Socio-Metabolic Perspectives on the Sustainability of Local Food Systems, 2017
This chapter digs into the history of local food systems (LFS), arguing that we need to understan... more This chapter digs into the history of local food systems (LFS), arguing that we need to understand pre-industrial, organic forms of agriculture to learn about its potentially sustainable futures. A close look back in time provides insights into the structure and functioning of LFS under the conditions of an agrarian socio-metabolic regime . We use socio-ecological concepts and methods derived from the “Vienna School” of Social Ecology to address three sustainability challenges of pre-industrial local food systems (PILFS)—the maintenance of soil fertility in the long run, the stable provision of food for the farming community and the equal distribution of critical resources. We draw upon a rich tradition of Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER), applying it to Austria for a systemic understanding of PILFS and their sustainability potentials and constraints. The results and lessons learnt from pre-industrial agriculture are used to explore specific solutions and “leapfrogging” opportunities in recent discussions on the sustainability of local food systems.
Maintaining soil fertility was the most pressing problem in preindustrial agriculture. Prior to t... more Maintaining soil fertility was the most pressing problem in preindustrial agriculture. Prior to the arrival of industrial inputs, farmers relied on ecological soil replenishment processes and biological fertilizing techniques to sustain the productivity of soil. Central European farmers actively managed the cycling of nutrients by keeping livestock. Farm animals provided the means to recycle nutrients from crop production and to transfer nutrients from land-use systems dedicated for biomass extraction, such as grasslands. This article explores the unequal distribution of these vital resources in the Manor Bruck, Austria, and its impact on landlord’s and peasant’s abilities to meet the “land costs” of sustaining soil fertility. The article tests the hypothesis as to whether inequality was a major driver for unsustainable farming practices and the degradation of agro-ecosystems in the long run. Focal points are commons and communal land-use systems and their role in cycling nutrients ...
ABSTRACT Understanding the dynamics of society’s physical exchange processes with the environment... more ABSTRACT Understanding the dynamics of society’s physical exchange processes with the environment (society’s metabolism) is a major theme of long-term socioecological research. In this paper, we adapt the concept of socioecological metabolism to analyze the competition between gunpowder production and agriculture for nitrogen (N) in the pre-industrial agro-ecosystem of Pamhagen in the late eighteenth century. Saltpeter (KNO3)—the main ingredient of gunpowder—was chemically refined from agricultural waste products, in particular manure and wood ash, which were vital for the maintenance of soil fertility. In this paper, we reconstruct nitrogen flows in the agro-ecosystem of Pamhagen and establish a nutrient balance, which allows assessing the impact of saltpeter production on agricultural soil fertility management. We find that nitrate extracted by saltpeter production in our case study was equivalent to 23 % of the total available nitrogen in manure in 1778 and 12 % in 1780. The growing demand for gunpowder and thus the artisanal production of saltpeter became influential drivers in the management of societal nitrogen flows on the local level, competing over key resources for sustaining soil fertility and leaving a substantial imprint on the nutrient budget of agricultural soils as less nitrogen was available for plant uptake.
Research on seigneurial agriculture and its role for agricultural changes in general has a long t... more Research on seigneurial agriculture and its role for agricultural changes in general has a long tradition within European Agricultural History. Still, much discussion arises on whether to emphasize «peasant paths» or “landlord paths” of agricultural development. This study contributes to the debate by introducing a social ecology perspective. Using the nineteenth-century case study of Grundherrschaft (manor) Grafenegg, we offer a first attempt at conceptualizing and empirically scrutinizing resource use and distribution in (late) Central European seigneurial agriculture. We integrate rich archival material to reconstruct the distribution of three central resources –land, food and labour– among the agrarian agents (e.g. manorial farmsteads, peasant farms and smallholdings). We found that the three central resources in pre-industrial agriculture were distributed unequally between the various farmsteads involved; labour was abundant, whereas food and land were scarce. The labour surplu...
