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Ferreira da Silva da Costa Freitas, Maria de Belém
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- An approach using entropy and supervised classifications to disaggregate agricultural data at a local levelPublication . Xavier, Antonio; Fragoso, Rui; Costa Freitas, M. B.; Rosario, Maria do SocorroChanges in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) had several consequences on land-use and on the environment. This calls for detailed disaggregated agricultural data with precise geographical references. To tackle such problems data disaggregation processes are needed and a series of studies are being carried out at international level, which still have not taken the utmost advantage of remote sensing technologies by combining them with mathematical programming methods, namely entropy. Therefore, the objective of this article was to provide an approach to disaggregate agricultural data at the local level, taking advantage of the existent up-to-date satellite imagery and an entropy approach for manage different sets of data. The results were compared with other approaches and showed to be coherent, and may be improved further with the inclusion of other information.
- Apple production and apple value chains in EuropePublication . Muder, A.; Garming, H.; Dreisiebner-Lanz, S.; Kerngast, K.; Rosner, F.; Kličková, K.; Kurthy, G.; Cimer, K.; Bertazzoli, A.; Altamura, V.; De Ros, G.; Zmarlicki, K.; Costa Freitas, M. B.; Duarte, Amílcar; Bravin, E.; Kambor, J.; Karamürsel, D.; Pınar Öztürk, F.; Kaçal, E.This paper presents an overview of the apple sector in nine major apple producing countries in Europe, in order to assess factors for the competitiveness of the national apple value chains and identify challenges for the future development of the sector. Based on international and national statistical data and expert assessment, key characteristics of apple production and value chains are analyzed. For each country, a brief description of the development of apple production and acreage over the past ten years, farm size distribution, level of production technology and main market channels is presented, followed by a discussion of differences and similarities. Results show a diverse picture of the apple sectors in Europe. Similarities are observed in the existence of regional production clusters and a generally small farm size. Differences are found in the technology level, with a broad range of very traditional extensive production systems up to highly intensified orchards with high tree density. All countries experienced high fluctuation in apple production quantities over the past years, mainly due to weather events, particularly spring frost and drought, and climate risks are expected to increase in the future, leading to increasing costs for mitigation measures
- Farming for nature in the Montado: the application of ecosystem services in a results-based modelPublication . Helena Guimarães, M.; Pinto-Correia, Teresa; Costa Freitas, M. B.; Ferraz-de-Oliveira, Isabel; Sales-Baptista, Elvira; da Veiga, José Francisco Ferragolo; Tiago Marques, J.; Pinto-Cruz, Carla; Godinho, Carlos; Belo, Anabela D.F.The Montado is a silvopastoral system with a tree cover of predominantly Quercus suber but also Quercus rotundifolia, where cattle or sheep graze the understory. It occupies more than one million hectares in southern Portugal, and a similar landscape, the Dehesa, covers ca. three million hectares in Spain. These silvopastoral systems can simultaneously benefit the environment and socio-economic activities by providing a bundle of ecosystem services (ESs). However, an ongoing trend of decline in tree density and the covered area is threat-ening such provision. Policies are needed to motivate farmers to secure the ESs that they provide. One possible format is the development of a results-based model (RBM) for agri-environment schemes (AES), implemented under the Common Agricultural Policy. In an RBM, farmers are paid when they deliver specific environmental results (ERs) (e.g. healthy and functional soils), that are linked with the provision of different (and often mul-tiple) ESs. This study defines possible ERs for the Montado and details how these results are linked to the pro-vision of ESs. It then considers management actions that can allow the achievement of these ERs and the costs of these actions. Our methodological approach is based on a transdisciplinary dialogue involving researchers, practitioners (i.e farmers), public authorities and policy makers. The results of the process include the identi-fication of four main ERs: a healthy soil ecosystem, a biodiverse native-Mediterranean pasture, an oak tree layer where regeneration exists (i.e. trees of different ages), and preserved or enhanced landscape elements, for example riparian galleries with vegetation. These ERs increase the supply of provisioning services (e.g. cork production), of regulating services, (e.g. carbon sequestration), and cultural services (e.g. aesthetic inspiration). RBMs allow farmers to use any management practice they choose as the focus is on the results. Nonetheless, to estimate costs we identified 12 potential strategic management practices (and their cost) along with the technical support that farmers would need. We conclude that an RBM could be an affordable solution for public policies in the Montado system, given the limited government budget for supporting AES.
- Using participatory mapping to Foster Community-Based disaster risk reduction in Forest Fire-Prone Areas: the case of Monchique in PortugalPublication . Partidário, Maria; Saad, Guilherme; Monteiro, Margarida B.; Dias, Joana; Martins, Rute; Ramos, Isabel Loupa; Ribeiro, Henrique; Teixeira, Miguel; Costa Freitas, M. B.; Antunes, CarlaLocal knowledge and communities’ active role in disaster risk areas are recognized in the literature as key conditions to better understand risks, enhance adaptive capacities and foster local resilience. A participatory action research project in forest fire-prone areas in Monchique, Portugal, is aligned with the literature and adopts participatory mapping as a method that can bring evidence to the importance of local knowledge and communities’ agency. In the BRIDGE Project, different types of knowledge are integrated, triggering local/collective agency and fostering a forest fire community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) approach. An innovation laboratory (InnoLab) provides the space for dialogue and knowledge sharing for different actors that manage forest territories. In the InnoLab, participatory mapping is used as a method to engage landowners where risk factors and local vulnerabilities were identified. Their active engagement enabled a collective perception in the assessment of vulnerability and led to the identification of strategic measures for risk reduction. This paper shares the process and outcomes of this participatory mapping, highlighting the benefits of a community approach and the importance of local knowledge and practices as recognized in the literature. It also reveals how the active role of local stakeholders can help drive a CBDRR process.
- A composite indicator to measure sustainable water use in Portugal: a compromise programming approachPublication . Costa Freitas, M. B.; Xavier, António; Fragoso, Rui; Antunes, CarlaClean water is an important resource for maintaining human life, economic activities, and ecosystems' survival. Nevertheless, its irregular distribution and occasional scarcity lead to the need to promote its sustainable use. To assess the current situation and the dynamics of sustainable water use, it is crucial to identify the main factors affecting it and to propose monitoring indicators. This paper develops an approach based on compromise programming to analyse water use sustainability at the municipal level, with a methodology that comprise a framework designed in five steps: 1 - indicators' choice; 2 - indicators's weights; 3 - definition of sustainability rankings with the application of a compromise programming approach; 4- application of a GIS analysis; 5 - identification of the main factors affecting sustainable water use. As a first result, the consensus weights of the chosen indicators were defined, indicating that the most important internal factors affecting sustainable water use are safe water, the percentage of housing served by water supply and water distributed by inhabitant. Then sustainability rankings at the municipality level were defined considering these factors. Finally, it was possible to conclude that tourism activity, income level, and young age population have a significant negative effect on sustainable water use, and municipal revenue has a positive effect. Irrigated farming shows a non-significant negative effect on sustainable water use. Population density, elderly population and education level did not show the expected effects on sustainable water use.
- A minimum cross entropy approach to disaggregate agricultural data at the field levelPublication . Xavier, Antonio; Fragoso, Rui; Costa Freitas, M. B.; Rosario, Maria do Socorro; Valente, FlorentinoAgricultural policies have impacts on land use, the economy, and the environment and their analysis requires disaggregated data at the local level with geographical references. Thus, this study proposes a model for disaggregating agricultural data, which develops a supervised classification of satellite images by using a survey and empirical knowledge. To ensure the consistency with multiple sources of information, a minimum cross-entropy process was used. The proposed model was applied using two supervised classification algorithms and a more informative set of biophysical information. The results were validated and analyzed by considering various sources of information, showing that an entropy approach combined with supervised classifications may provide a reliable data disaggregation.
- The Montado/Dehesa cow-calf production systems in Portugal and Spain: an economic and resources’ use approachPublication . Costa Freitas, M. B.; Ventura-Lucas, Maria Raquel; Izquierdo, Lola; Deblitz, ClausThe Montado in Portugal and Dehesa in Spain is a unique agro-silvo-pastoral system designed to overcome food needs in a scarce resource’s environment. The system competitiveness is not clear and it is now under severe threats, caused by extensification or abandonment of less fertile areas and by intensification in more fertile ones. The aim of the undertaken research is to compare the cow-calf production within these systems in Portugal and Spain, identifying their strengths and weaknesses and the main drivers of their evolution, and to compare these systems with other European countries’ systems, ranking their competitiveness and e ciency among other systems in the EU. The research indicates that Montado/Dehesa farms systems are dependent on the type of farming system, its context and management, i.e., on the decision and its context; so, in a context of Mediterranean land system changes, the future of the Montado/Dehesa ecosystem depends on the ability of the cow-calf production systems to face the future and to perceive the modifications needed to overcome new challenges and take advantage of new opportunities.
- Analysing the recent dynamics of agricultural sustainability in Portugal using a compromise programming approachPublication . Xavier, António; Costa Freitas, M. B.; Fragoso, Rui; Rosário, Maria do SocorroSociety recognises the importance of agriculture to supply goods, which are essential for human survival and well-being. Sustainable agriculture is an important goal since resources need to be preserved for future generations. The recent agricultural policy orientations towards environmental concerns have also had consequences for Portuguese agriculture. The information provided by the 2019 Agricultural Census offers an opportunity to analyse the recent dynamics and establish rankings of municipalities related to agricultural sustainability. Sustainability in agriculture can be studied using different types of indicators, but its quantification and aggregation into an index is still difficult. This paper proposes an approach based on compromise programming to analyse sustainability considering the dynamics between the 2009 and 2019 Agricultural Census. This approach has three main steps: in the first one, the indicators are selected and a HJ-Biplot and Cluster analysis are carried out to identify groups of municipalities and general dynamics; in the second step, the weights of indicators are defined, and a novel compromise programming model is implemented to define the rankings of sustainability for each year; finally, in the third step, the spatial dynamics of the sustainability rankings are analysed and classified into the clusters of municipalities previously created. The analysis was implemented using data from the 308 Portuguese municipalities for 12 individual indicators encompassing the several dimensions of sustainability. The results were promising since the approach allowed for the identification of the main dynamics and tendencies regarding sustainability.
- An integrated decision support system for the Mediterranean forestsPublication . Costa Freitas, M. B.; Xavier, António; Fragoso, R.Mediterranean forests contain a relevant biological diversity and are relevant for local economy. However, they are subject to various risks, particularly the risk of forest fires. This turns the critical decisions of forest managers, affecting both the long-term future of the forest and daily activities, to be difficult. To simulate decisions, and help managers and policy makers, a decision support system, which integrates the biological, environmental and economic management perspectives of agricultural and forest areas, was developed and considers the activities existing in the territory. The decision support system considers the characteristics of the biophysical units that comprise the territorial study area, production technologies and conservation of agro-forestry goods and preferences of managers or stakeholders. The proposed approach was applied in a pilot Forest Intervention Zone (FIZ) located within the Algarve region inner land. The results show that the decision support system proposed is an important tool for managing the territory and for implementing the manager's decisions. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.