Forest Ecosystem Services: An Analysis of Worldwide Research

The relevance of forests to sustain human well-being and the serious threats they face have led to a notable increase of research works on forest ecosystem services during the last few years. This paper analyses the worldwide research dynamics on forest ecosystem services in the period from 1998 to 2017. A bibliometric analysis of 4284 articles was conducted. The results showed that the number of published research articles has especially increased during the last five years. In total, 68.63% of the articles were published in this period. This research line experiences a growing trend superior to the general publishing trend on forest research. In spite of this increase, its relative significance within the forest research is still limited. The most productive subject areas corresponded to Environmental Science, Agricultural and Biological Sciences and Social Sciences Economic topics are understudied. The scientific production is published in a wide range of journals. The three first publishing countries are United States, China and the United Kingdom. The most productive authors are attached to diverse research centres and their contributions are relatively recent. A high level of international cooperation has been observed between countries, institutions and authors. The findings of this study are useful for researchers since they give them an overview of the worldwide research trends on forest ecosystem services

Management of agricultural waste biomass as raw material for the construction sector: an analysis of sustainable and circular alternatives

The agricultural and construction sectors demand enormous amounts of natural resources and generate environmental impacts that negatively affect ecosystems. One of the main problems is the generation and inadequate management of waste. For this reason, under the approaches of the new sustainable and circular models, waste valorization has been prioritised as a strategy for advancing towards the sustainability of production systems. This research aims to carry out a general analysis of Agricultural Waste Biomass (AWB) in the production of bio-based products for the construction sector. Bibliometric techniques were applied for the general analysis of the scientific production obtained from Scopus. A systematic review identified the main research approaches. In addition, European projects were reviewed to assess the practical application. This study is novel and provides relevant contributions to new trends in the valorisation of AWB in the building sector and the sustainability benefits. For policymakers, it is a source of information on the contribution of new policies to scientific advances and the aspects that need to be strengthened to improve sustainable and circular practices in both sectors

Instructional Changes Adopted for an Engineering Course: Cluster Analysis on Academic Failure

As first-year students come from diverse backgrounds, basic skills should be accessible to everyone as soon as possible. Transferring such skills to these students is challenging, especially in highly technical courses. Ensuring that essential knowledge is acquired quickly promotes the student’s self-esteem and may positively influence failure rates. Metaphors can help do this. Metaphors are used to understand the unknown. This paper shows how we made a turn in student learning at the University of Almeria. Our hypothesis assumed that metaphors accelerate the acquisition of basic knowledge so that other skills built on that foundation are easily learned. With these goals in mind, we changed the way we teach by using metaphors and abstract concepts in a computer organisation course, a technical course in the first year of an information technology engineering degree. Cluster analysis of the data on collective student performance after this methodological change clearly identified two distinct groups. These two groups perfectly matched the before and after scenarios of the use of metaphors. The study was conducted during 11 academic years (2002/2003 to 2012/2013). The 475 observations made during this period illustrate the usefulness of this change in teaching and learning, shifting from a propositional teaching/learning model to a more dynamic model based on metaphors and abstractions. Data covering the whole period showed favourable evolution of student achievement and reduced failure rates, not only in this course, but also in many of the following more advanced courses.The paper is structured in five sections. The first gives an introduction, the second describes the methodology. The third section describes the sample and the study carried out. The fourth section presents the results and, finally, the fifth section discusses the main conclusions

Assessment of the sustainability of the European agri-food sector in the context of the circular economy

Quantifying the sustainability of the agriculture, livestock, and agri-food industry under a homogeneous criterion is essential to strategize the implementation of sustainable development in the agri-food sector and increase the commitment of stakeholders using aids to reduce the socio-economic impact of the expansion of sustainability. In order to homogenize the quantification methodology in the European context, a composite indicator was developed from a system of indices of the European agri-food system. Results unveiled a moderate level of sustainability in the food production and processing in the European Union. The French agri-food system (0.46) had the highest overall sustainability according to the composite indicator of this study, followed by Austria (0.44), Italy (0.43), Estonia (0.43), Germany (0.42), Belgium (0.40), Finland (0.40), Denmark (0.40), Spain (0.40), Latvia (0.39), Czech Republic (0.39), Sweden (0.38), Greece (0.38), Netherlands (0.38) and Slovakia (0.38), all of them above the EU-27 average (0.37). The more significant economic and social progress of agricultural activity was associated with a lower quality of environmental indicators. Overall agri-food system sustainability can be predicted from ten indicators. The results suggest the necessity of implementing a policy that prioritizes the development of Local Productive Systems based on the framework of the circular economy to favor territorial balance

Impact of environmental policies on the profitability of greenhouse agriculture in southeastern Spain

Sustainable development has become an essential criterion for structural policies ofthe European Union, and these policies have extended its environmental dimensions.The EU has decided that circular economy will be framed within the principles of sus-tainable development. Thus, the changes brought forth will affect activities like agri-culture, where environmental policy can undermine the stability of agriculturalsystems by reducing their profitability. The objective of this study was to evaluatehow the implementation of these techniques impacted the southeastern peninsula ofSpain, a farming region that supports the sovereignty and food security of theEuropean Union in terms of fruit and vegetable products. The production techniquesevaluated can increase production costs by up to 5.5%, although there are no signifi-cant differences in crop profitability. It is necessary to guarantee that all producerscan access the incentive system to reduce their economic pressure, due in manycases to financial losses. In this regard, it is necessary to establish a specific greenarchitecture for this subsector that factors in the effects of inflation to balance thetriple aspect of sustainabilit

