Environmental Sustainability in Vineyards under a Protected Designation of Origin in View of the Implementation of Photovoltaic Solar Energy Plants

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear Authors,

it is a very interesting issue for Land, however you should improve paper as follows:

1. In Introduction section, authors should better explain the research question and the originality of paper. What is the novelty of the study?
2. I suggest authors to provide some discussions (In Introduction or Discussion section) on how renewable energies can achieve Agenda 2030 SDGs. In particular, the following references on renewable energies can help authors:

·         Wang, G., Sadiq, M., Bashir, T., Jain, V., Ali, S.A., Shabbir, M.S. The dynamic association between different strategies of renewable energy sources and sustainable economic growth under SDGs (2022) Energy Strategy Reviews, 42, art. no. 100886.

·         Testa, R., Schifani, G., Rizzo, G., Migliore, G. Assessing the economic profitability of Paulownia as a biomass crop in Southern Mediterranean area (2022) Journal of Cleaner Production, 336, art. no. 130426

3. How authors have choice the questions of questionnaire? (e.g., by means of validated scales, previous research, pilot study, focus group, etc…).
4. In Results section, a table reporting the socio-demographic characteristics of sample can improve the readability of paper. To this end, I suggest authors to move also in Results the sentences from 234-238 lines.
5. Authors elaborate results by means of simple descriptive statistics without using any specific statistical analysis models. Descriptive analysis usually is used for sociodemographic characteristics of sample, but it is reductive to analyze the other variables adopted. This is the main lack of paper and, therefore, it must be discussed among limitations of study (in Conclusion section)
6. Authors should improve discussion section to provide a significant advancement in scientific community.
7. Finally, in the conclusions section, authors should deal with: a) implications of their study in theoretical, managerial or political terms; b) limitations of their study. Actually, there are only some sentences about political implications reported in 385-388 lines.

 

I don't feel qualified to judge about the English Language and Style.

 

So, I recommend the publication with major revisions.

Author Response

We include the response in the pdf.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The presented manuscript entitled “Environmental Sustainability in Vineyards Under a Protected Designation of Origin in View of the Implementation of Photovoltaic Solar Energy Plants“ is very interesting and current. The manuscript is original and has no elements of plagiarism. However, the way in which the manuscript is written (chronological sequence, work methodology, presentation of research results) requires a major revision.

Futures readers would have to be guided through the manuscript in a better way. Reading the manuscript, I could not conclude why the term "agrovoltaic" is not mentioned (in the Introduction and Methodology). The mentioned word, which is key to the research, it is mentioned for the first time in the Discussion chapter, and before that, the word combined production is mentioned in the Methodology, which is not good.

Comment 1:

The word solar energy or solar panels should be added to the keywords.

Comment 2:

Suggestions for writing an introduction:

The introductory section describing the vineyard land is mostly well-covered, but there is very little mention of solar energy and its benefits. In the beginning, it should be noted that "agrovoltaic" implies simultaneous agricultural production and energy production on the same plot. The advantages of this production are increasing the productivity of agricultural land, generating electricity, selling electricity as green energy, making a profit, partially shaded plants with panels will lead to less need for irrigation (saves electricity) and the like.

Energy consumption in the world is continuously growing, so dependence on imported fossil fuels continues to grow, which negatively affects the security of the energy supply. The increased consumption of fossil fuels negatively affects the environment and the process of global warming. In the mentioned context, in order to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, one should think about the possibility of producing solar energy on agricultural land. Authors can consult the research: “Analysis of a Solar Plant for the Production of Hot Consumption Water for the Hospital“, 2022, 23-27.

In the introductory part, it should be emphasized that the potentials of solar energy are unlimited and that this energy can be evenly available in every place. Authors can consult the research: “The Potentials of Solar Energy in the Republic of Serbia : Current Situation, Possibilities and Barriers“, 2018, pp.90-97

Comment 3:

Lines 121-122: This sentence must be quoted.

Comment 4:

Lines 174-177: It is suggested that three real pictures are shown to illustrate these sentences:

- The first Figure of the vineyard itself,

- The Second Figure - solar plant only and

- The third Figure -  "agrovoltaic" production.

Comment 5:

Line 177: It should be said that it is "agrovoltaic" production (production of vines and electricity using solar panels on the same plot)

Comment 6:

Data on respondents should be listed at the beginning of Chapter 2. Materials and Methods when the survey is already discussed.

Comment 7:

Line 204: What is meant by the term "metal hunting"?

Comment 8:

Line 292: It is not good to say "plates" professionally, you should say solar panels

Comment 9:

The data from the research results should be presented in the form of graphs.

Comment 10:

The methodology of the work is not well described. According to the research, Factor Analysis should have been used. Authors should state which methods were used and how the data were statistically processed.

Comment 11:

Why is the keyword for the simultaneous production of food and energy from solar panels "agrovoltaic" first mentioned in the Discussion chapter (line 316).

Comment 12:

Lines 330-334 and 346-349: This is the essence that should introduce readers to the research problem. This should be given in the introduction.

Comment 13:

Lines 378-380: The sentence is unclear and needs to be reformulated.

Comment 14:

Lines 382: It should be said that this is a group of respondents.

Comment 15:

In the Discussion or Conclusion chapter, it should be said that in the future, in order for agricultural producers to be competitive with their colleagues throughout Europe and the world, they must increasingly turn to "agrovoltaic" production.

Comment 16:

 

Few references have anything to do with solar energy at all. To improve the manuscript, it is necessary to consult a large number of scientific sources.

Author Response

We include the response in the pdf.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear authors,

I appreciated your efforts to improve manuscript.

In my opinion paper can be accepted in this revised form.

 

Reviewer 2 Report

I have carefully read the manuscript and I can point out that I am pleased to recommend the publication of this scientific work. The authors of the scientific work have made an effort to improve the quality of the manuscript to a great extent.