Diversity of service provided by territories with high density of animal production, three case studies

Abstract

We analysed three case-study of European territories with highly dense animal production, and with different diversity of animal farming systems, sensitivity of their ecosystem, and strategies for manure management: i) Brittany, a mixed-farming territory with mixed-animal species, and highly sensitive ecosystems, ii) Germany a territory with intensive development of anaerobic digestion for the production of renewable energy and iii) Catalonia a territory with a recent and very fast development of pig production in a situation with limited agricultural land. These systems are characterized by high production levels per area and labor units, with an intensive use of external inputs, especially for animal feeding. In spite of significant progress, negative local environmental impacts, especially eutrophication and acidification, remains a critical point of these systems. Conversely, global impacts, such as the emission of greenhouse gases are low per production unit, because of the production type, mainly dairy and monogastric animals, and their high efficiency. They are even reduced for methane production. These systems are also facing socio-economic questioning in relation to highly fluctuating incomes of farmers, and animal welfare. Different levers for action specific of these high animal density territories are proposed to improve managing the tradeoffs between the different services they provide.