Die Habsburgermonarchie hatte aufgrund ihrer zahlreichen Feldzuge eine konstante und signifikante... more Die Habsburgermonarchie hatte aufgrund ihrer zahlreichen Feldzuge eine konstante und signifikante Nachfrage nach Schiespulver. Schiespulver ist ein Gemisch, bestehend aus Kaliumnitrat (Salpeter), Schwefel und Kohle. Die Nitrate zur Herstellung des Salpeters wurden ursprunglich in Stallen im ganzen Land gesammelt. Dort waren sie durch die Zersetzung der tierischen Abfalle in den Stallboden entstanden oder sie bluhten in ihrer Reinform an den Stallwanden aus. Im Laufe des 18. Jahrhunderts setzten im Salpetergewerbe proto-industrielle Prozesse ein, welche auf die verbesserte und effizientere Produktion von Salpeter abzielten, indem man nitratreiche Erden aus verschiedensten organischen Abfallen herstellte. Setzte man zuvor auf die naturlichen Prozesse der Nitrat-Mineralisation in den stickstoffreichen Schauplatzen der Landwirtschaft wie den Stallen, Scheunen und Mistplatzen, ging man nun zusehends dazu uber die Nitrate kunstlich auf privaten und staatlich finanzierten Salpeter-Plantage...
Fertile soils are essential for human health and nutrition and formed the foundation of human eco... more Fertile soils are essential for human health and nutrition and formed the foundation of human economies for millennia. Soils deserve close attention from environmental and economic historians and sustainability scientists. Most soil history literature addresses failure: misuse of soil, uncontrolled erosion, and the resulting collapse of past civilizations. More important, however, and of urgent interest for our present and future prosperity, are the mundane ways that historical farm communities sustained soil health, even while cultivating the same land for centuries. This article explains five strategies by which European and North American farmers accessed, recycled, replenished, and sustained soil fertility over 250 years. By evaluating inputs, extractions, transfers, and annual balances of potassium, phosphorus, and, especially, nitrogen, it models historical soil management in a variety of agroecosystems in various geographical settings and through time. This biophysical enviro...
A B S T R A C T Late 18th century agriculture was under social and economic pressures, emanating ... more A B S T R A C T Late 18th century agriculture was under social and economic pressures, emanating from unprecedented population growth and establishing world markets. Farmers met these challenges successfully and largely without external energy subsidies and mineral fertilizers. Our research asks (1) if and how performance gains were achieved by improving traditional nutrient management through advanced, organic farming and (2) whether this early agrarian intensification compromised the natural capital of agro-ecosystems. We present a long-term socio-ecological perspective on nutrient cycling in the historical agro-ecosystem of the estate Bruck in eastern Austria, from 1787 to 1906. Focal point is the development of different patterns in nutrient cycling, tracing the transition from traditional, organic to industrial farming. We used nutrient balances and input-output analysis for a quantitative assessment of nitrogen and phosphorus flows. To investigate the correlation between growing system performance and improved internal nutrient cycling, we applied the Finn cycling index (FCI), which represents the fraction of nutrients recycled on-farm before leaving the system. Improving nutrient cycling entailed the operational integration of livestock, the utilization of ecological nutrient replenishment processes through legume intercropping and optimizing nutrient transfers from extensive land-use systems. Nitrogen recycling grew steadily from 20% in 1787 to 36% in 1906. Phosphorus recycled on farm grew accordingly from 33% in 1787 to 46% in 1840, before dropping to 31% in 1906 due to increased application of mineral fertilizers. We show, that cereal yields more than doubled through improved traditional nutrient management. In the long-run, however, advanced organic farming induced an unsustainable use of phosphorus and the loss of ecological buffer capacity from traditional mixed land-use systems.
