The MEETA model quantifies arable farm inputs and outputs in terms of financial, energy and emissions results.
A detailed survey was carried out in five EU regions (Brandenburg, Andalucia, Midi-Pyrénées, Flevoland and Zachodniopomorskie) that collected data for typical current arable activities on input quantities, timing of input use, crop rotations, machinery and labour use, and associated costs.
Greatest impacts are associated with simplified, high input arable systems.
At Drayton, changes in surrounding crop cover, with the introduction of willow coppice and reduced area of arable land and agricultural inputs, considerably influenced ground beetle activity/density and assemblages in non-crop habitat.
Further, the use of pesticides in such areas is often greatly reduced (compared to arable field) and organic inputs (dung, manures) can be greater.
Perennial crops or forestry are suitable land uses; arable farming requires recurrent inputs of fertilizers and/or lime.
Maize and beans occupy > 80% of the arable land in low-input, low-yielding subsistence farming.
The intensity indicators, nitrogen input (to arable crops and to permanent grassland), density of livestock units and number of pesticide applications (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and retardants), were recorded and integrated into an overall intensity index.
Adopting factor analysis and mixed effect models, we show that the percentage cover of species-rich farmland and landscape elements can be predicted by a combination of factors describing the intensity of arable farming, topography, low-input grassland farming, landscape structure and the intensity of livestock farming.
This measure might have been successful, whereas the European average of the Cd input to arable soils via phosphate fertilizers was 1.6 g/ha/y, in Sweden this value was as low as 0.1 g/ha/y [32].
