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Alessandro Persiani
Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment (CREA-AA), Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 0125 Bari, Italy

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Journal article
Published: 15 May 2021 in Sustainability
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The implementation of agroecology principles within organic farming research is a crux to redesign sustainable agri-food systems. To govern this transition, the local research demand should be addressed by direct engagement of all stakeholders in the research process. The first step is the involvement of farmers and technicians, with the aim of restoring their decision-making role, switching governance to local scale. The co-design/co-management of Long-Term Experiments (LTEs) can be crucial to govern the above-described transition through networking and participatory activities. In this study, we report the experience of co-designing a new LTE in Southern Italy by local actors and scientists. Through a participatory action research methodology, an LTE was considered as a biophysical component of an agroecological living lab, a public–private environment aimed to design a local food system. The setup of parallel field trials in satellite farms stands for the other biophysical component, whereas the stakeholder platform represents the social one. Through definition of common objectives, a step-by-step process is presented, which highlights the interest of local organic actors to share ideas and perspectives for the territory, pointing out the inclusion of end-users (the consumers) in the process to complete the transition to sustainable food systems.

ACS Style

Corrado Ciaccia; Elena Testani; Angelo Fiore; Ileana Iocola; Marta Di Pierro; Giuseppe Mele; Filippo Ferlito; Marcello Cutuli; Francesco Montemurro; Roberta Farina; Danilo Ceccarelli; Alessandro Persiani; Stefano Canali; Mariangela Diacono. Organic Agroforestry Long-Term Field Experiment Designing Trough Actors’ Knowledge towards Food System Sustainability. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5532 .

AMA Style

Corrado Ciaccia, Elena Testani, Angelo Fiore, Ileana Iocola, Marta Di Pierro, Giuseppe Mele, Filippo Ferlito, Marcello Cutuli, Francesco Montemurro, Roberta Farina, Danilo Ceccarelli, Alessandro Persiani, Stefano Canali, Mariangela Diacono. Organic Agroforestry Long-Term Field Experiment Designing Trough Actors’ Knowledge towards Food System Sustainability. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (10):5532.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Corrado Ciaccia; Elena Testani; Angelo Fiore; Ileana Iocola; Marta Di Pierro; Giuseppe Mele; Filippo Ferlito; Marcello Cutuli; Francesco Montemurro; Roberta Farina; Danilo Ceccarelli; Alessandro Persiani; Stefano Canali; Mariangela Diacono. 2021. "Organic Agroforestry Long-Term Field Experiment Designing Trough Actors’ Knowledge towards Food System Sustainability." Sustainability 13, no. 10: 5532.

Journal article
Published: 08 March 2021 in Biological Agriculture & Horticulture
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This research was carried out in an organic crop sequence of cauliflowers (Brassica oleracea L.) and tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) intercropped with different cover crop species (burr medic (Medicago polymorpha L) and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.)) grown as living mulches and cultivated on a ridge system on a site characterised by extreme weather events (floods) in the Mediterranean environment. The objectives of the research were to: (i) investigate the impact of the combination of agro-ecological techniques (cover crops and organic fertilisation) on cash crops yield, biomass production and selected physical properties of the soil; (ii) evaluate the sustainability of the systems by using both energy inputs/outputs analysis and assessment of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Six treatment combinations were compared: intercropping with burr medic throughout the crop rotation, with and without organic fertilisers; growing crimson clover as a living mulch in the winter crop within the crop rotation, with and without organic fertilisers; cropping system without cover crops, with and without organic fertilisers. The findings highlighted that the introduction of cover crops in the rotation should be recommended since it resulted in higher crop production levels without negative impacts on soil physical properties, as well as in the best energy use efficiency and carbon efficiency in the system. The results of the soil physical quality assessment indicated that the agro-ecological practices had no significant effects on the soil properties. Therefore, in the Mediterranean conditions, the proposed agro-ecological approaches can be crucial to achieving sustainable organic agro-ecosystems.

ACS Style

Mariangela Diacono; Alessandro Persiani; Mirko Castellini; Luisa Giglio; Francesco Montemurro. Intercropping and rotation with leguminous plants in organic vegetables: crop performance, soil properties and sustainability assessment. Biological Agriculture & Horticulture 2021, 1 -27.

