Sustainable Agricultural Systems: Enhancing Efficiency and Reducing Environmental Impact—2nd Edition

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Agroecology Innovation: Achieving System Resilience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 167

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Guest Editor
Department of Biosystems Engineering, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of Sao Paulo, Piracicaba 13418-900, SP, Brazil
Interests: energy balance; carbon footprint; water footprint; LCA; economic viability of technological adoption; system management
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global awareness of environmental issues has increased and become a theme considered by consumers and policy makers, often used to establish international trade barriers and even promote new market niches. Agricultural production systems have been targeted as sources of environmental impacts, thereby motivating the adoption of rational input use as a goal for decision makers.

This Special Issue aims to collect studies that contribute to environmental awareness through systemic approaches toward achievable production chains or components of them. Tools to improve environmental efficiency, such as (bio)technological adoption, alternative production means, waste utilization, the food–water–energy relationship, etc., that can be quantified to measure environmental footprints are examples of the cutting-edge studies being published.

This Special Issue invites manuscripts investigating environmental footprints to highlight the solutions suggested, thereby keeping sustainability at the forefront of investigations, where the paths that are explored should lead to higher-efficiency biosystems. All types of manuscript submissions are welcome and will undergo a rigorous peer-review process.

Prof. Dr. Thiago Libório Romanelli
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability
  • system management
  • smart farming
  • digital agriculture
  • regenerative agriculture
  • cleaner production

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

23 pages, 1128 KB  
Review
A Comparative Analysis of Agricultural Sustainability Approaches: Environmental Performance and Efficiency Implications
by Caterina Capri, Camilla Farolfi, Claudio Zaccone, Ettore Capri and Lucrezia Lamastra
Agronomy 2026, 16(15), 1463; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16151463 (registering DOI) - 1 Aug 2026
Abstract
The increasing environmental impacts of conventional agriculture have intensified the search for farming approaches capable of balancing food production, resource efficiency, and ecosystem protection. In this context, multiple sustainability-oriented approaches have emerged, including organic agriculture, integrated production, sustainable agriculture, and regenerative agriculture. This [...] Read more.
The increasing environmental impacts of conventional agriculture have intensified the search for farming approaches capable of balancing food production, resource efficiency, and ecosystem protection. In this context, multiple sustainability-oriented approaches have emerged, including organic agriculture, integrated production, sustainable agriculture, and regenerative agriculture. This study develops a comparative framework based on a structured literature review covering the period January 2000–March 2026 to assess these approaches from both practice-based and governance perspectives. The analysis examines key environmental management dimensions, alongside governance-related aspects. The results reveal substantial convergence across approaches regarding core environmental practices, including cover cropping, crop diversification, reduced tillage, and input optimisation. However, important differences emerge in system integration, governance structures, and sustainability objectives. Efficiency-oriented approaches mainly prioritise productivity and resource optimisation, whereas regenerative and organic approaches place stronger emphasis on ecosystem restoration and soil health. The study highlights the limitations of current sustainability assessment frameworks and emphasises the need for integrated, outcome-based approaches capable of capturing both environmental impacts and regenerative benefits across agricultural systems. Full article
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