Selection of the minimum indicator set for agricultural sustainability assessments at the plot scale

Abstract

Some authors raise concerns about the validity, reliability, and transparency of indicator selection in agricultural sustainability assessments. In this regard, several selection criteria have been put forward for sustainability assessments at the farm, regional, country, or planet levels. However, assessments at the plot or experimental unit level require, in addition to the adaptation of these criteria or the generation of new ones, the construction of a selection methodology. Thus, the aim of this study was to build a framework for selecting the minimum set of indicators that will be part of the agricultural sustainability analyses at the plot or experimental unit level. A hierarchical order of indicators was established, consisting of raw, baseline, and core indicators; the latter made up the minimum indicators set (MIS). Subsequently, selection procedures and criteria were established, consisting of mandatory, main non-mandatory, alternative non-mandatory, and correlation indicators. The selection method was evaluated with the results of a greenhouse tomato fertilization study. Of the 40 raw indicators with which the analysis began, the MIS was made up of eight core indicators: three environmental, four social, and one economic. This indicator selection method uses a rigorous process, with 22 selection criteria, distributed in four hierarchical groups. At the same time, it promotes less subjectivity, by including statistical analysis, algorithms, and mathematical processes.