Search Results (451)

This study investigates the water–energy nexus in vineyards adopting innovative practices, focusing on water management through rainwater harvesting systems and the installation of photovoltaic panels for renewable energy production. The research focuses on two regions in Greece, Nemea in Corinthia and Nea Anchialos in Magnesia, using historical time series of meteorological data to establish water and energy balances. The study aims to examine the practical use of these technologies to improve water and energy efficiency in grape and wine production, which are important parts of the country’s primary sector. A daily water balance model is applied to estimate the required storage capacity of rainwater tanks for irrigation use in vine cultivation, using daily rainfall and evapotranspiration data over 20 hydrological years (2001/02–2020/21). Additionally, the installation of photovoltaic panels covering a specific percentage of the total utilized area in the study parcels is examined. The analysis showed that the use of a rainwater collection system with a catchment area of 500 m² for crop areas from 500 to 10,000 m² and using rainwater tanks from 10 to 200 m³ can ensure demand coverage rates from 60% to 95%. The production of green energy through the panels ranges from 149 to 156 MWh per year. Full article

Water scarcity, rising energy costs, and limited technology adoption challenge Mediterranean greenhouse horticulture. Although irrigation automation and digital decision-support tools have been widely studied, adoption barriers and integrated water–energy decision support are often addressed separately, particularly under farmers’ real operational constraints. This study combines a survey of greenhouse farmers in Almería, southeastern Spain, with an interpretable Mamdani fuzzy logic model to assess irrigation automation and support water–energy management. Survey results show that 61% of farms use basic irrigation systems, 33% use semi-automated systems, and only 6% use fully automated irrigation; 87% rely exclusively on grid electricity. The main barriers were high initial investment, reliability and configuration concerns, and limited willingness to undertake specialized training. Automation was positively associated with cultivated area and educational attainment, but not with age or crop type. The fuzzy model integrates reservoir level, irrigation demand, irrigation mode, tariff period, and energy-supply configuration to estimate irrigation cost and feasible operating time. Scenario-based validation differentiated grid-connected, hybrid photovoltaic, and off-grid configurations and highlighted the potential of renewable integration and time-sensitive irrigation management to reduce dependence on conventional energy. By linking farmer adoption constraints with interpretable operational decision support, the framework provides a practical basis for gradual irrigation modernization and supports water–energy–food nexus management in Mediterranean greenhouse horticulture. Full article

This study examines how multiple dimensions of climate variability are associated with irrigation-related water productivity in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries over 2000–2023. Water productivity is measured as economic output generated per unit of freshwater withdrawal and is interpreted as an economy-wide proxy for water-use efficiency rather than a crop-specific biophysical measure. Using a balanced panel of 144 country-year observations, the study combines seven annual climate indicators from NASA POWER—temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration, relative humidity, soil moisture, wind speed, and solar radiation—with socioeconomic and agricultural indicators from the World Bank. A two-way fixed effects model is estimated with controls for agricultural land, rural population, renewable energy consumption, carbon emissions, GDP per capita, and agricultural employment. The results show that temperature, evapotranspiration, wind speed, and solar radiation are negatively associated with water productivity, whereas precipitation, relative humidity, and soil moisture are positively associated with it. Soil moisture and temperature display the largest estimated effects among the climate variables in the baseline specification. The analysis further finds that the estimated climate–water-productivity relationship differs in magnitude between the pre-COVID (2000–2019) and post-COVID (2020–2023) periods. Interaction models indicate that soil moisture, precipitation, and relative humidity partially moderate the adverse effects of temperature and evapotranspiration. These findings remain broadly stable across alternative dependent variables, lagged climate specifications, alternative estimators, and leave-one-country-out analyses. The study contributes GCC-wide evidence on the joint and conditional effects of climate variability and highlights the importance of climate-informed irrigation scheduling, soil-moisture monitoring, and precision water-management technologies for strengthening agricultural resilience in arid environments. Full article

