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Abstract In recent years living walls have increasingly spread, thus becoming a diffuse architectural envelope cladding technology. Consequently, a more precise understanding of their thermal behavior and impact on the building energy balance are needed. One of the most important effects provided by the use of living walls is the shading of the building envelope, with clear benefits during the cooling period. Furthermore, many features characterize the thermal behavior of living walls, namely plant species, leaf area index (LAI), evapotranspiration, emissivity and air cavity type. All these particular characteristics have been accounted in the mathematical model developed in the frame of the presented research, whose aim is to provide a tool for the prediction of the thermal behavior of living walls. Two kinds of living walls, one with grass and closed air cavity and the other one with vertical garden and open air cavity were considered. The results achieved by means of the developed model show a good agreement with the measurements also supported by model efficiency indexes such as Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency index (NSEC). Values of around 0.7 were obtained for the NSEC index for both the investigated living walls.

The agriculture and horticulture sector in the Netherlands is one of the most productive in the world. Although the sector is one of the most advanced and intense agricultural production systems worldwide, it faces challenges, such as climate change and environmental and social unsustainability of industrial production. To overcome these challenges, alternative food production initiatives have emerged, especially in large cities such as Amsterdam. Some initiatives involve producing food in the urban environment, supported by new technologies and practices, so-called high-tech urban agriculture (HTUA). These initiatives make cultivation of plants inside and on top of buildings possible and increase green spaces in urban areas. The emerging agricultural technologies are creating new business environments that are shape d by technology developers (e.g., suppliers of horticultural light emitting diodes (LED) and control environment systems) and developers of alternative food production practices (e.g., HTUA start-ups). However, research shows that the uptake of these technological innovations in urban planning processes is problematic. Therefore, this research analyzes the barriers that local government planners and HTUA developers are facing in the embedding of HTUA in urban planning processes, using the city of Amsterdam as a case study. This study draws on actor-network theory (ANT) to analyze the interactions between planners, technologies, technology developers and developers of alternative food production practices. Several concepts of ANT are integrated into a multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions (MLP) to create a new theoretical framework that can explain how interactions between technologies and planning actors transform the incumbent social–technical regime. The configuration of interactions between social and material entities in technology development and adoption processes in Amsterdam is analyzed through the lens of this theoretical framework. The data in this study were gathered by tracing actors and their connections by using ethnographic research methods. In the course of the integration of new technologies into urban planning practices, gaps between technologies, technology developers, and planning actors have been identified. The results of this study show a lacking connection between planning actors and technology developers, although planning actors do interact with developers of alternative food production practices. These interactions are influenced by agency of artefacts such as visualizations of the future projects. The paper concludes that for the utilization of emerging technologies for sustainability transition of cities, the existing gap between technology developers and planning actors needs to be bridged through the integration of technology development visions in urban agendas and planning processes.

SYNOPSIS In Swaziland policies to alleviate fuelwood shortages have been low on the list of development priorities, as much of the land has extensive bush and tree cover. There are, however, major social and geographical imbalances in biomass resource supply—some areas of Swazi Nation Land are barren due to increasing population pressure and the subsequent demand for fuelwood. This paper will show, in detail, the methodology for the survey which was carried out in Swaziland to investigate the importance of accessibility in linking potential supply to demand. Physical location, land tenure and management practices are generally recognised as important factors to take into consideration when converting potential resources into realistic amounts of fuelwood supply. Guesswork, however, is often used to estimate the impacts of these factors on biomass supplies. A nation-wide study was made in order to obtain more information on the accessibility of resources on privately owned land; results of a household surv...

Short-rotation coppice (SRC) Salix plantations have the potential to provide fast-growing biomass feedstock with significant soil and climate mitigation benefits. Salix varieties exhibit significant variation in their physiological traits, growth patterns and soil ecology—but the effects of these variations have rarely been studied from a systems perspective. This study analyses the influence of variety on soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and climate impacts from Salix cultivation for heat production for a Swedish site with specific conditions. Soil carbon modelling was combined with a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to quantify SOC sequestration and climate impacts over a 50-year period. The analysis used data from a Swedish field trial of six Salix varieties grown under fertilized and unfertilized treatments on Vertic Cambisols during 2001–2018. The Salix systems were compared with a reference case where heat is produced from natural gas and green fallow was the land use alternative. Climate impacts were determined using time-dependent LCA methodology—on a land-use (per hectare) and delivered energy unit (per MJheat) basis. All Salix varieties and treatments increased SOC, but the magnitude depended on the variety. Fertilization led to lower carbon sequestration than the equivalent unfertilized case. There was no clear relationship between biomass yield and SOC increase. In comparison with reference cases, all Salix varieties had significant potential for climate change mitigation. From a land-use perspective, high yield was the most important determining factor, followed by SOC sequestration, therefore high-yielding fertilized varieties such as ‘Tordis’, ‘Tora’ and ‘Björn’ performed best. On an energy-delivered basis, SOC sequestration potential was the determining factor for the climate change mitigation effect, with unfertilized ‘Jorr’ and ‘Loden’ outperforming the other varieties. These results show that Salix variety has a strong influence on SOC sequestration potential, biomass yield, growth pattern, response to fertilization and, ultimately, climate impact.

Although it is widely assumed that business activity is dependent on flows of ecosystem services (ES), little evidence is available with which to evaluate this contention. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a questionnaire survey of business dependencies on twenty-six different ES in the English county of Dorset, where the environment supports a significant component of the local economy. Responses were received from 212 businesses across twenty-eight sectors. While virtually all businesses (98%) were familiar with the concept of ES, dependency on ES was highly divided with 50% of businesses surveyed claiming no dependence on any ES flows. The highest businesses dependencies reported in this study were for regulating services with the ES of water quality and waste water treatment being of particular importance to businesses. The results however, advised that greater efforts are needed in highlighting the indirect benefits provided by Dorset’s ecosystems, with eight business sectors (58% of respondents) claiming no or little dependence on supporting and habitat services including the ES of biodiversity, habitats for species and maintenance of genetic diversity. Many businesses also indicated little or no dependence on the globally important ES of pollination and soil condition, which may reflect a lack of awareness of dependencies occurring upstream of their value chains. At the sector level, businesses directly involved in protecting, extracting, or manufacturing raw materials were found to be more dependent on provisioning, regulatory and supporting ES than those operating in the service sector who favored cultural ES. These results highlight the value of assessing business dependencies on ES flows, which could usefully inform environmental management and accounting systems and improve monitoring of business performance, and thereby contribute to achievement of sustainability goals.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations state that cities and human settlements need to be more inclusive, safe and resilient. In Europe cities have experienced dramatic physical, social and economic changes during the last decades while historic centres of European cities, among the most important assets of the European cultural heritage, are living paradoxes. They are defined as “a collection of beauty, icon of well-being, model of sustainability, but abandoned”. This study investigates the changes in the urban landscape of Nicosia, a particular historical centre in the Mediterranean region (Cyprus). The city centre is characterised by exceptionally well-preserved Venetian fortifications. Due to political circumstances, the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia, is still divided and has been ruled by two different administrations for several decades. This study used optical multi-spectral satellite datasets processing, like the Landsat and the most recent Sentinel-2 products, to detect, identify and characterise significant morphological transformations within the walled city and around it. This paper’s central thesis promotes a more systematic use of earth observation products and derivatives in decision-making processes that regard planning, use and management of urban resources in Europe, especially in support of urban planning strategies of historic cities.

La primera biorrefinación con lignina del álamo nórdico para producir fibras de celulosa podría desplazar la producción de algodón en tierras agrícolas Al cruzar Populus trichocarpa 3 P. trichocarpa de una población distante, se obtuvieron álamos híbridos que pueden crecer rápidamente en tierras marginales en climas del norte. Estos híbridos pueden transformarse mediante fraccionamiento catalítico reductor para producir una fibra textil deslignificada que puede ser un sustituto del algodón, así como un biocombustible alimentado con lignina en el rango de gasolina-aviación-diesel. La sostenibilidad de esta cadena de valor fue evaluada por LCA y mostró beneficios sustanciales en términos de uso de agua en comparación con la producción de algodón. Le bioraffinage en lignine du peuplier nordique pour produire des fibres de cellulose pourrait déplacer la production de coton sur les terres agricoles En croisant Populus trichocarpa 3 P. trichocarpa d'une population éloignée, des peupliers hybrides ont été obtenus qui peuvent croître rapidement sur des terres marginales dans les climats nordiques. Ces hybrides peuvent être transformés par fractionnement catalytique réducteur pour donner une fibre textile délignifiée qui peut remplacer le coton ainsi qu'un biocarburant ligninérisé dans la gamme essence-aviation-diesel. La durabilité de cette chaîne de valeur a été évaluée par LCA et a montré des avantages substantiels en termes d'utilisation de l'eau par rapport à la production de coton. Lignin-first biorefining of Nordic poplar to produce cellulose fibers could displace cotton production on agricultural lands By crossing Populus trichocarpa 3 P. trichocarpa from a distant population, hybrid poplar trees were obtained that can grow rapidly on marginal lands in northern climates.These hybrids can be transformed by reductive catalytic fractionation to yield a delignified textile fiber that can be a substitute for cotton as well as a ligninderived biofuel in the gasoline-aviation-diesel range.The sustainability of this value chain was evaluated by LCA and showed substantial benefits in terms of water use compared with cotton production. يمكن للتكرير الحيوي الأول لليجنين للحور الشمالي لإنتاج ألياف السليلوز أن يحل محل إنتاج القطن في الأراضي الزراعية من خلال عبور Populus trichocarpa 3 P. trichocarpa من مجموعة سكانية بعيدة، تم الحصول على أشجار الحور الهجينة التي يمكن أن تنمو بسرعة على الأراضي الهامشية في المناخات الشمالية. يمكن تحويل هذه الهجينة عن طريق التجزئة التحفيزية المختزلة لإنتاج ألياف نسيج منزوعة الكرامة يمكن أن تكون بديلاً عن القطن بالإضافة إلى وقود حيوي خفيف في نطاق البنزين والطيران والديزل. تم تقييم استدامة سلسلة القيمة هذه من قبل LCA وأظهرت فوائد كبيرة من حيث استخدام المياه مقارنة بإنتاج القطن.