AMA Style

Mariangela Diacono, Alessandro Persiani, Mirko Castellini, Luisa Giglio, Francesco Montemurro. Intercropping and rotation with leguminous plants in organic vegetables: crop performance, soil properties and sustainability assessment. Biological Agriculture & Horticulture. 2021; ():1-27.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mariangela Diacono; Alessandro Persiani; Mirko Castellini; Luisa Giglio; Francesco Montemurro. 2021. "Intercropping and rotation with leguminous plants in organic vegetables: crop performance, soil properties and sustainability assessment." Biological Agriculture & Horticulture , no. : 1-27.

Research article
Published: 30 September 2020 in Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science
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Anaerobic digestate (AD), a sub-product of cattle manure treatment to produce biogas, could be used for agricultural purposes after co-composting. The aim of this research was to evaluate in organic horticulture the co-composted AD, obtained using two different aerobic stabilization processes (not aerated and aerated composting), by assessing: i) the energy requirements and the GHG emissions of on-farm co-composting; ii) the agronomic performance of the co-composted AD, compared to a commercial organic (CF) fertilizer, on fennel, tomato and zucchini crops; iii) the environmental sustainability of the different analyzed systems, through the energy and the carbon footprint analyses. The AD co-composting was a feasible way to valorize organic wastes by producing organic fertilizers. These fertilizers could substitute the CF, leading to similar production capacity, energetic and carbon efficiencies. In particular, despite the greater carbon stocks generated by CF, the carbon efficiency was higher in co-composted AD than CF for both fennel and tomato cultivation systems. The GHG emission analysis for the agricultural operations indicated that CF treatment determined the highest CO2 emissions. Therefore, an appropriate management of the fertilization strategies could allow reducing the GHG emissions.

ACS Style

Alessandro Persiani; Francesco Montemurro; Angelo Fiore; Rosalba Scazzarriello; Mariangela Diacono. On-farm fertilizing materials in organic horticulture: agronomic performance, energy use and GHG emission evaluation. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science 2020, 1 -17.

AMA Style

Alessandro Persiani, Francesco Montemurro, Angelo Fiore, Rosalba Scazzarriello, Mariangela Diacono. On-farm fertilizing materials in organic horticulture: agronomic performance, energy use and GHG emission evaluation. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science. 2020; ():1-17.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alessandro Persiani; Francesco Montemurro; Angelo Fiore; Rosalba Scazzarriello; Mariangela Diacono. 2020. "On-farm fertilizing materials in organic horticulture: agronomic performance, energy use and GHG emission evaluation." Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science , no. : 1-17.

Journal article
Published: 09 May 2020 in Agronomy
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Sustainability of agricultural practices is one of the most important issues in organic agriculture and its assessment is crucial. To this aim, evaluating the balance between the energy inputs and outputs in crop rotations could be a valuable tool. Therefore, we compared different management strategies in a four-year organic cropping system, by estimating the energy balance of crop production. Two different living mulches with no-till (B1) and green manure (B2) were compared with a cropping system without cover crop (B3), performing both energy analysis and energy balance. Energy parameters were also evaluated. The energy input of fertilizers and water was more than 55% of the total energy required by the cropping systems, suggesting that these agronomic practices should be tailored by farmers to decrease total energy inputs. The potential energy output was significantly higher in the B1 than the B2 and B3 cropping systems (20% and 54%, respectively). Results indicated that B1 and B2 could enhance the energy outputs without negatively affecting the energy consumption, since these cropping systems also showed higher energy efficiency. The introduction of the cover crop as living mulch combined with no-till could be a powerful tool to enhance systems sustainability, without compromising the crop yields.

ACS Style

Francesco Montemurro; Alessandro Persiani; Mariangela Diacono. Cover Crop as Living Mulch: Effects on Energy Flows in Mediterranean Organic Cropping Systems. Agronomy 2020, 10, 667 .

AMA Style

Francesco Montemurro, Alessandro Persiani, Mariangela Diacono. Cover Crop as Living Mulch: Effects on Energy Flows in Mediterranean Organic Cropping Systems. Agronomy. 2020; 10 (5):667.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Montemurro; Alessandro Persiani; Mariangela Diacono. 2020. "Cover Crop as Living Mulch: Effects on Energy Flows in Mediterranean Organic Cropping Systems." Agronomy 10, no. 5: 667.

