Utilización de Agrotextiles. Análisis de viabilidad y modelización de la eficacia

La industria textil valenciana y española está sufriendo una de las mayores crisis de su historia. La pérdida de empleo industrial se sucede mes tras mes y las perspectivas son cada vez menos halagüeñas. Como en otras circunstancias adversas, la innovación y el desarrollo de nuevos productos podría ser una solución a estos problemas. Entre los productos que presentas mayores perspectivas en la actualidad, pero sobre todo un futuro cercano, están los textiles diseñados para la agricultura, los llamados Agro-textiles. Estos productos pueden y deben de ser utilizados allí donde la pérdida de suelo sea alta como es el caso de los campos de cultivo. Pero también tienen presentes y futuras aplicaciones en la agricultura con el fin de reducir el uso de herbicidas, mejorar las condiciones térmicas e hídricas de los suelos y reducir la pérdida de nutrientes, semillas, suelo y agua. Estas aplicaciones en la agricultura deben de conocerse y aplicarse para la obtención de mayores rentabilidades en los cultivos. Durante cuatro años se ha estado realizando un trabajo de campo previo para la obtención de datos relevantes que nos sirvan para efectuar un cálculo de la viabilidad de su utilización. La tesis que se presenta versa sobre el uso de Agrogeotextiles haciendo mención a la necesidad en algunos caso de su utilización, pero introduciendo como novedad la variable sostenibilidad La Tesis Doctoral se divide en dos grandes bloques; el primero de ellos trata de corroborar la importancia de la utilización de los agrotextiles como aportación a la sostenibilidad medioambiental en difentes campos de actuación.En el segundo bloque sirve para traducir la obtención de resultados económicos en un estudio de viabilidad o no del agrotextil estudiando determinadas variables y a posteriori se corrobora el mismo mediante un estudio de modelización de la eficiencia, nunca antes utilizado en este campo.Giménez Morera, A. (2010). Utilización de Agrotextiles. Análisis de viabilidad y modelización de la eficacia [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/8509Palanci

Sustainable Alternatives for the Reduction of Soil Degradation: A Study on Geo-Textile's Economic Efficiency

[EN] Soil erosion presents a pressing global issue that gravely impacts agriculture, food security, and the environment, necessitating immediate attention. Exploring innovative alternatives to combat soil degradation effectively is imperative while ensuring sustainable soil management. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of utilizing geo-textiles as a sustainable solution for soil erosion compared to conventional methods like weeding. The primary objective is to assess the economic efficiency of geo-textiles and rank them against traditional approaches. To achieve these objectives, we have developed mathematical models to evaluate and rank the alternatives comprehensively. The study utilized the Single Price Model method to establish a complete ranking of the alternatives. By considering economic efficiency as a key criterion, geo-textiles demonstrated their potential as a viable solution for soil erosion management, with model 4, geo-textiles made from recyclable materials, being the most efficient model of the geo-textiles studied behind the traditional plough. In conclusion, geo-textiles offer a promising alternative to traditional weeding methods, demonstrating their potential for economic efficiency and sustainable soil management. This study's results underscore the importance of adopting innovative approaches to combat soil erosion, providing crucial guidance to decision-makers and practitioners in pursuing sustainable agricultural practices.Giménez Morera, A.; Capó I Vicedo, J.; Muñoz Gómez, C. (2023). Sustainable Alternatives for the Reduction of Soil Degradation: A Study on Geo-Textile's Economic Efficiency. Air, Soil and Water Research. 16. https://doi.org/10.1177/117862212312140561

Going toward Resilience? Town Planning, Peri-Urban Landscapes, and the Expansion of Athens, Greece

[EN] The long-term expansion and the evolution of town planning of a contemporary European metropolis (Athens, Greece) has been analysed in this study in order to evaluate how sustainable urban growth has been taken into account in sequential strategic master plans. During the last decades, the mostly unplanned urban growth and massive housing construction have favoured a slow evolution towards a less compact and mono-centric spatial asset, typical of several Mediterranean cities. Despite efforts to guide urban growth, a series of structural challenges have remained: (i) a gap between planning and implementation; (ii) a gap between spatial planning and socio-economic planning; (iii) a relevant pressure on natural environment; (iv) a lack of participatory planning. In order to face these problems, current strategies for the city of Athens try to foster city resilience providing guidelines for more sustainable management of the built and natural landscape. In particular, the Resilience Strategy for 2030 proposes a list of actions to improve the well-being of citizens and to increase sustainability at the urban and territorial levels. A major role was given to the enhancement of the environmental quality of the metropolitan area and to the involvement of inhabitants in the various phases of decision-making.Nickayin, SS.; Tomao, A.; Quaranta, G.; Salvati, L.; Giménez Morera, A. (2020). Going toward Resilience? Town Planning, Peri-Urban Landscapes, and the Expansion of Athens, Greece. Sustainability. 12(24). https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410471122