The rapid expansion of solar photovoltaics has intensified land-use competition between renewable energy and agriculture, particularly in regions where food security and clean-energy transitions must progress together. Semi-transparent photovoltaic technologies may provide a land-use-compatible pathway for potential agrivoltaic applications by allowing partial light transmission while generating electricity. This study evaluates Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) as a semi-transparent photovoltaic option and investigates the use of DSSC-generated electricity to power Direct Air Capture (DAC). The scope is limited to photovoltaic-system performance and economics and does not include Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) transmission, crop growth, crop yield, or microclimate analysis. A techno-economic assessment was performed using the System Advisor Model for two contrasting regions, Karachi, Pakistan, and Davis, USA. DSSC and monocrystalline silicon systems were compared over the same land area. Due to their lower installed capacity, the DSSC systems generated less annual electricity. However, their lower assumed capital expenditure resulted in a Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) that was 10% lower in Davis, at US Dollars (USD) 0.29/kWh, and 0.7% lower in Karachi, at USD 0.25/kWh. Based on literature-reported DAC energy requirements, the DSSC systems could support annual Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) removal of 331–9707 tonnes in Karachi and 334–9783 tonnes in Davis, depending on the selected DAC pathway. These results indicate that semi-transparent DSSCs may provide a lower-capital, land-use-compatible photovoltaic pathway combined with renewable-electricity-driven carbon removal. Their suitability for practical agrivoltaic deployment requires future PAR-transmission measurements and crop-specific experimental validation. Full article

The European Commission’s decision to establish a 10% v/v volumetric ethanol cap in gasoline (E10) under Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II), further reinforced by the stricter sustainability criteria introduced in RED III, marks a critical turning point for the global ethanol industry. By 2023, worldwide ethanol production reached approximately 116–118 bn liters annually, with the United States dominating at 52% and Brazil contributing about 28%. First-generation (1G) ethanol is increasingly constrained in its expansion within the road transport sector, necessitating the identification of alternative markets to absorb surplus volumes. RED III emphasizes the deployment of advanced biofuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs), mandating either a 14.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions or a 29% renewable energy share by 2030, thereby encouraging sectoral diversification. The maritime sector emerges as a promising outlet to accommodate surplus ethanol. However, regulatory inconsistencies persist: ReFuel EU excludes crop-based biofuels, while Fuel EU Maritime permits certified options. Aviation remains limited to advanced biofuels. Meanwhile, IMO policies, including MEPC 83 and 84, introduce emissions pricing and lifecycle assessment frameworks, promoting low-emission fuels without clearly recognizing ethanol’s competitiveness. This study evaluates ethanol utilization in marine engines under these constraints. Full article

Oilseed crops serve as pivotal raw materials for renewable energy production, rendering oilseed futures increasingly vulnerable to the dual shocks stemming from climate risk and the global energy transition. Against this backdrop, investigating the dynamic impact of climate policy uncertainty (CPU) on oilseed futures markets holds substantial practical and theoretical significance for commodity market risk management and pricing. Based on the theoretical logic of dual supply–demand and cost channels, this paper employs a time-varying parameter vector autoregressive (TVP-VAR) model to examine how fluctuations in CPU exert time-varying impacts on oilseed futures returns by shaping the supply–demand dynamics and production costs of the oilseed market. The empirical results reveal that CPU changes generally exert a positive effect on oilseed futures returns, while significant negative impacts are detected in specific sample periods, exhibiting a time-varying alternating pattern, with the short-term impact being the most dominant and pronounced. In addition, impulse response analysis at three typical time points shows that CPU shocks positively affect oilseed futures returns mainly in periods 1–2, while negative effects peak in period 3 and then decay with alternating fluctuations. The heterogeneity across time points verifies the dual-channel mechanism of shifting dominance between supply–demand and cost channels. Full article

In response to rising global energy demand and sustainability targets, assessing the energy-related efficiency of agricultural products has become a critical issue. Sweet sorghum is widely recognized as a promising energy crop for sustainable biofuel production, thanks to its low water requirements and high biomass productivity. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study provides the first comprehensive cumulative exergy-based evaluation of sweet sorghum production by simultaneously assessing its energy, exergy, and environmental performance using five key indicators: Cumulative Energy Consumption (CEnC, 718.48 MJ/ton), Cumulative Exergy Consumption (CExC, 2031.42 MJ/ton), Cumulative CO₂ Emission (CCO₂E, 124.01 kg CO₂/ton), Cumulative Degree of Perfection (CDP, 2.8) and Renewability Index (RI, 0.64), based on field level data for the production of one ton of sweet sorghum. Input-based analysis revealed that electricity consumption accounted for the largest share of both energy and exergy use, amounting to 334.85 MJ/ton and 1396.32 MJ/ton, respectively. At the same time, irrigation water was identified as a major contributor to carbon emissions. The integration of renewable electricity sources substantially improved system performance, increasing the CDP to 6.32 and the RI to 0.84, corresponding to more than a twofold increase in exergy efficiency and a shift toward a predominantly renewable production system. Overall, the findings highlight the strong potential of sweet sorghum as a sustainable biofuel feedstock and underline the importance of integrated policy and management approaches that simultaneously address energy quality, exergy losses, and carbon emissions in agricultural energy systems. Full article

