Environmental and Economic Performance of Greenhouse Cropping in the Mediterranean Basin: Lessons Learnt from a Cross-Country Comparison

Sara Sturiale (), Oriana Gava (), Marisa Gallardo, Dolores Buendía Guerrero, Dursun Buyuktas, Gulcin Ece Aslan, Asma Laarif, Thameur Bouslama, Alejandra Navarro, Luca Incrocci and Fabio Bartolini
Additional contact information
Sara Sturiale: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Oriana Gava: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Marisa Gallardo: Department of Agronomy, University of Almería, Carretera de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain
Dolores Buendía Guerrero: Research Station of the Cajamar, Paraje Las Palmerillas 25, 04710 El Ejido, Spain
Dursun Buyuktas: Department of Agricultural Structures and Irrigation, Faculty of Agriculture, Akdeniz University, Antalya 07070, Turkey
Gulcin Ece Aslan: Department of Agricultural Structures and Irrigation, Faculty of Agriculture, Akdeniz University, Antalya 07070, Turkey
Asma Laarif: LR21AGR03, Regional Research Centre on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, University of Sousse, 57, Chott Mariem, Sousse TN-4042, Tunisia
Thameur Bouslama: LR21AGR03, Regional Research Centre on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, University of Sousse, 57, Chott Mariem, Sousse TN-4042, Tunisia
Alejandra Navarro: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Via Cavalleggeri 51, 84098 Pontecagnano Faiano, Italy
Luca Incrocci: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Fabio Bartolini: Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via L. Ariosto 35, 44121 Ferrara, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-20

Abstract: In the Mediterranean region, the expansion of greenhouse horticulture has enabled the year-round supply of fresh vegetables. Compared to open field horticulture, this farming method can generate higher returns for farmers. However, it is often associated with significant environmental pressures. This research aims to pinpoint important opportunities for improvement of the environmental and economic performance of greenhouse farming in the Mediterranean region by showing the life cycle’s environmental and economic impacts and by highlighting life cycle hotspots. This is achieved through the combined application of life cycle assessment and life cycle costing to four case studies (commercial greenhouses) spanning the Mediterranean Basin (Italy, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey). The case study findings highlight the following environmental hotspots and related impacts: (i) fertigation management can generate up to 11,283 m 3 /ha/year of water use impact; (ii) fertilizer leaching can generate up to 27 kg of N eq marine eutrophication impact; and (iii) crop protection treatments can generate up to 130,037 kg 1,4-DCB of terrestrial ecotoxicity impact. The large use of plastic materials (greenhouse and fertigation infrastructures) is an additional critical aspect due to manufacturing and disposal, contributing to eutrophication impact categories. Economic hotspots are related to greenhouse management (up to 35% total costs of production) and hired labor (up to 40% total costs of production). The lessons learnt from these case studies offer valuable insights into the sustainability challenges of greenhouse horticulture across the Mediterranean region. The hotspot analysis points to the need for targeted interventions to mitigate the most critical impacts while ensuring economic viability. This study enriches scientific understanding by examining different production and socioeconomic contexts, offering crucial insights for the advancement of sustainable practices in greenhouse agriculture such as the use of decision support systems to optimize input use.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; life cycle costing; hotspot analysis; normalization; protected horticulture; tomato (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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