An economic, perception and biophysical approach to the use of oat straw as mulch in Mediterranean rainfed agriculture land

Soil erosion is a key cause of land degradation in agriculture lands; and it is a worldwide threat that must be solved by means of nature-based strategies to be able to achieve sustainability. The use of mulches can be a solution, but there is a lack of information on long-term effects of the use of straw. Furthermore, little is known about the perception of farmers and the economic cost on the implantation of straw as a conservation measure. Eight paired plots were selected in Sierra de Enguera on an agriculture field to determine the effect of straw cover on soil erosion. Four plots were tilled three times per year (Control) and four plots were not ploughed and 0.125 kg m−2 y−1 of oat straw cover was applied yearly (Straw). The plots were established in 2002, and runoff and sediment was continuously collected after each rainfall event from 2004 till 2014 when the two managements were applied. The results show an immediate effect of the straw mulches as in these plots the runoff (from 7.7 till 5.9%) and soil erosion (from 47 till 26 Mg ha−1 y−1) was reduced already in the first year. The combined effect of the use of straw yearly and the no-tillage strategy resulted in a reduction of the sediment yield, and 11 years later soil erosion rates were two orders of magnitude lower than in the control plot. However, the perception of the farmers on the use of straw is very negative and they claim that subsidies need to be implemented, as the cost of straw mulch is 1.9 times more expensive than traditional tillage

The use of straw mulch as a strategy to prevent extreme soil erosion rates in citrus orchard. A Rainfall simulation approach

Not only the Sahel (Haregeweyn et al., 2013), the deforested land (Borelli et al., 2013) the chinese Plateau are affected by intense soil erosion rates (Zhao et al., 2013). Soil erosion affect agriculture land (Cerdà et al., 2009), and citrus orchards are being seeing as one of the crops with the highest erosion rates due to the managements that avoid the catch crops, weeds or litter. Example of the research carried out on citrus orchards is found in the Mediterranean (Cerdà and Jurgensen, 2008; 2009; Cerdà et al., 2009a; 2009b; Cerdà et al., 2011; 2012) and in China (Wu et al., 1997; Xu et al., 2010; Wang et al., 2011; Wu et al., 2011; Liu et al., 2011; Lü et al., 2011; Xu et al., 2012), and they confirm the non sustainable soil losses measured. The land management in citrus plantations results in soil degradation too (Lu et al., 1997; Lü et al., 2012; Xu et al., 2012). The use of cover crops to reduce the soil losses (Lavigne et al., 2012; Le Bellec et al., 2012) and the use of residues such as dried citrus peel has been found successful. There is a need to find new plants or residues to protect the soils on citrus orchards. Agriculture produces a high amount of residues. The pruning can contribute with a valuable source of nutrients and a good soil protection. The leaves of the trees, and some parts of the plants, once harvest can contribute to reduce the soil losses. Due to the mechanization of the agriculture, and the reduction of the draft animals (mainly horses, mules, donkeys and oxen) the straw is being a residue instead of a resource. The Valencia region is the largest producer of citrus in Europe, and the largest exporter in the world. This citrus production region is located in the eastern cost of Spain where we can find the rice production area of the l’Albufera Lagoon paddy fields, the third largest production region in Spain. This means, a rice production region surrounded by the huge citrus production region. There, the rice straw is not used in the paddy fields after harvesting and the straw is being as a residue that damages the air quality when burnt, the water quality due to the decomposition and the methane production, and is not accepted in the field by the farmers. This is a new problem as few years ago the rice straw was use for animal feeding. Many attempts were developed in the last decade to remove and use the straw to avoid fires and water pollution (Iranzo et al., 2004; Silvestre et al., 2013). Our goal is to test if a residue such as the rice straw can be transformed as a resource: soil erosion control. Straw has been seen as a very efficient to reduce the water losses in agriculture land (García Moreno et al., 2013), the soil losses in fire affected land (Robichaud et al., 2013a; 2013b; Fernandez and Vega, 2014), and soil properties (García Orenes et al., 2009; 2010; Jordán et al., 2010; García Orenes 2012). Rainfall simulations under 55 mm h-1 rainfall intensity during one hour on 0,25 m2 plots were carried out on plots paired plots: bare and covered with straw. The plots covered with straw had different straw mulch cover: from 10 to 100 % cover and from 0,005 g m2 to 300 g m2. The results show a positive effect of the straw cover that show an exponential relation between the straw cover and weight with the sediment yield. Acknowledgements The research projects GL2008-02879/BTE, LEDDRA 243857 and RECARE supported this research

