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Bioenergy crops are well known for their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the soil carbon stock. Although such crops are often held to be in competition with food crops and thus raise the question of current and future food security, at the same time mitigation measures are required to tackle climate change and sustain local farming communities and crop production. However, in some cases the actions envisaged for specific pedo-climatic conditions are not always economically sustainable by farmers. In this frame, energy crops with high environmental adaptability and yields, such as giant reed (Arundo donax L.), may represent an opportunity to improve farm incomes, making marginal areas not suitable for food production once again productive. In so doing, three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations would be met, namely SDG 2 on food security and sustainable agriculture, SDG 7 on reliable, sustainable and modern energy, and SDG 13 on action to combat climate change and its impacts. In this work, the response of giant reed in the marginal areas of an agricultural district of southern Italy (Destra Sele) and expected farm incomes under climate change (2021-2050) are evaluated. The normalized water productivity index of giant reed was determined (WP; 30.1gm-2) by means of a SWAP agro-hydrological model, calibrated and validated on two years of a long-term field experiment. The model was used to estimate giant reed response (biomass yield) in marginal areas under climate change, and economic evaluation was performed to determine expected farm incomes (woodchips and chopped forage). The results show that woodchip production represents the most profitable option for farmers, yielding a gross margin 50% lower than ordinary high-input maize cultivation across the study area.

Interdisciplinary research is understood to be the preferred way for scientific research to deepen understanding about environmental issues and challenges for sustainability. Two well-defined interdisciplinairy research fields, Ecosystems services (ES) and Common-pool resources (CPR), have taken different approaches that integrate the natural and social sciences to address environmental conundrums collaboratively. Several recent studies bring together insight from each, yet little is known about the breadth or directions, of the interdisciplinary conversation between the two fields of research. Moreover, the potential of this interaction to advance theory and practice relevant for sustainability is underexplored. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap by addressing three questions: 1) What are the motives for the interaction between CPR and ES fields?, 2) How are these two fields of research interacting?, and 3) How does the interaction of CPR and ES contribute to research on sustainability? We conducted a systematic map to identify, select, describe and analyse research of our interest. We mapped out motivations for researchers to bring together insights from these two lines of inquiry and examined how they are doing so.

Abstract As the world races toward its urban future, the quantity of wastes, one of the vital by-products of an enhancement in the standards of living, is exponentially rising. The treatment of wastes employing plasma is an upcoming area of research and is globally used for the simultaneous processing of diverse wastes coupled with the recovery of energy and materials. Ground-breaking and cost-effective thermal plasma technologies with high efficiencies are a prerequisite for the growth of this technology. This paper delivers an evaluation of the fundamentals such as the generation and characteristics of the thermal plasma along with the various types of wastes treatable by thermal plasma and the related issues. Furthermore, the authors discuss different types of advanced technologies as well as the material and energy recovery techniques and their present status worldwide, at lab-scale and industrial scale. The application of different thermal plasma technologies is discussed as a means to promote this technology into alternative applications, which require higher flexibility and greater efficiency. Mathematical modeling studies are also assessed with an objective to derive ideal conditions and permissible limits for the reactors and to test a variety of waste materials. A strategy to improve the feasibility and sustainability of waste utilization is via technological advancement and the minimization of environmental effects and process economics. This paper sheds light on diverse areas of waste utilization via thermal plasma as a potentially sustainable and environmentally friendly technology.

Urbanization is a key trend of current land-use change, responsible for large environmental changes worldwide. Sustainable functioning of urban ecosystems is a priority goal of today and nearest future. Urban soil is a key component of urban ecosystems. Urban soils are formed and exist under predominant direct and indirect effect of anthropogenic factor. Urbanization was traditionally related to negative impacts on soils, whereas the capacity of urban soils to perform environmental functions is poorly understood. Traditional approaches to assess and standardize soil quality through static parameters and health thresholds give limited information on soil living phase and its dynamics. Quantifying urban soils' functions directly relates soil quality to the role of soil for environment and society, that is especially relevant in urban ecosystems. This chapter aims to overview existing approaches to monitor and assess soil functions for a specific case of urban soils. Individual functions (i.e., gas exchange and carbon sequestration, bioresources, remediation, etc.) are observed over variety of bioclimatic conditions and for different levels of anthropogenic disturbance. Assessment results are further implemented to develop guidelines and best management practices to construct and treat urban soils for maintaining their functions and quality.

In this paper, we propose innovative solutions for reusing an inactive offshore gas platform and its associated infrastructures as a scientific research hub, where an integrated energy system and innovative environmental monitoring methods are envisaged. To this end, the Azalea A platform, located in the northern Adriatic Sea, is considered a good pilot site. This study analyzes the engineering solutions on Azalea A for the combined production of solar and wind energy coupled with hydrogen production from seawater electrolysis. It analyzes the potential for storage and transport on land of the produced hydrogen using the sealines connected to the platform. However, this study does not deal with the current structural conditions of the platform (corrosion, stability etc.), which should be evaluated before these solutions are put into practice. The main outcomes of this work consist in a feasibility study for the reuse of existing infrastructures as a self-sufficient research hub using green energy systems, which include considerations about the measures needed to ensure the protection of the marine environment. Data show a positive feedback about the technical feasibility of the proposal in safety conditions. Furthermore, encouraging outcomes derive also by the economic evaluation that estimates sustainable costs comparing to those implicated with the decommissioning of the infrastructures in the order of tens millions euro. In addition, the proposed reuse seems to be a good opportunity to promote both energy transition toward renewable energy systems and environmental protection, avoiding decommissioning impacts and promoting an innovative monitoring program for the Adriatic Sea.

In recent years, the problem of assessing the replaceability of various types of raw materials and products in the energy market, in the production of heat and electricity, has become increasingly relevant. Wood fuel in the form of pellets and wood chips has several substitutes with uncertain consumption prospects. This paper presents different approaches to assessing the efficiency of using wood materials as fuels due to high expectations from the development of a "green economy", designed to replace the use of non-renewable natural resources in energy production. © Proceedings of Scientific Papers - Current Trends and Challenges for Forest-Based Sector: Carbon Neutrality and Bioeconomy, WoodEMA 2023.

Batch anaerobic codigestion of municipal household solid waste (MHSW) and digested manure in mesophilic conditions was carried out. The different waste-to-biomass ratios and intensity of mixing were studied theoretically and experimentally. The experiments showed that when organic loading was high, intensive mixing resulted in acidification and failure of the process, while low mixing intensity was crucial for successful digestion. However, when loading was low, mixing intensity had no significant effect on the process. We hypothesized that mixing was preventing establishment of methanogenic zones in the reactor space. The methanogenic zones are important to withstand inhibition due to development of acids formed during acidogenesis. The 2D distributed models of symmetrical cylinder reactor are presented based on the hypothesis of the necessity of a minimum size of methanogenic zones that can propagate and establish a good methanogenic environment. The model showed that at high organic loading rate spatial separation of the initial methanogenic centers from active acidogenic areas is the key factor for efficient conversion of solids to methane. The initial level of methanogenic biomass in the initiation centers is a critical factor for the survival of these centers. At low mixing, most of the initiation methanogenic centers survive and expand over the reactor volume. However, at vigorous mixing the initial methanogenic centers are reduced in size, averaged over the reactor volume, and finally dissipate. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, large irregular cocci of microorganisms were observed in the case with minimal mixing, while in the case with high stirring mainly dead cells were found.

This article investigates the relevance of the work of the Latin-American thinkers Humberto Maturana and Paulo Freire to learning-based transformations towards sustainability. This analysis was inspired by a case study of a Brazilian urban community seeking to develop pathways towards sustainable living and was informed by a review of their key works. The paper aims to obtain a better conceptualization of learning-based transformations and provide insights into collective learning processes focused on advancing sustainable practices. We present notions of the transformative social learning approach that underpins the case study, using the concepts of Maturana and Freire as a lens. Our results indicate the importance of a relational approach in fostering collective learning processes. Finally, we derive three principles that can guide such processes: (1) facilitating transformative interactions between people and places, (2) enabling dialogic interaction within a climate of mutual acceptance, and (3) creating space for ontological pluralism.

In the 21st century, many countries are starting to use geothermal energy (GTE) as a new energy source. Serbia also has the potential to use it as a renewable energy source. The complex geological structure of its terrain has given rise to a large number of thermomineral springs and geothermal wells. Based on the existing measurements, the geothermal heat flow density in Serbia ranges from 80 to 120 mW/m2, which is above Europe's average (60 mW/m2). Currently, there are 66 projects in Serbia that directly use geothermal energy. There are an estimated 1005 geothermal heat pump units. Their power varies between 10 kW and 40 kW and they operate for 2860 full load hours per year. This paper deals with the development, current state and perspectives of geothermal energy utilization for heating in Serbia. To illustrate the current state of geothermal energy utilization in Serbia, spa settlements Vranjska Banja and Gornja Trepča, as well as the Bogatić Municipality have been singled out as examples of good practice. The presented analysis includes determining the available amount of geothermal energy and its utilization for district heating or heating of selected public facilities. The concept and methodology of the presented research are based on data collection through literature review, surveys and field research. The analysis confirms the cost-effectiveness of using geothermal energy and reveals numerous ecological advantages over other energy sources. However, it was concluded that аlthough there is potential, geothermal sources, as a renewable energy source, are used negligibly in Serbia.