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Ecological Engineering for Agricultural Sustainability

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 8737

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Sean Clark

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Berea College, Berea, KY 40404, USA
Interests: agroecology; food systems; cropping systems; soil quality; pest management; entomology; horticulture; climate change mitigation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is hard to overstate the profound impacts – intended and otherwise – of agriculture on ecological processes and patterns around the world. Converting forests to farms, replacing wildlife with livestock herds, draining peatlands, broadcasting biocides, and redirecting the flows of energy, nutrients and water to drive massive food supply chains have all been essential in humanity’s steady pursuit of greater agricultural output. We understand now, more than ever before, that the unintended effects of our remarkable quest for more productivity threaten not only the future of agriculture as currently practiced, but humanity itself. And while there are many ecological issues confronting us, climate change is the existential challenge that most demands our attention, creativity and cooperation.

Mitsch [1] describes a goal of ecological engineering as developing “new sustainable ecosystems that have both human and ecological values” and as being particularly important as “conventional energy sources diminish and amplification of nature’s ecosystem services is needed even more.” Is it possible to transform agriculture to be truly multifunctional, producing ample supplies of food, feed, fiber and other essential materials while addressing the multitude of interrelated problems associated with farming and related extractive activities? And can new innovations be realized and practically integrated into existing agricultural systems and infrastructure to achieve the necessary gains in resource-use efficiency, waste/pollution minimization and improved quality of life so urgently needed?

These questions form the core of this special issue that invites individuals and teams from around the world to share their developing design ideas, life-cycle assessments, systems-modeling analyses, experimental findings, assessments of new technologies, case studies and experiences in implementing innovative changes to modify, manage and even completely transform agroecosystems for greater sustainability. Possible subjects could include greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and efficiency, carbon emissions and/or sequestration, biodiversity protection, soil and water conservation, pest management, biological control, and materials recycling. Contributions that clearly demonstrate practical solutions and challenge current thinking are particularly encouraged. All types of papers will be considered, including research articles, reviews, project reports, opinions, and concept papers.

[1] Mitsch, W.J. What is ecological engineering? Ecol. Eng. 2012, 45, 5–12.

Prof. Dr. Sean Clark
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Keywords

ecosystem services
agroecosystem design
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
carbon emissions
carbon sequestration
renewable energy
biodiversity
pest management
regenerative agriculture
protected agriculture
Plant Factories with Artificial Lighting (PFAL)
paludiculture
peatlands
aquaculture
hydroponics
agroforestry
land sparing versus
land sharing

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 1595 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Global Warming Potential of Organic Strawberry Production under Unheated High Tunnels in Kentucky, USA

by Sean Clark and Seyed Hashem Mousavi-Avval

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1778; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031778 - 04 Feb 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2278

Abstract

The global warming potential (GWP) of organic strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa) grown under high tunnels in Kentucky, USA, was assessed using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The site, part of the Berea College Farm, had been under organic crop management for two decades. The GWP was calculated as 0.57 kg CO₂-eq per kg of strawberries with the combined impact of the aluminum and plastic manufacturing accounting for 44% of the total and the direct production activities, including labor, accounting for another 28%. The average yields of 18,990 kg/ha of fresh fruit over the two years (2020–2021) were comparable to those typically reported in the southeastern USA for conventional production, but opportunities to increase strawberry yields in high tunnels without increasing inputs should be explored to reduce the GWP. Future research should also measure the GWP of production in controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) systems, particularly plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs), to compare the greenhouse gas emissions of strawberries grown with these technologies to those produced using the simple, high-tunnel method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Engineering for Agricultural Sustainability)

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16 pages, 2029 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improving Energy Efficiency of Barley Production Using Joint Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Optimization Approach

by Zahra Payandeh, Ahmad Jahanbakhshi, Tarahom Mesri-Gundoshmian and Sean Clark

Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6082; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116082 - 28 May 2021

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3484

Abstract

Eco-efficiency has become a cornerstone in improving the environmental and economic performance of farms. The joint use of life cycle assessment (LCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA), known as LCA + DEA methodology, is an expanding area of research in this quest. LCA estimates the environmental impacts of the products or services, while DEA evaluates their efficiency, providing targets and benchmarks for the inefficient ones. Because energy consumption and environmental quality are highly interdependent, we carried out a study to examine energy efficiency and environmental emissions associated with rain-fed barley farms in Kermanshah Province, Iran. Fifty-four rain-fed barley farms were randomly selected, and production data were collected using questionnaires and interviews. DEA and LCA were used to quantify and compare environmental indicators before and after efficiency improvements were applied to the farms. To accomplish this, efficient and inefficient farms were identified using DEA. Then environmental emissions were measured again after inefficient farms reached the efficiency limit through management improvements. The results showed that by managing resource use, both energy consumption and environmental emissions can be reduced without yield loss. The initial amount of energy consumed averaged 13,443 MJ/ha while that consumed in the optimal state was determined to be 12,509 MJ/h, resulting in a savings of 934 MJ/ha. Based on the results of DEA, reductions in nitrogen fertilizer, diesel fuel, and phosphate fertilizer offered the greatest possibilities for energy savings. Combining DEA and LCA showed that efficient resource management could reduce emissions important to abiotic depletion (fossil fuels), human toxicity, marine aquatic ecotoxicity, global warming (GWP100a), freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, and terrestrial ecotoxicity. This study contributes toward systematically building knowledge about crop production with the joint use of LCA + DEA for eco-efficiency assessment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Engineering for Agricultural Sustainability)

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Review

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28 pages, 5881 KiB

Open AccessReview

Meta-Analysis on Energy-Use Patterns of Cropping Systems in Iran

by Morteza Zangeneh, Narges Banaeian and Sean Clark

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3868; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073868 - 31 Mar 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2150

Abstract

We present a meta-analysis of energy-consumption and environmental-emissions patterns in Iranian cropping systems using data collected from articles published between 2008 and 2018 for 21 different crops. The results show that the crops consuming the most energy per hectare are tomato, sugarcane, cucumber and alfalfa, while sunflower consumed the least. The average total energy input for all crops in Iran during the study period was 48,029 MJ ha⁻¹. Our analysis revealed that potato has the highest potential to reduce energy consumption and that electricity and fertilizer inputs have the most potential for energy savings in cropping systems. Not all studies reviewed addressed the factors that create energy consumption patterns and environmental emissions. Therefore, eight indicators were modeled in this meta-analysis, which include Total Energy Input, Energy Productivity, Energy Use Efficiency, Net Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Technical Efficiency, Pure Technical Efficiency and Scale Efficiency. The effects of region (which was analyzed in terms of climate), year and crop or product type on these eight indicators were modeled using meta-regression and the nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis test. To create a comprehensive picture and roadmap for future research, the process of the agricultural-systems analysis cycle is discussed. This review and meta-analysis can be used as a guide to provide useful information to researchers working on the energy dynamics of agricultural systems, especially in Iran, and in making their choices of crop types and regions in need of study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Engineering for Agricultural Sustainability)

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