Climate Aridity and the Geographical Shift of Olive Trees in a Mediterranean Northern Region

[EN] Climate change leverages landscape transformations and exerts variable pressure on natural environments and rural systems. Earlier studies outlined how Mediterranean Europe has become a global hotspot of climate warming and land use change. The present work assumes the olive tree, a typical Mediterranean crop, as a candidate bioclimatic indicator, delineating the latent impact of climate aridity on traditional cropping systems at the northern range of the biogeographical distribution of the olive tree. Since the olive tree follows a well-defined latitude gradient with a progressive decline in both frequency and density moving toward the north, we considered Italy as an appropriate case to investigate how climate change may (directly or indirectly) influence the spatial distribution of this crop. By adopting an exploratory approach grounded in the quali-quantitative analysis of official statistics, the present study investigates long-term changes over time in the spatial distribution of the olive tree surface area in Northern Italy, a region traditionally considered outside the ecological range of the species because of unsuitable climate conditions. Olive tree cultivated areas increased in Northern Italy, especially in flat districts and upland areas, while they decreased in Central and Southern Italy under optimal climate conditions, mostly because of land abandonment. The most intense expansion of the olive tree surface area in Italy was observed in the northern region between 1992 and 2000 and corresponded with the intensification of winter droughts during the late 1980s and the early 1990s and local warming since the mid-1980s. Assuming the intrinsic role of farmers in the expansion of the olive tree into the suboptimal land of Northern Italy, the empirical results of our study suggest how climate aridity and local warming may underlie the shift toward the north in the geographical range of the olive tree in the Mediterranean Basin. We finally discussed the implications of the olive range shift as a part of a possible landscape scenario for a more arid future.Rodrigo-Comino, J.; Salvia, R.; Quaranta, G.; Cudlín, P.; Salvati, L.; Giménez Morera, A. (2021). Climate Aridity and the Geographical Shift of Olive Trees in a Mediterranean Northern Region. Climate. 9(4):1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli9040064S1189

High-to-Low (Regional) Fertility Transitions in a Peripheral European Country: The Contribution of Exploratory Time Series Analysis

[EN] Diachronic variations in demographic rates have frequently reflected social transformations and a (more or less evident) impact of sequential economic downturns. By assessing changes over time in Total Fertility Rate (TFR) at the regional scale in Italy, our study investigates the long-term transition (1952-2019) characteristic of Mediterranean fertility, showing a continuous decline of births since the late 1970s and marked disparities between high- and low-fertility regions along the latitude gradient. Together with a rapid decline in the country TFR, the spatiotemporal evolution of regional fertility in Italy-illustrated through an exploratory time series statistical approach-outlines the marked divide between (wealthier) Northern regions and (economically disadvantaged) Southern regions. Non-linear fertility trends and increasing spatial heterogeneity in more recent times indicate the role of individual behaviors leveraging a generalized decline in marriage and childbearing propensity. Assuming differential responses of regional fertility to changing socioeconomic contexts, these trends are more evident in Southern Italy than in Northern Italy. Reasons at the base of such fertility patterns were extensively discussed focusing-among others-on the distinctive contribution of internal and international migrations to regional fertility rates. Based on these findings, Southern Italy, an economically disadvantaged, peripheral region in Mediterranean Europe, is taken as a paradigmatic case of demographic shrinkage-whose causes and consequences can be generalized to wider contexts in (and outside) Europe.Rodrigo-Comino, J.; Egidi, G.; Salvati, L.; Quaranta, G.; Salvia, R.; Giménez Morera, A. (2021). High-to-Low (Regional) Fertility Transitions in a Peripheral European Country: The Contribution of Exploratory Time Series Analysis. Data. 6(2):1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/data6020019S1146

Toward a New Urban Cycle? A Closer Look to Sprawl,Demographic Transitions and the Environment in Europe