Journal article
Published: 19 April 2020 in Sustainability
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The livestock sector plays a fundamental role in human beings’ livelihood all over the world. However, significant changes have occurred in the last decades, transforming the livestock sector into a highly intensive economic activity with negative impacts on human health and the environment. Such a reality requires the identification of easy methods to apply to sustainable manure management. Composting is a clever approach to transform manure into a resource. Very limited scientific literature is available on techniques for composting in small and medium livestock farms. This paper describes, in detail, some on-farm composting plants made in Southern Italy within different rural contexts. A depth analysis of farm starting situation and nearby territory (resources/services) was performed to identify the least expensive/impactful composting logistics (reduction of ex novo farm investments and transport costs, etc.), making the action economically sustainable for farmers. This approach appears to be successful in guiding farmers towards the best composting technological option, based on pre-existent on-farm resources. These small-scale composting plants, reproducible in other similar contexts, allow one to turn manure into a product with a profitable placement on the market. For this reason, these manure management options should be widespread, especially under organic farming systems.

ACS Style

Assunta Maria Palese; Alessandro Persiani; Carmine D’Adamo; Maria Pergola; Vittoria Pastore; Rocco Sileo; Giuseppe Ippolito; Maria Assunta Lombardi; Giuseppe Celano. Composting as Manure Disposal Strategy in Small/Medium-Size Livestock Farms: Some Demonstrations with Operative Indications. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3315 .

AMA Style

Assunta Maria Palese, Alessandro Persiani, Carmine D’Adamo, Maria Pergola, Vittoria Pastore, Rocco Sileo, Giuseppe Ippolito, Maria Assunta Lombardi, Giuseppe Celano. Composting as Manure Disposal Strategy in Small/Medium-Size Livestock Farms: Some Demonstrations with Operative Indications. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (8):3315.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Assunta Maria Palese; Alessandro Persiani; Carmine D’Adamo; Maria Pergola; Vittoria Pastore; Rocco Sileo; Giuseppe Ippolito; Maria Assunta Lombardi; Giuseppe Celano. 2020. "Composting as Manure Disposal Strategy in Small/Medium-Size Livestock Farms: Some Demonstrations with Operative Indications." Sustainability 12, no. 8: 3315.

Journal article
Published: 04 February 2020 in Agronomy
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Horticultural farms are faced with the problem of disposing of huge amounts of agricultural by-products whose management requires sustainable solutions. Composting means to recycle organic waste to make compost—a high agronomic value product—able to positively affect soil quality: A good occasion to switch definitively from a conventional agriculture to an organic one. Nevertheless, composting can have negative direct/indirect environmental impacts. The aim of this research was to assess the sustainability of a windrow composting system, able to treat agricultural green waste of different typology (“light” and “heavy” with dry matter below or above 10%, respectively). Environmental impacts, energy consumptions, and production costs of all composting stages were evaluated by Life Cycle Assessment. Results show that the production of 1 ton of compost caused CO2eq emissions ranging from 199 to 250 kg and required between 1500 and 2000 MJ of energy; costs ranged between 98 and 162 euro, nevertheless lesser than the commercial green compost. The raw material typology affected significantly the composting process making compost based on “heavy” materials the most sustainable. These findings underline the need to spread this low technology process, easy to apply, especially in organic farms, and to promote the agronomic use of compost.

ACS Style

Maria Pergola; Alessandro Persiani; Vittoria Pastore; Assunta Maria Palese; Carmine D’Adamo; Enrica De Falco; Giuseppe Celano. Sustainability Assessment of the Green Compost Production Chain from Agricultural Waste: A Case Study in Southern Italy. Agronomy 2020, 10, 230 .

AMA Style

Maria Pergola, Alessandro Persiani, Vittoria Pastore, Assunta Maria Palese, Carmine D’Adamo, Enrica De Falco, Giuseppe Celano. Sustainability Assessment of the Green Compost Production Chain from Agricultural Waste: A Case Study in Southern Italy. Agronomy. 2020; 10 (2):230.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maria Pergola; Alessandro Persiani; Vittoria Pastore; Assunta Maria Palese; Carmine D’Adamo; Enrica De Falco; Giuseppe Celano. 2020. "Sustainability Assessment of the Green Compost Production Chain from Agricultural Waste: A Case Study in Southern Italy." Agronomy 10, no. 2: 230.