R esearch on seigneurial agriculture and its role for agricultural changes in general has a long ... more R esearch on seigneurial agriculture and its role for agricultural changes in general has a long tradition within European Agricultural History. Still, much discussion arises on whether to emphasize «peasant paths» or " landlord paths " of agricultural development. This study contributes to the debate by introducing a social ecology perspective. Using the nineteenth-century case study of Grundherrschaft (manor) Grafenegg, we offer a first attempt at conceptualizing and empirically scrutinizing resource use and distribution in (late) Central European seigneurial agriculture. We integrate rich archival material to reconstruct the distribution of three central resources –land, food and labour– among the agrarian agents (e.g. manorial farmste-ads, peasant farms and smallholdings). We found that the three central resources in pre-industrial agriculture were distributed unequally between the various farmsteads involved ; labour was abundant, whereas food and land were scarce. The labour surplus extracted by the landlords caused subsistence pressure on most of the peasants, forcing them to use their modest resource base more efficiently, which in turn had effects on the local agroecology.
Understanding the dynamics of society's physical exchange processes with the environment (soci-et... more Understanding the dynamics of society's physical exchange processes with the environment (soci-ety's metabolism) is a major theme of long-term socio-ecological research. In this paper, we adapt the concept of socioecological metabolism to analyze the competition between gunpowder production and agriculture for nitrogen (N) in the pre-industrial agro-ecosystem of Pamhagen in the late eighteenth century. Saltpeter (KNO 3)—the main ingredient of gunpowder—was chemically refined from agricultural waste products, in particular manure and wood ash, which were vital for the maintenance of soil fertility. In this paper, we reconstruct nitrogen flows in the agro-ecosystem of Pamhagen and establish a nutrient balance, which allows assessing the impact of saltpeter production on agricultural soil fertility management. We find that nitrate extracted by saltpeter production in our case study was equivalent to 23 % of the total available nitrogen in manure in 1778 and 12 % in 1780. The growing demand for gunpowder and thus the artisanal production of salt-peter became influential drivers in the management of societal nitrogen flows on the local level, competing over key resources for sustaining soil fertility and leaving a substantial imprint on the nutrient budget of agricultural soils as less nitrogen was available for plant uptake.
Socio-Metabolic Perspectives on the Sustainability of Local Food Systems, 2017
This chapter digs into the history of local food systems (LFS), arguing that we need to understan... more This chapter digs into the history of local food systems (LFS), arguing that we need to understand pre-industrial, organic forms of agriculture to learn about its potentially sustainable futures. A close look back in time provides insights into the structure and functioning of LFS under the conditions of an agrarian socio-metabolic regime . We use socio-ecological concepts and methods derived from the “Vienna School” of Social Ecology to address three sustainability challenges of pre-industrial local food systems (PILFS)—the maintenance of soil fertility in the long run, the stable provision of food for the farming community and the equal distribution of critical resources. We draw upon a rich tradition of Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER), applying it to Austria for a systemic understanding of PILFS and their sustainability potentials and constraints. The results and lessons learnt from pre-industrial agriculture are used to explore specific solutions and “leapfrogging” opportunities in recent discussions on the sustainability of local food systems.
Maintaining soil fertility was the most pressing problem in preindustrial agriculture. Prior to t... more Maintaining soil fertility was the most pressing problem in preindustrial agriculture. Prior to the arrival of industrial inputs, farmers relied on ecological soil replenishment processes and biological fertilizing techniques to sustain the productivity of soil. Central European farmers actively managed the cycling of nutrients by keeping livestock. Farm animals provided the means to recycle nutrients from crop production and to transfer nutrients from land-use systems dedicated for biomass extraction, such as grasslands. This article explores the unequal distribution of these vital resources in the Manor Bruck, Austria, and its impact on landlord’s and peasant’s abilities to meet the “land costs” of sustaining soil fertility. The article tests the hypothesis as to whether inequality was a major driver for unsustainable farming practices and the degradation of agro-ecosystems in the long run. Focal points are commons and communal land-use systems and their role in cycling nutrients ...
