Environmental Sustainability

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Browsing Environmental Sustainability by Subject "3002 Agriculture, Land and Farm Management"

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    Comment on ‘Estimating methane emissions from manure: a suitable case for treatment?’
    (IOP Publishing, 2025-06-01) Anthony, Steven G.; Cardenas, Laura C.; Gilhespy, Sarah L.; Sandars, Daniel L.; Chadwick, David R.
    Ward et al (2024 Environ. Res. 1 025003) recently published a paper in this journal (Ward et al 2024 Environ. Res. 1 025003) asserting that methane emissions from manure management in the United Kingdom Inventory of Greenhouse Gas emissions could be under-estimated by a factor of four to five. This was based on extrapolation of measurements from two farms located in the south-west of England where manure management is purposely set-up to encourage methane release and capture, for use as a fuel source. We argue that methane thus extracted cannot be compared with the quantities emitted to the atmosphere on a typical farm which is what the national Inventory seeks to estimate, and show that existing Inventory calculations are consistent with wider literature and typical management practices in the United Kingdom.
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    Feasibility study on using combined tomography and spectroscopy techniques to evaluate the physical and chemical characteristics of organo-mineral fertilisers
    (Frontiers, 2025-06-04) Sakrabani, Ruben; Mosca, Sara; Liptak, Alexander; Burca, Genoveva
    Fertilisers play a key role in agriculture, providing key nutrients needed by crops to ensure a secure food supply. However, with increasing prices and rising environmental concerns, there is a growing need to rely on alternative and sustainable fertiliser sources, introducing the opportunity to use organic amendments to formulate organo-mineral fertilisers (OMF). Despite their environmental advantages, the inherent variability in composition of organic amendments within OMF poses a challenge for their standardization. This study aims to use OMF derived from anaerobic digestate and coupled with carbon capture technologies to analyze for its physical characteristics and chemical composition using neutron computed tomography (NCT), X-ray computed tomography (XCT) and Raman spectroscopy (RS). This is a feasibility study to assess using non-destructive techniques on OMF as previously this has not been explored. This work represents the first attempt to utilize a combination of imaging techniques to investigate on OMF and demonstrates their feasibility for measuring the variability between individual samples. This is a proof-of-concept study which shows that combining NCT and XCT can provide images on how uniformly packed each OMF pellet are. The use of RS is to characterize OMF is more challenging largely due to the high fluorescence background arising from its matrix. This study needs to be further developed to enable image-based analysis using machine learning algorithms to determine characteristics of large batches of OMF. Further development is needed building on this work to quantify OMF pellet characteristics so that it can be confidently used as novel fertilisers in agriculture.
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    Organic management in coffee: a systematic review of the environmental, economic and social benefits and trade-offs for farmers
    (Taylor and Francis, 2025-05-29) Jones, Katharine; Njeru, Ezekiel Mugendi; Garnett, Kenisha; Girkin, Nicholas T.
    Global coffee production is expanding, contributing to environmental degradation, notably through extensive use of inorganic fertilizers. Volatile prices, climate change, rising input costs, and pressure to decrease carbon footprints represent key challenges for farmers. Regenerative soil management and the use of organic management as an alternative to conventional mineral fertilizers offer one potential solution to address these challenges. However, information is limited regarding the potential options available for farmers, and their potential environmental, economic, and social impacts. We undertook a systematic review of the literature to assess the benefits and trade-offs from adopting different organic management approaches following PRISMA guidelines. We identified 43 peer-reviewed articles, predominantly focusing on agroforestry, plant-derived additions, soil management or animal manure to improve livelihoods and environment. Research priorities differ by region and there is a skew toward researching the environmental impacts of regenerative techniques. Our synthesis demonstrates multiple potential environmental benefits to organic management, but increasing economic risks and trade-offs for farmers, particularly in transitioning to organic management. We also highlight the social barriers facing farmers, from education to access to knowledge networks to support implementation. These challenges must be addressed to support any future sustainable transitions to organic management in coffee.