What impacts on the eutrophication of water does peri-urban agriculture have?

New article of LET that shows the importance of regionalization to carry out environmental assessments in peri-urban agriculture, taking as an example the impact on the eutrophication of water in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area.

Peri urban agriculture can supply food locally and potentially more sustainably than far-away conventional agricultural systems, but it can also introduce significant environmental impacts depending on the local biophysical conditions and resources required to implement it and, on the crops managing practices, on the crops managing practices. In this study it has been seen that vegetables and greenhouses (the prevalent peri-urban agriculture land uses) have the greatest impacts on water eutrophication in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. On fruit crops, on-site nitrogen emissions drive marine eutrophication impacts and for irrigated herbaceous crops, phosphorus runoff drives freshwater eutrophication impacts.

This study shows the importance of regionalization in the environmental assessment of peri-urban agriculture, provides a fundamental baseline needed to assess ecological transition scenarios of peri urban agriculture at an appropriate geographic level of analysis and gives essential knowledge to guide appropriate circular and sustainability strategies for the sector.

Consult the paper.