Articles
Published: 18 December 2019 in Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
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In a two-year experiment, agroecological service crops (ASCs) introduction before organic zucchini and lettuce vs no-ASCs (CT), and two ASCs termination strategies (green manure, GM vs roller crimper, NT) were compared. The objective was to assess the environmental sustainability in a Mediterranean environment. Agronomic performance, energy analysis and carbon footprint were assessed. Although lower zucchini and lettuce yields than GM, the NT strategy was more sustainable than GM and CT, showing energy efficiencyof 0.64, 0.31 and 0.13%, respectively, and showing the highest carbon stored in the soil. NT can reach a good compromise between crop production and impact of agricultural activities.

ACS Style

Mariangela Diacono; Alessandro Persiani; Elena Testani; Francesco Montemurro. Sustainability of agro-ecological practices in organic horticulture: yield, energy-use and carbon footprint. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 2019, 44, 726 -746.

AMA Style

Mariangela Diacono, Alessandro Persiani, Elena Testani, Francesco Montemurro. Sustainability of agro-ecological practices in organic horticulture: yield, energy-use and carbon footprint. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 2019; 44 (6):726-746.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mariangela Diacono; Alessandro Persiani; Elena Testani; Francesco Montemurro. 2019. "Sustainability of agro-ecological practices in organic horticulture: yield, energy-use and carbon footprint." Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 44, no. 6: 726-746.

Journal article
Published: 03 October 2019 in Applied Sciences
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In the last decade, there has been an increasing interest in sustainable agricultural techniques and the environmental evaluation of the effects of agricultural practices. In the present study, we evaluated both the production capacity of organic horticultural systems, and the ex-post sustainability through a new multi-attribute decision model named “DEXi-met”. This qualitative model is able to estimate the environmental sustainability of cropping systems managed with different agro-ecological approaches. In particular, we compared the following three horticultural systems: (i) ECO, an organic system with full implementation of agro-ecological strategies (agro-ecological services crops (ASC), strip cultivation, and organic amendment); (ii) GM, an organic system with the introduction of the ASC; (iii) NO ASC, an organic system without ASC. The treatments with ASC presence (ECO and GM) showed similar total energy outputs (substantially higher than the NO ASC), indicating the positive effect of this agro-ecological practice. The findings pointed out that the ECO system, which followed the principles of natural ecosystems, can contribute to building up more complex agro-ecosystems, increasing both resilience and biodiversity. This management strategy reached a good compromise between the production of vegetable cropping systems and environmental sustainability achievement. Then, it is possible to optimize the use of natural resources, support climate adaptation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

ACS Style

Francesco Montemurro; Alessandro Persiani; Mariangela Diacono. Organic Vegetable Crops Managed with Agro-Ecological Practices: Environmental Sustainability Assessment by DEXi-met Decision Support System. Applied Sciences 2019, 9, 4148 .

AMA Style

Francesco Montemurro, Alessandro Persiani, Mariangela Diacono. Organic Vegetable Crops Managed with Agro-Ecological Practices: Environmental Sustainability Assessment by DEXi-met Decision Support System. Applied Sciences. 2019; 9 (19):4148.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Montemurro; Alessandro Persiani; Mariangela Diacono. 2019. "Organic Vegetable Crops Managed with Agro-Ecological Practices: Environmental Sustainability Assessment by DEXi-met Decision Support System." Applied Sciences 9, no. 19: 4148.

Journal article
Published: 12 September 2019 in Energy
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Reducing inputs by promoting the recycling of energy within a cropping system is one of the principles of organic farming. To this end, the introduction and proper management of agroecological service crops (ASC) can play a key role. Few studies have analysed the effect of ASC introduction and compared energy flows under green manure (ASC-GM) and no-till roller crimper (ASC-NT) management. Moreover, current energy flows studies do not account for all the sources of energy that could be recycled within a cropping system, and none of them have evaluated the efficiency of cropping systems for recycling energy. Our study, which gathered information on eight field experiments across six European countries over two years, indicates that ASC inclusion and management required, on average, a 19.73% higher input investment than systems that did not include them. Nevertheless, ASC management strategies were more prone to increase the energy that potentially could be recycled within the cropping system. Moreover, this study also provides, for the first time, evidence that ASC-NT reduces the marketable production efficiency relative to ASC-GM but improves the environmental performance by increasing the potential energy that can be recycled within the cropping system across a wide range of European pedo-climatic conditions.

