Microsoft Word - 1murphy.docx CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS VOL. 58, 2017 A publication of The Italian Association of Chemical Engineering Online at www.aidic.it/cet Guest Editors: Remigio Berruto, Pietro Catania, Mariangela Vallone Copyright © 2017, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. ISBN 978-88-95608-52-5; ISSN 2283-9216 Greenhouses Plants as a Landmark for Research and Innovation: the Combination of Agricultural and Energy Purposes in Italy Andrea Colantoni*,Ilaria Zambon, Massimo Cecchini, Alvaro Marucci,Luigi Piacentini, Stefania Feltrini, Danilo Monarca Tuscia University, Department DAFNE, Via S. Camillo De Lellis snc, I-11100 Viterbo, Italy. colantoni@unitus.it Agriculture represents an economic sector that guarantees a certain degree of sustainability and of safe management of natural and forestry systems. However, some current challenges, such as the abandonment of agricultural land and soil sealing, are crucial issues. Greenhouses plants can be considered a local landmark where advantages and disadvantages coexist. It is known that their use, as well as for agricultural purposes, can also assumes energy aims. However, their study, as economic and local landscape indicator, is underdeveloped in Italy. Based on the contribution of other countries (e.g. Spain and the Netherlands) in which greenhouses are relevant for spatial analysis, the need for data is a continuing obstacle to research and innovation in Italy. In the latter context, nothing has been done to evaluate greenhouses plants as a part of the agricultural landscape with an energy potential. The requirement to build a database with the help of new technologies (such as Geographic Information System), characterises a real opportunity that implements research, spatial planning (in order to prevent environmental - natural risks and to know which crops are present in a local area) and for calculating energy efficiency from renewable sources installed on greenhouses (as photovoltaic system). The present study aims to give new scenarios, research inputs and actionable progress actions based on virtuous projects that have already combined greenhouses and energy from renewable sources. 1. Introduction Greenhouse activities are relevant for the Italian agriculture owing to their production quality and technology development (Marucci et al., 2014). In Italy, with the rise of photovoltaic (PV) technology, the expansion of solar greenhouses led to a diversification of the agricultural production, energy efficiency and farmer’s specialization (Carlini et al., 2012). The extensive availability of surfaces guaranteed by greenhouses (and farm buildings) can be used to install PV systems promoting a new sustainable profile for agriculture (Tudisca et al., 2013; Sgroi, et al., 2014). The political support of PV modules would assist the regional progress by creating new job opportunities and supporting entrepreneurs' income (Schuetze, 2013). However, the elevated financial profits from PV energy production on greenhouses will exist until conspicuous public subsidies are available (Cossu et al., 2014). Preventing a new decline of the primary sector, a set of tools and strategies has to be planned with the aim to avoid conflicting and challenging realities. Unfortunately the legislative sphere does not help to reply to that question. In Italy, regulations for greenhouses are devoid of a national law in terms of land, structures and equipments (Bianchi and Sancilio, 1992). Greenhouses are regulated at the regional or municipal level with discretionary restrictions imposed by local authorities and technicians (Scarascia Mugnozza, 1995). With PV trend, national and regional administrations have planned several limitations useful to prevent speculative episodes regarding PV greenhouses (GSE, 2014). Furthermore, PV systems can be considered as an everyday infrastructure in the Mediterranean landscape of Europe (Delfanti et al., 2016), as in Italy, where their diffusion has increased rural multi-functionality (Tudisca et al., 2013; Marcheggiani et al., 2013). However rural land has been designed to a non-agricultural function but an energy purpose (Marcheggiani et al., 2013), leading to an increasing rate of soil sealing and DOI: 10.3303/CET1758079 Please cite this article as: Colantoni A., Zambon I., Cecchini M., Marucci A., Piacentini L., Feltrini S., Monarca D., 2017, Greenhouses plants as a landmark for research and innovation: the combination of agricultural and energy purposes for a more sustainable future in