The global plastic pollution crisis demands a fundamental re-evaluation of materials systems beyond incremental improvements to fossil fuel-based polymers. Bioplastics, polymers derived from renewable biological feedstocks, biodegradable under defined conditions, or both, offer a chemically diverse and rapidly evolving platform for transitioning toward circular materials economies in which the value of carbon, energy, and material is retained across multiple use cycles. This review provides a comprehensive and critically organized account of the bioplastics field, spanning three generations of feedstock development from food crops through lignocellulosic residues to algae and waste streams; primary production pathways including microbial fermentation, ring-opening polymerization, and biosynthesis; forming processes from extrusion and injection molding to additive manufacturing; and the mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties that determine application fitness. Particular emphasis is placed on life cycle assessment, which reveals that bioplastics’ climate benefits are conditional on feedstock choice, land-use management, energy source at manufacturing, and end-of-life pathway, and that burden-shifting from greenhouse gas emissions to land use, water consumption, and eutrophication is a systematic risk requiring integrated LCA evaluation rather than single-metric optimization. The review further examines end-of-life recycling, composting, and biodegradation pathways; market applications across packaging, agriculture, automotive, biomedical, and electronics sectors; and the growing role of artificial intelligence and machine learning in accelerating materials design, process optimization, and lifecycle data management. Critical barriers to scale, such as cost premiums of 20–75% over conventional plastics, inadequate composting infrastructure, recycling stream contamination, regulatory fragmentation, and consumer labeling confusion, are systematically analyzed alongside mitigation strategies. The review concludes with a forward-looking discussion of emerging feedstocks, smart and functional bioplastics, and the policy and infrastructure investments required to translate the environmental promise of bio-based polymers into realized circular economy impact. Full article

Renewable-powered agricultural water systems are often assessed as solar-pumping devices, but their sustainability depends on a service chain linking crop-water demand, hydraulic duty point, power electronics, storage, water quality, governance, operation and end-of-life management. This structured integrative review synthesizes peer-reviewed and practice-oriented evidence on photovoltaic pumping, hybrid renewable irrigation, grid-interactive pumps, micro-hydro assistance and renewable-powered brackish-water reverse osmosis (PV-RO). Evidence was screened across four source families and coded by service function, energy architecture, hydraulic duty and dominant sustainability pathway; recurring combinations were consolidated using explicit separation and merge rules. It develops an archetype-based screening framework for ex ante appraisal of irrigation, desalination and circularity risks. Seven technology-service archetypes are identified: direct PV pumping, PV-to-tank pumping, PV with electrical buffering, grid-interactive PV pumping, PV–wind hybrid irrigation, micro-hydro-assisted irrigation and PV-RO water making. The framework links each archetype to its operating envelope, evidence maturity, enabling subsystems, sustainability pathways, minimum indicators and ordinal triggers for deeper due diligence. Hydraulic storage is usually the lowest-regret reliability buffer for open-field irrigation, whereas batteries are justified mainly when pressure stability, fertigation timing or night-time operation has high agronomic value. PV-RO is a distinct water-making archetype and is environmentally defensible only where feed-water characterization, energy recovery, pretreatment, product-water agronomy, membrane management and permitted concentrate disposal are embedded in design. Two synthetic applications demonstrate archetype selection and due-diligence escalation. Responsible deployment requires service-oriented screening that integrates hydraulic design, groundwater governance, procurement quality assurance, circularity obligations and social inclusion before field implementation. Full article

