Environmental impact of strawberry production in Italy and Switzerland with different cultivation practices.

In this study, the environmental impact of strawberry production in Italy and Switzerland was evaluated using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The main differences between the two countries are the cultivation practices: crop cycle duration (1 year in Switzerland and 2 or 3 years in Italy), soil management and cultivation in open and protected fields. For all the environmental impact categories evaluated with LCA, strawberry production in Switzerland shows higher impacts respect to the Italian production.

Environmental assessment of different harvesting solutions for Short Rotation Coppice plantations.

Although several studies have been carried out on Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) plantations and on their environmental performances, there is a lack of information about the environmental impact of the harvesting operations. In this study, using LCA approach, the environmental performance of two different harvesting solutions for Short Rotation Coppice plantations was evaluated. In more details, for 2-years cutting time poplar plantations, harvesting with a self-propelled forager equipped with a specific header was compared in terms of environmental impact with a tractor-based solution.

[Mechanisation sustainability of the agricultural chains: the case of viticulture in Lombardy].

Due to its strong impact on the ecosystem, the sustainability (mainly analyzed in its environmental, energy, production, economic, social and ethical requirements) is increasingly being felt in agriculture. With reference to the wine-growing sector, the most common solutions adopted to carry out the mechanized farming tasks have been examined, specifying in each case the critical issues and the most appropriate and innovative solutions.