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Controlled Environment Agriculture for Sustainable Farming

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 April 2025 | Viewed by 5371

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Metrology and Modelling of Agrophysical Processes, Institute of Agrophysics Polish Academy of Sciences, Doświadczalna 4, 20-290 Lublin, Poland
Interests: spectral imaging; remote sensing; precision agriculture; supervised classification; plant quality control
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is the cultivation of plants in a controlled and optimized environment, where factors like temperature, humidity, light, and nutrient levels are precisely managed. This practice enables year-round production and ensures high-quality crops. CEA provides several benefits, such as improved crop yield, decreased dependence on external resources, reduced environmental footprint, and the ability to grow crops in challenging climates or limited land areas. It represents an innovative and sustainable farming approach that can tackle the food production challenges of our evolving world. While CEA has the potential to enhance sustainability in agriculture, it is important to carefully manage its implementation and address potential challenges, such as energy consumption, waste management, and the environmental impact of materials used. Continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and collaboration among researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers are key to maximizing the sustainable benefits of CAE.

In this context, the purpose of this Special Issue of Sustainability is  to discuss relevant knowledge about various aspects of CEA and its contribution to sustainability in agriculture.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: 
•    Crop productivity and quality in CEA;
•    Water and nutrient usage and management in CAE systems;
•    Economic viability and market perspectives of CEA;
•    Sustainable design and management of CEA systems;
•    Environmental impact assessment of CEA.

I look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Dr. Anna Siedliska
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • controlled environment agriculture
  • sustainable agriculture
  • vertical farming
  • greenhouse cultivation
  • hydroponics
  • aquaponics
  • water/nutrient management
  • resource efficiency
  • innovation in agriculture

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 1080 KiB  
Article
Can Agricultural Socialized Services Promote Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity? From the Perspective of Production Factor Allocation
by Wei Yao, Yingyu Zhu, Shuyao Liu and Yan Zhang
Sustainability 2024, 16(19), 8425; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198425 - 27 Sep 2024
Viewed by 497
Abstract
In the context of China’s large country with small farmers, agricultural socialized services are regarded as an important way for small farmers to organically connect with modern agriculture and provide ideas for improving agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP). Based on data from [...] Read more.
In the context of China’s large country with small farmers, agricultural socialized services are regarded as an important way for small farmers to organically connect with modern agriculture and provide ideas for improving agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP). Based on data from 1066 farmers from the China Land Economy Survey (CLES), this paper takes net carbon sink as the environmental output variable, adopts the Cobb–Douglas production function for stochastic frontier method estimation, and measures the AGTFP based on the stochastic frontier analysis method with an output-oriented distance function. At the same time, through the construction of intermediary effect and regulatory effect models, it empirically analyzes the impact and mechanism of agricultural socialized services on farmers’ AGTFP from the perspective of factor allocation. The study found that agricultural socialized services not only significantly promote AGTFP, but also that the effect of AGTFP improvement is more significant as the degree of participation in agricultural socialized services increases. The main results have passed a series of robustness tests. Further research found that agricultural socialized services promote the improvement of AGTFP through the intermediary role of improving the scale of farmland and the level of agricultural green technology adoption. Off-farm employment of the rural labor force has a positive regulatory effect between agricultural socialized services and AGTFP. Therefore, it is recommended to further play the role of agricultural socialized services in optimizing the allocation of production factors and to motivate agricultural socialized service organizations to provide multiple green production services for farmers through policy support or subsidies, enhance the service capacity of agricultural socialized service organizations, and provide precise services by fully considering the differences in the endowment of production factors among farmers, as well as take multiple measures and make solid and steady progress in promoting the sustainable development of agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Controlled Environment Agriculture for Sustainable Farming)
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21 pages, 4166 KiB  
Article
Research on Thermal Environment of Container Farms: Key Factor Identification and Priority Analysis
by Zihao Nie, Dong Liu, Chuang Meng and Ruizhi Song
Sustainability 2024, 16(14), 6105; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16146105 - 17 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1011
Abstract
Container farms (CFs), a controlled environment agricultural technology designed to solve food insecurity, are receiving increasing attention from researchers. However, the complex geometric structures and artificial lighting used in CFs present challenges in effectively controlling the thermal environment. This study aims to identify [...] Read more.
Container farms (CFs), a controlled environment agricultural technology designed to solve food insecurity, are receiving increasing attention from researchers. However, the complex geometric structures and artificial lighting used in CFs present challenges in effectively controlling the thermal environment. This study aims to identify the primary factors that impact the thermal environment of CFs while conducting factor ranking and significance analysis, providing a theoretical basis for future thermal environment optimization. The research method of theoretical analysis, CFD simulation, and an orthogonal experimental design were adopted to achieve the above objectives. Theoretical analysis revealed that factors influencing the thermal environment are the HVAC system’s supply air temperature, humidity, flow rate, and the light source used. Four evaluation indices, including the mean value and range between layers of temperature and moisture content, were used. The results revealed that supply air temperature and light source are significant for mean temperature, while supply air temperature and humidity are significant for mean moisture content. In the case of range between layers, supply air flow rate and light source display a significant correlation. These findings suggest that future optimization should prioritize the regulation of the HVAC system’s supply air and light source. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Controlled Environment Agriculture for Sustainable Farming)
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18 pages, 8248 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle CO2 Emissions Analysis of a High-Tech Greenhouse Horticulture Utilizing Wood Chips for Heating in Japan
by Jun Taguchi, Hiroki Hondo and Yue Moriizumi
Sustainability 2024, 16(9), 3692; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16093692 - 28 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1166
Abstract
High-tech greenhouse horticulture offers efficient crop cultivation that is unaffected by outdoor climate. However, compared to conventional cultivation systems, energy requirements, such as greenhouse heating and control, are larger, and concerns about the associated increase in CO2 emissions exist. Although several previous [...] Read more.
High-tech greenhouse horticulture offers efficient crop cultivation that is unaffected by outdoor climate. However, compared to conventional cultivation systems, energy requirements, such as greenhouse heating and control, are larger, and concerns about the associated increase in CO2 emissions exist. Although several previous studies have analyzed CO2 emissions from high-tech greenhouse horticulture, few have covered the entire life cycle. This study aimed to analyze CO2 emissions from high-tech greenhouse horticulture for tomatoes in Japan across the entire life cycle. A hybrid method combining process and input–output analyses was used to estimate life cycle CO2 (LC-CO2) emissions. The emission reduction potential of replacing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for greenhouse heating with wood chips was also examined. The results show that LC-CO2 emissions were estimated to be 3.67 kg-CO2 per 1 kg of tomato, 55.6% of which came from the production and combustion of LPG for greenhouse heating. The substitution of LPG with wood chips has the potential to reduce LC-CO2 emissions by up to 49.1%. However, the improved LC-CO2 emissions are still higher than those of conventional cultivation systems; thus, implementing additional measures to reduce LC-CO2 emissions is crucial. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Controlled Environment Agriculture for Sustainable Farming)
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16 pages, 1071 KiB  
Article
Sustainability of Growth Performance, Water Quality, and Productivity of Nile Tilapia-Spinach Affected by Feeding and Fasting Regimes in Nutrient Film Technique-Based Aquaponics
by Mohammed S. Al-Zahrani, Hesham A. Hassanien, Fawaz W. Alsaade and Heider A. M. Wahsheh
Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 625; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020625 - 11 Jan 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1868
Abstract
Aquaponic systems offer an innovative approach to sustainable agriculture, where the interplay between fish and plant cultivation can be optimized. The choice of feeding and fasting schedules plays a crucial role in system efficiency and overall productivity. This study aims to investigate the [...] Read more.
Aquaponic systems offer an innovative approach to sustainable agriculture, where the interplay between fish and plant cultivation can be optimized. The choice of feeding and fasting schedules plays a crucial role in system efficiency and overall productivity. This study aims to investigate the impacts of various feeding and fasting schedules on water quality, and the growth performance of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings, and spinach productivity in an aquaponic system based on the nutrient film technique (NFT). O. niloticus fingerlings with an initial weight of 13.47 ± 0.14 g were randomly stocked at a density of 6 kg/m3, and spinach plants (Spinacia oleracea) were included. The study employed a completely randomized block design with five replications. Various water quality parameters were monitored, and the effects of different feeding/fasting schedules on fish and spinach were assessed. The data revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) in water quality parameters, all of which remained within acceptable ranges for aquaponic systems. The one-day feeding/one-day fasting treatment resulted in reduced final body weight, weight gain percentage, and specific growth rate, compared to other treatment groups (p < 0.05). Higher levels of glucose and plasma cortisol were observed in this treatment. Economic efficiency was highest in the daily feeding treatment (40.05%), with no statistical difference (p > 0.05) observed in the group subjected to three-day feeding/one-day fasting (39.03%). Spinach yield varied significantly between treatments (p < 0.05), with the daily feeding treatment recording the highest yield (2.78 kg/m2) and the one-day feeding/one-day fasting cycle having the lowest yield (1.57 kg/m2). The findings suggest that the three-day feeding/one-day fasting regime in an NFT-based aquaponic system results in efficient nutrient utilization, higher productivity, and profitability for Nile tilapia. Additionally, this approach supports marketable biomass production for spinach. Different feeding and fasting schedules have distinct effects on water quality, fish growth, and spinach productivity in aquaponic systems. The three-day feeding/one-day fasting schedule emerges as an effective strategy for optimizing resource utilization and increasing overall productivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Controlled Environment Agriculture for Sustainable Farming)
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