| Title: | Optimizing irrigation in urban agriculture for tomato crops in rooftop greenhouses |
|---|---|
| Author: | Parada, Felipe; Gabarrell Durany, Xavier; Rufí Salís, Martí; Arcas Pilz, Verónica; Muñoz Odina, Pere; Villalba, Gara |
| Abstract: | Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M |
| Abstract: | Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB |
| Abstract: | The rise of population in urban areas makes it ever more important to promote urban agriculture (UA) that is efficient in terms of water and nutrients. How to meet the irrigation demand of UA is of particular concern in urban areas where water sources are often limited. With the aim of determining how to reduce water use for irrigation while maintaining productivity and reducing environmental impacts in UA, this study explores the agronomic performance and environmental life cycle impacts and benefits of three different fertigation management practices used in a rooftop greenhouse for tomato crop in Barcelona: 1) open management (OP); 2) recirculation (RC), in which 30% of the drained, unused water is used to irrigate the crop; and 3) the same recirculated management of RC with a further reduction in fresh water input of 15%(RR). Despite the recirculation and reduction of water and nutrients, all three irrigation management practices resulted in similar yields: 16.2, 17.9, and 16.8·kg·m−2 for OP, RC, and RR, respectively. In terms of water-use efficiency, RR management was the most efficient, requiring 48.7·liters·kg−1 of tomato, followed by RC (52.4·L·kg−1) and OP (75.2·L·kg−1). RR presented an improvement of 7% in water-use efficiency. In terms of environmental performance, RC had the best performance in almost all impact categories during the operational phase, especially in regard to marine and freshwater eutrophication, with 44% and 93% fewer impacts than OP due to the recirculation of nutrients and reduced nutrient loss through leachates. In terms of infrastructure, even though recirculation management requires additional equipment, the materials present better performance in the range from 0.2 to 14% depending on the impact category. This study can support evaluation of agricultural projects in the city, through yields and water consumption presented, incentivizing good practices aligned with the sustainability of UA. |
| Subject(s): | -Life cycle assessment (LCA) -Water-use efficiency (WUE) -Reduction water consumption -Eutrophication reduction -Leachate recirculation -Recirculation system |
| Rights: | open access
Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| Document type: | Article |
| Published by: | |
| Share: |
|
| Uri: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/245235 |
Related documents
Other documents of the same author
Arcas Pilz, Verónica; Parada, Felipe; Rufí Salís, Martí; Stringari, Gaia; González, Ramiro; Villalba, Gara; Gabarrell Durany, Xavier
Arcas Pilz, Verónica; Parada, Felipe; Villalba, Gara; Rufí Salís, Martí; Rosell Melé, Antoni; Gabarrell Durany, Xavier
Rufí Salís, Martí; Parada, Felipe; Arcas Pilz, Verónica; Petit Boix, Anna; Villalba, Gara; Gabarrell Durany, Xavier
Rufí Salís, Martí; Petit Boix, Anna; Villalba, Gara; Ercilla Montserrat, Mireia; Sanjuan Delmas, David; Parada, Felipe; Arcas Pilz, Verónica; Muñoz Liesa, Joan; Gabarrell Durany, Xavier
Arcas Pilz, Verónica; Rufí Salís, Martí; Parada, Felipe; Gabarrell Durany, Xavier; Villalba, Gara