ABSTRACT Understanding the dynamics of society’s physical exchange processes with the environment... more ABSTRACT Understanding the dynamics of society’s physical exchange processes with the environment (society’s metabolism) is a major theme of long-term socioecological research. In this paper, we adapt the concept of socioecological metabolism to analyze the competition between gunpowder production and agriculture for nitrogen (N) in the pre-industrial agro-ecosystem of Pamhagen in the late eighteenth century. Saltpeter (KNO3)—the main ingredient of gunpowder—was chemically refined from agricultural waste products, in particular manure and wood ash, which were vital for the maintenance of soil fertility. In this paper, we reconstruct nitrogen flows in the agro-ecosystem of Pamhagen and establish a nutrient balance, which allows assessing the impact of saltpeter production on agricultural soil fertility management. We find that nitrate extracted by saltpeter production in our case study was equivalent to 23 % of the total available nitrogen in manure in 1778 and 12 % in 1780. The growing demand for gunpowder and thus the artisanal production of saltpeter became influential drivers in the management of societal nitrogen flows on the local level, competing over key resources for sustaining soil fertility and leaving a substantial imprint on the nutrient budget of agricultural soils as less nitrogen was available for plant uptake.
Research on seigneurial agriculture and its role for agricultural changes in general has a long t... more Research on seigneurial agriculture and its role for agricultural changes in general has a long tradition within European Agricultural History. Still, much discussion arises on whether to emphasize «peasant paths» or “landlord paths” of agricultural development. This study contributes to the debate by introducing a social ecology perspective. Using the nineteenth-century case study of Grundherrschaft (manor) Grafenegg, we offer a first attempt at conceptualizing and empirically scrutinizing resource use and distribution in (late) Central European seigneurial agriculture. We integrate rich archival material to reconstruct the distribution of three central resources –land, food and labour– among the agrarian agents (e.g. manorial farmsteads, peasant farms and smallholdings). We found that the three central resources in pre-industrial agriculture were distributed unequally between the various farmsteads involved; labour was abundant, whereas food and land were scarce. The labour surplu...
Die Habsburgermonarchie hatte aufgrund ihrer zahlreichen Feldzuge eine konstante und signifikante... more Die Habsburgermonarchie hatte aufgrund ihrer zahlreichen Feldzuge eine konstante und signifikante Nachfrage nach Schiespulver. Schiespulver ist ein Gemisch, bestehend aus Kaliumnitrat (Salpeter), Schwefel und Kohle. Die Nitrate zur Herstellung des Salpeters wurden ursprunglich in Stallen im ganzen Land gesammelt. Dort waren sie durch die Zersetzung der tierischen Abfalle in den Stallboden entstanden oder sie bluhten in ihrer Reinform an den Stallwanden aus. Im Laufe des 18. Jahrhunderts setzten im Salpetergewerbe proto-industrielle Prozesse ein, welche auf die verbesserte und effizientere Produktion von Salpeter abzielten, indem man nitratreiche Erden aus verschiedensten organischen Abfallen herstellte. Setzte man zuvor auf die naturlichen Prozesse der Nitrat-Mineralisation in den stickstoffreichen Schauplatzen der Landwirtschaft wie den Stallen, Scheunen und Mistplatzen, ging man nun zusehends dazu uber die Nitrate kunstlich auf privaten und staatlich finanzierten Salpeter-Plantage...
Fertile soils are essential for human health and nutrition and formed the foundation of human eco... more Fertile soils are essential for human health and nutrition and formed the foundation of human economies for millennia. Soils deserve close attention from environmental and economic historians and sustainability scientists. Most soil history literature addresses failure: misuse of soil, uncontrolled erosion, and the resulting collapse of past civilizations. More important, however, and of urgent interest for our present and future prosperity, are the mundane ways that historical farm communities sustained soil health, even while cultivating the same land for centuries. This article explains five strategies by which European and North American farmers accessed, recycled, replenished, and sustained soil fertility over 250 years. By evaluating inputs, extractions, transfers, and annual balances of potassium, phosphorus, and, especially, nitrogen, it models historical soil management in a variety of agroecosystems in various geographical settings and through time. This biophysical enviro...
