Livestock Buildings in a Changing World: Building Sustainability Challenges and Landscape Integration Management

Daniela Isola (), Stefano Bigiotti () and Alvaro Marucci
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Daniela Isola: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Stefano Bigiotti: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Alvaro Marucci: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-23

Abstract: The awareness of global warming has boosted research on methods to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Livestock buildings, although essential for food production, represent a sustainability challenge due to their high maintenance energy costs, GHG emissions, and impact on the environment and rural landscapes. Since the environment, cultural heritage, and community identity deserve protection, research trends and current knowledge on livestock buildings, building sustainability, energy efficiency strategies, and landscape management were investigated using the Web of Science and Scopus search tools (2005–2025). Research on these topics was found to be uneven, with limited focus on livestock buildings compared to food production and animal welfare, and significant interest in eco-sustainable building materials. A total of 96 articles were selected after evaluating over 5400 records. The analysis revealed a lack of universally accepted definitions for building design strategies and their rare application to livestock facilities, where passive solutions and insulation prevailed. The application of renewable energy was rare and limited to rural buildings, as was the application of sustainable building materials to livestock, agriculture, and vernacular buildings. Conversely, increased attention was paid to the definition and classification of vernacular architecture features aimed at enhancing existing buildings and mitigating or facilitating the landscape integration of those that diverge most from them. Although not exhaustive, this review identified some knowledge gaps. More efforts are needed to reduce environmental impacts and meet the milestones set by international agreements. Research on building materials could benefit from collaboration with experts in cultural heritage conservation because of their command of traditional materials, durability-enhancing methods, and biodeterioration.

Keywords: climate change mitigation strategies; insulation materials; building materials biodeterioration; rural landscape preservation; landscape visual impact mitigation; low-carbon materials (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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