Assessment of the state of agroecosystem sustainability using landscape indicators: a comparative study of three rural areas in Greece

ABSTRACT

The research was based on a comparative study of three representative rural areas (Dovras, Larissa, and Messapia) in Greece. Remote sensing data were collected (maps, aerial photographs) for the landscape analysis and elaborated using GIS linked with economic and social parameters regarding land use. By using a selected core set of landscape indicators, this research aims at providing a useful tool for assessing agroecosystem management at territorial level and hopefully assist decision-making for the promotion of sustainability. The selected tool showed that the study area of Messapia presented the highest level of environmental sustainability, while the area of Dovras showed the best combination of agricultural productivity and landscape management. Results showed that the ecoregions of Dovras, Larissa, and Messapia presented a landscape composed of important ecological function areas in the percentages of 40%, 15%, and 70%, respectively, and of cultivated areas in the percentages of 55%, 71.19%, and 19.75%, respectively.

KEYWORDS:

• Agroecosystem sustainability
• rural development
• landscape ecology
• landscape indicators
• remote sensing.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank for their support and cooperation the Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Laboratory of Mineralogy-Geology of the Agricultural University of Athens, the Faculty of Geology and Geo-environment of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and the Hellenic Statistical Authority. The authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this paper and Eleanor Lea for her assistance in checking and correcting the English language.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.