian origins of agroecology in Spain and its contribution to shaping agroecological thought. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 2017; 41 (3):256-275.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Manuel González De Molina; Gloria I. Guzmán. 2017. "On the Andalusian origins of agroecology in Spain and its contribution to shaping agroecological thought." Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 41, no. 3: 256-275.

Original article
Published: 09 March 2017 in Regional Environmental Change
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According to the agroecological approach, energy analyses applied to agriculture should provide information about the structure and functions of the agroecosystem; in other words, about the maintenance of its fund elements, which sustain the flow of ecosystem services. To this end, we have employed a methodological proposal that adds agroecological EROIs to the existing economic EROIs. This methodology is applied here for the first time at the country level, and over a long-term historical period. The Spanish agroforestry sector, which is representative of Mediterranean agroclimatic conditions, has been studied on a decadal basis from 1900 to 2008, fully spanning its process of industrialization and modernization. The results show the loss of energy efficiency brought about by the industrialization of Spanish agriculture. The economic EROIs (FEROI, EFEROI and IFEROI) fell by 42, 93 and 12%, respectively. The shift towards livestock production and the dramatic increase in industrial inputs are the causes of this decline. With regard to agroecological EROIs, NPPact EROI and Biodiversity EROI fell by 6 and 15%, respectively. This suggests that the fund elements are being degraded and alerts us to low returns to nature in the form of un-harvested biomass available to aboveground and underground wildlife. Finally, Woodening EROI increased by 48%. Sixty percentage of this increment was due to the growth of woodland in areas freed from agricultural activities. However, this change in land use was partly due to feed imports from third countries where deforestation processes may well be taking place, an effect that has not been considered in the analysis.

ACS Style

Gloria I. Guzmán; Manuel González de Molina; David Soto Fernández; Juan Infante-Amate; Eduardo Aguilera. Spanish agriculture from 1900 to 2008: a long-term perspective on agroecosystem energy from an agroecological approach. Regional Environmental Change 2017, 18, 995 -1008.

AMA Style

Gloria I. Guzmán, Manuel González de Molina, David Soto Fernández, Juan Infante-Amate, Eduardo Aguilera. Spanish agriculture from 1900 to 2008: a long-term perspective on agroecosystem energy from an agroecological approach. Regional Environmental Change. 2017; 18 (4):995-1008.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gloria I. Guzmán; Manuel González de Molina; David Soto Fernández; Juan Infante-Amate; Eduardo Aguilera. 2017. "Spanish agriculture from 1900 to 2008: a long-term perspective on agroecosystem energy from an agroecological approach." Regional Environmental Change 18, no. 4: 995-1008.

Journal article
Published: 01 March 2017 in Anthropocene
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Since prehistoric times, farmers have faced the challenge of balancing the demand for increasing food production from existing soil resources with conservation of these resources. Land use change from natural vegetation to agricultural land and intensification of agricultural soil management are closely linked to increased rates of soil erosion. This review analyzed and quantified the effects of changes in past land use and agricultural soil management on soil erosion. At a global scale, the period of the first significant land use change closely corresponds to a first wave of soil erosion. Equally important, however, are changes in past soil management. As shown by numerous case studies, changes in management under the same land use can convert sustainable agroecosystems into highly degraded systems. As soil erosion rates, soil profile truncation, agricultural yield, and biomass production are closely related, considering the interactions and feedback effects is important when modelling this system. This paper shows how modelling the dynamics of past soil erosion and agricultural sustainability raises similar challenges to those of quantifying future changes in climate or agricultural systems.This research was funded under the research projects “AGL2012-40128-C03-01”,“AGL2012-40128-C03-02” and “AGL2012-40128-C03-03”. The first author is grateful for the funding by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under the Ramon y Cajal Fellowship programme.Peer reviewe

ACS Style

Tom Vanwalleghem; J.A. Gómez; Juan Infante-Amate; Manuel González de Molina; Karl Vanderlinden; Gema Guzmán; Ana M. Laguna; Juan Giraldez. Impact of historical land use and soil management change on soil erosion and agricultural sustainability during the Anthropocene. Anthropocene 2017, 17, 13 -29.

