Quantification of land use systems using technical coefficient generators:a case study for the Northern Atlantic zone of Costa Rica

This paper describes two generic so-called technical coefficient generators , PASTOR (Pasture and Animal System Technical coefficient generatOR) and LU CTOR (Land Use Crop Technical coefficient generatOR), that quantify land us e systems in terms of inputs and outputs based on the integration of system s-analytical knowledge, standard agronomic and animal husbandry data and ex pert knowledge. PASTOR quantifies livestock systems while LUCTOR is geared towards cropping systems. Main inputs quantified include costs, labour requ irements, fertiliser use and application of crop protection agents. Outputs are production and a number of associated environmental indicators. Althou gh both PASTOR and LUCTOR were developed to generate input data for land us e models, they are also useful as stand-alone tools to explore the technica l efficiency of land use systems, to perform cost-benefit analyses and to q uantify the trade-off among socio-economic, agronomic and environmental ind icators at the field level. PASTOR and LUCTOR are illustrated with data fro m the Northern Atlantic zone in Costa Rica. Tools such as PASTOR and LUCTOR integrate different types of knowledge, including non-documented knowledge from field experts and make that knowledge transparent and open to critica l review and discussion by others. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All right s reserved.