ACS Style

D. Navarro-Miró; I. Iocola; Alessandro Persiani; José Manuel Blanco-Moreno; H. Lakkenborg Kristensen; Margita Hefner; K. Tamm; I. Bender; H. Védie; K. Willekens; M. Diacono; F. Montemurro; F.X. Sans; S. Canali. Energy flows in European organic vegetable systems: Effects of the introduction and management of agroecological service crops. Energy 2019, 188, 116096 .

AMA Style

D. Navarro-Miró, I. Iocola, Alessandro Persiani, José Manuel Blanco-Moreno, H. Lakkenborg Kristensen, Margita Hefner, K. Tamm, I. Bender, H. Védie, K. Willekens, M. Diacono, F. Montemurro, F.X. Sans, S. Canali. Energy flows in European organic vegetable systems: Effects of the introduction and management of agroecological service crops. Energy. 2019; 188 ():116096.

Chicago/Turabian Style

D. Navarro-Miró; I. Iocola; Alessandro Persiani; José Manuel Blanco-Moreno; H. Lakkenborg Kristensen; Margita Hefner; K. Tamm; I. Bender; H. Védie; K. Willekens; M. Diacono; F. Montemurro; F.X. Sans; S. Canali. 2019. "Energy flows in European organic vegetable systems: Effects of the introduction and management of agroecological service crops." Energy 188, no. : 116096.

Journal article
Published: 12 July 2019 in Sustainability
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The Circular Economy concept implies the re-design of existing production systems in agriculture, by promoting agricultural waste recycling. In an organic zucchini—lettuce rotation, two different agroecological tools were considered: biofertilizer and presence or absence of green manure (GM+ and GM−). In particular, we compared: (i) anaerobic digestate from cattle manure, co-composted with vegetable wastes, with the presence of GM (AD GM+); (ii) olive pomace compost, re-composted, with the presence of GM (OWC GM+); (iii) municipal waste compost with GM (MWC GM+); (iv) municipal waste compost without GM (MWC GM−). These materials were tested with a commercial organic fertilizer without GM (COF GM−) as a positive control. The objectives were: (i) assessing the environmental sustainability of biofertilizers through carbon footprint analysis by greenhouse gas—GHG—emissions; (ii) evaluating the agronomic performance on the vegetable rotation, by energy output assessment. The total carbon emissions of biofertilizers production was 63.9 and 67.0 kg of CO2 eq Mg−1 for AD and OWC, respectively. The co-composting and re-composting processes emitted 31.4 and 8.4 kg CO2 per Mg of compost, respectively. In AD the ventilation phase of composting accounted for 37.2% of total emissions. The total CO2 emission values for the two-crop cycles were the highest in COF GM− and the lowest in OWC GM+, due to different fertilizer sources. On the average of the treatments, the input that induced the highest CO2 emission was irrigation (37.9%). The energy output assessment for zucchini and lettuce highlighted similar performance for all the treatments. Our findings demonstrated the validity of the tested processes to recycle agro-industrial wastes, and the potential of agroecological practices (GM) to mitigate GHG emissions.

ACS Style

Mariangela Diacono; Alessandro Persiani; Elena Testani; Francesco Montemurro; Corrado Ciaccia. Recycling Agricultural Wastes and By-products in Organic Farming: Biofertilizer Production, Yield Performance and Carbon Footprint Analysis. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3824 .

AMA Style

Mariangela Diacono, Alessandro Persiani, Elena Testani, Francesco Montemurro, Corrado Ciaccia. Recycling Agricultural Wastes and By-products in Organic Farming: Biofertilizer Production, Yield Performance and Carbon Footprint Analysis. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (14):3824.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mariangela Diacono; Alessandro Persiani; Elena Testani; Francesco Montemurro; Corrado Ciaccia. 2019. "Recycling Agricultural Wastes and By-products in Organic Farming: Biofertilizer Production, Yield Performance and Carbon Footprint Analysis." Sustainability 11, no. 14: 3824.

