Assessment of federal databases to evaluate agroecosystem productivity

摘要

Ecological monitoring data that could provide indications of agroecosystem condition, such as soil microbial biomass, biodiversity in the patches or mineralizable-N, are not available on a national scale. This paper discusses the economists' and ecologists' approach to assessing agroecosystem productivity, and the data available to make ecological assessments of agroecosystems on a national level. Models and indices of productivity used by ecologists and economists are briefly discussed in the context of agricultural inputs and outputs. Databases on production, pesticides, fertilizers, water use, water and air quality, land use, soil, labor and machinery are evaluated for their ability to make national trend assessments on how this ecosystem responds to stress. 39 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.