Agrivoltaic (APV) systems enable the simultaneous production of food and renewable electricity. They create spatially heterogeneous environments that influence crop productivity. The quantitative relationships linking cumulative photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) with wheat productivity remain poorly studied. The objective of this study was to quantify the spatial distribution of cumulative PAR beneath a commercial single-axis tracking APV system and determine its relationship with wheat flowering, physiological responses, and grain yield. Wheat was cultivated across a 19-row transect between photovoltaic arrays at the Bar-Ilan University Agrivoltaic Research Farm, Israel. Cumulative PAR was measured separately for flowering (88 days after sowing, DAS) and physiological maturity (158 DAS). Physiological traits (plant height, SPAD chlorophyll index, and leaf nitrogen concentration), flowering, grain yield, and yield loss were quantified along the radiation gradient. Cumulative PAR varied among the 19 rows from 347 to 1917 mol m⁻² at flowering and from 1570 to 4451 mol m⁻² at maturity, while corresponding PAR losses ranged from 82.2% to 1.6% and 65.2% to 1.3%, respectively. Flowering increased from 33% in the most shaded row to 100% in the central rows and exhibited a strong quadratic relationship with cumulative PAR (R² = 0.916; r = 0.913; p < 0.001). Plant height increased with increasing cumulative PAR, whereas SPAD and leaf nitrogen were greatest in the shaded edge rows, indicating physiological acclimation to reduced irradiance. Grain yield ranged from 2.96 to 6.04 t ha⁻¹, corresponding to 46.2% yield loss to a 9.8% yield gain relative to the open-field reference. Grain yield was strongly associated with cumulative PAR (R² = 0.811; r = 0.862; p < 0.001), while grain-yield loss closely followed PAR loss (R² = 0.842; r = −0.883; p < 0.001). The results demonstrate that cumulative seasonal PAR is the principal environmental variable governing wheat development and productivity beneath tracking APV systems. The predictive equations developed here provide a practical framework for designing agrivoltaic systems that maximize crop productivity while maintaining efficient photovoltaic electricity generation. Full article

Agrivoltaic (AV) systems represent a promising strategy for integrating renewable energy production and agricultural activity on the same land unit, while contributing to soil water conservation under increasingly frequent drought conditions. This preliminary, single-site case study investigates the effects of a horizontal biaxial tracking AV system on soil water dynamics in a durum wheat field in the Po Valley (Borgo Virgilio, Mantua, Italy) over a full monitoring period, covering the final crop growth stages and the post-harvest bare soil phase (May–December 2024). Monitoring of soil temperature, volumetric water content (VWC), and soil water potential (SWP) was conducted at four depths (15, 30, 45, and 60 cm) at one representative monitoring station per treatment, comparing soil under AV cover (AVC) and in unshaded conditions (UC), located 10 m apart. Paired VWC and SWP measurements were used to derive site-specific soil water characteristic curves (SWCCs) and to calibrate the agro-hydrological model CRITERIA-1D, which was used to estimate available water (AW) in the first 80 cm of depth for both treatments. Measured VWC values were higher in the AVC profile than in the UC profile at all monitored depths throughout the May–September period, with differences persisting, although at lower values through October–December. Estimated AW was consistently higher under AVC than in UC during both the dry and wet periods. Despite higher VWC, the AVC profile showed more negative average SWP values at all depths during summer. This pattern is consistent with the shape of the derived SWCCs and may point to differences in water-retaining capacity between the two profiles, possibly related to structural modifications induced by 13 years of AV system operation. These preliminary findings suggest that AV systems could potentially improve soil water availability in the root zone of rainfed cereal crops and propose the hypothesis that long-term AV cover may act as a driver of changes in soil hydraulic properties, with implications for the sustainability and climate resilience of dryland farming systems. However, given the design of this case study, with only one monitoring point per treatment, the observed differences reflect the specific monitored locations and cannot fully disentangle the AV treatment effect from pre-existing spatial heterogeneity in soil properties. The preliminary results obtained in this study should therefore not be generalised beyond the specific conditions of this case study, and the interpretations proposed here should be treated as unproven hypotheses rather than established conclusions. Further studies with spatial replication and multi-year monitoring are needed to confirm these patterns. Full article

