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Social-Ecological Outcomes of Agricultural Intensification

Vang Rasmussen, Laura, Brendan Coolsaet, Adrian Martin, Ole Mertz, Unai Pascual, Esteve Corbera, Neil Dawson, Janet A. Fisher, Phil Franks and Casey M. Ryan. 2018. Social-Ecological Outcomes of Agricultural Intensification. Nature Sustainability, 1:275-282.

Abstract

Land-use intensification in agrarian landscapes is seen as a key strategy to simultaneously feed humanity and use ecosystems sustainably, but the conditions that support positive social-ecological outcomes remain poorly documented. We address this knowledge gap by synthesizing research that analyses how agricultural intensification affects both ecosystem services and human well-being in low- and middle-income countries. Overall, we find that agricultural intensification is rarely found to lead to simultaneous positive ecosystem service and well-being outcomes. This is particularly the case when ecosystem services other than food provisioning are taken into consideration.

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