Research article
Published: 08 May 2019 in Environmental Science and Pollution Research
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Production capacity evaluation and environmental sustainability assessment allow defining both the most appropriate fertilization strategies and the agricultural systems management. The aims of this study were to investigate the following, in a cauliflower-lettuce rotation: (i) agricultural system agronomic performance, (ii) fertilization treatments environmental sustainability through the energy inputs/outputs analysis, and (iii) carbon footprint through the GHG emissions and carbon sequestration analyses. Three fertilization strategies were compared: (i) CM, compost from municipal solid waste; ii) MIN, mineral fertilizers; iii) MIX, the CM compost plus a mineral fertilizer. Cauliflower and lettuce responses to fertilization were influenced by climatic conditions from year to year, and among the fertilizer treatments, the CM demonstrated a better resilience to the extreme weather events. It also showed the highest renewable energy (44.3%), suggesting that the substitution of mineral fertilizers with organic ones may help to reduce the non-renewable energy depletion, thus promoting the sustainability in horticultural systems. The CM was the most efficient treatment, since the energy stocked as C in the soil (145,889 MJ ha−1) and the net energy and the energy efficiency for cauliflower and lettuce (113,106 MJ ha−1 and 3.1, respectively) were the highest. Our results suggest that the application of the tested sustainable practices makes the farm a “sink” for the atmospheric CO2.

ACS Style

Alessandro Persiani; Mariangela Diacono; Antonio Monteforte; Francesco Montemurro. Agronomic performance, energy analysis, and carbon balance comparing different fertilization strategies in horticulture under Mediterranean conditions. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2019, 26, 19250 -19260.

AMA Style

Alessandro Persiani, Mariangela Diacono, Antonio Monteforte, Francesco Montemurro. Agronomic performance, energy analysis, and carbon balance comparing different fertilization strategies in horticulture under Mediterranean conditions. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2019; 26 (19):19250-19260.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alessandro Persiani; Mariangela Diacono; Antonio Monteforte; Francesco Montemurro. 2019. "Agronomic performance, energy analysis, and carbon balance comparing different fertilization strategies in horticulture under Mediterranean conditions." Environmental Science and Pollution Research 26, no. 19: 19250-19260.

Journal article
Published: 22 October 2018 in Sustainability
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Organic agriculture is perceived as environmentally sustainable, but, under its umbrella, different production systems exist ranging from simplified organic productions to well diversified systems with a full implementation of agro-ecological approaches. Among several developed tools for agriculture sustainability assessment, multi-criteria models are increasingly gaining importance. In this study, we evaluated the use of the multi-criteria DEXi-BIOrt tool, coupled with data from long-term experiments, for the sustainability assessment of different organic vegetable production scenarios. These scenarios were applied in two Italian areas: the Adriatic coast of Marche Region and the Metaponto plan of Basilicata Region. Despite the presence of some critical issues, DEXI-BIOrt proved to be a valid tool for the sustainability evaluation of organic vegetable productions. In both areas, the most sustainable scenarios resulted the well diversified organic systems characterized by proper rotations, inclusion of agro-ecological service crops, cultivation of local and different cultivars, and presence of short supply chain mechanisms. Conversely, the implementation of the simplified organic substitution scenarios does not guarantee a suitable level of sustainability. The findings of this study could support decision makers in the implementation of appropriate measures for enhancing organic production sustainability in the framework of post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy.

ACS Style

Ileana Iocola; Gabriele Campanelli; Mariangela Diacono; Fabrizio Leteo; Francesco Montemurro; Alessandro Persiani; Stefano Canali. Sustainability Assessment of Organic Vegetable Production Using a Qualitative Multi-Attribute Model. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3820 .

AMA Style

Ileana Iocola, Gabriele Campanelli, Mariangela Diacono, Fabrizio Leteo, Francesco Montemurro, Alessandro Persiani, Stefano Canali. Sustainability Assessment of Organic Vegetable Production Using a Qualitative Multi-Attribute Model. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (10):3820.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ileana Iocola; Gabriele Campanelli; Mariangela Diacono; Fabrizio Leteo; Francesco Montemurro; Alessandro Persiani; Stefano Canali. 2018. "Sustainability Assessment of Organic Vegetable Production Using a Qualitative Multi-Attribute Model." Sustainability 10, no. 10: 3820.