italy, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 58, 469-474 DOI: 10.3303/CET1758079 469 degradation, landscape deterioration and other speculative actions (e.g. Delfanti et al., 2016). To deal with this situation, since 2013 governments have promoted the realization of PV systems integrated into existing structures (such as greenhouses or farm buildings) rather than on the ground (GSE, 2014; Castellano, 2014). PV panels installed on greenhouses can be a solution (Tudisca et al., 2013), appeasing the debate on the intended land use, especially in the long term, because they do not subtract agricultural soil without compromising its quality and fertility (Sgroi, et al., 2014). Given such background, the present paper aims to give new research inputs and actionable progress actions based on virtuous projects that have already combined greenhouses and energy from renewable sources. Greenhouse plants can be considered a local landmark that indicates where advantages and disadvantages coexist in a specific area. However, their study, as economic and local landscape indicator, is underdeveloped in Italy. Nothing has been done to evaluate PV greenhouse plants as a part of the agricultural landscape with a potential energy, due to restricted database and very local research studies (e.g. Sgroi, et al., 2014; Tudisca et al., 2013). Based on the contribution of other countries (e.g. Spain and the Netherlands) in which greenhouses are relevant for spatial analysis, the lack of opportune tools is a continuing obstacle to investigation and innovation in Italy. The requirement to build a database with the help of new technologies (such as GIS) may characterise a real opportunity that implements research, spatial planning (in order to prevent environmental - natural risks and to know which crops are present in a local area), policy making and for calculating energy efficiency from renewable sources installed on greenhouses. 2. Methodology 2.1 Case study The area studied covers the entire Italian national territory (301,330 km2), subdivided into 20 regions and 8,092 municipalities. Although its coastline (counting islands) extends nearly 7,400 km, most of the continental land is hilly or mountainous. Topography, latitudinal range and proximity to the sea coast have had a great influence on local climate, soil, vegetation and landscape (Salvati and Bajocco, 2011). Thanks to its favourable geographical position and climatic features, greenhouse structures and PV fields have been widely dispersed along the country, identifying a relevant production quality and technology progress (Marucci et al., 2014). 2.2 Statistical data Italian available databases are disposed by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), which reported statistics regarding the vegetables produced in greenhouses for each year, defining the total area (hectares), area in production (hectares), the total production (tons) and the harvested production (tons). PV plants installed in Italy can be derived from the Atlasole database provided by the Italian Energy Services Manager (GSE) by municipality and plant power. For each administrative region, the surface area of rural land occupied by PV fields was provided by GSE (2014). Plants were classified by installation support (e.g. ground, building or greenhouse roof, infrastructures). The total surface area of PV fields (m2) was provided separately for each region, together with the number of plants and their total power (MW) through GSE annual statistical report. 2.3 Spatial data Currently geo-referenced elements of greenhouse and PV structures do not exist for Italy. Existing available spatial data are limited to local-scale study contexts (e.g. Sgroi, et al., 2014; Marucci et al., 2014; Tudisca et al., 2013; Pérez-Alonso et al., 2012; Sönmez and Sari, 2007). The main studies that have focused on greenhouses concern two European contexts: Almeria region (Spain) and the Netherlands. Almeria, situated in the south-east of Spain, is considered the context with the highest concentration of greenhouses in the world (Molina-Aiz et al., 2004). Also the Netherlands are famous for their production of horticultural products in greenhouses. An open source is available on the website of the Netherlands government, where is possible to found data also on the spatial distribution of greenhouses. The latter, in shape file format, has consented to spatially investigate on greenhouse structures, identified at the local level, reporting for each item different information (e.g. current status, surface area). This information is useful to understand the degree of spatial distribution and occupation of greenhouses in the Netherlands, even if currently a detail data of PV systems has not been implemented. In Italy, a similar database and spatial data to those of the Almeria region and the Netherlands does not exist. Based on the experience of these two contexts, taken as reference points, in the present paper the data collected were integrated with maps of land use (Corine Land Cover) and soil sealing available from the Copernicus Programme, using the GIS program in order to advance a spatial reflection. 