1,721,020 research outputs found
Beyond the Water Footprint: a new framework proposal to assess freshwater environmental impact and consumption
No full textBecause the assessment of grey water according to the Water Footprint Network (WFN) permits to quantify the dilution volume to restore water quality considering the substance that demands the highest dilution volume, the effect of other polluting substances (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorous, pesticides) applied on field cannot be evaluated. Nevertheless, the environmental load of all these substances cannot be neglected, especially when huge amounts of organic fertilisers are spread. Additionally, because blue water quantification with WFN permits to analyse only the water consumed by the crop (mainly for irrigation purposes), a method assessing the gross irrigation volume effectively applied on field was used (i.e. Water Footprint Applied - WFA). A Pollution Water Indicator (PWI) was developed to denote the intensity of water pollution identifying the effect of the main polluting substances from crop cultivation. For PWI, both grey water and the water-related environmental impact categories (freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication and freshwater ecotoxicity) evaluated by means of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) were considered. In this context, this study proposes a framework for assessing both the environmental impact and the consumption of freshwater. Different organic fertilisers spreading techniques with different timing of incorporation and straw management and three irrigation technologies with variable technical efficiency were compared for WFA quantification of maize grain production in Northern Italy. With regard to organic fertilisers spreading, PWI resulted better when nutrients leaching is reduced, while it was worse with fast soil incorporation and direct soil injection of organic fertilisers that, reducing ammonia volatilisation, involve higher nitrate losses. As concerns irrigation, sprinkler and drip irrigation are highly recommended because they permit to apply water volumes much close to the consumed ones, with blue water between −33% and −60% of total WFA with drip instead of surface irrigation
Earthworm as an alternative protein source in poultry and fish farming : Current applications and future perspectives
Full text linkAmong the different agricultural activities, the livestock is one of the most impacting on the environment. The feeding of animals is often the main responsible of the adverse environmental impact related to animal productions. Above all for intensive production, the consumption of protein feed is a key aspect for the achievement of sustainable production processes. The actual consumption of soybean meal and fish meal is not sustainable due to the related environmental impact and to the increasing prices. Among the different alternative protein sources, in the last 20 years, the attention of research centres and private companies focused on insects, algae and other invertebrates but, up to now, little consideration was paid to the use of fresh earthworm or earthworm meal as a protein feed for monogastric animals. The use of earthworms as an alternative protein source for fish and poultry feeding is an opportunity for providing environmental services via cleaner technologies. Thanks to earthworms, organic wastes and by-products generated by livestock activities can be valorised and become a resource for animal feeding in a circular perspective. In this context, this manuscript was designed to summarize the productivity, suitability and effectiveness issues connected with the utilization of earthworms as alternative protein feed in poultry production as well as in aquaculture. The studies investigating the earthworm meal use are quite old above all those carried out in Europe; however, some general indications can be drawn: both for broiler and fish, the parameters usually evaluated are body weight gain, growth rate, feed intake and feed conversion rate, the acceptability level of earthworm meal in broiler diet is lower than 15% while in trout diet ranges between 25 and 30%. The inclusion of earthworm meal in diets with an inclusion level lower than the acceptability threshold allows good productive performances without affecting the quality of the final food products
Investigating energy and environmental issues of agro-biogas derived energy systems: A comprehensive review of Life Cycle Assessments
No full textThis literature review was built upon recently published articles on Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of agricultural biogas plants, to: enhance understanding of the relevant literature in the field and the related question by readers worldwide. It was designed to highlight methodological issues and impact indicators, which best represent this research field; consequently, they should be considered in performing environmental assessments of agro-biogas derived energy systems. The literature review highlighted the wide variability of environmental results due to the ways the feedstock mixtures were produced, managed, and supplied; and due to the regions in which the anaerobic digesters were located and operated. Differences were found to be related to the aim and function of the study and to the methodological approach used, especially for the development of the environmental impact assessments. Other differences resulted from the ways the energy produced was utilised, whether it was used as an input to the natural gas national grid, and/or if it was used within the production system. The authors of this review concluded that, although much progress has been made, many unsolved challenges and methodological choices must be addressed to further improve the robustness of LCA in relation to AD and to related approaches
Energy and Environmental Assessments of Agro-biogas Supply Chains for Energy Generation: A Comprehensive Review
No full textOver the years, the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to agricultural biogas energy source allowed to depict the environmental impact related to this renewable energy source as well as to highlight mitigation strategies oriented to improvement of Anaerobic Digestion sustainability. A review focused upon the recently published LCAs of agricultural biogas plants was carried out. The review highlighted a huge variability on environmental results due to the ways the feedstock mixtures are produced, managed and supplied; and the regions in which the plants are located. Differences were also related to the ways the energy produced were utilised, whether it was input to the national grid, and/or recycled within the system
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Combination of product environmental footprint method and eco-design process according to ISO 14006: The case of an Italian vinery
No full textTo support the sustainable development of the primary sector, in line with green new deals emerging worldwide, eco-design of new agri-food products is a priority. The wine industry, due to its growing market, has matured the need to develop an approach for understanding the environmental impacts of its products and to develop strategies to reduce such impacts in a life cycle perspective. This study has a two-fold aim: presenting the development of a methodological proposal for the use of PEF and PEF-CR in the eco-design of wine products; testing its applicability in a case study in the wine sector. The methodological proposal considered the combination of ISO 14006 and PEF methods into a procedure consisting of 8 steps. The proposal was successfully applied in the case of an Italian vinery committed to develop a new red wine product with improved performance if compared to its standard red wine production. The study occurred between 2018 and 2020, collecting primary data related to vineyards and vinery operations. Results proved that PEF method and PEF-CR can be effectively used in the eco-design of new wine products with reduced environmental impacts. Moreover, the study confirmed that PEF method can be used within the framework of ISO 14006. The study on standard red wine production confirmed that the fuel and pesticide consumption in the vineyard operation are environmental hotspots. To reduce these impacts, a new selection of Merlot Khorus grapes was made by the Italian vinery. Results of the eco-designed proved that the new product scored a reduction in the potential environmental impacts
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
The environmental impacts of different organic rice management in Italy considering different productive scenarios
No full textRice cultivation has a key role in food security worldwide; on the other hand, it has a high potential impact on the environment and human health, mainly due to the extensive pesticides use and greenhouse gas emissions caused by flooded cultivation. In Italy, the rice sector based mainly on high-input monoculture. The transition toward organic agriculture can improve the environmental performance of rice farming according to the actual European sustainable food production strategy. Through LCA methodology, the study aims to evaluate the variability of the environmental impacts and the mitigation potential of four management strategies suitable for organic rice production in North Italy and two production potential levels observed during three-year monitoring on 10 farms in the study area. The LCA analysis includes the wide range of agronomic realities that characterise this farming system, assessing the variation in environmental performance by exploring eight plausible and possible scenarios for organic rice. Results suggest a considerable potential of organic rice production to mitigate its impact on natural resources, depending on the chosen agricultural practices. In particular, six LCA indicators showed a potential of reduction over 40 %, shifting from the worst-performing management to the better one. Finally, the large variability of climate change impacts assessed, both in this study and in literature, is due to the corresponding existing large variability in terms of yield and available patterns of agricultural practices. Today the farmers could reach acceptable yield values thanks to more efficient management than in the past. The acknowledgement for that performances relates to the development of the farmers' know-how and to the productive improvement connected to the long-term processes which characterise the organic systems (e.g. generation of soil fertility based on biological fertility and stable humus components; lowering of weeds pressure through the gradual introduction of other crops in rotation)
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