Original article
Published: 07 July 2018 in Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems
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A 2-year field trial was carried out in a climate change context on organic tomato crop. The objectives were: (1) to study the best synergistic combination of a set of agro-ecological techniques, as potential adaptation strategies in Mediterranean environment [i.e.: soil surface shaping; crop rotations; cover crops introduction (barley, vetch and their mixture); cover crop termination techniques (roller crimper—RC vs green manure—GM) and organic fertilization]; (2) to evaluate the sustainability of these techniques by assessing energetic performance. In both years, the barley-RC and mixture-RC combinations reduced weeds fresh and dry weights. In 2014, the combination of commercial organic fertilizer and vetch gave both the highest tomato marketable and total yields (26.88 and 31.97 t ha−1, respectively). In 2015, these production parameters decreased by 30.7 and 35.4%, respectively compared to 2014, and GM-cover crop produced on average more than twice as much as RC-cover crop. The cover crop termination by RC reduced soil mineral N peak than GM treatment, at full flowering in particular in plots after vetch and in the mixture plots in 2014 and 2015 respectively, thus reducing the potential environmental impact by nitrate leaching. The highest energy consuming input was fertilizers (by 57%). The highest energy efficiency and net energy were found in the vetch-GM combination (with low fertilizer input). The research points out that agronomic practices must be fine-tuned to the specific pedoclimatic condition for an efficient use of energy. Moreover, agronomic input reduction is not only feasible, but also creates environmental benefits.

ACS Style

Mariangela Diacono; Alessandro Persiani; Stefano Canali; Francesco Montemurro. Agronomic performance and sustainability indicators in organic tomato combining different agro-ecological practices. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 2018, 112, 101 -117.

AMA Style

Mariangela Diacono, Alessandro Persiani, Stefano Canali, Francesco Montemurro. Agronomic performance and sustainability indicators in organic tomato combining different agro-ecological practices. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems. 2018; 112 (1):101-117.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mariangela Diacono; Alessandro Persiani; Stefano Canali; Francesco Montemurro. 2018. "Agronomic performance and sustainability indicators in organic tomato combining different agro-ecological practices." Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 112, no. 1: 101-117.

Journal article
Published: 22 June 2018 in Agronomy
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An increasing interest and sensitivity of consumers and public opinion toward high-quality food products obtained with environmentally-friendly production methods has recently been detected. To this end, one of the key roles could be played by an environmental evaluation of the crop production. This research was performed to test a new multi-attribute decision model (DEXi-met) that is able to estimate the environmental sustainability of different agronomic practices in horticultural rotations. The model was used at the cropping system level on the basis of data from a long-term experiment in organic horticulture. It was tested on different cropping managements under climate change conditions. The DEXi-met mixed model (qualitative and qualitative basic attributes) generated four aggregated attributes to assess sustainability indicators (production capacity, soil, water and resources preservation, and biodiversity conservation) and the overall environmental sustainability. The model validation indicated that the introduction of agro-ecological services crops can increase the environmental sustainability of an organic cropping systems by promoting the whole soil–plant system equilibrium. The application of this tool could help maximize the efficient use of agronomical practices and quantify their environmental sustainability. DEXi-met could help agricultural advisors and policymakers schedule their decisions to find the right compromise between crop yield increase and the impact of agricultural activities.

ACS Style

Francesco Montemurro; Alessandro Persiani; Mariangela Diacono. Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Horticultural Systems: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation Approach Applied in a Case Study in Mediterranean Conditions. Agronomy 2018, 8, 98 .

AMA Style

Francesco Montemurro, Alessandro Persiani, Mariangela Diacono. Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Horticultural Systems: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation Approach Applied in a Case Study in Mediterranean Conditions. Agronomy. 2018; 8 (7):98.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Montemurro; Alessandro Persiani; Mariangela Diacono. 2018. "Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Horticultural Systems: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation Approach Applied in a Case Study in Mediterranean Conditions." Agronomy 8, no. 7: 98.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2018 in Applied Soil Ecology
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ACS Style

Maria Pergola; Alessandro Persiani; Assunta Maria Palese; Vincenzo Di Meo; Vittoria Pastore; Carmine D’Adamo; Giuseppe Celano. Composting: The way for a sustainable agriculture. Applied Soil Ecology 2018, 123, 744 -750.

AMA Style

Maria Pergola, Alessandro Persiani, Assunta Maria Palese, Vincenzo Di Meo, Vittoria Pastore, Carmine D’Adamo, Giuseppe Celano. Composting: The way for a sustainable agriculture. Applied Soil Ecology. 2018; 123 ():744-750.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maria Pergola; Alessandro Persiani; Assunta Maria Palese; Vincenzo Di Meo; Vittoria Pastore; Carmine D’Adamo; Giuseppe Celano. 2018. "Composting: The way for a sustainable agriculture." Applied Soil Ecology 123, no. : 744-750.