470 3. Results The distribution of PV systems on greenhouses and their energy production pointed out on a regional basis that Sardinia, Sicily and Puglia are those with higher values of PV greenhouses (GSE - statistical Report 2014) (table 1). Table 1. Situation of PV energy on greenhouse plants. Source: own elaboration from GSE, 2014. Region MW Gross irradiation (h) Net radiation (h) Production (GWh) Number Practices* Power (MW)* Power greenhouse/ PV Power Abruzzi 14 1630 1278 18 8 2.28 6.1 Basilicata 18 1790 1403 25 17 11.22 1.6 Calabria 94 1730 1356 128 120 72.90 1.3 Campania 35 1690 1325 46 54 12.61 2.8 Emilia Romagna 56 1430 1121 63 69 26.14 2.1 Friuli Venezia Giulia 10 1470 1152 12 10 1.00 10.0 Latium 84 1680 1317 111 43 36.27 2.3 Liguria 17 1560 1223 21 156 12.72 1.3 Lombardy 62 1470 1152 71 48 21.35 2.9 Marche 31 1660 1301 40 27 10.15 3.1 Molise 5 1710 1341 7 5 1.31 3.8 Piedmont 45 1560 1223 55 65 27.66 1.6 Apulia 102 1820 1427 146 98 36.61 2.8 Sardinia 200 1840 1443 289 86 162.15 1.2 Sicily 168 1870 1466 247 373 116.65 1.4 Tuscany 37 1540 1207 45 19 2.08 17.7 Trentino Alto Adige 8 1390 1090 9 24 2.52 3.2 Umbria 27 1600 1254 34 12 3.15 8.6 Valle d'Aosta 0 1600 1254 0 0 0.00 0.0 Veneto 69 1460 1145 79 66 26.04 2.6 * with electricity accounts. The number of practices means how many PV plants have been authorized indicating the corresponding power. Data regarding Italian context are limited to only give a statistical information, without geo-referenced items. Consequently, the work was oriented to analyze and examine the Dutch spatial data that identifies a total of 13,897 greenhouses occupying about 34,000 hectares (figure 1). Overlaying with the Corine Land Cover (CLC) map, greenhouses are mainly concentrated in agricultural areas (96.3%) highlighting a strong relationship between greenhouses and the rural context. Figure 1. Satellite image shows a context with high concentration of greenhouses (left); inserting the vector data of greenhouses (right) (Source: own elaboration). In addition to CLC coverage, the examination was continued by assessing how much greenhouses impact in terms of soil sealing rate. The spatial greenhouse vector was superimposed on soil sealing mapping, always available in the Copernicus site. From an initial analysis, most of the surface area occupied by greenhouses exists in an environment with the value '0', devoid of soil sealing (usually intended for agricultural use). 471 Polynomial trend line was used for trend analysis, based on test and error method for several orders of polynomial fitting and the resultant correlation coefficients (Mohan et al., 2011). A polynomial line showed the tendency of the land occupied by greenhouses according to the degree of soil sealing (figure 2): it decreases and grows, reaching high values for degrees of soil sealing equal to 0, 50 and higher scores. This data was checked by aggregating soil sealing rates into five classes ('0' for non-permeable soils, from '1' to '20' low sealing, from '21' to '40' medium sealing; from '41' to '60' medium-high sealing; more than '61' highly impermeable soils). Greenhouses on soil sealing equal to 0 are only 9% (occupying only 1,210.4 hectares), assuming that they affect the highest class (61-100), occupying a surface of 5,954 hectares. In conclusion, in area terms, the coverage of greenhouse plants lead to a strong degree of soil sealing and therefore an impact on the soil component. Results revealed a first reflection on the environmental impact that greenhouses may determine and, for that reason, the importance of having spatial data is crucial to examine a district at a detailed scale. Figure 2. A polynomial line indicates the trend of the degree of soil sealing (x-axis) and the surface occupied by greenhouses (ordinate axis), explaining the surface area intended for greenhouses on the soil sealing classes. Source: own elaboration. For Almeria, the available studies have focused on the local level and a global greenhouse (and