[EN] Urban growth is a largely debated issue in social science. Specific forms of metropolitan expansion-including sprawl-involve multiple and fascinating research dimensions, making mixed (quali-quantitative) analysis of this phenomenon particularly complex and challenging at the same time. Urban sprawl has attracting the attention of multidisciplinary studies defining nature, dynamics, and consequences that dispersed low-density settlements are having on biophysical and socioeconomic contexts worldwide. The present commentary provides a brief overview on nature and implications of the latent relationship between sprawl, demographic dynamics, and background socio-environmental contexts with special focus on Europe. Empirical evidence supports the idea that spatial planning should cope more effectively with the increasing environmental and socioeconomic exposure of European regions to sprawl and demographic transitions, being progressively far away from a traditional urban cycle with sequential waves of urbanization, suburbanization, counter-urbanization, and re-urbanization. Growing socio-ecological vulnerability of metropolitan regions was evaluated based on a literature review demonstrating how a better comprehension of the intimate linkage between long-term demographic dynamics and urban cycles is necessary to inform fine-tuned policies controlling sprawl and promoting a sustainable management of peri-urban land.Smiraglia, D.; Salvati, L.; Egidi, G.; Salvia, R.; Giménez Morera, A.; Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, R. (2021). Toward a New Urban Cycle? A Closer Look to Sprawl,Demographic Transitions and the Environment in Europe. Land. 10(2):1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10020127S11410

Land Degradation and Mitigation Policies in the Mediterranean Region: A Brief Commentary

[EN] Land degradation is more evident where conditions of environmental vulnerability already exist because of arid climate and unsustainable forms of land exploitation. Consequently, semi-arid and dry areas have been identified as vulnerable land, requiring attention from both science and policy perspectives. In some regions, such as the Mediterranean region, land degradation is particularly intense, although there are no extreme ecological conditions. In these contexts, a wide range of formal and informal responses is necessary to face particularly complex and spatially differentiated territorial processes. However, the fit of responses has been demonstrated to be different over time and space according to the underlying socioeconomic context and the specific ecological conditions. The present commentary discusses this sort of "entropy" in the policy response to land degradation in Southern Europe, outlining the intrinsic complexity of human-nature dynamics at the base of such processes. Reflecting the need of differentiated regional strategies and more specific national measures to combat desertification, three policy frameworks (agro-environmental, economic, social) with an indirect impact on fighting land degradation have been considered, delineating the importance of policy assemblages. Finally, the importance of policy impact assessment methodologies was highlighted, focusing on the possible responses reinforcing a continental strategy against land degradation. By evidencing the role of participatory planning, developmental policies indirectly addressing land degradation reveal to be an important vector of more specific measures abating desertification risk, creating, in turn, a favorable context for direct interventions of mitigation or adaptation to climate change.Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, R.; Smiraglia, D.; Quaranta, G.; Salvia, R.; Salvati, L.; Giménez Morera, A. (2020). Land Degradation and Mitigation Policies in the Mediterranean Region: A Brief Commentary. Sustainability. 12(20). https://doi.org/10.3390/SU12208313122

Recession, Local Fertility, and Urban Sustainability: Results of a Quasi-Experiment in Greece, 1991-2018

[EN] Fertility is a spatially non-stationary property of regional demographic systems. Despite the wealth of quantitative (micro-macro) information delineating short-term population dynamics in advanced economies, the contribution of economic downturns to local fertility has still been under-investigated along urban-rural gradients, especially in low-fertility contexts. Recent studies have assumed suburban fertility rates as systematically higher than urban and rural fertility rates. This assumption (hereafter known as the "suburban fertility hypothesis") has been grounded on stylized facts and spatial regularities in advanced economies that reflect a significant role of both macro (contextual) and micro (behavioral) factors that positively influence fertility in suburban locations. To test the suburban fertility hypothesis at the macro-scale, the present study compares gross fertility rates from seven regional units of the Athens metropolitan area between 1991 and 2018. A refined spatial analysis of gross fertility rates during an economic expansion (1999-2008) and recession (2009-2018) was carried out in 115 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities of the same area. Experiencing sequential waves of economic expansion and recession, Athens' socio-demographic dynamics were considered a sort of "quasi-experiment" for Southern Europe, linking late suburbanization with the multiple impacts of (rapid) economic downturns. Compared with both urban and rural locations, a higher fertility rate in suburban municipalities (15-20 km away from downtown Athens) was observed during the study period. However, a subtle distinction was observed during the economic expansion versus the recession. In the first period, the highest birth rates were recorded in industrial locations west of Athens, hosting economically disadvantaged communities with a relatively young population structure. With the recession, the highest fertility was associated with residential and service-specialized (wealthier) locations east of Athens, attracting resident population from neighboring areas, and better responding to crisis. The results of our study document how recent urban expansion and economic downturns have intrinsically shaped fertility dynamics, with implications for urban sustainability and social cohesion of metropolitan regions.Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, R.; Egidi, G.; Salvia, R.; Salvati, L.; Sateriano, A.; Giménez Morera, A. (2021). Recession, Local Fertility, and Urban Sustainability: Results of a Quasi-Experiment in Greece, 1991-2018. Sustainability. 13(3):1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031052S11813