Journal article
Published: 14 May 2017 in Agronomy
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Adaptation can be a key factor that will shape the future severity of climate change impacts on food production. The objective of this study was to assess the suitability of an agro-ecological approach based on various techniques as potential adaptation strategy in organic horticultural systems. A long-term field experiment was set up in Southern Italy, combining: (i) appropriate soil surface shaping; (ii) cash crop rotation; (iii) agro-ecological service crops (ASC) introduction as living mulch and complementary crops; (iv) tailored organic fertilization; and (v) alternative tillage strategies. In this paper, the first two-year results on cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops, as well as energy consumptions through the Energy Analysis (EA) method are reported. Due to the climatic conditions that occurred, which were characterized by the absence of extreme climatic events (particularly rainfall), it was not possible to verify if the designed experimental device was able to mitigate the impact of climate change, whereas the EA indicated that total energy inputs were lower when ASC are introduced in cropping systems.

ACS Style

Mariangela Diacono; Alessandro Persiani; Angelo Fiore; Francesco Montemurro; Stefano Canali. Agro-Ecology for Potential Adaptation of Horticultural Systems to Climate Change: Agronomic and Energetic Performance Evaluation. Agronomy 2017, 7, 35 .

AMA Style

Mariangela Diacono, Alessandro Persiani, Angelo Fiore, Francesco Montemurro, Stefano Canali. Agro-Ecology for Potential Adaptation of Horticultural Systems to Climate Change: Agronomic and Energetic Performance Evaluation. Agronomy. 2017; 7 (2):35.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mariangela Diacono; Alessandro Persiani; Angelo Fiore; Francesco Montemurro; Stefano Canali. 2017. "Agro-Ecology for Potential Adaptation of Horticultural Systems to Climate Change: Agronomic and Energetic Performance Evaluation." Agronomy 7, no. 2: 35.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2017 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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The aim of the present research was the assessment of environmental impacts and energy consumptions of three apricot orchards managed according to two cultivation systems (integrated and biodynamic) through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and the Energy Analysis (EA). With respect to the Global Warming, both anthropogenic CO2 emissions and biogenic carbon gains (in plant permanent structures and soil) were considered to perform an accurate and complete analysis of the systems under investigation.\ud \ud The biodynamic system appeared more sustainable in sensu lato. Without taking into account the plantation phase which included fixed structures such as greenhouse covering and support structures, the biodynamic system had lesser impact and energy consumptions per kg with respect to the integrated orchards. Taking into consideration the CO2 balance, a higher total amount of CO2 was fixed at the end of the reference period (20 years) by the biodynamic system, especially into the soil which was the most important CO2 pool sequestering about 45% of the total fixed CO2. This was essentially due to the soil management techniques used which were based on a constant supply of polygenic organic materials with nutrient and structuring functions. Similarly, the biodynamic system showed a favourable energy balance.\ud The methodologies used in this study (LCA and EA) were very useful to examine the production cycle of apricot orchards differently managed and to identify the individual process steps which were more impactful. In addition, the CO2 balance allowed to consider within the environmental analysis also carbon sources and sinks linked to the orchard production/management evidencing that opportune agricultural management strategies can contrast global warming. Therefore, the present research could suggest a methodology to include agriculture in offset schemes planned within Kyoto Protocol

ACS Style

Maria Pergola; Alessandro Persiani; Vittoria Pastore; Assunta Maria Palese; Aissa Arousa; Giuseppe Celano. A comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of three apricot orchard systems located in Metapontino area (Southern Italy). Journal of Cleaner Production 2017, 142, 4059 -4071.

AMA Style

Maria Pergola, Alessandro Persiani, Vittoria Pastore, Assunta Maria Palese, Aissa Arousa, Giuseppe Celano. A comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of three apricot orchard systems located in Metapontino area (Southern Italy). Journal of Cleaner Production. 2017; 142 ():4059-4071.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maria Pergola; Alessandro Persiani; Vittoria Pastore; Assunta Maria Palese; Aissa Arousa; Giuseppe Celano. 2017. "A comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of three apricot orchard systems located in Metapontino area (Southern Italy)." Journal of Cleaner Production 142, no. : 4059-4071.