Search

The reactive nitrogen released to the environment caused by food consumption can be quantified through the Nitrogen Footprint (NF). Spain has been traditionally regarded to follow the worldwide recognized healthy Mediterranean diet. However, dietary changes among the population have started to shift from the traditional Spanish food consumption. Based on the established method for quantifying the NF from the consumer perspective, this study aimed to estimate the NF from food consumption in Spain, distinguishing between different age groups and gender. The results show that the food NF in Spain was 12.78 kg of N/cap/year and 601 Gg N/year in total. The main food contributors to the overall food NF in Spain were cereals, beef, and pork, while the food products oilseeds and oil, fruits, and legumes presented a lower contribution to the Spanish food NF. Additionally, differences in the food NF among the Spanish population were also observed. Younger age groups (<10 years) and the elderly (>65 years) presented lower food NF per capita than the rest of the population. In relation to gender, it was observed that women have a food NF slightly lower than men. It was seen that food production NF contributes 91 % to the overall food NF in Spain compared to the total food consumption NF. Key strategies based on improving the N use efficiency of crops and livestock, recycling and avoiding food waste, and implementing more sustainable eating patterns can be applied to reduce the food NF in Spain.

The concept of adapting agro-economic practices in order to improve production and environmental conditions transforms our agroecosystems. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in regenerative practices for this purpose. Therefore we carried out a study, as part of Farm4climate project (PRIMA proposal supported by EU H2020), funded by Commonland Foundation together with the AlVelAl initiative. The aim of the AlVelAl initiative is to promote regenerative techniques in local farming communities in Andalusia where they are based. To achieve this, ALVelAl association gives technical support to farmers, working on the restoration of farmlands using regenerative techniques, organising training workshops that guarantee an open exchange of knowledge between farmers, technicians, and companies. They also support research initiatives for co-design regenerative practices. In collaboration with AlVelAl, we explores the suitability of regenerative techniques in semiarid agro ecological systems. We carried out a monitoring project in one almond orchard in Illana (Guadalajara), in central Spain, and coordinated the implementation of regenerative techniques co-designed by researchers and the land managers. The aim of the regenerative techniques employed in this project improve the soil fertility and water content. We implemented six techniques: 1) minimum tillage, standard practice for the area (MT); 2) minimum tillage with organic amendments (MT&OA); 3) minimum tillage with a legume crop as green manure (MT&GM-Leg); 4) minimum tillage with mixed wheat and legume crops as green manure (MT&GM-Mix); 5) minimum tillage with Brachypodium as green manure (MT&GM-Bra) and 6) minimum tillage with wheat as green manure (MT&GM-Whe). The total area of the trial is 5.400 m2. During the campaign, weed control nets (nets provided by DNT Non Waven Fabrics) will be used in the selected treatments areas of the orchard. We aim to study the impacts of regenerative practices by compari

It is at an early development stage the best opportunity for a society to learn the concepts of sustainable production and consumption. Schools can serve as effective and efficient ways for this purpose. This work quantifies the Nitrogen Footprint (NF) of twelve school menus developed following the Spanish dietary guidelines. The analysis considers six fall school menus and six spring school menus for 7 to 12 years old children. Fall menus present higher NF than spring menus, being on average 23 g N and 19 g N, respectively. This is mainly due to the presence of beef dishes in fall menus, which significantly increase the production NF. Menus including non-meat protein sources, such as legumes, exhibit the lowest N pollution. Menus with beef dishes remain the most intensive menus for fall and spring in terms of N pollution and energy intake, being 0.04 g N/kcal. The highest contributing stage to the total NF is the production (92.6 %), followed by consumption (5.8 %), while the distribution and cooking stages present lower contributions. In order to improve the overall NF, some reduction strategies are: (1) substitution of beef with other animal meat sources, (2) substitution of beef with non-meat sources, (3) improvement of wastewater treatment efficiency, and (4) recycling non-edible food. Substituting beef with non-meat sources achieves the highest reduction (76 %) compared to the total NF of the school menus. It is recommendable to include environmental aspects related to N emissions within the school guidelines in order to provide practical information to policymakers and guide-users.

