ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF NATURAL-RESOURCES IN AGROECOSYSTEMS OF DUTCHLOWLAND PEAT AREA

In ecological assessment many abiotic and biotic indicators, reflectin g the many facets of ecosystems, are used. Reporting on the state of t he environment requires that information on separate indicators be int egrated into comprehensive yardsticks or indices. In this paper we des cribe a method for assessing the quality of natural resources in agroe cosystems and present a case study on the Dutch Lowland Peat area. Usi ng a coherent set of physical, chemical, and biotic indicators, we com pare the present situation with the long-term policy objective of stra tegic policy plans. Results are depicted in a radial plot. The present ecological quality of the Lowland Peat area has been found to deviate strongly from that of the desired state.