Recirculating water and nutrients in urban agriculture: An opportunity towards environmental sustainability and water use efficiency?

Rufí-Salís, Martí; Petit‐Boix, Anna; Villalba, Gara; Sanjuan-Delmás, David; Parada, Felipe; Ercilla-Montserrat, Mireia; Arcas-Pilz, Verónica; Muñoz-Liesa, Joan; Rieradevall, Joan; Gabarrell, Xavier

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121213

Cited by 71 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…This scenario is clearly the case for water-scarce countries in the global south, in which the use of greywater for crop fertigation in extensive peri-urban farms is crucial for water management and savings ( Abubakari et al, 2011 ; Asafu-Adjaye, 2012 ; Keraita et al, 2007a ; Menyuka et al, 2020 ). Modern UA techniques combine food production with waste transformation, such as aquaponics ( Enduta et al, 2011 ; Magwaza et al, 2020 ; Rufí-Salís et al, 2020 ; Yep & Zheng, 2019 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reviewing chemical and biological risks in urban agriculture: A comprehensive framework for a food safety assessment of city region food systems

et al. 2021

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Attention to urban agriculture (UA) has recently grown among practitioners, scientists, and the public, resulting in several initiatives worldwide. Despite the positive perception of modern UA and locally grown, fresh produce, the potential food safety risks connected to these practices may be underestimated, leading to regulatory gaps. Thus, there is a need for assessment tools to evaluate the food safety risks connected to specific UA initiatives, to assist practitioners in self-evaluation and control, and to provide policy makers and scholars a means to pursue and assess food safety in city regions, avoiding either a lack or an excess of regulation that could ultimately hinder the sector. To address this aim, this paper reviews the most recent and relevant literature on UA food safety assessments. Food safety indicators were identified first. Then, a food safety assessment framework for UA initiatives was developed. The framework uses business surveys and food analyses (if available) as a data source for calculating a food safety index for single UA businesses and the whole UA landscape of a given city region. The proposed framework was designed to allow its integration into the CRFS (City Region Food System) toolkit developed by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), RUAF foundation (Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security) and Wilfrid Laurier University.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reviewing chemical and biological risks in urban agriculture: A comprehensive framework for a food safety assessment of city region food systems

et al. 2021

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“…A study made use of a rooftop greenhouse in Barcelona, Spain to examine the benefits of a closedloop hydroponic agricultural production system (Rufí-Salís et al 2020). Water leaching from substrate bags and nutrients not assimilated by plants were recirculated into the system.…”

Section: Case Study: Circular Resource Model For Urban Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Infrastructure Interdependencies: Opportunities from Complexity

Grafius

Varga

Jude

2020

J. Infrastruct. Syst.

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Infrastructure networks such as those for energy, transportation and telecommunication perform key functions for society. Although such systems have largely been developed and managed in isolation, infrastructure now functions as a 'system of systems', exhibiting complex interdependencies that can leave critical functions vulnerable to cascade failure. Consequently, research efforts and management strategies have focused on risks and negative aspects of complexity. This paper explores how interdependencies can be seen positively, representing opportunities to increase organisational resilience and sustainability. A typology is presented for classifying positive interdependencies, drawing on fundamental principles in ecology, and validated using case studies. Understanding opportunities from interdependency enables better understanding and management of infrastructure complexity, which in turn allows the use of this complexity to the advantage of society. Integrative thinking is necessary not only for mitigating risk, but for identifying innovations to make systems and organisations more sustainable and resilient.

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“…The widespread use of these nutrients has caused vertical farming to rely entirely on them, which thus makes this agricultural practice unsustainable in the long run. The high energy cost of synthetic nitrogen production and the ever-depleting sources of phosphate rock, when added to the environmental cost of their disposal and emissions to water and air ( Rufí-Salís et al, 2020a , b ), necessitates the search for alternatives to further implement these technologies in a sustainable way.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving the Fertigation of Soilless Urban Vertical Agriculture Through the Combination of Struvite and Rhizobia Inoculation in Phaseolus vulgaris

et al. 2021

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Soilless crop production is a viable way to promote vertical agriculture in urban areas, but it relies extensively on the use of mineral fertilizer. Thus, the benefits of fresher, local food and avoiding the transportation and packaging associated with food import could be counteracted by an increase in nutrient-rich wastewater, which could contribute to freshwater and marine eutrophication. The present study aimed to explore the use of mineral fertilizer substitutes in soilless agriculture. Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean) was fertilized with a combination of slow-releasing fertilizer struvite (a source of N, P, and Mg), which is a byproduct of wastewater treatment plants, and inoculation with Rhizobium (a N2-fixing soil bacteria). The experiment included three bean-production lines: (A) 2 g/plant of struvite and rhizobial inoculation; (B) 5 g/plant of struvite and rhizobial inoculation, both irrigated with a Mg-, P-, and N-free nutrient solution; and (C) a control treatment that consisted of irrigation with a full nutrient solution and no inoculation. Plant growth, development, yields, and nutrient contents were determined at 35, 62, and 84 days after transplanting as well as biological N2 fixation, which was determined using the 15N natural abundance method. Treatments A and B resulted in lower total yields per plant than the control C treatment (e.g., 59.35 ± 26.4 g plant–1 for A, 74.2 ± 23.0 g plant–1 for B, and 147.71 ± 45.3 g plant–1 for C). For A and B, the nodulation and N2 fixation capacities appeared to increase with the amount of initially available struvite, but, over time, deficient levels of Mg were reached as well as nearly deficient levels of P, which could explain the lower yields. Nevertheless, we conclude that the combination of struvite and N2-fixing bacteria covered the N needs of plants throughout the growth cycle. However, further studies are needed to determine the optimal struvite quantities for vertical agriculture systems that can meet the P and Mg requirements throughout the lifetime of the plants.

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Recirculating water and nutrients in urban agriculture: An opportunity towards environmental sustainability and water use efficiency?

Cited by 71 publications

References 36 publications

Reviewing chemical and biological risks in urban agriculture: A comprehensive framework for a food safety assessment of city region food systems

Reviewing chemical and biological risks in urban agriculture: A comprehensive framework for a food safety assessment of city region food systems

Infrastructure Interdependencies: Opportunities from Complexity

Improving the Fertigation of Soilless Urban Vertical Agriculture Through the Combination of Struvite and Rhizobia Inoculation in Phaseolus vulgaris

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