Search results for "Greenhouse ga"
showing 10 items of 262 documents
Soil Carbon Budget Account for the Sustainability Improvement of a Mediterranean Vineyard Area
2020
Sustainable viticulture is suggested as an interesting strategy for achieving the objectives of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction in terms of mitigation and adaptation. However, knowledge and quantification of the contribution of sustainable vineyard management on climate change impact are needed. Although it is widely assessed by several authors that the agricultural stage has a great impact in the wine chain, very few studies have evaluated the greenhouse gas emission in this phase including the ability of soil to sequester carbon (C) or the off-farm C loss by erosion. This work aimed to provide a vineyard carbon budget (vCB) tool to quantify the impact of grape production on…
Vertisols and cambisols had contrasting short term greenhouse gas responses to crop residue management
2020
In sustainable agriculture crop residues management should consider the interactions between soil and residue properties, which can affect the decomposition and global greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission. Through a laboratory experiment, we investigated the effect of the management (incorporation and surface placement) of wheat and faba bean residues on their decomposition and CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions from two soils, a Chromic Vertisol and an Eutric Cambisol. In the Vertisol, wheat residues increased the CO2 emission more than faba bean when left on the surface whereas no differences among residues were observed when incorporated. In the Cambisol, faba bean emitted more than wheat when left …
An assessment of factors controlling N2O and CO2 emissions from crop residues using different measurement approaches
2017
Management of plant residues plays an important role in maintaining soil quality and nutrient availability for plants and microbes. However, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the factors controlling residue decomposition and their effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the soil. This uncertainty is created both by the complexity of the processes involved and limitations in the methodologies commonly used to quantify GHG emissions. We therefore investigated the addition of two soil residues (durum wheat and faba bean) with similar C/N ratios but contrasting fibres, lignin and cellulose contents on nutrient dynamics and GHG emission from two contrasting soils: a low-soil org…
From the LCA of food products to the environmental assessment of protected crops districts: A case-study in the south of Italy
2010
In the present study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to evaluate the energy consumption and environmental burdens associated with the production of protected crops in an agricultural district in the Mediterranean region. In this study, LCA was used as a ‘support tool’, to address local policies for sustainable production and consumption patterns, and to create a ‘knowledge base’ for environmental assessment of an extended agricultural production area. The proposed approach combines organisation-specific tools, such as Environmental Management Systems and Environmental Product Declarations, with the environmental management of the district. Questionnaires were distribute…
CH4 oxidation in a boreal lake during the development of hypolimnetic hypoxia
2020
AbstractFreshwater ecosystems represent a significant natural source of methane (CH4). CH4 produced through anaerobic decomposition of organic matter (OM) in lake sediment and water column can be either oxidized to carbon dioxide (CO2) by methanotrophic microbes or emitted to the atmosphere. While the role of CH4 oxidation as a CH4 sink is widely accepted, neither the magnitude nor the drivers behind CH4 oxidation are well constrained. In this study, we aimed to gain more specific insight into CH4 oxidation in the water column of a seasonally stratified, typical boreal lake, particularly under hypoxic conditions. We used 13CH4 incubations to determine the active CH4 oxidation sites and the …
A comparison of different DC-DC converters for energy storage management in nearly-Zero Energy Buildings
2020
In the recent years, there has been a notable interest towards renewable sources, energy saving and efficiency optimization, in order to reduce the damages brought by fine dust and greenhouse gases in terms of safety, health and environmental protection. In the building sector renewable sources and energy efficiency optimization are leading to a large scale employment of nearly-Zero Energy Buildings (n-ZEBs), meaning that the balance between produced and required energy is negligible. For a proper n-ZEB implementation, a power system architecture has to be accurately designed, according to the existing renewable sources, loads and storage systems. In this paper, an investigation on differen…
A decision support system to compare different strategies for achieving the Italian Kyoto Protocol commitment
2008
Abstract: In order to meet the Italian Kyoto Protocol commitment, in 2002 the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) approved the national allocation plan for the reduction of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), envisioning various alternative scenarios. In this paper an extended impact assessment of the plan is accomplished and some further options are conceived and analysed in order to find an optimal trade-off among the different economic, environmental and social items at stake. After the selection of a set of independent indicators, nine different scenarios for the GHG reductions were evaluated and they were sorted according to the principles of the multicriteria analysis. The re…
Mathematical modelling of greenhouse gas emissions from membrane bioreactors: A comprehensive comparison of two mathematical models.
2018
Abstract This paper compares two mathematical models (Model I and Model II) to predict greenhouse gases emission from a University Cape Town (UCT) – membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant. Model I considers N 2 O production only during denitrification. Model II takes into account the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) formation pathways for N 2 O. Both models were calibrated adopting real data. Model comparison was performed in terms of (i) sensitivity analysis (ii) best fit and (iii) model prediction uncertainty. On average 6% of factors of Model I and 9% of Model II resulted to be important. In terms of best fit, Model II had a better capability of reproducing the measured data. The average effici…
Comparison of Two Mathematical Models for Greenhouse Gas Emission from Membrane Bioreactors
2017
In this study two mathematical models (Model I and Model II), able to predict the nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from an University Cape Town (UCT) – membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant, have been compared. Model I considers the N2O production only during the denitrification. Model II takes into account the two ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) formation pathways for N2O. Both models were calibrated adopting real data. Results highlight that Model II had a better capability of reproducing the measured data especially in terms of N2O model outputs. Indeed, the average efficiency related to the N2O model outputs was equal to 0.3 and 0.38 for Model I and Model II respectively.
Ecology of Denitrifying Prokaryotes in Agricultural Soil
2007
Denitrification is a microbial respiratory process during which soluble nitrogen oxides are used as an alternative electron acceptor when oxygen is limiting. It results in considerable loss of nitrogen, which is the most limiting nutrient for crop production in agriculture. Denitrification is also of environmental concern, since it is the main biological process responsible for emissions of nitrous oxide, one of the six greenhouse gases considered by the Kyoto protocol. In addition to natural variations, agroecosystems are characterized by the use of numerous practices, such as fertilization and pesticide application, which can influence denitrification rates. This has been widely documente…