Giuseppe Picca , Asier Goñi-Urtiaga , Laura Lozano de Sosa , Maria Victoria Colombo Rodriguez , Isabel Fernández Navarro , César Plaza , Marco Panettieri
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Rooftop agriculture offers ecosystem services and urban greening benefits, requiring lightweight, peat-free growing media. Composted organic waste, enhanced with biochar-rich materials, could serve as an effective component for these media. This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of six different substrates made from organic wastes (spent coffee grounds, coffee silverskin, and seaweeds) composted with or without biochar as alternatives to peat for rooftop agriculture. Over three years, substrate fertility, crop yield, and quality were assessed using a tomato variety (Solanum lycopersicum L., cv. Moruno de Aranjuez) and a consociation of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L., cv. Romana) and chard (Beta vulgaris var. Cicla). A peat-based substrate and open-field conventional cultivation on soil served as controls. Co-composted substrates significantly increased productivity by 102 % compared to peat-based controls and by 43 % compared to open-field systems. For lettuce, compared to peat-based control, compost-based substrates without biochar yielded 380 % more in the first year, while those with biochar yielded 149 % more in the second year. Additionally, incorporating biochar during composting improved tomato quality, making it comparable to that achieved in open-field cultivation systems. In conclusion, co-composting organic waste with biochar to obtain growing substrates presents a sustainable alternative for city-focused rooftop agriculture, providing considerable horticultural yields that could reduce the environmental impact of the urban food needs.
期刊介绍:
Urban Forestry and Urban Greening is a refereed, international journal aimed at presenting high-quality research with urban and peri-urban woody and non-woody vegetation and its use, planning, design, establishment and management as its main topics. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening concentrates on all tree-dominated (as joint together in the urban forest) as well as other green resources in and around urban areas, such as woodlands, public and private urban parks and gardens, urban nature areas, street tree and square plantations, botanical gardens and cemeteries.
The journal welcomes basic and applied research papers, as well as review papers and short communications. Contributions should focus on one or more of the following aspects:
-Form and functions of urban forests and other vegetation, including aspects of urban ecology.
-Policy-making, planning and design related to urban forests and other vegetation.
-Selection and establishment of tree resources and other vegetation for urban environments.
-Management of urban forests and other vegetation.
Original contributions of a high academic standard are invited from a wide range of disciplines and fields, including forestry, biology, horticulture, arboriculture, landscape ecology, pathology, soil science, hydrology, landscape architecture, landscape planning, urban planning and design, economics, sociology, environmental psychology, public health, and education.