F.A. Nicholson, J.R. Williams, R. Cassidy, D. Doody, A. Ferriera, A. Jamsek, Ø. Kaste, S., Langas, R. K. Laursen, P. Schipper, N. Surdyk, L. Tendler, J. van Vliet and K. Verloop

 

Explore the full results online »Survey and review of existing decision support tools or
download the original report »Survey and review of existing decision support tools_D5.1.pdf


A comprehensive overview of decision support tools (DSTs) used by farmers, farm advisors, water managers and policy makers in the EU for water, nutrient and pesticide management was undertaken encompassing paper-based guidelines, farm-level software and phone apps, and complex models intended for research studies. The overall purpose of the review was to select a subset of DSTs that could be further assessed by the Multi Actor Programme (MAP) leaders for their potential suitability in managing water quality within the case study catchments of the FAIRWAY project.

Structured searches of the scientific literature largely returned details of research-based modelling tools; therefore the unique combination of expertise and practical experience of the project participants was used to identify farm-scale tools and other locally developed DSTs that were assessed as being important in a national context. More than 150 DSTs were identified in total, of which 36 were selected for further investigation based on their national importance and relevance to the project aims (Table 1). For these DSTs, a set of Information Sheets were produced to provide an easily accessible source of key information on tool capa-bilities, and a subset were demonstrated to a group of project partners and MAP leaders at a Workshop.

Table 1. Short list of DSTs for further consideration.

No. Country DST name Nutrient tool Pesticide tool WQ indic. WQ Mitigation
1 DE Düngeplanung 1.6 Y Y
2 DE ISIP Y Y
3 DK Mark Online Y Y Y
4 DK Dyrkningsvejledninger Y Y
5 DK Plant Protection Online Y
6 DK CTzoom/CTtools Y Y
7 DK BEST Kemi Y Y
8 DK TargetEconN Y Y
9 FR PHYTOPIXAL Y Y
10 FR SIRIS Y
11 IE Teagasc Nutrient Management Planner Online  Y
 12 IE FarmHedge Y
13 NL ANCA  Y Y
14 NL Adviesbasis CBGV Y
15 NL BeregeningsWijzer Y
16 NL BedrijfsWaterWijzer Y Y
17 NL Bodemconditiescore Y Y
18 NL Nitrogen Dynamics in Crop Rotations in Ecological Agriculture Y
19 NL Environmental Yardstick for Pesticides Y Y Y
20 NL STONE Y
21 NO Catchment Lake Modelling Network Y Y Y
22 NO Skifteplan Y Y
23 NO Agro-Meteorological Service - -
24 SI Načrtovanje gnojenja Y
25 SI Smernice za strokovno gnojenje Y
26 SI OECD-EUROSTAT N Balance Analysis Y Y
27 SI GROWA-SI Y Y
28 SI State network of groundwater monitoring points Y Y Y
29 SI FITO-INFO Y
30 UK PLANET Y Y
31 UK FARMSCOPER Y Y Y
32 UK Check it Out Y
33 UK Sentinel Online Y
34 UK Procheck Y
35 UK SCIMAP Y Y
36 UK Water Aware Y
Key: Primary users/scale of DST 
Farmers or advisors/field or farm scale (mostly farm nutrient/pesticide management tools)
Water quality manager or policy maker/catchment scale
Modellers or researchers

A classification scheme was devised to better understand the target users of the DSTs and the types of support they were intended to provide. The DSTs were separated into those developed to support water quality/agri-environment policy makers operating at a regional or national level, and those intended to sup-port sustainable nutrient management at the farm level. The DSTs were further divided into groups depending on whether they provided support for

  1. evaluation of current practices;
  2. strategic advice for farm man-agement and implementation of measures; or
  3. on-farm operational management (Table 2 and 3).

Table 2. Classification scheme for nutrients, with examples of how DSTs in each category could be used

  Support for:  
Target  Evaluation of current practices Strategic advice on farm management and implementation of measures Operational management (climate smart, innovations for equipment, IT-apps, instructions / rules for sustainable application)
To support regional (water quality, agri-environment) policy makers   

• Current nutrient loads to waterbodies (catchments)
• Quantification of the drivers, sources and pathways
• Regional in- en output of fertilizers
• (on-line) surveys

