Ulrich Schmutz

1. European agriculture and food systems face interlinked environmental, social and economic challenges. These include environmental degradation, climate change, sustainability concerns, economic p...

The transition to Agroforestry (AF) marks a pivotal shift from traditional agricultural practices towards more integrated, sustainable, and diversified farming systems. However, this transition is complex and poses several challenges requiring the cultivation of diverse species alongside crops, demanding careful management and knowledge of forestry and agricultural practices. This study aims to identify distinct farmer categories based on their stated intentions to maintain or adopt agroforestry practices. Then, the effect of sociodemographic, structural and economic factors on the probability of maintaining or adopting AF practices has been analysed among farmers of 4 European countries. Information was gathered through an online questionnaire from a sample of 376 European farms across five countries: Germany, Italy, Greece and Serbia. A multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) has been carried out to classify farmers into ‘active’ and ‘passive’ adopters as well as into ‘conditional-non adopters’ and ‘resistant non-adopters’ categories, by taking into account four future policy scenarios for 2030. Then, the determinants of AF maintenance or adoption were estimated using a multinomial logit model (MNL). Results show that both farm and farmer characteristics affect the probability of belonging to a specific category. Moreover, differences among countries have emerged. The results highlight the need for targeted policy interventions to support farmers in transitioning towards these practices. In addition, it is essential to design such measures in a way that accounts for farms and farmers’ differences and specific socio-economic and environmental contexts. The study findings would contribute to the scientific literature by providing empirical evidence on the heterogeneity of farmers’ intention to maintain or adopt agroforestry practices across some European countries. Furthermore, the findings would offer insights for policymakers to design effective supporting mechanisms to facilitate the maintenance and the adoption of AF.

Stakeholders from six European pilot sites engaged in participatory mapping and land suitability assessments to co-design climate-smart strategies for sustainable land management. The mixed methodology applied combined GIS based landscape vulnerability analysis, stakeholder knowledge, and assessments of ecosystem services. Key phases included preliminary assessment of environmental pressures, participatory SWOT analysis, and collaborative mapping exercises to identify suitable mixed farming (MF) and agroforestry (AF) practices. This approach empowered local communities, enhanced knowledge exchange, and integrated socio-ecological dimensions into land-use planning. Participatory mapping proved effective in capturing spatial perceptions, guiding context-specific transitions, and building consensus on landscape-scale interventions. Based on environmental pressure indicators, the scaling-up analysis showed that, depending on local conditions, the proportion of areas suitable for MF and AF ranged from 2 to 61% of the total area analysed across the six pilot sites. All the stakeholders agreed on the introduction of MF and AF and expressed differing views on their potential to reduce the environmental pressures of agricultural practices and enhance ecosystem services. Practitioners, such as farmers and advisors, emphasised the need for greater knowledge and stronger policy support to implement the transition toward more agroecological farming systems. While results highlight the large potential for MF and AF (up to 61% of the land use, in certain cases), it also showed the importance of participatory tools in bridging scientific research and practice, reinforcing the role of stakeholder engagement in designing resilient and multifunctional agricultural systems. While this might help to bridge the gap between planning and the implementation of agroecological practices across diverse European contexts, further research on the implementations and the socio-economic assessment of MF and AF at landscape scale is needed. Graphical abstract

Although there are several studies comparing organic and conventional milk characteristics, very few focused on dairy processed products such as cheese. Thus, this study aimed for a detailed controlled examination of gross composition, minerals, and the fatty acid profile of organic (ORG) and conventional (CON) Italian cheeses from parallel production. Four Italian cheese types were analyzed: 'Latteria' (ORG, n = 9; CON, n = 10); 'Asiago Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) fresco' (ORG, n = 9; CON, n = 9); 'Caciotta' (ORG, n = 8; CON, n = 8); and 'Mozzarella Traditional Specialties Guaranteed (TSG)' (ORG, n = 14; CON, n = 14). Cheese samples were collected from September 2020 to August 2021. Gross composition, minerals, and fatty acids were determined using infrared spectroscopy. Within each cheese type, paired ORG and CON samples were compared using a non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test. 'Latteria' showed lower PUFA, n-3, and n-6 content, and greater Fe, K, C10:0, C12:0, and C16:0 content in ORG than CON (P < 0.05). 'Asiago PDO fresco' showed lower protein and Zn content, and greater salt, ash, and Na content in ORG than CON (P < 0.05). 'Caciotta' showed lower ash, n-3, and n-6 content and greater K, C4:0, C8:0, C10:0, C14:0, and C16:0 content in ORG than CON (P < 0.05). 'Mozzarella TSG' showed lower fat and, therefore, fatty acids content, and greater moisture, ash, and Mg content in ORG than CON (P < 0.05). In conclusion, few significant differences in chemical composition were observed between ORG and CON cheeses, regardless of the type considered. Moreover, 'Asiago PDO fresco' showed fewer significant differences between ORG and CON when compared with 'Latteria', 'Caciotta', and 'Mozzarella TSG'.

