Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Carbon Sequestration from Conventional and Organic Olive Tree Nurseries in Tuscany, Italy

Lazzerini, Giulio; Manzini, Jacopo; Lucchetti, Stefano; Nin, Stefania; Nicese, F.P.

doi:10.3390/su142416526

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Finally, it should also be underlined that more than 60% of this impact is due to the sole use of plastic pots, in line with results obtained in previous studies [5,57].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Consequently, it could be appropriate to maintain peat in potting mix formulations as a diluent to compensate for the less favorable characteristics of these alternative substrates, as stated by Schmilewski [8]. The results of environmental impact analyses increase the Finally, it should also be underlined that more than 60% of this impact is due to the sole use of plastic pots, in line with results obtained in previous studies [5,57].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…From an environmental point of view, LCA analysis allowed us to estimate the CO 2 eq emissions linked to both the production of substrates and the subsequent cultivation phase. The standard peat-pumice growing mix (CGM) was confirmed to be the most impactful substrate because of the extraction and transport of peat, as stated by Lazzerini et al [5,57]. On the other hand, as confirmed in a previous study [58], the use of waste by-products in growing mixtures led to lower total emissions of CO 2 eq into the atmosphere.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

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Co-Composting of Green Waste and Dredged Sediments Can Reduce the Environmental Impact of the Potted Nursery without Affecting Plant Growth

Nicese,

Azzini,

Lucchetti

et al. 2024

Applied Sciences

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The ornamental nursery industry is steadily growing in Europe, and a consequent increase in the demand for substrates related to container plant cultivations is expected in the coming years. Currently, substrates consist in part or entirely of peat, a non-renewable resource with concerns about its environmental impact due to extraction, transport, and use. Therefore, it is essential to focus on alternative materials, particularly waste by-products to be recycled as components of substrates to achieve more sustainable cultivations. In this study, substrates obtained by mixing co-composted dredged sediments (S) and green waste (GW) in different ratios (1:3; 1:1; 3:1) were tested for cultivation, and plant growth was compared with a control growing media (peat and pumice in a 1:1 ratio). The cultivation trial lasted for one year and was carried out on two potted ornamental evergreen shrubs (Photinia × fraseri and Viburnum tinus). The results showed that the plant growth parameters of both species, occurring in substrates with co-composted materials, were not significantly affected compared to the control, with the exception of below-ground biomass in V. tinus. Moreover, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis was carried out to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) deriving from the replacement of peat with the other proposed substrates. The functional unit was 10 L (Ø 24 cm) potted plants and the results were expressed in kg of CO2 equivalent (kg CO2eq). We demonstrated that the replacement of peat-based substrates with the alternative substrates was able to reduce the GHG emission by an average of 11.56 to 23.13%. Higher GHG emissions were related to the cultivation phase (0.9 kg CO2eq/plant), and while comparing substrates, we obtained an average percentage reduction of 28.1% to 59.6%. Thus, our results suggest that co-composted mixtures of dredged sediments with green waste could be used as sustainable techno-soils for pot nursery cultivation of ornamental species with reduced environmental impact.

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“…Finally, it should also be underlined that more than 60% of this impact is due to the sole use of plastic pots, in line with results obtained in previous studies [5,57].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Co-Composting of Green Waste and Dredged Sediments Can Reduce the Environmental Impact of the Potted Nursery without Affecting Plant Growth

Nicese,

Azzini,

Lucchetti

et al. 2024

Applied Sciences

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The dry weight biomass method chiefly calculates the CO 2 storage based on the change of plant biomass indirectly [21]. The biomass of the stem and branches determines most of the CO 2 storage in the contribution of plants [22]. The photosynthetic rate method is developed by measuring the net photosynthetic rate per leaf area of a plant to obtain the net assimilation per plant leaf area per day [23].…”

Section: Carbon Storage In Plantmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Neutrality Potential of Textile Products Made from Plant-Derived Fibers