The objective of this study was to determine the energy balance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the production of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) under semi-arid Central Anatolian conditions. A field experiment was conducted using the registered industrial hemp cultivar ‘Vezir’ under semi-arid conditions, and energy use indicators and greenhouse gas emissions were quantified through an input–output analysis based on field-level agricultural inputs and biomass yield. The total energy input was calculated as 13,688.50 MJ ha^–1, of which chemical fertilizers (54.339%) and diesel fuel (32.09%) jointly accounted for more than 90%, followed by irrigation water (4.66%), machinery 2.87%), and human labor (0.21%). The corresponding energy output reached 388,073.80 MJ ha^–1, yielding an energy use efficiency of 28.35, a specific energy of 0.62 MJ kg^–1, an energy productivity of 1.61 kg MJ^–1 and a net energy of 374,385.28 MJ ha^–1. Of the total energy input, 36.95% was direct and 63.05% indirect, while 89.35% originated from non-renewable sources and only 10.65% originated from renewable sources. Total GHG emissions amounted to 590.14 kg CO₂ eq ha^–1, with diesel fuel and nitrogen fertilizer identified as the dominant emission sources. These findings indicate that industrial hemp combines high productivity with low environmental burdens under semi-arid conditions. Beyond its favorable energy balance, hemp offers potential contributions to climate-smart agriculture through efficient resource use, reduced greenhouse gas emissions per unit of output, and diversification of cropping systems in water-limited environments. Therefore, industrial hemp can support the transition toward more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems in semi-arid regions of Türkiye and similar agroecological zones. Full article

Modern agricultural systems heavily rely on carbon-intensive energy inputs, emphasizing the urgent need to assess and optimize specific crop supply chains from thermodynamic and environmental perspectives. This study presents a comprehensive cumulative assessment of the energy, exergy, and carbon emissions of onion production in Türkiye, utilizing mass, energy, and entropy balance formulations combined with field-survey data from Adıyaman province. The results indicate that the total cumulative energy consumption is 722.28 MJ/ton, with nitrogen fertilizer contributing 61%. The thermodynamic analysis reveals that nitrogen fertilizer, irrigation water, and diesel fuel drive a cumulative exergy consumption of 465.83 MJ/ton, while irrigation water dominates the carbon emission at 20.65 kg CO₂/ton. Based on these streams, integrated sustainability indicators specifically the Cumulative Degree of Perfection (CDP) and the Renewability Index (RI) were calculated under conventional and solar modernization scenarios. A renewable energy scenario incorporating photovoltaic-powered irrigation and electrified machinery substantially enhanced thermodynamic perfection and process renewability, increasing CDP from 3.33 to 6.22 and RI from 0.70 to 0.84. These findings offer actionable insights for scaling local solar-driven modernization to mitigate grid dependency and support global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by reducing fossil-fuel integration. Full article

Bioenergy crops are widely regarded as a promising approach to support renewable energy production, diversify farm income, and enhance land-use efficiency. Despite these potential benefits, adoption rates remain low, and empirical understanding of landowners’ decision-making processes is still emerging. This study examines landowners’ interest in and likelihood of adopting bioenergy crops, explicitly differentiating between early-stage interest and near-term adoption intentions. Survey data from 207 landowners are analyzed using a bivariate probit model to identify key factors influencing both outcomes. The results reveal a marked disparity between expressed interest and adoption likelihood, with a significantly greater proportion of landowners indicating interest than those willing to adopt in the near term. Economic orientation increases adoption interest by 9.5 percentage points, while identity orientation increases adoption likelihood by 6.6 percentage points. Determinants such as increased awareness, land size, experience, and participation in conservation programs exert varying influences across different decision stages. These findings suggest that stated interest and stated near-term adoption likelihood represent related but distinct dimensions of adoption readiness, shaped by different economic, identity-based, and institutional factors. Effective promotion of bioenergy crops requires more than general awareness campaigns. Policies should combine financial incentives, technical assistance, market development support, and outreach strategies that present bioenergy crops as compatible with landowners’ economic goals, stewardship values, recreational uses, and long-term attachment to their land. Full article

The transition towards the circular economy (CE) is fundamentally reshaping Italian agrifood systems, thus enhancing sustainability. The aim of this research is to establish a spatially advanced framework for quantifying, monitoring, and valorizing agricultural residues, supporting their transition from being disposed of to being a valuable secondary material for renewable bioenergy. This study provides a provincial-scale territorial screening of selected agricultural residues in Italy based on a five-year average dataset (2020–2024) of apples, peaches, grapes, fava beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas. The main contribution lies in combining crop-specific residue quantification, GIS-based mapping, and Local Moran’s I analysis to identify spatial clusters of theoretical bioenergy potential. The results indicate a geographically polarized pattern, with northern areas, such as Bolzano, which offers over 1.06 million GJ, exhibiting substantial potential driven by apple orchards. Conversely, southern regions have emerged as major contributors to grape- and legume-derived bioenergy potential. The integration of geospatial intelligence with the assessment of agricultural residues and their energy potential supports the implementation of circularity by optimizing biomass logistics, providing practitioners and stakeholders with environmental and economic data for improved sustainability performance. Full article