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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.

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.

Along the last century there has been an unprecedented growth in both global food production and related socioecological impacts. The objective of this paper is to analyse the effects of long-term metabolic patterns of agrarian systems on land use and cover changes (LUCC) (...)

Along the last century there has been an unprecedented growth in both global food production and related socioecological impacts. The objective of this paper is to analyse the effects of long-term metabolic patterns of agrarian systems on land use and cover changes (LUCC) (...)

Abstract This paper analyses the use of energy in the Spanish Agri-Food System (ASF) between 1960 and 2010. It distinguishes between several different forms of energy (renewable, non-renewable, final and primary), six sectors and up to a hundred activities. The use of energy in the AFS increased 10.2 fold during the period analysed, from 181 TJ to 1855 TJ, between 1960 and 2015. In the first stage, up to 1985, agriculture accounted for the majority of new consumption. However, from that date onwards, consumption in other sectors such as transport, packaging and homes grew at a faster rate. A decomposition analysis reveals that the increase in activity in the sector, in other words managed biomass, explains 46% of the increase in the use of energy, whereas the rest is explained by losses in efficiency, chiefly losses in efficiency within a sector that requires a greater amount of resources per biomass produced. The final energy consumption of the AFS over the total consumption of the economy represents 19.6%, suggesting a significant potential of agri-food policies as means of reducing the use of energy.

Abstract This paper analyses the use of energy in the Spanish Agri-Food System (ASF) between 1960 and 2010. It distinguishes between several different forms of energy (renewable, non-renewable, final and primary), six sectors and up to a hundred activities. The use of energy in the AFS increased 10.2 fold during the period analysed, from 181 TJ to 1855 TJ, between 1960 and 2015. In the first stage, up to 1985, agriculture accounted for the majority of new consumption. However, from that date onwards, consumption in other sectors such as transport, packaging and homes grew at a faster rate. A decomposition analysis reveals that the increase in activity in the sector, in other words managed biomass, explains 46% of the increase in the use of energy, whereas the rest is explained by losses in efficiency, chiefly losses in efficiency within a sector that requires a greater amount of resources per biomass produced. The final energy consumption of the AFS over the total consumption of the economy represents 19.6%, suggesting a significant potential of agri-food policies as means of reducing the use of energy.

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.

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.