Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The integrated research project SEAMLESS (System for Environmental and
Agricultural Modelling; Linking European Science and Society) was funded by the
European Union's Sixth Framework Programme for Research Technological
Development and Demonstration. It was one of several projects aimed at developing
research methods and tools to support Impact Assessment. Thirty research institu-
tions and over 150 scientists from Europe, United States and Mali participated in the
project. The SEAMLESS Integrated Framework (SEAMLESS-IF) was developed to
enable a largely quantitative analysis and experimentation of the impacts of future
polices in the domain of agriculture and environment (Van Ittersum et al.
2008)
. At
the same time SEAMLESS-IF is accounting for technical innovations and interac-
tions of the policies with other major trends such as population growth, economic
growth and increased demand for bio-fuel crops. Analyses with SEAMLESS-IF can
be performed at multiple scales and with varying time horizons, while focusing on
the most important issues emerging at each scale. The linked models range from a
bio-physical field model to a farm model and to an agricultural sector model for the
EU. In addition, the effectiveness of a policy in its institutional context is assessed by
applying more qualitative procedures. The interlinked pan-European database pro-
vides the relevant data needed at different scales.
Three distinct phases are followed in the integrated assessment procedure
adopted in SEAMLESS-IF, i.e. a pre-modelling, modelling and post-modelling
phase (Van Ittersum et al.
2008
; Ewert et al.
2009)
. In the pre-modelling phase the
policy question is defined and translated into a baseline and policy scenarios to be
assessed through a set of indicators. In the modelling phase a set of models linked
into a model chain compute the variables that can be used in the post-modelling
phase to assess the selected indicators. In the post-modelling phase also institu-
tional compatibility of proposed policy measure can be assessed. The pre- and
post-modelling phase require strong interactions with users and stakeholders, while
the modelling phase is run mostly by integrative modellers.
The modular set-up of SEAMLESS-IF, using stand-alone knowledge compo-
nents, makes it flexible such that a broad range of questions can be addressed and
makes it relatively easy to extend the framework with new or alternative compo-
nents. The use of individual components has also advantages in terms of mainte-
nance, transparency and documentation. The components are linked and integrated
through an advanced software infrastructure.
The stand-alone components used in SEAMLESS-IF are models, a database and
indicators. The models include existing and newly developed models simulating
crop growth (APES), farm behaviour (FSSIM) and agricultural markets (CAPRI).
The project has also developed or used other models and tools, which have not been
integrated so far. The models simulate different aspects (indicators) of the system
at different levels of organization and scale. This topic volume aims at presenting
the different components, data and data processing, indicators and software archi-
tecture as developed in the SEAMLESS project, as an example of advanced integrated
assessment methods for agricultural systems. SEAMLESS-IF and several compo-
nents are maintained, disseminated and further developed under the coordination of
a SEAMLESS Association (www.seamlessassociation.org).
