Case studies Lithuania
Indication of ecological ethics in urban allotments
An indicator is a sign or a signal that can convey a message. Indicators provide us with information on things, situations, activities, processes or phenomena that exist or that are occurring in our surroundings. Performance indicators are commonly used to monitor, track and present to interested parties and the public overall progress on stated goals and benchmarks. Environmental indicators are developed, validated and used to track changes to the quality and condition of the air, water, land, and ecological systems—and their resident biota—on various geographic and temporal (that is, time) scales. Other types of indicators focus on human health, social and economic conditions. Environmental indicators present scientifically-based, scientifically-defensible, and credible information on the status of, and trends in, environmental- and health-related conditions or situations. Environment indication is of great importance due to the reason that more than three quarters of Earth's land surface has been reshaped by human activity and compose anthropogenic biomes. More than 80% of total population lives in the densely populated urban and village anthropogenic biomes those cover approximately 8% of global land. In accordance with CEC/EUROSTAT requirements several environment indicating systems (EEA etc.) are developed. Nonetheless, indicating of urban allotment environment is still new tool without practical experiences and application. In order to create ecological and sustainable urban environment for human and conserve native biodiversity here we propose ecological ethics indication study in urban allotments (see Table).
| Gardening means (humus stimulation) | Application y/n | Point (P) | Total index (IT) |
| 1. Mulches | |||
| 2. Cover plants | |||
| 3. Composting | |||
| 4. Biomanures | |||
| 5. Vermicompost etc. | |||
| 6. Mineral-microbial supplements or activators | |||
| Biological pest control (Allowing for an acceptable level of pest damage) | |||
| 7. Encouraging predatory beneficial insects to flourish and eat pests | |||
| 8. Encouraging beneficial microorganisms | |||
| 9. Careful plant selection, choosing disease-resistant varieties | |||
| 10. Planting companion plans that discourage or divert pests | |||
| 11. Using row covers to protect plants during pest migration periods | |||
| 12. Rotating plants to different locations from year to year to interrupt pest reproduction cycles | |||
| 13. Using insect traps to monitor and control insect populations. | |||
| Sustainability indicators (Emissions contribution to climate change) | |||
| 14. CO2 | |||
| 15. Percentage of green/allotment area for urban area | |||
| 16. Invasive/alien species (no.) in allotment edges | |||
| Environmental performance indicators | |||
| 17. Accumulation of precipitation water | |||
| 18. Green roof/walls | |||
| 19. Other means |