Life-Cycle Assessment in Hydrangea Cultivation in Colombia and Their Cleaner Production Strategies

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report (Previous Reviewer 1)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I didn't find any significant improvement in the MS. Lack of sentence structure and readability in the MS is a major concern again. Furthermore, the data is not statistically sound. 

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report (New Reviewer)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study assessed the environmental impact of hydrangea flower production in the sub-region of La Paz, Colombia, using the CML method. In response to the environmental negative effects generated, production strategies were proposed, including the use of plant residues as compost fertilizer and integrated pest management through biological control. These strategies offer valuable guidance for the sustainable production of hydrangea flowers in similar regions.

However, this paper lacks a "discussion" section and empirical evidence for the proposed sustainable production strategies. It is therefore suggested to include a "discussion" section and substantiate the effectiveness of the production strategies by discussing successful real-world cases.

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report (New Reviewer)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

the paper was correct and now is ok for me. There is a important subject fot this jorunal. The figures are ok and the references are ok.

 

1. What is the main question addressed by the research?

 

The subtract is ok, and it will help researchers from this field.

 

2. Do you consider the topic original or relevant in the field? Does it
address a specific gap in the field?

 

Yes.

 

3. What does it add to the subject area compared with other published
material?

 

The subject is ok,  The subtract is ok, and it will help researchers from this field.

 

4. What specific improvements should the authors consider regarding the
methodology? What further controls should be considered?

 

The methodology can se improved with more details in each topic.

 

5. Are the conclusions consistent with the evidence and arguments presented
and do they address the main question posed?

 

Yes,    the conclusions are consistent with the evidence and arguments presented.

 

6. Are the references appropriate?

 

yes.

 

7. Please include any additional comments on the tables and figures.

 

The figures and tables are ok.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report (Previous Reviewer 1)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Yes, the manuscript is substantially improved. I am satisfied with the author's response and endorse this publication.

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript entitled “Life Cycle Assessment in Hydrangea Cultivation in Colombia and their Cleaner Production strategies” focuses on the potential environmental consequences of Hydrangea floriculture. The topic is exciting; however, the current paper has severe issues and lacks basic scientific soundness and readability.

1.     I found the abstract a very average one, as it fails to give an overall understanding of the work. I would advise authors to rewrite the abstract.

2.     The introductory parts clearly fail to give background understanding of the work.

3.     Line 49-51 “It was found that the main environmental impacts of flowers..” In this sentence use floriculture instead of flowers. Fir e.g., “It was found that the main environmental impacts of floriculture..

4.     Line 51-54 The sentence “Specifically, for hydrangeas was identified a single study by Aguirre et al. (2017) [3], which highlights the most significant environmental impacts during the cultivation phase, as a result of the use of materials such as fertilizers, pesticides and plastics”. This sentence seems confusing, please rewrite this.

5.     Line 64-71 The sentence “It was developed within the framework of the project "Environmental, economic and social life cycle Assessment for hydrangea agro-industrial enterprises as a strategy for the sustainable development of La Paz Province in Eastern Antioquia", in order to identify the main challenges faced by floriculture in Colombia in a systematic and scientific manner in order to consolidate itself as a sustainable activity, since generally this activity requires intensive production, the impact indicators allow farmers and scholars to understand the potential environmental damage at first glance without any analysis equipped, thereby adjusting the planting strategy to an appropriate level”.

This sentence is very lengthy. Hence, I suggest rewriting this sentence in a simple and lucid manner. Additionally, avoid writing lengthy sentences.

6.     Material and methods section is poorly described.

 

7.     I didn’t find the analysis techniques employed interesting. Results lacking statistical significance.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study analyzed the environmental aspects of hydrangea cultivation based on the life cycle assessment and demonstrated that the most significant contribution to these impacts comes from the application and pre-treatment of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, plant residue generation, and fossil resource materials. Plant residues and biological control can achieve an environmental impact reduction. The overall results are of interest in hydrangea cultivation.  However, the overall writing quality is relatively low. Authors should pay more attention to writing mistakes. I would recommend a major revision.

 

1. the title should delete one "Life Cycle Assessment"

2. abstract " Based on gate-to-gate limits." should not be an independent sentence.

3. introduction: reference in the text should be superscript.

4. introduction: Lines 56-76 lack of reference.

5. table 2 and Table 3 should be arranged in the supplementary materials, not in the result section, especially some fundamental data.

6. Line 230: m (NH4+), nitrates (NO3-) the number should subscript. Authors should check it throughout the manuscript.

 

7. The Conclusion section should be briefer including 2-3 main results.

 

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Please find my comments below:

1. Please correct the title as it has repetition of words.

2. Table 1 can be replaced with the text in the form of paragraph as it does not  look good in the introduction section.

3. Study objectives and novelty statement is lacking and should be clearly described.

4.  Provide botanical name and relevant description of Hydrangea.

5. Check the whole manuscript and correct chemical names as N2O should be N₂O, correct accordingly, and check all chemical names.

6. Conclusion should be brief and based on only study outcome only.

There should be no repetition of results description.

7. Write a paragraph about how this study will benefit and what should be done in future to extract more benefits.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Satisfactory

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. The English language must be improved. Sentences and paragraphs are not adequately linked giving the reader a sense of discontinuity.

2. The reason for taking on this work must be mentioned in the first two lines of the abstract.

3. A comprehensive literature review is missing.

4. A functional block diagram of the proposed strategy is also missing.

5. Extensive use of abbreviations in the text has made the manuscript less interesting for the readers

6. The outcome of applying the statistical equations mentioned in Eq 1, 2, and 3 are not explicitly given in the Results section.

7. In many places in the manuscript references are not adequately cited.

8. Authors are advised to apply more advanced statistical tests like paired t-test for an analysis of the situation before and after treatments.

9. Throughout the manuscript, there is an extensive use of small paragraphs. It is recommended that the paragraphs describing similar things must be joined.

10. Motivation for the work must be clearly mentioned in both the abstract and the introduction sections.

 

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The English language needs improvement.