• Where and how to focus support? Where most needed with regard to diffuse pollution
• What measures are possible and effective in the catchment / drinking water protection zone? (e.g. Suitability or effectivity mapping, quantification effects measures on nitrate leaching, N and P loads to surface water bodies)
• How to stimulate wider implementation (communication to increase awareness/ understanding)
• How to monitor implementation and effects? (e.g. via participative monitoring)
• Where and how to focus support? Where most needed with regard to diffuse pollution
• What farm practices are most critical for diffuse pollution?
CTtools
BEST Kemi
STONE
Catchment Lake Modelling Network
OENBA
GROWA-SI
SNGMP
FARMSCOPER
SCIMAP
TargetEconN
STONE
Catchment Lake Modelling Network
OENBA
FARMSCOPER
To support sustainable farm (nutrient) management    • Nutrient efficiency
• Current losses to soil and water
• Risks for surface runoff at the farmyard and in the field
• Nutrient (mineral) efficiency, identification of measures for improvement
• Sustainable soil management: identification of measures for improvement
• Quantification of load reduction measures
• Costs-effectiveness estimates of measures
• Right time, place, amount application, based on weather forecast, soil quality, soil moisture, growing stage crop etc.
• Best management practices for the farmyard (prevent surface runoff of minerals, organic matter etc.)
Düngeplanung
ISIP
Mark Online
ANCA
BWW
Bodemconditiescore
SSG-GPBF
Düngeplanung
ISIP
Mark Online
Dyrkningsvejledninger
Teagasc NMP Online
ANCA
BWW
NG-FP
SSG-GPBF
PLANET
Farmhedge
CBGV
BeregeningsWijzer
NDICEA
Skifteplan
PLANET

 

Table 3. Classification scheme for pesticides, with examples of how DSTs in each category could be used

  Support for:  
Target  Evaluation of current practices Strategic advice on farm management and implementation of measures Operational management (climate smart, innovations for equipment, IT-apps, instructions / rules for sustainable application)
To support regional (water quality, agri-environment) policy makers    • Current pesticide emission to waterbodies (catchments)/ concentrations compared to environmental levels
• Quantification of the sources (crops, application types) and pathways
• Regional use and expected emission of pesticides
• (on-line) surveys on adoption of best practices in IPM
• Where and how to focus support? Where most needed with regard to diffuse pollution
• What measures are possible and effective in the catchment / drinking water protection zone? (e.g. Suitability or effectivity mapping, quantifying effects of measures on leaching to ground water, direct spray drift, run off etc to surface water bodies)
• How to stimulate wide implementation (communication to more awareness, understanding, targeted subsidies)
• How to monitor implementation and effects?
• Decide where and how to focus support
• Draw up implementation instructions and/or rules
BEST Kemi
PHYTOPIXAL
SIRIS
Environmental Yardstick
SNGMP
Phytopixal
SIRIS
FITO-INFO
To support sustainable farm crop protection (Integrated Pest Management)   • Efficient and effective use of pesticides
• Current losses to soil and water
• Risks for surface runoff at the farmyard and in the field
• Spraying efficiency, identification of measures for improvement
• Identification of alternatives to pesticide spraying through prevention, non-chemical control
• Quantification of reduction measures (in kg active ingredient or environmental impact)
• Costs-effectiveness estimates of measures
• Choice of best practices crop protection methods (preferably non-chemical)
• If chemical - choose pesticide with lowest environmental impact
• Right time and dosage for application, based on weather forecast, soil and crop moisture, infection chances of certain pests
• Identification of risks for runoff / leaching from farmyard and best practices to remediate these risk
Mark Online
Phytopixal
SIRIS
Environmental Yardstick
FITO-INFO
Mark Online
Dyrkningsvejledninger
Plant Protection Online
Environmental Yardstick
Plant Protection Online
FarmHedge
Check it Out
Procheck.
Sentinel Online
Water Aware

 

Few of the selected DST were primarily aimed at improving water quality. Rather they were farm (nutrient/pesticide) management tools and their inclusion in this review was based on the assumption that the efficient use of nitrogen and pesticides indirectly improves water quality; most participants reported using this type of DST. Only 3 of the shortlisted DSTs were explicitly developed to consider the impact of mitigation methods on water quality:

  • FARMSCOPER (UK),
  • Environmental Yardstick for Pesticides (NL) and
  • Catchment Lake Modelling Network (NO).

However, tools that support the efficient and smart application of nutrients or pesticides (e.g. by taking into account weather forecasts), can be said to provide indicative information on management measures for reducing losses to the water environment. Economic and financial impacts of mitigation methods were infrequently represented by the shortlisted DSTs.

All the DSTs examined in this review operate within the context of the wider advisory frameworks in place in their respective countries, and this will clearly impact on the uptake of a DSTs and its useful-ness/effectiveness. It may not always be straightforward to transfer a DST from one country to another because the advisory framework are likely to be different, in addition to issues around language and requirements for country-specific data or calibration.


Download this Research Highlights summary

 

Go To Top