1,721,017 research outputs found
BIOeconomia Circolare, LCA nella filiera agroalimentare per gli obiettivi del Green Deal UE (BIOMAC)
No full textIl progetto BIOMAC mira a caratterizzare le potenzialità associate
alla valorizzazione degli scarti alimentari, mediante l’applicazione di LCA
presso un’azienda in cui risorse eccedenti originate dall’industria agroalimentare
vengono reindirizzate alla catena produttiva. Lo studio ha preso
in considerazione l’arco temporale di 1 anno. I risultati hanno permesso di
caratterizzare il metabolismo aziendale mediante 5 indicatori. Un’analisi di
scenario condotta considerando la frazione di eccedenze attualmente indirizzate
a rifiuto, ha evidenziato come gli impatti prodotti siano nel complesso
inferiori a quelli stimati relativi allo smaltimento degli scarti alimentari come
rifiuto inviandoli a incenerimento (ad eccezione di AD). I risultati sono discussi
rispetto alle possibili estensioni della presente analisi
Development of integrated numerical models for the sustainable management of marine aquaculture
No full textInfluence of Intra-Seasonal Variability of Metabolic Rates on the Output of a Steady-State Food Web ModelModels of the Ecological Hierarchy - From Molecules to the Ecosphere
No full textNbS, fornitura di habitat e modelli ecologici
No full textUrban environments can be regarded as complex socio-ecological systems, in which ecosystem services result as emergent properties from the interactions between ecological processes and human activities. Such systems are threatened by multiple drivers of change, including those connected to resource exploitation and ecosystem fruition, along with climate related drivers. NbS and restoration intervention can represent a way to foster urban resilience, by acting on important habitat services, including life cycle maintenance. However, the accounting of habitat services is rarely taken into consideration in EIA and SEA impact assessment procedures. Ecological models could support practitioners in the biophysical accounting of such services, also allowing to compare quantitatively alternative choices of intervention. This contribution presents a narrative review on models supporting the quantification of habitat services, discussing challenges and opportunities connected to their application, which are identified through a preliminary test case carried out in an urbanized area of the Veneto region
La valutazione economico-ambientale delle trasformazioni associate al cambiamento climatico
No full textLa valutazione economica e ambientale degli impatti del cambiamento climatico nelle aree costiere richiede un approccio multidisciplinare in quanto le trasformazioni del territorio risultanti dall'interazione tra la terraferma e il mare sono un fenomeno complesso che coinvolge processi naturali e azioni antropiche, difficilmente valutabili dalle singole discipline. Queste zone sono interessate con sempre maggior frequenza alle nostre latitudini da fenomeni meteorologici di particolare intensità. Mareggiate, piogge intense, ondate di calore, accompagnati da variazioni di lungo periodo di innalzamento del livello del mare e pressioni originate dalle intense attività antropiche che si svolgono lungo la fascia costiera, accentuano fenomeni erosivi, trasformazione di habitat e perdita della biodiversità. I danni potenziali alle aree costiere derivanti dall’innalzamento del livello del mare e dalle mareggiate comprendono impatti ambientali ed economici come ad esempio l’erosione accelerata delle spiagge e delle scogliere, l’inondazione permanente di alcune zone collocate a pochi metri sul livello del mare, l’aumento di gravi inondazioni, la perdita economica di beni fisici quali edifici residenziali, commerciali ma anche infrastrutture critiche come strade, ponti e reti di trasporto, l’intrusione di acqua salina nelle falde acquifere e nelle risorse idriche superficiali e il degrado delle zone umide costiere ricche di habitat la cui diversità biologica permette di fornire importanti servizi ecosistemici (Hinkel et al., 2013; Diaz, 2015). A queste si aggiunge l’attrattività turistica delle aree costiere, risultante dalla combinazione di infrastrutture e valenze naturalistiche. Va inoltre citato l’utilizzo dei suoli e delle acque costiere e di transizione per le attività primarie, quali l’agricoltura e la pesc
LCA for territorial metabolism analysis: An application to organic waste management planning
Full text linkThe management of biodegradable waste in landfills is associated to a range environmental impacts and refers to a linear model regarded as unsustainable. At the same time, many agricultural and urban soils present low organic matter content. Composting is emerging as a good practice for converting organic waste into a new resource able to improve soil properties, thus providing regulation Ecosystem Services. Considering a territorial metabolism perspective, this work discusses the potential contribution to regional planning of a transferable methodology for quantifying environmental impacts and benefits associated to waste management, based on a combined use of Life Cycle Assessment and Geographic Information Systems, and considering Ecosystem Services deriving from the application of compost in agricultural soils. The approach was tested through a site-dependent analysis based on primary data, referring to year 2019 and focusing on the Veneto Region, Italy. Results indicate that direct benefits associated to the use of compost and the thermal energy to district heating are compensating from 29 % to 51 % of the impacts associated to compost production, while waste transports represent the largest share of the impacts, covering between 52 % and 78 % of the total flows considered. The proposed methodology is applied for comparing the reference condition to alternative scenarios, in the perspective of providing support in Strategic Environmental Assessment procedures. In this context, results shown markedly lower impacts associated to compost production, with respect to organic waste treatment, for 5 out of 6 of the considered categories (freshwater eutrophication 100:1, climate change 5:1), with the notable exception of water resource depletion. Scenarios produced are discussed with respect to the choice between centralized and non-centralized plants, and the characterization of potential benefits at the territorial scale associated to compost use for urban green infrastructures. With respect to this latter point, results showed an underdeveloped use of compost-related ES flow, compared to its capacity, suggesting an interest for further research aimed at estimating compost requirements by urban and peri-urban soils