AMA Style

Tom Vanwalleghem, J.A. Gómez, Juan Infante-Amate, Manuel González de Molina, Karl Vanderlinden, Gema Guzmán, Ana M. Laguna, Juan Giraldez. Impact of historical land use and soil management change on soil erosion and agricultural sustainability during the Anthropocene. Anthropocene. 2017; 17 ():13-29.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tom Vanwalleghem; J.A. Gómez; Juan Infante-Amate; Manuel González de Molina; Karl Vanderlinden; Gema Guzmán; Ana M. Laguna; Juan Giraldez. 2017. "Impact of historical land use and soil management change on soil erosion and agricultural sustainability during the Anthropocene." Anthropocene 17, no. : 13-29.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2017 in The Journal of Interdisciplinary History
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The English Agricultural Revolution began during a period of climate change in which temperatures decreased significantly. Lower temperatures meant less bacterial activity, a slower release of mineral nitrogen into cultivated soils, and a shorter growing season for crops—a combination that tended to diminish yields. The English farmers reacted by increasing the flow of organic matter and manure into the soil, thus mitigating the negative effect of the colder temperatures to some extent. When the temperatures rose again, the faster mineralization of soil organic matter led to bountiful yields that encouraged English farmers to continue with these innovative strategies. The upshot is that the English agricultural revolution was more a discovery than an invention, that the English agricultural revolution was more a discovery than an invention, induced by a combination of climate challenges, social and institutional settings, and market incentives.

ACS Style

Enric Tello; José Luis Martínez; Gabriel Jover-Avellà; José Ramon Olarieta; Roberto Garcia-Ruiz; Manuel González de Molina; Marc Badia-Miró; Verena Winiwarter; Nikola Koepke. The Onset of the English Agricultural Revolution: Climate Factors and Soil Nutrients. The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 2017, 47, 445 -474.

AMA Style

Enric Tello, José Luis Martínez, Gabriel Jover-Avellà, José Ramon Olarieta, Roberto Garcia-Ruiz, Manuel González de Molina, Marc Badia-Miró, Verena Winiwarter, Nikola Koepke. The Onset of the English Agricultural Revolution: Climate Factors and Soil Nutrients. The Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 2017; 47 (4):445-474.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Enric Tello; José Luis Martínez; Gabriel Jover-Avellà; José Ramon Olarieta; Roberto Garcia-Ruiz; Manuel González de Molina; Marc Badia-Miró; Verena Winiwarter; Nikola Koepke. 2017. "The Onset of the English Agricultural Revolution: Climate Factors and Soil Nutrients." The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 47, no. 4: 445-474.

Journal article
Published: 10 January 2017 in Sustainability
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This paper documents the origin and conceptual ambiguity of the terms Sustainable, Ecological and Agroecological Intensification. It defines the concept of Ecological Intensification from an agroecological perspective, and examines in energy terms whether it may be sustainable. To illustrate the theory, we apply Land Cost of Sustainable Agriculture (LACAS) methodology to Spanish agriculture, which is representative of Mediterranean agroclimatic conditions. As a result, we demonstrate the impossibility of generalizing an extensive Organic Farming (OF) scenario under the techniques currently used by organic farmers. This is due to the fact that it would bring about a reduction of 13% in agricultural production. Which necessarily means that OF has to be intensified under agroecological criteria. This option is also explored in two scenarios. As a result, we show that it is possible to compensate the yield gap between OF and conventional agriculture by implementing low-entropy internal loop strategies which reduce the land cost of generating the necessary nitrogen flows. However, these cannot exceed the limits established by the structure of Spanish territory. That is, agroecological intensification cannot be prolonged indefinitely over time since it is limited by the land available.

