StefanoTargetti - Integrating farm-level socio-economic indicators and ecosystem services into the LPJmL model

The objective of the research granted by Imera is to achieve a better understanding of the causal relationships and feedbacks between ecosystem services and farm-level socio-economic indicators. The study expects to improve the knowledge base in support of the identification of sustainable development trajectories of Mediterranean agriculture through the integration of socio-economic indicators in the LPJmL (Lund– Potsdam–Jena managed Land Dynamic Global Vegetation and Water Balance Model). The research will be shaped as a thorough review of existing knowledge (with a particular focus on non-science information channels) integrated with a structured expert-based assessment concerning the relationship between socio-economic indicators and ecosystem services.

The involvement of the Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Ecology (IMBE, supervisor Dr. Alberte Bondeau) and the INRA Eco-development unit (INRA EcoDev, supervisor Dr. Claude Napoleone) will support the research and ensure a strong multi-disciplinary approach to the study of future scenarios of Mediterranean agriculture under global change scenarios.