What are the impacts of sugarcane production on ecosystem services and human well-being? A review

Chami, Daniel El; Daccache, André; Moujabber, Maroun El

doi:10.1016/j.aoas.2020.10.001

Cited by 39 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 188 publications

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“…Another important factor is associated with land use and land cover in the region and the management of cultivated areas, especially in the interior of the São Paulo State ( Rudke et al, 2019 , 2021 ). Mostly in sugar cane plantations, the pre-harvest burning practiced has demonstrated a significant impact in increasing concentrations of pollutants associated with fires (e.g., smoke, inhalable particulate matter, and total suspended particulates) ( El Chami et al, 2020 ; Tsao et al, 2012 ; Uriarte et al, 2009 ). Over the years, there has been a reduction in this agricultural practice, mainly due to sanctions from regional governments seeking to gradually encourage farmers to reduce fires ( Tsao et al, 2012 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How mobility restrictions policy and atmospheric conditions impacted air quality in the State of São Paulo during the COVID-19 outbreak

Rudke

Martins

Almeida

et al. 2021

Environmental Research

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Mobility restrictions are among actions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and have been pointed as reasons for improving air quality, especially in large cities. However, it is crucial to assess the impact of atmospheric conditions on air quality and air pollutant dispersion in the face of the potential variability of all sources. In this study, the impact of mobility restrictions on the air quality was analyzed for the most populous Brazilian State, São Paulo, severely impacted by COVID-19. Ground-based air quality data (PM 10 , PM 2.5 , CO, SO 2 , NO x , NO 2 , NO, and O 3 ) were used from 50 automatic air quality monitoring stations to evaluate the changes in concentrations before (January 01 - March 25) and during the partial quarantine (March 16 - June 30). Rainfall, fires, and daily cell phone mobility data were also used as supplementary information to the analyses. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to assess the heterogeneity of the air quality data during and before mobility restrictions. In general, the results demonstrated no substantial improvements in air quality for most of the pollutants when comparing before and during restrictions periods. Besides, when the analyzed period of 2020 is compared with the year 2019, there is no significant air quality improvement in the São Paulo State. However, special attention should be given to the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP), due to the vast population residing in this area and exposed to air pollution. The region reached an average decrease of 29% in CO, 28% in NO x , 40% in NO, 19% in SO 2 , 15% in PM 2.5 , and 8% in PM 10 concentrations during the mobility restrictions period compared to the same period in 2019. The only pollutant that showed an increase in concentration was ozone, with a 20% increase compared to 2019 during the mobility restrictions period. Before the mobility restrictions period, the region reached an average decrease of 30% in CO, 39% in NO x , 63% in NO, 12% in SO 2 , 23% in PM 2.5 , 18% in PM 10 , and 16% in O 3 concentrations when compared to the same period in 2019. On the other hand, Cubatão, a highly industrialized area, showed statistically significant increases above 20% for most monitored pollutants in both periods of 2020 compared to 2019. This study reinforces that the main driving force of pollutant concentration variability is the dynamics of the atmosphere at its various time scales. An abnormal rainy season, with above average rainfall before the restrictions and below average after it, generated a scenario in which the probable significant reductions in emissions did not substantially affect the concentration of pollutants.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How mobility restrictions policy and atmospheric conditions impacted air quality in the State of São Paulo during the COVID-19 outbreak

Rudke

Martins

Almeida

et al. 2021

Environmental Research

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“…Moreover, the cost of producing vegetables, flowers, fruit and other cash crops is high, and the produce is often difficult to store. Risk from changing weather patterns was also reported [70]. Farmers earned less than those working in the secondary and tertiary sectors, and the perception was that farm work is harder.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agricultural Transformation and Its Impact on Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being in Peri-Urban Areas: The Case of Xi’an, China

Zhong-xue

Liu

Zheng

et al. 2022

Land

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There is a gap in understanding the relationships between the transformation of agricultural landscapes, ecosystem services and human well-being in the peri-urban fringe of major cities worldwide. In this paper, we use semi-structured interviews, perception surveys, social surveys and field mapping to examine linkages between agricultural and landscape transition, ecosystem services and human well-being in five sample villages in Xi’an metropolitan zone, China. The results indicate that: (1) Agricultural change has increased landscape fragmentation, with a shift from grain to more profitable horticulture and nursery production. The farming system is more diversified and exhibits a multifunctional character. (2) This transformation has had a significant impact on the character of the agroecosystem. (3) The agricultural transformation towards greater multifunctionality has increased the supply of ecosystem services, including tourism-related activities, potentially improving human well-being. (4) Different combinations of activities in the sample villages were evaluated with respect to a well-being index, indicating the importance of combining horticulture and tourism. (5) Linkages identified between agricultural transformation, ecosystem services and human well-being may have significant implications for potential approaches within future studies.

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“…Each of these require significant planetary resources to grow the product with less resource required to convert the product into the hand gel. The impacts of sugar cane (of which a significant portion of bioethanol are derived) have been recently reviewed and are similar to those of corn (El Chami et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hand hygiene with hand sanitizer versus handwashing: what are the planetary health consequences?

Duane

Pilling

Saget

et al. 2022

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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In order to reduce the transmission of pathogens, and COVID-19, WHO and NHS England recommend hand washing (HW) and/or the use of hand sanitizer (HS). The planetary health consequences of these different methods of hand hygiene have not been quantified. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to compare the environmental impact of the UK population practising increased levels of hand hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic for 1 year. Washing hands with soap and water was compared to using hand sanitizer (both ethanol and isopropanol based sanitizers were studied). The isopropanol-based HS had the lowest environmental impact in 14 out of the 16 impact categories used in this study. For climate change, hand hygiene using isopropanol HS produced the equivalent of 1060 million kg CO2, compared to 1460 million for ethanol HS, 2300 million for bar soap HW, and 4240 million for liquid soap HW. For both the ethanol and isopropanol HS, the active ingredient was the greatest overall contributing factor to the environmental impact (83.24% and 68.68% respectively). For HW with liquid soap and bar soap, there were additional contributing factors other than the soap itself: for example tap water use (28.12% and 48.68% respectively) and the laundering of a hand towel to dry the hands (10.17% and 17.92% respectively). All forms of hand hygiene have an environmental cost, and this needs to be weighed up against the health benefits of preventing disease transmission. When comparing hand sanitizers to handwashing with soap and water, this study found that using isopropanol based hand sanitizer is better for planetary health. However, no method of hand hygiene was ideal; isopropanol had a greater fossil fuel resource use than ethanol based hand sanitizer. More research is needed to find hand hygiene sources which do not diminish planetary health, and environmental impact is a consideration for public health campaigns around hand hygiene.

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What are the impacts of sugarcane production on ecosystem services and human well-being? A review

Cited by 39 publications

References 188 publications

How mobility restrictions policy and atmospheric conditions impacted air quality in the State of São Paulo during the COVID-19 outbreak

How mobility restrictions policy and atmospheric conditions impacted air quality in the State of São Paulo during the COVID-19 outbreak

Agricultural Transformation and Its Impact on Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being in Peri-Urban Areas: The Case of Xi’an, China

Hand hygiene with hand sanitizer versus handwashing: what are the planetary health consequences?

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