Environmental consequences of the conversion from traditional to energy cropping systems in a Mediterranean area

Solinas, Stefania; Fazio, Simone; Seddaiu, Giovanna; Roggero, Pier Paolo; Deligios, Paola A.; Doro, Luca; Ledda, Luigi

doi:10.1016/j.eja.2015.07.008

Cited by 27 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Cultivation of biomass crops on marginal soils requires careful design, establishment and maintenance of suitable cropping systems ( Spiertz, 2013 ; Solinas et al, 2015 ). Marginal soils lack the nutrient resources necessary to provide a certain minimal productivity for plant biomass production and thus require a more costly input than what can be recovered by the output ( European Environmental Agency, 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legume Intercropping With the Bioenergy Crop Sida hermaphrodita on Marginal Soil

et al. 2018

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The cultivation of perennial biomass plants on marginal soils can serve as a sustainable alternative to conventional biomass production via annual cultures on fertile soils. Sida hermaphrodita is a promising species to be cultivated in an extensive cropping system on marginal soils in combination with organic fertilization using biogas digestates. In order to enrich this cropping system with nitrogen (N) and to increase overall soil fertility of the production system, we tested the potential of intercropping with leguminous species. In a 3-year outdoor mesocosm study, we intercropped established S. hermaphrodita plants with the perennial legume species Trifolium pratense, T. repens, Melilotus albus, and Medicago sativa individually to study their effects on plant biomass yields, soil N, and above ground biomass N. As a control for intercropping, we used a commercial grass mixture without N2-fixing species as well as a no-intercropping treatment. Results indicate that intercropping in all intercropping treatments increased the total biomass yield, however, grass species competed with S. hermaphrodita for N more strongly than legumes. Legumes enriched the cropping system with fixed atmospheric nitrogen (N2) and legume facilitation effects varied between the legume species. T. pratense increased the biomass yield of S. hermaphrodita and increased the total biomass yield per mesocosm by 300%. Further, the total above ground biomass of S. hermaphrodita and T. pratense contained seven times more N compared to the mono-cropped S. hermaphrodita. T. repens also contributed highly to N facilitation. We conclude that intercropping of legumes, especially T. pratense and T. repens can stimulate the yield of S. hermaphrodita on marginal soils for sustainable plant biomass production.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legume Intercropping With the Bioenergy Crop Sida hermaphrodita on Marginal Soil

et al. 2018

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“…, 2020). Solinas et al. (2015), among other crops, have estimated the environmental impacts of the globe artichoke considering the Spinoso sardo variety, studying two different scenarios which highlight the difference among the solely production of food (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the light of the environmental protection, recent studies have been addressed to the environmental impact assessment analysis of the globe artichoke production, developing either case studies, laboratory experiments or conceptual and methodological framework (De Luca et al, 2015). Lo Giudice et al (2014) have investigated the Sicilian globe artichoke crop in detail, whereas other authors have considered more crops at the same time (Beltran et al, 2022;Martin-Gorriz et al, 2020;Solinas et al, 2015).…”

Section: Environmental Impact Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in scientific literature on the environmental sustainability of the artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. spp.) supply chain

Rana

Bux

Lombardi

2022

BFJ

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PurposeThe research provides a systematic literature review on the environmental sustainability of the globe artichoke [Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus (L.) Fiori], in the cultivated cardoon [Cynara cardunculus L. var. altilis DC.] and in the wild cardoon [Cynara cardunculus L. var. sylvestris (Lamk)] supply chains, to fill in the literature data gaps and to identify new research directions.Design/methodology/approachIn the light of the PRISMA standard guidelines, the research provides a systematic literature review according to six research strings on Scopus and Web of Science. 45 scientific articles have been selected out of 407 contributions. Data have been synthesized according to a co-word analysis through the VOSviewer software, to provide insights into the structure of the research network, to offer a multidimensional scaling and clustering into research groups and to discuss the results.FindingsThe research identifies five main research trends: (1) biomass-to-bioenergy or biomass-to-biocomposite materials; (2) waste-to-bioenergy or waste-to-bioproducts; (3) crop management to increase yield productivity; (4) environmental impacts assessment; (5) irrigation water management. Besides, the research highlights momentous challenges and adopted strategies to tackle climate change and to reduce natural resources consumption, as well as the nexus between circular economy and environmental impact assessment.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study relies on the fact that it analyses the environmental sustainability of the Cynara cardunculus L. spp. Supply chain in a systematic way, giving the opportunity to identify future research directions regarding the environmental impacts associated with agricultural production and industrial transformation.

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“…Marginal and degraded land can be defined as land less suitable or totally unsuitable for food production where a low level of economic profit is expected [10]. Marginal lands could be correctly identified and valued with a land suitability analysis based on multi-criteria approaches which enable to integrate environmental constraints (e.g., soil depth, erosion, slope) [11] and social and economic needs of the communities engaged [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Agronomic Feasibility of Bioenergy Crop Cultivation on Marginal and Polluted Land: A GIS-Based Suitability Study from the Sulcis Area, Italy

et al. 2016

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In the context of environmental sustainability there has been an increasing interest in bioenergy production from renewable resources, and is expected that European biofuel production from energy crops will increase as a consequence of the achievement of policy targets. The aim of this paper is to assess the agronomic feasibility of biomass crop cultivation to provide profitable renewable feedstocks in a marginal and heavy-metal polluted area located in the Sulcis district, Sardinia (Italy). Results from literature review and unpublished data from field trials carried out in Sardinia were analysed to establish the main agronomic traits of crops (e.g., yield potential and input requirements). A Geographical Information System (GIS)-based procedure with remotely sensed data is also used to evaluate the land suitability and the actual land use/cover, considering a future scenario of expansion of energy crops on these marginal areas avoiding potential conflicts with food production. The results of the review suggests that giant reed, native perennial grasses and milk thistle are the most suitable energy crops for this area. The land suitability analysis shows that about 5700 ha and 1000 ha could be available for feedstock cultivation in the study area and in the most polluted area, respectively. The results obtained from land suitability process and agronomic evaluation will serve as a base to support technical and economical feasibility studies, as well as for the evaluation of environmental sustainability of the cultivation in the study area.

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Environmental consequences of the conversion from traditional to energy cropping systems in a Mediterranean area

Cited by 27 publications

References 68 publications

Legume Intercropping With the Bioenergy Crop Sida hermaphrodita on Marginal Soil

Legume Intercropping With the Bioenergy Crop Sida hermaphrodita on Marginal Soil

Trends in scientific literature on the environmental sustainability of the artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. spp.) supply chain

Assessment of the Agronomic Feasibility of Bioenergy Crop Cultivation on Marginal and Polluted Land: A GIS-Based Suitability Study from the Sulcis Area, Italy

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