PV) data does not even exist in Spain. The province of Almeria highlights a strong presence of greenhouse plants (figure 3, circled in red). However, according to Corine Land Cover, the whole area is dedicated to agricultural activities (figure 3). Only an overlap with the imperviousness map brought out the impact on the soil component. In fact, the highest rates of sealing are recorded exactly where there is the strong concentration of greenhouses, with values greater than 60 (similar to those of an urban environment). Figure 3. Focus on CLC (left) and soil sealing map of the Southern part of Almeria, indicating the strong concentration of greenhouse plants with a red circle (Source: own elaboration). 472 4. Discussion Greenhouse plants have become more concentrated in several regions (Badgery-Parker, 2005), as Italy, Spain and Netherlands (Rogge et al., 2008). The reflection that emerges from this work is significant to define the role of greenhouses at spatial scale. While greenhouses allow profitable agricultural activities (Sönmez and Sari, 2007), they implicate a high soil sealing and a consequential risk to land degradation processes (Colantoni et al., 2015). A potential alternative in contexts with a strong concentration of greenhouses can be to integrate them with PV systems, leading towards a more sustainable development of an area (at least from an energy point of view) and avoiding the use of agricultural land for ground-mounted PV fields. As noted by the results emerged from the spatial analysis regarding the Netherlands, the territorial distribution of greenhouses can be considered an useful landmark which concerns an entire country at a very accurate scale, even if its greater integration with PV data would give more insights. However, it represents a methodological model to follow in order to build a spatial database of (PV) greenhouses in Italy. Our study aims to reflect on the lack of application and methodological tools in Italy, demonstrating a progressing obstacle to research and innovation. The importance of having a statistical and spatial database about greenhouse and PV plants at a detailed level on a national scale (as for Netherlands) enables the prediction of further damage, a constant monitoring of an area both in economic, environmental and energy terms, a series of actions and policies planned in order to prevent future negative impacts and manage effectively the territory. The detection and localization of greenhouse plants represents an important chance for policy-makers and other stakeholders in order to take the appropriate decisions on the territorial and resource management (e.g. energy) (Carvajal et al., 2006). Continuous monitoring must be guaranteed by means of the GIS programs by collecting, processing, retrieving and displaying spatial data (Burrough and McDonnell, 1998; Rogge et al., 2008), combining and integrating them to produce information (Lee et al., 1999). The existing studies emphasize that GIS elaboration can support policy-makers in addressing key issues (Peccol et al., 1996) and to take effective decision-support systems that deal with the territorial planning (Bryan, 2003). The originality of this work is based on the need to build spatial databases, at national level, able to offer new research developments in Italy. Greenhouses (and also PV systems) can represent reliable territorial landmarks that better describe contexts, with the purpose of studying, analyzing and evaluating its sustainable development (from a national to a local level) in economic, environmental, energy and landscape terms. 5. Conclusion Greenhouses and PV systems represent new European infrastructures of the contemporary landscape. Their identification can be useful for: new fields and methodological research insights; having tools for evaluating an area and adopting accurate planning and policy decisions; improving sustainable methods and calculation of energy efficiency produced and predictable; managing recent Mediterranean landscapes. The research aims to fuel the debate on the role of new rural landmark, reflecting the integration of these two technologies to achieve both economic benefits but also environmental and energy externalities. Acknowledgments This study was supported by FOTOAGRI Project – “Technological innovation for the greenhouses design and recovery through the use of photovoltaic panels and the development of a new commercial production model for the horticultural industry", a MIPAAF’s projects, transposed by D.M. 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