Researchers aim to create thriving agricultural systems in urbanizing landscapes
The research team began with the hypothesis that economically sustainable, value-added agriculture in urbanized settings can be achieved while enhancing ecosystem services.
Penn State News
July 31, 2020
Excerpt:
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Agricultural systems in metropolitan regions and in adjacent, nonmetro counties account for more than two-thirds of U.S. net farm income and 97% of net farm income in Pennsylvania.
But can food systems in these urbanized landscapes remain economically and environmentally sustainable in the face of development pressure and perceived disamenities associated with agriculture? A team led by Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences researchers is almost a year into a five-year study aimed at providing answers to this question.
“Communities and consumers in urbanized landscapes value agriculture for locally produced foods, open space and scenery, recreational opportunities such as agritourism, and wildlife habitats,” said project leader David Abler, professor of agricultural, environmental and regional economics and demography. “But the sustainability of agriculture in these areas is threatened by increasing competition for land and water from urban growth and sprawl, and by water pollution, livestock odors, pests and dust from agricultural activities.”
Abler noted that the research team began with the hypothesis that economically sustainable, value-added agriculture in urbanized settings can be achieved while enhancing ecosystem services.
“The overall goal is to make this hypothesis a reality within the next 25 years, using the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a case study that is translatable to other urbanized landscapes,” he said.