Liu

Zhu

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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During the growth of biomass, there are two carbon storage paths for plant-derived fibers. One path is to assimilate carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and temporarily store it in textile plants. Besides, the carbon can be captured and stored in soil. The carbon storage capacity of textile products made from plant-derived fibers such as cotton, flax, hemp, kenaf and bamboo fiber, etc., is a non-negligible part of greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting. However, there is a lack of systematic methods to evaluate carbon storage and the delayed emission effect of plant-derived fibers. In this study, the carbon storage and emission times of 100% hemp T-shirt, 100% hemp slipcover, and 100% hemp fiber handicraft were evaluated by using the soil organic carbon method, dry weight biomass method, and modeling method. The results revealed that the CO2 storage of 1 kg hemp fiber is 1.833 kg. Meanwhile, the delayed emission effects of carbon temporarily stored in the 3 kinds of hemp fiber products are 3.83%, 19.68%, and 41.12% at different lifespans (i.e., 5, 25, or 50 years), in which case the landfill option for hemp fiber products may be preferable from carbon storage effect perspective. The results suggest that plant-derived fibers have a positive impact on climate change due to CO2 storage, and that the carbon storage effect improves with the continued lifespan of the product. By quantifying carbon storage and the delayed emission effect of plant-derived fibers, it is beneficial to understand the potential for reducing carbon emissions, which in turn helps to promote and develop more environmentally friendly and low-carbon production processes and products.

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“…It is important to consider that the total annual amount of fertilizer is 42,000 kg/ha, with a nitrogen content of approximately 15%. Carbon sequestration by olive trees was calculated considering −0.15 kg CO 2 equiv/plant for carbon sequestration in the woody biomass of olive trees, 50 and assuming 6 kg of olive pits produced per tree and year, due to the fact that the average production of an olive tree is 60 kg and the weight of the olive stones corresponds to approximately 12% of the total weight. 45 Therefore, carbon sequestration by olive trees per FU was −0.03 kg of CO 2 equiv/kg tomato.…”

Section: Data Acquisition Hypothesis and Life Cycle Inventorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Energy and Carbon Hydroponic Tomato Cultivation in Northern Spain: Nutritional and Environmental Assessment

Martínez,

Fernández-Ríos,

Laso

et al. 2024

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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The agri-food sector is one of the most impactful on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and is one of the largest consumers of energy and natural resources. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the environmental impacts of hydroponic tomatoes cultivated in northern Spain using a waste product as biomass to heat the greenhouses and solar energy for powering the irrigation system to identify their main environmental hotspots and improvement measures. For this purpose, life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used. The functional units (FUs) chosen were 1 kg of tomatoes and an alternate FU based on nutrition, e.g., NRF9.3. The influence of including biogenic CO 2 emissions has been considered using a "−1/+1″ approach to assess the uptake and release of biogenic carbon throughout the whole life cycle. The main results showed that greenhouse gas emissions varied between 1.4 kg CO 2 equiv and 2.5 kg CO 2 equiv considering biogenic carbon, whereas the total energy demand of the production of hydroponic tomatoes was 9.7 MJ. Fertilization and the greenhouse structure were identified as the main contributors to environmental burdens; hence, improvement opportunities were focused on these critical points.

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Carbon Sequestration from Conventional and Organic Olive Tree Nurseries in Tuscany, Italy

Cited by 6 publications

References 55 publications

Co-Composting of Green Waste and Dredged Sediments Can Reduce the Environmental Impact of the Potted Nursery without Affecting Plant Growth

Co-Composting of Green Waste and Dredged Sediments Can Reduce the Environmental Impact of the Potted Nursery without Affecting Plant Growth

Carbon Neutrality Potential of Textile Products Made from Plant-Derived Fibers

Low Energy and Carbon Hydroponic Tomato Cultivation in Northern Spain: Nutritional and Environmental Assessment

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