This study aimed to analyze the interest, willingness to pay, and profile of tourists participating in specific agrotourism activities linked to extensive livestock farming in order to encourage the development of those activities that are most demanded by tourists, as well as to support the proposals for improvements to promote this kind of tourism in the region of Andalusia (Spain). For this purpose, a survey was conducted, which was organized into six sections: (i) sociodemographic data, (ii) general aspects of tourism, (iii) rural tourism, (iv) livestock farming and tourism, (v) benefits of extensive livestock farming, and (vi) tourism activities linked to livestock farming. A total of 892 responses were received, out of which 753 were analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe family-owned dairy goat sector in Andalusia presents great diversity. Taking into account the particularities of their economic strategies, which are focused on generating net value added and a stable long-term remuneration for family labor, this work aims to expand the scarce existing knowledge on the energetic and economic profiles of the different caprine management systems in a context of climate and energy crisis. For this purpose, twenty-one farms, representatives of the four typologies of the Andalusian dairy goat system, were monitored for one year: pastoral systems, grazing systems with high feed supply, indoor systems with associated crops, and indoor systems without associated crops.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe European Central Bank is striving to find environmentally friendly alternative methods of waste disposal. In 2020, it decided to end the disposal of Waste Euro Banknotes (W€B) in landfills and planned to use them for recycling and/or energy recovery. Despite being recognized as an effective tool in a circular economy model, there are no reported studies on the use of W€B as a substrate in anaerobic digestion (AD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe small ruminant livestock sector faces the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Carbon footprint (CF) studies on dairy goats, the most widely used indicator to quantify the impact of livestock farming on global warming, are still few. The aim of this study was to calculate the CF of the different production systems of autochthonous dairy goat breeds presently occurring in Andalusia (S Spain) and identify systems and practices that can minimize their environmental impact in these terms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe principal by-product from the two-phase olive oil production process is olive mill solid waste (OMSW). It is a highly-pollutant by-product, not only because of its characteristics, but also because of the considerable volume of OMSW which is generated, amounting to 2 to 4 million tons per year in Spain. The anaerobic digestion of this by-product is a well-studied process, and results in the generation of biogas, methane and carbon dioxide mainly of high calorific values (20-25 MJ m), and an effluent or digestate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs the worldwide population continues to rise, so does global demand for agricultural production. This scenario of uncertain food supply is exacerbated by the high salinization of soils worldwide, a serious constraint to crop productivity. In this context, there is an increasing need for alternative sustainable crops.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpent livestock bedding is a valuable resource for the production of green energy (methane) in rural areas. Comparison and evaluation of batch anaerobic digestion and co-digestion of different mixtures of goat straw bedding (SGSB) and goat cheese whey were carried out. Biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests of the 100% SGSB, 95% SGSB-5% whey, 90% SGSB-10% whey, 85% SGSB-15% whey and 100% whey were found to be 423 ± 7, 354 ± 9, 371 ± 2, 293 ± 1, 274 ± 2 mL CH g VS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe main objective of this study was to analyze the carbon footprint (CF) of grazing dairy goat systems in a natural park according to their grazing level. A total of 16 representative grazing goat farms in southern Spain were selected and grouped into three farming systems: low productivity grazing farms (LPG), more intensified grazing farms (MIG) and high productivity grazing farms (HPG). Their CF was analyzed, including greenhouse gas emissions and soil C sequestration according to the farms' grazing level and milk productivity, taking into account different functional units (one kilogram of fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM) and one hectare) and milk correction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Pollut Res Int
December 2013
A glasshouse study of the coastal shrub Limoniastrum monopetalum was carried out to evaluate its tolerance and capacity to accumulate copper. We investigate the effects of Cu from 0 to 60 mmol l(-1) on the growth, photosynthetic apparatus, and nutrient uptake of L. monopetalum, by measuring gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, photosynthetic pigments, and total copper, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, calcium, and magnesium content in the plant tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study evaluated the tolerance and accumulation potential in the salt-marsh shrub Halimione portulacoides under moderate and high external Cu levels. A greenhouse experiment was conducted in order to investigate the effects of a range of external Cu concentrations (0 to 60 mmol l(-1)) on growth and photosynthetic performance by measuring gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and photosynthetic pigments. We also determined total copper, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur concentrations in the plant tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe halophytic shrub Halimione portulacoides is known to be capable of growth in soils containing extremely high concentrations of Zn. This study evaluated in detail the tolerance and accumulation potential of H. portulacoides under moderate and high external Zn levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF