Global Agro-ecological Assessment for Agriculture in the Twenty-first Century

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), has developed a global agro-ecological assessment database for rational land-use planning options. The database is available on a CD-ROM entitled, Global Agro-ecological Assessment for Agriculture in the Twenty-first Century. Digital maps produced from this database can be downloaded from the FAO UN GeoNetwork [http://www.fao.org/geonetwork/srv/en/main.search].

The Global Agro-ecological Assessment for Agriculture in the Twenty-first Century provides a comprehensive global assessment of the world’s agricultural ecology based on the Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZ) methodology developed by FAO and IIASA. The AEZ approach is a GIS-based modeling framework that combines land evaluation methods with socioeconomic and multiple-criteria analysis to evaluate spatial and dynamic aspects of agriculture. The results of the Global AEZ assessment are estimated by grid cell and aggregated to national, regional, and global levels. They include identification of areas with specific climate, soil, and terrain constraints to crop production; estimation of the extent and productivity of rain-fed and irrigated cultivable land and potential for expansion; quantification of cultivation potential of land currently in forest ecosystems; and impacts of climate change on food production potential, geographical shifts of cultivable land, and implications for food security. Such national-level information with global coverage is critical for knowledge-based decision making for sustainable agricultural development.

The Global AEZ CD-ROM is described at [http://www.fao.org/icatalog/search/dett.asp?aries_id=103307]. The CD-ROM contains information on soil, terrain and climatic conditions worldwide, which forms the basis for a global assessment of potential crop productivity. Numerous downloadable maps, tables, a report on the methodology and results, and an executive summary report illustrating the main findings may be also found on the CD-ROM. The CD-ROM can be ordered from: FAO, Sales and Marketing Group, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 0100 Rome, Italy (Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]). The price of the CD-ROM is US$40.

IIASA provides a Global AEZ web site at [http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/LUC/SAEZ/in47.htm] which complements the CD-ROM. Background information and all of the data available on the Global Agro-ecological Assessment CD-ROM can be accessed directly from this web site. The data include about 100 geographical data sets in raster format, spreadsheets with detailed country and regional results, and appendices with technical details. The report, Global Agro-ecological Assessment for Agriculture in the 21st Century: Methodology and Results (PDF 2059K), can be also downloaded from the web site.

联合国粮食及农业组织（Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations，FAO）与国际应用系统分析研究所（International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis，IIASA）合作开发了一套用于合理土地利用规划方案的全球农业生态评估数据库。该数据库以《21世纪农业全球农业生态评估》为名收录于光盘（CD-ROM）之中。基于该数据库生成的数字地图可从联合国粮农组织地理网络（FAO UN GeoNetwork）下载，访问地址为[http://www.fao.org/geonetwork/srv/en/main.search]。

《21世纪农业全球农业生态评估》基于FAO与IIASA联合研发的农业生态分区（Agro-Ecological Zones，AEZ）方法，对全球农业生态系统开展全面评估。农业生态分区方法是一套基于地理信息系统（Geographic Information System，GIS）的建模框架，将土地评价方法与社会经济及多准则分析相结合，用以评估农业的空间与动态特征。全球AEZ评估的结果以网格单元为单位进行估算，并汇总至国家、区域及全球层面。其涵盖内容包括：识别对作物生产存在特定气候、土壤与地形限制的区域；估算雨养与灌溉可耕地的范围、生产力及其扩张潜力；量化当前森林生态系统内土地的耕作潜力；以及气候变化对粮食生产潜力、可耕地地理迁移的影响，及其对粮食安全的相关影响。这类覆盖全球的国家级信息，对于支撑可持续农业发展的知识型决策至关重要。

《全球AEZ光盘（CD-ROM）》的详细介绍可访问[http://www.fao.org/icatalog/search/dett.asp?aries_id=103307]。该光盘收录了全球范围内的土壤、地形与气候条件相关信息，以此作为全球作物潜在生产力评估的基础。光盘中还包含大量可下载的地图、表格、一份方法学与结果报告，以及一份阐述核心发现的执行摘要。该光盘可通过以下方式订购：意大利罗马卡拉卡拉浴场大道0100号，联合国粮农组织销售与营销组（传真：[phone]；电子邮箱：[e-mail]），光盘售价为40美元。

IIASA开设了全球AEZ专属网站[http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/LUC/SAEZ/in47.htm]，作为该光盘的补充。用户可直接通过该网站获取《全球农业生态评估光盘（CD-ROM）》中的背景信息与全部数据。这些数据包含约100个栅格格式的地理数据集、包含详细国家与区域结果的电子表格，以及附带技术细节的附录。《21世纪农业全球农业生态评估：方法学与结果》报告（PDF文件，大小2059K）也可从该网站下载。