A Spatial Integrated Database for the Enhancement of the Agricultural Custodianship Role (SIDECAR)—Some preliminary tests using Tuscany as a case-study Region

Agriculture plays a fundamental role in the provision and regulation of Ecosystem Services. As a result, the loss of farmland or its mismanagement may consistently reduce community well-being. This problem is particularly felt in the Mediterranean area, where pedoclimatic conditions and high anthropic pressure on scarce resources are making rural systems more fragile. Policy is a very important driver in the promotion of sustainable agriculture and soil protection. However, it would appear that policy does not adequately address the scale and urgency of soil and environment protection issues. The complexity of factors that influence the role played by agriculture in territorial custodianship and Ecosystem service provision demands dynamic management tools, where information and territory are closely intertwined in providing adequate knowledge for intervention. This paper presents SIDECAR (Spatial Integrated Database for the Enhancement of the Agricultural Custodianship Role1), a decision support system (DSS) which aims to promote an integrated approach to planning, programming and design. SIDECAR is a database where several georeferenced data were merged and developed using a Geographic Information System (QGIS). It allows for the integration of spatialized information on land use, territorial biophysical characteristics, farm socio-economic characteristics, Common Agricultural Policy aid distribution, etc. SIDECAR has been tested in the Italian region of Tuscany where there is a high level of multifunctionality in agriculture and a great variety of contexts. Results show that the effectiveness of agricultural and spatial planning policies and their positive role for community well-being can be improved by considering: a) spatialized information; b) farm data used for forecasting agricultural trends at territorial level; c) the provision of ecosystem services by agriculture.