Bristol, one of the United Kingdom’s (UK) nine Core Cities, is seeking to achieve Zero Waste City status by 2049. This study combines macro-economic valuation with transition pathway mapping and adapted participatory scenario planning to stress test the city’s ambitious food waste targets. The primary aim is to enable better understanding of who might be affected by achieving these targets, both locally and nationally, the potential scale of impacts, and therefore the potential barriers and policy opportunities. The valuation focuses on household and commercial food waste, combining available site and city data with national level proxies. Impact areas include changes in sectoral income, employee income, capital owner income, tax revenue, and carbon emissions. Four scenarios, based on two extreme cases, are modelled to consider food waste reduction and potential shifts in consumption patterns. Results indicate that current market and governance failures incentivise waste, and suggest potential routes to transition, including trade-offs and resource reallocation, alongside the need to acknowledge and respond to these profound structural barriers. With further development and testing, the approach may contribute to a better understanding of how to achieve city socioenvironmental targets.

The efficacy of soil conditioner (vermicompost tea), fertiliser (potassium silicate), and biological control agents (BCAs) as practical agroecological copper alternatives against olive leaf spot (Spilocaea oleaginea (Cast.) Hughe.) disease was investigated between 2018 and 2021 under organic management in a Mediterranean climate. In total, 9 agroecological alternatives to copper oxychloride (vermicompost tea, potassium silicate, Bacillus subtilis EU 007 WP, Platanus orientalis leaf extract, Mycorrhiza mix, seaweed commercial product, Trichoderma citrinoviride TR1, vermicompost tea+Platanus orientalis mix, Penicillium (Mouldy bread pieces)) were applied to olive trees in a randomised block design with 4 replicationsTotal water soluble phenol compounds (TWSP) were found to be the main bioindicator to assess the alternatives and their potential to phase-out copper application. Results related to TWSP indicated that copper oxychloride (control), potassium silicate and vermicompost tea showed significantly higher content of TWSP as we compared zero application of copper and other treatments. These stimulate the antioxidant capacity in olive fruits and reduce the olive leaf spot disease incidence. The pollution effect of copper was monitored during the trial to identify soil pollution in the organic in-conversion experimental land. The total annual ‘active copper’ application was 4.7 kg.ha⁻¹.year⁻¹ and this is in accordance with the legal organic legislation of Turkey. During the conversion period from conventional to organic management, we determined approximately 50% reduced copper content in the soil 0–30 cm depth samples in 2020 (3.70 mg.kg⁻¹) as it is compared to those initial samples (6.43 mg.kg⁻¹) in 2018. We conclude that alternatives to copper that are easily accessible, e.g., vermicompost tea, have a potential for use in organic olive production to replace copper in mitigating olive leaf spots. Furthermore, we find that reduced copper application in organic management with the aim to decrease copper accumulation in soil, fruits and leaves was not yet enough to reduce copper to satisfactory levels. We conclude that further research with the aim of a total replacement of copper fungicide treatments in organic and non-organic systems is needed.

Recent literature demonstrates the contribution of short food supply chains (SFSC) to regional economies and sustainable food systems, and acknowledges their role as drivers for sustainable development. Moreover, different types of SFSC have been supported by urban food policies (UFP) over the few last years and actors from the food chain became part of new institutional settings for urban food policies. However, evidence from the sustainability impact assessment (SIA) of these SFSC in urban contexts is limited. Our paper presents an approach for the development of an SIA framework for different SFSC types. In addition, a practical application of the tool in four metropolitan regions (Berlin, London, Ljubljana and Nairobi) is tested. The conceptual development of the SIA framework is based on an in-depth analysis of existing SIA frameworks and methods for assessing the sustainability of agriculture, food chains and food systems and adapted to the specific needs of analysing SFSC in metropolitan regions. The operational value and utility of the framework and the tool were tested with social and natural scientists and local stakeholders. The assessment results demonstrate that SFSC seems to be more sustainable than the baseline (long global food chains) in the social dimension, but also feature specific strengths and weaknesses concerning their economic and environmental sustainability. This might give an indication for regional adjusted strategies and food chain innovations that improve the sustainability performance may be required. We found the tool useful for framing the dialogue between food chain actors, consumers and policy, because it makes benefits and trade-offs of the chain types operating in an urban–rural context more visible and communicable.