Spain is a country where agricultural production has a relatively low weight in the national gross domestic product (only 3.16%), but it is a sector with a great strategic importance, more than 20 million tons of vegetable products exported per year, and a high level of domestic consumption. Within that production, the cultivation of corn is one of the most important crops on the surface within irrigation systems. This study aims to summarize the current situation of maize production in Spain in relation to the world situation. Currently, the two main constraints to increasing the area cultivated with maize and increasing its yield in Spain are the availability of water and the economic profitability. For this reason, this work summarizes the progress achieved until the present, but also the potential improvements that could improve their economic performance without increasing (or even decreasing) their environmental impact. These techniques require inevitably an improvement of the efficiency use of the agronomic inputs (fertilizers, diesel, pesticides, etc.), as well as, the improvement of water use. To achieve these greater efficiencies, different techniques have been identified such as adjusting the doses of water-nutrients-phytosanitary products, their application at right moments or even remote sensing, and the use of precision agriculture; all of them defined in greater detail in this manuscript. Therefore, farmers who wish to continue growing maize in Spain, and being able to improve their yields and reduce their environmental impact, must, above all, improve their production margins, España es un país donde la producción agrícola tiene un peso relativamente bajo en el producto interior bruto nacional (solo del 3,16%), pero con una gran importancia estratégica ya que representa más de 20 millones de toneladas de productos vegetales exportados al año, además del alto nivel de consumo interno. Dentro de esa producción, el cultivo del maíz es uno de los cultivos con mayor importancia en cuanto a superficie dentro de los sistemas de regadío. El presente estudio pretende resumir la situación actual de la producción de maíz en España en relación a la situación mundial. A día de hoy, los dos principales factores limitantes para el aumento de la superficie cultivada de maíz y el aumento de su rendimiento en España son la disponibilidad de agua y la rentabilidad económica. Por eso, este trabajo resume los avances alcanzados hasta la fecha, pero también las mejoras potenciales que permitirían mejorar su rendimiento económico sin aumentar (o incluso disminuyendo) su impacto ambiental. Estas técnicas se basan en la mejora de la eficiencia de uso de los insumos agrícolas empleados (fertilizantes, gasoil, fitosanitarios, entre otros) así como la eficiencia en el uso del agua. Para alcanzar estas mayores eficiencias se han identificado distintas técnicas como el ajuste de las dosis de agua-nutrientes-fitosanitarios, su aplicación en los momentos clave o incluso la teledetección y el uso de agricultura de precisión, todos ellos definidos en mayor detalle en este trabajo. Por eso, los agricultores que deseen seguir cultivando maíz en España, además de ser capaces de mejorar su rendimiento y reducir el impacto ambiental, deberán, sobre todo, mejorar sus márgenes de beneficio.

Reactive nitrogen (N) emissions can lead to severe environmental and human damages. To quantify these reactive N emissions the Nitrogen Footprint (NF) can serve as a valuable indicator. This work is the first attempt to quantify an institutional NF in Spain and the first institutional NF of a research center. The NF of the Spanish research center of INIA was quantified for the year 2019 taking into account all N emission sources. The total NF of the research center INIA for 2019 was 9289 kg N and its NF per capita is 16.1 kg N per full-time equivalent population. The largest N emission sources were food (57%) and utilities (33%), while the least N loss was fertilization for groundskeeping (0.01%), and research plots (0.15%). Taking the NF of INIA as baseline the following strategies of N mitigation were analyzed: (1) beef replacement in the menu, (2) reduction of meat by non-meat sources, (3) reduction of beef, fish, and seafood by other protein sources, (4) improving the wastewater treatment efficiency, and (5) recycling food waste. This institutional NF approach serves INIA's institution as an indicator to quantify its N pollution and allows the identification of useful mitigation strategies to reduce the overall NF.

In a circular economy framework, waste valorization in crop production promotes sustainability in the agricultural sector. Buckwheat (BW; Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) has promising nutritional and economic value. Its sustainable production can be promoted by applying organic fertilizers. Aimed at determining the effect of a bio-stabilized municipal solid waste (MSW) amendment on BW, a greenhouse experiment was performed combining two different soils (clay and sandy) with three previous fertilization treatments (no fertilizer, mineral fertilizer, or MSW fertilizer) from the precedent faba bean crop and three present fertilization treatments (no fertilizer, mineral fertilizer, or MSW fertilizer) from the precedent wheat crop. The present fertilizer treatments followed the same procedure and fertilization rates (7.9 g/kg clay soil and 6.7 g/kg sandy soil of MSW amendment and 0.14 g/kg clay soil and 0.12 g/sandy soil of mineral fertilizer) as the previously fertilized treatments to study the effects on BW crop and soil. Results indicated a positive response of biomass production (on average 34.4 g/plant) and seed yield (on average 10.6 g/plant) to direct organic fertilization, obtaining comparable results with respect to the mineral fertilization treatments. Additionally, organic fertilization significantly enhanced seed quality and nutrient content compared to mineral fertilization, which resulted in a higher chlorophyll content. The findings revealed that the residual effect from the previous bio-stabilized MSW amendment was not sufficient to provide the total nutrients necessary for BW potential growth and biomass production, although slight tendencies toward increase were observed. Soil properties, such as organic matter and nitrogen content, as well as soil nutrient concentrations, were positively affected by organic fertilization, presenting adequate levels of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cr, and Cd). The insights of this study are valuable to determine the effec

A quantitative assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of infrastructures can provide initial guidance to industry practitioners and engineers at the outset of the construction projects. This study presents the applicability of the Environmentally Extended Input-Output Analysis as a pre-construction evaluation tool for quantifying the embodied environmental impacts of a small diversion dam in Spain. Seven impact categories are assessed from a production-based and consumption-based perspective identifying the main sectors and regions contributing to the environmental impacts. From the consumption-based perspective, Spain is the only contributor to the environmental impacts, and from the production-based perspective, Spain is the main polluting country in all the impact categories contributing on average 68.9%. The use of high quantities of construction material leads to the sectors of steel and cement to significantly increase the environmental impacts. From the production-based perspective, steel and cement contribute on average 29.5% and 17.2%, respectively. From the consumption-based perspective, both sectors account for 74% of the overall environmental impacts. As observed in this case study, the application of the EEIOA model enables engineers and designers to focus during the early design stages on decisions that achieve high embodied impact reductions, such as prioritizing recycled materials for the construction of this infrastructure and, when possible, use materials from a less polluting origin.

The use of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture is currently under high pressure to reduce its environmental impact and improve its currently low efficiency. Nitrification inhibitors and/or intercrops emerged in recent decades as useful tools to combat these problems. The objective of the experiment is to study the effect of these techniques on the yield, the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and N leaching in a maize–wheat rotation. Six treatments were studied, combining the use of ammonium nitrate sulfate (ASN) alone or with a nitrification inhibitor (DMPSA or 3,4-dimethylpyrazole succinic acid) and the use or absence of vetch (Vicia sativa L.) as an intercrop. The results showed that fertilized treatments did not show significant differences in crop development, but the use of DMPSA delayed the nitrate (NO3−) availability and reduced N leaching losses (average N leaching reductions around 25% after maize harvest). On the other hand, the use of vetch as an intercrop helped to reduce the negative effects of N deficiency and, at the same time, increased the concentration of N in the soil during the following crop harvest (4.5 kg N ha−1 on average after wheat harvest) and reduced losses due to leaching (average N leaching reductions around 14% after the maize–wheat season). The combination of both techniques (DMPSA and vetch intercrop) at the same time presented a synergic effect and greatly improved the environmental impact of the irrigated maize–wheat system.

The reactive nitrogen released to the environment caused by food consumption can be quantified through the Nitrogen Footprint (NF). Spain has been traditionally regarded to follow the worldwide recognized healthy Mediterranean diet. However, dietary changes among the population have started to shift from the traditional Spanish food consumption. Based on the established method for quantifying the NF from the consumer perspective, this study aimed to estimate the NF from food consumption in Spain, distinguishing between different age groups and gender. The results show that the food NF in Spain was 12.78 kg of N/cap/year and 601 Gg N/year in total. The main food contributors to the overall food NF in Spain were cereals, beef, and pork, while the food products oilseeds and oil, fruits, and legumes presented a lower contribution to the Spanish food NF. Additionally, differences in the food NF among the Spanish population were also observed. Younger age groups (<10 years) and the elderly (>65 years) presented lower food NF per capita than the rest of the population. In relation to gender, it was observed that women have a food NF slightly lower than men. It was seen that food production NF contributes 91 % to the overall food NF in Spain compared to the total food consumption NF. Key strategies based on improving the N use efficiency of crops and livestock, recycling and avoiding food waste, and implementing more sustainable eating patterns can be applied to reduce the food NF in Spain.

Aims/hypothesis Wolfram syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by pathogenic variants in the WFS1 gene. It is characterised by insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, optic nerve atrophy, diabetes insipidus, hearing loss and neurodegeneration. Considering the unmet treatment need for this orphan disease, this study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists under wolframin (WFS1) deficiency with a particular focus on human beta cells and neurons. Methods The effect of the GLP-1R agonists dulaglutide and exenatide was examined in Wfs1 knockout mice and in an array of human preclinical models of Wolfram syndrome, including WFS1-deficient human beta cells, human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived beta-like cells and neurons from control individuals and individuals affected by Wolfram syndrome ,and humanised mice. Results Our study shows that the long-lasting GLP-1R agonist dulaglutide reverses impaired glucose tolerance in WFS1-deficient mice, and that exenatide and dulaglutide improve beta cell function and prevent apoptosis in different human WFS1-deficient models including iPSC-derived beta cells from people with Wolfram syndrome. Exenatide improved mitochondrial function, reduced oxidative stress and prevented apoptosis in Wolfram syndrome iPSC-derived neural precursors and cerebellar neurons. Conclusions/interpretation Our study provides novel evidence for the beneficial effect of GLP-1R agonists on WFS1-deficient human pancreatic beta cells and neurons, suggesting that these drugs may be considered as a treatment for individuals with Wolfram syndrome. Graphical abstract, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The valorization of municipal solid waste (MSW) can serve as an organic amendment in agriculture while reducing solid waste accumulation in the environment. This research aimed to evaluate the valorization of a bio-stabilized MSW amendment for the production of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) crop. For this purpose, biomass production and growth, as well as, seed yield and seed components, seed nutrient accumulation, plant pigments, soil properties, and microorganisms were evaluated in comparison with faba bean mineral fertilization in a greenhouse experiment. The results demonstrated that the bio-stabilized MSW amendment achieved similar biomass production, plant growth, seed yield, nitrogen and protein content, and pigment content as the mineral fertilization treatment. On the other hand, the organic fertilization did not exhibit significant effects on the yield components number of pods per plant, and number of seeds per pod, and nutrient accumulation in seeds with respect to mineral and control treatments in both soils. Sandy and clay soil properties were improved in the organic treatments in comparison with the control soils by increasing soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and other soil nutrients, and providing a suitable pH for faba bean growth. Additionally, biological activity was favored by applying this source of organic fertilizer, enriching the nematode community. Reusing bio-stabilized MSW for agronomical purposes can add value to this waste product, serving as an effective alternative to mineral fertilizers in faba bean cultivation.

The goal of this study was to provide quantitative agronomic data and environmental performance through a life cycle assessment of camelina in a crop rotation. For this purpose, camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] was included in a crop rotation (camelina-barley [Hordeum vulgare (L.)]-camelina) fertilized with two organic fertilizers (dewatered sludge and composted sludge) during three growing seasons (2015-2018). Three treatments were considered in this experimental study of 0.018 ha: (1) Fertilization with composted sludge (15 t ha−1), (2) fertilization with dewatered sludge (35 t ha−1), and (3) control treatment without fertilization. Results showed that camelina’s yield was affected by climatic conditions, ranging from 0.9 to 1.4 t ha−1 in the first season (2015/2016) and the third season (2017/2018 and did not present significant differences between treatments. The yield components with a positive response to organic fertilization were number of silicles, number of seeds per plant, and thousand-seed weight, with an average increase compared to the control of 23.7%, 16.5%, and 18.5%, respectively. A negative correlation was observed between organic fertilization and total fat content, contrary to the increase in protein content observed with organic fertilization. The environmental assessment of this crop rotation revealed that fertilization and transport were the main hotspots. Despite the undesirable weather limitations, this study showed a positive response of camelina’s yield components and seed quality to organic fertilization. By applying these organic fertilizers, it may be possible to obtain favorable camelina yields and promote waste valorization. To minimize the environmental impacts of this crop rotation with camelina, the main recommendations could be to reduce the distances between the dewatering and composting sites and the field and optimize fertilization rates. Further research is needed to determine the application of these organic fertilizer