A B S T R A C T Late 18th century agriculture was under social and economic pressures, emanating ... more A B S T R A C T Late 18th century agriculture was under social and economic pressures, emanating from unprecedented population growth and establishing world markets. Farmers met these challenges successfully and largely without external energy subsidies and mineral fertilizers. Our research asks (1) if and how performance gains were achieved by improving traditional nutrient management through advanced, organic farming and (2) whether this early agrarian intensification compromised the natural capital of agro-ecosystems. We present a long-term socio-ecological perspective on nutrient cycling in the historical agro-ecosystem of the estate Bruck in eastern Austria, from 1787 to 1906. Focal point is the development of different patterns in nutrient cycling, tracing the transition from traditional, organic to industrial farming. We used nutrient balances and input-output analysis for a quantitative assessment of nitrogen and phosphorus flows. To investigate the correlation between growing system performance and improved internal nutrient cycling, we applied the Finn cycling index (FCI), which represents the fraction of nutrients recycled on-farm before leaving the system. Improving nutrient cycling entailed the operational integration of livestock, the utilization of ecological nutrient replenishment processes through legume intercropping and optimizing nutrient transfers from extensive land-use systems. Nitrogen recycling grew steadily from 20% in 1787 to 36% in 1906. Phosphorus recycled on farm grew accordingly from 33% in 1787 to 46% in 1840, before dropping to 31% in 1906 due to increased application of mineral fertilizers. We show, that cereal yields more than doubled through improved traditional nutrient management. In the long-run, however, advanced organic farming induced an unsustainable use of phosphorus and the loss of ecological buffer capacity from traditional mixed land-use systems.
R esearch on seigneurial agriculture and its role for agricultural changes in general has a long ... more R esearch on seigneurial agriculture and its role for agricultural changes in general has a long tradition within European Agricultural History. Still, much discussion arises on whether to emphasize «peasant paths» or " landlord paths " of agricultural development. This study contributes to the debate by introducing a social ecology perspective. Using the nineteenth-century case study of Grundherrschaft (manor) Grafenegg, we offer a first attempt at conceptualizing and empirically scrutinizing resource use and distribution in (late) Central European seigneurial agriculture. We integrate rich archival material to reconstruct the distribution of three central resources –land, food and labour– among the agrarian agents (e.g. manorial farmste-ads, peasant farms and smallholdings). We found that the three central resources in pre-industrial agriculture were distributed unequally between the various farmsteads involved ; labour was abundant, whereas food and land were scarce. The labour surplus extracted by the landlords caused subsistence pressure on most of the peasants, forcing them to use their modest resource base more efficiently, which in turn had effects on the local agroecology.
Understanding the dynamics of society's physical exchange processes with the environment (soci-et... more Understanding the dynamics of society's physical exchange processes with the environment (soci-ety's metabolism) is a major theme of long-term socio-ecological research. In this paper, we adapt the concept of socioecological metabolism to analyze the competition between gunpowder production and agriculture for nitrogen (N) in the pre-industrial agro-ecosystem of Pamhagen in the late eighteenth century. Saltpeter (KNO 3)—the main ingredient of gunpowder—was chemically refined from agricultural waste products, in particular manure and wood ash, which were vital for the maintenance of soil fertility. In this paper, we reconstruct nitrogen flows in the agro-ecosystem of Pamhagen and establish a nutrient balance, which allows assessing the impact of saltpeter production on agricultural soil fertility management. We find that nitrate extracted by saltpeter production in our case study was equivalent to 23 % of the total available nitrogen in manure in 1778 and 12 % in 1780. The growing demand for gunpowder and thus the artisanal production of salt-peter became influential drivers in the management of societal nitrogen flows on the local level, competing over key resources for sustaining soil fertility and leaving a substantial imprint on the nutrient budget of agricultural soils as less nitrogen was available for plant uptake.
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