The Sustainable Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility: A Global Analysis and Future Trends

Due to the process of globalization, companies are obligated to observe corporate social responsibility and best practices from a sustainability approach towards their stakeholders and society. The explicit aim is to determine the relevance of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its relationship with sustainability, in order to establish trends and future lines of research. The evolution of global research on this subject has been studied from 2001 to 2018. For this purpose, a bibliometric analysis of 1832 articles has been applied, obtaining results of the scientific productivity of the journals, authors, institutions, and countries that contribute to this research. Evidence shows a growing interest in studying the relationship between socially responsible practices and the dimension of sustainability. The main category is Business, Management, and Accounting. The most productive journals are the Journal of Business Ethics and Sustainability. The authors with the most articles are García-Sánchez, Moneva, and Moratis, while Kolk is the most cited. The most prolific institution is the University of Salamanca. The United States is the country with the most publications and quotes. France and China are the countries with the largest number of international collaborations in their work. Global research has been on an upward trend with optimal publication rates in recent years

The Production and Quality of Different Varieties of Papaya Grown under Greenhouse in Short Cycle in Continental Europe

In Europe, papaya consumption is growing due to its nutritional properties. The proximity of consumer markets to Southeast Spain allows fruits to be harvested at a more advanced stage of maturity compared to exporting countries from outside Europe, a timeline which improves the quality of the papaya. Experiments have been carried out to assess the adaptation of papaya to protected cropping systems (under greenhouse) in the region. In this paper, we showed the results obtained in an experiment with five varieties, taking the most cultivated variety as control, which was grafted on its own female rootstock, in addition to another four new varieties that were introduced. Transplanting was made with early sex-identified plants in the nursery. Cultivation was developed in a 446-day cycle, almost 15 months and fruits were always harvested from the soil, due to the height that the plant reached in that period. The best yield parameters and fruit characteristics were obtained from hermaphrodite Intenzza papaya grafted on female papaya rootstock, although there were also other varieties which gave results that made possible its cultivation under this production system

Impact of Soil Biodisinfection Techniques in Horticultural Crops on Profitability within the Framework of the Circular Economy

Agricultural systems must identify fertilization strategies in line with the principles of sustainable development and the circular economy to achieve environmentally friendly food production and to meet the fertilizer-reduction targets set by some territories, such as the European Union (EU). The objective of this work was to identify the multifunctionality and cost-effectiveness in the use of the biodisinfection technique in greenhouse horticultural crops. For this purpose, a cost comparison of the different cultivation strategies was conducted, based on a systematic review of the existing literature. The results of this work suggest that the biodisinfection of soil containing agricultural biomass serves as a fertilization strategy that allows a reduction in a large part of inorganic fertilizers in protected horticultural crops of intensive nature, in addition to mitigating the expression of soil pathogens. Reducing the use of fertilizers and phytosanitary products, management fees, and important means of production, such as water, allows a reduction of up 6.1% in production costs. The biodisinfection technique is a methodology that can promote circularity in farms while favoring the use of waste, such as agricultural biomass, which can damage the environment when not properly treated

Examining the Research Evolution on the Socio-Economic and Environmental Dimensions on University Social Responsibility

Responsible higher education institutions have an impact on society and economic, environmental, and social development. These effects define the axes of the socially responsible management of the universities. The concept of university social responsibility (USR) manages these relationships to produce a positive impact on society through higher education, research, and the transfer of knowledge and technology, as well as education for sustainability. For this study, worldwide research into this subject was studied for the period 1970–2019. A bibliometric analysis of 870 articles was made, obtaining results for the scientific productivity of the journals, authors, institutions, and countries contributing to this research. The main category is business, management, and accounting. The most productive journal is the Business and Society Review, while the California Management Review is the most cited. The authors with the most articles are Stavnezer, Luo, and Lanero. The most productive institution is Wuhan University. The United States is the country with the most publications and citations, and the same country, together with the United Kingdom, make the most international contributions. Evidence shows growing worldwide interest in the economic and environmental impacts of USR. Future research should focus on analysing the links between the responsible and sustainable consumption of universities and their short-term financial, economic, and sustainable impacts.Ciencias Ambientale

Recovery of Agricultural Waste Biomass: A Sustainability Strategy for Moving Towards a Circular Bioeconomy

Agriculture has played a strategic role in the process of economic growth and development in numerous countries, especially over the last five decades. However, the rapid growth of agricultural productivity has created a greater strain on natural resources, which has harmed the environment. One of the main problems with this intensive agriculture model is the huge amount of waste it produces. Most of this waste is waste biomass. This type of residue becomes a resource with great potential for the extraction of by-products with high added value under the approach of the circular economic production models (CEPMs) like the circular economy and the bioeconomy. The bioeconomy, as a renewable part of the circular economy, promotes the use and sustainable recovery of agricultural waste biomass (AWB) as an essential supply. This bio-based economic model has become one of the main tools for drawing up new development policies based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is why this chapter analyzes the process of transition from conventional intensive agriculture to a sustainable version. The circular economy and the bioeconomy are presented as the key CEPMs for the transformation of the current food production system. Additionally, a special emphasis is placed in the management of the AWB and the alternatives for its valorization, which are promoted by the bioeconomy as circular and sustainable practices that contribute to the three pillars of the SDGs