Assessment of land use relations and the sustainability of agricultural systems: considering different views to foster social learning

ABSTRACT Soil degradation creates diverse problems across varying dimensions, including food and water insecurity as well as greater vulnerability to climate change especially in Brazil. This uncover the complexity of land use as well as the challenges to asses it. In this article, a multiple case study is presented. Results obtained from three surveys using the IQRM method are discussed to assess the extent to which agricultural land is capable of supporting the uses and management adopted by farmers. When inferring about the degree of adequacy of land use and management, IQRM makes it possible to indicate situations that deserve greater attention because they demonstrate a need for improvements or because they represent references of good environmental performance in a given context. The method IQRM integrated different kinds of knowledge in land use assessment. It is a crucial factor to foster social learning processes and sustainability in the Brazilian context.