Quinta da França

Quinta da França (QF) is a farm located in Cova da Beira, Covilhã, which is managed by Terraprima. The farm’s main activities are agriculture and livestock production. Among the fodder crops, the most important are temporary and permanent pastures and annual crops (such as maize, both irrigated and rainfed). Livestock consists of sheep, cows and goats (the latter in smaller numbers). The management of QF privileges sown seeks to optimize the environmental services of agricultural activities through the use of biodiverse pastures and no-tillage, and to obtain payment for those services. Regarding forest occupation, the oak-Negral is dominant, but there is a non-neglectable area of pine, and some small plots of eucalyptus marble and/or acacia. The main promoters of change in QF are: investment and participation in R&D projects; payment for environmental services; land use changes, biotic and abiotic threats and public support. Some R&D projects were particularly important in the management of QF. theProject Agro 87) plaid a pivotal role in the implantation of a significant area of biodiverse pastures in QF. Project Landstate was the source of the trademarked Terraprima products. Project Extensity contributed to the improvement and monitoring of the environmental performance of QF. QF, through Terraprima, was also a pioneer in the payment for environmental services. Terraprima signed with EDP (the Portuguese electrical company) the first contract in Portugal for carbon sequestration resulting from agro-forestry activities. Main promoters of land use change in QF are the construction of the irrigation perimeter of Cova da Beira, and the consequent intensification of agricultural and livestock activities. The main abiotic and biotic threats identified are the occurrence of fires and the incidence of the brucellosis disease. In terms of public support, agri-environmental payments are particularly important. The main themes for conditions and trends identified in the QF are biodiversity, food production, carbon sequestration / soil protection / regulation of water cycle and the supply of scientific information. In terms of biodiversity, and with respect to vertebrates, species with confirmed occurrence in QF are 72% of all species in the region. Main food products in QF are beef, lamb and calf meat, sheep milk, and grain silage maize. Carbon sequestration, soil protection and water cycle regulation are all achieved together by planting new forests, introducing sustainabl

Life cycle cost assessment of insect based feed production in West Africa

While there is a growing body of research investigating the technical feasibility and nutritional properties of insect based feeds (IBFs), thus far little attention has been devoted to gauge the economic implications of implementation. This study has investigated the economic performance of ex-ante modelled IBF production systems operating in the geographical context of West Africa. A Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis of recently published life cycle inventory (LCI) data served as a basis to analyse and compare the economic performances of IBF production systems using Musca domestica and Hermetia illucens reared on different substrates. To gauge the application potential of IBF in West Africa, estimated breakeven sale prices of IBFs were benchmarked against the customary market prices of conventional feeds. The results show that the economic performance of IBF production in West Africa is largely determined by the costs attributed to labour and the procurement of rearing substrates, attesting economic advantages to the production of M. domestica larvae by measure of breakeven price (1.28–1.74 EUR/kg IBF) and LCC (1.72–1.99 EUR/kg IBF). A comparison of the breakeven sale prices of IBF with market prices of conventional feeds suggest that IBF has potential to substitute imported fishmeal, but findings offer no support for conjectured economic advantages over plant based feeds

EFO-LCI: A New Life Cycle Inventory Database of Forestry Operations in Europe

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has become a common methodology to analyze environmental impacts of forestry systems. Although LCA has been widely applied to forestry since the 90s, the LCAs are still often based on generic Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). With the purpose of improving LCA practices in the forestry sector, we developed a European Life Cycle Inventory of Forestry Operations (EFO-LCI) and analyzed the available information to check if within the European forestry sector national differences really exist. We classified the European forests on the basis of "Forest Units" (combinations of tree species and silvicultural practices). For each Forest Unit, we constructed the LCI of their forest management practices on the basis of a questionnaire filled out by national silvicultural experts. We analyzed the data reported to evaluate how they vary over Europe and how they affect LCA results and made freely available the inventory data collected for future use. The study shows important variability in rotation length, type of regeneration, amount and assortments of wood products harvested, and machinery used due to the differences in management practices. The existing variability on these activities sensibly affect LCA results of forestry practices and raw wood production. Although it is practically unfeasible to collect site-specific data for all the LCAs involving forest-based products, the use of less generic LCI data of forestry practice is desirable to improve the reliability of the studies. With the release of EFO-LCI we made a step toward the construction of regionalized LCI for the European forestry sector

Fungos basidiomicetas agentes causais de podridões do lenho em árvores na cidade de Lisboa

Mestrado em Engenharia Florestal e dos Recursos Naturais - Instituto Superior de Agronomia - ULN/

Life cycle sustainability assessment and its application potential in the development of sustainable feed production systems – an ex-ante assessment of insect-based feed production

info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

First records of the lawn bug Blissus insularis Barber (Hemiptera: Blissidae) in Europe

Short CommunicationSince October 2019, chinch bugs have been detected in large sunken dead patches of St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) lawns in different locations of Lisbon and Setubal districts, in Portugal. Based on morphological and molecular studies, using mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, the collected insects were identified as Blissus insularis (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Blissidae). This is the first record of this noxious chinch bug species in Europe and in the Palaearctic regionThe project was funded by Laboratório de Patologia Vegetal “Veríssimo de Almeida”, School of Agriculture, University of Lisboninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Life Cycle Inventory Analysis of Prospective Insect Based Feed Production in West Africa

While the concept of insect based feeds (IBFs) promises great potential, especially in developing countries, the sustainability performance of IBF production remains widely underexplored. Drawing on experimental data from rearing trials in West Africa, three different insect production systems were modelled ex-ante. The generic models served as a basis to analyse and compare the process performances of different IBF production systems using Musca domestica and Hermetia illucens reared on different substrates. The results show that the input efficiency in the production of IBF is largely determined by the quality of rearing substrates, the larval development time and the employed inoculation practises, i.e., the method by which eggs or larvae are added to rearing substrates. The H. illucens system ranked highest for conversion efficiency (substrate input per IBF output), but showed substantially higher inputs in labour, fossil energy and output of wastewater. M. domestica systems operated at lower conversion efficiencies, which resulted in higher outputs of residue substrates, together with higher emissions, land requirements, built infrastructure and water. By offering full disclosure of generic inventory data, this study provides data and inspiration for prospect research and development activities and offers a reference to future life cycle assessments (LCAs) on IBF

Ex-ante life cycle impact assessment of insect based feed production in West Africa

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe