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Reporting and practices of sustainability in controlled environment agriculture: a scoping review

Author

Listed:
  • Donald Coon

    (University of Florida)

  • Lauren Lindow

    (University of Florida)

  • Ziynet Boz

    (University of Florida
    UF IFAS Global Food Systems Institute, University of Florida)

  • Ana Martin-Ryals

    (University of Florida
    UF IFAS Global Food Systems Institute, University of Florida)

  • Ying Zhang

    (University of Florida)

  • Melanie Correll

    (University of Florida)

Abstract

When compared to traditional field production, controlled environment agriculture (CEA) such as greenhouses and indoor vertical farms (VF) have sustainability benefits such as reduced land use, less product transportation to consumers, improved resource and land-use efficiencies, food safety, and local food availability. Despite its potential as an environmentally beneficial complement to conventional farming, CEA has numerous issues that limits its adoption and viability as a sustainable option. This review summarizes the literature on key areas of sustainability in CEA, such as (1) sustainability challenges, (2) technologies identified to address sustainability in CEA, (3) quantification and reporting of sustainability in CEA, and (4) gaps and opportunities in addressing CEA sustainability. To filter the available literature from the databases including Web of Science, this scoping review employed a combination of the keywords “sustainability,” “controlled environment agriculture,” “urban farm,” “vertical farm,” and “indoor farm.” According to the review, main obstacles in CEA were high electricity use, geographical location-related tradeoffs, and an unfavorable public perception of CEA in comparison to field production. These issues are now being addressed by optimized lighting and sensor technology, models, decision support tools to reduce electricity use, and marketing tactics to educate people about the benefits of CEA. This scoping review offers two critical areas to focus sustainability improvement efforts: lowering electrical demand and using circular techniques for organic waste and wastewater reuse in CEA to increase water, nutrient, and energy use efficiency and recovery. In addition, it discusses the techniques and approaches to sustainability assessment in CEA, particularly within the research and application contexts. This scoping review, thus, outlines strategies for enhancing sustainability in CEA, highlighting the importance of integrating circular economy principles and advanced technologies to optimize resource use, and advocates for ongoing research and education to shift public perceptions toward the sustainable potential of CEA. Graphical abstract

Suggested Citation

  • Donald Coon & Lauren Lindow & Ziynet Boz & Ana Martin-Ryals & Ying Zhang & Melanie Correll, 2024. "Reporting and practices of sustainability in controlled environment agriculture: a scoping review," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 301-326, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:envsyd:v:44:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10669-024-09964-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10669-024-09964-z
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