ACS Style

Manuel González De Molina; Gloria I. Guzmán Casado. Agroecology and Ecological Intensification. A Discussion from a Metabolic Point of View. Sustainability 2017, 9, 86 .

AMA Style

Manuel González De Molina, Gloria I. Guzmán Casado. Agroecology and Ecological Intensification. A Discussion from a Metabolic Point of View. Sustainability. 2017; 9 (1):86.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Manuel González De Molina; Gloria I. Guzmán Casado. 2017. "Agroecology and Ecological Intensification. A Discussion from a Metabolic Point of View." Sustainability 9, no. 1: 86.

Chapter
Published: 01 January 2017 in Socio-Metabolic Perspectives on the Sustainability of Local Food Systems
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Agri-food systems are sustainable when they can meet human needs while maintaining the basic funds and ecosystem services of agoecosystems and cultural landscapes in both a reproducible way and a healthy ecological state, at local, regional and global scales. This axiological definition involves a large research agenda to explore the operative criteria and indicators needed to know how to achieve this goal. It has to be a transdisciplinary research, capable of linking some of the already existing methodologies, like Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA), Material and Energy Flow Accounting of Social Metabolism (MEFA), Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM), Agroecology, Landscape Ecology, Political Ecology and valuation of site-specific Biocultural Heritages of Peasant Knowledge. We will examine these approaches and the accounting methods, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, so as to combine them in innovative ways within a common framework focused on the interactive relations among societal and ecological metabolisms. To do so in a non-eclectic manner requires an agroecological perspective when accounting energy and material flows of farm systems, linking them with landscape ecology patterns and processes which sustain farm-associated biodiversity and derived ecosystem services, and adopting at all times an environmental history standpoint.

ACS Style

Enric Tello; Manuel González De Molina. Methodological Challenges and General Criteria for Assessing and Designing Local Sustainable Agri-Food Systems: A Socio-Ecological Approach at Landscape Level. Socio-Metabolic Perspectives on the Sustainability of Local Food Systems 2017, 27 -67.

AMA Style

Enric Tello, Manuel González De Molina. Methodological Challenges and General Criteria for Assessing and Designing Local Sustainable Agri-Food Systems: A Socio-Ecological Approach at Landscape Level. Socio-Metabolic Perspectives on the Sustainability of Local Food Systems. 2017; ():27-67.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Enric Tello; Manuel González De Molina. 2017. "Methodological Challenges and General Criteria for Assessing and Designing Local Sustainable Agri-Food Systems: A Socio-Ecological Approach at Landscape Level." Socio-Metabolic Perspectives on the Sustainability of Local Food Systems , no. : 27-67.

Journal article
Published: 01 October 2016 in Journal of Historical Geography
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Juan Infante-Amate; Inmaculada Villa; Felipe Jiménez; Manuel Martínez Martín; David Martínez López; Geoff Cunfer; Manuel González De Molina. The rise and fall of the cortijo system: scattered rural settlements and the colonization of land in Spain's Mediterranean mountains since 1581. Journal of Historical Geography 2016, 54, 63 -75.

AMA Style

Juan Infante-Amate, Inmaculada Villa, Felipe Jiménez, Manuel Martínez Martín, David Martínez López, Geoff Cunfer, Manuel González De Molina. The rise and fall of the cortijo system: scattered rural settlements and the colonization of land in Spain's Mediterranean mountains since 1581. Journal of Historical Geography. 2016; 54 ():63-75.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Juan Infante-Amate; Inmaculada Villa; Felipe Jiménez; Manuel Martínez Martín; David Martínez López; Geoff Cunfer; Manuel González De Molina. 2016. "The rise and fall of the cortijo system: scattered rural settlements and the colonization of land in Spain's Mediterranean mountains since 1581." Journal of Historical Geography 54, no. : 63-75.