PERSIST

Reliable and spatially detailed information on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and water use is essential for tracking environmental footprints and advancing toward more sustainable farming systems. Research has already identified strategies to reduce the footprint of agricultural production and strengthen resilience to climate change. However, the consistent implementation of these practices is still limited by the lack of reliable information across space and time. In particular, approaches are still missing to assess how field-level management practices reduce climate impacts across heterogeneous agricultural landscapes.

To address this, the project PERSIST (Spatio-Temporal Patterns and Trends of Environmental Footprints and Reductions of Climate Impacts in Switzerland ) develops an integrated approach to quantify spatio-temporal patterns and trends of greenhouse gas emissions and water use in Swiss agriculture. The project combines high spatio-temporal resolution data streams from satellite remote sensing, eddy-covariance flux measurements, meteorological observations, and site, soil, and management information. By linking land management practices with greenhouse gas fluxes and water use, PERSIST provides quantitative evidence for a knowledge-based implementation of sustainable farming practices. Using Switzerland as a case study region, PERSIST evaluates how cropland and grassland management practices can reduce agricultural environmental footprints. The project supports farmers in making their achievements visible and helps policymakers design impact-oriented regulations based on spatially explicit evidence.

Objectives

• Estimate greenhouse gas fluxes and water use in response to management and weather at field scale
• Derive satellite-based indicators of vegetation state and agricultural management activities
• Identify and evaluate cropland and grassland management practices that reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture across Switzerland
• Assess implementation barriers and trade-offs for climate-smart agriculture together with stakeholders
• Provide spatially explicit evidence to support sustainable and impact-oriented agricultural decision-making

Project details