"EST: an exploratory model for monitoring the Ecosystem Services in the Venice lagoon"
No full textThe Venice lagoon is a complex social-ecological system, where Ecosystem Services (ES) and benefits for people result as emergent properties from the interactions between ecological processes and human activities. Such a complex system is however threatened by several drivers, namely climate change effects, relative sea level rise and overexploitation of the resources. In order to explore the interactions among different ES, the lagoon resources and the social dynamics, it has been created EST (Ecosystem Services Screening Tool), an exploratory model based on the theory of dynamical systems to monitor ES and the possible evolution of the whole social-ecological system. Based on a conceptual model inspired by the “Social-ecological systems framework” and built with the System Dynamics modeling approach, EST has been implemented in Simile v. 6.1 software environment to improve its usability. The exploration of tendency scenarios allowed us to analyze possible reactions of different lagoon elements and the dynamics of its interacting sub-systems, shedding light on the possible outcomes in facing both climate change drivers and different governance choices. EST represents therefore a tool for the ecosystem-based management of a lagoon thriving to adapt to pressures and mitigate impacts, and could play a significant role in informing policymakers’ choices, especially within the context of a “regulated lagoon”, based on the use of the mobile barriers (MOSE) for contrasting the flooding events
Visual tools for maritime spatial planning: an infographics screening
Full text linkOcean Literacy implies not only educational but also cultural and outreach actions related to marine sciences and processes. The
present research investigates the visual communication effort put in place by some countries in and for their Maritime Spatial Plans
using the EU MSP Platform. The screening takes into account the presence of infographics in MSP plans or in linked official
communication materials. The overall quantitative results and key examples are discussed. This study opens a path of study on the
visual communication of MSP
A perspective for reducing environmental impacts of mussel culture in Algeria
No full textPurpose: In Algeria, the Ministry of Fisheries and Halieutic Resources has designed a strategic plan for the development of marine aquaculture for the years 2015–2025, which aims at expanding the annual production of Mediterranean mussel from less than 150 metric tonnes year−1 in 2013 to 7600 metric tonnes year−1 in 2025. We used Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for evaluating the environmental impact of suspended mussel culture in Algeria and suggest management practices which could reduce it. Methods: In order to estimate the current and perspective impact of this industry, we (1) applied LCA to one of the few farms currently operating in Algeria and (2) investigated two management scenarios for the farms to be established in the future in the same coastal area. The first scenario (Comp_S) represents the continuity with the current situation, in which each farm is competing with the other ones and is therefore managing the production cycle independently. In the second scenario (Coop_S), mussel farms are grouped in an aquaculture management area and shared the same facilities for post-processing harvested mussels before sending them to the market. The midpoint-based CML-IA method baseline 2000 V 3.01 was employed using SimaPro software. Furthermore, we carried out a Monte Carlo simulation, in order to assess the uncertainty in the results. Results and discussion: The analysis focused on impact categories related to acidification and global warming potential. We took into account the energy consumptions (electricity and vessel fuel), the rearing infrastructure, including longlines, and a building for stabling, grading, and packing the mussel. Electricity contributes with 38.1 and 31.8 % respectively to global warming potential (GWP) and acidification, while fuel consumption contributes with 19.5 % to GWP and 31.8 % to acidification. Results of this work are compared with other LCA studies recently carried out in France (Aubin and Fontaine 2014) and in Spain (Iribarren et al. 2010c). Conclusions: The LCA results show that important reductions in environmental impacts could be attained if the mussel farming activity would be operated according to the cooperative scenario here proposed. In this case, the environmental benefits will be a reduction of 3150 MJ and 156 kg CO2 eq per metric tonne of mussel produced, compared with the alternative scenario. The results of this study suggest that LCA should be applied to the seafood production sector in Algeria, in order to identify best management practices
Interactions of cage aquaculture in Nile Delta lakes: Insights from field data and models
Full text linkIn this paper, we present a cost-effective approach to the assessment of the impact of fish cage culture in transitional water bodies characterized by limited exchanges with the sea. The approach, previously applied to marine coastal areas, is based on two steps: (1) the application of a Lagrangian model, driven by purposely collected data concerning the local hydrodynamic, for an "a priori'' simulation of the dispersion of uneaten feed and fecal material from a cage; (2) the collection of a set of field data concerning both water column and sediment indicators, sensitive to the release of organic matter from a cage, along a transect: the latter is determined on the basis of the results provided by the dispersion model. The methodology was tested at a seabass/seabream farm located in a coastal lake on the Nile Delta, namely Lake Maryut. Model results indicated that the area impacted by the cage is relatively small, about 5 m from the edge of the cage: this finding was later corroborated by field observations. As far as the water column is concerned, Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen was found to be higher near the farm. The most sensitive sediment indicators were found to be surface sediment TOC, and benthic macrofauna abundances, which were, respectively, higher and lower in the proximity of the farm. These findings suggest that a cost-effective monitoring programme of the environmental impact of intensive aquaculture could be implemented in Egyptian coastal Lakes, thus providing a science-based support to the implementation of the ecosystem approach to aquaculture in these important ecosystems. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
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