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Controlled Environment Agriculture for Sustainable Farming
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Controlled Environment Agriculture for Sustainable Farming

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2024 | Viewed by 1808

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Anna Siedliska

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Metrology and Modelling of Agrophysical Processes, Institute of Agrophysics Polish Academy of Sciences, Doświadczalna 4, 20-290 Lublin, Poland
Interests: spectral imaging; remote sensing; precision agriculture; supervised classification; plant quality control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is the cultivation of plants in a controlled and optimized environment, where factors like temperature, humidity, light, and nutrient levels are precisely managed. This practice enables year-round production and ensures high-quality crops. CEA provides several benefits, such as improved crop yield, decreased dependence on external resources, reduced environmental footprint, and the ability to grow crops in challenging climates or limited land areas. It represents an innovative and sustainable farming approach that can tackle the food production challenges of our evolving world. While CEA has the potential to enhance sustainability in agriculture, it is important to carefully manage its implementation and address potential challenges, such as energy consumption, waste management, and the environmental impact of materials used. Continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and collaboration among researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers are key to maximizing the sustainable benefits of CAE.

In this context, the purpose of this Special Issue of Sustainability is  to discuss relevant knowledge about various aspects of CEA and its contribution to sustainability in agriculture.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: 
•    Crop productivity and quality in CEA;
•    Water and nutrient usage and management in CAE systems;
•    Economic viability and market perspectives of CEA;
•    Sustainable design and management of CEA systems;
•    Environmental impact assessment of CEA.

I look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Dr. Anna Siedliska
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • controlled environment agriculture
  • sustainable agriculture
  • vertical farming
  • greenhouse cultivation
  • hydroponics
  • aquaponics
  • water/nutrient management
  • resource efficiency
  • innovation in agriculture

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 8248 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle CO2 Emissions Analysis of a High-Tech Greenhouse Horticulture Utilizing Wood Chips for Heating in Japan
by Jun Taguchi, Hiroki Hondo and Yue Moriizumi
Sustainability 2024, 16(9), 3692; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16093692 - 28 Apr 2024
Viewed by 299
Abstract
High-tech greenhouse horticulture offers efficient crop cultivation that is unaffected by outdoor climate. However, compared to conventional cultivation systems, energy requirements, such as greenhouse heating and control, are larger, and concerns about the associated increase in CO2 emissions exist. Although several previous [...] Read more.
High-tech greenhouse horticulture offers efficient crop cultivation that is unaffected by outdoor climate. However, compared to conventional cultivation systems, energy requirements, such as greenhouse heating and control, are larger, and concerns about the associated increase in CO2 emissions exist. Although several previous studies have analyzed CO2 emissions from high-tech greenhouse horticulture, few have covered the entire life cycle. This study aimed to analyze CO2 emissions from high-tech greenhouse horticulture for tomatoes in Japan across the entire life cycle. A hybrid method combining process and input–output analyses was used to estimate life cycle CO2 (LC-CO2) emissions. The emission reduction potential of replacing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for greenhouse heating with wood chips was also examined. The results show that LC-CO2 emissions were estimated to be 3.67 kg-CO2 per 1 kg of tomato, 55.6% of which came from the production and combustion of LPG for greenhouse heating. The substitution of LPG with wood chips has the potential to reduce LC-CO2 emissions by up to 49.1%. However, the improved LC-CO2 emissions are still higher than those of conventional cultivation systems; thus, implementing additional measures to reduce LC-CO2 emissions is crucial. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Controlled Environment Agriculture for Sustainable Farming)
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16 pages, 1071 KiB  
Article
Sustainability of Growth Performance, Water Quality, and Productivity of Nile Tilapia-Spinach Affected by Feeding and Fasting Regimes in Nutrient Film Technique-Based Aquaponics
by Mohammed S. Al-Zahrani, Hesham A. Hassanien, Fawaz W. Alsaade and Heider A. M. Wahsheh
Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 625; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020625 - 11 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1043
Abstract
Aquaponic systems offer an innovative approach to sustainable agriculture, where the interplay between fish and plant cultivation can be optimized. The choice of feeding and fasting schedules plays a crucial role in system efficiency and overall productivity. This study aims to investigate the [...] Read more.
Aquaponic systems offer an innovative approach to sustainable agriculture, where the interplay between fish and plant cultivation can be optimized. The choice of feeding and fasting schedules plays a crucial role in system efficiency and overall productivity. This study aims to investigate the impacts of various feeding and fasting schedules on water quality, and the growth performance of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings, and spinach productivity in an aquaponic system based on the nutrient film technique (NFT). O. niloticus fingerlings with an initial weight of 13.47 ± 0.14 g were randomly stocked at a density of 6 kg/m3, and spinach plants (Spinacia oleracea) were included. The study employed a completely randomized block design with five replications. Various water quality parameters were monitored, and the effects of different feeding/fasting schedules on fish and spinach were assessed. The data revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) in water quality parameters, all of which remained within acceptable ranges for aquaponic systems. The one-day feeding/one-day fasting treatment resulted in reduced final body weight, weight gain percentage, and specific growth rate, compared to other treatment groups (p < 0.05). Higher levels of glucose and plasma cortisol were observed in this treatment. Economic efficiency was highest in the daily feeding treatment (40.05%), with no statistical difference (p > 0.05) observed in the group subjected to three-day feeding/one-day fasting (39.03%). Spinach yield varied significantly between treatments (p < 0.05), with the daily feeding treatment recording the highest yield (2.78 kg/m2) and the one-day feeding/one-day fasting cycle having the lowest yield (1.57 kg/m2). The findings suggest that the three-day feeding/one-day fasting regime in an NFT-based aquaponic system results in efficient nutrient utilization, higher productivity, and profitability for Nile tilapia. Additionally, this approach supports marketable biomass production for spinach. Different feeding and fasting schedules have distinct effects on water quality, fish growth, and spinach productivity in aquaponic systems. The three-day feeding/one-day fasting schedule emerges as an effective strategy for optimizing resource utilization and increasing overall productivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Controlled Environment Agriculture for Sustainable Farming)
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