The use of urease inhibitors in irrigated systems decreases both soil ammonium (NH4 +) and nitrate (NO3 -) availability, and, thus, could be an easy tool to reduce N loss due to ammonia volatilization and NO3 - leaching. The main goal of this experiment was to assess the effect of urease inhibitors on N use efficiency, N losses, and their economic impact in a maize-wheat field experiment. In this study, 10 treatments were compared, combining the urea fertilizer with or without urease inhibitor, applied in one or two dressings, and under optimal or sub-optimal irrigation. A single application of urease inhibitor (IN1d), coupled with the conventional urea, helped to reduce the nitrate leaching risk both during the maize period (even when compared to the two dressing treatment) and after harvest. In addition, this improvement was achieved together with an increase in economic benefit, even when compared with the application of the same amount of regular urea split into two dressings. Under low water availability systems, the benefits of applying urease inhibitors increased with respect to the application of regular urea, making this technique a very promising strategy for adaptation to climate change in arid and semiarid regions.

Current eating patterns are damaging the environment and there is a need for dietary guidelines to address this issue. Schools can act as springboards to promote sustainable food habits. However, unlike other European national dietary guidelines, the Spanish school dietary guidelines do not include environmental sustainability guidance. In this study, a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to quantify the carbon footprint (CF) of school menus designed following the Spanish school dietary guidelines and adjusting to approximately 610 kcal/lunch-meal. To do so, the menus assessed were the baseline menu and six alternative menus served in schools (the menu without dairy and without legumes, the menu without meat, the menu without fish, the menu without eggs, the hypocaloric menu and the astringent menu designed to address intestinal illnesses). The CF of the baseline menu was 24.39 kg CO2 eq/person/monthly lunch-meal which resembled, to some extent, the CF of the Mediterranean diet obtained for adults and approximately 700 kcal/lunch-meal. Regarding the alternative menus, the astringent menu and the menu without meat presented the lowest CF, being 14.77 kg CO2 eq/person/month and 17.11 kg CO2 eq/person/month, respectively. It is recommended that Spanish dietary guidelines include the environmental performance of foods to optimize school menus and favor a gradual transition towards a more environmentally-friendly diet.

The poultry industry in the European Union produces 13 million tons of manure annually, which represents a major health and environmental challenge. Composting is an environmental-friendly technique for the management of manure, but there are few studies about antibiotic residues and antimicrobial resistances at a field scale. The goal of this study was to determine if the composting of poultry manure at a field scale would result in the reduction of antibiotic residues, pathogenic bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the final fertilizer product. A 10-week composting of poultry manure spiked with enrofloxacin, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin was performed. The determination of antibiotics residues and 22 selected ARGs was carried out together with the identification of bacteria by metagenomics. In the case of ciprofloxacin and doxycycline, a 90% decrease was observed after composting for 3 weeks. Sixteen ARGs were detected at the beginning of the experiment; 12 of them decreased from week 0 to week 10 (reduction of 73.7-99.99%). The presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria, such as, Campylobacter coli or commensal bacteria such as Escherichia coli decreases along the composting process. In conclusion, 10-week composting of poultry manure promotes the reduction of antibiotic residues and most of the ARGs and pathogenic bacteria.

Animal feeding has been identified to be a key factor in environmental sustainability. For this reason, by carrying out a life cycle assessment, this investigation is focused on studying the environmental performance of the production of Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz as feedstock for animal meal in Spanish Mediterranean soils. Experiments in five non-irrigated plots were conducted applying different crop management practices: herbicide pre-emergence (P1), herbicide post-emergence (P2), P mineral fertilization (P3), P + N mineral fertilization (P4), and compost fertilization (P5). The production of animal meal press cake consisted of two processes, seed production and seed pressing. Results showed that seed production represents, on average, 88% of the total impacts for all of the treatments. The main differences were allocated to crop management practices. In systems P1 and P2, where no fertilizers were added, the field operation of soil tillage is the main responsible for the environmental impacts, mainly due to diesel fuel consumption and the exhaust gas emissions generated by engine tractors. On the other hand, in P3, P4 and P5, the fertilization process contributed significantly to the increase of the environmental impacts. However, it has to be noted that compost fertilization could exhibit less environmental impacts than mineral fertilization if avoided burdens were considered. In this sense, the application of compost could be regarded as a way of promoting waste valorization.