This dashboard is a tool to visualise the evolution of selected environmental indicators related to agricultural activities in OECD countries. It contains seven sections: i) summary of key characteristics of the agricultural sector; ii) agricultural land-use change; iii) production and input use; iv) nutrients; v) greenhouse gas emissions; vi) ammonia emissions; and vii) farmland birds biodiversity.
The agriculture characteristics section presents a short summary of the agricultural context, focusing on agricultural land and cropland as well as livestock and irrigated area indicators. The agricultural land-use change section focuses on total agricultural land, cropland, and pasture. The production and input-use panel shows trends of agricultural production and input use indicators. Production is measured using the agricultural production index of the FAO. Inputs are expressed on a per-hectare basis to control for the quantity of agricultural land. The nutrient balances section shows long-term trends in nitrogen and phosphorus balances and efficiency of use; nutrient balance indicators can act as a signal for the potential environmental impact of agriculture on air, soil and water. The section on greenhouse gas emissions presents long-term trends of total greenhouse gas emissions and emissions intensity per USD of Gross Production Value (in constant 2014-2016 dollars). Agricultural activities contribute to global warming by emitting nitrous oxide and methane, two powerful greenhouse gases. The ammonia emissions section presents trends of agricultural ammonia emissions, which are associated with two major types of environmental problems: acidification of soil and water, and eutrophication of water bodies. The farmland birds biodiversity section shows the trends of the farmland birds index, which is used as a proxy for farmland biodiversity, although this is not suitable in all contexts (e.g. where birdlife includes invasive species).